04/08/2010

Northern Lights Dazzle in Rozsa

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The

Fashion show higlights work appropriate clothing

More snappy advice from Ask Sassy

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Michigan Tech Lode

April 8, 2010

Serving the Michigan Tech Community Since 1921

Student aid reform eases students’ financial woes MOLLY HOLMSTROM Lode Writer

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n Tuesday, March 30, 2010, Barack Obama signed a bill which, unbeknownst to many, will benefit numerous students nationwide; democrats, libertarians, and republicans alike. Along with the Health Care and Education Reconcilliation Act of 2010, our government has granted us landmark student aid reform.

To quote the Delaware Democratic Party, “Over the next decade these reforms will save taxpayers $68 billion by ending wasteful subsidies given to banks and middlemen who handle student loans. The money this program saves will expand and strengthen the federal Pell Grant program and make college more affordable for millions of middle class Americans.”

The act passed by the House and Senate is a huge step forward for students and the American Economy. This isn’t just one of your ordinary bills, passed by Democrats, which fit like a puzzle piece into their agenda. This act will affect numerous students, easing the stress of their financial burdens, and even aiding in beginning to ease our nation’s financial deficit.

Years ago, the United States had the highest concentration of graduates in the world, however, in the past decade, we have begun to lose ground, and are now ranked ninth or tenth in the world. With a greater number of well-educated people, America will be more skilled as a whole, and this will allow us to better

Major Steps for Students: President Obama signs the health care “fixes” bill at No. Virginia Community College, creating major opportunities and easing financial burden for students nationwide.

Photo courtesy of: Danny Messinger

compete in the 21st century.

President Obama has set a goal to regain our top spot by 2020, and with this new bill, that goal is made even more feasible.

It gets harder every year for students who rely on federal loans and aid to make ends meet, and when students can’t afford higher education, the en-

STUDENT AID REFORM KEY POINTS: •Save taxpayers $68 billion by ending subsidies •100% of Direct Loans will be serviced by private lenders •$2 billion dedicated to competitive grant program for Community Colleges •$2.5 billion dedicated to HBC students •$750 million will be dedicated to boosting college access for completion of studies •$36 billion solely for Pell Grants •$10 billion will be used to pay back national debt

tire nation’s economy suffers.

These subsidies which are being taken from private bankers will be redirected to Pell Grants…

Pell Grants that will make college more affordable, and ease the stress on students who must attempt to balance full-time jobs and college courses just to stay afloat.

According to the Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, this is the single largest investment in higher education in US history.

For those of you who are just entering the financial aid scene, here’s a recap on what’s going to be changing.

According to CNN, for the 2009-2010 school year, the maximum Pell Grant awarded

to students was $5,350. Without this reform, that would have been more than cut in half per student, and would have been $2,150 per student. With this, the grant will grow to $5,975 by 2017.

Community college students will see a lot of the benefits from this as more money will be allocated for competitive grant programs, and they also will see the benefits of the Pell Grant increase.

For those of you who have already taken out loans in the past, you’re also affected.

The monthly payments will be capped at 10% of your discretionary income, allowing you to continued on 2A Aid reform

April showers bring... Spring Fling!

MOLLY HOLMSTROM Lode Writer

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s the weather brightens and the semester winds down, students are in desperate need of a change of pace, even if just for a day. How does an afternoon filled with a carnival complete with a Ferris Wheel and a motorcycle show sound? There’ll be plenty of excitement for everyone on campus when Spring Fling arrives on Apr. 16.

The event has a carnival theme to compliment the MUB Boardsponsored Ferris Wheel, which will be spinning on the pavement from noon-7 PM in Lot 5, which

is just east of the Rozsa Center.

From there you can wander down the hill to the National Society for Leadership and Success (NSLS) cookout, which will be at Prince’s Point from noon-4PM. Even if you don’t want a delicious burger or hot dog, there will also be live acoustic music. Head on down there and enjoy the company of your classmates and the relaxing waves of the Portage Canal.

Heading back up the hill and west across campus, you’ll come across the Greek Week Games hosted by IFC & Panhel on the Walker Lawn.

From there, mosey your way across campus to Lot 27 (the pay lot by the MUB) to check out the Full Throttle Motorcycle Show!

Online exclusives Check it all out at: www.mtulode.com PDF Archives of all issues this year

The show will feature Scott Murray & Sick Air FMX. Murray is an FMX freestyle rider that landed the first double back flip in MotoX history. He’ll be tearing up the lot, captivating onlookers with his tricks and jumps, at noon, 2:30, and 4:00 p.m., and shows will be around 15-20 minutes long.

Booths from various organizations across campus will be scattered around to entertain you, talk to you about their organization, and give you a chance to play some carnival games! Among the organizations attending are HOWL (Healthy Options for a Wellness Lifestyle) and various fraternities and sororities. It’s a great opportunity to get more involved on campus, and to see

what might interest you!

And, of course, we’ve saved the messiest for last. If you head over to Lot 15E (between Wadsworth Hall & West McNair) between 9a.m. & 7p.m., you’ll see some mud-slinging, but not the political kind.

Oozeball will be hitting Michigan Tech, yet again, and 40 teams will be digging for the chance to be crowned 2010 Oozeball Champs. For those who’ve never witnessed the messy ordeal first hand, Oozeball is basically just what it sounds like, mud volleyball.

What about after the sun goes down? Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, NBC’s America’s Got Talent and the Tonight Show with

Jay Leno comedian alum, Rob O’Reilly, is going to be making an appearance on campus. The 25-year-old attended Boston University for a while, but in 2005, he put aside “any notions of a ‘normal career’, according to his Myspace.

Also, it appears as if his interests are performing stand-up comedy, basketball, tennis, skiing, and strip solitaire. Keeping these in mind, I would say his performance is bound to be quite an entertaining one.

So there you have it, Apr. 16 is going to be an exciting, fun-filled Friday for all on campus, so make sure to creep out of your dorm rooms and enjoy the beautiful Keweenaw day.

Sports

Husky Hodgepodge

All game recaps posted at mtulode.com/sports

Check out the thoughts of one international student in the “Culture Shock Report.”

Michigan Tech Lode Thursday, April 8, 2010

News

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Northern Lights dazzle in Rozsa TARA SOTIRIN Lode Writer The annual Northern Lights Film Festival, which features original filmmaking and independent films, premiered last week in the Rosza Center for the Performing Arts. The 2010 festival featured two Oscarwinning independent films, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” and “The Hurt Locker”. Every year, the Northern Lights Film Festival brings Michigan Tech and the surrounding community an array of talented filmmakers, from Oscar-winners to student productions.

The film festival celebrated its sixth year with a chance booking of the Rosza just months before the festival. “[Seeing the films in the Rosza was] very exciting because it’s the Rosza, which has a status to it. I like the McCardle but I was pretty amped up to see [the films] in the Rosza” said Gabrielle Pastore, a Michigan Tech alumni, who attended the festival to see her documentary

“A Thin Line” play in the student films section.

The first film of the festival was Kathryn Bigelows’ Oscar winner “The Hurt Locker”, which was awarded Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Mixing, and Film Editing. The film is an intensely gripping narrative of modern warfare that follows the lives of the soldiers of an explosive disposal unit in Iraq trying to survive their last thirty-nine days of deployment under the command of their enigmatic new disposal expert, Staff Sergeant William James.

The film was well attended and the audience experienced the gripping narrative on the big screen. The film festival is actually the second time that “The Hurt Locker” screened on Michigan Techs campus, as it was a film board selection as well. Professor Erin Smith, presenter and organizer of the Northern Lights Film Fest said “I know that many of you have had the chance to see this film already but I’ve hope that you’ve come here tonight to experience it with this community of

“[Seeing the films in the Rosza was] very exciting because it’s the Rosza, which has a status to it. I like the McCardle but I was pretty amped up to see [the films] in the Rosza”

-Gabrielle Pastore Michigan Tech alumni

people.” She went on to describe the innovative sound work done for the film, given the label “occepella” sound mixing, as one of the reasons for including the gritty war film in the festival.

Audiences on Thursday night also had a chance to experience“Anvil: The Story of Anvil.” A reverent yet lighthearted documentary, directed by former-roadie-turned-director Sacha Gervasi, that follows the aging metal band Anvil dedicated to their ambitious dreams trying to hold down fame and fortune in their later years. The

Thursday events were sponsored in part by the Sound Design and Audio Engineering Programs at Michigan Tech.

Friday, April 2, featured Nicole Oppers’ coming-of-age documentary “Off and Running”, which tells the story of an adopted African-American teenager looking for her roots and exploring her complex identity in a multi-racial family. Following Oppers film, Lee Daniels’ acclaimed and Oscar-winning film “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire” will play at 8 p.m. “Precious” explores the

deeply troubling life filled with abuse and neglect suffered by an overweight African-American girl living with her terrifying mother, played by Mo’Nique who received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The Friday events were sponsored in part by the Presidents’ Office for Institutional Diversity and the Humanities Department.

One new addition to the festival was the inclusion of short films and documentaries produced by Michigan Tech students. Three films produced and mostly shot on Michigan Tech campus by students played on the big screen as well. Saturday events were sponsored in part by the Cin/Optic Communication and Media Enterprise at Michigan Tech.

The festival ended Saturday night with, “Sin Nombre”, the story of two Latin-American immigrants escaping gang violence and looking for the promise of a better life in the United States, directed by critically acclaimed Cary Fukunaga and also heralded for its cinematography done

by Adraino Goldman.

Fight Back. Remember. Celebrate.

Michigan Tech hosts annual Relay for Life ZACHARY PAGE Lode Writer “The moment my doctor told me, I went silent. My mum and dad were with me. Then we all fell to pieces,” said well renowned pop singer Kylie Minogue on being diagnosed with breast cancer.

People from around the world who suffer the harsh realities of cancer strive to fit into an environment where they know there is hope, happiness, and safety.

25 years ago, that setting was beginning to swell immensely.

In 1985, a man by the name of Dr. Gordy Klatt had the ingenious idea of raising money for cancer victims by jogging around a track for 24 hours. Cancer victims and fighters alike became intrigued by the idea and soon organized what is now known as Relay for Life.

Today, more than 3.5 million people from around the nation participate in these events across the United States every year. As many as 5,000 commu-

nities host these events in the United States as well as 19 from other countries.

Michigan Tech will be holding the annual Relay for Life this coming Friday, beginning at 1p.m., and it will last until Saturday in the Student Development Complex. Stephen Schweitzer, a third year Michigan Tech student with a father battling cancer, will be hosting the event along with his family.

“It i such an interesting event to go to,” says a participant. “It gives you the chance to contribute to a good cause and they are fun and exciting.”

The event consists of a variety of activities within the 24 hour period it is held. Food and drinks are also provided. At a particular

time during the event, The Luminaria is held in which individuals may buy a bag for $10. The proceeds from these luminaries are donated to the organization in memory and honor of cancer deaths and survivors. When it is held, participants walk along a track lined with these bags which contain a candle inside them.

One participant said last year, “It was so beautiful. The entire track illuminated during the night. It was magical.”

There are exactly 14 teams participating within the Michigan Tech community with a total of exactly 155 participants. $6,019.82 have been raised within the local community thus far.

Teams compete against each

It was so beautiful. The entire track illuminated during the night. It was magical.

-Active Participant

other based on how much money is raised in each. Teams outside of the Michigan Tech community include corporate sponsored groups by companies such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Starbucks, and American Airlines. Other non-corporate teams include the National Funeral Directors Association, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, and many youth partners such as Girl Scouts.

For more information regarding the event visit the Relay for Life website or by contacting Carl Fulsher at (906) 250-4129 or carl.fulsher@cancer.org.

For those of you who will be enjoying a Copper Country summer, there will be a larger Relay for Life event at the Houghton High School track.

Flocks of community members attend that event, which often features fun events like the leap frog lap, as well as very touching laps around the track such as the Patriot Lap and the Survivor & Caregiver Lap. The Houghton County Relay for Life will be held on the 25th and 26th of June.

Either way, both events are a

Current Fundraising Standings (As of Tuesday, April 6)

1. Theta Chi Epsilon &

Sigma Phi Epsilon

$1,261.41 2. Triangle/DZ Team 1

$1,042.00 3. Pre-Health

Association at Tech

$775.00 4. RFL Committee

$755.00

5. Alpha Delta Alpha $715.00 great opportunity to show your support to the ongoing search for a cure.

Aid reform continued from 2A get a more stable base beneath you, and maybe even save up more for your future. Something else that you may see appearing is the decrease of interest rates for student loans, with the switch over to completely direct lending.

I’m sure, though, that some of you are still unconvinced.

As Katie Naranjo, president of the College Democrats of America said, “We’re lucky to have a president and congress who listen to young people and our issues. Today, many students will have the opportunity to receive a better education, and the next generation of young professionals now have a manageable stystem to pay back their loans.”

What about easing the concerns of the Republicans who are understandably leery of in-

creasing government spending at a time when our economy is faltering? The deficit and spending are being reduced through this bill! It’s going to save taxpayers $68 billion from the subsidies that were going to be paid to financial institutions, and $10 billion will be paid towards our deficit.

“I didn’t stand with the banks and the financial industries in this fight - that’s not why I came to Washington - and neither did any of the members of Congress who are here today,” President Barack Obama said to a supportive crowd at Northern Virginia Community College, the location of the signing. “We stood with you. We stood with America’s students.” I would say that it’s a great feeling to know that our future is indeed important to our government.

Michigan Tech Lode Thursday, April 8, 2010

Pulse

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Tech Theatre Company presents Rumpelstiltskin story is sort of a “show within a show.” The play opens with a group of actors and some kids meeting around a playground set and struggling to think of a show to produce, eventually deciding on Rumpelstiltskin. After some amusing antics, including a struggle to come up with a role for the mime of the group, the real play begins.

For the most part, Rumpelstiltskin is a very lighthearted take on the original story. Most of the action takes place around the playground set, which is decorated to indicate different settings–for instance, during the scenes at the castle flags are placed on the posts and tapestries cover the sides, while during the forest scene, the tapestries are covered with illustrations of trees. The music

NICK BLECHA Lode Writer

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n March 24 and 25, the Michigan Tech Theatre Company presented its final production of this year’s theatre season: the musical Rumpelstiltskin, starring MTU actors Cassi Warsinski, Adam Sommerfield, Ryan Huntington, Chip Rohrer, Jacob Augsburger, and Mike McKellar. Adapted by Moses Goldberg and Lisa Palas, the presentation attempted to put a “modern” spin on the classic fairly tale.

The main showings were at 7:30 in the evenings, while special showings for elementary-school children took place in the mornings.

The actual Rumpelstiltskin

Fashion that works at Tech

has sort of a cheery, faux-hiphop style to it and manages to be quite decent. The show also manages to play with the fourth wall. In one scene, one character asks the kids who act as living props to solve a problem by returning to being a prop they were early in the play.

There is also a degree of audience participation involved, especially regarding the children placed in the front rows of the audience: in different scenes, the children suggested different pastries to the characters and also acted spinning straw into rope.

The Tech Theatre Company has no more events this season; however, events will resume at the beginning of the 2010-11 season.

RAEANNE MADISON Lode Writer March was Women’s Month at Michigan Tech. As a way to celebrate women and their beauty and intelligence, several events were held across campus during the month. The last event, held on Wednesday March 31st, was a fashion show called Fashion That Works. The event was hosted by The Center for Diversity and Inclusion, and ran by senior Victoria Peters (Communication and Culture Studies.)

The show involved a lot of work, and help from the community.

Victoria approached local clothing vendors, offering them the unique opportunity to donate clothes from their store to be worn by models in the fashion show. The models got

Coming up at the Rozsa...

International Night

April 4th

SWS Spring Concert

April 10th

Boukman Eksperyans

April 14th & 15th

Jamie Bernstien

April 17th

MTU Conert Choir

April 18th

Kevin Locke

April 19th & 20th

Drag Show

April 23rd

For tickets or more information visit www.rozsa.mtu.edu

to choose two outfits from stores like 20 Below, Shopko, and Maurices. Each outfit was modeled on the catwalk on Wednesday. Many models chose to buy the outfits they modeled because they liked them so much! “This was a great way to get the audience interested in local stores and the great clothes they sell for decent prices,” one model said.

The fashion show proved two things: that women at Tech are smart and beautiful, and that it is possible to look great in any situation, whether casual or business formal, when working with a budget “I was so proud of my models in the fashion show!” Victoria said after the show. “These women represented the full range of smart, talented and beautiful women we have here at Michigan Tech, from the students to the faculty and

staff. These women are accomplish so much in their careers and education that their participation in the fashion show celebrates the fact that women can be interested in fashion and still maintain successful professional lives. Fashion doesn’t have to be a silly luxury but something that all women can be interested in and have fun with!

Your work wardrobe doesn’t have to be full of boring neutral colors-you should be able to get excited getting dressed for work with all the fun Spring fashions headed our way,” says Victoria.

Victoria considered the event a success, and already has plans for next year’s show. She would like to see more involvement from Finlandia Design students, and even raise money for a non-profit organization that celebrates women’s health and health awareness.

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is looking for writers.

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Ask Sassy Dear Sassy, My roommate is the noisiest person in the world. He makes the most mundane tasks reach the decibel level of a jet taking off. When he’s getting ready in the morning for class, it sounds like an obnoxiously loud marching band is parading through the room. When he talks on the phone, he practically yells as if he’s trying to speak over hurricane force winds.

What is the best way to get him to be more conscientious?

Sincerely, Irked eardrums Dear Irked, Although it is unfathomable to the rest of us, there are some people in the world that are completely unaware of the noise pollution they put out. The person you describe is familiar to us all. I had a friend once who ate ridiculously noisily. Cashews were an especially clamorous food for him; the noise produced by his overly forceful chewing was akin to an antiquated gristmill. Understand first that your roommate’s noisy habits are a behavior learned and solidified over time. They won’t change overnight.

There are several behavior modification techniques that will be helpful here. The first is the ever influential spray bottle. Fill an old Windex or similar spray-type bottle with water and, when your friend gets noisy, douse him with a few healthy squirts. Soon he will learn that noise will result in water. Water is bad. Therefore, noise is bad. This will be his pattern of thinking.

If water is not producing the desired effects, I suggest a shock collar or similar device. These can be found at any local pet store and will produce lightning-fast results.

Good luck teaching your roommate the basics of courtesy.

Dear Sassy, It seems like everyone is wearing Pink Floyd shirts lately, including me. However, I have been a fan of them for years and years and so many people are only wearing the shirts to look cool. I hate it when people are posers like this!

What is your opinion on these “bandwagon fans”?

Sincerely, Saucerful of cynicism Dear Saucerful , You and I would make a nice pair. There’s nothing more I despise than posers that only wish they were true fans! However, you should be reluctant to meddle with these people.

They’ll probably just run you up the wall with their lack of knowledge about Pink Floyd. But their minds are too obscured by the cloud of attaining social acceptance. They obviously have no real appreciation for Pink Floyd; like animals, they only scavenge for what will serve their purpose and leave behind the spirit of the music.

However, there is more to life than just a collection of great dance songs. Maybe people should just be allowed to wear what they think looks cool without an army of critics that are devoted to relics of the past attacking them.

I think you are suffering from a momentary lapse of reason; relax, enjoy the music and stop caring what t-shirts other people are wearing.

Dear Sassy, I have a friend that always has to be better than me. When I buy something on sale, she found it cheaper someplace else. When I get a summer job, she’s worked there before and hated it. When I see I guy I think is cute, she talks about how steamy her last boyfriend was.

How can I confront her about her annoying habit?

Sincerely,

Michigan Tech Lode Thursday, April 8, 2010

Feeling low Feeling

Dear , The best course of action to take under these circumstances is to fight ego with ego, give her a taste of her own superiority complex. The next time she says anything, top it. Whatever she did, you did it better.

So she went out to a great restaurant this past weekend? You flew to New York City and ate at every five-star restaurant, at the chef’s table.

Did she have a relaxing weekend, spent reading on the beach? You went to the best spa in the country and read the first edition of Vanity Fair. Did she meet the greatest guy in the world? You went on a date with George Clooney and you were the one who didn’t call the next morning.

Once you’ve deflated her self-infatuation, she’ll begin to stop outdoing every little thing in your life.

The importance of debate ELIJAH HAINES Opinion Writer Unless you were looking at the sky last week, you must have noticed the chalk battle being waged under your feet.

The phrase, “I Agree with John” was scrawled across campus by the Campus Crusade for Christ. Almost immediately, additional chalkings sprung up.

They included phrases such as, “I Agree with Darwin”, “I Agree with John Lennon’s Imagine” and my personal favorite, “I Agree with E=mc2”. Another chalking mapped out a brief explanation of basic evolutionary concepts while others called for religious tolerance and division of church and state. And it wasn’t only the newly-sprung crocuses that shocked us with their greenness; bright “I Agree with John” shirts popped up across campus.

Whatever you agree with, John or not, the campaign certainly provided a lively distraction from a mundane walk to class.

I have heard some accuse Michigan Tech’s student body of being politically passive. I did notice a significant lack of political activism during the 2008 presidential election and for a moment, I thought Tech to be a wasteland of political and moral debate. But when instances like the “I Agree with John”

campaign stir up such intensive conversation about religion and politics, I am encouraged that the campus is no wasteland, but an ocean of incredibly diverse, from the absurd to the sophisticated, opinions.

It’s not only the concrete on campus that serves as a forum for debate. Facebook threads often stretch on and on between Tech students arguing over an issue. Although the nature of these debates range from peaceful disagreements to violent arguments riddled with obscenities, it is important to acknowledge the relative constructiveness of such debates.

Both sides get a chance to hear what the other has to say while exploring their viewpoint even further.

What I believe provoked particularly fierce discussion over the “I Agree with John” campaign is the typical reluctance, on both sides, to respect alternate perspectives on religion. For Evangelists, the idea of their God not existing is impossible. For Darwin-worshipping atheists, the idea of a god existing is simply ludicrous. The extremity of these perspectives make it difficult to have a constructive, much less civil, conversation.

An opinion about whether God exists or not would fill more than one newspaper. However, I would like to pose one question

to those furthering any particular religion or spirituality. In the thousands of years of recorded history, why is your religion, the version here and now, the correct one? Religions come and go. Some, like the Roman gods, we treat as entertaining myths while others are forgotten all together.

Nearly every religion has disappeared or changed so much over time it is unrecognizable from its original form. Why, to those sporting the “I Agree with John” shirts, is your form of Christianity the only true spirituality? Now I’m not saying that John was or wasn’t right, I suppose I’ll never really know until I breathe my last breath. But if I am to be won over to Team Jesus, I’ll want to know why the Bible deserves more of my attention than the Qur’an, especially given their similarities. I’ll also want the inside scoop on why the narrative of Jesus so closely matches that of the Egyptian god Horus, among other “mythological” characters which pre-date Christianity by thousands of years.

So maybe I felt left out of the chalk discussion last week and had to say my piece. Whether you found the chalkings inspiring, offensive or amusing, it is encouraging to know that spirited debate on Michigan Tech’s campus is always only four words away.

Michigan Tech Lode Thursday, April 8, 2010

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Oh, all the dirty cleanliness!

We deliberately expose ourselves to chemicals everyday LENA WILSON Opinion Editor What do you consider clean?

Is it a sparkling glass window, laundry that smells like spring breeze and a room that smells like Lilacs? I have come to fear cleaning products. I consider them dirty. Our bodies are not steel walls. Our skin breathes and absorbs chemicals from our environment. There are a plethora of health regulations for food products, but the products we use to clean ourselves and our surroundings with daily are full of dangerous ingredients.

The chemicals contained in these cleaning products are inadvertently absorbed into our bodies, especially via our hands.

One of my least favorite house products are air fresheners. They are utterly useless. Why cover a stink when you can clean it right?

Why have your house reek like artificial flavons? Air fresheners are known to contain toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde, used to embalm the dead, and phenol (which can cause skin to swell, burn, or break into hives). Personally they give me headaches, but this may be cause by my snobby hate for them.

Truly though, the fragrances may cuase respiratory irritation such has headaches and agitate asthma. We carelessly spray our air freshners and the little misty particles settle themselves lovingly onto our belongings and into our lungs.

Chlorine is actually an agent of chemical warfare. After

World War II ended there was an abundance of chlorine. Of course a lot of money was made off of this surplus by adding it to water supplies and to many products, especially storebrand cleaners like dishwashing detergents. Of course residual dishwasher detergent remains on the dishes and you inevitably consume it even though there is a warning “harmful if swallowed” on the container. We literally are swimming with chlorine.

Chlorine is said to cause breast cancer. My uncle puts bleach on his poison ivy rashes so who knows.Laundry detergent is one of those things I wish people would think twice about. It’s blue most the time. Why? It gets blended into the water supply and results in water contamination.

The harmful chemicals used in laundry room products follow us everywhere. We inadvertently absorb them through our clothes and bedding. They often cause rashes, itches, allergies, sinus problems and so on.

Possibly one of the most toxic chemicals used in a household, along with corrosive drain cleaners and acidic toilet bowl cleaners, is oven cleaner. Oven cleaner often contain lye and ammonia or chlorine and ammonia. Both can eat the skin and affect the respiratory system.

Some toilet bowl cleaners actually contain hydrochloric acid and hypochlorite bleach.

When chlorine is mixed with acids, toxic chlorine gas can form. These cleaners can cause vomiting or coma if ingested. I think that might be interesting

to witness.

There is also the topic of body cleansing products. There are harsh chemicals in our body wash, toothpaste, shampoos, antiperspirant deodorant...

I could go on for a long time.

My father used to run a car business. As a kid I’d wash cars with “brown stuff ”: a brown liquid chemical in a spray bottle.

He’d always say, “don’t breath it in”. Everyday working people such as my father are dealing with chemicals. How is one to make the connection that the exposure to products used in everyday work, from carpet cleaner to car cleaners, are making people sick. These products poison our bodies and environment. It is an interesting phenomena how this came to be.

All the cleaners are diluted with water and disapear through drains. Most ingredients in chemical cleaners are broken down and seem to be relatively harmless. There are, however, exceptions. There is a class of chemicals called alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs).

APEs are surface active agents that are used in cleaners for the detergents’ effectiveness. APEs have been found to mimic estrogen and interfere with the reproduction and survival of fish. Also, phosphates, watersoftening minderal additives found in automatic dishwasher detergent, act as fertilizer and may spark overgrowth of algae. In this light, phosphates encourage eutrophication, or a depeltion of the oxygen supply in water.

Extreme eutrophication leads to

Alternative Cleaning Recipes All-purpose Cleaner 1 quart warm water 1 tsp liquid soap 1 tsp borax 1/4 cup white vinegar

Fabric Stain Remover 1 part glycerin 1 part liquid dish

washing detergent 8 parts water

Glass Cleaner

1 quart warm water 1/4 cup white vinegar OR 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Oven Cleaner

1 quart warm water 2 tsp borax 2 Tbsp liquid soap Spray on solution, wait 20 min. Then clean.

from www.ecologycenter.org/factsheets/cleaning.html

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Put 1/4 cup borax in the bowl and let it sit for a few hours or overnight. Then scrub! Pine oil can be used as a disinfectant.

Drains

Pour 1/4 cup baking soda down the drain followed by 2 ounces of vinegar. Cover the drain and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse with 2 quarts of boiling water. Use this regularly to prevent clogging.

deadzones.

The solution is to stop purchasing stupid products to “clean” and to educate yourself about what you put on and near your body and in your surroundings. You can try all natural products, they smell good too. Usually they don’t give you headaches unless you’re really taking deep whiffsIt’s worth the extra money to be uncontaminated, I promise There are simple solutions. For instance, instead of oven cleaner one can use salt and baking soda. Actually, baking soda can be used to clean many different things (including your teeth and face if you want to go that far).

Other cleaning agents to utilize and look for are vinegar, lemon juice, borax. The best solution in many cases is some sort of orange cleaner for heavy duty cleaning needs and for the rest simple soap and warm water.

So, the same goes for a pretty face. Cosmetics also contain some very dangerous compounds. They are pretty scary and it takes a lot of time in a year to deck the face with shiney anyway. That time could be used to better oneself in a more permanent fashion. But seriously, consider what it is you are putting near your precious eyes and near your eating orifice and all over your skin.I’m sure you’ve heard it before anyway.

Not like we can pronounce half the words in ingredient lists for our food let alone know what is in the cleaning products. If you haven’t noticed many time there aren’t any ingredient lists on cleaners. It drives me batty.

To get an idea of what might be going on in the plastic bottles, read the warning labels and check for active ingredients, which are most likely detrimental to you in some way.

Michigan Tech Lode

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Editor in Chief .................................Kayla Herrera Visuals Manager ....................................... Alex Cotton Business Manager.............................Jacob Vehring Online Editor..................................Jeremiah Baumann News Editor...............................Crystal Higginbotham Opinion Editor...........................................Lena Wilson Sports Editor ..................................Stephen Anderson Pulse Editor................................................Luke Gublo Winter Carnival Pictorial Editor ........................... TBD Advisor ........................................................Kara Sokol

Staff Writers - Sara Goodell,

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Circulation - Bryan Magnuson Visuals Staff - Becky Boeve, Ahsan Iqbal, David Faber, Kal Johnson, Antti Knutas, Lukas Lund, Eben Mannes, Jake Mohan, Caitlin Pionke, Phil Pomber, Erica Stanley, Ben Wittbrodt

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CLASSIFIED Part time Market Analyst/database position for boutique investment banking firm and energy savings developer in a small office environment near Hancock, MI. Please send resume to om@sigmacapital.net EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) is building a Kitfox airplane at CMX. We are looking for volunteers to help build and meet local pilots. Email your interest to flightdeck@charter.net Three Bedroom Apartment in Dodgeville Being newly renovated in 2010, unfurnished, laundry facilities, large parking lot, Approximately 3 miles from MTU. Available summer 2010. $550/month Contact Amy (906) 482-3675 Raised Ranch - $151,000: East Hancock, Close to MTU, 4 Bedrooms, 2 1/2 Remodeled Bathrooms, Finished Basement, Attached Garage, Ample Parking, Huge Kitchen, Over 2500 sq/ft., Fireplace, Sauna. (906) 482-5377

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6A

Michigan Tech Lode Thursday, April 8, 2010

Sports

Men’s tennis team returns home looking for first GLIAC win By # the er nu m b DAVER KARNOSKY Lode Writer

It’s been a strange follow-up season to the men’s tennis Huskies’ first trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies started the season 3-0, dropped two, won two, and dropped one. Things looked good as the Huskies finished their Spring Break trip in Florida with an 8-1 drubbing of the typically strong Indianapolis Greyhounds. Now, though the Huskies (6-8 overall, 0-5 GLIAC) are in the midst of a five-match losing streak after the 6-3 loss to the Lake Superior State Lakers.

The Huskies have struggled so badly during the road portion of their GLIAC schedule, they now sit at the bottom of the conference with just two matches left, Saturday against the Tiffin Drag-

ons and Sunday against the Findlay Oilers. Both matches will be within the friendly confines of the Gates Tennis Center.

The Dragons come into Saturday’s match 4-10 overall and 0-4 in GLIAC play. First-year head coach Phil Conley is still trying to help his squad figure out its identity.

Freshman Luiz Carvalho (6-10 overall) is 5-9 in the number one singles’ spot. Senior Harry Smith has posted a 4-6 record in the number two spot. Sophomore Andres Torres (7-8 overall) has played well in the number three slot, going 5-7 in dual matches thus far. Freshman Leonid Vladimirov (5-11 overall) has struggled in the number four slot, going 3-7. Freshman Brian Coffman (8-8 overall) has been the most successful Dragons’ singles player, going 7-6 in the number

Women’s Soccer schedule announced Thursday, Sept. 2

Concordia-St. Paul 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 8 Northern Michigan * 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 10

Ohio Dominican * 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 12

Minnesota-Duluth 1:00 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 17

Grand Valley State * 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 19

Ferris State *

Saturday, Sept. 25

Northwood * 11:00 a.m.

Sunday, Sept. 26

Saginaw Valley State * Noon

Friday, Oct. 1

at Ashland *

TBA

Sunday, Oct. 3

at Lake Erie *

TBA

Friday, Oct. 8

Tiffin *

7:00 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 10

Findlay *

Noon

Friday, Oct. 15

at Ferris State *

4:00 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 17

at Grand Valley State * Noon

Friday, Oct. 22

at Northwood * TBA

Sunday, Oct. 24

at Saginaw Valley State * TBA

Saturday, Oct. 30

at Northern Michigan * Noon

Monday, Nov. 1

GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinal

Friday, Nov. 5

GLIAC Tournament Semifinal

Sunday, Nov. 7

GLIAC Tournament Championship

Friday, Nov. 12

NCAA Tournament First Round

Sunday, Nov. 14

NCAA Tournament Second Round

Friday, Nov. 19

NCAA Tournament Third Round

Sunday, Nov. 21

NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals

Friday, Dec. 3

NCAA Tournament Semifinals

Sunday, Dec. 5

NCAA Tournament Finals

* GLIAC Game | Home Games at Sherman Field

Noon

five spot. Sophomore Santiago Revelo (5-9 overall) has put up a 3-5 record at number six singles.

The Oilers have only played eight matches this season, going 4-4 overall, but they have yet to win in two GLIAC matches thus far. The Oilers are extremely young, with no upperclassmen on the roster at all.

Sophomore Kyle Collette has spent the season in the top slot for head coach Tomas Menec.

Freshman Dawid Hebda is the in the number two singles slot.

Freshman Josh Smedley is the number three singles’ player and classmates Bryan Simard and Brian Little make up the four and five spots, respectively. Sophomore David Brooks is the sixth singles player.

For the Huskies, junior David Heuer continues to get stronger as the season progresses, posting

another win over the Lakers on Friday. He is now 7-4 on the season in the number three slot.

The top doubles pairing of sophomores Luka Stupar and Douglas Yossida improved their record to 7-8 on the season with their win on Friday.

The second doubles team of Heuer and sophomore Anders Sandholm also won Friday to improve their overall record to 7-5 on the season, and 7-4 when playing in the number two slot.

The Huskies will need more production from their lowerseeded players, Yossida, junior Chris Verhulst, and senior Tim Viola, in order to finally get a win or two in GLIAC play this weekend.

The Saturday match against Tiffin will be at 11 a.m. and the Sunday match will take place at 11 a.m. as well.

Assistant hockey coach Chris Tok to coach NAHL’s Austin Bruins While it has not been made official yet, the Huskies’ fourth-year assistant hockey coach Chris Tok has accepted the head coaching and general manager position of the North American Hockey League’s Austin Bruins.

Tok played for the Wisconsin Badgers from 1991-95 before playing professional hockey for six years in several leagues. He spent four years coaching the Waterloo Blackhawks of the United States Hockey League before coming to Michigan Tech to coach alongside Jamie Russell.

The Coleraine, Minn. native will be officially introduced sometime tomorrow. Be sure

5

points away from third place for the Huskies’ men’s track and field team. They ended up in fourth place with 84 points, just behind UWStout.

9

games won in five GLIAC matches so far by the Huskies’ men’s tennis team, out of 45 games.

They are 0-5 in GLIAC play, entering their final regular season matches.

51.82

seconds for

Nathan Saliga’s

400-meter dash time at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational. He won first place in the event, helping Michigan Tech to its fourthplace finish.

to check back to the Michigan Tech Lode at mtulode.com/ sports for a full story once the announcement is made official. It remains to be seen if any other coaching changes will be made at Michigan Tech to account for Tok’s loss.

Huskies wind down practices, prepare for spring game Michigan Tech’s Cedrick Barber runs the ball in last year’s spring intrasquad game. The Huskies have five more practices (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) before this year’s intrasquad game, scheduled for Saturday, April 17 at 1 p.m. at Sherman Field.

2

point combined score differential in the past two spring intersquad football games, with last year’s game finishing 13-12 by the Black Team. This year’s game is on Apr. 17.

2,620

more students at Michigan Tech than at Butler University, yet the Bulldogs made it to the Final Four against Duke, which has less than 15,000 students. Size doesn’t matter.

Schedules/Results Men’s Tennis (6-8, 0-5 GLIAC) Lake Superior State 6-3 MTU Sat. vs. Tiffin, 11 a.m.

Sun. vs. Findlay, 11 a.m.

Full standings at gliac.org

Track and Field Men: 4 of 8 at UW-Oshkosh Women: 5 of 8 at UW-Oshkosh Apr. 17 @ Minn.-Duluth

Corrections, complaints, compliments, comments?

Lode file photo by Ben Wittbrodt

Email Stephen Anderson at steander@mtu.edu

Editor’s Shootout

The Editor’s Shootout is a competition of knowledge, luck and wits between sports editor Stephen Anderson, business manager Jacob Vehring, pulse editor Luke Gublo and online editor Jeremiah Baumann. Stephen won two years ago with former opinion editor Rob Devaun winning last year. This will be a weekly feature where each editor picks his winners of the three biggest games/series of the week and backs up his decisions with a short rant. THIS WEEK: Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers (two-game series), Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers (three-game series)

STEPHEN ANDERSON Sports Editor 2-1 Last Week, 41-31 Overall

LUKE GUBLO Pulse Editor 0-3 Last Week, 40-32 Overall

JACOB VEHRING Business Manager 0-3 Last Week, 37-35 Overall

JEREMIAH BAUMANN Online Editor 1-2 Last Week, 35-37 Overall

It all comes down to this for Philly and New York. As if there wasn’t enough bad blood brewing, the winner of this series likely takes the last playoff spot in the East. Even though this is the easy way out, I think they will split the home-and-home series, since they’ve basically split the season series thus far. In a similar situation in the NBA, Chicago and Toronto are fighting for the last spot in the playoffs. Neither team has a real edge, but I’ll give it to the road Bulls in a coin toss. Finally, I’m a big Tigers fan, and I don’t think Cleveland will do much better than last year -- Detroit sweeps.

These are two big matchups with playoff implications for the Flyers and Rangers. Both teams will win the home games and split the series. Expect Toronto to do the same versus a Chicago team that is really not that good. The pitching matchups look favorable for the Tigers, so expect them to come out on top of their threegame series in Cleveland.

Butler’s sophmore who looks like he is 15, played an amazing tournament, coming inches away from pulling off a Christian Laettner-type shot against Duke. That was a great game, but unfortunately I did not predict either one correctly, or the Yankees, so I am now way back in the standings. The Flyers looked good this weekend when they beat the Wings, so I think they’ll sweep the Rangers. I hate to predict a Canadian team winning in basketball, but Toronto will beat Chicago. Cleveland does not have the pitching to stay with the Tigers, but I will give them one game.

With the NHL standings so crazy this year, I have to pick a split. All teams want to bring it down to the last games to decide any final positions in the playoffs. Chicago will pull through and gain the strength to ride into the Eastern Conference playoffs on Sunday. With Detroit showing promise after the season opener, I have to put my faith in them to take out Cleveland who took the big goose egg on opening day.

PHI/NYR 1-1 Bulls 98-92 Tigers 3-0

PHI/NYR 1-1 Raptors 99-83 Tigers 2-1

Flyers 2-0 Raptors 98-93 Tigers 2-1

PHI/NYR 1-1 Bulls 92-84 Tigers 2-1

Michigan Tech Lode Thursday, April 8, 2010

Senior spotlight: Tara Ferris STEPHEN ANDERSON Sports Editor Like all of this year’s six seniors on this year’s record-breaking women’s basketball team, Tara Ferris has had an interesting journey reaching the height of her career, reaching two consecutive NCAA Division II Elite Eights.

Ferris started playing basketball when she was in fourth grade, balancing her self-professed “weird combination” of basketball and dance (ballet, tap and jazz) – until high school. “I had to pick one or the other and basketball won out, to the liking of my father.”

She played volleyball for three years alongside basketball, but ultimately decided to focus on basketball, setting up her outstanding senior year at Waukesha Catholic Memorial (Wis.) High School. She tallied 10.9 points and 3.3 assists per game, earning

Career Totals Points: 538 Rebounds: 177 Assists: 209 Steals: 63

Career Highs Points: 20 Rebounds: 7 Assists: 7 Steals: 5

All-Classic Eight second team accolades during both her junior and senior seasons. She has always been a defensive specialist, which jumped out to Michigan Tech.

Fortunately for Michigan Tech, the school also jumped out to Ferris and her family. “I liked that the basketball program at Tech was not only strong and competitive on the court, but in the classroom as well,” said Ferris.

“The science programs at Tech impressed both me and my parents, and with Tech being only five and a half hours away, it was far enough from home for me, yet close enough for my parents to make most games.”

Like many recruits, Ferris was redshirted her first year (200506), but she was still named t h e t e a m’s most improved p l a y e r, w h i c h “made her feel like she had made a real contribution to the team.”

Unfortunately, also like many of the other five seniors in this year’s senior class, Ferris fell victim to the injury bug. She tore her UCL ligament and broke a small part of a bone in her thumb during the 2006-07 season, so she was unable to contribute as she would like, just appearing in 12 games off the bench.

“My sophomore year (20072008) was a challenging year

Sports

Huskies improve from last season in the Oshkosh Invitational MIKE METZGER Lode Writer

at the beginning, having been at Tech for 2 years already and barely having played due to redshirting and injury. I had to work extremely hard to get a chance to play.” She made the most of that opportunity, being named the team’s most improved player once again. She started the final 20 games of the year, and scored a game-, season- and career-high 20 points in the GLIAC Tournament Championship vs. Ashland, earning a place on the AllTournament Team.

She started all 33 games during the 2008-09 season, earning a spot on the GLIAC All-Defensive Team, and finishing second on the team in assists with 77. Some may think it’s hard to be a defensive specialist overshadowed by other teammates’ offensive performances, but not for Ferris: “It’s not hard at all; our team is a team. It’s been an honor to play alongside such talented scorers and basketball players.”

The on-court chemistry has not come by chance. “I’ve never met a group of like-minded individuals like us, that get along so well on and off the court. We have become great friends over the years and have already started planning our Husky reunion trips,” the first of which is taking place in Las Vegas right now.

7A

On a day that went from hot to cold and rainy in an instant, one thing that remained the same was the Huskies effort in the annual Titan invitational hosted by the University Of Wisconsin- Oshkosh. Not only was the temperature a factor in today’s contest the ever present wind also made things difficult for many of the huskies as they attempted to run, jump and throw their ways into team points. Many of the competitors had the same response to the wind and that was they did not like it. Their efforts did not go unnoticed though, as the Men’s team earned fourth place in the competition. The big difference from this year to last year though was on the Women’s side, as they went from an eighth place finish last year all the way up to a fifth place finish this year.

The day started off with the field events taking place an hour before the running events. With this wind being a factor all of the huskies who entered the hammer throw and discus, none of them could advance to the championship round. Meanwhile on the track the huskies started getting team points quick. In the 3000 meter steeplechase Tech was able to earn points on the men’s side from Jon Graves, and

the women scored with Lauren Rantalla. The first person who earned all ten points from their event for the Huskies was Nathan Saliga in the 400 meter dash. Saliga finished with a final time of 0:51.82. Nathan must have sparked something in his team because four events later Ken Gilkerson took first in the 800 meter dash. The men would have two more firsts and they would come via Brian Stetter in the 5000 meter run and the 4x400 relay team also grabed first. The women’s side had no first place finishers however they had several ladies who did extremely well. Sydney Brustelle finished fifth in the 800 meter run, Erin Tucker finished fifth in the 400 meter hurdles, Jill Smith took fifth in the 5000 meter run and the 4x400 relay was also able to pick up a fifth place finish.

The final scores for the contest were as follows. For the men’s competition the host UW-Oshkosh- 338.35, UW-Eau Claire- 103.75, UW-Stout- 89, Michigan Tech- 84, Ripon- 60, UW-Stevens Point- 30, Concordia St. Paul- 7 and the Wisconsin Track Club- 6. On the women’s side first place went to Winona St. with 302 points. The rest of the field was UW-Oshkosh199, UW-Stout- 71.50, UW- Eau Clare- 62.50, Michigan Tech26, Minnesota State Mankato20, Ripon- 17 and UW-Steven’s Point- 6.

continued at mtulode.com

Senior spotlight: Maria Kasza MIKE METZGER Lode Writer When you ask any Husky fan whom they dislike the most, the answer you will more than likely get is Northern Michigan University. One Husky though defied the rivalry and decided to “jump-boat” midway through her basketball career. I am talking of course about Maria Kasza who has just finished her sixth year of collegiate basketball.

After her first season at Northern Michigan University the coach that brought her in decided that it was time to hang up their hat and quit coaching.

Maria was left high and dry, with a new coach taking over and, “a new system was implemented that didn’t fit me anymore.” Now came a time where she had to search for another school and this was when Sarah Stream went to Marquette for

spring break. After talking with Stream, Maria decided that it was time to talk to Head Coach John Barnes and Assistant Coach Kim Cameron. “After meeting with Coach Barnes and Coach Kim I was driving back to Marquette and called my dad to talk about the visit. Once I got out of Chassell and back into having cell phone service I called Coach and told him I wanted to be a Husky. So, in 11 miles my mind was made up.”

When I was talking to my dad on the phone driving back from Tech, we didn’t talk long and he said ‘if it feels right, do it.’ That was when I called coach back and said I wanted to be a Husky.

It felt right three years ago and it still does.”

With two seasons of redshirts behind her Kasza was now set to play in her third and final season for the Huskies. This season was perhaps the greatest of any season in Michigan Tech h i s t o r y, with the t e a m breaking several records a l o n g the way.

Ka sz a said that her favorite record had to be when the attendance

Photo by Gowtham

Nathan Saliga starts his strong first-place run in the 400-meter dash.

He finished with a time of 51.82 seconds, helping Michigan Tech to a fourth-place overall finish.

record at the SDC was broken.

“Having that many people come out and show their support and create that atmosphere shows why it’s so special to play for Tech.” The journey did not end for the Huskies there though, as the Huskies moved on to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Elite Eight for the second straight season. “Four years ago if someone would have told me I would be playing for Tech, let alone in the Elite Eight I would have laughed for a long time. This journey has been the greatest three years of my life and there were certainly some bumps along the road (sitting out two seasons), but that made me appreciate this ride so much more. I was surrounded by the best people (coaches, teammates, administrators, trainers, photographer and the fans), playing for the greatest program and that is what I’ll always remember.” continued at mtulode.com

This week on www.mtulode.com:

Today (April 8): Full senior spotlights of Tara Ferris and Maria Kasza Friday: Hockey coaching update Saturday: Lode Sports Talk Radio Show -- see below.

Sunday: Men’s Tennis recap Every week on www.mtulode.com:

• • • • • •

Article continuations All game recaps posted online the same day Interactive reader/fan polls (see below) Regular blog posts by sports staff Digital PDF archive of print editions Become a Facebook fan of the “Michigan Tech Lode”

Lode Sports Talk Radio Show

91.9 FM, Sat. 10-Noon Check out the “Michigan Tech Lode” Facebook page on Friday for guests!

Look for our special “Reader Interaction” section at www.mtulode.com/sports Vote online in this week’s polls: What do you think is the biggest reason for the hockey team’s recent struggles?

Will you be attending the spring football game on Saturday, April 17?

Career Totals

Career Highs

Points: 848 Rebounds: 365 Assists: 153 Steals: 117

Points: 25 Rebounds: 11 Assists: 5 Steals: 6

*NMU/MTU combined Photo by Ben Wittbrodt

*all at NMU

How would you rank this year’s NCAA Men’s Division I Championship all time?

We want to better serve you. Answer our short sports readership survey online now!

8A Husky Hodgepodge

Culture

Shock Report

s s i m u o y l l i w t a h W U T M t u o b most a ? r e m m u s this

Event reminders Keweenawesomefest Where: McArdle Theater When: April 9, 5:30 PM - 12:00 AM WMTU presents the Fourth Annual Keweenawesomefest.

Michigan Tech students can purchase a weekend pass for $7 with ID.

That’s what...

she said

JUN (MILES) NI Lode Writer How was your Easter this year?

Some of my friends went back home for weekend and some got tons of cookies and snacks from parents.

It made me miss my parents again.

Anyway, in three more weeks I’m getting out of here and going back to China! I haven’t had a chance to go back home since I came here in September 2008. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Can you imagine leaving home for almost two years?

Although I have over 200 Facebook American friends and get so close to my friends’ families that I feel I have my second home here, I’m still a guest in this country. So many times I was asked about my future plans. Honestly, I really don’t know. On one hand, I really don’t want to stay in school for another five years to get a PhD degree. On the other hand, the job situation right now is really bad in China and the U.S. I hope the economy will get better when I graduate two years from now.

Compared to China, the U.S. has a higher standard of living and I can definitely make more money here. Lot of Americans I talked with cannot believe people can still survive by earning such less money in China. Let’s do some visualization here.

One big reason I’m going back to China is because I got an internship job in Shanghai through a U.S. company downstate. They decided to send me to China since they have a facility there. In my offer letter, it says I will get paid ¥50 daily. ¥ is the symbol of Chinese currency.

Converted to the U.S. dollar, it is $7.35. In another word, I earn less than a dollar an hour. This is not a joke! Although I have a professional engineering job, I’m making less money than a waiter does.

You may wonder how I can live on such little money. Well, the point here is that living in China costs less. Everything is cheaper in China.

Seven dollars is enough for me to stay in a small apartment and buy groceries. But I don’t think there will be too much left after that. No entertainment for me this summer. Generally, living cost such as food and rent are only quarter of the price here. That’s how it works out. I complained about this to my parents, but they told me I should feel lucky that I got this internship.

Students in China would like working for free to get experience. As I said before, everything is cheaper in China, including labor. Have you ever thought about why 80% of products in America are made in China? The answer is here: cheaper labor gives companies more benefits. Companies can hire six Chinese workers instead of one American worker with the same cost.

I’m pretty sure some of you will ask: are you guys idiots? Actually, this is a very good trade for China.

International companies offer lots of job opportunities and help push the economy forward. Even the business tax is a big contribution to the government.

Although I won’t have any savings from this coming summer, I’m still pretty pumped for my first real job. But I’m afraid my old man will have a tough summer—

his troblremaker is back again!

Michigan Tech Lode Thursday April 8, 2010

Spring Concert Where: Rozsa Center When: April 10, 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM Undergraduate Expo Where: MUB Ballroom When: April 15, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Student poll

Mary Gardner All the people I’ve met, always having fun things to do, and living in such an amazing place.

Mechanical Engineering, First year

Elizabeth Reinke The beauty outside and everything there is to see and do here.

Biomedical Engineering, Second year

Brianna Szikszay Living in the dorms and having friends so close. There is always something fun to do!!

Marketing, Second year

he said Tyler Tomlinson The surrounding woodlands. civil engineer, first year

Are you going to Keweenawesome Fest? maybe 26 %

no i will not go 38 %

1 2 3

yes i will go 38 % Student responses are based on our weekly online poll. Please vote on next week’s question:

Are you going to attend spring concert?

Vote at: www.mtulode.com

On this day

1798

The territory of Mississippi was organized.

1933

President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation ending Prohibition in the United States.

1992

The European Community formally recognized the independence of BosniaHerzegovina.

2001

NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft took off on a sixmonth, 286-million-mile journey to the planet.

APRIL 11TH

Uganda’s Liberation Day Courtesy of www.reference.com and www.statesymbolsusa.org

Weather Outlook

James Juip Broomball.

Geology, Fourth year

Greg Dejong Up here there is always something to do, you just have to know where to go. I’ll miss pick-up soccer games every week!

Mechanical Engineering, Second year

Visit www.mtulode.com for these and past responses

Friday: Partly Cloudy

450F / 340F

Saturday: Partly Cloudy

560F / 310F

Sunday: Partly Cloudy

540F / 320F Weather Courtesy of www.wunderground.com