Troy

Despite fences erected to keep them away from a black-tie gala, hundreds of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students on Friday voiced their anger at President Shirley Ann Jackson in a protest over the fate of their student union.

Chanting “Not a fan of Shirley Ann,” students along with some alumni marched into a quad behind The Curtis R. Priem Experimental and Performing Arts Center where they were separated from VIP guests by a phalanx of security guards and Troy police.

At issue is a move by the school’s administration to take control of the venerable student union which has been historically operated and managed by the students.

The union is an umbrella group for about 150 clubs pursuing interests ranging from computer game development to science fiction to anti-cancer fundraising.

“The administration has tried to take over the union rather than have the students run it,” said Jordan Faasbush, a sophomore and treasurer of the game development club.

“The student union has been around for 127 years,” added another sophomore, Liz Brady.

The idea that the administration under Jackson would halt that tradition also struck a chord with a handful of alumni who joined Friday’s loud but peaceful protest.

“It’s unconscionable,” said Ted Mirczak, Class of ’66. After working in the telecom industry, he also served as a temporary vice president of administration for RPI.

“The students have run and managed the budget forever and they’ve done a good job,” said Doug Hancher, Class of ’79. “It was part of the student experience,” he added, explaining that students get management experience if they help run the club and its budget.

Budget items may be at the core of the takeover, some said, given RPI’s recent bond rating downgrade.

Citing the school’s high debt load, RPI’s Standard & Poors rating at the start of 2017 fell from A- to BBB+, which isn’t far above a junk bond rating. Some at the protest said they worried that Jackson might try to raid the union’s multi-million budget, which is paid through student activity fees.

RPI spokeswoman Richie Hunter, responding in an email, though said that's not the case.

Hancher said he believed the move was more likely in keeping with Jackson’s move toward a more “corporate” model of administration as opposed to the traditional system where faculty and students also play a substantial role.

The gala event came during the school’s reunion and homecoming weekend and the dinner was to kick off a new fundraising effort.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU