The Rensselaer Polytechnic
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | weekly college newspaper |
| Format | Tabloid |
| Founded | 1869 |
| Headquarters |
The Polytechnic c/o Rensselaer Union 15th Street Troy, NY 12180 |
| Circulation | 7,000 |
| Website |
poly |
The Rensselaer Polytechnic is the student-run newspaper of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It is published every Wednesday during the Institute's fall and spring academic calendars.
Organization
About The Poly
The Rensselaer Polytechnic, which is also called The Polytechnic or The Poly, was founded in 1869; however, The Poly has only been publishing continuously since 1885. It marked its 125th year of service to the RPI community during the fall of 2008. In addition to regular issues, The Poly has historically published a parody issue each semester and an elections issue that endorses student government candidates and provides profiles of registered candidates for all levels of student government. The Poly also produces several special inserts throughout the year, including the Club Directory, Troy Business Guide, men's and women's hockey previews, and Grand Marshal Week recap.
Distribution
The Poly has a circulation of 7,000, with most of the copies distributed on campus to areas including the Rensselaer Union, dining halls, and academic buildings. The Poly is also delivered to the Rensselaer Technology Park, downtown Troy, and Russell Sage College.
Financials
For much of the club's history The Poly had one of the largest club budgets, funded entirely through advertising revenue without any funding from the Rensselaer Union. In recent years, The Poly had considered receiving Union subsidy in addition to seeking advertising from national corporations, local businesses, RPI departments, and clubs, but no such subsidy was requested.
Major sections
The Poly is organized into four major sections.
- News
- Includes In the Nation and World, Incident Blotter, Weird Off the Wire, and Rensselaer in Brief.
- Editorial/Opinion
- Includes staff editorial, staff notebooks, Top Hat, Derby, letters to the editor, President's Corner.
- Features
- Includes the Community Calendar, comics, reviews, and articles on campus or area events.
- Sports
- Includes round ups.
Parodies
In 1980-81 a parody of The Poly, named The Folly, was published and distributed anonymously across the campus. Typical of the humor was the 'Sports In Brief' section featuring a scantily clad person performing yoga.