03/03/2016 by Michigan Tech Lode

PAGE 17

Seventh Annual CopperDog 150

march 3, 2016

PAGE 5

PAGE 8

Kalamazoo Mass Shooting

Celebration of Concertos

Musher Adam Schmidt arrives at the finish line in Calumet. Photo by Davy McLeod

Thursday, March 3

NEWS

Michigan Tech Lode

SEB on probation

The Student Entertainment Board meeting Bob Saget post show in the Rozsa green room.

Jacob Striebel News Writer On Wednesday, Feb. 17, after years of operating as a Special Budgetary Group (SBG), Michigan Tech’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) voted to alter Student Entertainment Board’s (SEB) funding status to that of a probationary SBG. The change was justified based on the perception of SEB’s waning relevance on campus, and a general feeling from USG that SEB needs to implement proactive changes. In recent years, the number of shows SEB hosts annually has fallen. However, this has come in the face of ever decreasing budget allocations, which may become even more stringent with this newest development. In the face of this apparently bad news, SEB as a whole remains optimistic. Their president, Patrick Koro, stated, “Regardless of how it happens, it is an exciting time to get involved with the Student Entertainment Board.” Even with limited resources, SEB is still working to make a positive impact at MTU by continuing to host live entertainment. Their next show, which is a partnership with the Rosza, will

be The Intergalactic Nemesis and is scheduled for March 26.

“What [the shows] might look like will all depend on how much funding is allocated to SEB...” - Patrick Koro

The USG generally uses two classifications when they appropriate funds to student organizations: Registered Student Organization (RSO) and SBG. The difference between these two groups is mostly in the level of USG’s oversight of spending. RSOs typically are given appropriations for specific purposes, whereas SBGs are granted more leniency in how they decide to use their appropriated funds.

Some examples of the few SBGs on campus include MUB Board and Film Board. The fact that SEB has been labeled a probationary SBG seems to indicate that although USG would like to see some changes in the organization, they want to leave the door open to a full reinstatement of SBG status if their conditions can effectively be met. The handful of changes that USG would like to see include things like more internal documentation on how the organization works and greater collaboration with the Rozsa Center; however, the two most central points that USG emphasized were that SEB raise its membership from 13 to at least 15 students and that the organization, at minimum, host two shows per year. Koro appeared confident that SEB would be able to meet both of these stipulations, and regarding the second he stated, “As for the two shows, what those might look like will all depend on how much funding is allocated for SEB in the upcoming budget cycle. As tradition dictates, we will put our primary focus toward the Winter Carnival Comedian... . Beyond that though we will look at our options to either collaborate... or bring our own show in as we have done in the past.”

Courtesy of SEB

Student Entertainment Board has a long history on Michigan Tech’s campus, and to remain relevant they’ve recently worked to evolve. One challenge that has been especially prodigious for SEB is the growth of the Internet. Live entertainment has increasingly taken a back seat to streamable online content. Koro stated that in order to overcome ever growing technological barriers to live entertainment attendance, live performances need to provide opportunities for people to socialize, learn, have new experiences and support the community. Creating these opportunities has been one of SEB’s recent focuses. In addition to attending shows, Koro also emphasized the benefits of being a part of SEB itself, “For those looking to get more involved, we meet Tuesdays at 6:15 in the Rozsa in conference room 108, and anyone can follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ seb.mtu.” USG will reevaluate Student Entertainment Board’s funding status in the fall of 2016 and conduct a full review in the spring of 2017. Until then, SEB will be working to both meet USG’s mandates and further provide engaging live entertainment to Michigan Tech.

Michigan Tech Lode

NEWS

Thursday, March 3

Spring Blood Drive OrgSpotlight:

Global City Evan Mayer News Writer

Blood drive Feb. 24.

Jon Jaehnig News Writer American Red Cross workers from across the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin returned to the Van Pelt and Opie Library on Tech’s campus last week (Feb. 24-25) for a biannual blood-drive. Similar events are usually held once in the spring semester and once in the fall semester. In addition to the ability to reach new students at each drive, the separation allows students to donate blood at both drives because of the minimum number of weeks that must pass between donations.

“Saving lives for an hour of your time, why not do that? It’s really important to me.” - Jacob

Time since a previous donation is only one of the possible circumstances that can bar students from donating. “There are some things that can defer you from donating blood, based on your safety and the safety of those who will be receiving the blood,” explained Red Cross Account Manager Mark Sutton. The list also includes age, certain medical conditions, time recently spent in a foreign country, having recently gotten a tattoo outside of the state of Michigan, certain sexual acts and other circumstances. Despite the fact that many Tech students may have been unable to donate due to the above conditions, scheduling conflicts, etc. over two hundred students were able to donate on Wednesday alone,

Courtesy of Aniket Shirish Parandkar

with each donation potentially helping up to three people. In the case of regular donations, the blood can be separated into three different components, which will likely go to three different people. “It really means a lot that people come out and donate. The only way that we can supply blood is through voluntary donation,” said Sutton, who pointed out that the Tech blood drives have “historically been the the largest blood drive in the Northern part of Wisconsin and the U.P.” Sutton also explained the success of the events is largely due to work put in by the Student Activity Office, and the fraternities and sororities, who are involved in most parts of the process. “Without the Greeks we could not do what we do here today,” Sutton commented. Red Cross workers take between one and two hours to convert the library reading room into a donation center. Signing up, waiting in line, donating and a short recovery period means that the donation process usually takes volunteers about an hour. All of the blood donated is shipped to a testing facility to ensure that it is safe before use. After only two days the donated blood is sent to hospitals where it is potentially saving lives. Blood workers are not the only ones who understand the importance of donating blood. “Saving lives for an hour of your time, why not do that?” Jacob asked, rehydrating after giving blood with a complimentary light snack. “It’s really important to me. And my dad and I are having a contest to see who can donate the most blood.” Jacob also had some advice for potential donors, saying “Don’t be afraid of the needle. I didn’t even see the needle. You feel it for a moment, and it’s gone.” Amber, a student waiting in line to donate blood had a similar attitude. “I am a little [nervous]. I think I always am, just because it’s needles, but I can do it.”

An increasingly interconnected world needs individuals that understand and are able to interact with members of different countries and cultures. The goal of the student organization Global City is to assist Michigan Tech students in becoming more globally aware by raising cultural awareness on campus. Global City has several ways of bringing cultural awareness to campus. One of their primary methods is by having Peace Corps volunteers speak to the group when they return from their service. In these presentations, the Peace Corps volunteer gets an opportunity to share where they were, what they saw and what they did.

Aparupa Sengupta delivers a presentation on India to Global City. Courtesy of Global City

Another way the organization is bringing other cultural viewpoints to campus is by hosting panel discussions and film screenings. Last semester, Global City teamed up with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers to screen a film about immigration from Latin American and Central American countries to the United States. On March 22, they will hold a similar event where they will show a film about Syria and hold a panel discussion with students from

the Middle East who will discuss current events in Syria from their perspectives. Global City also holds a photo contest where people submit photos of their travels and try to show what life outside of the United States looks like.

“Global City gives people a taste of what it’s like to live outside of the U.S. so they can get an idea of if they want to live or study abroad...” - Erin Pischke

The group currently consists of about 30 members. There are no dues and there is a relatively low commitment level as the group only meets about twice a month and attendance is not mandatory. At the meetings, members can bring forth ideas or topics they are interested in and the group will help create an event to explore that issue. A future goal of Global City is to increase membership by working with other administrative organizations on campus and to promote inclusion of foreign students. They also want to work with students that show interest in potentially studying or working abroad. Global City hopes to create a program where these individuals can research the countries they are interested in and then provide opportunities to learn the culture of the area and possibly some of the language before they commit to traveling there. Former Peace Corps volunteer and the current president of the organization Erin Pischke said, “Global City gives people an idea what it’s like to live outside the U.S. so they can get a taste of if they want to live or study abroad in the future.” Global City welcomes students at all levels as well as faculty members of the university. To learn more about the organization or find out when their next meeting is, check out their involvement link or their Facebook page.

Thursday, March 3

NEWS

USG Presidential Nominees Rachel Belanger News Writer USG is looking for prospective nominees for next year. Do you know some of them? Are you interested in running? Now is the time to become invested in your student government. The two presidential nominees that were able to respond back to my questionnaire were Kyle McGurk and Carolina (Lina) Trestain Kyle McGurk seems to be meticulous, organized and has a sense of desideratum for the undergraduate body. He split his response into three sections: Funding, Student Issues and Customer Service, all of which focus on clearer, more reliable communication. “Working with students and communicating to student leaders ‘why’ things are the way they are is important to fostering an open and transparent government,” McGurk explained. He stated in his funding segment, “Students should understand that this is their money, not the USG’s. USG’s only role is to allocate funding to organizations.” In order to make changes to the communication dilemma, McGurk believes that the USG members need to be properly trained to deal with questions and equally be informed about university ongoings. “This is not the fault of those who

are taking on the volunteer office hours, but it is a reflection of poor training. I will work closely with the USG Secretary and Vice President to put the necessary training mechanisms and communication paths in place so this should simply not be the case,” said McGurk. The idea of clearer communication resonated throughout his entire interview. McGurk also suggested a presidential luncheon with all of the other organizations at Michigan Technological University in hopes to inspire one another, saying “Having leaders together in one room to just talk, collaborate, and answer questions... will have a profound impact that will inspire a collaborative environment on campus.” McGurk isn’t the only one who feels that communication is a serious issue in USG. Carolina Trestain, who is also running for president feels the same way. Trestain is an environmental engineer who enjoys being involved with decisions that affect her and her fellow classmates. However, Trestain sees that the communication error is reflected in the previous USG’s sluggish budgetary decisions. She said, “most organizations are held in “limbo”, as it were, when they are unsure of what money they will have, making it impossible to do anything. Many other organizations are also incapable of doing anything when they have minimal funding.”

Trestain also believes that there is poor representation “Other problems I am acutely aware of are the fact that representatives on USG claim to be ‘representing’ their constituents, but I have personally never communicated with said members about anything USG-related. That simply has to change.” In order to fix this particular situation, Trestain said that she would like to have representatives create a public opinion poll to identify what the undergraduate student body would like and then have the representative present it to the USG E-board. She said, “If they voted against what their constituencies wanted, I would ask for their reasoning behind it. Ideally, they would have a good argument why they did or did not vote with their constituents.” Both candidates have participated in campus activities or have been active on E-board in some form. I encourage you to reach out to them, get to know them, and talk to them about what you would like to see change in student government. Not all of the nominees were interviewed in this article, but know that there are more out there. The secret society, as the Daily Bull called USG, would like to invite everyone to their meetings which are held every Wednesday at 7:00 pm in the MUB. Let’s make it less secret.

Political gridlock grows

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel of (R-KY), center, speaks with reporters on Capital Hill in Washigton, following a closed-door policy meeting. Courtesy of AP

Amanda Charboneau News Writer American politics have been no stranger to gridlock. As a two party system, the way policies are currently “passed” is to get everyone in your party to vote with you and against the other

side, and to have a majority over the other. Checks and balances may be the way of the law, but parties are the way of the government. On Feb. 13, 2016, Republican Antonin Scalia passed away leaving a vacancy in the Supreme Court. The process to appoint a new justice is the responsibility of the sitting president, which the Senate

must take a vote to approve or reject. If rejected, the process begins again, or at least that’s how it always has been, and should be if checks and balances were not being interfered with by party politics. Within an hour of Scalia’s passing, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell declared that the vacancy should be filled by the next president instead of President Obama. The presidential election is in November, but the process of selecting a potential nominee on the president’s part takes time. Any appointments that the President makes have to be approved by the Senate. If the process is postponed until after the election, then there would be one less justice for approximately a full year. There are currently 4 justices serving whom have been appointed by Democratic presidents. With Scalia’s passing the max number could go up to 5/9. This isn’t the first time that a party has tried to postpone an appointment. In fact, current vice president Joe Biden tried the same thing when George H.W. Bush was in office in 1992. However, there was Continued on page 5

Michigan Tech Lode

Apple: Privacy vs. Security Aaron Kostrzewa News Writer

After the tragic shootings of San Bernardino, California, the FBI wishes to get information off of Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone, one of the shooters during the attack. That phone happens to be an iPhone, so the FBI has demanded that Apple unlock the phone so that potentially valuable information may be obtained and used to gain more information about the terrorist group the shooter was a part of. This is a sensitive situation for Apple since they have always prided themselves on security. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, resisted the request since he feels if Apple creates a “backdoor” into one phone’s information, it would allow the FBI to access any other phone as well. This backdoor could open a way for hackers to access iPhones as well. As Cook explains it in a letter to Apple customers, “the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.” Various figures in the tech industry have chimed in on the issue. John McAfee, founder of McAfee, an online security company, seems to offer a reasonable solution in somewhat of a comical way. He commented, “I’ll decrypt the San Bernardino phone free of charge so Apple doesn’t need to place a back door on its product.” Conversely, Bill Gates feels Apple should comply with the FBI and unlock the phone on the basis that the FBI’s request is just for one phone, and it doesn’t automatically mean all phones will be in jeopardy. In favor of Apple, Mark Zuckerburg sided with the tech giant saying, “we’re sympathetic with Apple. We believe in encryption; we think that that’s an important tool”. If Apple did create a backdoor for every iPhone, the so called master key to unlock that door would be extremely difficult to keep in safe hands. However, FBI director James Comey wrote, “[We] can’t look the survivors in the eye, or ourselves in the mirror, if we don’t follow this lead.” The argument from both sides is weighted equally, and one may wonder if the information on Farook’s phone will be valuable and worth all the trouble.

NEWS

Michigan Tech Lode

Thursday, March 3 5

Kalamazoo Mass Shooting “Gridlock... Continued from page 4

Police investigate the scene early Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016, where people where shot in vehicles outside a Cracker Barrel Courtesy of AP

Samantha Stein News Writer On Feb. 20, eight people fell victim to a mass shooting in Kalamazoo. Six of the victims were killed while the other two are in critical condition. The shooting lasted for nearly five hours. Michigan State Police, Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office and Kalamazoo Public Safety investigated the shootings at Cracker Barrel, the Meadows Townhomes and Seelye Automotive Group Kia, and were able to match the shells to the shooter’s 9mm gun. Police were also able to track down the shooter by stopping a car that matched the description of the suspect. Despite investigations, the motive for the shooting spree remains unclear. The shooter, Jason Brian Dalton, was a part time Uber driver in addition to his other job as an insurance adjuster. Prior to the shootings, Dalton visited a gun shop to purchase a jacket designed for concealed carry. Though the gun used was legally owned by Dalton, he did not possess a license to carry a concealed weapon. Dalton’s first shooting occurred around

5:40 pm and his last shooting occurred approximately five hours later. Between the shootings, Dalton picked up customers as an Uber driver. The first victim was Tiana Carruthers who was shot at the residential area of Meadows townhomes. Thankfully, she is expected to make a full recovery. The next victims were Richard Smith and his son Tyler. They were shot and killed at the Seelye Automotive Group Kia. The remaining victims were shot and injured at Cracker Barrel. Mary Jo Nye, Mary Lou Nye, Barbara Hawthorne and Judy Brown were shot and killed in their cars in the parking lot of the restaurant. Abigail Kopf was injured and is in critical condition. On Feb. 22 2016, President Obama spoke out about the shooting and pushed for further steps to reduce gun violence. He also said that Kalamazoo was “terrorized by gun violence”. The victims have been recognized by various vigils. Chapel Hill United Methodist Church of Battle Creek held an evening service for the community. Many spoke at the event, including Chapel Hill Pastor Chad Parmalee, the mayor of Battle Creek Dave Walters and other local

Michigan Tech Lode

church leaders. Pastor Chad Parmalee began the service stating “as we grieve together, we begin to heal together, and we can find a common sense of hope and inspiration to move forward together in community.” Throughout the service, a candle was lit in memory of those who were murdered or injured. Chapel Hill also held a funeral for Mary Jo Nye on Feb. 28. She was an active member of Chapel Hill. Dalton is currently facing 16 charges after his arrest on Sunday Feb. 21 at 12:40 am. He is charged with six counts of murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder, and eight charges of felony firearms. Dalton is a father of two and was a fan of firearms. He expressed interest in joining the police force but has no history of ever actually

Jason Dalton was arrested on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 Courtesy of AP

doing so. He has no history of mental illness that could have pointed to a motive for the mass murder. He also passed all background checks and was deemed safe by Uber. Recently, his wife Carole Dalton has filed for divorce. The family also released a statement condemning Dalton’s actions. There had been allegations of marriage issues before the shooting but it is unclear if any of this is connected to motive.

106 Memorial Union Building, Houghton, MI 49931 (906) 487-2404 • www.mtulode.com

Advertising - Peter Nouhan, Nischal Yajnik Staff Writers - Sumit Bongir, Phillip Bourgeois, Amanda

Editor in Chief .........Kendall Belopavlovich Business Manager......................James Wood Distribution Manager...........Madison Paris Design Editor..........................Dan Schudlich News Editor...............................Peter Nouhan Opinion Editor.....................Shan Amarnani Pulse Editor..................................Aric Rhodes Sports Editor ...............................Rand Silvers Chief Creative Officer.......Kassia Prystalski Advisor ........................................Mark Wilcox Financial Advisor...............Maryann Wilcox

Charboneau, Alexander Crawford, Shveta Dhamankar, Sylvana Finkbeiner, Johnathan Jaehnig, Aditya Joshi, Aaron Kostrezewa, Evan Mayer, Amanda McCuistion, Davy McLeod, Utkarsh Mishra, Sumit Pant, Amy Joy Patterson, Saurabh Phatak, Michael Rader, Samantha Stein, Daniel Stockard, Jacob Striebel, Tasauf Torzo, Mikayla Tokarski

Circulation - Minjun Wang, Madison Paris Visuals Staff - Devin Miller, Aaron Kostrzewa, Davy McLeod Copy Editors - Liz Bergh, Morgan Charbonneau, Josh Williams, Daniel LaCroix

not an immediate vacancy at the time. Instead, the justices who were going to retire waited until Clinton was in office so that he would get the opportunity to select the next two justices. This is a big deal. The Republican Party currently holds a majority within the senate that gives them the biggest stopping power in the process of filling the court seat. This November isn’t just a presidential election though. 34 of the 54 senate positions are up for grabs, and 24 of them are currently Republican. This is a major issue for the Republican Party, especially because the Democrats only need to win 4-5 more seats to have a majority. There could be a major power shift this fall. Currently we have a Democratic President, and a Republican controlled House/Senate. This has caused some major issues like the government shutdown of 2013. Appointing another Democratic Supreme Court justice would give the Democrats future security, something the Republicans currently lack. This November could also go the Republican Party’s way if Trump, Cruz or Rubio are elected. The Republicans could maintain all their majorities in the Senate and the House, and they could also postpone the Supreme Court justice appointment until a conservative leaning justice is picked by the president. If one party has control over Washington we could see some major and speedy changes in policies that are passed. The gridlock that keeps things from getting passed in Washington could be essentially annihilated in one fell swoop, but having a majority in everything means that the other side doesn’t have a say in anything. This is the true danger of the two party system that currently dominates American politics.

Opinions expressed in the Lode are not necessarily those of the student body, faculty, staff or administration of Michigan Technological University or the Michigan Tech Lode. The Lode is designed, written and edited by Michigan Tech students. The paper is printed every Tuesday during fall and spring semesters. The Lode is available free of charge at drop-off sites around campus and in the surrounding community. To the best of its ability, The Lode subscribes to the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional

Journalists. The Lode is funded in part by the Michigan Tech Student Activity Fee. 1. lodeads@mtu.edu for submitting ads to the Lode. 2. lodesubmit@mtu.edu for submitting articles and letters to the editor. Work submitted to the Lode should be submitted with the understanding that it may be printed by the Lode and/or posted to the Online Lode, www. mtulode.com. The Lode reserves the right to edit submissions for length, clarity and potentially libelous material. Submissions should not exceed 500 words.

Thursday, March 3

NEWS

Michigan Tech Lode

Riots cripple life across India Sumit Pant News Writer Haryana, a state in northern India, was stirred up last week with chaotic riots when Jats, a traditional agricultural community, stood against the law and order leading a massive protest against the Government of India and Haryana. The railway station, the mall, several police and civilian vehicles and a minister’s house were set ablaze. Additionally, an armory was looted, highways dug up and rail tracks were damaged. Jat protesters demanding reservation in jobs and education in Haryana have unleashed a reign of violence across the state. Section 144 was implemented across major cities, which prohibits an assembly of more than ten people in any given area. In Haryana, Jats are a politically influential community and constitute nearly 29 percent of the population. Jats originally belonged to farming communities and now mostly live in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with a population of about 82.5 million. Over the years, they have become politically active in certain states, especially in Haryana and Punjab. Haryana’s chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar was reported to be hackled in Rohtak, a town dominated by the Jat, after they objected to his comments of promising reservations to the Jat Community. Disruption has been huge, with at least 850 trains cancelled, 500 factories closed and business losses estimated at as much as $5 billion by one regional lobby group. India’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, shut two

factories for the weekend because its supply of components was disrupted. In an ugly turn of events in the ongoing Jat aggression, the house of Captain Abhimanyu, the finance minister of Haryana, was set on fire by protesters. The mob also set the RN Mall in Rohtak on fire and looted arms and ammunitions from a private armory. Jats form the largest ethnic group in Haryana and owns three fourths of its land. According to the K C Gupta Commission, Jats had 17.8 percent representation in high level government jobs. In the lower grades, this representation is estimated at as high as 40 to 50 percent. The representation of Jats in educational institutions was 10.35 percent. The 1991 Gurnam Singh Commission report included Jats in the Backward Classes category with eight states giving them reservation excluding Haryana. This eventually turned out to be one of the poll promises made by Bhupinder Singh Hooda who served as a chief minister of Haryana between 20042014. A high-level meeting between Jat and India’s leading political party, chaired by the Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh, was convened to address the Jat aggression. The state government has agreed to examine their demand for OBC (Other Backward Class) status. Other Backward Classes is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify caste which are socially and educationally disadvantaged. As the aggression entered the eighth day, the death toll reached 12 and the number of injured reached 150. Over 1,200 vehicles and 500 shops were burnt down by the protestors. Dapinder Singh, a graduate student in the Electrical Engineering Department who hails from the city of Panipat in Haryana,

said, “I am deeply shocked and despaired by the actions of my countrymen. While the country is progressing, more and more people are demanding for classifying themselves as backwards.” He further told us, “I was scared of the situation and was thinking about my family all the time. My friend’s shop was turned into ashes by the mob, and infrastructure worth more than $5 billion was destroyed across the state.” After independence, India was struggling to uplift the social status of people who were classified as untouchables and backwards. To secure their status into the society, in 1982, the Constitution of India specified 15 percent and 7.5 percent of vacancies in public sector and government-aided educational institutes

as a quota reserved for the SC (Schedule Caste) and ST (Schedule Tribe) candidates. This was initially designed for a period of five years, after which the quota system would be reviewed. Despite the initial plans of reviewing the policy after five years, it turned out to be a major vote bank contributor to the political parties and today it stands at 49.5 percent seats reserved in the federal government sponsored educational institutions and government jobs. But this has been hampering the situation of general quota (Non-OBC/SC/ST) candidates who have been facing the wrath of reservations with states like Maharastra, which offer as much as 73 percent reservation to the backward classes.

about a Wall Street Journal report that President Barack Obama’s administration had secretly agreed to peace talks to formally end the Korean War of 1950 to 1953. This was a few days before Pyongyang carried out its latest nuclear test. To make matters worse, North Korea plans to restart its main atomic complex in Yongbyon to, apparently, ease its electricity shortage while to most world leaders it looks like a move cleverly guised to add to its nuclear arsenal. This is the same reactor that was shut down in 2007 as part of international nuclear disarmament talks that have since stonewalled. The U.N. secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said on Tuesday he feared North Korea was on a collision course with the rest

of the world that could lead to war. Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, said the current crisis had “gone too far” and called for dialogue to ease tensions on the peninsula. Despite these proceedings, Secretary of State John Kerry, during the last leg of his Asia trip, reiterated the Obama administration’s pledge to seek a “peaceful resolution” on the Korean peninsula. Both China, Korea’s neighbor, and the U.S. share the willingness to pressure Kim Jong and work diligently to calm the tension. What was once a long-standing condition to begin a peace talk denuclearization is to be simply part of the talks or the ensuing discussion. In specific response to the nuclear tests, the U.N. Security Council has agreed

to roll out punitive measures to punish North Korea. Obama, too, isn’t far behind. The U.S. Congress recently employed new measures that tighten sanctions on anyone importing goods or technology related to weapons of mass destruction into North Korea, or anyone who knowingly engage in the abuse of human rights. This adds additional financial pressure on the regime of Kim Jong by aiming to cut down on money laundering and narcotics trafficking - two major illicit activities believed to be funneling millions of dollars into Kim’s inner circle. As is blatantly obvious, North Korea’s quest to build a whole new nuclear weaponry and focus on its “new strategic line” has not dimmed.

Police use water cannons to disperse protestors of the Jat agricultural community near Delhi University in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. Courtesy of AP

No Peace with North Korea Shveta Dhamankar News Writer

Kim Jong’s reclusive North Korea conducted its fourth successful underground military test on Jan. 6, 2016. The timing could not have been worse. Obama’s government was seriously considering holding peace talks with North Korea on the long standing condition that North Korea would reduce its nuclear arsenal. However, the first ever hydrogen bomb tests and Pyongyang’s outright defiance brought an end to the tentative contacts that took place at the United Nations. State Department spokesman John Kirby disclosed the exchange when asked

Michigan Tech Lode

PULSE

Thursday, March 3

Leonardo’s Oscar Success What’s Hot Aric Rhodes

Box Office Blockbusters “Deadpool” still manages to defend number one, with an impressive $31 million weekend number three. It’s looking like this film won’t stop until something else comes along with punch. Lacking this punch, Lionsgate Studio’s “Gods of Egypt” premiered to a lukewarm $14 million considering its $140 million budget. The film is being skewered by critics and audiences alike, with many citing subpar effects and acting as primary sources of disappointment among viewers. Coming into its fifth week now, “Kung Fu Panda 3” continues to make a neat little gross for Fox, with a $9 million weekend.

Pulse Editor This was a historic moment that fans have been waiting many years for. Leonardo DiCaprio’s acting prowess is such that he’s become a household name, and yet the man had never won an Oscar. Of course, there had been many nominations, with several close losses to other talented actors. This doesn’t help that it had become something of a running joke among fans of the Oscars that poor Leonardo DiCaprio would never win one. Until this year, 2016, that is. With “The Revenant”, one of his greatest and most challenging films yest, Leonardo demonstrated without a doubt that he was ready to get his Oscar, and he’s ready now. There was still anticipation present as the winner was revealed, but the sheer joy of DiCaprio was palpible. Congratulations, Leonardo DiCaprio, you’ve earned it many times now, and it’s about time that the Academy agreed.

After many years of being snubbed by the Oscars, with several nominations to his name, famed actor Leonardo Dicaprio earned his first, and very well deserved, Oscar Award for Best Actor in a motion picture. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

“And lastly, I just want to say this: Making The Revenant was about man’s relationship to the natural world. A world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people out there who would be most affected by this. For our children’s children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed. I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you so very much.” -Leonardo Dicaprio

Oscars Coverage As can be seen to the left, Leonardo DiCaprio earned his Oscar for Best Actor in “The Revenant”. Brie Larson took home the equally prestigious award of Best Actress for her role as Ma in “Room”, a beautifully crafted and extremely recommendable film with spectacular acting on all parts. Of course, neither of these actors were in the movie which was awarded best film for the year, “Spotlight”. This intriguing movie shows a modern and gripping mystery that will keep viewers watching and wondering. No great Actor can stand alone, though, as can be attested by the category of Best Supporting Actor/Actress. This year’s winners were Mark Rylance for his role in “Bridge of Spies” and Alicia Vikander for her performance in “The Danish Girl”. What is a movie without music, you may wonder. Indeed, the score of a movie is certainly worthy of an Oscar. This year, the Best Score went to Quentin Tarantino’s “Hateful Eight”. While this was the only Oscar wone by the film, it is well earned. A personal favorite section, the Oscar for Best Animated Feature went to Pixar’s “Inside Out”. This movie was loved by critics and audiences, and it looks to be a future classic in the making.

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: amrhodes@mtu.edu

Thursday, March 3

PULSE

Michigan Tech Lode

Celebration of Concertos with KSO Amy Joy Patterson Lode Writer

The applause was thunderous. One by one, audience members rose from their seats, each awestruck, and clapped in reverence of those eight smiling performers and the accompanying orchestra. It was a moment that brings to mind the musings of Victor Hugo, when he said, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” Although the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra (KSO) has had an impeccable reputation for showcasing incredible local talent since its inception in 1971, the Celebration of Concertos, held Saturday, February 27, was an event like no other. Eight gifted soloists took the stage at the Rozsa Theater with the assistance of the KSO to create a musical experience that was as diverse as it was delightful. First, there was Lindy Wagner, who played the violin in such a light and ethereal manner that one might not even believe their own ears. There was Carson Williams, whose french horn bellows inspired feelings of great bravery; Irene Ra, who made a challenging, romantic piece by Felix Mendelssohn look easy as

child’s play; Isabel Valencia, who was in herself the purest manifestation of grace; Kelli Dekutoski, whose vocal range seemed never ending; Maggie Wang, whose fingers danced like ballerinas across the piano keys; and young Seth Helman, who, just halfway through high school, has already developed an air of great maturity and control. For all the wonders and grandeur of the first seven, truly, it was the eighth, dressed in a bow tie and golden shoes, who stole the most hearts. Eddie Zhou, the final soloist of the evening, is 8 years old. Despite a mere three and a half years of experience at the piano, Eddie played those ebony and alabaster keys as though his soul itself had always known the nature of music. Regardless of his immense talent and obvious dedication, Eddie conceded to being “a bit” nervous on stage, but seemed to feel the anxiety was well worth the result. When asked how it felt to be the recipient of a standing ovation, Eddie said, “It was a feeling I can’t describe.” While Eddie certainly knows how to dazzle a crowd with a piano, his talent is not limited to one instrument. He has also recently taken up the violin, but his truest gift may lie simply in an innate ability to make people smile. Even as he anxiously answered questions about his performance, he drew a crowd of

The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra has performed in the Upper Peninsula for many years. Photo courtesy of KSO

grinning adults who could not help but bask in his sweet, timid aura. Eddie Zhou was clearly an outlier given his youth and precociousness, but there was another soloist who also was distinct from the rest. Unlike the other soloists, Kelli Dekutoski, an Air Force ROTC cadet, chose an instrument that cannot be played by the hands. Instead, Dekutoski opted for the single instrument that all people possess: the voice. “I’ve performed many times, but this is my first solo opera performance with an accompanying orchestra,” Dekutoski

said. “I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what the Air Force has to offer, but whatever community I end up in, I’m sure I’ll keep performing.” Ultimately, whether it was Wagner, Williams, Ra, Valencia, Dekutoski, Wang, Helman, or little Eddie Zhou, the Celebration of Concertos brought a special artist into each audience member’s heart. Music is so much more than sensation. It is a powerful, genuine connection with another person. It is what the Keweenaw Peninsula is all about.

Lode Newspaper Writing Competition The Lode and the MUB Board would like to extend a call to all writers, whether it be students, faculty and staff or community members. During the Tech Arts Festival, the week of March 20 to the 26, both organizations have joined together to celebrate writers and writing in the form of a creative writing competition, which will end in a reception on Friday, March 25, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. There are two categories of submission for the contest, short story and poetic. The short story category will have a 1000 word limit, and the poetic category, which is open to poems, haikus, song lyrics and the like, will have a 450 word limit. The submissions will be judged based on a creative writing rubric. All submissions can be emailed to lodesubmit@mtu.edu. At the reception, winners will be announced, the top two finalists from each category. Prizes for the winners include the writing piece being featured in the newspaper and a selection of gifts with the writer in mind. Participants, family and

friends are welcome to attend the reception. All questions can be email to lodesubmit@ mtu.edu and will be answered in a timely manner. Remember these details! • The Lode and MUB Board are jointly hosting a writing competition • All students, faculty and staff and community members are encouraged to submit • There are two categories of submissions, 1. short story- 1000 word limit and 2. poetic- 450 word limit • Submissions should be sent to lodesubmit@mtu.edu • The submission deadline is March 23, at 5 p.m. • The reception will be held on March 25 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Look for more details in the next edition of the paper, flyers and posters distributed on campus or email lodesubmit@mtu. edu with any further questions. Let’s celebrate writing together!

Michigan Tech Lode

PULSE

Thursday, March 3

What Are You Doing For Spring Break? “I am going home to North Branch, Michigan for the spring break and then will be heading to South Haven to see my little cousins. Kids are always excited when someone comes to meet them so I guess it’ll be a great time with them.” -Gavin Bodnar

“I am from Fair Haven, Michigan “I am heading to Charlotte, North Carolina for the spring break. It’s a road trip with my friend and we wish to and will be going home for the explore the southern states. We are also looking forward spring break to spend some time with my family. “ to play some golf and I bet it’s gonna be a lot of fun.” -Mike Sommers -Peter Jurica

“I am very excited for this break as I am going to Mt. Tremblant in Canada with my friends. We are planning to do snowboarding and there will be a bunch of sponsored parties. I believe it’s a good destination for the spring break.” -Alexis Pinson

“Everyone has a story, and you may be lucky enough to hear someone else’s.”

“I’m planning to develop my geospatial skills in water resources during the Spring break. So my main plan is to attend a 3-day crash course in ‘GIS for Water Resources’ organized by Environmental Systems Research Institute in Redlands, CA. The class is pretty expensive, but it’s definitely worth it.” - Sara Alian

“I am going to Myrtle beach, South Carolina with my Michigan Tech Trek team. We will be competing in trekking with other groups. Looking forward to have some good time out there. -Claire Bradford Photos and interviews courtesy of Saurabh Phatak

Thursday, March 3

COMICS

Michigan Tech Lode

So as not to leave you hanging -- it was a problem with select() calls. Comic courtesy of XKCD

CLASSIFIEDS WRITERS WANTED: We are currently hiring writers for every section the newspaper: news, pulse, sports and opinion. A great resume builder. Please contact The Michigan Tech Lode at lodesubmit@mtu.edu or by calling 906-487-2404.

BUSINESS MANAGER WANTED: We are currently looking for a financially literate student to fill in the business manager position. Please contact The Michigan Tech Lode at lodesubmit@mtu.edu or by calling 906-487-2404.

Remember way back when you knew your neighbors, and you said hi to people in the community, and there was NO possible way to EVER MEET the forty-seven people worldwide who share your total obsession with sea sponges that look like Danny DeVito -- much less FALL IN LOVE with three of them

GAZETTE APARTMENTS Very nice 2 BDRM APARTMENTS located across the street from the Library Bar within walking distance to MTU and downtown Houghton. Secure building, on site manager, laundry facilities, plowed parking and garbage pick-up. Heat and water included. Rent $520-670 Call: (906) 231-4385. Email lodeads@mtu.edu for information about placing a classified ad. “if you have your characters point out how erotic everything is, the reader can’t HELP but notice.” - the T-Rex School of Erotica Writing

PUZZLES

Puzzles Edited by Will Shortz

COURT JESTERS

51 Tip of an épée?

93 Soothes

1 Make less

53 Sci-fi film with a

94 One of the Furies

2010 sequel 54 Brings in 56 Palindromic girl 57 " 58 Busted timer? 60 Illicit sum 62 Anderson of “WKRP” 64 Historic siege site 65 Legendary siege site 66 Desi Arnaz? 70 Unsteady gait 74 Cutting edge 76 Karaoke bar sight 77 Key of Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 79 Winning an Oscar for “Norma Rae”? 81 One of the Gabor sisters 84 Prompt 85 Actress Thomas 87 Reclined 88 Acrophobe’s term for a route through the mountains? 90 Encouraging word 91 Fire place? 92 Attended

62 66

Rules: Fill in the grid so that each row, column and 3x3 block contains 1-9 exactly once.

9 1

76 80

101

102 108

103

109

114

115

116

120

117

121 124

125

2 Outfit

Site in the Andes

weapon

8 Like lumberjack

13 Not fully

9 O.K.

14 Piece corps,

minute planning 11 Oxygendependent bacterium 12 Card table cloth

3 8 7

15 Almost dislocate 16 Violation of Yom

Kippur? 17 Batting .200, maybe 18 Queen ____ (pop music nickname) 22 Don’t bother 24 Give a tonguelashing 29 Veteran 32 A question of time 33 Is unacceptable 35 Virtual address 36 Père d’un prince 37 1961 space chimp 39 Improvise, in a way 42 Isolated 43 Echolocator 44 Softly 46 “Three Billy Goats Gruff” villain 48 Smash up 49 “You win!” 52 Stabilizer of a ship’s compass 53 “Use your head!”

3/1/2016

briefly?

10 Time for last-

March 1, 2016

5 9

independent

jackets

Sudoku - Puzzles and Games - NYTimes.com

Sudoku — Medium

3 World Heritage

7 Forever

8 3

DOWN

6 Archer’s battle

5 6 4

1 Applies gingerly

5 Keg contents

3/1/2016

Last week’s solutions:

Patrick Berry / Edited by Will Shortz

ACROSS 25 1 Harmful aspects 6 Go long 29 1328Surveillance equipment 20 Balloon 21 Shakespeare character 36 who says "Good night, ladies; good night, sweet 41 ladies; good night, good night" 47 48 49 22 "Wet look" product 23 Burlesque theater? 2553Make amends for 26 Bathed in the sun 59 27 Toothy turner 29 Exceeded a limit 30 Group engagement 64 31 Moviegoers who can't afford concession stand 69 snacks? 37 Killers at sea 77 40 Prepared for takeoff 41 Class with derivatives, 81 82 83 briefly 42 Bad kid's Christmas 88tree? 44 Loses 49 Old Testament prophet 50 Page views? 51 "Eldorado" 99poet 100 52 Political opponent of Ike 53 Guy104 Fawkes Day 105mo. 54 Brother, in Brittany 55 Like many food drive 110 111 offerings 58 Showing signs of age 59 Utilized 61 Sealant used by NASA? 63 Viscount's inferior 122 65 "Quit talking!" 66 Centurion weapon 126 67 B-roll from "Splendor in the Grass"? 70 Formal 73 divided into nine 54 It's CD-____ circles 55 Shutterbugs' Ground beef 74 settings contaminant 75 2014 Cooperstown inductee Joe 58 Mobile home 78 Certain H&R Block resident? worker 79 creationcity of 1941 59 DuPont Rio Grande 81 Creator of plot holes? 61 Ardent “Downton 82 lover Abbey” 83 Can of worms? daughter 84 Broke up 63 Owners “Jeez!”of large 87 67 enthusiastic Flummox dogs? 89 Cooler unit 68 Kicks De jure 90 off 91 69 Sustains Showroom models

71 Residents of

92 Writing implement from Planters? 97 ___-repeated 3098 Lover of Radames, in opera 99 Feature of the Tokyo 37 Imperial Palace 100 Greenland natives 103 Carol Brady on "The Brady Bunch," e.g. 50 106 Supporting actors in a Bea Arthur sitcom? 54 112 55 Up on deck 113 Legendary lover of Abelard 114 Blake who composed "I'm Just Wild About Harry" 115 70 Crossed 71 the72sill 73 116 Border disputer with Ethiopia 78 117 Works as a trader

A W D

R K 80

N E

E 65

E R

M O

E 82

100

W O

E 83

88 91

O M

A W E

S W O

N I

O O

E W O

A G

101 102

103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 DOWN 84 S T E P M O M T H E M A U D E S Q U A D 1 Regression 112 113 114 T O P S I D E H E L O I S E E U B I E 2 89 Wallachian prince who 115 116 117 E N T E R E D E R I T R E A D E A L S inspired "Dracula" 2/23/2016 Sudoku - Puzzles and Games - NYTimes.com 3 "The Bridges of Madison 93 38 83 Shower accessory Posh shop County" setting Sudoku — Medium February 23, 2016 39 85 Flag thrower Trick questions, e.g. 4 Her fans are called Little 40 Do data entry 86 Hung out with the riffraff Monsters 43 Roughly removed 87 Gift that may be gold5 Smart 44 Common pay period plated 106 107 6 Drubbing 45 Program with plugs 88 Gave off 7 Longtime employer of 46 90 Heavenly painting? Rub the wrong way Helen112 Thomas, in113 brief 92 Social stratum 47 Viscount's superior 8 Rangers' org. 48 Deteriorate 93 Make advances toward Was in charge 118 9 119 51 Comma, to an orator 94 No slouch 10 Fight of the Century 95 Instance of forgetfulness 54 Food sticker loser 96 Pool cue maker's tool 55 Finishes all at once, in a 11 Egocentric tyrant 97 Vowel's value in way 12 Fired up 56 Scrabble Some people movers 13 Ones helping people up? 100 Impression 57 One on the web at 14 "___ vobiscum" (Mass 101 Bass instrument daybreak? salutation) 60 Strong punch 102 Set ___ (embark) 15 Toy dog's bark 88 “When I met 104 I.S.S. forerunner 61 Figure 16Say Like iceberg lettuce 62 Geological sample 105 Pindaric composition Dalai Lama last 17the Visibly amazed 107 New Haven student 64 Inclusions in safer 18year,” Word with say parking or 108 Vocabulaire entry passwords: Abbr. postage 89 “Qué ____?” 65 Rose 109 Intangible quality 19 What the Olympic sport 110 Expend 67 Like Derby entrants of skeleton involves 91 Sugar 111 ___ Peres (St. Louis 68 Garr of "Tootsie" 24 Highly successful 92 Goth-looking, in a 69 Game with a 64-square suburb) 28 Like the Mesopotamian board way people 71 Tanker mishap 31It’s Writing 95 hardassignment to get 2/23/2016 72 Eastwood's role on Sudoku - Puzzles and Games - NYTimes.com 32 Ethylene ___ across "Rawhide" 33 Tailor's supply Sudoku — Hard February 23, 2016 75 Specifically 34Morsel Community leader? 96 76 Augural observations 35 Bernina, for one 98 1994 bomb based 77 Johnny Bench's team 36 One of the so-called 80 Guitar part on"Public an “S.N.L.” Ivies" 82 Classico competitor 37character Nonstop

9 3 6

4 7 2

5 1 8

5 8 4

3 6 1

9 2 7

2 7 1

8 6 2

4 5 7

3 1 9

6 9 3

1 2 8

7 4 5

1 5 2

100 Something to

3-Down 72 Trackpad alternative 73 Lean on 75 Astral lion 78 Achieve success 79 Rug dealer’s special? 80 Prepares for a Mr. Universe competition, say 82 “____ the day!” (cry repeated in Shakespeare) 83 Settled the score 85 Ghostly sound 86 Apportion

8 7 6

boost 102 Bridge whiz http://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/sudoku/medium 103 Domineering 104 Actress Thompson of “Creed” 106 River along Avignon 107 “Wanna play?” 111 Anti bodies? 113 Petitioned 114 Whacked 115 Kind of dye 117 The Depression, for one 118 Smoked deli purchase 119 Popinjay

9 4 3

5 9 8

1 3 4

7 5 9

8 5 7

2 6 4

6 2 9

7 1 5

9 4 3

2 8 6

3 9 1

2 7 6

3 8 2

5 3 7

6 7 5

8 1 5

2 3 9

7 6 5

4 1 9

8 4 2

8 9 3

9 7 1

6 2 8

1 8 3

7 4 6

2 8 4

3 9 1

4 3 6

6 5 4

4 5 1

6 3 5

7 8 2

9 1 4

1 9 3

5 4 7

4 6 8

1 2 9

5 2 7

1/1

3 6 8

Sudoku - Puzzles and Games - NYTimes.com

Sudoku — Hard

March 1, 2016

3 7 6

Sunday, February 21, 2016 21

Awesome!

KenKen

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. B) The areas of the grid with dark outlines around them are called cages. At the top left of each cage is a target number and operation. This means that the numbers in the cage must use that operation 76 to total that number. Hint: Look for cages that are around just one box. The target number will have no operation symbol.

123

4 Oft-married Taylor

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

97 Asian territory in

Risk 99 Round after the quarters 101 Lament from an unlucky shrimper? 105 Devotee 108 Fallout from the 2000 election? 109 “My bad!” 110 Put off 112 Short flight 114 Nougaty treats 116 Writing “30 and single” when it’s really “50 and married,” e.g.? 120 Reduces to smithereens 121 Cropped up 122 Canadian smacker 123 Morning condensate 124 Chichi 125 Cantina appetizers 126 Go through

ACROSS

Sudoku

By Timothy Polin

dangerous, in a way 7 Sleep lab study 12 Some school edicts 16 Small invention 19 Eagle constellation 20 Signature Michael Jackson wear 21 Runway model? 23 Fly swatter? 25 “It seems to me …” 26 Attack order 27 Rationale 28 Trickle 30 “The Good Wife” figures: Abbr. 31 Confer 34 Drool from both sides of the mouth? 38 Screams bloody murder 40 Brought up 41 Narrow lead in baseball 42 Quaker of note? 45 In base 8 47 Sound near a spittoon 50 Brooding music genre

Thursday, March 3 11

2/28/16

Michigan Tech Lode

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

9 7 8

3 6 8 2

1 9 8

3 2

6 1

9 7

Check us out on: Facebook & Twitter

1/1

Thursday, March 3

Debate:

OPINION

Michigan Tech Lode

Does veganism have an impact on the environment?

Pro: Aditya Joshi Lode Writer

Con: Shan Amarnani Opinion Editor

OPENING STATEMENT

ROUND 1

Veganism has certainly become a trend in the 21st century, especially among the youth. There are some benefits of becoming vegan, no doubt. Some believe that veganism is much healthier than the average person’s diet. Others believe that becoming a vegan can help the environment. Although many argue that veganism is the healthier alternative, is there any evidence to support the claim that becoming a vegan can help the environment?

Of the seven billion humans who inhabit the earth today, approximately a billion go hungry. The vegan lifestyle would help control this starving population. Today, animal-husbandry industry uses vast amounts of land, water and other resources to grow grains and other animal feed instead of using the more efficient path of feeding humans directly with the crop yield. It’s a known fact that animals eat approximately 10 pounds of food to produce just one pound of meat. The rest of the calories from the feed are burnt out in raising the animal, growing out feathers, bones, fecal waste, skin and blood that are not edible by humans. By following the vegan lifestyle, we can save a large part of land and other resources. This would help in the restorations of forests and would help people of the world suffering from food shortages.

ROUND 3

Going vegan would also restore around 30 percent of the earth’s landmass which is used for rearing of animals for food. Most of this land is used for cattle ranching and grazing. Livestock farming is the lead cause of topsoil erosion in major producers of animal products. Overgrazing can further cause desertification of this useful land which instead could be used to directly feed the Humans. Livestock farming has lead to a loss of 70 percent of the mighty Amazon forest due to deforestation. Latin America today continues to clear out this rainforest for growing new pastures. The amazon, the largest carbon sink in the world, is a victim of deforestation which could have saved us from the harmful emissions from releasing any more greenhouse gases, in the atmosphere, created by burning of fossil fuels, the major contributor to global warming. Deforestation has also been a major cause of loss of species of butterflies, vultures and many terrestrial animals due to the loss of sustainable ecosystem needed for them to survive.

There is a myth circulating about cutting down on animal agriculture and how this can reduce the effects of global warming. While cutting back may help, the bigger culprit is fossil fuels. According to the World Resources Institute and Pitesky et al. 2009, fossil fuel-based energy is responsible for about 80 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions while animal agriculture is only responsible for six percent in the United States. So the bigger bad guy, so to speak, are fossil fuel byproducts. Another reason veganism is not the answer is that for it to work, there needs to be a significant number of people who convert to veganism and I know for a fact this cannot happen in the United States because Americans love their meat. This can be proven by looking at the variety of meat available at a supermarket. While some may believe that veganism is the answer to climate change, I would say that, while this is ambitious, it is simply not possible.

ROUND 2

Burning fossil fuels does emit huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but according to the Environmental Protection Agency, “Pound for pound, the comparative impact of methane on climate change is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100 year period.” The poor manure management is responsible for more than a third of the total emissions in the U.S. The animals raised for food only in the U.S. produce much more excrement than the entire human population. With no sewage plants installed in farms, animal waste is stored in huge concrete tanks. Also, the waste runoff from these factory farms also account to leading causes of river and groundwater pollution which can also lead to the occurrence of lethal diseases caused by animal pathogens.The water pollution limits set by the government are dodged by spraying the animal waste into the air as mist. The neighborhood is forced to inhale these harmful toxins which are responsible for inflammatory, immune, irritation and neurochemical problems in human beings.

While I do agree that veganism offers some benefits, there is no proof that it can solve the world’s hunger crisis. While it may seem inefficient to feed crops to animals instead of humans, the fact of the matter is that meat and animal produce are an essential part of a healthy diet. Yes, many may argue that there are alternative sources but these alternatives are often more expensive and require much higher quantities to get the same amount. This makes it inefficient. Furthermore, there are nutrients that vegans are not getting because they can only be found in meat. Some of which are DHA from fish, carnosine, vitamin D3, creatine and vitamin B12. Following the vegan lifestyle might seem healthy at first but after a while, many will suffer from nutrient and vitamin deficiencies. Another hindrance to veganism is the ease of access to food. Being a vegan is difficult. I know this because I was once a vegetarian. The limited variety of food is pitiful.

While I agree that deforestation is a major culprit of climate change, there are ulterior motives behind them. One cannot solely blame livestock farming for deforestation. If the majority of the population decided to turn to veganism, the demand for fruits and vegetables would skyrocket. To produce enough to satisfy demands, greater land area will be required. So going vegan may reduce the rate of deforestation but it would definitely not stop it. Another consequence of going vegan would be the collapse of the meat industry. Thousands of people will lose their jobs and this would hurt the economy. Another reason going vegan is not the answer is animal population control. Currently, we have control over the reproduction of animals. If humans were to turn to veganism, the animal population may increase drastically due to the decrease in demand. This would result in an increase in animal by-products that contribute to climate change. Although it may reduce the severity of climate change, veganism is not the answer and can be seen as merely a temporary solution.

Michigan Tech Lode

OPINION

Thursday, March 3 13

GPA: Get paid abundantly with scholarships Un Kendall Belopavlovich

LODE

Philip Bourgeois Lode Writer

ing

to college, you could say I was quite nervous. Well, I got in, and the scholarship offerings quite surprised me. From Michigan Tech I received a whole $0 in scholarships, and for LSSU $2,000 (from my highschool) and then in Chicago $300,000. Michigan Tech and Chicago were on the same level of academic requirements, so how did I get so much from one and not the other? In this case there is no way it was just based on grades, which is good! I think that grades are horrible way to award students money. However, when it came to applying to certain scholarships I needed a GPA higher than a certain cutoff, usually 3 or 3.5, to apply and be considered, just like many colleges. I have known many 2.0 students who are absolutely brilliant, and 4.0 students who are just dumb as a pile of rocks. When it comes to grades, I feel like it’s all book work, and most of life is not book work. It’s working with your hands such as building a house, writing or surgery.

Those are the people we want to encourage to go to college and pursue a degree, not students who can memorize chapter 8 and then can recite it on a test. When people tell me they have a 4.0, I am proud of them, but it is just not as impressive. Don’t get me wrong, I am jealous of people who can do that, but that’s not life Now, I don’t know how these scholarships would be given out. Maybe the bigger ones would require a demonstration of something, or letters of recommendation revolving around extracurricular activities rather than grades. If you cheat your way through college, you will not know how to perform at your job, so why should it be the same for cheating students who deserve scholarships. So while us 3.0s get robbed of all the money by the 4.0s, just remember, it will be okay, because we are all here now, and it could be worse.

point is that we, as a people, are about to reembark on a tradition that many not only see as important, but also as utterly necessary. As I said earlier, many of us getting ready to break, and so this vacation coming up is important. And it is necessary. For the sake of our sanity, spring break must arrive. Now I know what you’re saying: “But Alex, spring break starts tomorrow. How much sooner do you want it?” I want it as soon as the first midterms. I want it as soon as the first student breaks down from the stress and the pressure of school. Now obviously this is an unrealistic dream, but that does not take from the fact from that this is the time when I want spring break. And I know I’m not alone. My dream is one shared across campus. Across the state. Across the nation. To get back on topic, I want to talk about what happens during spring break that makes it so important. Besides not having homework or exams or essays to do, us students are given the chance to let our hair down, and have some fun. I know many people are going to Florida this spring break. I know that even more are just staying home, and relaxing with family. I myself will be spending time with my family, and

hanging out with my high school friends, whom I haven’t seen since winter break. Whatever you do during spring break, please remember that after the break is over, its back to having midterms. Its back to 12 page essays. So relax while you can. You’re going to need it. This brings me to my final subject. Be careful. Don’t be a statistic telling us how many people die in drunk driving accidents. Don’t be the one who goes to hospital for an overdose. These may seem extremes, but we all know it’s possible. Spring break is a privilege, not a right, and I know many who abuse this privilege. Don’t be one of those people. Be safe. Be careful. And relax, after the break, we only have 32 weekdays until the end of the year. Spring break is necessary. Without it, people break down, and their grades suffer even worse for it. It provides a much needed time of relaxation, so that people like me can catch up on their reading. Spring break provides an important service to students nationwide. It keeps us safe from our own professors. But more importantly, it keeps people from tanking their entire collegiate career.

The Necessity of Spring Break Alexander Crawford Lode Writer

The time is here. We are finally going on our final break before the end of the school year. As I’ve witnessed all across campus, we are in desperate need of this break. Winter has always been known as a time of despair and hardship. It is the dreariest, and sometimes most frightful season of the year. This only adds to the already dooming despair of midterm exams, learning calculus and dealing with that one stickler professor who just wants it this way and no other way. As my one friend put it: “Spring break can’t come sooner.” And how right he is. Everyone I talk to, be it first-years like myself, or people about to graduate, feel as though if spring break doesn’t get here, they’re going to have a breakdown. Spring break is a timeless tradition. Since we were kids, we have always had a week sometime in the late winter or early spring that was to be a break from our studies. A break from endless homework. A break from the teachers who just wouldn’t let up. The

ZONE

What is the one thing that was stressed in high school? It wasn’t “hugs not drugs”... it was the ACT or SAT, depending where you are from. Now the other thing stressed in high school about higher education is that college is expensive! How do these two things relate? The ACT score has been determining scholarship status for every high school student trying to apply. As you may recall reading about if standardized testing determines intelligence levels in an earlier issue of The Lode, it is now time to talk about how standardized testing stands up with scholarships. This is a very subjective topic, because standardized tests may in fact determine intelligence levels; therefore smarter people should get scholarships to ensure they go to college, but what about the other half? This really comes down to the question: should book smart people get scholarships over those who are not encouraged to go to college, especially if they can not afford college? If we just throw scholarships to people who score below a certain GPA and who couldn’t afford college, it would be just as good as financial aid. So let’s talk about me for a bit. I graduated at 17/42 in my class, lower than a 3.00 GPA, and mid 20s on the ACT. I also was a part of many extracurricular activities and did not pass a single exam in school. When applying

I have often wondered how to go about being successful. There are so many avenues in which one can find success, from the arts, to music, engineering, medicine, etc. Generation X has been told from an early age that we can simply do anything we put our hearts to, that we can accomplish anything. While we live in the self-proclaimed land of opportunity, in my experience, I’ve learned that this teaching is not necessarily true. There are many factors in which one could be held back from achieving greatness, monetary wealth being one of the greatest suppressors. Of course the media circulates stories about young geniuses and billionaires overcoming the most harrowing of obstacles but these stories are extraordinary, not our reality. Most people lead an average life, and subsequently do average things. We’re not all rock stars. But perhaps that’s not my point here. My preamble is to lead into the notion that to truly excel in life, we must work with the tools and talents we are given from the start. There’s no sense in my trying to become a famous pop sensation. My vocal chords simply aren’t made for it. But for me to expand upon my love and natural ability to write and imagine makes a lot of sense. I see a lot of people forcing themselves to do things that they hate, for money, for power or otherwise. I completely understand that in our economydriven society we have to make big decisions with money in mind. But just to be miserable for some money? Now that I don’t understand. Who wants to work a miserable job if only for the monetary benefit? Sure, money can get you places and it can get you things, it can make your life easier and it really can make you a bit happier. But I would bet that any person who took a job just for the money would eventually have misery creep into every aspect of their life, anyway. Happiness is a state of mind, not of matter. We are so fortunate to live in a society that gives us the option to pursue a million different passions, don’t pick the wrong one for the wrong reason. Being average isn’t a bad thing.

Thursday, March 3

NEW ADVICE COLUMN Dear Readers, The Michigan Tech Lode will be starting an advice column. Students, faculty and staff are welcome to email us about anything personal, work or school-related at take-a-lodeoff-l@mtu.edu. A panel of selected staff will respond with measured input or advice. The identities of everyone involved will be kept confidential. A pen name and an anonymous email may be used to communicate with us. However, a personal email or your Michigan Tech email may also be used. Rest assured, everything will be kept confidential. Write to us with the following format: Subject line: Anything related to the subject matter Dear Husky,

[Letter Body]

-Pen name/alias

OPINION

Michigan Tech Lode

The Decline of Classical Music Samantha Stein Lode Writer

The Experience Tech fee includes access to all Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra concerts and Wind Symphony concerts. However, student attendance for these events seems lower than other events. It may be due to the fact that students tend to favor different music genres over classical music. Although students tend to have quite eclectic tastes in music, more students list rock and indie as their favorite genre. Why are students less likely to listen to classical? And how can their interest for classical music be increased? Some argue that classical music has fallen out of popularity with audiences because from the start of elementary school, students haven’t been trained in classical music. This happened because music programs are being defunded and therefore, children are losing exposure to classical music that they otherwise would’ve gotten. Of course, parents could put their children into private lessons, however those can be expensive and unless your child is going to become the next Mozart, spending that much money can be difficult to justify. Despite this, some students still get into

classical music and continue to perform and listen to it. Michigan Tech has a variety of programs for students to enjoy. Classical music is a great experience for people to have. It increases cultural capital and knowledge. Students do express an interest in going to or learning more about classical music. So what’s stopping them? A lot of students learn about different music through friends and social circles. There are six different strategies for engaging college students. They’re not mutually exclusive, however, each plays a role in helping engage students in performing arts. These strategies include, but not limited to having multiple entry points available for students, low barriers, academic integration and artist interaction. All of these would increase the likeliness of students to engage with fine and performing arts. Multiple entry points could include everything from location to the format of the programs. By designing programs with students in mind, performing arts would attract more students. Low barriers also play into designing programs for the students. Michigan Tech does this already by having the Experience Tech fee that allows students to get into most Rozsa Center events for

free. For the events that students don’t get in for free, tickets are cheaper for students. However, low barriers also include making sure programs are shorter for students. This would make sure that they had time to attend the event as well as complete other responsibilities. By including academic ties to the performing arts, more students may be exposed to them; this could either make students resistant to classical music performances or introduce them to a new love of it. Of course, there are classes at Tech that students who are interested in classical music can take already. Finally, by letting students interact with artists that the university brings in, students may potentially meet someone who greatly influences them. Overall, classical music is less popular with the student body. Though our lack of music education in early childhood and elementary years may have some contribution to it, there’s no definitive reason for the unpopularity of classical music and performing arts. Students could get more exposure and interest if Tech applied some of the mentioned strategies or improved their current strategies.

Cannabis: the highly controversial topic Amy Joy Patterson Lode Writer November 6, 2012, was a Tuesday. I was a junior in high school, and I was staunchly anti-drug. I had been surrounded by drug culture for the majority of my life, as I grew up in Woodland Park, Colorado, and was frankly quite sick of the constant stench of marijuana that permeated every restroom in my high school and somehow occasionally made its way into the open windows of my home. So, when Colorado Amendment 64 — the first legislation to lift the ban on marijuana in the United States — came to pass that fateful day, I was, to say the least, distinctly unhappy. I thought everything was going to get worse. Not long after the passage of Amendment 64, the first of many dispensaries opened a mere tenth of a mile from my mother’s house in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Despite my fears, I quickly found that the only change I noticed in my day to day life as a result of this new legislation was a slight increase in traffic. There was no cataclysm. There was no increase in high school dropouts. There was no change in the general behavior of my acquaintances.

Weed was suddenly legal, and everything else stayed the same — except, of course, the tax revenue. Colorado made $70 million in 2014 alone on marijuana taxes. That is $70 million more for schools, welfare programs and community resources. It is nearly double what the state makes in alcohol taxes, and

“To restrict marijuana from informed adults is no different than restricting alcohol, cigarettes or prescription medications.” it has drastically improved the lives of Colorado’s most destitute citizens. Nonetheless, I am not suddenly a proponent of the legalization of marijuana

because it is an easy way to get a quick buck. Ultimately, I want what is best for people. After a lot of soul searching and some serious research, I came to the conclusion that my personal feelings about marijuana, adamantly negative as they may be, are entirely irrelevant. The vast majority of research on the physiological and psychopharmacological effects of marijuana indicate that, while it may be damaging in heavy doses, moderate usage of marijuana likely has no permanent impact. It is an excellent anti-nausea and anti-anxiety aid. It is sustainable and cheaply produced. It is certainly no more harmful than alcohol, and in many cases is far more innocuous than prescription drugs one might take to achieve the same effects. I would never go so far as to say marijuana is “healthy,” as there is not much research to suggest that, either, but I definitely cannot argue that it is particularly detrimental to one’s well-being. It is simply not rational to prevent the legal sale of a relatively harmless product. By refusing to legalize marijuana, states are blatantly flying in the face of the foundation of this country. Above all, Americans advocate for the greatest possible degree of freedom. To restrict marijuana from informed adults

A Cannabis sativa leaf Photo by Christopher Thomas

is no different than restricting alcohol, cigarettes or prescription medications. It takes away some measure of liberty without providing an adequate reason. So far, the legalization of marijuana for both recreational and medicinal uses in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington has been an overwhelming success. We can no longer hide behind “what ifs.” We can observe with our own eyes what happens to the people who reside in regions where marijuana is legal, and what happens is a whole lot of nothing. It is time to put aside discomfort for the best interest of all. It is time to free the reefer.

Michigan Tech Lode

# the By

s r e b m nu

18.7

GLIAC Freshman of the Year Kyle Monroe’s average points per game.

68.7 13 2 7 .6 Total points per game of the entire men’s basketball team.

Rank of Michigan Tech hockey in both major national polls ranking college hockey teams.

Husky hockey’s overall win percentage during the 201516 season thus far, only .001 lower than their in-conference percentage.

12-0 4.2

SPORTS

Thursday, March 3 15

Husky men end rough season on a good note Utkarsh Mishra Lode Writer Michigan Tech’s men’s basketball team played their last match of this season last week against their longtime rival Northern Michigan in the Wood Gym of the Student Development Complex at Michigan Tech on Feb. 25. The match was really close, but the Huskies had the last laugh, defeating the guest team 85-75. Tech ran out to a quick 4-1 lead on the Wildcats. Jordan Perez from Northern Michigan then connected on a three point jumper to tie the game at four with 18:15 to play in the half. The Huskies responded with back-to-back triples to open up a six point, 12-6, advantage. Northern Michigan battled back to take their first lead of the contest, 18-16, after Perez netted another triple at the 12:04 mark. Following a Michigan Tech made layup and three pointer, Terry Nash tied the game at 21 from downtown with 9:44 on the clock. The Huskies offense answered with a 9-0 run to take a 30-21 edge. The Wildcats chipped the deficit down to two, 34-32, after a Nash three point jumper with 2:46 to play in the half. In the final play of the half, Naba Echols pulled up from half court to bury a triple as time expired and gave the Wildcats a 41-39 advantage at the intermission. Michigan Tech opened the second half building a four point, 45-41, advantage after a Jeff Gregory three pointer. Northern Michigan battled back to retake the lead after Per-

ez found Marcus Hall on the perimeter for a triple, 49-47, with 15:52 to play. The Wildcats then went on to create a four point, 53-49, advantage. The Huskies responded by tying the game at 53 following a pair of Kyle Stankowski free throws. Later in the half, Michigan Tech opened up a six point [70-64] lead after a Kyle Monroe three pointer. On the following possession, Echols connected with Perez for the three pointer, cutting the deficit to six [67-61] with 4:22 remaining. Nash was then able to cut the lead down to four [72-68] after his layup with 2:06 to play. Michigan Tech answered by growing their lead back up to eight [76-68] with 1:19 on the clock. Perez was able to cut the lead down to five, 76-71, with 1:10 to play but it would not be enough as the Huskies closed out the remaining minutes. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field. Tech was at 55 percent while the visitors were at 53 percent. The Huskies did not commit a second-half turnover and made 22-of-25 free throws in the contest. Three senior players from Michigan Tech played their final games. Luke Heller had 16 points, a team-high seven rebounds and five assists. Stankowski posted seven points. Connor McLeod also saw the court. “I’m extremely proud that we ended this season with a good note” said Coach Kevin Luke. “My heart goes out to our seniors and also to Northern’s senior Terry Nash, who’s been a class act during his career”. This brings an end to Michigan Tech’s 2015-2016 season.

Freshman Kyle Monroe honored Michigan Tech Athletics Press Release BAY CITY, Mich. — Michigan Tech’s Kyle Monroe (Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon) was today named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Year as the league announced its 2015-16 postseason awards. Tech’s first GLIAC Freshman of the Year since Jason Marcotte (2001-02), Monroe also earned AllGLIAC Second Team honors. Monroe led all GLIAC freshman and ranked sixth in the GLIAC in scoring in 2015-16 with an 18.7 average. He notched nine 20-point games this season as well as two 30-point outings while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor on the year. The 6-5 forward finished ninth in the league in rebounding at 6.9 per game and eighth in steals (1.4 per game). He was Tech’s high scorer in 15 of 26 games and finished nearly halfway to 1,000 points (485) after his rookie campaign. Monroe’s 485 career points was the highest-scoring rookie campaign in Tech history and his per-game average of 18.7 was the second-highest—behind only Larry Grimes’ average of 20.0 per game (480 in 24 games). Grimes (1968-72) holds the Michigan Tech record for career points at 2,360. The All-GLIAC teams were nominated and voted upon by the league’s 16 head coaches with 10 players on the All-GLIAC First Team, 10 on the Second Team and 10 on the All-Defensive Team. Monroe was the only Huskies player honored.

Michigan Tech women’s basketball home record in the 2015-16 season.

Million people worldwide who celebrated their Leap Birthdays on Feb. 29.

Husky Kyle Monroe selected as GLIAC Freshman of the Year for the 2015-16 season.

Graphic courtesy of Michigan Tech Athletics

Thursday, March 3

SPORTS

Michigan Tech Lode

Sidelines

Cricket? Why not?

Husky defender Shane Hanna.

Huskies guarantee playoff spot Tausaf Torzo Lode Writer

On Feb. 26, the Huskies defeated Alaska 6-5 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

“It was a tale of a lot of different hockey games tonight... We’ll take the win, but we have to be much better tomorrow.” -Mel Pearson on Friday’s game

The first period was totally ruled by the Huskies scoring four goals to none with some outstanding shots from four different players. Neville scored the first goal with just 9:08 into the first period followed by L’Esperance within a time span of just two minutes. Max Vallis and Matt Roy each scored one goal to

Photo by Tausaf Torzo

give the Huskies a 4-0 lead. The next period was not so one-sided, as the Nanooks answered with three goals. Vallis buried again to make it 5-3 through 40 minutes. Alaska scored two consecutive goals in the third period to pull the match to a tie at 5-5 but a shot from L’Esperance took the game from the Nanooks and ended up with a final score of 6-5. “It was a tale of a lot of different hockey games tonight,” said head coach Mel Pearson after the game. “We got away from our game a little bit after the first period and for the most part we didn’t manage the game well in the second and third periods. We’ll take the win and the two points are important but we have to be much better tomorrow.” Goaltender Jamie Phillips earned his eighteenth win of the season by stopping 25 shots between the pipes for the Huskies. L’Esperance and Max Vallis scored twice for the Huskies followed by Neville and Reid Sturos who each scored one goal to give the Huskies a victory of 6-5. On Feb. 27 the Huskies went face to face with the Nanooks for the second time in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The game was a very low scoring match, the Huskies won the match with a score of 3-2 over Alaska.

The first and second period ended with a draw, one goal from each team in every period. The third period featured no goals from either team, bringing the game into extra time. Shane Hanna assisted Alex Petan as he sunk one into the net to win the game for the Huskies. “I really liked our game tonight,” said Pearson. “We played much better than we did last night. We had a lot of good performances from people in our lineup. Overall, it was good for us to create a lot of offensive chances tonight and stick with it to get the win”.

“We played much better than we did last night.” -Mel Pearson on Saturday’s game The win guarantees the Huskies will play a first-round WCHA playoff series at home and keeps Tech in the competition for the MacNaughton Cup entering the final weekend of the regular season. Michigan Tech will face their biggest rival, Northern Michigan next weekend, March 4-5, for a home-home series.

Everyone has their minds on spring break, but we already wrote that article last week because we couldn’t come up with anything better. So let’s see... The Cricket World Cup is going on right now, and will be until April 3. For those of us that don’t follow cricket, it’s kind of like the World Cup for soccer, only less corrupt. Any excuse to hear people say words like “wicket,” “biffer,” “gully,” or “mullygrubber” with a straight face is a good excuse in my book. But there are other reasons why I’m actually following the World Cup this year. I’ve never played cricket. I don’t know much about cricket. But there are millions of people across the world who have, and do, and to those people this tournament is a huge thing. I don’t want to let that just go by. There’s a certain kind of American patriotism that scorns and disregards anything the rest of the world does that we don’t. That’s the kind of nationalism that converts meters or Celcius into “Freedom Units,” and claims that the Superbowl is a bigger deal than the other football. That’s all fun and games when it’s posted on r/murica, but when it actually influences and limits how you experience the world around you, I think it starts to become a problem. Unfortunately I’m going to miss a bunch of matches over break, so I’ll be counting on you all to fill me in, OK? Send match summaries and coverage my way at rasilver@mtu.edu. I’ll be looking forward to it. But maybe that’s not your thing. Maybe you think the only good kind of cricket is one that lets you know when you’ve made a bad joke. [chirp, chirp] Enjoying cricket isn’t the point. The point is to get out there and have new experiences. Whether it’s watching the World Cup, going on a hike to some place you’ve never been before, trying a new food or a new yoga position, try and put yourself out there. Who knows? It might be fun. Even if it’s not, it’ll make a good story if you tell it right. Nobody can make sitting on the couch in your dorm into a good story. Unless they’re sitting on the couch watching the Zimbabwe v Hong Kong game on Tuesday. That might be cool.

Michigan Tech Lode

SPORTS

Thursday, March 3 17

Seventh annual CopperDog 150 Davy McLeod Lode Writer Sharp barks pierce the air. Like siblings interrupting one another, they fill the cold night with erratic sound. The dogs making the racket are tugging at a sled, but it won’t budge yet. The hook—a pair of metal claws that dig into the snow—is holding them and the musher in place. A countdown starts over the loudspeakers adding to the din. At the end of it the hook is yanked free, and the volunteer dog-handlers step away. The animals finally feel sweet release through movement, and as the musher and dogs vanish from view into the forest, they become completely quiet and focused. The seventh annual CopperDog 150 Sled Dog Competition took place this past weekend, from Friday, Feb. 26 to Sunday, Feb. 28. The race sent teams along snowmobile trails all throughout the Keweenaw: from Calumet up to Eagle Harbor the first night, then over to Copper Harbor the next day, and back down to Calumet again to finish the third. Along with this competition, a new race was started called the CopperDog 80. Instead of ten dogs this race used six, and featured two stages rather than three, with Saturday being a rest day inbetween. During the welcome lunch in the Calumet Theatre beforehand, the bib numbers were passed out, and the 33 mushers from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon, and even Canada were debriefed by Meredith LaBeau, Race Director. After everyone was properly informed, they stirred from their seats and started prepping their dogs. The canines were emptied out of their various trailers and kennels, then chained to the vehicles to be fed and taken care of. The streets of Calumet were teeming with activity. Little kids would walk up and pet the dogs, at the mushers insistence. Despite the task at hand, the dogs were incredibly friendly, and the bond between people and animals was palpable. This bond, according to musher Jerry Papke, is of utmost importance. He’s from the thumb of Lower Michigan. Papke’s experienced; he’s been mushing for 20 years. “But I still haven’t won this race,” he said. “Because these mushers here, they’re all great dog people. They could probably take my dogs, and win this race.” Papke claimed that forming a connection among the dog team is a trait similar

to a football coach who successfully rallies their team. “It’s not what you do race day,” Papke said. “It’s the other 364 that count.” Veterinarians inspected each dog, and the mushers’ gear was checked. Certain pieces of equipment such as headlamps, hatchets, sleeping bags, first aid kits and compasses are required. When the musher has a choice they will usually take less equpiment; this leaves precious weight behind and space for a dog if they get injured or too fatigued to continue.

“These mushers here, they’re all great dog people. They could probably take my dogs and win this race.” -Jerry Papke

The sun set, and long howls began bouncing around corners and down alleyways. It was coming from the kennels. The dogs were getting excited, and so

were the spectators showing up in droves. Teams lined up at the gate, and set off every two minutes towards their first destination, followed only by cheers from the crowd. The last to leave Calumet was Adam Schmidt, one of the mushers in the CopperDog 80. Schmidt is a second year Tech student. He’s from Wisconsin, studying Chemical Engineering. He went to the Otter River Sled Dog Training Center in Tapiola, MI with OAP his first year, and told the trainers there that he wanted to mush. The trainers had their doubts, but sure enough Schmidt kept in touch that summer and started working with the dogs the next year. Schmidt has been following the Iditarod since he was in fourth grade. Now he’s living out a long-time dream by competing in the CopperDog 80. “I’m really more of a cat person,” Schmidt said laughing. “But I understand what they do for me, and so I show them respect.” That night Schmidt and other CopperDog 80 mushers ended in Eagle River. Lynne Witte made incredible time, passing nine of her opponents. This put her in first after stage one. The residents of Eagle River set up

Musher Adam Schmidt arrives at the finish line in Calumet.

home-cooked food in the community center for the mushers’ arrival, and slowly but surely the mushers passed their dogs off to their crew to be fed, and went inside to eat too. Schmidt arrived around 1 a.m., and right behind him was another young musher from the same kennel named Naum Raskind. Raskind is only 13 years old, and got interested in mushing after his older brother tried it. He was born in Israel, and came to the UP with his family eventually. “Naum just has to keep moving,” said his mother Anna Raskind. She said that Naum also does track and cross-country. “Mushing is just another way for him to move,” she said smiling proudly. She has good reason; Naum is the youngest musher to compete in CopperDog’s history. Meanwhile the CopperDog 150 was just reaching Eagle Harbor, where defending champ Dennis Leboda had the top time for the first stage. Frank Moe and Martha Schouweiler were just behind Leboda, respectively, and both of them averaged around 12.2 mph. Story continued on page 19

Photo by Davy McLeod

SPORTS

Thursday, March 3

Women’s basketball crushes rival

Co-curriculars: Beginning Skating Hannah Weeks Lode Writer Michigan Tech offers a variety of physical education classes that broaden horizons and give students the opportunity to develop new skills and experience new sports without feeling the need to already have mastered the activity. Beginning Skating is just one of the many co-curricular classes offered at Michigan Tech. This class covers the fundamentals of ice skating. Key skills such as proper form, edges, crossovers, as well as ways to stop are all covered in this class, and are nearly essential to learning how to ice skate. Students agree the class is a great learning experience and overall quite fun. “Beginning Skating was a nice addition to my schedule and allowed me to begin my day with exercise that wasn’t as strenuous as the usual running or weightlifting,” second year Charles Southward said regarding his experience. “It’s a great opportunity for people who have never been on the ice to learn the fundamentals in a judgment free zone,” fourth year Eric Monte commented on the class. Whether a novice skater or experi-

enced athlete hoping to polish up on the fundamentals, this class is a wonderful opportunity to better one’s skating abilities.

“Beginning Skating was a nice addition to my schedule, and allowed me to begin my day with exercise that wasn’t as strenuous as the usual running or weightlifting.” -Charles Southward

This class is a physical education course worth 0.5 credits. Next fall it will be held on various occasions at the ice arena in the Student Development Complex and requires the ownership of skates. Visit banweb.mtu.edu for more details.

Michigan Tech Lode

Utkarsh Mishra Lode Writer

Michigan Tech’s Women’s Basketball team played one match last week against Northern Michigan in the Wood Gym of Student Development Complex at Michigan Tech on Feb 25. The match was a one sided encounter in which Michigan Tech thrashed the guest team by a whopping difference of 80-38. Both teams traded baskets during the opening possessions of the contest. The Wildcats took their first lead of the contest after Darby Youngstrom connected with Taylor Hodell in the paint for the layup, 6-4, with 7:31 to play in the opening quarter. The Huskies then filled the rest of the quarter with ten unanswered points, ending up 16-6. The Wildcats continued to struggle with the swarming Michigan Tech defense as the Huskies grew their lead up 14 [21-7] with 8:37 on the clock. A Hodell layup and jump shot cut the lead down to 10 [21-11].

Northern Michigan headed into halftime trailing the Huskies, 48-18. Coming out of the intermission, Kendall Martenet collected a defensive rebound allowing Youngstrom to run the floor for the layup cutting the deficit to 28 [48-20] with 8:30 to play in the quarter. Michigan Tech went on to grow their lead to 35 [56-21] by the 6:36 mark, and ended the third quarter at 66-28. The Wildcats struggled to slow down the Michigan Tech offense in the final quarter. The Huskies grew their lead to 40, 68-28, after a Mackenzie Perttu layup with 9:18 remaining to put the game firmly out of reach. Hodell led the Wildcats with 13 points compared to Danielle Blake from Michigan Tech with 23 points. Despite the loss, Northern Michigan continues to hold the upper hand in the all-time series, 51-42. The Wildcats and Huskies will also split the season series with each team winning at home. At press time, Michigan Tech was just about to host Grand Valley State in the GLIAC quarterfinal match. Good luck Huskies!

Sporting events schedule: March 4-9 Friday, March 4

Saturday, March 5

Sunday, March 6

Women’s Basketball

Northwood SDC Wood Gym 5:30 p.m.

GLIAC Tournament Semifinal Pending results

GLIAC Tournaments Championship Pending results

Men’s Hockey

Northern Michigan MacInnes Ice Arena 7:07 p.m.

Northern Michigan @ Barry Event Center 7:07 p.m.

Men’s Tennis

Nordic Skiing

Belmont Abbey @ Hilton Head, SC US Junior National Championships Telemark, WI

Monday, March 7

Tuesday, March 8

King (TN) @ Hilton Head, SC

Davis & Elkins @ Hilton Head, SC

Wednesday, March 9

NCAA Championships Steamboat Springs, CO March 9-12 Do you have a sporting event you want included in our calendar? Email lodesubmit@mtu.edu

Michigan Tech Lode

SPORTS

Seventh annual CopperDog 150 Story continued from page 17 Saturday, stage two of CopperDog 150, and it was close to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This is hot for the dogs. They can overheat easily in that kind of weather, simply cooking themselves by overworking. One way they combat this is by scooping snow while they run, but they do better in subzero temperatures. One dog, Fido, hurt his pectoral in stage one and had to be treated by vets set up in a garage. Fido’s owner Thad McCraken thanked the vets and decided to have Fido sit out the second day. Another dog named Rocket is being rehydrated in the same garage. Meghan Marks, a vet tech from Green Bay, is holding the IV up high. She’s been helping with sled dogs for 16 years, and started big, in the Iditarod. The CopperDog 150 mushers went 37 miles to Copper Harbor that day. Towards the finish line, Leboda fell from his sled and had to ride it on its side for a distance. He lost first to Schouweiler, who had a better average speed that day. Rather than sleep off the work, musher’s tend to their animals immediately. They apply paste to their paws, and are extremely in-tune with any ailments a dog may have. Mike Bestgen, for example, checks on one of his dog’s toenails routinely, since that particular dog tends to split it and bleed. One musher named Tom Bauer hosted free dogsled rides for children in the evening. Bauer is the mentor to Schmidt and Raskind. He obviously encourages youth involvement, and selflessly gave up sleep to let the children feel what it’s like to be on a sleigh. “When they put me down, I’ll sleep forever,” Bauer said to one onlooker telling him he should sleep. For him and his wife Sally Bauer, who helps take care of the team, exposing the youth to dogsledding is a payday on its own for all their hard work. In the middle of the night, while some teams were still taking care of their dogs, wind started whipping snow sideways at Copper Harbor. Extra straw got stuffed in the kennels to keep the dogs warm. Sunday, fatigue was easy to see on the faces of the dogs and mushers returning to Calumet. It was a long trek, but LeBoda took first. However, Schouweiler had

him worried. “I looked at her average speeds and,” he sighed with relief, “that was close.” In the final stage of the CopperDog 80, Mallory Sturmer passed up Witte, and so Witte got second. Schmidt came in tenth of 14, which is impressive for his second race. Naum Raskind finished thirteenth. It takes a village to run an event as big as CopperDog. Volunteers had to mark the trails, keep road crossings safe and help handle the dogs. The priority is keeping the dogs and mushers healthy and well. The mushers care for the dogs like kin, and in a way they are. Each dog has a unique personality and a specific role to play in the team. They’re bred for this life. Some lead-dogs are fierce and raging, and others are clever and calculating. Watching the dogs eat and sleep and run together, it’s hard after a while to see them as anything but a tight-knit family. They bicker, they huddle for warmth, and they watch over one another. And after their grueling weekend and tidal wave of fatigue, they can sleep awhile, until the next countdown begins.

Thursday, March 3 19

Above: A sled dog Neveah, Heaven backwards, resting on day two of the CopperDog150. Below: Jerry Papke arrives at the finish line in Calumet. Photos by Davy McLeod

Upcoming

Events march 3 - March 16 Extreme Engineering Solutions Info Session

Thursday, Mar. 3 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Fisher 132

Learn about rugged design for embedded computing and explore career opportunities at Extreme Engineering Solutions. X-ES is a leader in the design, manufacture and support of high-quality, cost-effective solutions for the embedded systems market. Presentation by Aaron Heisler, an engineering manager at X-ES. Pizza provided.

Northern Michigan vs. Michigan Tech

Friday, Mar. 4 7:07 p.m. SDC

Men’s Ice Hockey: (Men’s Ice Hockey) Northern Michigan vs. Michigan Tech

3 Minute Thesis Competition

Monday, Mar. 14 5 - 6 p.m. TBD

Another great opportunity to practice presenting your research is through the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition. There will be divisions for Masters students and Doctoral candidates with prizes available! Make sure to compete in this great event! More details will be posted to our website soon!

Carnegie Museum Lecture Series - Amy Marcarelli

Tuesday, Mar. 15 6:30 p.m.

Carnegie Museum 105 Huron Street

Although the watersheds of the Great Lakes are very small relative to the size of the lakes, each lake is ringed by a few large rivers and hundreds to thousands of small streams. These small streams directly deliver water, sediment, and nutrients into the lakes and provide habitat for plants and animals. I will discuss what we know and don’t know about these small streams, focusing on those surrounding Lake Superior, including historical and current stresses and restoration efforts.

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

(906) 487-2404.