The McGill Tribune Vol. 16 Issue 23

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P u b lis h e d b y t h e S t u d e n t s ’ S o c ie t y o f M c G i l l U n iv e r s it y

McGILL Toothpicks and dental floss Building bridges between theory and practice Science

Watch

By D aniel H ackett

After many hours of hard work designing, building, and testing bridges, two teams of civil engineer­ ing students from McGill finished in respectable positions at Concordia’s 13th annual bridge building competi­ tion last Friday. Originally limited to Concordia students, the competition has evolved into an event that attracts students from all over North America. Of the 30 teams that participated this year, the two teams from McGill finished in 15th and 18th place respectively. Shylesh Moras, captain of the McGill team called “Stressed Members,” was pleased with his group’s overall place­ ment. “We did very well from an aes­ thetic point of view — we attracted a lot of attention,” said Moras. “We had the innovation of using pulleys and cables.” According to competition guide­ lines, the bridges had to be constructed out of nothing but popsicle sticks, den­ tal floss, toothpicks and glue. Moreover, they had to span 1,000 mil­ limetres in length with a width of 150 millimetres. The maximum weight was four kilograms. According to “Stressed Members” Sandy-Kae Gray, the team spent about five hours a day for the past three weeks working on the bridge. Evaluation of the bridges was split into three categories: resistance factor (the load the bridge could sus­ tain divided by the dead weight of the bridge squared), aesthetics, and origi­ nality. Points in each category were worth 55, 25 and 20 per cent respec­ tively. In addition, there was a 10 per cent bonus if a team could accurately estimate the resistance factor, or the load that their bridge could sustain. The bridges were tested by having weight applied to them until they eventually broke or sank by more than two inches. “One of our joints .came off dur­ ing the assembly period before compe­ tition,” said McGill “Team 1” member Siu Wong. “We thought we were fin­ ished at that point and I’m shocked that our bridge was able to support that much weight.” The “Stressed Members’ ” bridge — weighing 2.6 kilograms — was

able to support 100 pounds while the ‘Team 1” bridge, at a weight of 1.26 kilograms, managed to support 375 pounds. The winning team came from the Université du Québec’s Ecole de Technologie Supérieure who con­ structed a bridge able to support 1,850 pounds. The bridge itself weighed only one kilogram. “Team 1” captain Boris Fichot felt that schools like E.T.S. entered the competition with an unfair advantage. “Most universities receive more support than we do; E.T.S. has a course in building bridges like this,” said Fichot. “Often there is nothing wrong with the design — it’s just the way that you build it.” As well, the McGill teams had to overcome many financial and practical problems during the design and build­ ing process. “It’s all student run, so we didn’t get any help unless we asked for it. We had to pay for materials as well as the entrance fee [of $130 ],” said Moras. The “Stressed Members” cap­ tain pointed out that although the poly­ technics had more practical training and more practice, the McGill team had a strong theoretical background. “I think that we would have done much better had we spent more time actually testing things than trying them on paper,” said Moras. According to Gray, the team went through a number of preliminary designs, working out what would or would not work. “Team l ’s” David Fung was con­ cerned with the many aspects of the competition. “A good part of the score relies on the weight [of the bridge],” said Fung. “Keeping the weight at a low value works to your advantage. The most difficult part is making the straight sticks into an arch.” George Massound, Concordia’s Civil Engineering president, was one of the key organisers of the event. “The competition was created to promote civil engineering in our school — I hope that it can soon attract teams from Europe and other parts of the world,” he said. “I was impressed by quite a few of the designs this year — lots of them are very original.” First prize in the competition was $1,000 with monetary prizes also awarded to the next four teams with the highest placements. Prizes were also awarded for the most innovative design, spectacular crush, and most aesthetically pleasing.

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Kevin Koch) McGill’s “Stressed Members ’ “demonstrate their skills at the 13th annual Civil Engineering Bridge Building Contest

Board will not delay new fees More protests planned a s administration digs into student pockets By N o a h G

itterman

A silent protest was staged by over 60 McGill students at the Board of Governors meeting last Tuesday. The students were protesting against recent proposals to introduce a new set of student fees. The action was the first step in a number of demonstrations against the fees that will be occurring throughout this week and next. The protesters silently walked into the meeting carrying placards and stood in a circle around the room, some standing directly behind Principal Bernard Shapiro and Board Chair Richard Pound. Since the Board, which is McGill’s highest financial decision making body, usu­ ally discusses budget issues in confi­ dential sessions, the protesters were asked to leave when it came time to discuss the new fees. They refused, and after a tense few moments, a motion was passed to take the rare step of discussing the school’s finances in an open session. The specific budget proposals in question were announced by Vice-Principal Administration and Finance Phyllis Heaphy in a report presented to Senate over two weeks ago. The same report was brought to the Board for discussion on Tuesday, although no final decisions

were expected to be made at that motions to the Board meeting to time. In response to provincial gov­ counter the three new fee increases. ernment cuts to M cGill’s grant, All the motions were overwhelming­ Heaphy has proposed that the uni­ ly defeated. At the meeting, Shapiro versity introduce an academic ser­ argued that charging students more vices charge and an administrative money was necessary in the face of services charge which would include government cuts since further reduc­ some existing fees, but would also tions in the budgets of faculties and add new fees totalling $255. She fur­ administrative units are not feasible. ther proposes increasing tuition fees paid by additional session graduate C ontinued on Page 2 students from the current $416 to the regular tuition level of $1,668. r Featured Insid e Finally, Heaphy suggests that McGill remove international stu­ dents from government funding and Concordia: Student Union president under fire...............Pg. 5 keep tuition fees for itself. Heaphy estimated a cut of $18 Nigeria: Government accuses million to McGill’s grant, but after Canada o f 'fom enting' terror­ preliminary budget announcements ism...................................... Pg. 9 made by the government last week, it now seems that the cut will not be Season finale: The Newsroom's as deep as anticipated. Yet Heaphy Ken Finkleman................... Pg. 13 still does not know how this will Athlete of the Year: Here's your affect her proposals. chance to vote................... Pg. 18 “It appears that the cut for next year will be less than expected, how­ Sexual Assault Centre of ever it also appears that the cut for McGill Student’s Society the following year will be massive,” Help 398 -8500 she said in letter to the Tribune. “We definitely need more information Info 398 -2700 from the government before making Centre Contre any further decisions.” l’Agression de The proposed new fees were l’Association des hotly contested by Post Graduate Etudiants de Students’ Society VP Academic L’Université McGill Anna Kruzynski, who brought three

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2 CANDINE FOR * includes two flame-broiled Whopper* sandwiches and two medium fries. Please present this coupon before ordering. Not valid with any other offer. No cash value. Applicable taxes payable by bearer. Valid only at 2001 University, McGill Metro. Expiry Date: April 30, 1997


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