Following up on my own thread:
 
I received email, from RPI and UMass-Lowell (and one BGSU)
followers, and the consensus of RPI followers is to keep the current
nickname.  UMass-Lowell followers tend to dislike their name change.
I'll agree, as I think the Chiefs is a fine nickname and I hate PC and the
hell it has given society.
 
There is one difference in these two situations.  Correct me if I'm
wrong, but there seemed to be some motivating factor for the UMass-
Lowell change emanating from outside the Lowell administration.
Someone was complaining to the administration about the name.  At
RPI, there is no such problem.  I've been here since the fall of '85
(Class of '89) and not one word of complaint has been heard.  The
entire movement to change the nickname has come from the
administration, or the "Rensselaer Spirit Committee," and don't ask me
who is on it.  I can find only one real reason for the change: Increase
marketing, or in other words, greed.
 
If they are looking for a nickname to encompass the student body,
Engineers is the logical choice.  It is the major of choice for a plurality
of students.  My BS is in Physics, and the nickname never bothered me.
Engineering is a noble profession, and RPI is not the only school to use
a profession as a nickname (Whittier Poets, William Penn Statesmen,
Brandeis Judges).
 
A mascot?  We had one, they got rid of it, no need to kill this subject.
 
Increase school spirit?  Try getting rid of those 8 a.m. tests for
freshman.  That will do wonders.  Develop campus facilities so people
do things on Friday and Saturday night instead of studying or going
home.  Then you'll have more spirit than you know what to do with.
This whole "spirit" thing reminds me too much of high school pep
rallies.  I wasn't big on those, either.
 
Frankly, they want a logo so they can sell more stuff.  The success of
the Albany River Rats 10 miles south is a great example of what a
catchy logo can do.  But the River Rats goal, their entire existence, is
geared to making money.  RPI is geared, allegedly, towards teaching
and research.  At least that's what I thought.
 
Finally, RPI already has a reputation, mostly from alumni, of being
money-hungry.  I can't see how this attempt to make more money will
eliminate that reputation.  I wonder if anyone has thought of that.
 
After some thought, I've come up with potential new nicknames for
the school.  Everything is intended in jest.
 
Tradition and history-
 
Dutchmen (Stephen van Rensselaer was of Dutch extraction.  Oops,
that name is taken.)
 
Patroons (Rensselaer is on the site of the old Rensselaer patroonship,
purchase by Kiliaen van Rensselaer in 1629.  But this is the name of the
old Albany basketball team in the CBA, so no good.)
 
Vanderheydens (The van der Heyden family took over the
patroonship in 1707, but this seems to unwieldy.  And stupid.)
 
Uncle Sams (Samuel Wilson, who lived and is buried in Troy, was
Uncle Sam.  Too stupid.  Great mascot, though, and if the U.S. gets
into another war, the visibility will skyrocket from the recruitment
posters.)
 
Jailbirds (Amos Eaton, a lawyer who helped Stephen van Rensselaer
found the school, did five years for fraud.  I like it.  Could use the "Get
out of Jail Free" picture from the game Monopoly as the mascot.  That
old guy is great!)
 
Firemen (Fires in 1862 and 1904 were the impetus for moving the
campus up the hill from downtown.  Oops, another occupation.)
 
Everreadies (After Johnny Evers, the greatest sports star produced in
Troy.  The mascot is a giant battery.  Talk about huge visibility, those
ads are on TV all the time!)
 
Drunks (You have to go here to truly understand this one.  Mascot is
Dean Martin.)
 
Sutters (After old man Sutter, who owns the bar downtown that is
frequented by many members of those same sports teams we're trying
to rename.  Mascot is Dean Martin.)
 
Undersexed (Male teams only.  A 4-to-1 male-to-female ratio.
Mascot is the team itself.)
 
Oversexed (Female teams only.  A 4-to-1 male-to-female ratio.
Mascot is Madonna.)
 
Geographic location-
 
Winders (The wind blows all the time, and always in your face,
regardless of the direction your walking.  Mascot is a huge ceiling fan.)
 
Second Fiddlers (No matter what Troy does, it's always second best
to Albany.  No matter what RPI hockey does, Siena basketball gets
more press.  Perfect.  Mascot is a fiddler, of course, who walks around
the stands all game long playing the fight song.  The over/under on him
getting pummeled is 5 minutes.)
 
Highlanders (School is located on the top of the hill in Troy.  Of
course, this was the New York Yankees name before they became the
Yankees, and originally derived from a Scottish regiment from the
highlands.  Mascot is Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineer of the
Starship Enterprise.)
 
Troylets (A derogatory nickname for native Trojans, especially those
underage.  Problem is, this may ruin a number of romantic
relationships.  Mascot is a high-school student with a D+ average.)
 
Trojans (Actual name for people who live in Troy.  Mascot, of
course, is a huge condom.  This satisfies the right-to-lifers, AIDS
activists and medical professionals.  Just don't expect the Pope to pay
a visit.)
 
Academic Mission or Nature-
 
Engineers (Sorry.)
 
Physicists (Has my vote.  Mascot is Albert Einstein.)
 
Fighting Calculators (Who can compute the square root of
1,526,358,256 the fastest?  Mascot is a calculator, HP of course.)
 
'Tute Screwed (After the 'Tute Screw, a device peculiar to RPI.  No
matter which way you turn it, it goes in.  Mascot is obvious.)
 
And finally, my favorite pick:
 
Carpetbaggers (Sure, it denoted Northerners going to the South after
the Civil War to make a fortune, but could describe students coming to
RPI for the sole purpose of getting a degree so they can make gobs of
money.  It's a stretch, but no other school has it, to my knowledge.
Cheap, too.  Just get someone to hold a carpetbag, and you've got a
mascot.)
 
The mail I'll get for this.
 
Kurt Stutt
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