04/14/2016

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Holi comes to Michigan Tech

APRil 14, 2016

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Exploiting students, MTU’s speciality

Tech pioneer returns home

Holi Night 2016 Photo by Anil Kumar Malik

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NEWS

Michigan Tech Lode

Lead crisis spreads

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder speaks after attending a Flint Water Interagency Coordination Committee meeting in Flint, Michigan in Feb. 2016.

Shveta Dhamankar News Writer Last fall Michigan Governor Rick Synder received a briefing that told him there was no problem in Flint and that the outside experts were not correct. On Sept. 28, 2015, he had a conference call with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Health and Human services. As it turned out, the outside experts were far from being “not correct” about the issue in Flint. The conference call confirmed everyone’s worst fears, especially Synder’s. Flint’s water continues to be deemed unsafe for human consumption, with high enough levels of lead recorded in some homes to cause potentially permanent brain damage in children. Following the water crisis, Snyder, who was once touted for his presidential qualities, was featured on Forbes’ list of the world’s most disappointing leaders last month.

Building up on the Flint water crisis, Illinois’ senior U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called for “mandatory lead testing of pipes and water in cities across the country.” Calling the water crisis in Flint,

“a wakeup call for America,” Durbin added, “It’s a problem in Chicago as well.” The data collected since 2012 tells a far scarier story about lead poisoning. Whatever happened in Flint was a catastrophe just waiting to be “discovered.” A 2012 study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found “several” Chicago homes with elevated lead levels where water mains had been replaced or a water meter installed. He added that the EPA had admitted that its current testing protocols were “likely to miss” elevated lead levels in drinking water.

In a 2013 study, researchers at the EPA found that alarming levels of lead can spurt out of household faucets for years even if the service lines were disrupted for a considerably long time. As is the case in Chicago, this can happen even if federal standards are followed. For instance, federal protocol requires 50 houses to be tested every three years. But this is a petty number compared to a city of 2.7 million where any home built before 1986 could have lead pipes. Following the scare in Flint, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against the city of Chicago. This lawsuit claims that the city knowingly started construction projects that have created

“elevated and unsafe” levels of lead in the city’s drinking water.

Chicago chemically treats its water in such a way that as it is transported across the pipes, a hard coating is formed on the inner side of the pipe. This coating is impenetrable to the very material that made these pipes: lead. However, since 2008, the city has been modernizing its water system by replacing pipes and water mains that date back to the 1800s.

The lawsuit states that during such a process, the anti-corrosive coating that forms on the inner side of the pipe can fail if the pipes are disturbed during heavy construction work, such as, say overhauling the entire network that branches a city of 2.7 million people.

The city’s administration has taken an initiative to start testing tap water in the homes of children poisoned by the potentially brain-damaging metal. A top official at the Chicago Department of Public Health revealed the new program Monday April 11, 2016 during a presentation to lawyers, physicians, researchers and advocates. The presentation was aimed to address the lingering problems that have majorly affected African-American neighborhoods on the south and west

Courtesy of AP

sides of the city.

There is not a clear-cut roadmap as how to go about the water testing program.

Parts of this program are as wide-ranging and as complex as the water network spanning Chicago. The recent policy changes mark a shift in the government’s previous insistence that residents faced nearly no possibility of lead poisoning.

Unfortunately, for many among the inner circles, this was no news. Two years before the Flint crisis came to surface, EPA research in Chicago did find high levels of lead and traces of other toxic metals in homes where street mains were replaced or new water meters were installed; that is wherever the lead-driven water distribution network was disturbed.

These testings were independent and also went to show that even federally approved protocols can miss, rather easily, glaringly high levels of lead concentration. Besides conducting extensive tests, the program also aims at revamping its current testing standards. For innocuous residents, the main problem with lead poisoning is that it cannot be detected by taste or smell.

Water from the pristine springs or from lead-contaminated pipes, it all tastes the same.

NEWS

Michigan Tech Lode

Tech pioneer returns home Samantha Stein News Writer

Dr. Bill Raduchel took time to return to his hometown of Houghton, Michigan to speak at Michigan Tech, a school he once attended. His presentations included “Why you need to become a technological authority to thrive in today’s business world” on Tuesday April, 5 and “The journey from michigan rech student to Harvard professor, CEO, Angel Investor and philanthropist: a leadership reflection, musings, successes and failures” on Wednesday April, 6.

Both talks reflected on his stories and experiences.

Since leaving Houghton, Raduchel has gone on to get his bachelors in economics from Michigan State University and a masters and PhD from Harvard. He also worked as Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard. Raduchel has had a long and successful career and held executive positions with major companies including Xerox, Sun Microsystems, AOL Time Warner and McGraw-Hill. He eventually went on to become CEO of Ruckus. Throughout his career, Raduchel has accumulated 23 patents in his name, the most important of which he says were from his time with AOL. Some of his patents involving digital media interactions were sold to Microsoft and eventually to Facebook.

“Success in life doesn’t come in solving forwards.

It comes in solving backwards” - Bill Raduchel

Raduchel’s interest in technology came about during the push for science and technology development after Russia launched Sputnik. He was bumped up a grade in high school and took science classes at Michigan Tech alongside his classmates. He also attended the Joe Bird Summer Science Institute at Northern Michigan University. When he came

Dr. Bill Raduchel

Courtesy of Michigan Tech

to Michigan Tech to study chemistry, he used the computers on campus and taught himself programming and computer science. Raduchel switched to economics from chemistry. He says the reasons for the switch were his “great professor, Ken Alexander” and the fact that “chemistry and economics are similar in the way that they are both about equilibrium.” Raduchel then transferred to MSU where he graduated early. He then went on to receive a masters and PhD from Harvard. His PhD thesis was in computing and economics, including media data and distribution.

Raduchel spoke on how “success in life doesn’t come in solving forwards.

It comes in solving backwards.” His explanation included making sure to pick a meaningful objective, leading by vision, planning and taking steps to get to an end goal. When asked what his advice was to current students seeking out jobs, he said “If I were 20-21, I would focus on what I want and what I can get out of college. Focus on skills that the companies want.” Internships and out of class experience with organizations also contribute to skills that employers find valuable. Raduchel also said that having empathy for people is important.

By knowing what people want, you can better suit their needs.

The School of Business and Economics, the Pavlis Honors College, the Department of Computer Science and Student Affairs and Advancement sponsored Dr. Raduchel’s visit to Michigan Tech.

Thursday, April 14

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Supreme Court tackles World Report criminal justice reform Daniel Stockard News Writer

Hundreds of migrants injured in Macedonia About 300 refugees sought medical assistance after clashes between migrants and Macedonian security forces reached an ugly climax. About 11,000 people are camped at the border crossing between Greece and Macedonia, which lies along the route to northern Europe. Macedonia has restricted traffic along that border for months, and tensions have been rising. This came to a head on Monday when 2,000 migrants clashed with security forces, who used tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets to subdue the crowd. Hundreds of refugees, including children under the age of five, were treated for respiratory problems.

The Supreme Court on Feb. 17, 2016.

Evan Mayer News Writer In baseball, three strikes means that you are out; in the judicial system three strikes for crimes involving gun use means their next penitentiary stay was going to be a little lengthier due to the Armed Career Criminal Act. Now, however, a couple of cases have gone through the Supreme Court that may greatly reduce the maximum time these individuals see behind bars.

The Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 is a federal law that provides sentence enhancements for felons who commit crimes with firearms. If the felon has been convicted more than twice of a violent felony or a serious drug crime, the Act provides a minimum sentence of fifteen years, instead of the ten-year maximum the Gun Control Act proposes.

Last June, a major precedent was set when Samuel Johnson brought his case in front of the court. Johnson had previously pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. At his sentencing, a mandatory sentence was imposed based on his prior convictions for robbery, attempted robbery, and possession of a “sawed off ” shotgun. In Johnson’s case, the late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that the Armed Career Criminal Act “fails to give ordinary people fair notice of the conduct it punishes [and] . . . invites arbitrary enforcement.” As a result, the court struck down the statute in the Act

as unconstitutionally vague.

Since the Johnson ruling, appeals courts across the country have been split over whether the Johnson decision should retroactively apply to all past cases where the statue is applied. This has set up Gregory Welch to bring forth his case to answer this question and could see thousands of prison inmates released across the country.

“[Welch] should’t have to spend more time behind bars, while other people... are seeing shorter sentences.”

- Jane Linell

Welch was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2005, which would have netted him a prison sentence of 10 years maximum. His sentencing judge however found out that he had three prior violent felony convictions, therefore making him subject to sentencing requirements under the Armed Career Criminal Act.

Courtesy of AP

Welch’s case looks promising for him due to several factors. One is that the Justice Department had originally opposed any type of review by the Supreme Court. Now they have reversed that decision. This bodes well, because the precedents set by the Supreme Court suggests they will retroactively apply the Johnson precedent. Another promising factor for Welch is that the Supreme Court recently retroactively applied banning the mandatory sentence of life without parole for juveniles.

Brent Marcusen, a fourth year mechanical engineering major, is against the Court’s decision in Johnson and hopes they rule against Welch. “These guys did not just screw up once or twice, they broke the law multiple times with different charges. It seems pretty ridiculous that they should get shorter sentencing when they have proven they can and will break the law again,” Marcusen said.

Jane Linell, a third year biology student, is hoping the Court follows the precedent. “Although Welch screwed up, he shouldn’t have to spend more time behind bars, while other people that commit the same crime as him are seeing shorter sentences,” Linell said.

The questions with sentencing prisoners is currently a hot topic in the legal field. Welch’s case is just another step to creating clear definitions for judges when they hand out sentences so that all men are given justice.

Yemen reaches shaky ceasefire The civil war in Syria has attracted the bulk of international attention for the past few years, but Yemen has seen war break loose as well. On Sunday evening, the United Nations brokered a ceasefire between the Yemeni Army and Houthi rebels, hopefully setting the stage for peace talks scheduled for April 18 in Kuwait. However, it’s unclear whether or not the ceasefire will hold up, as ongoing clashes have been reported in the country. The Saudi-backed, mostly Sunni, government forces are loyal to president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and the Iran-backed Houthis are fighters for former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The conflict has killed more than 6,200 people in one of the world’s poorest countries.

More fallout from the Panama papers European leaders are shifting their attention to tax evasion after news agencies broke revelations about billionaires dodging taxes using the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The story swept through the world like wildfire, and claimed its first victim when the Icelandic prime minister stepped down from his job last week. Also implicated in the scandal is British Prime Minister David Cameron, who had invested in an offshore investment fund run by his late father. He released summaries of his tax returns in an attempt to clear his name. France, Germany and the U.K. have all announced taskforces to investigate and recommend measures to prevent tax evasion and money laundering.

NEWS

Michigan Tech Lode

Thursday, April 14 5

Build a better Tech

The 2015-2016 USG E-board.

Jon Jaehnig News Writer The recently elected Executive Board of the Undergraduate Student Government, the organization that allocates funding from the “Experience Tech” fund to student organizations, ran on a platform called “Build a Better Tech”. The five page document lays out the board’s plans for running USG in the upcoming year, with the intention of influencing the way that business is run by future boards.

The title “Building a Functional Student Government” heads the first section of the platform, and characterizes President Casey’s view of USG’s recent function as a primarily budgetary organization with little interaction with the student body.

This viewpoint inspires changes outlined in the platform, including attempting to work more closely with the student body, so that the student body will, in turn, have more meaningful communications with USG. Plans outlined in the section include the adopting of an annual report describing USG’s operations and expenses in an attempt to increase accountability. A report of recent requests for funds and funds allocated to student organizations is already available at the USG office.

A major premise of the platform involves increasing student outreach.

Besides an inactive link to a Facebook page named after the platform, the only description of a plan to increase outreach involves “revamping” what is called the “Meet your Student Org Initiative.” The initiative involves members of USG meeting with all registered student

Michigan Tech Lode

organizations on campus. While it might surprise some to learn that meeting with student organizations requires an initiative, it is important to remember that there are over 240 student organizations on campus, making meeting them all a considerable effort.

If USG only met student organizations at their meetings, representatives from over seven student organizations would need to be present at each meeting for all of them to meet with USG in one academic year. The platform also includes “working with students from all backgrounds… through dialogue and planned initiatives,” although planned initiatives other than the Meet Your Student Org Initiative are not named or laid out in the platform.

While the platform also says that USG wants to “collect ideas and concerns of the student body” and “answer any and

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all questions the student body might have about University Policy, Structure, and future plans,” it does not describe any changes to the methods in which students can contact USG. That having been said, contacting USG is not difficult as it is. USG has an office with regular hours on the first floor of the Memorial Union Building, as well as a functioning link on its website ( usg.mtu.edu/usg ), and open meetings (Wednesday 7:00 p. m. to 9:00 p.m. in MUB Ballroom B or in the Alumni Lounge).

The final paragraph of the platform states that it aims to serve as something of an official charter for USG boards to work off of. As it is unclear whether USG has the power to write rules to govern itself in the future, it seems that this platform is hoping to change future USG function in a primarily “role model”-like capacity.

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Michigan Tech Lode NEWS Michigan entertains transgender restrictions

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Thursday, April 14 Peter Nouhan News Editor

Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina signed a bill a few weeks ago, preventing local governments from setting their own anti-discrimination rules and ordinances to protect LGBT rights. This came after the Charlotte City Council approved a broad anti-discrimination measure that allowed transgender people to use the restroom aligned with their gender identity. The controversial law has been precipitated by over 90 big-name business leaders, including Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, calling for a full repeal. North Carolina has already lost hundreds of jobs with PayPal, Deutsche Bank and other companies scrapping their plans for business expansions in the state.

Despite all of the negative attention that North Carolina is receiving from

Senator Tom Casperson

Courtesy of AP

pro-LGBT rights groups, Escanaba Republican Sen. Tom Casperson of Michigan has said that he is firmly

committed to introducing legislation to stop kids sharing bathrooms who are “biologically different.” Apparently Casperson was appalled to discover that the proposed State Board of Education guidelines suggested that schools allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice and refer to students by the pronouns they request.

Casperson believes that transgender students should be barred from using bathrooms that don’t match their birth certificate. “Maybe, there’s something there that’s just not normal,” Casperson said. “Maybe there’s something there that’s just not right, where we’re mixing these kids together.”

Other Michigan state legislatures, including House Speaker Kevin Cotter, have supported Casperson’s initiative. “[Parents] have very real concerns about allowing their children to officially change their name or their gender without parental approval,” Cotter said

in a statement.

The Red Slate, a conservative leaning newspaper, has defended these rransgender bathroom laws. Red Slate writer Brandon Morse wrote that men may be “trying to look like women in order to gain access to the privacy of women and girls.” Morse goes on to say that corporations, celebrities and activists “claim they’re fighting for equality, but I don’t see an equality in men assaulting women while they’re most vulnerable.”

Despite these arguments John Austin, Michigan Board of Education President, says that the proposed guidelines to support transgender students would be “damaging for young students” who are already at risk for suicide, depression and bullying. Furthermore, Austin says that the guidelines were prompted in part to make sure that Michigan schools comply with federal civil rights law.

SpaceX success Aaron Kostrzewa News Writer SpaceX is the small side venture of Tesla Automotive’s CEO Elon Musk. Perhaps small is an understatement; with nearly 5000 employees, the company is one of the most successful privately held space exploration companies. With the goal of making space transportation more affordable and to explore the possibility of colonization Mars, Musk has some high ambitions. Since its inception in 2002, the company has experienced a great deal of success. Musk’s vision isn’t all fantasy. Some of the highlights include: launching the first liquid-propellant rocket into orbit, being the first private company to recover a spacecraft and in December of last year they landed a rocket vertically after a space voyage. As of recently, SpaceX’s notable accomplishment is landing a rocket vertically on a platform in the ocean.

However, the venturous company hasn’t had success without its share of failures.

In June of 2015, SpaceX launched a rocket toward the International Space Station in order to send supplies. However, a few minutes into the flight, the craft experienced a pressure loss of helium in its tanks and the rocket exploded. SpaceX considered the mission a total failure. Before their recent successful landing, three prior attempts were made to land a resupplying rocket on a water platform. All three attempts were extremely close to being successful, however a faulty valve, frozen support leg and

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket during launch.

Courtesy of Flickr.com. Labeled for reuse.

insufficient hydraulic fluid were each causes of failures. With their success recently, Musk says, “I believe $500 per pound or less is very achievable,” when commenting about the supply rocket traveling to space.

Because SpaceX is a privately funded company, they had to be successful to ensure the company’s livelihood. Within the first ten years of business, the company had expended $1 billion. Musk contributed $100 million of his own wealth and he solicited another $100 million from private investors.

NASA took eye of the company’s success and awarded $500 million through various contracts. Other money came from private contracts. In 2012 alone, SpaceX had over 40 launches which will lead to $4 billion in contract revenue. Last year, Google and Fidelity bought 8.33% of the company for $1 billion, valuing the company at $12 billion.

PULSE

Michigan Tech Lode

Poem: Family Baggage Anna Hohnstadt 2nd Place Contest Winner

Family Baggage I I forgot to tell you: every scar that marks my arms is another bar of the abalone cage that keeps my soul from flying away. last night I dreamt— not that it would interest you. and everything is the same. if I could convert all our unspoken conversations— it is important that you know before I go.

I dreamt I died and floated off on a red lake (beneath the stars only) to the island where all hearts break and everything hurts. rising up from the water my soul was an ashy flake off the fire my ancestors lit: I put it out myself.

I put it out with my vomit my vomit and blood and pointless silences. and I could see everything from our pasts and presents, and futures, and, comfortless though it was, it calmed me— learning in the end that none of it ever mattered.

Interlude: A Love Story

The word, boldly spoken, cracked as it fell: The silence was broken, but it broke you as well.

Family Baggage II crunching through the field, I sit moving—not moving— I am walking and not walking through the field, I am walking and not walking.

Silent and stern, it heavily stood, Or slouched, rather, between us, And gazed both ways, behind and before— Menacing, a monster, furious.

the ground is made of ink.

I face-make and shoes in the inky ground, my shoes in the inky ground, I am absorbing the blackness through

And I, I trembled, but you stood firm, Shaking, my weak-willed gaze faltered; But you held its eye—stern though it was— And you swore that you could not be altered.

it is waiting I am staring and it waits for me to say I stare back into abyss-eyes it waits for me, and I am staring at my father’s skull.

As if anyone can constant remain!

As if you or I could resist Mother Time.

As if with a word you could wash away All the filth and the pain and the scars and the slime.

I crunch through bones sunk into the ink of our transgressions. and I soak in through the feet staring not staring as my past and future stare back

Three minute thesis Amy Joy Patterson

W

Pulse Editor

hat if you only had three minutes to talk about the most important thing you had ever done? Would you start at the beginning, or would you skip to the end? Would you pack in detail, or would you be deliberately vague?

Fortunately, most of us will never actually face this dilemma, but for 10 masters and 10 PhD candidates, this is the reality. On Thursday, April 14, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30p.m., these 20 bright individuals will present their research using only a static PowerPoint slide and three minutes time as part of a competition known as the Graduate Student Government Three Minute Thesis. No props. No media. Just pure, hard science. Developed by the University of Queensland, this competition fosters presentation skills and forces the most erudite members of our society to frame their work in layman’s terms — a

challenge easier said than done.

“By condensing research to a 3 minute period, graduate students can truly broaden the horizons of the audience without overwhelming them with intricate detail. ”

The first 3MT competition was held in Australia in 2008 and featured 160 students. Its overwhelming success was soon recognized by other universities in the area and by 2009, it had spread to other Australian and New Zealand universities. Since 2011, the popularity of the 3MT competition has exponentially grown, now reaching 170 universities, one of which being our own. For examples of 3MT presentations, one needs only a

computer. Winning presentations can be found online at http://threeminutethesis. org/3mt-showcase.

Michigan Tech’s Three Minute Thesis competition welcomes all to join as audience members and will be held in the Noblet Forestry Building. To thicken the plot, the winner of the 3MT competition will receive a whopping $500 cash prize.

Additionally, the fan favorite will also receive a cash prize, adding an interactive twist. Refreshments will also be available.

This competition benefits both graduate students and community members. By condensing research to a three minute period, graduate students can truly broaden the horizons of the audience without overwhelming them with intricate detail. It is education and entertainment at its finest.

No matter who you are, mark your calendar for April 14 and consider joining the Graduate Student Government for a celebration of research. Who knows?

Three minutes may just change your life.

Thursday, April 14

What’s

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Hot

Box Office Melissa McCarthy stars in this weekend’s big winner, Universal Studio’s comedy “The Boss.” With a nearly $24 million premiere weekend, this comes as no surprise in a box office with very few movies for audiences looking for a good laugh. This stands in spite of the generally negative reviews garnered by the film.

Also chugging on in spite of negative reviews, “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” came very close to keeping the number one spot in its second week, but the nearly 55% drop off was just too much. Still, the $23 million weekend is enough to surpass “Man of Steel,” though the legs are looking awfully short on this blockbuster.

Finally, “Zootopia” finds itself at number three as its $14 million weekend puts it only a stone’s throw away from a $300 million domestic gross. This film is demonstrating some serious longevity as its Japanese premiere looms, and it seems likely that the coveted $900 million mark may even be reached worldwide.

Billboard Hot 100 “Work,” the hit single by Rihanna, featuring Drake, continues its reign as the head of the Hot Hundred. This long reign has become the second longest of any song by Rihanna, surpassed by “We Found Love,” which enjoyed ten weeks on top.

Coming behind and holding steady at number two is “7 Years” by Lukas Graham. The piece continues to make its way around the United States, having caught on massively. This song has been compared by critics to the Beetles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four,” seeming somewhere between an homage and a response to the piece.

Finally, Meghan Trainor’s “No” brings a returning artist to the table. A catchy dance-pop R&B tune, this song takes some definite musical inspiration from doo-wop as well. From a lyrical standpoint, it is a message toward the men who approach women and won’t take a hint of rejection.

HOW do you think we did?

WHAT did we miss?

ANYTHING you think we need to cover?

Know that you could do it better?

E-mail: ajpatter@mtu.edu

8 Michigan Tech Lode Thursday, April 14 PULSE Consumer products day MTU Spring Fling Amanda McCuistion

“C

Lode Writer

reate the next big consumer product!” the table tents advertised. This Shark Tank style event was the place to go for students to pitch some fresh new product ideas to many different companies. Options included DOW, Amway, 3M, and a few others, all of which were given a two-hour time span to attempt to talk students into working with their own resources for the soonto-be-starting event. The event itself spanned for not just one day, but two.

Day one was dedicated mostly to setup and planning and day two included a lot more of the physical product-creation work. Kicking off in the Van Pelt and Opie Library on campus on Friday at 1 pm and then eventually migrating to Fisher Hall nearly all day Saturday, this event attracted a multitude of students from a wide variety of majors. It’s no wonder that so many students showed up; with $7,000 in total worth of prize money, split proportionally between the top three finishers, participants were easily motivated to climb their way to the top. Notably, the advertisements for this event were somewhat wrong, as it turned out that the original prize money listed was but a fraction of what the winners would really receive!

By the time Saturday rolled around, eight teams were left to compete in the finals. Teams gathered in Fisher 135, ready to present in front of the many judges in the front of the lecture hall and the many recording cameras in the back of the lecture hall. They were given a few minutes of prep time, but no more than ten to pitch their ideas via Powerpoint presentations or physical demonstrations. Presentation order was completely randomized, likely to ensure minimal amounts of bias, and the next team to present was literally determined by spinning a wheel that was set up onstage in the room.

“In first, however, was the team Non-Linear, who...managed to... claim their $3,300 prize.”

Of the eight teams, there were two groups to represent each company — that’s two for DOW, 3M, Kimberly Clark, and Amway, respectively. All of their innovations were related in some central way to the general domain of each company, with Amway teams working

with water quality and DOW teams making new packaging products, and other themes of the like. Team names themselves were also extremely creative, though some were arguably less serious than others, with notable names such as Team AmWinners, Team Sharknado, and Team Archer. As entertaining as the products and names presented by these teams happened to be, however, none of the aforementioned groups managed to make their way into the top cut of the final round.

Lots of innovative and interesting ideas were thrown around during the finals, with products like the intelligent eSpring sensor from the AmWinners or a more eco-friendly toilet paper from The Optimizers — which, and we’re not making this up, was cleverly dubbed “Askleen,” presumably a play on the brand name of Kleenex among other more notable things. Other groups presented the ideas of more generalized Command Strips, applicable for use with more than just plain hangers, and things like Smart Medicine Devices that would overcome the everyday hassles of the way we currently handle our medicine.

Needless to say, these teams were facing some serious competition from one another and until the very end it was unclear who would emerge as the victors of this challenge.

After a few hours of presentation and deliberation, the judges seemed to have finally decided on which groups from which companies would earn their place in the winners’ circle of this weekendlong event. In the end, three teams were called to the stage to claim their prizes, as the event’s description had promised.

In third place was a team called IEEE, who worked with 3M. In second came the Optimizers, backed by the company Kimberly Clark. In first, however, was the team Non-Linear, who through their cooperation with DOW managed to rise all the way to the top and claim their $3,300 prize.

All things considered, this Consumer Products Day was more than just a showcase event for the more creative minds on campus. It was a reward, in a way, for all the hard work and innovation that they clearly put into the jobs they do, and a way to get the big companies to notice and appreciate their skills for what they are.

Well, winning money is always cool, too.

Aniket Chaphalkar Lode Writer It’s time for some Spring Fling! We are talking about one of the most awaited events that is happening at Michigan Technological University to zest up and refresh the grueling final month.

The final month of the spring semester is often comprised of long hours spent in the library, all-night group studies, project presentations and submissions.

The student organization at MTU empathizes with you and has planned a well-deserved break for you before you dive into an arduous final week.

The Spring Fling is held across the US in many universities in a variety of ways.

The most popular one is probably the one held at the University of Arizona which was started in 1974. Since then it has become an iconic event for the university and the Tucson community which provides myriad rides, games

and sumptuous food booths. At MTU, various student organizations plan this event usually on the Friday of week 13 of the spring semester which include many entertaining activities to help students unwind and get their mind off of studies for some time.

Keeping in with the tradition, this year the Memorial Union Board (MUB) brings to you the Spring Fling which will be held on April 15 from noon to 4 pm.

The booth signups were scheduled from March 14 and continued till April 8. The venue for the event is SDC Ice Arena and the theme for this year is “Classic Cartoons.” There will be mouthwatering food booths, inflatables, balloon-artists and a whole lot of fun to ensure that you get transported into the magical world of your favorite childhood cartoons.

So, keep your calendar free on April 15 to get rejuvenated so that you are ready to get into the serious business of final exams.

Michigan Tech Lode

PULSE

Thursday, April 14

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Holi comes to Michigan Tech Saurabh Phatak Lode Writer

Holi is the festival of colors. It’s one of the first Hindu festivals celebrated during the spring. It falls on the day of the full moon in the Hindu calendar month of Falghun which usually is sometime around March.

The name Holi is a derivation from Holika. As per the legend, there was a king named Hiranyakashipu who was unpopular for his tyrannical rule. He had earned a blessing that made him virtually indestructible. His arrogance grew with time and he demanded that people worship him instead of the actual god.

Hiranyakashipu’s son Prahlada, however, disagreed with his father and continued to worship Lord Vishnu, a Hindu god.

This infuriated Hiranyakashipu and he tried inflicting physical and mental pain on his own son. But Prahlada was unaffected by all these tortures. So King Hiranyakashipu decided to end Prahlada’s life once and for all with the assistance of his sister Holika. Holika also had a boon in that she would be unaffected by fire. So, she decided to trick Prahlada by asking him to sit with her on a pyre. She assured him that he would be safe. The innocent Prahlada, who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, believed that his life would remain unharmed in any consequences as God was capable of protecting him. He sat into the pyre with his evil aunt Holika. As the pyre was lit, Hiranyakashipu thought that Prahlada would soon burn into ashes. However,

Performance on stage at the Holi celebration.

it turned out the other way around.

Holika, in spite of her immune powers, succumbed to the fire, whereas Prahlada managed to come out of it safely with the divine blessings and powers of Lord Vishnu.

From then on a tradition was started where people lit a bonfire on the night of Holi. It’s a symbolic representation to burn off the evil, of the victory of Prahlada over Hiranyakashipu and Holika, of the good over bad. The next day when the fire cooled down, people applied the ashes on their foreheads.

Soon, it set out into another tradition where they started playing with those ashes and the surrounding mud, applying it on one another’s faces. With changing times, colors were used and it became a festival of colors.

Holi is widely celebrated in India, Nepal and few other countries. India has 29 states and seven union territories and every state or region in India has different ways and traditions of celebrating Holi.

The festival begins on the full moon day of the Falgun month of the Hindu calendar.

People set the bonfire in the evenings and burn off their old futile goods.

They also pray around the Holi fire for peace and spiritual ascension. They offer sweets and specially prepared food as a mark of respect to the Lord. The second day is celebrated playing with colors. It’s a time to get together with your family, friends and the people around to splash colors on one another. It’s one of the most fun filled festivals celebrated by the Indians. Food is also an important

Dancers engage in Holi festivities.

part of this festival. Several delicacies are prepared and served and families have lunch together on this occasion. A sweet delicacy called puranpoli is the specialty of this festival. It’s a flat pita-like Indian bread or chapatti filled with a sweet preparation made out of chickpea. Holi is the time when people come together, enjoy playing with colors, have lunch with families and spend time with each other. It brings out a sense of belonging with one another. It’s about forgetting old feuds and starting afresh. It’s all

Photo courtesy of Venkata Chundru.

Photo courtesy of Venkata Chundru.

about new beginnings, giving up the bad and taking up the good.

The Indian Students Association at Michigan Tech celebrated the Holi Night on Saturday, April 9. Around 250 people including students, faculty members and other invitees were present for the event.

The event started at around 7 p.m. Food was served first and the seven course menu included some amazing Indian cuisine. Dal Makhani and Malai Kofta were among the popular delicacies. Also on the platter was chicken kolhapuri, a spicy Indian chicken curry. Followed by the main course was a mouthwatering dessert bread, halwa. After savoring the awesome Indian food, the audience was entertained with fashion shows, music and dance. The event kicked off with a fashion show. Students dressed in different costumes represented the various regions of India and walked the ramp in pairs. It was a great hit.

The band then performed some songs based on Indian classical and pop music.

The music was followed by dance. The dance troupe entertained the crowds by performing on some popular Bollywood numbers. The people witnessed some more entertainment with audience interaction. There were some awards that were given out in some typical Bollywood styled categories. The introductions were great and the comperes made sure that the audience were thoroughly enjoying the show. The event ended with a vote of thanks by the current ISA president and the transition of job responsibilities to the next ISA team.

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Thursday, April 14 CLASSIFIEDS

COMICS

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AN IDEA: let’s destroy civilization first just to see

PUZZLES

Puzzles Edited by Will Shortz

SOMETHING IN THE WATER

By Randolph Ross ACROSS

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Puzzles Online: Today’s puzzle and more than 9,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). For the daily puzzle commentary: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Mobile crosswords: nytimes.com/mxword

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4 “It’s a Wonderful Life” role

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Rules: A) You must fill in the boxes in each row and column with the numbers 1 to 6. Do not repeat a number in any row or column.

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Sudoku — Medium

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April 12, 2016

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99 Looks out for?

89 Godot" “Count me in” 48 Sweaters, e.g.

101 Dialogue 91 Layer When repeated, 50 of the 42-Down 102 Calc figures 100

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Michigan Tech Lode

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1968 name in the news 95 Generic juice flavor http://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/sudoku/medium 96 Scroll holder 98 Choking on a Life Saver, e.g.

99 Fowl language?

100 Rich kid in “Nancy” 101 Young Arab 102 Sant’ Gria brand 105 “I don’t think so” 106 Stowe girl 107 Card game for two 108 Financial report abbr.

109 Opposite of FF 110 Dangerous pet 112 Aggravate

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Sudoku - Puzzles and Games - NYTimes.com

Sudoku — Hard

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http://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/sudoku/hard

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1/1

Thursday, April 14

Debate:

12

OPINION

Michigan Tech Lode

Do we need stricter gun control laws?

Pro: Shan Amarnani Editor In Chief

?

Con: James Wood Lode Writer

OPENING STATEMENT

ROUND 1

Since the United States was first conceived, gun control has been a topic of great controversy. The right to bear arms has always been in the constitution, but debates about what exactly this entails never fail to rile up the nation. With mass shootings becoming common occurrences in the United States, the issue of gun control needs to be addressed.

The Second Amendment states that people have the right to keep and bear arms.

What the Second Amendment fails to do is specify what the constraints are for the eligibility to bear arms. Based on past events, we know that not everyone should own a gun. Yes, gun owners are required to obtain a firearm license as per state requirement and need to go through background checks and safety training but clearly, this is not enough. People who shouldn’t be owning guns are still able to get their hands on assault rifles which, frankly, is a horrendous thought. The gun control laws in the United States are so lax that federal law doesn’t even require people to own a firearm license. This means that, if gun ownership was not regulated by the state, anyone could get their hands on an assault rifle! This is obviously where the problem lies and this is why we need stricter gun control laws.

ROUND 3

There has been a lot of talk about stricter gun control laws but what exactly would this entail? Those who have legitimate documents and a solid track record need not worry because those are the very people who should be able to own guns.

The purpose of making the gun acquisition process more stringent is to be able to closely monitor who should and should not be able to own guns. Just because you’re a marksman, does not mean you should be able to own a gun. It all comes down to the purpose of owning a gun. Sure, they’re fun to play with, but if one’s primary purpose is to cause harm then one should not be able to get a hold of one. Some of you might be wondering, well how are we supposed to know one’s intentions?

A mental health assessment should be able to determine whether the individual is a potential candidate. This is just one of the many tests that should be required before someone is handed a gun. Why go through all the hassles? For the safety of all Americans.

Homicide rates have actually been decreasing in the United states overall.

According to worldbank.org, Intentional homicide rates were seven per 100,000 people in the United States in 2001, as opposed to four in 2013. The main reason for the increase in demand for gun control laws has been due to mass shootings. A lone gunman terrorizes the country with a random attack on innocent people and the reaction is to restrict everyone’s rights. America is supposed to be the home of the brave, yet it’s citizens are willing to give up their own liberties for security? When did the nation become so fearful? I’m not saying that I wouldn’t be terrified in a situation where I was near some gun wielding maniac, but I don’t think we should be so worried about such a thing that we deny everyone liberty in an effort to prevent it. Traffic accidents are more deadly, but we don’t see people calling for stricter enforcement of speed limits.

ROUND 2

Let’s not pretend like the only country that allows civilians to own guns is the United States. Other countries such as Iceland, Germany, Austria, Canada, France, Norway, Sweden, Iraq, Finland, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Cyprus to name a few, all allow gun ownership, yet there is one thing all these countries have in common. They all have relatively low mass shootings. According of GunPolicy.org and the Small Arms Survey 2007, the United States has 112.6 guns per 100 residents. Coming in at second place is Cyprus with 69.7 guns per 100 residents. Clearly, there is a huge gap and this further strengthens the claim that it is too easy to acquire firearms in the United States and stricter gun control laws are a necessity.

You’re acting like as soon as someone gets a gun we all should be afraid. The vast majority of people don’t buy guns with intent to murder their enemies, they buy them for self defense. The background checks and firearm license requirement keeps the psychos from getting their hands on them. Of course, this isn’t perfect as is evident by the mass shootings that have occurred in recent years, but neither is anything. Any system from Medicaid to speed limits will be abused. A few nutjobs shouldn’t ruin the system for everyone else. The gun control argument uses the same logic of elementary school where if one student can’t pipe down on the bus then no one is allowed to talk. That may seem like a cold comparison but that doesn’t make it less true.

All the countries you mentioned have another thing in common: none of them are as large and diverse as the United States. America is a melting pot of ideas, ethnicities, and values. This sort of society is bound to have it’s issues. Friction will occur between different people and things can’t always be settled peacefully. People feel safer with a gun in their possession, and if allowing people to have guns is the tradeoff that must be made for such a diverse society to exist, I think it’s worth it. It seems unlikely that stricter regulations won’t make it harder for the average joe to obtain a firearm. Any new regulations are likely to be complex, riddled with red tape and bureaucracy. Criminals always find ways around the system, so making it harder for regular folk to work within the system is a bad idea, and will ultimately harm the very people it’s trying to protect.

Michigan Tech Lode

OPINION

Thursday, April 14 13

Exploiting students, MTU’s speciality Un James Wood Lode Writer

to save money.

But at a university where we are already forced to pay for books we hardly use and “engineering paper” to satisfy our course requirements, is it really justifiable to drain the last bit of money students have saved up via convenience food? Of course. If the food wasn’t selling then the prices would go down, so really the blame is on college students. If a business sees an opportunity to take advantage of a demographic that can’t be bothered with packing a lunch or planning their meals consistently, then it’s the business’s right to exploit the situation.

So the university excels at the strategic placement of food courts near campus hotspots to take even more money from students, but that doesn’t make them terrible. Hell, it’s a free lesson in economics and a taste of the free market. Any college student worth their salt knows the university price of anything from a textbook to a bottle of water is way higher than it should be.

But if they didn’t, then thanks to Michigan Tech’s prudent business practices, they’ll learn soon enough. I’ve personally learned a lot from MTU’s exploitative tactics and I think it has made me a bit more prepared to deal with capitalism in the real world.

Religious freedom to discriminate Michael Rader Lode Writer Last week, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed a bill that gives businesses an important “religious freedom,” the right to deny service to gay people based on their firmly held beliefs. Of course, this is hidden in language about people sticking to their spiritual convictions, not letting the government force them to run their business a certain way, or not prohibiting the free exercise of religion, but we know what it is really about; people want to be allowed to deny service to homosexuals (and presumably as far as transsexuals, bisexuals, and furries) because their bigoted worldview – excuse me, their religion – tells them it’s wrong not to be straight.

First of all, we should discuss how ridiculous it is for people to deny business service based on religious belief.

No matter how important her religion is, your Muslim cashier at Whole Foods will still sell you that honey baked ham, and the Catholic at the pharmacy will still fill your prescription for birth control.

Why? Because individual religious practice should have no say in how one conducts their business. Even though her church has a problem with it, Catholic

pharmacy worker Jane is not going to shirk her job responsibilities because of her beliefs; she, personally, might not take birth control, but she knows it is objectively wrong to force that belief on someone in a business setting, so she fills your prescription. Likewise, even if your religion has a problem with homosexuality, your business practices should be blessedly free of your stoneage morality.

Since most of this legislation comes from Christian-based sources, it must be noted: the Christian Bible doesn’t forbid serving gays dinner or baking them a pizza, it only forbids samesex intercourse. Thus, as long as these gay customers stick well within the public decency laws of our country, it is doubtful that anyone’s religious beliefs are going to be sincerely challenged. Of course, if the mere sight of a gay person is upsetting to a business owner, maybe their religion is not to blame. Can we call it what it is? They are bigots who are grumpy about the ground gays are gaining in the nation (like the ability to marry).

The same type of service-refusal rhetoric was being tossed around in the South in the days of Jim Crow.

With rampant segregation and racism, blacks were only allowed at certain establishments, and could certainly be denied service for cakes, pizzas

or wedding ceremonies. Imagine an interracial couple coming to a church to get married and being greeted with the same kind of blind intolerance that gay couples see today. We would be revolted, disgusted and angry at this brazen display of racism. But now, all people have to do is hide it behind their “sincerely held religious beliefs,” and it becomes an issue not of discrimination but religious liberty.

A friend warned me last week: without these laws in place, gays will sue churches and force them to hold ceremonies, even if the church is against gay marriage. Maybe she was kidding.

Maybe she actually imagined a scenario where a gay couple is turned away from a church, their life and love denounced in God’s name, told of the eternal hellfire that awaits them, and then turns around and says, “Hey, these people hate us, let’s legally force them to hold our wedding ceremony.”

To the goal: these religious freedom laws are just another discrimination tactic. They have no basis in preserving freedom, ensuring domestic tranquility, or protecting religious liberty; they are about giving a license to mistreat others.

I propose a happy medium; all the businesses that will refuse service to gay customers should put a big sign on their door… and watch in silence as nobody opens it.

LODE

ing

ZONE

Imagine a herd of cattle grazing in a fenced-off field. Snow covers much of the ground despite spring arriving a month ago. The cows are briskly chomping away at weeds and what edible flora remains on the ground. A group of ranchers briefly leave their mansion to milk the cows, for that is their purpose in life, to be milked. Just as it is the rancher’s purpose to milk the cows dry for profit. A similar relationship exists between the students of Michigan Tech and the university itself. The overpriced books, the special class materials (like engineering paper), color printing, blue exam books; Michigan Tech seems determined to milk it’s students dry before they graduate.

Michigan Tech’s habit of nickeling and diming its students fully materializes with the on- campus Dining Centers. The only free dining halls are located in the dorms. DHH, being the conveniently close one to where students take their classes, inconveniently closes after 1:30. Unless students are willing to either dash to get food between classes or deal with hunger

pangs until classes end, they’re stuck buying from on campus food options. The Library, the MUB commons, the Aftermath, etc.; all of these accept dining dollars which is nice; unfortunately, dining dollars don’t grow on trees and it doesn’t take long to drain them.

Once that happens, things start looking quite a bit more expensive. Things can be even worse for off campus students. Sure, they can always pack a lunch, but it’s only a matter of time before laziness leaves one sandwich-less and on the road to hunger.

Once the hunger does kick in, those $2.30 generic muffins start looking awfully tasty.

Or if the hunger is in full force, the 8 dollar special of the day at the MUB commons.

Either way, the eatee is left feeling ashamed for spending what could’ve been a week’s worth of homemade sandwiches on a single convenience meal.

In all honesty though, a lot of the foods aren’t that overpriced. For instance, a 16 oz red bull costs $3.69 at the MUB as opposed to $3.43 at walmart, the “low price guarantee” folks. Jim’s Food Mart also has high prices for singular pastries like the MUB’s muffin from earlier. Perhaps the on campus foods just appear more expensive because customers are unable to buy in bulk

Shan Amarnani

It started off as a typical Saturday morning. I quickly rode my bike to Fisher 101. There was an event that day. It was an afternoon social and movie. The event began at 2 p.m. and ended a little after 6 p.m. The movie was good and the company even better. Many stories were told and everyone had a great time.

Afterwards, AJ (my friend) and I went to Holi Night 2016 which was held in the MUB commons. That too, was a great event. There was great Indian food and entertaining performances by talented dancers and singers. Overall, it was a great experience for a measly $6. After 9:30 p.m. the event was over. AJ and I decided to pick up snacks and drinks at Jim’s and hang out at his place in Daniel Heights.

We hung out for a few hours at his friend’s apartment which was right across from AJ’s apartment. We had a good conversation about American universities among other things, but at around 2 a.m. everyone, except for me and AJ, fell asleep.

We decided to take the party back to AJ’s apartment. It was about 2:30 a.m. and not even 10 minutes passed when some random Indian guy barges in the door demanding to see AJ’s roommate. This guy obviously had too much to drink. He was furious at AJ’s roommate for the most ridiculous reason. He started harassing everyone trying to look for a fight, but no one wanted to provoke him. He refused to leave and kept asking for AJ’s roommate. People tried to calm him down, but it looked like he wanted a fight.

Finally, AJ’s roommate got back at around 4 a.m. and the situation started to get violent. Thankfully, AJ’s other roommate had enough and called the cops. The cops showed up almost immediately and placed the intruder in handcuffs and took blood samples. Apparently, this was not the first time someone called the cops on him and he was given a final warning.

When feeling threatened, do not hesitate to call 911. You may despise cops because of that one unwarranted speeding ticket you got a few years ago, but the truth of the matter is when in situations like these, you have to be thankful and grateful for their service.

14

Thursday, April 14

OPINION

Michigan Tech Lode

Alternatives to stressing out The standards of teachers Samantha Stein Lode Writer

Full, busy schedules and academic pressure are two of the biggest stressors for students. While some stress is good and can help motivate someone, sometimes stress causes students to have difficulties learning, interacting socially, cause restlessness and increase blood pressure.

With finals coming up, most people are feeling the weight of stress. In the final weeks of the semester, a lot of professors assign projects, papers and tons of homework, which only adds to the stress.

Due to the high level of assignments, students start to fall behind in studying for finals. Ultimately this can cause students to not do as well on their exams.

There are alternatives that could benefit the students such as limiting how much of a workload instructors can assign within two weeks of finals, giving days off the week before finals for studying and having mandatory class hours to study for exams.

Many instructors teach new material as late in the semester as they can. They also assign homework and projects to go along with the new material. If the university put a policy in place that said instructors cannot assign any new material, homework or projects the week before finals so students can focus on studying for finals then the week before finals would be focused on reviewing materials. Also, playing into this would be mandatory study groups during class.

Study groups have numerous benefits including breaking the monotony of studying alone, getting new perspectives

on the material and the ability to learn faster. Also, by studying together students can share their methods for remembering the material, as well as get questions answered. If the study sessions are held during class times, the instructor can be present and help students with their studying.

On the other hand, cancelling classes would allow for students to take the time that they would normally be in class to study. Of course, there is a chance of students misusing their time and choosing to not study. However, for those who want to study, the extra time could pay off. By having free time, students will also feel less busy which can help lower their stress levels. By not having classes, it would allow the instructors to have open time for office hours. Office hours are important since the professor knows the material on the test best. Going to their office hours can help students learn the material in a one-on-one situation.

Students don’t always take advantage of office hours due to busy schedules.

However, with extra available time to go into instructors’ offices, students can take full advantage of the knowledge their instructors have to offer.

As of right now, students feel stressed to complete new projects and assignments in addition to studying for finals. Finding new ways to structure classwork and study times in a way that benefits the students could eliminate negative stress.

Eliminating negative stress reduces issues with learning, interacting and health issues. Finals should not be a time of unnecessary stress but rather a time to demonstrate the things we have accomplished over the semester.

There are two professions in the world that should be done from the heart, and that one’s life should be dedicated towards: teaching and healing. These are two of the most important professions in today’s world, and arguably all of history. Besides what each one does, teachers are known for having a low salary and doctors a very high salary. The average secondary teacher salary is $46,574, while the average general practitioner salary is $140,571. Why is this like this? As much as teachers should get paid more, their salary is about where their level of experience is. If teachers want to earn a higher salary, of which they are entitled to, the standards need to be raised for teaching.

In most cases, the longer an employee works for a company, the more the employee gets paid. This is true with both doctors and teachers, where the difference is the field of work. To become a high school teacher, a teaching certificate and a certain amount of classroom assistant hours are required; then the teacher gets their own classroom. These are the qualifications for a secondary math teaching job found online: Ability to live and work in a cross-cultural, rural Alaskan environment. Valid Alaska Type A Teaching certificate required.

Math Endorsement required in at least one field. Additional Endorsements preferred.

Teaching assignment may include a broad range of secondary courses.

The requirement besides being licensed to teach is the ability to live in a rural environment. Teachers are teaching the generations to come and inspiring them to

do great things. How are teachers expected to inspire students to go out and become an astronaut if the only experience the robotics teacher has is group work in college?

The standards for teaching are a joke.

To teach on the college level, generally a degree higher than the one being taught is required along with industry experience.

Yes, education received in college is more valuable than that of high school education, but there are students who do not pursue higher education. Teachers should have at least five years of industry experience before being able to teach the respective course. Yes, this will damange the teaching employment, but is it more important to get teachers quickly for schools or to hire quality teachers? This is not saying that fresh teachers are not quality, but students deserve someone who can answer their questions with non-textbook answers.

Teachers deserve to get paid higher, they are the lynchpin in creating the future, but students also deserve the right to have qualified people teaching them.

One positive thing about teachers’ pay is it weeds out the true passionate people from the non-passionate. The same could be said about doctors, but they have standards to become doctors. After graduation, when applying for teaching jobs, the pay is known. There is no secret that it is not a high paying field, but yet there are students that are still in school to become teachers. Even the first point being said, should teachers have an option to not get industry experience and still teach? The answer is no. Teachers need to be held to higher standards, because parents can tell their kids to go to college all day long, but if the student has not experienced a good teacher, there is not much motivation.

positions just for voters gives no guarantee of the cabinet hopeful even being capable of the position. So the morals of giving away the position are shot, but what about the Ethics?

Ethics, as defined by the fictional character Dr. Henry McCord on the television show “Madam Secretary”, is how you treat people you’ve never met, and you might never meet. Such as the majority of the 330 million American citizens that Mr. Trump wants to have be headed by a possibly incompetent head-of-state. Or the seven billion people in the world who have no choice but to look to the United States as a leader; the same country that would be headed by incompetence. That, to me, is the definition of unethicality.

To put a voice to the other side, this is not a new practice. Selling cabinet positions has always been done, to ensure a voter base. If it was unprecedented, there

would’ve been no basis for the Federal Statute against it. While certainly not every position during an election are sold by most, if not all candidates, a majority of positions are. They have always been a way to curry favor, gain voters and raise money. And since the process of selling the position is illegal, the process is also not legally binding, so the candidate can still choose whomever they choose, as demonstrated in the Netflix show “House of Cards”. The main character, Francis J. Underwood, was the Majority Whip in the US Congress, and helped create a portion of the newly elected president’s campaign.

He was promised to become the Secretary of State once the new president was elected.

Once the election was complete, and the President-Elect is chosen by the people (Francis’s choice, of course), the PE reneges on his deal with Francis, causing him to cut all alliances, and go for broke. Great

show. But the point is, that while this is a fictional show, it shows elements of truth in it. Like selling cabinet positions, and the specialized positions within Congress, etc.

Like Francis was lied to, so has been other people who have been promised cabinet positions. Obviously lying is unethical and immoral, but they’re already selling cabinet positions, and they’re just politicians in general, so lying really isn’t that much more.

What Donald Trump is going through is well deserved. While it is not unprecedented, selling cabinet positions is both immoral and unethical. Add that to his campaign manager’s assault charges, plus all the racist and misogynist statements, and hopefully we will see the end of Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency. But knowing all the past controversy, this will only strengthen his voter base, not damage.

Only time will tell however.

Phillip Bourgeois Lode Writer

Morals and ethics of selling the cabinet Alexander Crawford Lode Writer

Donald Trump, the outspoken forerunner in the GOP Party race for presidential nomination has been accused of many things, but the most recent, and probably most hurting to his race is former presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson coming forward, laying claim that Mr. Trump bribed him to throw support to Mr. Trump, in return for a cabinet position.

This is in direct violation of federal laws, which would cause Trump to go to prison, if convicted. But besides the legality of the matter, what are the morals and ethics of selling a cabinet position just to corral more votes? This style of voter pandering does not create a very stable government, and creates an even less stable administration.

The giving away of vital head-of-state

SPORTS

Michigan Tech Lode

Thursday, April 14 15

# the By

s r e b m nu Events won by the Tech track team last weekend at the CSB-SJU Outdoor Invitational.

13

16

Huskies hockey end-of-season ranking in the USCHO poll.

1

Match won by the Tech Tennis team last weekend out of 18 played against Ferris and Grand Valley State.

500 15,000

Top prize in single dollar bills given out at the second annual Helter Smelter event last weekend.

Cost in euros of a pair of tickets to the Leicester Foxes last home game of the season.

4

Days until Tax Day. Seriously guys, don’t forget to do that.

Michigan Tech senior hockey player Alex Petan

Petan earns AHCA/ CCM All-America Second Team recognition University Athletics Press Release ichigan Tech senior co-captain Alex Petan has been named to the AHCA/ CCM Hockey Men’s Division I AllAmerica West Second Team, which was released today as part of the events surrounding the 2016 NCAA Frozen Four.

Petan had an outstanding senior campaign with the Huskies, leading the team in scoring while helping Tech capture its first MacNaughton Cup championship in 40 years. The Delta, British Co-

lumbia native led the WCHA in goals (16), points (29), goals-per-game (0.59), points-per-game (1.07) and powerplay points (13) during league play and earned WCHA Player of the Year honors and Hobey Baker Memorial Award top10 finalist recognition.

The 5-foot-9 winger notched at least one point in 19-of-27 WCHA outings, had eight multi-point games and pieced together a 12-game scoring streak from Nov. 13 though Jan. 30.

Petan joins a long list of Tech AllAmericans going back to 1937.

Second team East Second team West Thatcher Demko, JR, Boston College (San Diego, CA), Goalie Gavin Bayreuther, JR, St. Lawrence University (Canaan, NH), Defense Rob O’Gara, SR, Yale University (Nesconset, NY), Defense Ryan Fitzgerald, JR, Boston College (North Reading, MA), Forward Mark Jankowski, SR, Providence College (Dundas, ON), Forward Danny O’Regan, SR, Boston University (Needham, MA), Forward

Cam Johnson, SO, University of North Dakota (Troy, MI), Goalie Will Butcher, JR, University of Denver (Sun Prairie, WI), Defense Troy Stecher, JR, University of North Dakota (Richmond, BC), Defense Drake Caggiula, SR, University of North Dakota (Whitby, ON), Forward J.T. Compher, JR, University of Michigan (Notebrook, IL), Forward Alex Petan, SR, Michigan Technological University (Delta, BC), Forward

Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Athletics

All-Americans First Team 1937—Ed Maki 1951—Joe deBastiani 1953—Bob Monahan 1959—John Kosiancic 1960—Paul Coppo, George Cuculick, Henry Akervall, John Kosiancic 1962—Henry Akervall, Lou Angotti, Elov Seger, Jerry Sullivan 1963—Garry Bauman, George Hill 1964—Garry Bauman 1965—Tony Esposito 1966—Tony Esposito, Bruce Riutta 1967—Rick Best, Tony Esposito, Gary Milroy, Bruce Riutta 1969—Al Karlander 1971—Rob Murray, Morris Trewin 1974—Jim Nahrgang, Mike Zuke 1975—Bob D’Alvise 1976—George Lyle, Mike Zuke 1981—Tim Watters 1993—Jamie Ram 1994—Jamie Ram 2015—Tanner Kero Second Team 1950—Jim Ruhl 1952—Joe deBastiani 1956—Jack McManus 1990—Kip Noble 2005—Colin Murphy Third Team 1950—Jack Noblet 2004—Chris Conner Honorable Mention 1953—Joe deBastiani, Bob McManus, George McGinn, Harry Taylor 1956—Wally Crockatt, Harvey Glover, Lorne Holden, Bob McManus 1963—Gary Begg

16

SPORTS

Thursday, April 14

Track team wins big University Athletics Press Release

The Michigan Tech track and field team wrapped up competition in the CSB-SJU Outdoor Invitational Sunday on the campus of Saint John’s University.

Numerous Huskies earned victories or accomplished high marks in the various events, highlighted by relay wins in both the men’s and women’s 4x400 as well as the women’s 4x100.

Other key performers at the invite included: Jevon Maddox had a strong showing on the men’s side, winning the 200- and 400-meter dashes while placing third in the 100.

Isaac Pringle took second in the 400-meter race to give Tech a sweep of the top-two spots in that event.

Mike Tuski captured the win in the 800-meter run, and the duo of Jacob Jarvis and Christian Albers had a one-two finish in the 110-meter hurdles to complete the solid day for Michigan Tech’s men’s runners.

Kyle Petermann won discus and Mike Fisher won high jump, while Zach Klassen and Keith Lemley were No. 2 and No. 3 in the pole vault, respectively. Michael Frahm set a career-best in the shot put by posting a 50-3 1/4.

On the women’s side, Jamie Dompier continued her dominance in the sprints, winning both the 100- and 200-meter events.

Lauren Tetzloff won the 400-meter by nearly two seconds and Ashley Veale cruised to a victory in the 400-meter hurdles by finishing five seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

Liz Bloch also placed well in the running events, taking home a second-place finish in the 1500-meter run.

“We had some nice results in today’s meet and you have to be happy with how our athletes performed,” said head coach Joe Haggenmiller. “It was a bit chilly and a little breezy so the times might not be off the charts, but it was a solid effort for us.

I’m especially happy with out relay teams for winning three races. Winning the relays is a cool thing to see because it’s truly a team effort and shows how strong we are in those events.”

Michigan Tech will be back in action next weekend on April 15 at the St. Norbert Twilight in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Michigan Tech Lode

Sidelines

The £15,000 Ticket

Get Ready for the 2nd Annual Keweenaw Color Run!

September 18, 2016 Registration opens

Friday April 15, 2016 keweenawcolor.run

/KeweenawColorRun

Tennis team gets swept University Athletics Press Release The Michigan Tech men’s tennis team dropped a pair of GLIAC matchups this weekend against two of the league’s top squads. The Huskies fell to Grand Valley State 8-1 Saturday and suffered a 9-0 defeat today at the hands of Ferris State.

Grand Valley State 8, Michigan Tech 1 Robin Duhnsen claimed the lone victory for the Huskies this weekend by earning a 7-5, 3-6, 11-9 win at No. 2 singles.

Tech battled but fell just short in numerous matches on the day, including at both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions where they fell 8-6 and 8-5, respectively.

Ferris State 9, Michigan Tech 0 GLIAC-leading Ferris State handed Tech a 9-0 defeat earlier today in Big Rapids, Michigan.

Built Yumuang had the best performance by all Huskies and came close to clinching a point for Tech, but his solid effort eventually came up just short in a 7-5, 6-7, 6-10 battle at No. 3 singles.

“It was a tough weekend against two pretty darn good teams,” said head coach Kevin Kalinec. “We’ll take what we can from these matches, continue to progress this week and focus on preparing for the home stretch of the season.”

Michigan Tech (4-9 overall; 1-5 GLIAC) plays host to Lake Superior State next weekend (April 16) at Gates Tennis Center in Houghton.

Tennis player Robin Duhnsen during his win against Grand Valley State last Saturday.

Photo courtesy of University Athletics

It’s football season, and I don’t mean that American pigskin-throwing garbage.

I’m talking about football, the kind you play with your feet.

And the Leicester Foxes are really showing us how it’s done.

Now, to be honest, I don’t know very much about football. My general reaction to all things British is amused bafflement, but Leicester’s story is something we can all relate to.

For those who don’t know, the Leicester Foxes were at the bottom of the league last year, facing the prospect of being relegated out of the division. Now, they’re at the top of the league by seven points, which, as I gather, is quite a lot with only five games left in the season.

Everybody loves an underdog.

Especially when said underdog is reacting to its unexpected success so well. The narrative around the team has been one of laughter, not letting the pressure of a winning a title get in their heads. It’s lovely to watch.

Of course, that loveliness makes everyone want to watch them, which leads to the problem. While everyone can enjoy the Foxes story, not everyone can watch the games.

On May 7, the Foxes play their last home match of the season against Everton, a match that will determine whether they get the Premier League title. This game will be played in the King Power Stadium, which seats 32,312 people.

The game sold out in 90 minutes.

Many members of the club, who pay as much as £100 for the ability to buy priority tickets, were unable to get seats for this game. Now, many of those that were lucky enough are selling those tickets online at massively inflated prices, up to £15,000 for a pair. That’s a little over $17,000.

Now there’s a price we might not be able to relate to.

On the other hand, it might be worth it.

I mean, that’s some high-stakes incredible football. Anyone with a spare $8,524 plus airfare and hotels want to go halfsies with me? I’ll pick up the fish and chips.

It could be a lot of fun! We’ll be done with classes by then, so it won’t get in the way of anything. I hear the weather is really nice in London this time of year.

Actually, no, I haven’t. Everything I’ve ever heard about the weather in London has been miserable. But, we probably wouldn’t be spening much time outdoors anyway, so I think it would be fine.

Anyone who’s interested can email me at rasilver@mtu.edu. Even if you’re not down for the trip, hit me up and we can chat about football. It’d be great.

Michigan Tech Lode

SPORTS

Thursday, April 14 17

Helter Smelter 2016 Davy McLeod Lode Writer

Speed demons from all over the Keweenaw converged and competed on Saturday, Apr. 9 for a shot at a $500 cash prize. Just under a hundred showed up at Mt Ripley in the morning to enter the second annual Helter Smelter event, which was organized by the Michigan Tech Ski and Snowboard Club and Rhythm Bike & Board Co. in Houghton.

It’s a ski-cross style race that forces the riders to carve along banked turns and fly through open air as fast as they can to the finish line in an attempt to secure the best time.

“There’s slopestyle, there’s slalom and then there’s this. This is our approach to a less serious kind of competition.”

-Mitch Kirby After registration and final touches to the course, the lift lurched to a start and skiers and snowboarders flocked to the loading area. Waves of sound washed across the hill from the loudspeakers in front of the chalet, playing music and emitting announcements to all. There would be practice runs and a course inspection first—then the races would begin.

The course started about halfway up the center of the mountain, where a tent and makeshift starting gate were set up.

There were two turns right away that led into a pair of jumps. Next was a sharp turn and several rollers (sort of similar to speedbumps except they’re in snow and can actually add to one’s speed if approached correctly).

That took you to a gap in the track that switched pitches, so that the rider must maneuver midair to land properly.

Then once a rider got through the final few turns, the finish line was the end of a

ramp that sent racers soaring before they landed in the snow outside the chalet.

All of the forms were shaped by volunteers from the Ski and Snowboard Club during the previous week. Groomers pushed snow into place and then the riders made it into what they envisioned.

“There’s slopestyle, there’s slalom, and then there’s this,” said Mitch Kirby. Kirby is the Social Chair of Tech’s Ski and Snowboard Club, and had a hand in a lot of the planning and preparation of Helter Smelter. “This is our approach to a less serious kind of competition.”

The participants were split into separate divisions: 18 and under, women, open ski and open snowboard. Everyone got two runs, and their best time was kept. With the course deemed ready, and the riders itching to go, they started streaming down one at a time, one after the other.

It became clear that the first jump had to be done carefully, with less speed than expected; going too quickly meant landing in the flat section between them, which happened to some of the ambitious riders.

“Went better than my practice run,” said one youth rider named Bennett Newman after he made it down. “It’s

A skier getting air during the Helter Smelter.

Photo by Davy McLeod

weird. Going over the rollers and then hitting that berm.”

The women’s division was next, composed of skiers and snowboarders. Even some cross-county skiers took a try and one of them placed second in the division. It’s extremely tricky to take crosscountry skis down obstacles like that.

A skier getting air during the Helter Smelter.

Following that, the open ski division went, and finally all of the snowboarders.

While one division was racing among themselves, other riders were free to roam the rest of Ripley. People had come just to watch too, congregating at the chalet with their kids and pets in tow.

Continued on page 19

Photo by Davy McLeod

18

Thursday, April 14

SPORTS

Michigan Tech Lode

Skiers on the hill during the Helter Smelter.

Photos by Davy McLeod

Sporting events schedule: April 15-24 Friday, April 15

Track and Field

Saturday April 16

@ St. Norbert Twilight

Tennis

vs. Lake Superior State Gates Tennis Center 10 a.m.

Football

Spring Game Sherman Field 1 p.m.

Keweenaw Roller Girls Roller Derby

Friday, April 22

Saturday, April 23

@ Al Owens Invitational

@ Al Owens Invitational

vs. Wayne State Gates Tennis Center 10 a.m.

vs. Midstate Sisters of Skate Houghton County Arena 5 p.m

Sunday, April 24

vs. Northwood Gates Tennis Center 10 a.m.

Michigan Tech Lode

SPORTS

Skiing

Continued from page 17 One dog named Hank followed his owner so loyally, loping beneath the lift towards the top of the slope and then chasing him down over and over. Despite the mid-twenties temperature, the sun stayed up and out, uninterrupted by the couple of clouds lazily drifting in the sea of blue above.

Just after 4 p.m., all the competitors listened eagerly as Hayden Henderson— from Rhythm—announced the winners and had the prizes handed out. The prizes were donated from various sponsors, and hardly anyone left without something new. First through third in the youth got bags of apparel, and so did the women’s.

Rhythm fronted $1000, half of which to be given to the fastest skier and the other to the fastest snowboarder. Logan Stetsko turned out to be the fastest skier and had the best overall time across divisions. He

was given the money for winning open ski and a hand-crafted pendant for the top time overall. The cash prize was delivered in singles, handed to Stetsko and the fastest snowboarder.

“It’s heavy,” Stetsko said, laughing. “I’ve never described money as heavy, but it is.”

The only fee for the event was a day pass ($10), and since Ripley donated their electricity, the approximately $1000 raised from ticket sales could be put towards two causes: half to the Houghton Michigan Skate Park, and half to Strap in For Life, an organization that involves patients affected by cancer in winter sports.

Henderson thanked all those that helped, and the crowd let out a cheer when assorted merchandise was thrown to them. Mt Ripley was a mix of bright white and deep green, and the 2016 Helter Smelter seemed to be the exclamation point on the end of a great ski season.

Bachelor’s Degree Kenneth Arndt Jingwei Bao Justine Barker Zachary Bedell Jarrod Bennett Dallas Bond John Bosio Andrea Bowen Steven Buda Haley Carlson Eric Carter Xiaoxiao Chen Kirsten Dulbandzhyan Kristina Eskola Jeremy Fernstrum Shang Gao Jack Gassner Connor Herbart Nathan Hood William Hyland Katelyn Jelso Ya Luo Yudan Lurong Stacey Mattila Brandon Martinez Justin Nicholas Kyle Oberle Diana Olechiw Adam Olson Alexander Ott Nora Pennala Kaila Pietila Gage Pruyne Amanda Rantala Alex Rehbein Adam Romanko Anthony Root Justin Slater Jordan Smith James Sturos Chongsheng Sun

Thursday, April 14 19

Yuning Sun Arissara Suthijingdawong Tyler Szabo Allysa Taavola Emiliya Tenizbaeva Erika Tenizbaeva Kendall Ward Chenxi Wu Sirawit Yumuang Adam Zawisza Shuai Zhou

Master’s Degree Shivam Bharti Jing Feng Zachary Fredrickson Jena Hale Siddharth Jadhav Sibo Li Javier Oliveros-Torres Jari Sague Anthony Stromer Brady Tervo Kristen Therrian Yingxin Wu Naixin Xu Wenye Xu Wenyu Xu Lu Yang Chang Zhang

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you have imagined.” Henry David Thoreau Best of Luck from The School of Business and Economics www.mtu.edu/business

Upcoming

Events april 14 - april 20 Husky Happy Hour

Thursday, April 14

Appleton, WI

Enjoy an informal evening out and network with fellow Michigan Tech alumni and friends.

Spring Fling

Friday, April 15 12 - 4 p.m. MTU (SDC ice arena, if weather is bad)

Spring is here! Well, not really, but Winter is gone! So this Sprinter (Spring + Winter), start looking forward to Spring Fling! We’ll have inflatables, a balloon artist and swag galore! Come visit all of our booths and be transported back into the world of your favorite classic cartoons!

Don Keranen Memorial Jazz Concert

Friday, April 15 7:30 - 10 p.m. Rozsa center

Expect a great evening of jazz, connecting not only the many generations of jazz, but also the musical legacy of the late Don Keranen to the performance of students in Michigan Tech’s jazz studies program. As one of the Copper Country’s most talented musicians Don was a tremendous innovator at Michigan Tech.

Stomp Out MS in STYLE

Saturday, April 16

11 a.m. MTU Campus; Lot 14 near the Broomball Rinks

CMU Physical Therapy Student Organization is hosting its first anual 5K Run/Walk through Michigan Tech’s Campus. This event will raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society- Michigan Chapter. Best Costume will win a prize! Registration: 9:00-10:45am, Pre-Race Yoga: 9:45-10:30am, Run/Walk: 11:00am

KSO: Shakespeare at the Symphony

Saturday, April 16 7:30 - 10 p.m. Calumet Theatre

The KSO performs orchestral music inspired by The Bard of Avon’s plays, including The Tempest (Sibelius), Hamlet (Liszt), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mendelssohn) and Romeo and Juliet (Berlioz and Prokofiev). “Give me some music; music, moody food of us that trade in love.”

Phantom of the Opera Charity Ball

Saturday, April 16 8 p.m. - 12 a.m. Rozsa Center

Join us for an elegant gala and a night of mystery at the Rozsa.You’ll enjoy live music, entertainment, a DJ, a photo booth, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.

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Special rates on events page advertising. Contact us at lodeads@mtu.edu or for more information call:

(906) 487-2404.