TECHNICIAN
tuesday march
26 2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Alumni represent, rebrand manufacturing
Campus: To stay or not to stay Sara Awad Staff Writer
PATRICK WHALEY/TECHNICIAN
Warren Ginn (Left), principal in product development at GinnDesign, and Brooks Raiford (Middle), president of the North Carolina Technology Association, speak during the “From STEM to STEAMD: Perspectives on Manufacturing” panel. Meghan McCann (Right), an alumna in chemical engineering, questions the speakers during the panel discussion.
Taylor O’Quinn Staff Writer
Notable alumni spoke about the past, present and future of the manufacturing industry with faculty and students Monday at the Institute for Emerging Issues’ forum, ManufacturingWorks@NCState. The Institute for Emerging Issues partnered with Technician to present the forum, which focused on engaging students in a resurgence manufacturing landscape. Marshall Brain, founder of HowStuffWorks ; Warren Ginn, founder of GinnDesign and Brooks Raiford, CEO and president of the N.C. Technology Association, were among the speakers at the event. Brain was the keynote speaker of the event, sharing his expertise in entrepreneurship and visits to more than 40 American factories while working with National Geographic. He said modern factories are fully automated and are employing technology to their advantage. He visited a flour-mill factory whose camera system photographed each grain of wheat to validate it, and if it didn’t meet criteria, it would be
ousted. “The amount of precision and scrutiny you can get in quality control is just outstanding,” Brain said. “One could make a good argument that [having automated manufacturing work floors] is a good way of getting humans out of harm’s way.” In the past, humans were solely involved in the manufacturing process, said Brain. But now, with fully automated plants, companies from North Carolina are able to insource jobs in the United States. Manufacturing is changing radically and North Carolina is changing around it, said Gart Davis, co-founder and partner of Spoonflower, a textiles printing firm in Durham. Davis echoed Brain’s comments about globalized companies in the state that have brought their production plants back to the United States due to advances in automation. “Companies can now inshore jobs, instead of sending them off,” Davis said. “It has allowed many startup companies to take advantage of new opportunities.” The invention of 3-D printing allows for ideas to come to life almost
instantly. Three-dimensional print- and an electric motor, according ing makes manufacturing accessible to Brain. Organic Transit manuall the way down to the elementary factures most of the parts for its school level, said Brain. bicycle invention by hand, allowThese printers can print in plas- ing for slower output of its product. tic, metal and other materials, said “This is a credible way of showing Chris Clearman, senior designer for that anybody can manufacture their GoPro cameras. All you need is an ideas,” said Brain. idea and access to a printer to make North Carolina companies are your idea a reality, not only creating said Brain. products, but are “I use 3-D printa l s o produc i ng ing every day at my jobs. Raiford said job,” Clearman, a t h e u ne mploy2010 graduate in ment rate of North industrial design, Carolina — cursaid. “I’m excited rently 9.8 percent to see where this — would be two goes.” points higher if Gart Davis We b site s l i ke North Carolina’s co-founder and partner K ickstar ter and economy had the of Spoonflower IndieGoGo are renational average of defining the timeline for funding manufacturing jobs. Luckily for the manufacturing projects and ideas. state, North Carolina ranks fourth Ten years ago, nothing like this in the nation in manufacturing jobs. could happen, said Brain. Not only are new manufacturing “Now, if you can imagine it, you jobs state-wide improving the econcan create it,” Brain said. omy, the jobs are focusing on being Organic Transit in Durham cre- more environmentally friendly. ated a covered bicycle that allows Meghan McCann, an associate the driver to carry a bit of cargo and choose between manual pedaling MW@NCSU continued page 2
“Companies can now inshore jobs, instead of sending them off.”
O’Rear’s campaign manager calls it quits Sam DeGrave News Editor
S
tudent Body President candidate Dway ne O’Rear’s campaign manager resigned Monday after O’Rear decided not to apologize to those he offended with his hateful social media posts. Alex Canoutas, a junior in international studies and O’Rear’s former campaign manager as of Monday, said he decided to distance himself from the campaign when O’Rear did not follow his advice to “man up” and apologize for his remarks. The following is a Q&A with Canoutas in which he discusses why he left the campaign he helped run and what contributed to the downfall of O’Rear.
After students began posting screen shots of O’Rear’s inflammatory Facebook posts and tweets, what was your advice for O’Rear? “I told him it would be in his best interest to make a public apology,
just to man up to his actions and just take fault for what was said. Granted some of the posts were from two years ago but still he offended a lot of people.”
What was your position with the campaign?
Will O’Rear apologize to those he offended?
Do you still hold that position?
“I talked to Dwayne on the phone earlier today, and I told him ‘Dwayne, the campaign is over, dude. You messed up. You lost so much support. You know that meme of your conversation had 300 shares.’ “I just told him ‘It’s over, dude. You need to protect your image and reputation at this school. You need to apologize to get people not to think so lowly of you anymore. If you don’t say anything it’s like you’re standing by those views and you still have them. I’ve been your buddy since freshman year, and I know that’s how you were then, but that’s not how you are now, so you’ve just got to issue a heartfelt apology to let people know that.’”
“I told him, ‘I do not feel comfortable endorsing someone who does not apologize for messing up, and for that, I am unable to continue supporting you. You’re still my friend, but I can’t be a part of that. I can’t be affiliated with someone who holds those kinds of negative views.’ “I was getting messages from my friends studying abroad, students here, people who go to different schools, even my mom was letting me know ‘this Dwayne kid is really saying some messed up things.’ I just told Dwayne, ‘I can’t keep getting these messages. I support you as a friend, but this is not good.’”
“Dwayne appointed me as his campaign manager.”
PATRICK WHALEY/TECHNICIAN
One of Dwayne O’Rear’s campaign signs is thrown away in the trash after the explosion of his inflamatory Facebook comments.
one’s image after such a controversy? “Just having a heartfelt apology
In your opinion, why should O’Rear issue an apology? What is the importance of clearing
O’REAR continued page 3
insidetechnician viewpoint features classifieds sports
Students find solace at Take Back the Night See page 3.
Artist brainstorm ideas for Gregg with students See page 6.
Pack swings into second place on day one See page 8.
Spring Housing Fair April 3rd - 10am-2pm- Brickyard
4 5 7 8
It is a common misconception that off-campus students are robbed of the “college experience.” But truthfully, they just have to work that much harder to connect. On-campus students are more likely to be involved with campus organizations, but many commuters are also involved on campus, said Tim Blair, associate director of university housing. Blair said living on campus makes resources more accessible, but is not the best option for all students. “Living off campus requires a lot more energy because you have to ask what is going on,” Blair said. Hannah Evans, a sophomore in elementary education, said she prefers living off campus and does not mind the 15-minute commute. “I have more freedom than people on campus,” Evans said. “Seeing as I don’t live on campus, I don’t have all of the restrictions like music, noise . . . a roommate.” Evans said she does not feel disconnected from the college community. She looks at fliers posted around campus to stay informed about the University’s events and activities. Hana Chmielewski, a graduate student in civil engineering, lives in a duplex across from Gorman Street. She said she is happy with her current living situation, but enjoyed residence-hall life as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University as well. “For me, socially it was preferable to live on campus at the beginning of my undergraduate career, but now I know friends who I can room with,” Chmielewski said. Unlike distant commuters, Chmielewski said she enjoys walking and biking to campus most days. Joe Murray, a senior in German and mathematics, lives in Watauga Residence Hall and says living on campus has helped him be more involved. “How much you do on campus is your personal choice, but there is more of a barrier for commuter students,” Murray said. Wolf Trails and the Union Activities Board recognized the challenge of involving commuters on campus and organized three commuter “grab n’ go breakfasts” earlier this year. The breakfasts were meant to build camaraderie among commuters, according to transportation planner Michael Ousdahl. “A lot of commuters just come and leave campus after classes, so this would help build the commuting experience,” Ousdahl said. UAB supplied food and Wolf Trails informed commuters about transportation options. They hope to expand the program by including University Dining and University Recreation and offering another
COMMUTERS continued page 2
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