I have to think the students and professors are still great, and I agree this is 95% of the experience. I would have been happy if my D had chosen RPI 3 years ago. I also would have been happy if she had chosen URochester, even with their issues related to poor handling of a sexual harassment case. I don’t mean to minimize the importance of an administration, and I certainly don’t defend squashing of student voices. However, I don’t see evidence of a ‘downward spiral’ at RPI with respect to the quality of the students or the professors. (Just for the record, I am no fan of Shirley Ann Jackson and her heavy-handed ways.)
The evidence is that almost every program and initiative being administered by the school is to bring in more money. RPI is broke they have spent excessively and alumni giving has declined. Programs like “Summer Arch” sound good in practice are being forced upon students without any actual resources to back the program (like co-op programs or career support). Countless academic programs and school clubs are losing funding.
There is evidence of a downward spiral, you just won’t find it on the RPI website. I attended for 5 years and was lucky to get out as early as I did. People there are not happy with how the school is run.
The faculty are key to the Institute’s success. They need to own the curriculum and associated academic policies.However, when participating in shared governance they are not and can not be a union. There are six and only six Universities sanctioned by the American Association of University Professors. RPI is one of them. 3 of these allowed for campus visits by an investigating committee. 2 of these may have, but there is some evidence that they may have cooperated with AAUP. Only RPI formally refused to cooperate and forbid a visit as shown below.
Finally, in a December 16, 2009, letter, the AAUP staff notified President Jackson, Provost Palazzo, and board
chair Heffner of the general secretary’s authorization of this investigation. Responses from the institute’s general
counsel referred to the planned investigation as “counter-productive,” informed the staff that the administration
would neither meet with the undersigned committee nor provide it with comments on the Koretz-Campbell
paper, as requested, and stated that the investigating committee would not be welcome on campus. The chair
of the investigating committee wrote by e-mail to President Jackson on April 7, 2010, inviting her to a pri-
vate interview. Attorney Carletta responded by stating that he was the only Rensselaer administrator designated
to answer AAUP communications. His April 12 letter reiterated RPI’s position: “[W]e see no role for any out-
side agency, including the AAUP, and choose to make our campus unavailable for visits or other activity gen-
erated by such external groups.” He stated in closing,“[P]lease assume that no member of the Administration
of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will be speaking to or meeting with you or your colleagues either before or
during your visit to Troy.”
This says a lot, first silence faculty and then silence students.
If you want to learn more about the Greek Life situation see https://savegreeklife.xyz. The state of free speech at RPI has declined a lot since I first enrolled and students that participate in any sort of advocacy for Greek Life, the Student Union, etc. are threatened with judicial sanctions or are in constant fear. There’s even a term coined for this, called “the culture of fear.”
When I first came to RPI, none of this was an issue or at least it wasn’t on the surface level. The university has been cracking down on all forms of student life or civil dissidence.
Last semester, two students were caught distributing posters regarding the student union takeover. The Dean of Students tried to charge the two students with “operating a business.” For the last two years in a row, Save the Union (campus advocacy group of students and alumni) applied for a peaceful protest permit. The school denied it each year unless it was at a time and place inconvenient for a protest (e.g. 8am on a random Monday). Even with that, over a thousand students have shown up the past two years to the protests. Both times, students were implicated with judicial sanctions until the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education intervened as well as the ACLU.
Greek organizations looking to oppose the school are scared since in order to recruit fraternities and sororities must get administrative approval, even if they are in good standing meaning they must be relatively complacent with what is going on.
Around 2/3 or campus Greek organizations are currently on some form of non-judicial sanction by the school that can prevent them from recruiting or continue operating if they do not meet arbitrary standards set by the administration without any student or alumni involvement.
Note that Greek Life is not something you join as an undergraduate then forget about for many RPI alumni. Alumni continue to stay involved, visit, and get involved in alumni clubs for their fraternities and sororities after they graduate. That’s why, understandably, alumni would get mad when the Dean of Students says “alumni are sometimes a part of the problem” during a general body meeting.
My opinion of RPI has changed dramatically over the past semester due to actions being taken against students individually as well as collective groups. See any of my previous reviews about RPI and they were great. I’ll still say that RPI’s academics are great, but student life is becoming increasingly authoritarian. It’s no longer “student” life, it’s “administration”-supervised and approved life.
It’s very disheartening when you attend a meeting with the administration and they dodge or refuse to answer your question. It’s disheartening when you’re not provided with adequate statistics to justify action. It’s disheartening when you know they can take direct action against you or any organization you affiliate with.
My advice: if you get into another college that is similarly ranked that offers similar aid, go there. As students, we shouldn’t need to choose between what we care about and what the school wants or risk getting in trouble. You shouldn’t get in trouble for freedom of speech or association. That’s just flat out wrong. Do you really want to go to a college where the ACLU and FIRE need to make a case for why free speech is important on campus? Do you really think that over a thousand students (over 16% of undergrads at RPI) are just going to these protests for no reason?
Greek Life Restrictions: https://mailchi.mp/4821c4ed7398/save-rpi-greek-life-recruitment-restrictions
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, 10 worst colleges for free speech (guess who is on the list): https://www.thefire.org/the-10-worst-colleges-for-free-speech-2018/
Think of the following submitted by various members of this thread when deciding whether or not to attend or even apply to RPI
From Plimpington2
What I DO care about is what the university Admim seems to have done in response to the student union debacle. The suppression of student voices, as well as the heavy handed and seemingly capricious “disciplinary actions” brought down on some of the students is reprehensible. It shines light on an administration that is scared of decent at best, and has autocratic tendencies at worst.
Finally, however, I am most concerned about the deterioration of the endowment and the downgrading of the credit worthiness of the school by the rating agencies - which is based in part of the financial health of the institution and the ability to attract and retain students. The primary sources are eye opening and worth reading. To my mind, this has a real potential to profoundly affect the prospects of the school.
From randomdude532
This is an excellent summary of the way many RPI alums feel. I completely agree that, at the end of the day, many issues people bring up such as the student union being taken over isn’t particularly a huge deal. But the way the administration manages these issues has been downright deplorable. Just countless events have occurred which demonstrate that the administration is willing to break through walls and bend laws to get to their goals.
Personally, my time at RPI was excellent. The students and professors were incredible which fortunately is like 95% of the student experience for most. But when looking back, there are so many things going wrong with the administration is causing the school to begin a downward spiral. Any task that involved any sort of school administration was pitiful at best. Countless alumni are refusing to donate until these problems are fixed.
The evidence is that almost every program and initiative being administered by the school is to bring in more money. RPI is broke they have spent excessively and alumni giving has declined. Programs like “Summer Arch” sound good in practice are being forced upon students without any actual resources to back the program (like co-op programs or career support). Countless academic programs and school clubs are losing funding.
There is evidence of a downward spiral, you just won’t find it on the RPI website. I attended for 5 years and was lucky to get out as early as I did. People there are not happy with how the school is run.
From VMT
I have to think the students and professors are still great, and I agree this is 95% of the experience. I would have been happy if my D had chosen RPI 3 years ago. I also would have been happy if she had chosen URochester, even with their issues related to poor handling of a sexual harassment case. I don’t mean to minimize the importance of an administration, and I certainly don’t defend squashing of student voices. However, I don’t see evidence of a ‘downward spiral’ at RPI with respect to the quality of the students or the professors. (Just for the record, I am no fan of Shirley Ann Jackson and her heavy-handed ways.)
From joedoe
If you want to learn more about the Greek Life situation see https://savegreeklife.xyz. The state of free speech at RPI has declined a lot since I first enrolled and students that participate in any sort of advocacy for Greek Life, the Student Union, etc. are threatened with judicial sanctions or are in constant fear. There’s even a term coined for this, called “the culture of fear.” When I first came to RPI, none of this was an issue or at least it wasn’t on the surface level. The university has been cracking down on all forms of student life or civil dissidence.
My opinion of RPI has changed dramatically over the past semester due to actions being taken against students individually as well as collective groups. See any of my previous reviews about RPI and they were great. I’ll still say that RPI’s academics are great, but student life is becoming increasingly authoritarian. It’s no longer “student” life, it’s “administration”-supervised and approved life.
As students, we shouldn’t need to choose between what we care about and what the school wants or risk getting in trouble. You shouldn’t get in trouble for freedom of speech or association. That’s just flat out wrong. Do you really want to go to a college where the ACLU and FIRE need to make a case for why free speech is important on campus? Do you really think that over a thousand students (over 16% of undergrads at RPI) are just going to these protests for no reason?
Please see my last two comments on: Greek Life Situation At RPI. I agree with joedoe that RPI no longer supports “student” life, it’s “administration”-supervised and approved life.There is no need for this. However doing so will allow RPI administration supported by the trustees to look good financially.
It’s hilarious to me that some kids like the above think that a student should consider enrolling to a college based on that school’s Greek life. Grow up kids. Attend RPI if you intend on getting a great education and hopefully you won’t have to deal with these greeklife fanatics.
Labeling other posters to this thread as Greek Life Fanatics is both insulting and inaccurate. It is comical that one would claim “some kids like the above should consider enrolling in a college based on that school’s Greek life”. It is likely to be a factor. reformedman’s post shows that they have no comprehension regarding this thread.
Through its actions RPI’s Administration has demonstrated a total lack of integrity. This means they cannot be trusted. This in turn means students need to question everything said, written and promised by the administration. The students need to be constantly looking over their shoulder because of what the administration might do next. By creating such a toxic environment the administration has demonstrated that they have no respect for the student body. The total lack of respect is what should be considered when deciding to apply or attend.
Well…“fanatics” is at least partly descriptive and not necessary to take so negatively, but yes I believe the extreme partisanship was implied as intended. I have to agree that ‘Greek Life’ would be pretty close to last on our evaluation list – but, no legacy involvement with us, others will have family relationships with, for example, Theta Xi at many colleges besides RPI that are important to them, maybe? Greek participation at RPI is about 30% of men, 16% of women, and 24%-ish overall – so not insignificant. It does also mean that 3 out of 4 do not participate though. I’ll have to admit I’ve never heard anyone say this had anything to do with their college choice, either, but I suppose it would affect some. I do tend to think that the administration, with the Trustees, believe they are the ones that operate and have long-term responsibility for the Institute. There are real, serious Greek problems, with serious risk exposure to colleges nationwide – head in the sand if you don’t recognize this. The administration has provided this national background picture – and actual RPI data and trends over the last few years showing problems with sexual misconduct (stalking, harassment, assaults), hazing, drugs and alcohol (primarily alcohol), and Greek housing health and safety that have been reversed with RPI’s efforts in all sectors of the RPI community except one – inside the fraternity houses themselves during house events (parties), where problems with alcohol and assaults persist. Results that indicate more reform is needed, and continued efforts will continue to pay off across the Institute. Read the reports yourselves, the administration has posted them. RPI is working toward a zero-tolerance of these abuses across the Institute, and I applaud them for that.
RPIchemEson - Thanks for the intelligent conversation.
I could not find the links you mentioned.
I do agree there are serious issues facing the Greek System nationally. The issue of parties must be addressed. However I feel that banning recruitment is overkill. Making the decision over the summer is unfair to the students.
What concerns me most is the “forest not this individual tree”. It is the latest of a long series of actions taken by the administration. That is why I wrote the last paragraph of my previous post the way I did choosing the word actions as opposed to this action. The “forest is diseased”.
I respectfully suggest that we follow up any discussion regarding Greek Life in the Greek life thread.
We visited RPI over the summer and had a very negative experience. It was disturbing, as it was top of our list. By chance ran into two staff who raised concerns about unhappy faculty. I later researched and confirmed there are issues. On paper it looks great, but empathize with alumni concerns about the health of the institute.
StudentsR1st, just go to the RPI website, click on ‘News’, then click on he grey box ‘Greek Life Taskforce’ and on that page there is a bar on the RH side containing now 17 informational links.
Sophiequus, my son just entered as a Freshman and is having the time of his life. He is meeting the toughest challenges (academic, and personal independence) of his young life so far, and flourishing. He is not a party animal, but studious, driven, and ambitious to achieve. I am hoping he gets into Skiing or Outing clubs, jazz band or orchestra, has some fun and makes many friends – but we’ll see. This first semester has not been a light workload as he is taking all Sophomore-level courses, and a full load of them – he has his priorities straight. I agree that the financial health and administrative direction of the Institute are serious concerns – but also think things are improving albeit slowly. The litany of complaints can’t all be addressed and problems reversed by willpower alone, and in one year. The Trustees and administration are doing what they think is right for the Institute, not all students/families, or alumni agree – but I think there is also the pain of change that is necessary for the Institute to grow and thrive that many disagree with. We have chosen and are proud to be a part of that.
Thanks RPIchemEson:
Here is the direct link for all interested. https://info.rpi.edu/greek-life-task-force
Please review the documentation RPI was required to post under the Clery Act.
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/public_safety/stats/RPI_Safety_2017.pdf
This report, which is required to be submitted in order for RPI to be eligible for government funding refutes the claims that crimes involving alcohol, drugs, and sex are more prevalent in the Greek System (Non-Campus
Property Any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the institution.). The report actually indicates that “On-Campus Residential Only” could learn from “Non-Campus Property”
I encourage you to take another look. My son sounds just like rpichemeson. He is doing great academically, and is involved in the performing arts/science clubs. While he is interested in the stuff going on with the union (older friends are involved), and doesn’t have any interest in the greeks, neither affect his day-to-day life.
I’m thrilled schoolwork is challenging him for the first time in his life, although he says MultiVar is still too easy!
sophiequus:
I also think you should consider a second look.
- If you have found a school that feels right and is (not only on paper) impressive the second look might not be necessary.
- If your experience visiting other schools raise issues, I think a second visit or detailed correspondence is best [RPI and other school(s)]. Come up with specific questions that require detailed answers.