Here are some photos from Gamma Epsilon Tau’s annual pig roast celebration and softball game.

If you are a student, faculty member, alumnus, parent, or in any way associated with RIT, then you should be aware of the Imagine RIT festival next week. The much-anticipated festival has been discussed and planned for several months. However, there will be so much activity going on that day, that it is hard to keep track of it all. The festival will take place on Saturday, May 3 from 10:00AM to 4:00PM at several venues all across campus.

RIT has long been acclaimed as an excellent technological and innovative institute of higher learning. RIT has also been known for having a diverse selection of programs ranging from engineering to photography to liberal arts. These programs are divided into colleges, but they may overlap occasionally. The first annual Imagine RIT festival plans to bring together technology and artistic creativity, or in President Bill Destler’s words “a collision of the right brain and the left brain.”

Exhibits at the festival will showcase the work of students, faculty, and staff. Each event falls under themes such as alternative energy, healthy living, interactive activities, and live performances. In all, more than 400 different exhibits and displays will be featured.

One of the main attractions of the Imagine RIT festival will be the Xerox WOW! Center, also known as the Gordon Field House. It will feature many cross-disciplinary exhibits from each of RIT’s eight colleges. One of the projects, entitled “Innovations in Publishing” will include “The Innovation News”, a real-time web and print based newspaper that will be published during the festival. Another activity is a virtual social networking game developed by the Open Publishing Lab.

The festival will be open to the public, and Dr. Destler hopes to attract around 30,000 guests. Imagine RIT will undoubtedly be a great, unforgettable celebration of RIT’s unique creativity and innovation.

Additional information can be found at http://www.rit.edu/imagine/

During a presentation to RIT faculty, staff, and students lead an open discussion on what it means to truly be a green company and the overall benefits that a green company receives from aiding the environment.

While many people picture Green companies as granola eating, Birkenstock wearing, tree huggers they often don’t picture printing companies as fitting the bill. I mean printing companies need paper, paper comes from tress, and cutting down tress hurts the environment right? However, as explained by the Pictorial Offset Corporation the move to Green had environmental impacts but was done almost purely as a business move to increase company revenue.

Pictorial Offset Corporation explained how the company first met its original ISO standard and was the first company in the world to earn duel ISO (International Organization for Standardization) in quality and environmental process control. Pictorial Offset Corporation was also the first commercial printer to offer FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper sheets as an option to its clients. FSC certified paper comes from forests harvested in a sustainable manner and are processed in FSC – certified mills. To date Pictorial Offset Corporation is ISO 14001 certified in doing business in an environmentally sustainable manner and ISO 9001 certified in quality compliance. They are also the first printer in the world to earn The Conservation Fund’s Carbon Neutral status in 2006 for reforestation by planting 5,000 trees in the Edwin B. Forsythe national Wildlife Refuge to offset the company’s carbon emission. Pictorial Offset Corporation was also named a Global Sustainability Trendsetter by The Rainforest Alliance and awarded SmartWood Certification.

Pictorial Offset Corporation has also been an Environment Protect Agency Performance Track Member since 2006 and was the first commercial printer in the world to be certified with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. By reaching these government standards all products printed with Pictorial Offset Corporation have the option of containing various logos that certify any company using them as a printer as a Green friendly company. By doing this Pictorial Offset Corporation was offered a larger clientele base of Green friendly customers and those wishing to become Green friendly.

Now you may be thinking a printing company that is Green friendly must have the ugliest, poorest quality inventory that looks more like shredded wheat then real paper. You would be wrong. During the presentation various job samples created by the company were passed around and not only was the paper quality excellent but the documents themselves were vibrant and eye catching.

For more information on Pictorial Offset Corporation you can visit their website at www.pictirialoffset.com

Both RIT Alumni Christina Hui (05’ and 06’ Bachelor of Science in Applied Arts and Sciences, with Professional Concentration in Graphic Media Publishing) and Jennifer Bodine (2005 graduate of the School of Print Media) are currently working for the local company Tucker Printers, a Consolidated Graphics Company in Rochester, NY.

While attending RIT, Christina obtained a co-op with Mercury Print as an On Demand Production Assistant for digital workflow. “My co-op is where it all began for me,” says Christina. “It made me realize me career choice as a Digital Production Manager.” She is also self-published author of “College for Me: A College Guide for Students with Attention Deficit Disorder” and is currently working as an Associate at Tucker Printers. She enjoys working in a printing environment and looks forward to challenges that lie ahead.

Jennifer started in Chesapeake, Virginia where she worked as the Digital Prepress Advisor at Professional Printing Center. Jen spent her days creating and perfecting the digital print workflow. Along with digital printing, Jen had a multitude of other tasks that included implementing the OSHA standard operating procedures and managing the ever-growing bulk mailing department. As time passed, Jen made the choice to return home to Rochester, New York. She now is currently an Account Service Representative at Tucker Printers. Jen enjoys seeing the print workflow in action from a different point of view as the job is tracked from conception until delivery. It is the necessary next step in the progression of growth that started with the education she received from RIT’s School of Print Media.