The opening of the '87 Gymnasium marked a new focus on physical education at Rensselaer.  The effort to acquire appropriate fitness facilities had been largely student driven up to this point.  Students chronically complained about the lack of athletic venues and gym facilities on campus.  In 1912, the administration, led by

It is not surprising to find that flu pandemics have impacted the RPI community in the past.  In 1918, the Spanish flu hit campus at a most inopportune time.  It was October and 650 students conscripted into the Student Army Training Corp were about to move into temporary barracks on campus.  The flu ripped through the SATC and by the end of October, six men had died of pneumonia.  Nearly 200,000 people in the U.S.

The cane, a fashion accessory popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was also a college status symbol.  Canes or walking sticks were once commonly "worn" by men during this time period.  At many colleges, freshmen had to earn the right to carry a cane on campus.  Cane rushes or cane contests involved a game of sport or wit between the freshmen and sophomores to win this right.  If the RPI freshmen lost, they could not carry canes until Washington's birthday.  Check out this web page to learn more about the contest at RPI: 

Yes, that's right -- mandolins were all the rage from about 1894 to 1924.  Mandolin clubs popped up at high schools, colleges and cities all over the country.  The club at RPI evolved out of the Banjo and Guitar Club in 1892 --  it was called the Banjo, Guitar and

The Moustache Club was a student club that appeared briefly in the 1870s.  The officers consisted of president, assistant to the president, treasurer and inspector general.  Here are some excerpts from the club's constitution as detailed in the 1877 Transit:

I mentioned previously that we rely on donors to acquire new material for our collections.  In this post, I will highlight our latest acquisition. Recently Mr. Cox left this comment on the blog:

The holidays have passed, spring semester work has commenced and winter couldn't get any worse.  Blah.  This probably won't cure the doldrums, but it may entertain you for a moment.  I thought of inviting captions for this one, but I don't want to divert attention from an actual identification.  My best guess for the beer paraphernalia is that it came from the pub in the Union.  It looks like they are taking inventory of the items.  Can you identify the students or the room?  If I could get the name of one or more of the individuals, I may be able to conta

When did the first students from China come to RPI?  This question was asked during our open house event recently.  A quick answer was readily available in an alumni directory, but my curiosity was piqued and I decided to dig a little deeper. Two students from Guangzhou (once referred to as Canton) arrived at RPI in the fall of 1878 and roomed together at a boarding house on Second St.  The students were Kwok S. Loh and Wing Chung Pawn. 

Finals week is coming to an end, and from my vantage point (limited as it may be), it has been very quiet on campus this week. It definitely feels like the semester is winding down. On the job, I often live in the past ;) and today I wondered how very different it must have been here 38 years ago this week in May.

This is a two-for-one special — ID this person and two unidentified photos find a home! The first photo brings back bad memories of organic chemistry. The 3D molecules that he's holding didn't help me at all. There are some more clues in the second photo. We see a chemistry lab nicely staged with students doing experiments, including a woman with hair and socks that look like trends of the late '80s — which coincidentally was the era when I dropped organic chemistry. :) Who is this prof who kindly shows us what he looks like with and without glasses?