TROY, NEW YORK — During the GM/PU debates yesterday evening the following question was asked in reference to the Rensselaer Union’s financial state: "You've said that you want to cut down administrative costs. Can you elaborate on what exactly you'd like to cut?"

President of the Union candidate Greg Bartell criticized the Union Administration's paying for services that students are willing to do for free. Bartell said that "we can all agree that RPI TV is doing a great job filming and sharing this experience with you right now." He continued by describing the hiring of outside videographers as "outlandish" as they cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

President of the Union candidate Andrew Sudano disagreed, saying that the students and members of the Rensselaer Union require "dependability and reliability." He continued by stating that professionals “can be called upon at all hours of the day,” so students don't have to wait around and wait for a response.

RPI TV unequivocally rejects Andrew Sudano’s notion. RPI TV, a completely student-run, volunteer organization, has consistently provided a professional product since its founding. The club provides its services completely free to RPI organizations and viewers from around the world. RPI TV covers every Hockey and Football game, hundreds of cultural and musical events, and many more. These events are streamed live across the globe and made available on-demand through the RPI TV webpage.

In the past, RPI Athletics relied on a “professional” streaming service. Not only was the service extremely low resolution, prone to downtimes, but also cost each viewer to use. RPI TV’s student created streaming service not only costs nothing to RPI Athletics and supports HD video, but also is free to anyone who wishes to enjoy the content.

Additionally, it is not uncommon to receive requests from “professionals” working side-by-side at various productions for video and audio files due to their equipment failing. No one is infallible, but RPI TV’s experience in producing events at RPI has provided the background necessary to prepare contingency plans for all occasions. RPI TV questions Sudano’s claims as coming from someone without the experience necessary to make the judgement on whether student organizations are more effective than professional ones.

UPDATE (April 16) - President of the Union candidate Andrew Sudano has withdrawn from the race, citing recent allegations of elections tampering.