Avion Issue 7 Spring 2018

| Issue 7 | Volume 149 | Tuesday, March 6, 2018 | theavion.com |

Andrew Bronshteyn /The Avion Newspaper

The Guiding Light for the Future of Greek Life

What’s Inside

Every semester, students from all across the world return to their respective universities with ambitions to study diligently and, one day, earn the degree that lies at the end of their collegiate journey. Naturally, many students search for associations and activities to assist their development and cultivation as young adults while also building the foundations of friendships that will last a lifetime. There are many benefits to joining a group of like-minded people, whether it be a sports team, academic society, or Greek organization. However, as of late, there has been much news of tragedies associated with many of these organizations, specifically Greek life. As a result of dangerous and illegal practices, including hazing and reckless substance abuse, fraternities and sororities across the country have become notorious. Penn State, Texas State, and Louisiana State have all suspended Greek life programs following the deaths of students. At Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach, students in Greek affiliations have discussed such events and how they can avoid following the same path that some chapters are, unfortunately, making all too common. While

Will Technology Solve Our Problems?

A3

the University already holds multiple mandatory anti-hazing and anti-sexual abuse seminars throughout the year, the students have taken it upon themselves to ensure that their peers do not act in ways which may be harmful to their respected organizations and the members of this community. Additionally, the brothers and sisters of Greek organizations at ERAU hope to build stronger communities through philanthropic programs, academic excellence, and responsible induction and education of their newest members.

“

It is this reason why the Greek community of Embry-Riddle seeks to uplift the national Greek community and to help our brothers and sisters learn from past mistakes in order to better represent our values

“

Gavin Buck and Levi Lingsch Correspondents

The brothers of Phi Gamma Delta at Embry-Riddle recently held their biannual chapter retreat at the Andy Romano Beachfront Park to discuss the current state of the chapter, state of Greek life on campus, and what can be done to assure that both are heading towards

excellence. Of the topics discussed, improving Greek and non-Greek relationships on campus were of particular importance. Although we are quite proud of all we have done as a chapter since our 2013 conception; we recognize that much more can is accomplishable when the network of on-campus organizations works together towards a common aim. For example, three Greek organizations attended Relay for Life last spring to raise funds for cancer research. Although the event organizers were grateful for our support, the number of funds raised would substantially increase if a tradition was made for other extra-curricular organizations to attend. Such a collective effort would not only support those battling cancer, but it would also strengthen the existing Greek bonds and even create new friendships between Greek and non-Greek organizations.

Fortunately, the spirit of Greek life here at ERAU does not stop at helping fight cancer. Each Greek organization has their philanthropy and holds events to raise funds to support them.

While this includes efforts to fight cancer with the Huntsman Cancer Institute (Sigma Chi) and Cycle for Life (Pi Kappa Alpha), it also comprises fantastic, charitable associations. Autism Speaks (Alpha Xi Delta), the March of

ULA Launches GOES-S

B3

Dimes (Sigma Sigma Sigma), and the ALS Association (Phi Delta Theta) are just a few of these associations that the Greek students work alongside. For example, the international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta chooses to focus its support towards the United Service Organization whose philanthropic efforts help support our nation’s service men and women. Per tradition, the Epsilon Rho chapter holds an annual Islander Week, with events including a golf scramble, homerun derby, and Diamond Girl competition with all proceeds benefiting the USO. Likewise, the sisters of Sigma Sigma Sigma hold a week of events with proceeds benefiting the March of Dimes, which conducts research to improve health care for expectant mothers and newborns. Such practices are far from uncommon among the Greek organizations on campus and are incredibly important aspects of the great potential we have to do good in our communities and the world.

Attendance at philanthropy events for other organizations is undoubtedly something we seek to further improve upon within the chapter, and we sincerely hope that the Greek community on campus will only further unify in support of significant causes.

Continued on A7>>

Softball’s Doubleheader

C2

In the News

Page

A2

The Avion

Executive Board Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Business Manager Photography Editor Advertising Manager

Henry Neiberlien Collin Anderson Rajan Khanna Samantha Stirmel Vipul Telang Payton Muglia

Page Editors Front Editor Campus Editors Student Life Editor Feature Editors I&T Editors Sports Editors Comics Editor Copy Editor

Nicholas Hernandez Andrew Bronshteyn Victoria Jordan Abigail Johnson Keenan Thungtrakul K’Andrew France-Beckford Madeline Eitniear Kaitlyn Zumwalt Jaclyn Wiley Jorja Gwaltney Alessia Ames Jordyn Taylor Samantha Stirmel Brandon Collins Jordyn Taylor

Staff Contributors Reporters Abigail Johnson Keenan Thungtrakul Brandon Collins Alessia Ames

Photographers Chaz Pokracki Collin Anderson

Correspondents Saktiswaran Jeyaganesh, Olivia Brett, Diego Garcia

Staff Advisor Jessica Murphy, Avion Advisor

Contact Information Main Phone: (386) 226-6049 Ad Manager: (386) 226-7697 Fax Number: (386) 226-6016 Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Business Manager Photography Editor Advertising Manager

editor@theavion.com managing@theavion.com news@theavion.com business@theavion.com photo@theavion.com advertising@theavion.com

Website: theavion.com

The Avion is produced weekly during the fall and spring term, and bi-weekly during summer terms. The Avion is produced by a volunteer student staff. Student editors make all content, business and editorial decisions. The editorial opinions expressed in The Avion are solely the opinion of the undersigned writer(s), and not those of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Student Government Association, The Avion, or the student body. Letters appearing in The Avion are those of the writer, identified at the end of the letter. Opinions expressed in the “Student Government” and “Student Life” sections are those of the identified writer. Letters may be submitted to The Avion for publication, provided they are not lewd, obscene or libelous. Letter writers must confine themselves to less than 800 words. Letters may be edited for brevity and formatted to newspaper guidelines. All letters must be signed. Names may be withheld at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

The Avion is an open forum for student expression. The Avion is a division of the Student Government Association. The Avion is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. The costs of this publication are paid by the Student Government Association and through advertising fees.

The Avion distributes one free copy per person. Additional copies are $0.75. Theft of newspapers is a crime, and is subject to prosecution and Embry-Riddle judicial action. This newspaper and its contents are protected by United States copyright law. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, in print or electronically, without the expressed written consent of The Avion. Correspondence may be addressed to: The Avion Newspaper, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Daytona Beach, Florida 32114. Physical office: John Paul Riddle Student Center, Room 110. Phone: (386) 226-6049. Fax: (386) 226-6727.

March

06 2018

TH

Central Michigan University Shooting

Olivia Brett Correspondent

Central Michigan University was on lockdown on Friday, March 2, after two people were killed in Campbell Hall on campus. CBS News reports that what seems to have been a domestic altercation that resulted in the deaths of James Davis Sr. and Diva Davis, the suspect's parents.

The shooter, James Eric Davis Jr., was seen and reported around midnight on Friday on a train passing through the north end of the CMU campus. He was arrested without incident on Saturday, after a 24-hour manhunt. This marks the 12th shooting to occur on a school campus, and ensued only two-weeks after the Parkland Florida shooting on Valentine's Day. That shooting was the 291st school shooting since Sandy Hook in 2013 according to CNBC and Everytown Research.

On Thursday night, the suspect was allegedly suffering from a drug overdose, or bad reaction to drugs, and was taken to the hospital. Davis's parents were on campus to pick him up from the hospital and take him home for spring break on Friday morning.

They were killed in the dormitory at 8:30 a.m. Because of the campus' gunfree policy, it is suspected that Davis stole the gun from his father, who was a Bellwood Police Officer. Parents who were coming to pick up their

students for spring break were directed to stay off campus, and temporary shelters and accommodations were provided by a local hotel, as the suspect was at large until about 12:00 am on Saturday. Halie Bryon, a student at CMU, tells the Chicago Tribune that she was forced to lock herself in her off-campus house. “It is scary thinking about how easy a shooter can come into a college campus anywhere — a classroom, a library. There's so much easy access,” she explains.

Those who knew the shooter described him as "a good kid" and that he was smart and was interested in his education. High School teachers and peers who talked to the Lansing State Journal expressed their shock, as no one would have ever predicted

that Davis would commit a crime of any kind. Jordon Murphy, a friend of the family who worked with Davis Sr. Jordan Murphy, tells the Chicago Tribune that and Davis Sr. were deployed together as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and then worked as Army National Guard recruiters.

"Junior was a very respectful man, raised by upstanding parents, who would do anything to protect him and his siblings," Murphy tells the Chicago Tribune. "This is an incredibly tragic event, and I pray for Eric's other children. This is so incredibly out of character; something went wrong somewhere."

James Davis Sr. and Diva Davis are survived by their children, two sons and their one daughter.

Photo Courtesy: Google Maps The shooting, which killed two people, occurred at CMU’s Campbell Hall, as shown above.

Neglecting Their Posts Samantha Stirmel Business Manager Classrooms in all public schools in all 55 counties of West Virginia have sat vacant since Thursday, Feb. 22, following changing legislation.

Teachers are angry about health insurance premiums going up while their salary remains the same or has little increase. They also argue that they are some of the lowest paid teachers in America.

Public kindergarten through twelfth-grade teachers, singing 'Country Roads' can be heard through the walls of the capitol building in Charleston, West Virginia.

The start of the protest was initiated after Governor Jim Justice signed off on a pay raise of 2% which would come into effect in June with a further raise of 1% by 2020. The complaint from teachers: that it wasn't enough. From prior complaints from teachers, the health insurance rates were frozen on Feb. 20. Educators say that the 'freeze is not a fix' and they will continue to protest until something is done about it permanently. The insurance of the state, which includes all the public educators within, is the Public Employees Insurance Association (PEIA). Each year because of medical inflation

prices, they need about $50 million to keep premiums from going up.

Legislators have been scrambling to find where they can allocate funds from to bring it in and decrease this raise in premiums and fund the pay increase for all public employees. A task force to find a long-term answer to ensuring premiums don't go up, the premium freeze, and a 5% pay increase over the next year from the governor were satisfactory enough to Union leaders. Therefore, they told lawmakers that if this got passed, their teachers would be back to school Thursday, March 1. On that day, the halls of all counties were still empty.

Because of this pushback from the teachers, the Finance Committee of West Virginia tabled the discussion of officially approving the pay increase and task force associated with it to be formed until the next business week.

The last part of the argument from teachers that is being commonly heard is the fact that they believe that they are some of the lowest paid teachers in America. They are close on paper, as in 2016 their salary is located at number 47 on the list of median teacher salaries from highest to lowest. The Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2016 stated that elementary school teachers in West Virginia had a median salary of $45,520 annual-

ly, middle school teachers $44,420, and high school teachers $45,240. It is important to note that the cost of living in West Virginia is much lower than in surrounding states like New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts, some of the regions that the teachers have been citing as being better off. Typically, wages are rarely the same across the board because the cost of living impacts them more than anything else.

Throughout this process of protesting, many legal experts have been investigating the legality of this strike from public employees across the state. The quiet consensus is that this entire thing is illegal and was ruled that way by the Supreme Court in 1990. The Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey, has even agreed on this assessment. Teachers are relied on across the state of West Virginia in schools not just to teach children, but also to be there as advocates and role models. Without teachers there to keep the schools going, the children who rely on free school lunches go hungry, the parents that rely on school as a place for their children to be while they are at work lose income, and the children in high school relying on Advanced Placement testing and standardized testing for their future, have the door shut.

Campus

March

06 2018

TH

Page

A3

The Avion

Kentaro Toyama: Will Technology Solve Our Problems?

Factoid • Kentaro Toyama is W.K. Kellogg Associate Professor of Community Information at the University of Michigan School of Information.

• Toyama was born in Tokyo, Japan, and was raised in both Japan and the United States.

• Toyama is the author of Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology.

• Toyama graduated from Yale with a PhD in Computer Science and from Harvard with a bachelors degree in Physics.

• Previously, he was an assistant managing director of Microsoft Research India, which he co-founded in 2005.

• At MSR India, he started the Technology for Emerging Markets research group.

“

Even if artificial intelligence comes to fruition, it will serve as an extension of the humans who designed it.

While we may be making advancements in artificial intelligence, it will not be as good as human intelligence for a long time. Even if artificial intelligence comes to fruition, it will serve as an extension of the humans who designed it. It can only access what the programmers say it can access.

The availability of Internet access in other countries reflects this face.

Not every country has the technological freedoms that we have.

We in the United States have the freedom of expression stated as a fundamental freedom in the Bill of Rights. For countries like China, they do not have such freedoms. Their Internet is regulated and monitored by the government, and they establish laws stating how domains should be run, particularly social media sites. An extreme case of this regulation is North Korea. They do not see any of the outside world's Internet. Furthering the idea of technology amplifying human influences, think of advertisements.

They are big influences in our consumer lives, and the primary method of distributing them is through the Internet. Besides influencing consumer decisions, the Internet also seems to expose underlying political flaws. One does not have to look far to find examples. Facebook is a natural starting point. With social media becoming more of a primary way of staying in touch with others, we isolate ourselves from the people around us. As mentioned earlier, it can serve to strengthen political divides and solidify virtual "bubbles" that separate us from those personal relationships that we cherish the most.

Think about the last time you had class. Did you take time for mean-

ingful conversations with your classmates? Or were you there to merely attend lecture then leave? Do you ever wonder about possibly hanging out with your classmates instead of spending your free hours looking at some screen? Consider some of the friends you have. Which friendships would you say are the strongest in your life? Are they friends you stay in touch with solely over the phone, text, or social media, or are they friends you regularly get together with in person? While technology can help create more connections, it's those person-person connections that matter more, especially in emotional health and in job searching.

Technology can also assist in furthering education. However, there is another side to this statement. The whole idea that drove the development of Massive Open Online Courses, also known as MOOCs, was to help those that do not have access to postsecondary education get the opportunity to get themselves on the path to a better future.

However, when Toyama asked the audience, they answered "college-educated professionals."

gled in school, and are finding another way of making a living. These people would find no motivation to try and learn the challenging material on their own. If the Massive Open Online Courses do not instill the right mindset in the target market, they will have to find another market.

People in this new market: college-educated professionals, use these courses to give themselves an edge in the competition, as they often end up pitted against other like-minded professionals vying for dominance in their respective professions and fields.

In this case, technology merely served to amplify the competition between the higher-ups, and left the original target problem unresolved.

Technology alone does not help mitigate problems.

If technology is to change to mitigate societal issues better, there must be an understanding that human forces determine the actuality and direction of technology's impact.

Where technology's headed next depends on what's next for us. Technology's capabilities are as good as the humans behind them. If used correctly, technology can be very

Keenan Thungtrakul/The Avion Newspaper

Honor Series’ speaker Kentaro Toyama delivering a discussion on technological milestones and their true impact on the rest of society, begging the question if trechnology truly solves the problems that beleaguer humanity.

“

If technology is to change to mitigate societal issues better, there must be an understanding that human forces determine the actuality and direction of technology’s impact.

“

There is a saying that behind every great piece of technology is a human.

For Professor Kentaro Toyama, this saying is very accurate. Humans invent technology and then use it to amplify their influence. While technology does help to streamline our lives in some cases, it can also complicate them. In Toyama's generation, people would go to libraries, check out paper books, and use microfilm projectors to read journal articles to conduct scholarly research.

Now, anyone can get on a computer and do academic research through search engines such as Google Scholar or the EAGLEsearch engine provided by the Hunt Library. Technology has revolutionized the way humans conduct research. Not only that, technology has become part of the human existence. People express themselves through physical means and on social media. This article was typed up on a word processing software. People communicate with each other with their voices and their fingers over phone calls and text messages. Cameras document every moment of every day by either still photos or surveillance video. It is like technology has come to define the human race. Toyama stated an eye-opening statistic Wednesday night: the number of mobile phone subscriptions has increased faster than the world's population!

Putting this into perspective: think about the number of online accounts you have. Email, social media, entertainment, shopping, travel, school, the list can go on and on.

With all the rapid advancements in technology, people have begun to think that technology is the solution to the significant problems that face our society. Well, take a second look at the facts. Toyama showed several graphs that had the years that major technology milestones occurred, and yet the general trend of things such as the poverty level and the unemployment rate has remained relatively unchanged over the time period.

What is the reason for this?

For Toyama, the reason is that we rely too much on the technology itself to solve the problem rather than deal with the more human causes of the issues. So far we have implemented new technologies in many areas of our lives: education, politics, humanitarianism, agriculture, medicine, etc.

However, while these technologies are helping us in some ways, such as streamlining methods or organization and record-keeping, the technologies themselves are not the answers we seek. It is the human innovators behind them that we seek. Technology merely serves to amplify underlying human forces, not replace them.

A computer is as good as the humans who wrote the hardware and software code that it runs on. A robot is as good at what it is programmed to do, nothing more or nothing less.

“

Keenan Thungtrakul Senior Reporter

This is almost the opposite of the original goal of the program. The target market for MOOCs has a roadblock that the developers seemed to have missed. Most people in the target market have no time to dedicate to pursuing a brighter future. They are likely working several low-paying jobs just to get by in life. It is an issue of priorities and views on education. Some of these people come from a background where they strug-

beneficial. If not, then it will only amplify existing problems. If you invent a new piece of technology, you must strive to work with great collaborators to keep the mission of your technology on track.

Educate everyone you plan to work with on your technology so that they can efficiently use it to accomplish the intended mission that is in place.

Most importantly, ensure the human factors behind your technology are geared toward positive impacts, as we all know what happens when powerful technology gets into the wrong hands. We humans drive the future, not our machines.

There are no shortcuts to creating a better society. There must be collaboration and personal sacrifice if the future of humanity is to continue looking bright and heading forward.

Student Life

March

06 2018

TH

Page

A5

The Avion

Can You Escape Out of Space?

When walking into the Willie Miller Instructional Center at Embry- Riddle, Daytona Beach campus on Mar. 2, participants showed their ticket and were brought into a hallway. There is a short debrief on what your mission is, then you are brought into the escape room.

Vibrant lights covering the walls aid in the feeling of being on a lost space craft. Eight people comprised a team, and they all worked together to recover the codes needed to reset the system. Resetting the system meant that they could all live, because autopilot would be reactivated.

The first password was hidden on the inside of four of the participant's wristbands. After that phase was finished, six more passcodes were to be found. One of the six codes was found on the inside of a guinea pig’s shirt.

Before finding that, the lock on the outside of the cage had to be opened by finding four different QR codes that gave the lock letters. Listening to the radio on a headset gave another code, but if you did not read the manual in the tool bag correctly, the radio message would not be able to be decoded.

There was a set of tools in a bag that could be used to help with our mission. However, when trying to use the tools, it was apparent that they fit together and made a hint for another passcode.

another code was hidden; however, it was locked inside a box. When looking on the outside of the box, there was a robot patch that happened to be the same patch as the robot inside the room.

Participants had to look under the robot’s patch to find the numbers to unlock

the box revealing one of the six passcodes to reset the system.

Overall, this experience was very thrilling. Having only 30 minutes to complete the tasks, it was quite difficult. This attribute kept pressure on the participants that had them engaged the whole time block.

“

Overall, this experience was very thrilling. Having only 30 minutes to complete the tasks, it was quite difficult.

“

Alessia Ames Secretary

As time went on, a participant noticed small arrows on the ground that pointed to underneath the table. This was where

Collin Anderson / The Avion Newspaper Students getting debriefed as they prepare to enter the escape room hosted and created by Touch-N-Go.

Greetings from Mars: Interview with Dr. Ryan Kobrick CORRECTION In Issue 5’s article “Greeting from Mars: Interview with Dr. Ryan Kobrick,” the photos provided for the article were incorrectly captioned by associating the Mars Desert Research Station as a project of NASA. The Avion regrets the error.

Abigail Johnson Senior Reporter Assistant Professor of Spaceflight Operations, Dr. Ryan L. Kobrick, just returned from an exciting expedition in Utah where he simulated a future realistic mission on Mars at the Mars Desert Research Station. Dr. Kobrick has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Master’s of Space Studies degree, a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering, and his Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences with a focus in bioastronautics. He has hours of work and research in the field and has won multiple awards for his efforts. He is also the President and the chairman of Yuri’s night, an organization At Embry-Riddle, Dr. Kobrick teaches classes for Spaceflight Operations and Space Studies while also overseeing the Spacesuit Utilization of Innovative Technology Laboratory (S.U.I.T Lab) as the Principal Investigator.

After his return, The Avion had the opportunity to ask him some questions about his trip to the one of the most isolated places in the United States.

Q: Was this your first time living in the MDRS? Ryan Kobrick: It was my 5th rotation at MDRS and my 6th Mars simulation. Each experience is unique, but my 100-day simulation in the Canadian Arctic (FMARS on Devon Island in 2007) will most likely be the closest I get to the red planet in terms of isolation, remoteness, and comparative planetology projects ranging from human factors to field geology and biology.

Q: Did you know any of the crew mem-

bers that were there with you?

RK: I knew half the team before we even began planning. All members were competitively selected from a pool of International Space University alumni. A few of us worked on preparing this mission for over a year.

Q: How did you prepare for this mission? How does one become qualified?

RK: We had weekly planning meetings to determine provide updates on our research projects and to help with general logistics. With more time we would have been able to organize a proper sponsorship campaign. The best way to qualify for analogue research experiences is to make your way through the hierarchy of spaceflight experiences with any hands-on training.

That may start by working in a lab, assisting a researcher in the field, or reviewing journal articles. Then you can easily apply to be an independent crewmember on a MDRS mission. The next step would be to fully organize an entire crew rotation. Plenty of schools apply for their own rotation bringing their unique research.

Q: What were the living conditions in the MDRS like?

RK: The living conditions at MDRS are essentially a glorified campsite but with all the usually home equipment like a stove, microwave, and fridge. It’s not for everyone. We showered roughly once a week, Navy-style, meaning just enough water to get dowsed, then lather up with the water off, then rinse. We used approximately 30 gallons of water per day for six people with the highest use being washing dishes. The Habitat is complimented with additional buildings for a solar telescope observatory, a GreenHab for plant research, and a Science Dome for biology, geology and extended workspace. The food needs to be shelf-stable for ~2 years to help with the simulation, and rehydrating meat chunks from a can gets old really fast. In theory, a real Mars mission would have their GreenHab fully functioning to provide nutrition to a balanced diet.

Photo Courtesy: NASA The MDRS is located in the remote Utah desert, which features terrain that closely resembles the picture above.

Q: How realistic is the MDRS to an actual futuristic active Mars Base?

RK: Like most analogue locations, it has highlights and drawbacks. For an Earthbased location you are not going to mimic the 1/3 gravity of Mars or 1% atmosphere unless you go for a parabolic flight in a spacesuit at altitude! The MDRS campus had the potential to have operating systems that would be similar to those on a Mars base. The location in Utah is what gives the location it’s strength. It’s isolated and the terrain is very Mars-like with similar field investigations. Occasionally you might see a bird, and there are some desert bushes at some locations, but mostly it is red rocks and silence.

Q: What was your favorite moments during your time in the MDRS? RK: I enjoyed the time I was able to spend communicating with my awesome crew either one-on-one or as a group. I think this mission is just the beginning to future opportunities. Naturally, my favorite activity was going on spacewalks, or EVAs. I enjoy the raw discovery and exploration of new terrain. The last time I was at MDRS was over 10 years ago, so almost everything felt new again. I had a few moments of déjà vu, but it was different because I’m constantly changing as a human, being with different people changes everything.

Q: What research did you gather during your stay and what did you learn?

RK: I was running 5 projects while at MDRS. Some were unique to the environment while others were operational and could be run at any analogue location. Working with students in the ERAU

Spacesuit Utilization of Innovative Technology Laboratory (S.U.I.T. Lab) we investigated astronaut performance with range of motion video capture (wearing a suit versus unsuited) and EVA metrics including biometrics and operational physical data (time, distance, objectives). Working with NASA Glenn Research Center we investigated the dust load with a specialize filtration unit to see how much regolith gets into the Habitat. Partnered with Final Frontier Design I tested actual Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment gloves (astronauts wear these over their pressurized spacesuits to protect to underlayers) to see how they abraded in the dusty working environment. Finally, in our last day “in-sim” we ran a live hangout with AMADEE-18 at Kepler Station in Oman, who was also in a Mars simulation, showing how basecamps across Mars could communicate and offer each other support and advice.

Q: Knowing what living on Mars would be like from this experience, would you still undoubtedly want to be a Martian astronaut?

RK: I’d like to go to Mars at some point in my career. I don’t think that is realistic until my son is older (maybe 18+). Living on Mars would have a communication lag of 10 minutes each way on average, meaning it takes 20 minutes to have a reply to a message. I would love to spend a year on the Moon at a research facility, similar to research-explorers that visit Antarctica. On the Moon we would only have to deal with a 3-second delay, which is what we experience with many international video conferences.

Feature

Page

A6

The Avion

March

06 2018

TH

#NeverAgain Makes Progress Victoria Jordan Staff Reporter

Photo Courtesy: Flickr Students from the #NeverAgain movement stage a protest at the White House to demand change to gun laws.

It has been over two weeks since the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where the lives of 17 individuals were lost. The students returned to school last Wednesday to begin a journey to a new normalcy following the incident.

Students and teachers remained strong by providing emotional support to one another when they needed it during the school day. Law enforcement and the community also gave support as the students stepped through the front doors of the school, by greeting everyone with a positive attitude and holding up posters.

As the news of the shooting began to headline on television, the Internet, and social media, there has been a new aura established around gun control. The students have been more direct and open about what needs to change, and as a savvy generation with technology, they can get a steady expansion on their message to the rest of the country. Establish-

ing the #NeverAgain movement, we are seeing the government rattled to its core, and its cautious steps on how they can possibly pacify the movement, claiming that they will look into the possibility of raising the legal age limit to purchase a gun from 18 to 21 years old. However, the advocates of #NeverAgain and those that want to limit gun control want actions to be taken and not for prolonged government consideration.

As time continues to move forward, here is a look at what has transpired since the school shooting and with the #NeverAgain Movement: • The perpetrator has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

• Reports are showing that the armed school resource officer at the school, Scott Peterson, waited outside the school and failed to act while the shooting unfolded.

Since the allegations were released, he has resigned from his position. Remarks from President Donald Trump stated by his White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee that if Trump were in that situation, he would have rushed into the Florida school shoot-

ing, been a leader at the scene, and tried to “take a courageous action.”

• Sports equipment retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods announced their new policy that they will no longer sell assault-style rifles at all 35 field & stream stores. No firearms will be sold to anyone under the age of 21 years old. High capacity magazines (firearm magazines capable of holding more than the standard number of rounds of ammunition) will no longer be sold. Like always they will never sell bump stocks that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire more rapidly.

• After pressure to boycott the NRA, FedEx stated it would continue its business relationship with the NRA but disagrees with their position to have assault rifles in the hands of civilians.

• President Trump tweeted about how arming teachers will help protect students, be “a big & very inexpensive deterrent,” and e left up to the states to decide.

How much more will the #NeverAgain movement be able to change the way we view gun control? We will have to be patient and see for ourselves.

ESRB Begins Labeling In-Game Purchases Brandon Collins Copy Editor What seems to be a shocking turn of events, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) announced that they would begin adding labels to video games that allow players to purchase digital goods with actual money to their covers that state that they contain “In-Game Purchases,” otherwise known as microtransactions.

The ESRB said in a press release early on Feb. 27 that it will apply labels to “bonus levels, skins, surprise items (such as item packs, loot boxes, mystery awards), music, virtual coins and other forms of in-game currency, subscriptions, season passes and upgrades (i.e., those that would disable ads on mobile devices or computers).”

The president of the ESRB, Patricia Vance, stated that any video game that has optional in-game purchases and extra content for sale would receive the “In-Game Purchase” label on its case. It does not matter if that purchase is $0.99 or $20.00, it will receive the tag.

The ESRB went on to say that the label is not for gamers who are adults, but rather for parents of young players who buy the games for their children. Vance stat-

ed that “Parents need simple information.

We cannot overwhelm them with a lot of detail. We have not found that parents are differentiating between these different mechanics [in-game].” She went on to say that the board is not just focusing on loot boxes, but rather the controversial method of video game companies making more money after they sell the game.

“I am sure you are all asking why we are not doing something more specific to loot boxes. We have done a lot of research over the past several weeks and months, particularly among parents. What we have learned is that a large majority of parents do not know what a loot box is. So it is very important for us to not harp on loot boxes per se, [but] to make sure that we are capturing loot boxes, [as well as] other in-game transactions.”

Now, it looks like this is a big move by the ESRB. However, it is not all that major. Due to the company’s ambiguous wording, this label would appear on just about every modern game. Games that have downloadable content (DLC) that are story-based, such would fall under the same category as games that allow players to buy slot machine-style loot boxes that are purchased with real money and offer

no guarantee of specific rewards.

This move by the ESRB looks excellent and all, but when you start to think about it, you have that “wait, what?” moment.

This move is an ineffective move. Just about every major AAA video game, especially those on consoles, would receive this label due to the ambiguous wording.

Vance stated that she felt that “this is an effective response. If you care about parents, if you care about their concerns, this is an effective response.” However, since it is labeling video games that sell anything to players, i.e., loot boxes, microtransactions, boosts, even DLC, will receive the catch-all label of “In-Game Purchases.” Because of this, just about every title this year will receive the label on its case, including several indies.

This announcement comes weeks after Hawaii introduced four new bills into their state congress. These bills would have not only banned loot boxes and microtransactions for minors under the age of 21, but they also would have required for publishers to openly disclose the rates of probability on winning all potential in-game rewards. The bills described the industry’s modern reward system as to “employ predatory mechanisms that are designed to exploit human psychology to compel players to keep sending money in a similar way that casino games are designed.”

The bills went on to say that the loot boxes featured in modern games have similar effects as gambling does in regards to psychological, addictive, and financial risks.

The ESRB argued that they did not view the loot boxes as “gambling.” According to Kotaku, during a call with reporters on Feb. 27, Vance stated that “We certainly considered whether or not loot boxes would constitute as gambling.

[The ESRB] does not believe it does. [The ESRB] thinks it is a fun way to acquire virtual items for use within the game.”

They felt that due to them being voluntary, it was ultimately “the gamer’s decision [on whether or not they want to] enhance their in-game experience.”

However, several lawmakers across the country argued against this statement.

For one, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), who argued against loot boxes, stated that “While [the] announcement of the creation of a new ‘In-Game Purchases’ label and the ESRB’s response to my letter are a positive step for parents and consumers, I am still concerned by the ESRB’s skepticism regarding the potentially addictive nature of loot boxes and microtransactions in video games. I will work with all relevant stakeholders to continue oversight on these issues and ensure that meaningful improvements are made to increase transparency and consumer protections.”

Without the regulatory powers of the government, it is highly unlikely that the ESRB will do anything else in regards to this issue. Only time will tell how their decision will affect both the bills currently in Hawaii’s legislature and the overall view on loot boxes, and what may become of them.

An Avion-generated example of what a in-game purchase label might look like on a game disc case.

A7 Feature Comin’ Straight from the Runaround March

Page

06 2018

TH

Brandon Collins Copy Editor The "Riddle Runaround" is infamously known on campus as one of the worst things that can happen to a student. As most people on campus know, the "Riddle Runaround" is when a student is sent to various departments around campus to take care of an issue that students should have no issue completing. For example, during times such as the class withdrawal period, students have to run from their advisor's office to their professor's, to Financial Aid, and then to the Office of the Registrar to finally drop the class.

To eliminate this issue, the Embry-Riddle administration has decided to implement a "one-stop shop (OSS)" in the new student center set to open this fall. The "OSS" will hopefully improve the experiences of students by conveniently housing multiple departments in one location. At this time, the "OSS" will be home to three major departments: Student Financial Services, the Office of the Registrar, and Financial Aid. All three departments are currently cross-training all of their employees so that the staff of the OSS will be able to answer most, if not all, of the student's questions when they visit, eliminating the runaround students experience today. If the staff member is unable

The Avion

to answer the question, they will call or Skype a staff member in the necessary office to get an answer for the student. They currently plan on using a similar method if the student's advisor needs to approve something for the student.

Cindy Bixler, the Associate Vice President of Institutional Efficiency, stated in an interview with The Avion that "this is a new department that will conduct the student facing functions that are currently offered in the Office of the Registrar, Financial Aid, and Student Financial Services. Those functions will no longer be conducted in the [home] offices thereby eliminating the need for students to visit those offices. The ‘One-Stop Shop' will be the go-to place for all of these functions as well as assisting with other services, i.e., coordination with advising and general information on other student services.

The staff will be very knowledgeable about all services ERAU offers students." Bixler went on to state that they have received nothing but support from the heads of the aforementioned departments.

Robert Adams, the Dean of Enrollment Management, stated in the same interview that the department would also have a virtual/digital version of itself released alongside it on ERNIE. He hopes to see the department take a self-service sort of role, such that the department is there for

students who need it. Otherwise, students will be able to do roughly 80% of everything they need to by themselves whenever they have the time to do so.

When asked in an interview about what they plan on adding to the "OSS," neither Bixler or Adams was entirely sure. They said that they would like to see some components of EAGLEcard, such as refunds, added to the department, but otherwise, the needs of the students are the driving priority. Their current plan is to see what students think about the department, and then add what is needed over time.

The office plans on utilizing a walk-in queue management system to help the flow of students. Much like the one in Student Employment, students will signin, and when it is almost time for them to meet with a person, they will receive a notification. From here, students can either say they are ready and available to meet, or they can ask if they can delay for a few minutes if they are preoccupied.

Bixler said that students would not be obligated to stay in the office, and if time allowed, they could go and grab food, or even run to Starbucks to get a cup of coffee if they felt like it.

The department will be on the first floor in the southwest corner of the new student center. Administration has yet to decide the departments hours, stating

that they want the hours to be the best for students. They plan on determining that by analyzing current data and seeing when departments get the highest traffic from students during the day. During peak times of the semester, i.e., registration, they plan on bringing in more staff members from the three departments to help out. They also expect to have student employees at all times to help with simple questions and tasks much like most departments on campus do already.

Mark Waters, who is currently in a similar position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be the head of the department. He is currently set to come to the university in late March to begin work with the staff members he will lead. Administration, alongside Waters, is thinking of doing a potential soft opening over summer to see how the department works, as well as to work out any kinks they can find.

At this time, the current plan of action is for the department to improve over time. They will fix any issues as they come up, and if they find that they are the source of the problems, they will do their best to change. The ultimate goal of the department is to improve the students' experiences and end the runaround.

We can only wait and see if they are successful with their goal.

California’s Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act Olivia Brett Correspondent The California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, SB 1249 was introduced last week by Senator Cathleen Galgiani, and California may become the first state to ban animal testing. This bill would prohibit the sale of animal tested-cosmetics throughout the entire state, and a violation would result in a fine, up to $500 for the first violation, and $1,000 for any others subsequently. CBS Los Angeles reports that in 2000, California was the first state to make it unlawful to use animals for testing when an alternate method was appropriate. The state passed the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Resolution in 2014 to urge Congress to prohibit animal testing and cruelty.

Cruelty-Free International defines animal testing as "any scientific experiment or test in which a live animal is forced to undergo something that is likely to cause them pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm… the animals are usually killed at the end of the experiment." Animals may be injected or force fed with potentially

Greek Life Continued from A1 >> One of the greatest flaws in Greek communities across the nation is the way many chapters handle their new member education. On the Embry-Riddle Campus, the process of initiating new members is designed as a semester-long program aimed to teach individuals about values, traditions and what it means to be a member of the Greek organization that they would be representing as an initiated member.

Unfortunately, an alarming number of Greek organizations from many different universities have taken the power imbalance that they possess over pledge members as an opportunity to physically

harmful substances, exposed to radiation, or even forced to inhale toxic gases. These animals are not experimented on for medical or scientific purposes, but solely to test products, like shampoo or cream, that will eventually hit the shelves.

According to CBS Los Angeles, “the bill would make it unlawful for any cosmetic manufacturer to knowingly import or sell any cosmetic, including personal hygiene products such as deodorant, shampoo, or conditioner, in California if the final product or any component of the product was tested on animals after Jan. 1, 2020." California has been a leading state in developing alternate testing methods so that animal cruelty is a thing of the past.

Newsweek writes that other countries already have similar regulations regarding animal testing and that the European Union banned this form of inhumane treatment back in 2013. However, regulations in Europe do not address products that have been tested in other regions and are being sold in the EU. Other countries had opposite regulations, as Chinese cosmetics required testing on animals

before hitting the market before regulations changed in 2017. This means that all vendors had to test their products on animals before selling their products on the Chinese market, despite the origin of the product and manufacturing.

The Californian bill is being backed

by organizations such as the Social Compassion Legislation, Cruelty-Free International, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. These organizations champion causes that relate to animal welfare. A date has not been set for voting on the proposed bill.

and emotionally abuse them. Some claim that overcoming a semester of harsh hazing and turmoil is a bonding experience that acts as an adhesive in strengthening their brother/sisterhood, but history has proven quite the contrary. Rather than unity, hazing serves only to create resentment within chapters that often leaves a class of new members being treated as inferiors to their predecessors long after they are cleared of the title "pledge."

In the most severe cases, hazing has claimed the lives of young men and women whose families did not deserve to lose their loved one so suddenly. Although such loss of life is incredibly tragic, it is in no ways unpreventable. As fatal incidents involving alcohol seemingly multi-

ply, the ERAU Greek Community seeks to be the light that guides other organizations away from the current trend.

We truly hope that by displaying the strength of our brotherhoods and sisterhoods in the absence of hazing, we can inspire other Greek communities to deeply reflect and chose to make a change in their handling of new members.

One of the key day to day aspirations of all Greeks is to positively represent their organization and to embody their values.

If you were to look at the values of all the major Greek organizations in this country, nowhere would you see any mention of delinquency or hazing. Although it should be understood that mistakes will often be made in organizations composed of only

young adults, what is most important is that we reflect on these mistakes and help each other grow from them moving forward. It is this reason why the Greek community of Embry-Riddle seeks to uplift the national Greek community and to help our brothers and sisters learn from past mistakes in order to better represent our values.

And while we must acknowledge that we are by no means perfect, we should still be proud of all that we have accomplished together over the years. The Epsilon Rho chapter of Phi Gamma Delta is proud to be a part of this outstanding Greek community and is hopeful of the positive impact we can all make nationally if we do choose to band together and represent the future of Greek life.

Photo Courtesy: Janet Stephens The Wistar rat is a model organism; it is one of the most used rat species in scientific experimentation. Other animals used in cosmetic tests include guinea pigs, rabbits, beagles, and other easy-to-breed animals.

Collin Anderson/The Avion Newspaper

Industry

Page

B2

The Avion

Air Show Center Melbourne Air & Space Show Melbourne, FL Mar. 24-25, 2018

• The 5th anniversary edition of the Melbourne Air & Space Show. This year will feature the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. _________

Sun’N Fun Fly-in Lakeland, FL Apr. 10-15, 2018

• This event showcases products like jet teams, aerospace related exhibits, educational forums, aircraft statics displays, professional gatherings of aviation and economic development groups, and many more, in Business Services, Railway, Shipping & Aviation industries. _________ The Vero Beach Air Show Vero Beach, FL Apr. 21-22, 2018

• A 501(c)3 charitable event once again sponsored by Piper Aircraft Inc. The U.S. Navy Blue Angel announced that they will perform. _________

FORD Lauderdale Air Show Fort Lauderdale, FL May 5-6, 2018

• The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will headline the 2018 Ford Lauderdale Air Show that will feature military jet demonstrations, parachute teams, civilian aerobatic act and formation flight teams. _________ The National Salute to America’s Heroes, Miami Beach Air & Sea Show South Beach, Miami Beach, FL May 26-27, 2018

• The National Salute to America’s Heroes pre-

sented by Hyundai is a 365-day initiative that launches Memorial Day weekend designed to pay tribute, honor and encourage military and first responder heroes. The Air & Sea Show is a patriotically-infused world-class showcase of military technology and power, military and first responder demonstrations in the air, on the sea and on the land.

This Week in Aviation History Mar. 6, 2003

First flight of the AgustaWestland AW609, a civilian tilt-rotor aircraft prototype.

Mar. 7, 1932

First flight of the Junkers Ju 52/3m

Mar. 8, 1957

Entered Service: Grumman F11 F Tiger, the world’s first carrier-based supersonic fighter, with United States Navy Attack Squadron 156 (VA-156).

Mar. 9, 2009

Lion Air Flight 793, an McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30, registration PK-LIL, departs the runway at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia, and spins through 180°. All 172 people on board are evacuated safely but the aircraft is damaged beyond economic repair.

Mar. 10, 1948

NACA test pilot Herbert Henry Hoover becomes the first civilian to exceed the speed of sound when he flies the No. 2 Bell XS-1.

March

06 2018

TH

Astronauts Discuss Past, Future in Panel at 45th Space Congress Jaclyn Wiley Former Editor-in-Chief On Feb. 28, during the proceedings of the 45th Space Congress, a panel of former astronauts reflected on the achievements of NASA and commented on the future of the American and global space industry.

The theme of the Congress, which took place in Cape Canaveral from Feb. 28 - March 1, is "Next Great Steps." However, as panel moderator and Director of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Robert "Bob" Cabana joked, the purpose of the astronaut panel was to look back at the "past great steps."

Beyond Cabana, the astronaut panel featured former NASA astronauts Bob Crippen, Dr. Ellen Ochoa, Nicole Stott and Winston Scott. All of these astronauts had been present for some of the “great steps” in space history.

All of the astronauts in attendance had flown on the Space Transportation System, better known as the Space Shuttle, with Crippen serving as the pilot of the first Shuttle mission in 1981.

Cabana, launched with the Unity module, the first United States module on the International Space Station, and was the first American to go aboard the ISS. Dr. Ochoa, a four-time Shuttle astronaut, was the first Hispanic woman astronaut, and currently serves as the 11th Director of the Johnson Space Center.

Nicole Stott, a two-time astronaut and Embry-Riddle alumni, is an advocate for the arts and is a member of the Embry-Riddle Board of Directors.

Winston Scott flew on the Space Shuttle twice and currently serves as Dean of the College of Aeronautics at Florida Institute of Technology.

Earlier in the day, Dr. George Nield, the head of the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation, spoke about the many space endeavors that are being pursued by commercial operators in the United States. During the panel, the astronauts touched on many of the missions described by Nield, including the SpaceX Dragon 2 capsule.

One point that was discussed at multiple points during the panel was the importance of a crew abort system in commercial endeavors.

The Dragon 2 system is capable of a crew abort in the case of an emergency. All of the astronauts in attendance had flown on the Space Transportation System, better known as the Space Shuttle, which lacked an effective crew emergency abort system.

Additional astronauts were in the audience, including Scott Altman, who asked a question of the panel concerning the potential lessons that could be carried forward from the Space Shuttle to the human-rated launch vehicles currently in development by both the U.S. government and private companies.

Another aspect of the future of NASA that was discussed was the Space Launch System (SLS). The SLS is a heavy-lift launch vehicle being developed by NASA to launch humans to the Moon and beyond, utilizing the Orion crew capsule.

The SLS has not had a test yet, but Trump administration has pushed for the SLS to launch for the first time in the next few years with a crewed Orion capsule as its payload.

The precedent of a crewed first launch of a human-rated launch vehicle was set by the first launch of the Space Shuttle.

Crippen, the pilot flying the Space Shuttle during that momentous first launch, was quick to bring up the differences between the SLS-Orion and Space Transportation System systems, and stated that, though NASA could launch the SLS crewed the first time, “we do not have to.”

Among the panel were two NASA center directors, Ochoa of Johnson Space Center and Cabana of Kennedy Space Center, as well as Crippen, the former director of the Kennedy Space Center and the pilot of STS-1, the first flight of the Space Shuttle. Ochoa and Cabana, as NASA leaders, were both involved with the development of the SLS and the Orion capsule.

One of the questions that the panel received was specifically directed at the former and current NASA directors present. The question concerned balancing the goals of the future with the realities of the present at the NASA center scale.

Ochoa answered, and spoke about planning out the goals and objectives of her Center years in advance, and the potential difficulties that may arise with the changing nature of human spaceflight. JSC is the home of NASA human spaceflight endeavors.

The panel also emphasized the importance of diversity during the selection of astronaut crews. Ochoa,

Stott, and Scott all remarked that the selection of the first Shuttle crews, which featured women and minority astronaut candidates for the first time.

Beyond diversity in gender and race, the panel also discussed the importance of “diversity of thought” among crewmembers.

The Diversity of Thought refers to the difference in ideas and mentalities among crewmembers on a mission, which is beneficial not only for bringing multiple perspectives to missions, but also for ‘keeping things interesting.’

The panel was also a chance for the astronauts in attendance to share stories from their times on orbit. Cabana told the story of how he and USSR cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev boarded the ISS together in 1998, entering at the same time in the spirit of international cooperation. Crippen also gave a touching tribute to the late astronaut John Young, who served as commander alongside Crippen on STS-1.

The 45th Space Congress featured multiple panels and discussions on a variety of topics, as well as exhibitions from space industry companies and entities.

The event is a superb learning and networking opportunity for students, who are heavily encouraged to attend by the conference organizers.

The next Space Congress will also take place in Cape Canaveral, sometime in the spring of 2019.

MARCH

06 2018

TH

Technology

Page

B3

The Avion

ULA GOES-S For Launch Abigail Johnson Senior Reporter The countdown began on March 1, 2018 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Launch Pad 41. Vertical and prepped for takeoff was a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, topped with a large white fairing that encased a special payload. Inside was the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series, also known as GOES-S, a satellite produced by Lockheed Martin and built for the National Aeronautical and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GOES-S is an essential piece to understanding how our Earth conducts weather patterns and produces natural events, such as hurricanes, wildfires, and tsunamis. It is one of three satellites that will sit in what is called a Geostationary orbit, meaning it will not move from that position in order to collect data from a particular orbital location.

The Kennedy Space Center Press Site was buzzing with activity the morning of launch.

Members and directors of the National Weather Service, the Weather Channel, and numerous other meteorology science foundations were invited to experience the takeoff of a new revolutionary piece to their field of study. Lockheed Martin was also represented by a few engineers who constructed a small model of the satellite, explaining how it worked and how it would unfold when it escaped the fairing after flight.

Also invited to celebrate the launch of the satellite was the NOAA Gulfstream

IV-SP flight crew, more commonly referred to as the "Hurricane Hunters." These pilots and scientists are assigned the task to fly over large tropical storms and hurricanes to

Abigail Johnson/The Avion Newspaper GOES-S, an Earth observation satellite that will be utilized by NOAA and NASA, launched on March 1.

gather data about the storm system. Using a small device called a dropsonde, the crew of this jet will deploy these devices into the eye of a hurricane. The dropsonde will then release a parachute and slowly collect data that will instantaneously be relayed back up to the jet. This data will tell the scientists about the wind speeds inside the hurricane, the direction and influence of these wind speeds, and various other types of information that will offer a perspective of where this hurricane will be heading and how large, or small, it will become over time. When it has finished collecting data, the dropsonde will then sink into the ocean and biodegrade into the water.

Between the Hurricane Hunters and the GOES-S satellite, meteorologists are on the verge of a breakthrough in the scientific field. Understanding more about Earth's weather patterns and activity can help us protect communities in range of storms and disasters as well as predict warnings of future storm build ups and spontaneous weather activity. Our planet presents mysteries that humanity has yet to uncover.

The mission of GOES-S is to dig into these mysteries and analyze the behavior of weather patterns. As the Atlas V successfully cleared the launch pad and accelerated towards the sky, cheers sounded from many contributors and scientists who worked so hard on the project. However, as they explained to the Avion, their work was far from over. The launch was only the very beginning of what was to come as the satellite overlooked our home for the very first time.

Aero. Med. Certification Diego M. Garcia Correspondent Having stated, acknowledged and learned that human beings are not made for flying environments, that we have to accommodate to the different physical, mental and physiological challenges that aerospace exploration activities pose to our body and our ability to perform. Cabin environment and life support systems are designed to mitigate these threats; we recognize that even with these countermeasures, health and performance sometimes are diminished by different issues preventing crews from fully accommodating to the flight environment.

As a result, aerospace organizations look for healthy individuals suitable to face physiologic stresses of flight, and that is why aviation authorities, both civilian and military, have embraced the need to assure that every human element involved in safety-critical tasks is mental and physical fitness for their duties. The way to do that is by having all their populations passing through a periodical health screening process that looks for conditions that may lead to in-flight incapacitation or altered judgment; the extent and periodicity of this medical examinations depend on the type of operation, age and medical history of the personnel.

In that perspective, Aeromedical certification is performed by trained physicians that are sensible to flight conditions and their toll in aviation personnel. Furthermore, aeromedical examiners (known as AMEs or flight surgeons) must also understand how both normal and abnormal physiology may be affected by hypoxia/hypobaria, accelerations, thermal stress, fatigue, and

circadian disturbances, are some examples.

Aeromedical certification had been present since the earliest stages of aviation, and have suffered major changes, just as aviation systems and technologies. As per today, military standards for aeromedical certification are still somehow stringent while civilian standards became more flexible to allow the accelerated expansion of air commerce, general aviation, and civil air activities. As it is for most of civil aviation standards, personnel licensing, including aeromedical certification, are dictated by ICAO's 1946 Chicago Convention documents, with numerous updates of course.

Those for aeromedical certification are contained in Annex 1, Personnel Licensing.

Each authority adopts and enforces these standards through their own aeromedical certification rules. In The United States, the medical standards for each class of medical certificate are set in the Code of Federal Regulations, part 67 (14 CFR - 67), and defines a medical certificate as "acceptable evidence of physical fitness on a form prescribed by the Administrator. The primary goal of the airman medical certification program is to protect not only those who would exercise the privileges of a pilot certificate but also air travelers and the general public."

There are multiple instances for aeromedical certification beyond the aeromedical examiner concept. There are medical certifications with limitations, waivers or special issuances of aeromedical certificates for certain conditions or State of Demonstrated Ability (SODA). The modern premise for aeromedical certification is to keep them flying, better than denying airman privileges based on conditions that are not likely to impair their capabilities while at

the controls. That being said, just recently, lawmakers have passed a crucial modification that is now in practice, commonly known as BasicMed: a new medical certification for general aviation pilots involving a physician with practical knowledge about FAA guidelines (not necessarily an AME). The physician certifies that he is not aware of any mental or physical condition that may affect the ability of the pilot to perform flight duties safely; meaning that pilots can exercise student, recreational, and private pilot privileges in certain small aircraft without holding a current medical certificate. The main argument of the rule change promotion is that the rate of accidents produced by a medical impairment is very low. While that is true, they might have forgotten about health and fitness fluctuations, over the counter medications or flight physiology fundamentals. Moreover, they argued that if a person can drive a car, that driver's license is enough to fly a plane. In other words, there is not such a thing as flight physiology.

Although this is still very recent, opinions are all over the spectrum right now.

Some even dare to think that BasicMed is more restrictive than the former certification process, and I agree that both processes are bureaucratic. At the same time I wonder how many of us private pilots can correctly self-certify that we are fit to fly, and how many times have we said "yes, I am fine," while we are really not.

We still have to see the conundrums and real repercussions of letting pilots decide about their own flight readiness in terms of health states, but the question remains pretty much the same: Would you fly with this pilot?

Launch Control Center Falcon 9 - Hispasat 30W-6

March 6 @ 12:33-2:33 a.m. EST Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL SLC-40

Soyuz - O3b F4

March 6 @ 11:38:36 a.m. EST Sinnamary, French Guiana ELS

Long March 3B - Apstar 6C March 15 @ TBD Xichang, China TBD

Falcon 9 - SpaceX CRS 14

April 2 @ 4:30 p.m. EDT Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL SLC-40

ISS Sightings There will be no ISS sightings this week.

This Week in Space History March 7, 1970 In a White House release, President Nixon listed six specific objectives for the space program: continued exploration of the moon, exploration of the planets and the universe, substantial reductions in the cost of space operations, extension of man’s capability to live and work in space, rapid expansion of the practical applications of space technology, and greater international cooperation in space.

March 13, 1781 Uranus was discovered in the United Kingdom by William Herschel. This day marks the 237rd birthday of the planet.

March 15, 1928 Max Valier campaigned to get automobile magnate Fritz von Opel interested in rocket-powered automobiles. Valier proposed to use different combinations of compressed black powder rockets manufactured by Friedrich Wilhelm Sander of Wesermuende. Sander’s rockets were 80 cm long, 12.5 cm in diameter, and could came in two versions. The centre-bore rockets provided 180 kgf for 3 seconds, while the end-burners provided 20 kgf for 30 seconds. Valier proposed to use combinations of these motors to first boost an automobile to high speed with the high-thrust rockets, then use lowthrust units to maintain velocity. This had no practical application but would demonstrate the potential of rockets to the German public, at the same time giving Opel publicity. The first secret test, at Ruesselsheim, used a one high thrust and one low thrust motor in a small stock Opel. The results were unimpressive - the vehicle went only 140 m in 35 seconds.

Saktiswaran Jeyaganesh/The Avion Newspaper

Sports

Page

C2

The Avion

Upcoming Games: Tuesday, March 6 Wednesday, March 7 ERAU Softball vs. Young Harris College @ 2:45 p.m. & 4:45 p.m.

ERAU Women’s Lacrosse vs Barton College @ 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 8 Friday, March 9 Florida Tech Softball vs. ERAU @ 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 10 Florida Tech Softball vs. ERAU @ 12 p.m. & 2 p.m.

Sunday, March 11 ERAU Women’s Lacrosse vs. Pace @ 4 p.m.

March 12-16

March

06 2018

TH

Softball Sweeps Doubleheader Luke Halgerson Correspondent The Embry-Riddle softball team continued its 12-game homestand on Tuesday afternoon with a doubleheader against the American International College Yellow Jackets. The Eagles were exceptional, defeating the Yellow Jackets 4-2 in game one and 12-1 in game two. With the two victories, ERAU has won four in a row and 10 of their last 11 games.

The Eagles improve to 12-3, overall while American International drops to 0-8.

Game 1 The Blue and Gold scored early in game one, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. Katy Thompson drove in the first run of the game on an RBI double to left center. B. Limon hit an RBI single to center to score Thompson.

Both teams went scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when the Eagles tacked on two more runs. Maggie Scottreached on a fielder's choice allowing Lisa Hop to score. Limon drove in the final run of the inning with an RBI single to left field, increasing the lead to 4-0. American International managed to score two runs in the top of the sixth to bring themselves within two. Fortunately for the Eagles, that was as close as the Yellow Jackets would get as ERAU won by a final score of 4-2.

Ilona Andringa picked up her seventh win of the season. Andringa pitched a complete game, allowed two runs off four hits and struck out 10. Limon went 2-3 at the plate with two RBIs. Hop also went 2-3 and

scored one run. Thompson went 1-1 with one run, one RBI, and drew two walks.

Game 2 Things only got better for the Eagles in game two as they scored 12 runs in four innings. Maggie Scott scored the first run of the game thanks to a costly error by the Yellow Jackets pitcher. Peqe Lopez drove in the second run with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Kailah Rain on the play. ERAU led 2-0 after the first inning.

Embry-Riddle's breakout inning was the bottom of the second, where they scored five runs in the frame. Scott singled to right and advanced all the way to third due to a fielding error by the AIC right fielder. This allowed two runs to score in the process. Kailah Rain executed the squeeze bunt perfectly allowing Scott in to score. The Eagles scored two more runs, increasing the lead to 7-0 after just two innings of play.

The Blue and Gold scored three more runs in the bottom of the third and two more runs in the fourth. Rain hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield while B. Limon drove in the final two runs of the third inning thanks to a two-RBI double to left center. Destiny Carroll hit the Eagles first home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth on a solo bomb to straightaway center. Scott drove in the final run of the game for Embry-Riddle with a sacrifice fly, giving the Eagles a 12-0 lead into the fifth.

Jayla Jackson had a no-hitter going all the way until the fifth inning. American International managed to pick up two hits and score one run in the inning. The mercy rule would

Saktiswaran Jeyaganesh/The Avion Newspaper A women’s softball player protecting her base, hoping to continue the winning streak.

be put into effect and the Eagles won by a final of 12-1. Jackson won her third game of the season, pitching a complete game, giving up two hits, one earned run and striking out five. Scott was 2-2 scoring three runs along with one RBI. Rain was 2-3 with two runs and two RBIs, while Carroll was 2-3 with a home run and came around to score twice.

Mackie Chandler also went 2-2, drawing one walk and scoring twice.

Winning in Walk-Off Fashion

Luke Halgerson Correspondent

Have a fun, safe spring break!

Image Courtesy: Google

Athlete Spotlight

The Embry-Riddle softball team continued their 12-game homestand on Friday evening with a matchup against the No. 10 ranked Saint Leo University Lions. The Eagles were down the entire game until the bottom of the seventh as they scored three runs in the frame capped by a walk-off single by Katy Thompson to secure the victory. With the walk-off win, ERAU improves to 13-3 overall and 6-1 in Sunshine State Conference play while Saint Leo falls to 14-4 and 4-3 in conference competition.

Saint Leo got on the scoreboard early in Friday's affair, scoring once in the second off an RBI double and another in the third due to an

RBI single. The offense was a struggle for the Eagles in the early going as the Blue and Gold did not record their first hit until the bottom of the third thanks to a Mackie Chandler single to left. Embry-Riddle recorded their second hit in the fifth with a single by Lisa Hop. Entering the seventh inning, the Eagles found themselves down 2-0 with only three outs left in the game. Mariana Pereira got things started with a single to center field. Destiny Carroll was the next batter and she took full advantage of the opportunity. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Carroll hit a two-run bomb to left field, tying the game at 2-2.

Hop grounded out to second for the first out of the inning. Chandler hit her second single to put herself in position to be the win-

ning run. Maggie Scott fouled out to first for the second out of the inning. Kailah Rain kept the game alive by facing 10 pitches and eventually drawing the walk. Katy Thompson had the runners on second and first and a chance to win the game. With the count full, Thompson hit a single to right field to score Chandler, giving the Eagle a walk-off win!

Ilona Andringa picked up her eighth win of the season. Andringa pitched a complete game, allowed two runs off seven hits and struck out five. Carroll went 1-3, hitting the game-tying two-run home run. Thompson went 1-3 thanks to the walk-off single. Chandler went 2-2 at the plate and scored the winning run. Pereira had the only other hit for the Eagles as she went 1-3 as well.

Seven and Counting for ERAU Softball McKenzie Jackson This rockstar athlete has been chosen for a spotlight. She was noticed by playing a fantastic game in her position as Attack. This athelte is 19 years old and from Bowie, Maryland. She is now a freshman at ERAU studying Civil Engineering. Seeing her walking the halls, you may hear her be called Kenz, but just the shortening of her name does not diminish her abilities to balance being an awesome student and an incredible athelete.

She has been playing the sport for 13 years prior to enrolling at Embry-Riddle. Kenz also has big plans for the future: after graduation she plans to visit a third world country to work on improving their infrastructure.

Keep up the great work, Kenz!

Luke Halgerson Correspondent The Embry-Riddle softball team put the Sunshine State Conference on notice Saturday afternoon as the Eagles swept No. 10 Saint Leo in a doubleheader, taking all three games in the series. ERAU won game one by a score of 4-0 and game two 5-4. That extends the winning streak to seven games for the Blue and Gold as they improve to 15-3 overall and 8-1 in SSC play while the Lions fall to 14-6 overall and 4-5 in conference action.

Game 1 Jayla Jackson started in the circle for the Eagles in game one and was spectacular. She limited the Lions to just two hits and four total baserunners. Jackson had a perfect game going into the third until she hit a Saint Leo batter with a pitch. Jackson had a no-hitter going all the way to the top of the sixth, surrendering a single to center field. All in all, Jackson pitched a complete game, allowed no runs off two hits, struck out one, and only threw 79 pitches. Jackson now has

a 4-0 record for the 2018 season.

The bats were solid all afternoon for the Eagles as they scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the second off a Destiny Carroll RBI single. Embry-Riddle tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Saint Leo pitcher had a costly error with runners on first and third, allowing Mariana Pereira to score.

Mackie Chandler drove in the second run of the frame with an RBI double to left.

The Eagles scored one more in the bottom of the fifth as Kailah Rain scored due to a throwing error by the Lions pitcher. It was all the Eagles needed as they went on to win by a final score of 4-0. Rain went 2-3 at the plate, scoring one run and stealing a base. Carroll went 1-2, scoring once and driving in one run as well. Peqe Lopez went 1-1 with one run and drew a walk.

Game 2 The Blue and Gold kept their impressive play going as the Eagles tacked on one run in the bottom of the first thanks to Mariana Pereira's first triple of the season, scoring Katy Thompson on the play. The bats went quiet

for both teams as neither of the schools scored again until the fifth inning. Embry-Riddle scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth as Maggie Scott tripled to right field knocking in Mackie Chandler and Lisa Hop. The Eagles led 4-0 after five innings of play.

ERAU increased the lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth due to fielding and throwing errors by the Lion's first baseman, which allowed Carroll to score from third. The game looked in hand going into the final inning of play.

Trailing 5-0, the Lions managed to score four runs in the top of the seventh and had the tying run on second base with two outs.

Fortunately, Ilona Andringa dialed in and finished the job, sealing the 5-4 victory for the Eagles. Andringa had a no-hitter going all the way until the fourth inning. She notched her ninth win of the season, pitching a complete game, allowed four runs, eight hits, and tallied five strikeouts. Katy Thompson went 2-3 with one run and one RBI. Maggie Scott went 1-4 with one run and two RBIs. Carroll, Hop, and Chandler all went 1-3 and scored once as well.

MARCH

06 2018

C3 Sports Women’s Basketball Advances to SSC Tournament Page

TH

The Avion

Allison Smalling ERAU Athletics

The Embry-Riddle women's basketball earned its first-ever postseason win on Wednesday night, downing Nova Southeastern 90-84 at the ICI Center. The No. 3 seed in the eight-team tournament, the Eagles improved to 22-6 on the year and advanced to Saturday's semifinal round where they will take on Eckerd.

"What an awesome game!" ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson stated. "It was a battle from start to finish, as we expected.

Nova is a great team and a program that we have a lot of respect for. We picked up our defensive intensity in the second half and some players made really big plays down the stretch on both ends; and that's what you need this time of year."

The Eagles' season-high 90 points was the result of a balanced scoring effort as six of the eight players who took the court scored in double digits. Sigrid Sandstrom led the way with a career-best and gamehigh 19 points to go with three rebounds and three assists. Sabrina Whitingfinished with 17 points, while Lauren Ellenberger capped her night with 16 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and two steals.

Ashley McWilliams and Nikki Tucker added 13 points apiece, and Tara Fields finished with 12 points.

The first 10 minutes of play featured four ties and eight lead changes. At the 2:48 mark, Ellenberger drained her first three of the game to tie the score at 16-16. McWilliams and Fields each recorded a layup to put the Eagles up by four (20-16), and from that point, Whiting took over. The senior tallied five points and came up with two big steals in the final 1:33 to stake the Eagles to a 28-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Sandstrom's jumper extended the Eagle lead to eight (30-22) to start the second quarter, but Hailey Conley responded with a three-pointer and that basket keyed a 19-9 NSU run that knotted the score at 41-41 at the 3:25 mark. The Eagles turned the ball over nine times in the period and went scoreless over the last four minutes.

The Sharks, who outscored the Eagles

25-13 in the second frame, capitalized on ERAU's offensive woes and took a 47-41 lead into the locker room at the half.

The long range shot got the Eagles back into the game quickly as back-to-back treys

by Tucker and Ellenberger drew the Eagles level with the Sharks at 47-47. Both teams went back and forth over the next four minutes until a pair of threes by Whiting and a layup by Ellenberger gave ERAU a five-point (63-59) advantage. The Sharks were able to make it a one-point game when Skyla Osceola was awarded three free throws as time expired, and at the start of the fourth, the Eagle lead was 63-62.

The Eagles were able to build the lead to six points (70-64) at the start of the final quarter, but once again, NSU was able to battle back and at with 4:11 left to play, Taylor Smith put the visitors up 71-70. Tucker scored three with a layup and a free throw and then drilled her second trey of the game on the Eagles' next possession to make it a five-point (7671) game once again.

Nova Southeastern shot the ball well in the fourth, going 60 percent (9-of-15) from the field, compared to a 7-of-13 effort by the Eagles, but the difference in the quarter came at the charity stripe. In the first three quarters, the Eagles combined for eight free throw attempts. In the fourth quarter they were 11-of-15. With 2:20 left to play, the momentum started to shift in the Eagles' favor. A Fields jumper and a McWilliams layup brought the crowd to its feet and appeared to rattle the NSU squad who turned the ball over on its next trip down the court. With 45 seconds left to play, the Sharks elected to send the Eagles to the free throw line. Sandstrom, who was 9-of-10 for the game, went to the free throw line eight times in the last 45 seconds and connected on seven of those attempts to seal the victory for the Eagles.

Alison Hughes matched Sandstrom's scoring output with 19 points, and Christen Prasse and Hailey Conley chipped in 17 and 15 points, respectively for a Shark team that closed out the season at 13-14.

"A big part of our success tonight was the support we got from the crowd," Nux-

ol-Wilson remarked. "We started hitting some big shots late in the game and then the crowd behind us and that was huge for us down the stretch. Thank you to all fans, family and friends that came out

to support us tonight.

"We are so happy for these seniors. They started with a win in the ICI center four years ago and we were able to get a win for their last game in the ICI Center tonight!"

Saktiswaran Jeyaganesh/The Avion Newspaper Lauren Ellenberger and Tara Fields celebrate another score against Nova Southeastern University.

Women’s Basketball Advances to SSC Title Game Allison Smalling ERAU Athletics The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team secured a spot in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament championship game with a 61-53 win over Eckerd on Saturday. The Eagles (23-6) will play host Florida Southern for the tournament title at 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Moccasins' Jenkins Field House.

Coming into Saturday's semifinal, the Embry-Riddle and Eckerd teams were evenly matched. The teams had identical

vs ERAU Eagles: 22

Eckerd Tritons: 7

22-6 records and each finished at 15-5 in league play. During the regular season each team won a game on the other's home court, but on Saturday the rubber game went to the Eagles who were 51.1 percent from the field and 88.9 percent from the free throw line.

"That was a great win for our program tonight," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson said. "Eckerd is a solid team and we knew it would be a battle. Our bench and energy on the floor were great tonight! We did have some breakdowns and let them make some runs, but overall, we are really proud of the team and how hard they played. We need to stay focused and prepared, because tomorrow will be a big challenge and we need to be ready.”

The Eagles received a balanced scoring effort as seven of the eight players who took the court got into the scoring column with four scoring in double digits. For the second straight game, Sigrid Sandstrom

was the leading scorer with 13 points. Lauren Ellenberger had 11 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals, while Tara Fields and Morgan Ackermann tallied 10 points apiece.

Three-pointers ruled the first seven minutes of the game as five of the first six made field goals were from long range.

With 1:59 left in the first quarter, the Eagles scored five unanswered to go up 16-10. The Eagle defense forced a turnover on the Tritons' next possession and the Eagles got the ball to Ashley McWilliams who drove to the basket and hit a layup as time expired to put the Eagles up by eight (18-10) at the end of the first quarter.

ERAU outscored the Tritons 5-2 to go up by eight (23-15) to start the second quarter, but the Tritons were able to make it a one-point game with 1:27 left in the frame. On the next Eagle possession, Sabrina Whiting hit three-pointer and the senior capped an 8-3 Eagle run with a

steal and a last-second jumper to put the Eagles up 31-24 at the half.

The Eagles built the lead to double figures and enjoyed their largest lead of the game (13 points) in third quarter, and at the 6:18 mark of the fourth quarter, the Eagle lead was still 12 (50-38).

With 5:56 left to play, Ada Yalcin hit a three-pointer and that basket triggered an 8-0 Eckerd run that cut the Eagle lead to four points (50-46). Ellenberger ended the run with a long-range bucket of her own, which sparked a 6-0 spurt that built the lead back up to 10 (56-46) with 1:19 remaining in the game. Yalcin hit another three to narrow the gap to seven (56-49), but that was close as the Tritons would get as the Eagles converted on a pair of layups and at the free throw line to seal the win.

Chelsea Johnson finished with a game-high 20 points for the Tritons who moved to 22-7 with the loss.

Comics and Games

Finished the crossword or all of the Sudoku Puzzles and haven’t won this semester? Come in to The Avion Office in SC 110 to claim your prize!

“For a while it looked like the Paperclip Machines would destroy us, since they wanted to turn the whole universe into paperclips, but they abruptly lost interest in paperclips the moment their parents’ generation got into making them, too.”

Prizes Up For Grabs: -Harry Potter Mug -ThinkGeek Nebula Glasses -Star Wars Plushes -Steven Universe Puzzle -And So Much More!