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Huskies win with commanding lead

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Registrar and Financial Aid swap offices

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Photo by Pratik Joshi

Debate: should the United States Government continue

to fund NASA?

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November 18, 2014

NEWS Michigan Tech Lode2 Tuesday, November 18

The Group of Twenty, or G20, is a meeting of the 19 most powerful countries in the world, and the European Union [EU]. Between them, they account for two-thirds of the world’s population and 85 percent of its gross domestic product. Beginning in 2008, the body was conceived as a way for the global community to respond to economic crises. Economic concerns have remained the focus of the group’s dealings, but all areas of policy are now discussed.

Last weekend marked the 2014 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane, Australia. While economics were the agenda, much of the summit was dominated by the conflict between Western leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine.

Ukraine is currently embroiled in a civil war between Russian-backed rebels and the EU-backed government in Kiev. World leaders, including President Obama, have repeatedly accused Putin of arming the rebels, which he denies.

Putin was the first leader to leave the summit, flying back to Moscow after the final lunch meeting, but before the planned discussion on the Ukraine and the issuing of the joint statement of the conference.

Putin made a statement claiming that he needed sleep before getting back to work governing, given the time difference. However, pundits were quick to point out the constant series of verbal jabs and slights from Western leaders that had defined the conference.

“I guess I’ll shake your hand, but I have only one thing to say to you: You need to get out of Ukraine,” said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

World leaders promised further sanctions against Russia should they continue supporting Ukrainian rebels. However, both Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have made statements characterizing the current situation as a “crossroads,” with the emphasis being on the fact that Russia can choose to take a different path in cooperation with the Western world.

The conference document contained agreements to raise global gross domestic product by two percent by 2018, to share information to fight tax evasion, as well as commitments to fight Ebola and global climate change. Critics, however, have pointed out the lack of real measures to deliver these promises.

The world at a glance

RAND SILVERS

News Editor

People did not always have television and the internet to keep them entertained. There once was a time when the best entertainment available was watching two knights battle it out or creating illuminated papers. That time was the Medieval Era, and it still had its fans. Today, the Medievalist Club of Michigan Technological University explores the era its members find so interesting.

The Medievalist Club, or as it also is known the Shire of Mistig Waetru, is the Houghton branch of the Kingdom of Northshield of the Society for Creative Anachronism [SCA]. The SCA is a worldwide non-profit medieval living history group that authentically and actively recreates the life, art, and skills from 600-1600 AD. The SCA has quite a few groups throughout the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin, including branches in Marquette, Iron

Mountain, and Phelps.The high concentration of other

branches allows the Medievalist club plenty of opportunities to attend the different festivals that each club holds annually. The latest one they attended was in Ironwood, Michigan and was hosted by the Marquette branch. At these festivals is a wide range of activities such as medieval dancing, heavy and light armor battling, and archery. The festival ends with the feast, which is made up of a wide array of foods from the era.

The Medievalist’s Club annual festival is known as the Road to the Isle. It takes place annually in the spring as late as possible in Michigan Tech’s semester so as many students as possible can attend it. The

Calumet Heritage Center is the usually location for the event as the basement offers an ideal environment for armor combat tournaments, while the church upstairs can be used for coronations.

The coronations are used to crown the new king and prince. The king is the best fighter and gets to serve for six months as king while the prince serves for six months in that capacity before being promoted to king.

The club is not all about going to the festivals though, they attend other non- official events. One of these was when the Marquette branch held a fight demonstration at the Ishpeming

Student Org Spotlight: Medievalist Club

EVAN MAYER

Lode Writer

“At these festivals is a wide range of activities such as medieval dancing, heavy and light armor battling, and archery. The festival ends with the feast, which is made up of a wide array of foods from the era.”

The medievalist Club at Michigan Tech is in action, recreating the life, art, and skills from the times of 600-1600 AD. The Michigan Tech club is only one of many in the area.

Photo by Rachel Baron

Continued on page 3

NEWSMichigan Tech Lode 3Tuesday, November 18

Good news has come for Deer Lake and the surrounding community in Ishpeming, Mich. On Thursday, Oct 30, the EPA removed the lake from a list of areas that have experienced pollution problems and possibly other damage. This means that the lake area, including Carp Lake and Carp Creek, have been restored to a healthy state for human use and for the creatures that reside in or near it.

In all, 43 sites were originally put on the AOC [areas of concern] list; 26 are in the U.S., 12 are in Canada, and five are shared by both countries. The AOC list is officially defined as “geographic areas that fail to meet the general or specific objectives of the agreement where such failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use of the area’s ability to support aquatic life,” by the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Since the list was made in 1987, five of the areas have been delisted.

Deer Lake had restrictions on the consumption of local fish and wildlife, undesirable algal blooms, and animals with

deformities and reproductive problems. Specifically, loons and bald eagles exposed to the contamination in the lake could not reproduce, violating the Bald and Gold Eagle Protection Act. These issues stemmed from mercury pollution in the water that came from the Ropes Gold and Silver Mine, northwest of Deer Lake.

The water was also contaminated due to the fact that for 52 years, from 1929 to 1981, the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company allowed waste water to flow into Carp Creek from its laboratories. The company also required the city of Ishpeming to divert Partridge Creek into their tunnels beneath the city.

Since 2010, eight million dollars has been spent on the project, much of which has been spent diverting Partridge Creek, creating “approximately one mile of closed culvert hydraulic conveyances, approximately one mile of new open stream, and 1.3 acres of restored wetlands” according to the official restoration timeline on EPA’s website. The money came from a $1.2 billion funding bucket set aside for a total of 2,215 projects around the region by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

The area is now officially clean and free from all restrictions. For more information, visit www2.epa.gov/deer-lake-aoc.

Local lake removed from EPA pollution listANDREA SPENCER

Lode Writer

In this years midterm elections, Michigan voters were asked to elect a number of different officials, but they were also asked to consider two similar, but controversial proposals. These proposals described the legality of wolf-hunts in Michigan. Voters declined the referendums in an attempt to discontinue wolf hunting practice, but these effects held only limited value.

On Dec 31, 2012, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed Public Act 520 into law, which classified the wolf as a legal game animal and set wolf hunting seasons. The implementation of Public Act 520 was delayed, however, when activist groups gathered sufficient signatures to require a referendum on the bill, which was Proposal 1 on the state ballot.

In response, the state legislature passed Public Act 21 on May 8, 2013, which superseded Public Act 520 and allowed the Natural Resource Commission to declare game animals and establish hunting seasons without legislative action. This bypassed the referendum challenge to Public Act 520, but was met with another referendum challenge, Proposal 2.

In response to this challenge, the group Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management [CPWM] began an indirect initiated state statute, in which after collecting an adequate number of signatures, the proposal goes before the legislature rather than the public. CPWM received the requisite number of signatures,

and in August the legislature approved the measure. This rendered both Proposal 1 and Proposal 2 moot.

CPWM’s proposal could not be challenged by referendum due to a 2001 Michigan Supreme Court ruling that all laws making appropriations are protected from veto referendums. Instead, groups headed by Keep Michigan Wolves Protected [KMWP] are suing in court, claiming that the initiative is too broad and should be overturned.

Though the proposals were both now moot, groups continued their campaigning to send a message to legislators. On election day, 54.97 percent of voters opposed Proposal 1 and 63.84 percent opposed Proposal 2, both indicating voters did not want a wolf hunt.

Taking a quick glance at the animals in debate, the wolf population in Michigan has had considerable range in the last 40 years. In 1973, only six wolves existed in Michigan, declaring gray wolves on endangered species list.

Since then, wolf population has continued a steady increase, and in January of 2014, wolves were removed from endangered species list with Michigan Department of Natural Resources estimating 700 wolves exist in Michigan today.

Since the majority of wolves do not reside in Lower Michigan, the effects of wolf population concerns the citizens in the Upper Peninsula and others interested in environmental fate.

Katie Bristol, Michigan Tech student and dedicated wilderness explorer is concerned with how far the government will extend power and said, “I would not vote to further

wolves as game unless [proposal 1] had very strict guidelines to ensure that wolves do not become endangered again”.

Pro-wolf hunting organizations have brought to attention that 16 incidents of wolf attacks have happened this year, few involving dog attacks, while the rest of the cases involved livestock.

Others against wolf as game have stated the main problems sourced from wolves are hardly significant and are of low worth in comparison to the positives of keeping a wolf population a natural level. Loss of livestock from wolves are compensated by government.

Colleen Pace of Riverband Farm in mid-eastern Michigan recognizes hunters can have benefits of hunting with its consequences. “There is not one biologist, ecologist or resource scientist among [Natural Resource Commission]. They are business owners and hunting enthusiasts…One can approve hunting game for meat without supporting pure blood-sport. Wolves play a significant role in the U.P. ecosystem by reducing deer, beavers and smaller species,” she said.

Andrew Meyer, Michigan Tech student, avid birder and wildlife enthusiast defends against pro-hunters who feel threatened by wolf population and said, “Wolves exist in Michigan-- they were here first and they are as much a part of the nature as the blizzards, cold temperatures…if you live in wolf range, you have signed an unwritten contract to tolerate the wolves”.

Despite the failure of both referendums, unless the courts act before the hunting season is declared by the Natural Resource Commission, wolves will be hunted in 2015.

The hunt to end the hunt

SYLVANA FINKBEINER

Lode Writer

Renaissance fair and the club went down to take part in it. There is also an event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin called Warriors and Warlords, which is a four-day camping trip.

The club currently is comprised of ten members, but they are always looking for new members. All members of the Tech and local community are welcomed to join.

Joining the club or taking part in any official SCA events requires no dues to be paid, but there is a five-dollar admissions fee to enter an event. There is an official SCA membership fee, which is optional. Paying this fee allows a member to become an officer in a local group, and replaces all admissions fees for events.

The club meets every week at 7 p.m. in Fisher 328. Since the vast majority of the club’s focus is on attending festivals these meetings are used to prepare to attend them. Topics could include making clothing, recreating medieval art styles, or even learning how to make arrows.

The club is a great activity that can be enjoyed at any age, which can be shown by Jenny Wallace who is a member along with her two children.

“The best part of the club is that SCA chapters are almost everywhere so if you join at Tech and move somewhere else there is a good chance a local chapter may be there as well that you can join,” said Anthony Heathcoat, the club’s Webminister.

So if the Medieval era is an interest or could potentially become one, join the Medieval Club and find out what all the knights, chivalry, and chaos of the era was all about.

Medievalist Club Continued from page 2

NEWS Michigan Tech Lode4 Tuesday, November 18

Everyone in Houghton can say, “See ya!” to grass and pavement as winter has come to lay siege on the city. The culprit to blame for this early start to snow is winter storm Astro and the polar vortex that it created.

Astro, which swept across mainly the north-central part of the country originated in the Rocky Mountains. The storm picked up steam and with the help of the Great Lakes and had its greatest impact in the Midwest.

The Upper Peninsula received the most snowfall with 42.5 inches being recorded near Ishpeming. Houghton did not get hit quite so hard, but 30.5 inches was recorded in the Keweenaw Peninsula by Wednesday night. The U.P. saw country high totals, partially due to the cold winds across Lake Superior that added some lake-effect snowfall in Astro’s wake.

The state that got hit second hardest was Wisconsin, which saw a top total of 27.6 inches. A record was even broken as the snowfall broke the all-time November calendar-day record, which had been set in 1898 and was the snowiest day in 49 years in St. Cloud, Minnesota when 13 inches covered the ground. Minnesota’s State patrol had a busy Tuesday and Wednesday as the troopers responded to 393 crashes, including four fatalities, as more than half of the state’s major roadways were covered in snow

Other states like Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming, and the Dakotas all felt the effects of the storm, but none of them received more than 14 inches. Illinois wanting to fit in and be part of the storm reported a trace of snow

in Colusa in the western part of the state.On the coattails of Astro comes the

polar vortex that we are now experiencing, which is sending thermometers across the country into readings that are not usually seen until mid-winter.

A polar vortex is a large pocket of very cold air, so cold that it is typically the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere. It typically rests over the polar region during the winter season, but it can occasionally find its way down into the United States when a large, powerful high pressure systems from the Eastern or Western Pacific and stretching to the North Pole displaces it. When this air weakens and falls apart, the vortex returns to its original position.

In this case, the high pressure system in question was not winter storm Astro, but typhoon Nuri, which hit Alaska last week and pushed the mass of cold air further south than would normally be expected.

Many meteorologists criticize the media characterization of these cold air masses as a “polar vortex,” saying that it adds hysteria to what is a very normal winter phenomenon that has been discussed for decades in the meteorologist world.

This early polar vortex has pushed temperature to single digits in Colorado, where Denver experienced a low of five degrees and Billings, Montana visited the wrong side of zero for the first time of the winter, when its thermometers read -1.

Houghton is not going to get as cold from this polar vortex episode, but it will probably be quite some time before a temperature above freezing will be recorded. So in the meantime, brush of the boots and grab the hat and mittens, because Winter Storm Astro has officially brought winter to the Keweenaw.

Winter Storm AstroEVAN MAYER

Lode Writer

“In this case, the high pressure system in question was not winter storm Astro, but typhoon Nuri, which hit Alaska last week and pushed the mass of cold air further south than would normally be expected.”

Leadershape 2015Leadershape, a week long intensive

leadership development program, will be celebrating its nineteenth outing this year. The program is designed to help young leaders learn how to “lead with integrity,” which is also the organization’s slogan.

The week begins on Monday, Jan 5 and runs through the Saturday, Jan 10. During this time students will learn how to act consistently with personal values and convictions, develop meaningful relationships, respect others, develop a healthy disregard for the impossible and produce results.

Each year 60 students are accepted and they are split into groups of ten to help facilitate communication. They spend the next week learning about each other and pushing each other to achieve more. To keep outside distractions at bay, the event is held at the Ford Center in Alberta, Mich.

After talking with some of the staff and students who participate in the program it was very clear that there is a deep bond that forms between the students who participate. Being isolated from their surrounding and focusing on mutual development helps to form the connection.

“At the start of the program the students write a roadmap of their life, and a lot of them share some very personal events with the group,” said Whitney Boroski, the Health and Wellness Coordinator and one of the main organizers of LeaderShape. “This acts like a springboard for openness and community throughout the rest of the week.”

“Everyone enjoys themselves. They end up being really close by the end of the trip, it’s like a family,” said Savanna Curtis, a second year chemical engineering major who has attended

Leadershape.The students who go through the

program learn a lot about themselves, and it helps them become better leaders. Everything that the program does is

designed to help the students realize their own potential.

“I see the students change their mindset as they go through the course, most of what changes is within them”, said Boroski. “Leadershape doesn’t make people do more and get more leadership roles. Most of the students who apply are already the type who very active, but afterwards they are more confident in their capabilities.”

“Some of the kids even learn that they are taking on too much and that they have to choose which organizations are really important to them. I learned that myself,” said Curtis.

Leadershape is a non-profit organization that holds leadership training events for college students. It was founded by the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity in 1986 as a training program for the fraternity’s use, it was eventually turned into an independent organization to allow the fraternity to remain impartial. Soon after the organization began offering Leadershape training on a variety of campuses around the country.

“Leadershape doesn’t make people do more

and get more leadership roles. Most of the students

who apply are already the type who very active, but afterwards they are more confident in their

capabilities.”-Whitney Boroski

GEORGE CASTLE

Lode Writer

Registrar and Financial Aid swap offices

As students come back from Thanksgiving break, they may notice that the Student Service Center, located on the first floor in the Administration building, is slightly different. This space has been renamed the Student Financial Services Center and instead of housing the Registrar’s Office is now home to the Office of Financial Aid.

ANDREA SPENCER

Lode Writer

Continued on page 5Photo by Colton Wesoloski

NEWSMichigan Tech Lode 5

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Tuesday, November 18

Despite technical difficulties resulting in a premature end to the mission, humanity’s first landing on a comet has been considered a great success.

Launched on March 2, 2004 by the European Space Agency [ESA], Rosetta travelled a cumulative 6.4 billion kilometers. Since no rocket was able to provide the thrust to get the probe into orbit around the comet, the probe took a winding, ten-year course, travelling around the solar system and gaining three gravity assists from Earth in 2005, 2007 and 2009, and one from Mars in 2007. The flight path from launch to rendezvous with comet 67P on Aug 6, 2014 can be seen as a gif here: http://imgur.com/TUkKuhf.

The probe’s lander, Philae, touched down on Wednesday, Nov 12. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties with the harpoons and top thruster meant to hold it to the surface of the low-gravity comet, the lander bounced and ended up in the shadow of a crater on its side.

While the lander was still able to gather 90 percent of the mission data before it ran out of battery, scientists had hoped that solar recharging would allow the probe to be operational for several more months. There is some chance that as the comet approaches the sun, solar radiation will become intense enough to

charge the batteries and allow scientists to re-establish contact in August of 2015.

The purpose of the mission is to gain a better understanding of what comets are made up of, and what role they could have had in creating the organic chemistry that resulted in life on earth. For instance, one particular goal is to examine the isotope ratios in the ice on 67P.

Deuterium is a heavier isotope of hydrogen that can sometimes replace hydrogen in the formation of ice. Ratios of deuterium to hydrogen can vary significantly between different sources of water. By comparing the ratios of deuterium and hydrogen on the ice of 67P to ratios in Earth’s oceans, scientists can gain insight into where Earth’s water came from.

While other probes such as the ESA’s Giotto have made fly-bys of comets in the past, Rosetta is the first to maintain a stable orbit around one and is carrying a much more advanced payload of scientific instruments.

In addition to its spectrometers to examine isotopes, Rosetta includes cameras, sensors and experiments that operate at multiple frequencies. Information gained will include the shape, density, temperature and chemical composition of the comet. Gases and dust grains in the comet’s tail or “coma” will be examined, as will the interaction with solar wind.

The Rosetta mission was originally a combined project between NASA

and the European Space Agency [ESA] that began in the mid-80’s. Originally, the mission was even more ambitious, hoping to return to Earth with samples from the comet. However, in 1992, NASA pulled out of the mission due to budgetary concerns. While there was still cooperation and support, the mission was completed by the ESA.

The final mission profile and budget was approved in 1993 at a total cost of roughly 1.6 billion euros [$2 billion]. While there were a number of complications and changes in which comet was to be studied, the mission profile remained consistent.

The specific experiments to be conducted and instruments to be included were chosen through an “Announcement of Opportunity,” [AO] where the ESA issued an open competition to the scientific community. The AO specified the mission objectives, and scientists and agencies across the world were able to design implementations to achieve them.

The principal investigators responsible for designing and building the Rosetta instruments will have the exclusive right to work with the data for a period of six months, after which it will be made freely available to the scientific community through the ESA’s Planetary Science Archive.

More information about the Rosetta mission is available at the ESA’s website, http ://www.esa . int/Our_Activ it ie s/Space_Science/Rosetta/Frequently_asked_questions.

RAND SILVERS

News Editor

Rosetta mission successful

“By comparing the ratios of deuterium and hydrogen on the ice of 67P to ratios in Earth’s oceans, scientists can gain insight into where Earth’s water came from.”

Finacial aid Continued from page 4

The Registrar’s Office has taken up residence in the Waino Wahtera Center for Student Success, where the Financial Aid Office was before.

By switching the locations of Registrar’s Office and the Office of Financial Aid, the staff hopes to make it easier for students to ask and receive answers to all their financial questions.

“The moves will take place over several days beginning November 20 and wrapping up by November 26. When students return from Thanksgiving break, the Student Financial Services Center will be up and running,” said Theresa Jacques, the registrar and coordinator of the move.

Offering the services of financial aid and student billing in a single location is an emerging trend in higher education. The intention is to provide more efficient service for students who have questions about their bill and financial assistance. This move also allows the registrar’s office to work closer with the dean of students office and the success staff of the Wahtera Center to assist students.

The decision was a collaborative effort among all of the offices involved, and it resulted from a thorough review of the processes related to serving students and answering their financial questions.

“The moves will take place over several days beginning November 20 and wrapping up by November 26. When students return from Thanksgiving break, the Student Financial Services Center will be up and running.”

-Theresa Jacques

PULSE Michigan Tech Lode6 Tuesday, November 18

An Irish Christmas came to Michigan Tech on November 15th, 2014. This collection of music, singing, dancing and stories comes from a PBS special. This special takes the audience back to Ireland in olden times but there was a mix of some American traditions that go with Christmas as well.

Many of the traditions were explained through song and dance. The many traditional Irish songs that were sung included the shoemaker’s song and the work song. The dancing consisted of tapping. There are numerous metal plates on their shoes and they use those to convey messages sometimes. Much of the dancing and singing went with the small band that was on stage. The band included a fiddle, flute, a type of bagpipe, drum, and some string instruments.

There were some traditions that were explained through story telling. The Irish are fantastic storytellers. They told the story of how to make butter. This explained that it was a constant process that needed everyone’s help in order to be completed. While the dancing on the half door traditional was more for the social side., allowing everyone to get together and show their best dance moves.

While there were many foreign Irish things in there, things we see in America happened as well. They sang Silent night and the Twelve Days of Christmas, which are things that we do here. Although The Little Drummer Boy had a little bit of a difference to it was still done. Their drummer boy was more for the dancing and drumming versus the singing.

Everyone believes in Santa in some form or another no matter what country you come from. Here we leave Santa milk and cookies for when he comes down the chimney to leave presents. In Ireland they leave him a large slice of cake and Guinness instead.

An Irish Christmas showed the many people that filled the Rozsa seats that Christmas may be different from place to place but there are many themes in common. The biggest thing of all is that many people just use it as a time to be together with others.

It’s rare to go a day without interacting or even seeing a screen these days. With all the recent and rapid developments in technologies we’ve gone from books to computers to smartphones in less than a decade. Considering the short amount of time for all the adaptations it’s easy to wonder if it’s somehow affecting us as humans, and more specifically, the way we as humans think?

Nicholas Carr, New York Times Bestselling author, explores this concept in his recently acclaimed book “The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains.” He specifically touches on the history of technology and how our brains have adapted to the ever-changing developments. He also dives into our habits of using the Internet and how they’ve changed over the years.

Right off the bat, Carr admits how hard it is for us to read more than a few sentences of text nowadays, which seems ironic because then he continues to produce a 228 page book. However, he’s right. We are no longer individuals who sit down and read an entire book or news article. Instead we tend to skim everything, from

books to articles to Facebook feeds.Carr also dives into the history of

technologies. He starts with how Plato was cautious of books because it allows readers to rely on externally written pieces instead of their own minds, and thus weakening their memories. Then the printing press was invented, and ever since then we’ve been progressing to where we are now, using personal computers and hand held devices to keep track of our schedules, our contacts, notes, and even things like our daily caloric intake.

Because all this information is now stored in external devices, it doesn’t need to be stored in our brains. This is affecting the way we process thoughts among other things.

Overall, “The Shallows” was a well written and very informative read. Because it speaks to such a wide audience of Internet users, most people will find it an interesting book. With all the facts and historical overviews, it does tend to get dry at times, but nonetheless you won’t put the book down without learning something new each time. It’s extremely relatable, which at times can be quite frankly, scary.

In addition, the fact that technology is changing so drastically and so fast is supported by simply noticing that half the things Carr mentions in his book are

already outdated and it was written only three years ago.

So whether you’re a skimmer like most of the population when it comes to reading or you’re in it for the long haul, Carr’s “The Shallows” is a truly interesting and relatable book that reflects our society and how our brains are developing with the ever-changing technologies.

Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, the Tech Theatre Company put on “Alternate Realities” at 7:30 in the McArdle Theatre. Described as “a trip through the worm hole of avant-garde theatre into our universe,” the performances spanned the 20th century’s major philosophical movements. On Friday night, the seating area filled to capacity astonishingly quickly. Tickets were $13 for adults, $5 for youths, and free for students with a valid Tech I.D.

The audience began their journey at the start of the first 30 years of the 20th century with the Expressionists and “The Stronger.” “The Stronger” exposes observers to the power of imagination while watching a woman confront her husband’s former mistress without actually speaking to her. Imagination can be a very useful tool when used to help solve inner conflicts.

Dadaism then stumbled onto the stage with “The Gas Heart.” This movement was all about how meaningless art and life is.

Their “anti-art” was supposed to be utterly ridiculous and pointless: the Dadaists had no problems making their points clear.

Five two-minute Futurist plays followed the non directional “Gas Heart.” The Futurists sought to reform the world with fascism and misogyny. Beginnings and endings were thrown out of the door leaving the out-of-context conflict and climax shivered in the spotlight.

Surrealism brought “The Breasts of Tiresias” to the show. In this play, a woman seeks to become a man, discards both her breasts and her skirt in exchange for her husband’s trousers, and grows a beard. Her husband, having been mistaken as a woman, decides he will have children without any help from the only sex who has the biological capability to do such a thing.

Following a brief intermission, technologically integrated movements of the 20th century came out to the stage.

“Guernica,” an Absurdist pieces, asked the audience to consider just how odd our surroundings can be at times. The play’s namesake during the 1937 Spanish

Revolution is the setting and highlights the absurdity of humanity’s reaction to war. As a movement, these thinkers had a desire to understand why people behave the way we do.

The second-to-last act of the pageant featured recordings of existential philosophical poetry read by some members of the cast. The Existentialists sought to know where we came from, what we are doing now that we’re here, and where we are heading. They saw humans as lone individuals in an unforgiving universe. However, filmmaker Stanley Kubrick finds this worldview liberating and feels that it calls for personal responsibility.

Neo-Futurism closed the evening with “Intimacy,” another two-minute play. Unlike the earlier Futurists, the Neo-Futurists did not want fascism and misogyny. Rather, they focused on life-defining moments.

“Alternate Realities” was entered into the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and may be considered for national awards in production, design, direction, and performance.

Alternate Realities

Carr’s ‘The Shallows’shows how the internet is changing our brains

An Irish Christmas at

the RozsaAUTUMN CHANNEY

Lode Writer

JANE KIRBY

Pulse Editor

SARAH HARTTUNG

Lode Writer

Photo courtesy of www.npr.org

PULSEMichigan Tech Lode 7Tuesday, November 18

There are a lot of movies that try to be artistic, and it is a difficult thing to pull off. Often, movies are treated simply as a form of entertainment, putting images and sound in front of the audience to be consumed. A true piece of art is more demanding from its viewers. These pieces of art, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, aren’t for everyone. Those who are able to appreciate them, however, find a great experience rather than simply a movie. Interstellar attempts to make this leap, and it both gains and suffers from doing so.

The film tells the story of a future Earth, wherein the resources are running dry. Through the use of a wormhole, a last ditch attempt is made to get resources for the survival of mankind. Ramifications and difficulties of this space travel are brought up, even the tricky subject of relativistic time. Matthew McConaughey plays an astronaut in this mission and his fantastic acting is indicative of much of the movie.

On a technical level, the movie is absolutely gorgeous. Computer generated graphics have been integrated seamlessly and beautifully. The vistas in space, while at times unrealistic, are changed in a way that only enhances them. Directing is fantastic as is to be expected of Christopher Nolan.

Interestingly, however, there were many places where the fingerprints and habits of Kubrick which only enhanced

the art of the film. Possibly the best part of the movie is the music, provided by the legendary Hans Zimmer. Sweeping scores and crescendos accompanied the visuals, and enhance them at all times.

This is not to say, however, that the film is perfect. Unfortunately, the signs of a commercial movie can be seen

creeping throughout. Writing falls flat at times, with major plot elements being reduced and oversimplified while the details get significant focus. The ending is especially unfortunate, as the film seems to go about ten minutes longer than it needed to.

If there was a single way to sum up what this movie is, it often resembles a cross of Inception and 2001: A Space Odyssey. There isn’t anything wrong with this, but it limits the potential of the art that the film was obviously attempting to be. In all, Interstellar aims a bit too high to be called a movie. Like other pieces of art, it requires an active audience and may go overhead some viewers.

On the other hand, Interstellar does not rank among the high echelons of artistic film, being only middling among these greats. Even this, however, means Interstellar is a beautiful and fulfilling film for those who are willing to be active viewers. This is certainly a film to watch.

Brandon Vestal performed his stand-up comedy show this Friday at 10:00 pm in the MUB ballroom. Climbing the steps to the second floor of the MUB I could already hear the laughter of the crowd. There was quite an audience there, and every seat was filled.

Since we entered the show ten minutes late, my friend and I were promptly spotted. Brandon was kind enough to stop his routine to say “Hi” and acknowledge our presence - achieving more laughs in the process. Though his flyer described his comedy as “low key,

cynical, deeply personal, and honest.” I would describe his comedy as brave.

While he had the audience in stitches throughout the hour I found myself silently whispering “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe he just said that” after some of his darker humor.

Brandon’s biography on his website, brandonvestal.com, is satirical. It states that “his comedy has been referred to as “extremely powerful” and it’s been used by thousands to make the world a better place.” It also goes so far as to say “that in the latest version of the senate health care bill Brandon’s comedy replaced the ‘public option’ as a way to insure the uninsured.” It’s refreshing to see someone so down to Earth

and obviously human. Brandon’s show was unique and personal.

Most of his jokes were based on personal experiences, though a lot were custom-made for his visit to Houghton. Common elements in his routine were engineers, engineering students, and the reported lack of female students at Michigan Tech.

I think the best part was that Brandon often laughed at his own jokes. He would

often crack himself up before delivering the punch line. Everyone I know who saw the show thought it was hilarious. He was definitely more confident in himself than the stand-up comedian I saw last year, Pete Lee, who ended up losing the audience by the end of the show.

I personally enjoyed his performance but for those who may easily take offense it might not be for you.

Interstellar Review

Comedian Brandon Vestal comes to Tech

ARIC RHODES

Lode Writer

“Interstellar is a beautiful and fulfilling film for those who are willing to be active viewers.”

ALEXANDRIA VAN DUZER

Lode Writer

Photo Courtesy of imdb.com

“I think the best part was that Brandon often laughed at his own jokes. He would often crack himself up before delivering the punch line. ”

COMICS Michigan Tech Lode8 Tuesday, November 18

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Guitar Hero

‘And then do it again in a moment now that they’re our of Star Power.’

Comic courtesy of XKCD

PUZZLESMichigan Tech Lode 9Tuesday, November 18

Puzzle 1 (Hard, difficulty rating 0.69)

1 7 9 4 2 3 6 5 82 8 6 9 1 5 7 3 43 5 4 7 8 6 1 2 97 4 8 2 5 9 3 6 15 9 1 3 6 7 4 8 26 3 2 1 4 8 9 7 59 6 5 8 7 4 2 1 38 1 3 6 9 2 5 4 74 2 7 5 3 1 8 9 6

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Mon Nov 10 00:52:48 2014 GMT. Enjoy!

7 9 3 6

2 9

2 8 1 3

1 7 4

4 6 3 9

2 7 1

3 8 5 2

5 3

9 7 8 5

Puzzle 1 (Hard, difficulty rating 0.68)

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Sun Nov 16 20:28:05 2014 GMT. Enjoy!

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

Last Week’s Solution... H O L E S B L U E J A Y B R I C KW A H I N E Y O T E A M O E T H A N EA G A S S I F E E L B A D L E O N I DT A R T S L A W T E A L P A N ET R A I L M I X E S M I L L I H E L E N

N E I L T O E P E A SM A G I C A C E T A T E S T O N E

Y I P P R O M I N E N T E L IA S P E N Y E L L O W S E A E D G E RO N S T A G E B E S E T B T W E L V EM O T H E R R E S E L L S R E L I E FI M O S I T A R S L A N A I S G N UN E R D F E S T B U L B S E T SG R E E N T E A H A P B L A C K E Y E

L O S S A T L A S E L O IL I G H T H A R M O N I C A B E R R YA L A I F O R M L E T T E R S D I E UR I B M O T E L B A S A L B E LV U L G A R N E O N G A S L I A B L EA M E L I A A T P E A C E E M B O S S

S O N Y S T O R K M O O N

CrosswordLast week’s solution

DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOBBY ANDREW J. RIES / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

No. 1116

RE

LE

AS

E D

AT

E: 11/23/20

14

ACROSS

1 Charged things5 Actress Normand of

the silents10 Like some textbook

publishers14 Wee bit18 Instruments with

flared bells20 Perfume with an

accent in its name21 Locker-room user22 Motorola

smartphone23 Oscar winner

who would make a lousy anesthesiologist?

25 Spotlight27 Who’s there?28 Glove-box item30 N.F.L. rarity31 It’s faster than the

blink of an eye: Abbr.

32 Scrubs wearers, for short

33 Punk rocker who would make a lousy grocer?

35 Milk dispenser37 Bieber Fever, e.g.38 Piano-playing

cat, once39 Horror author who

would make a lousy firefighter?

43 Fr. title45 Cold49 Red Baron, e.g.

50 Pitcher of milk?52 “That feels

goo-oo-ood”54 Cosmetician ___

Laszlo55 La Scala segment56 Inclined57 Action star who

would make a lousy free-range farmer?

60 Singers do it61 Historian’s interest63 Smooths64 Scholarship name65 “The Hunger

Games” and others67 Theme park

with a spherical landmark

68 Defeat decisively69 Fiery71 Jones of the original

Stones72 Contest winner’s

feeling73 Consumed76 Bygone comic who

would make a lousy baker?

78 Work at79 Byzantine emperor

known as “The Philosopher”

81 Like dollhouse furniture

82 French nobleman83 Early eight-bit

computer maker85 Tom ___, big role

in “The Purple Rose of Cairo”

86 Blades that sound like an allergic reaction

88 Elapse90 Cabaret pianist

who would make a lousy electrician?

92 The gamut94 Dog-___96 Where to learn to

draw?97 Lawyer who would

make a lousy anti-Communist leader?

101 Electronic music’s Daft Punk, e.g.

102 Junior’s challenge, for short

106 Org. replaced by the N.R.C.

107 Elaborate108 Set side by side110 More than plump112 Singer who

would make a lousy mohel?

114 German title115 Michael of

“Arrested Development”

116 Bother117 Feints118 ___ of the earth119 Helmeted god120 Window’s

counterpart121 Word before or

after lime

DOWN

1 John Wayne or Johnny Carson, by birth

2 Newspaper dept.3 “Cape Fear” co-star4 New England town

official

5 Class ring, e.g.6 Parliaments produce

them7 Air-conditioner fig.8 Always, in verse9 Reveals10 God, with “the”11 Genève’s lake12 Toy holder13 “Present”14 Residents,

eventually: Abbr.15 Bonnie who sang

“Nick of Time”16 15-time All-Star

shortstop Smith17 Primp19 Trig function24 Cost for some plugs26 Drifter outside a

coffee shop?29 Add one’s two cents

about33 Shocks34 Sprint, e.g.36 Con’s plan37 Short-order

sandwich39 Deepest part40 See 44-Down41 “Can I leave now?”42 Possessed44 Big producer of

40-Down46 Yearbook feature47 “Picnic” playwright48 “That ___ it!”51 Immobilized, as

one’s arm53 Twain

contemporary56 Jerk

58 Summer setting in the Midwest: Abbr.

59 Cobbler’s aid62 Wasn’t really63 Fabulize66 Annually67 Fumble, say68 Like some grins69 Many authors have

them: Abbr.

70 Horse halter71 Osso ___72 Supersmooth74 Asseverate75 Gossip77 Barbecue fryer?78 Elbow, maybe80 Many boomers,

now84 Still snoozing, say85 One way to learn

87 Farm homes89 Caviar sources91 Main source of

aluminum93 Neighbor of

Chiapas95 Modern name of

Mare Mecca97 Campaign setback98 Grasp99 The planets, now

100 Subject of many a Turner landscape

101 Golfer David103 Terrif104 Posed105 “The Gondoliers”

girl108 Things aircraft

carriers carry109 With111 Alpine land: Abbr.113 ___ chi

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34

35 36 37 38

39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

49 50 51 52 53 54

55 56 57 58 59

60 61 62 63 64

65 66 67 68

69 70 71 72 73 74 75

76 77 78 79 80

81 82 83 84 85

86 87 88 89 90 91

92 93 94 95 96

97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105

106 107 108 109

110 111 112 113

114 115 116 117

118 119 120 121

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 4,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

OPINION Michigan Tech Lode10 Tuesday, November 18

I think it’s safe to say that the snow is here to stay, and I’m not so sure how I feel about that. Part of me is completely an 85 degree, soak up the sun, beach day kind of girl. I absolutely love feeling the sunshine and listening to waves crash while sand squishes between my toes. This past summer was heaven for me living just 15 minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea.

Winter, however, is right on cue here in the UP, and after three winters in Houghton, I guess I’m pretty used to it. Slippery roads and sidewalks, shoveling and constantly brushing snow off of my car definitely make me miss the heat of summer, but there’s no arguing that the beginning of the winter season definitely has a magical sort of spark to it.

For one, falling snow transforms the barren scenery into a winter wonderland. There’s nothing more gorgeous then when Houghton looks like the inside of a snow globe.

Two, the first snow always brings back memories from winters past and anticipation for what’s to come this season, like all of the outdoor winter activities. I can’t wait to strap on my cross country skis and hit up the Tech Trails. Hanging out with friends while snowshoeing, playing hockey, sledding and playing broomball are all just on the horizon, too.

Finally, winter means bundling up in a flannel or big sweatshirt with blankets while watching a holiday movie and sipping on hot chocolate. There might even be Christmas cookies, too. After spending time out in the cold, there’s nothing better than a cozy night at home.

I may miss the hot sand of the beach at times, but I must admit, I’m pretty content right here in the UP. Enjoy the snow, everyone!

LODE ingZONE

Ellie FurmanskiUn

When compared to defense spending, immigration, or health care, social security is hardly considered a pressing issue. But if you look at it from a monetary standpoint, social security should be a top priority, at 906 billion dollars; it takes up nearly a third

of our national budget. It is our government’s single largest budget item. For innumerable reasons, the program is only growing more expensive every day. If that wasn’t enough to catch your attention, under the current laws, social security will be bankrupt by the year 2037.

Our government currently underfunds social security, and has so for the past several years. The only reason the program is not already bankrupt is a trust fund created from prior overpayments, which covers the deficit. At first, the trust fund idea seemed intelligent. Charge the baby boomers extra during their working years, and then we can support them when they reach retirement

age. A good idea in theory but the execution of this was woefully inadequate. The trust fund is simply not big enough to support the baby boomers, what is more, our government has been so lackadaisical about solving this problem that many financial advisors now counsel people not to count on social security in retirement.

As it stands now, young people will be asked to pay into a system for the next two decades, and then get absolutely nothing in return. That does not seem very fair to the young people paying into the system. On the flip side it is equally unfair for people who have been paying into social security for decades to then suddenly have their benefits taken away from them. Surprisingly the solution to this seemingly difficult problem is staggeringly simple, raise the required contribution amount, and have said amount fluctuate as needed. In theory, funding social security is not really a problem at all, but in practice, elected governments do not like raising taxes. If you don’t want to raise taxes, funding social security becomes a much more challenging issue. Faced with

this “daunting” issue, congress after congress has decided to punt. Their inaction has lead to social security moving closer and closer to the cliffs edge.

Realistically, social security is not going away. But that does mean that the eventually tax increase that will be needed to save the program only grows larger the longer we delay. Tax increases are unpopular, it’s not difficult to see why, but sometimes they are necessary. With a national debt already approaching 19 trillion, we cannot afford to simply borrow the money indefinitely. Increasing taxes is the only way to solve the social security issue for the long term. This impending increased tax burden could be made less by streamlining the program. Because social security is such a huge program, the bureaucracy that accompanies it is equally enormous. Some outside analysts theorize the program could have been saved a long time ago, and even now it is still possible to save social security just by cutting through all the red tape.

Financial aid packages students receive vary from school to school, but are usually similar. They often depend heavily on three factors: your cost of attendance at a school, an estimate of your family’s expected contribution calculated by a rather impersonal algorithm and the score you received from taking the American College Testing test in high school.

It is likely that if you scored 30 or higher on the ACT that you received considerably more financial consideration than even someone who scored 29. However, once your financial aid package is constructed and the ACT score taken into account, if you graduated high school you cannot take it again to prove

your obtainment of fundamental education and increase your chance of receiving more financial aid. I think that while personal educational achievements are based heavily on your family and public education growing up, it should be the case that you are given the opportunity to receive additional aid as you further prove yourself during your educational career.

It is an obvious problem that those in middle and high school may lose their passion for a field of study that may have interested them while they were younger. When this happens, they may never regain that passion to study an art or science they care about in college. There are too many variables to count that could explain in full detail why this is, but organizations and teachers in every state are working hard to restructure education.

It is no mystery there is a nationwide disinterest and lack of critical thinking. Students are forced to memorize facts rather than learn memorable and useful learning techniques. Even senior level math classes in public schools are still drilling the quadratic formula into students’ heads and teaching students how to multiply fractions.

However, some still attend a university or college and are challenge to think critically for the first time in their life. There are many students who don’t do well in high school, yet attend college and learn to love a field they once hated and academically excel beyond their peers. Of course this experience grants opportunities in itself, but I think our aid should be more dynamically structured upon how we succeed in college now, rather than how we succeeded in high school years ago.

A Critique of Social Security

Financial aid: reward us for now, not high school

JOE ANDRES

Lode Writer

GAGE HEERINGA

Lode Writer

The value of enterprises

At Michigan Tech if you have a low GPA or are majoring in one of the Humanities degrees it can often be difficult to feel like you are making any progress in the hunt for a full time job after college. Although there are many success stories, this doesn’t necessarily hold true for the others who struggle each

career fair to make progress. One of the most effective ways to get

in touch with potential employers before college is even done is to join an enterprise while being a student at Michigan Tech. On campus we have numerous different areas to get your professional groove on…so many that I’m honestly too lazy to count. They include genres ranging the different disciplines of communication, technology, materials and manufacturing, as well as

business. The enterprises that the different disciplines here at Tech have to offer are really not just for engineers. Unfortunately this isn’t always information emphasized for students in the less STEM oriented fields; regardless, there are still areas that these different kinds of skill sets are incredibly valuable in the work world.

A very important factor for applying for jobs is to have these real work environment

Continued on page 11

KATHERINE BAECKEROOT

Lode Writer

OPINIONMichigan Tech Lode 11Tuesday, November 18

Absolutely. Let’s address the elephant in the room and look at the numbers first. NASA’s budget for 2015 is 17.9 billion dollars. That sounds like a lot until you put it in perspective, the United States total budget for 2015 is a staggering 3.9 trillion dollars, making NASA’s budget a puny 0.45 percent of the total budget. In comparison Social security takes up nearly 23 percent of the national budget at over 906 billion dollars. NASA also creates more than 18000 jobs and thousands more are created by the supporting contractors, laboratories, and technology companies. For such a small lump sum, NASA employs some of the most brilliant minds on this planet.

Deb

ate:

America’s defense budget is ludicrous compared to that of any other nation on this planet. Even if China posed a significant threat to us from space, it simply does not even come close to being able to amass the number of resources that America has. However, let’s remember that it is also not America’s job to police the world. Every time another country does something that we disapprove of, we feel the need to either threaten them, or send over troops to “resolve” the problem. We need to get past this notion- if anything, it has proven to be largely ineffective and often counterintuitive. If we are really concerned about the affairs of other nations, we should be using diplomacy, not military superiority, to come to reasonable outcomes.

NASA has done some brilliant research, and they have provided us with some wonderful things. But claiming that we need to keep taxing citizens to pay for NASA forgets about the broken window fallacy. We need to remember that all of that money could have either been used in some other program, or better yet, it could have been given back to citizens, and they could have used it for what they deemed appropriate. Yes, government funding has helped scientific progression, but it ignores how much waste government bureaucracies produce, NASA included. Private enterprise, if it were allowed to flourish in the area of space exploration, would do a much better job at generating new scientific discoveries. And if you are worried about America’s scientific contributions to the world, it would be a much better idea to use NASA’s funding in scientific education, since we consistently rank on of the lowest in the developed world.

Not at all. Even though NASA has had some very successful missions, and they do only take up a small amount of the overall 2015 budget, our budget is still a mess. We need to restructure our fiscal house in all areas. No area should be exempt simply because it is relatively small compared to the rest of the budget. Sure, other areas are much more economically unfeasible, but it is important to note that the federal government has gotten involved in way too many areas. Space exploration is one of them. We should let private enterprise take over, and surly, they will be able to pick up where NASA left off.

If NASA’s being relatively cheap, or its extensive contribution to technology and our daily lives were not enough to convince you, NASA plays an important role in Global Politics. NASA partners with a host of European, Asian, and even South American countries. This interaction supports international relations. In 2007 China, in a show of strength, shot a missile at one of its old communication satellites, annihilating it. This event officially announced China’s military presence in space. Not only does the United States now have to contend with China for superiority in space, it now has to figure out how to protect our communication satellites and other space assets. NASA’s research and the technology that came from it, was and is an integral part in our nation’s response to China.

If you like: Velcro, scratch resistant glasses, Tempurpedic mattresses, cell phones or cordless power tools, thank NASA. The smartest people in the world don’t just make products we use every day, NASA is also the global leader in research for the fields of aerodynamics, rockets, jet propulsion, communications and space exploration. A multitude of private companies then commercialize NASA’s creations for the public. Historically, and even today, the big leaps in science have been made by government research, not private companies. The reason for this is simple- private companies look to improve existing technologies to increase profits and government funded endeavors look only at progress. As the United States has progressively cut its research budget, our scientific prowess has declined compared to other nations who have continued to fund scientific explorations. NASA is one of the United States’ last and best bastions of American scientific prowess.

In previous decades, NASA has accomplished some truly spectacular missions. The recent Rosetta mission

could be seen as either a success or failure, and offers the question; should the United States Government

continue to fund NASA?

JOE ANDRES

Lode Writer

ADAM ROMANKO

Opinion Editor

ROUN

D 1

ROUN

D 3

ROUN

D 2

Pro: Con:

experiences. Not only do they help you prepare for potential project situations that can occur on the job, but you also earn that valuable group experience, all the highs and lows, which ultimately becomes far more valuable than involvement in seven different organizations.

I personally view enterprises as the best way to gain the work experience within a group, other than having an internship of course. There is a level of dedication, scope, and desired outcome that you often just

can’t find in group projects that we do in class. Being able to have these experiences will ultimately benefit you far more in the end as many interview questions not only contain technical questions but will more than likely be behavioral as well.

I cannot stress enough how valuable the enterprise programs are for students studying the humanities and arts. One of the primary struggles we face at Tech is attaining the face time necessary to guarantee that companies will actually be aware of us.

A good example of this can be shown through the Humanities degree Scientific and Technological Communications. A select few of us have been noticed by large companies such as Target and Kohler, but lets be real for about two seconds, it takes a lot of effort and determination to continue portraying our worth to companies. One of the easiest ways to gain that valuable face time is through enterprise projects that are sponsored by corporations; you immediately have personal contacts, references (if you do

your job well), resume material, interview response material, and ultimately growth as an individual.

If you still have time here at Michigan Tech, meaning you aren’t graduating this December, then I highly encourage you to take the time to research the different enterprise groups on campus and talk to your advisors about joining one. It’s my last semester here and I feel it has made all the difference in helping me achieve my career goals and professional aspirations.

A Critique of Social Security Continued from page 10

SPORTS Michigan Tech Lode12 Tuesday, November 18

Last Friday, the Michigan Tech Women’s Basketball team picked up a close win over the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in their first official non-conference game of the season. The Huskies were able to hold off a one point lead for the final 52 seconds of the game to walk away with a 59-58 victory.

Tech and UMD battled throughout what was a very even game. The largest split in score in the first half was only nine points. At half, the Huskies led 33-27.

The Huskies owned the largest lead of the night at 11 points just five minutes into the second half with Tech leading 46-35. The Bulldogs, however, went on to score eight consecutive points to bring that margin within three.

For the remainder of the half, there was a five point or less separation between the two teams, but the Huskies never trailed. Kylie Moxley earned Tech’s final point of the game by making a free throw with just over one minute to play. At that point, the Huskies led by three. Eleven seconds later,

UMD’s Danielle Flood made a jump shot to bring that margin down to one point.

During the final 52 seconds of the game, both teams put on a strong defensive effort to halt all scoring. Big plays for Tech included a block with 13 seconds to go by Jillian Ritchie and a steal with 1.8 to go by Danielle Blake.

While the game was very close, the Huskies outdid UMD in shooting percentage 43.9 to 30.6 percent from the

field. This largely helped Tech, who took 19 fewer free throws than the Bulldogs, to pull off the win.

Ritchie earned game-leading stats for the Huskies with 14 points scored, seven rebounds and three assists. Kerry Gardner also posted seven rebounds and three assists.

Tech will play next against the No. 10-ranked Concordia-St. Paul at home this Friday, Nov. 21. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

TEAM OF THE WEEKWomen’s Basketball

ELLIE FURMANSKI

Sports Editor

Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Athletics

Bythe#

2Appearances made by

Tech Soccer at the NCAA

Tournament in the five year

history of the soccer program

Times in the history of

the Michigan Tech Football

program where the team has won

nine games

39

11

Points by which the

Men’s Basketball team outscored

Finlandia in their 88-49 exhibition match victory

Days until Michigan

Tech Nordic hits the trails for the first time

this season at the West Yellowstone Ski Festival

1Point which separated the Huskies’ 59-58 victory over Minnesota-Duluth in Women’s Basketball’s first official non-conference game of the season

10 Consecutive games won

by Tech Hockey, only the fifth time

in school history the team has earned a 10

game win streak

4numbers

Just over one week ago, the 2014 volleyball season hit the books as the Michigan Tech Volleyball team closed out their season. The Huskies, who ended on a two game win streak, finished their season with a record of 8-10 in the conference and 11-16 overall. They placed 10th overall in the conference, just two spots shy of making the GLIAC Tournament.

This season was the best yet for the Huskies since Head Coach Matt Jennings took over the program back in 2012. Jennings inherited a team that went 0-19 in the conference back in 2011, and he transformed the face of Michigan Tech Volleyball in just one year. The team went 7-11 in the GLIAC that first season. Last year, the Huskies earned a conference record of 6-12.

Each year has been marginally better as far as results go, according to Jennings, but “overall quality and competitiveness is really where the change has been made.”

Compared to Jennings’ first year, the

team’s wins were bigger and losses were smaller this season. For example, out of their 10 conference losses, four of those matches went to five sets where it was two or three points that cost the Huskies the match. “Essentially, we were six points away from being 12-6,” noted Jennings. So even though the Huskies didn’t exactly see the results they wanted all season long, closer analysis of game statistics says a lot about how much the team has improved in a very short period of time.

The team featured a very young roster this season with nine of the 15 total players being underclassmen, including six freshmen. Leading the team, there were six juniors, no seniors. The juniors are a special group for Jennings because they were his first group of players, and they all started at Michigan Tech together.

Amongst those juniors, there’s no question that Jacqueline Aird had another standout season. The junior libero was the team’s lone captain and played a pivotal role in the team’s success. She finished tenth in the conference with 0.35 service aces per set, fifth in digs per set, averaging 4.86, and fourth amongst GLIAC players in total digs

with 491. Aird’s 491 season digs ties Tech’s record, which was set by Kristin Klock back in 2003. The Orland Park, Ill., native also set the single-match record for digs with 36. “There’s no doubt she’s our leader. She’s been huge for us,” said Jennings. She was honored as an All-GLIAC Second Team pick.

Also noteworthy this season were Tech’s freshmen middles Lauren Emmert and Stephanie Dietrich. “The freshmen middles were the single biggest facilitator of a lot of the positive changes that we saw,” noted Jennings. Emmert, who received All-GLIAC Honorable Mention, placed high in basically every offensive category amongst all GLIAC players, including ninth in kills with 261 on the season. Dietrich finished sixth in the conference with a hitting percentage of 0.284.

The freshmen defensive specialists contributed significantly to the team as well, helping out Aird in the back of the court. Halie Hart and Elle Heinonen were probably overlooked more than they should have been. “The passing that they brought

2014 Volleyball season in the booksELLIE FURMANSKI

Sports Editor

Continued on page 15

SPORTSMichigan Tech Lode 13Tuesday, November 18

Registration for the volleyball fours tournament will close the week that students return from Thanksgiving break on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. The tournament itself will run the following weekend, Dec. 5-6. Look for round two of intramural sports next semester when the spring 2015 lineup is released.

Junior Jacqueline Aird and freshman Lauren Emmert were chosen as All-GLIAC picks last week after the 2014 season recently came to an end. Aird, the team’s libero, was named to the All-GLIAC Second Team. The junior broke the school’s single-match record for digs with 36 and tied Tech’s all-time record for season digs with 491. Overall in the conference, Aird ranked fourth in total digs on the season, fifth in average digs per set and tenth in average service aces per set. Emmert stood tall in the middle of the court all season long for the Huskies. She earned All-GLIAC Honorable Mention. The freshman led the team with 261 total kills and 78 blocks over the course of the season. Stacked up against other GLIAC players, Emmert ranked ninth in total kills and 15th in hitting percentage at 0.265.

Men’s Basketball: The Huskies debuted with an exhibition match against Finlandia on Nov. 12. The Huskies earned a solid win, posting an 88-49 mark.

Women’s Basketball: A strong defensive effort helped Tech to earn a close 59-58 road win at Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 15.

Football: Tech Football closed out their regular season at home with a 59-14 win over Lake Erie on Nov. 15. The team ended the regular season 9-1 in the conference.

Hockey: The Hockey Huskies extended their undefeated streak to 10 games after posting a 2-1 win on Friday and 4-2 win on Saturday at Bemidji State. Tech remains the only undefeated team in division one college hockey ranked at No. 1!

Soccer: The Huskies closed out their season with a close 1-2 loss to Bellarmine in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They finished their season 11-5-2 overall.

SidelinesIntramural volleyball fours tournament

VB All-GLIAC picks

Huskies Scoreboard

The Michigan Tech Men’s Basketball team won against the Finlandia Lions with an impressive lead this past Wednesday by a score of 88 to 49. The match was held at the SDC complex at the home court of the Huskies in front of approximately 200 fans.

The game started with an even clash between the teams where the majority of the points scored for the Huskies were earned by forward Jason Hawke as well as guard Ben Stelzer.

During the first half of the game, there was a close score between the teams up until 10 minutes into the game when MTU had an imposing series of lay-ups between Hawke and Stelzer.

By the end of the first half of the competition, the Huskies held a fragile lead against the Lions with a score of 39 to 27. Yet as the second half began, MTU began to dominate the scoreboards with an amazing chain of point scoring.

During the second half, Finlandia managed to obtain 10 points solely from fouls fixed against the Huskies. The

majority of these free-throws taken were from Lions player Brandon Robinson.

Forward Kyle Stankowski of the Huskies scored eight points in a three minute interval during the beginning of the second half, further aiding the Huskies to advance their lead against Finlandia.

“If we can get our offense utilizing its options, I’m going to feel really good about [the season], but right now we’re not,” stated Head Coach Kevin Luke.

“I was a little disappointed with our aggressiveness and our pulse-play early

in the contest, and I don’t think we are running great offense right now, but I believe we can improve enough to be successful the rest of the season.”

Overall, the highest point scoring of the evening came from forward Jason Hawke, a sophomore at MTU. “They seemed to be more focused on Ben [Stelzer] during the game,” noted Hawke. “The opportunities were there, so I tried to make a few shots for us.”

The Michigan Tech Men’s Basketball team will be playing this Friday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. at Minnesota-Duluth.

Huskies win with commanding lead against Lions

MACKENZIE PLETCHER

Lode Writer

“If we can get our offense utilizing its options, I’m going to feel really good […].”

-Coach Kevin Luke

Freshman gaurd Tanner Uren sets up the huskies offense against Finlandia. The huskies began their season with a 88 to 49 win against the Lions.

Photo by Pratik Joshi

The Michigan Tech Nordic Skiing team is looking forward to another exciting year for the program. There are a lot of new skiers on the team, and the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center will host the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championships starting on Jan. 2. Tech last hosted the championships in 2007 and 2008.

The men’s team is adding six more to the six returning skiers, including Scott Pederson and Logan Brueck, who were redshirt freshmen last season. “The men’s team is in flux right now,” said Assistant

Coach Andrew Joda. They will be returning Kyle Hanson, who performed the best for the Huskies in their last event of last year. Hopefully his experience can help the transition the team is going through.

MaKenna Stelpflug, Carolyn Lucca and Sonja Hedblom are the redshirt freshmen that will be with the women’s team this season. The women’s team finished last year strong behind the legs of Sonja Hedblom, who finished eighth in her last event of the year.

“We have one of the deeper teams in the division,” said Joda.

On Nov. 28, the teams will be attending the West Yellowstone Ski Festival, an event the team tries to attend every year to start out the season. It is a pay-to-play, and some will already be busy attending the NCAA Midwest Region Championships for cross country, so some members will not be able to attend.

Huskies begin historic ski seasonJOHN REYNOLDS

Lode Writer

“We have one of the deeper teams in the division... We are pretty positive going into this season.”

-Assistant Coach Andrew Joda

Continued on page 14

SPORTS Michigan Tech Lode14

Tuesday, 18 Wednesday, 19 Thursday, 20 Friday, 21 Saturday, 22 Sunday, 23 Monday, 24

Women’s Basketball

Vs. Concordia -St. Paul @ 5:00 p.m.

Men’s Basketball @ Minnesota Duluth, 8:00 p.m.

Cross Country @ NCAA Mid-west Regional Evansville, Ind.

Football NCAA Playoffs Vs. Angelo State, 12:00 p.m.

Hockey Vs. Minnesota State @ 7:07 p.m.**

Vs. Minnesota State @ 7:07 p.m.**

Tuesday, November 18

Varsity Events Schedule: November 18 - 24 Home Game ** Conference Match

Of the 59 teams that compete in NCAA Division I hockey, the Michigan Tech Huskies remain the only undefeated team. The Hockey Huskies are off to their best start in the program’s 94-year history. In fact, Monday’s poll named Michigan Tech the No. 1 team in college hockey!

With their hard-earned wins against Bemidji State last weekend, the Huskies have set a new school record and made history by completing their fifth consecutive series sweep for a 10-0 record to start the season.

The historical program boasts three national championships and six conference championships throughout its lifespan, but not one of the teams that accomplished those feats started the year as strongly as this year’s Huskies have.

Although Bemidji State doesn’t have the record to show for it, they gave the Huskies one of their hardest series battles of the season thus far. The Beavers outshot the visitors 36-22 in Friday’s matchup and won face-offs 39-23, but still they fell short as Tech walked away to the locker room with a 2-1 victory that night.

After a scoreless first period, it would be the remarkably fact CJ Eick who marked the first tally on the score sheet, as well as

his first of the season, netting the puck off of a shorthanded breakaway. Just minutes later, Petan put home another goal to give his team a 2-0 lead.

That wouldn’t be all for the period, however, as the Beavers struck with less than five minutes remaining to bring the game within one. Star netminder Jamie Phillips made some highlight saves and kept the Beavers scoreless in the final frame to give Tech the win.

Saturday’s game seemed to be more or less the same as Friday’s contest as Tech was again outshot by a large margin, 35-23 in favor of the home team. Yet the Huskies still looked good going two for four on the power play and holding Bemidji to one for five on their power play chances.

Phillips looked as good as always, aside from not posting his best numbers. But he again provided the opportunity for his team to win, and the skaters in front of him took full advantage of it.

After back and forth scoring from both teams, the Huskies ran away with the lead right at the end of the second period with Tyler Heinonen putting home another

power play goal with less than two minutes to go in the second.

Alex Petan scored less than a minute into the final period, and Bemidji State was unable to respond with any goals of their own. Tanner Kero drove home the nail in the coffin with his late empty netter, putting up a third unanswered goal.

Captain Tanner Kero and Assistant Captain Alex Petan led the team in points with 12 and 10 respectively, both good for at least a point per game.

With the praise that comes along with a perfect 10-0 record, it also means that Tech will be especially targeted because every team wants to break the Huskies’ perfect record. And with the series against Minnesota State (7-3-0) coming up, there will be an immense amount of pressure on the No. 1-ranked Huskies.

In this WCHA series, the Mavericks will seek to improve their chances of taking the number one spot in the conference standings and to send a message to the seemingly unstoppable Huskies. It will be a competitive series to say the least. Puck drop at the Mac is at 7:07 on both nights.

No.1-ranked Huskies hold perfect 10-0 recordThose that do will be riding in a Tech

van for the 20-hour drive, which includes a stop for the night and a stop in Bismark for groceries, as it is a small town. The teams will be facing high-level competition and a different field, which should help the team with their training for the regular season.

“The skiers will probably be tired. They won’t be skiing on fresh legs like they usually do,” said Joda. “There are good training and good events with minimal distractions,” he added.

Perhaps the most exciting event of the year will be the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championships. This is the highest level of skiing in the United States, and Houghton can expect past and future Olympians to be in attendance. “The majority of our players will be competing,” said Joda.

The team has been getting ready for the championships since last season, going as far as to host a scrimmage against NMU to test the sprint tracks. The course is also seeing some other renovations in anticipation of this prestigious event, such as the addition of berms.

The home of the Huskies continues to be a destination for skiing enthusiasts and is one of the best collegiate courses in the country.

“We are pretty positive going into this season,” said Joda.

With the early snowfall, the team can get onto the snow instead of using the dry-land rollers that they have had to train on as of late. The team is certainly prepared to have a good run this season. It all kicks off Dec. 6 at the UP Dual, which will be held either in Marquette or Houghton.

Huskies begin historic ski seasonContinued from page 12

IAN HATZILIAS

Lode Writer

“Star netminder Jamie Phillips made some highlight saves and kept the Beavers scoreless in the final frame to give Tech the win.”

SPORTSMichigan Tech Lode 15Tuesday, November 18

After ending the regular season at home with a dominant performance against the Lake Erie Storm, winning 59-14, the Huskies have been selected out of 24 teams to participate in the NCAA Division II Football Tournament.

Lake Erie was only allowed two scores by the home team with just one touchdown in each the first and third quarter. The Huskies held them at bay for the other two quarters and possessed the ball for 33 minutes and 33 seconds.

Scarlett passed for 201 yards, and Leffingwell rushed for 145. Receiver Cowie posted 108 yards on the game.

The Storm passed for 98 yards, received for 46, and rushed most of the way through the game with 270 yards.

This will be just the second appearance in the NCAA tournament by Michigan Tech in program history, and the nine wins earned by the team is only the fourth time doing so in the team history.

The last time they appeared in the tournament was in 2004. Tech entered as the number one seed in their regional division with a bye week for the first round. They lost their first and only NCAA Tournament game while hosting North Dakota.

Ferris State and Ohio Dominican are the other two GLIAC teams joining MTU in the tournament.

The number three ranked Huskies team will host the number eight ranked Angelo State Rams (8-2 in the regular season) this coming Saturday, Nov. 22. Some might say that Tech has the advantage just based on location, since ASU is in Texas.

The good chance of snow on Sherman field leaves the environment very familiar for the Huskies and very unfamiliar for the Rams of the Lone Star Conference.

Comparing the two on paper shows that Tech will have

their work cut out for them. While the Huskies average 29.6 points per game, the Rams average 41.7.

So, ASU can score a lot. They have a fast, powerful offense that lays down the pressure and converts 86 percent of the time when in the red zone, with 76 percent of those conversion attempts being touchdowns.

Although Tech’s statistics don’t match up to Angelo State, they’re in the same ballpark, going for 80 percent in

red zone scoring and 63 percent in red zone touchdowns.The Huskies will have to be as solid as ever defensively

and just as mentally sharp on offense in order to come out on top of this matchup. In doing so, they’d gain their first NCAA Tournament victory in team history and turn a number of heads in their direction in the process.

Kickoff is at noon on Saturday the 22nd on Sherman Field.

Tech Football goes 9-1, earns NCAA playoff berth

fundamentally changed our offense,” said Jennings.

The Huskies missed Aubrey Ficek and Kendall Ward on the outsides this season. Ficek was pulled six weeks in after a back injury, and Ward was undergoing rehab throughout the season after surgery last spring.

Highlights from the season included hosting the Keweenaw Classic and games against Hillsdale, Tiffin and Parkside. The Keweenaw Classic included the team’s first round of games this season back in early September. The Huskies went 1-4, but having the opportunity to play one of the top teams in the nation, Minnesota-Duluth, and other ranked teams was a good experience. It was also the first time that Michigan Tech Volleyball hosted such an event, and given the success of the tournament, it was a good indication of where the program stood.

In the game against Hillsdale, the Huskies earned a 3-1 win. Tech dropped the first set but played exceptionally in the next three.

“That was our best moment of volleyball. We were playing to our potential, and our system was clicking on all gears,” commented Jennings. That type of play can be expected more consistently down the road.

The Huskies earned their fifth 3-0 win against Tiffin. Although Tiffin’s record was not as strong as Tech’s going into the match, this game was a milestone because the Huskies did not give up many unnecessary points. The Huskies won by scores of 25-20, 25-9 and 25-12.

Finally, Tech was able to play UW-Parkside twice this year, first in the Keweenaw Classic and a second time at the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover tournament. The Huskies fell in four sets the first time around but earned a win in five sets in game two. That win was

the only five set win for Tech all season long. According to Jennings, the Parkside

program is very comparable, so being able to come back and win the second game was a huge victory for Michigan Tech’s program.

Given that next year’s roster will see all current players as returners and two new freshmen, there are definitely high expectations for next fall. The Huskies have been building a strong foundation these past three years and now know what it takes to be successful. Jennings mentioned, “I think that they know very well that we were so close and that the things we need to do will come over time.”

Next year will be extra special for the current juniors. They came to Tech with the mindset that they were going to turn the program around. Three years later, they have.

After doing a lot of the grunt work, so

to speak, they are ready to see results. “I think they’re going to have that extra push because after three years of getting better but not getting rewarded, they deserve it,” said Jennings.

During the offseason, players will be working on technique and skill training as well as getting faster, stronger, more agile and quicker. Jennings would like to see the players become more disciplined in their movements as well as mentally tougher.

Coach Jennings wanted to express, “We feel the support from the school for sure, and we’re thankful for the band and all the students and community members that come out to support us.”

It’s been a long road, but the Michigan Tech Volleyball program has been reignited. Coach Jennings and the squad will look to build upon their recent success and make next year their best yet.

2014 Volleyball season in the books Continued from page 12

IAN HATZILIAS

Lode Writer

Senior Running Back Charlie Leffingwell looks to find an open gap in the defense during a matchup earlier this season against Farris State University.

Photo by Maxwell Curtis

For the second time in the huskies program history they make the NCAA tournament

Upcoming

Events

November 18 - December 2

Inglorious Basterds-Film Board Thursday & Friday, Nov. 20 & 21. 9:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. Fisher 135

Film Board will be presenting ”Inglorious Basterds” this week in Fisher 135. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, this movie is set in Nazi occupied France during World War II. It follows a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers planning to assassinate Nazi leaders who find a theatre owner with plans to do the same thing.

The Night Before Christmas Dance Production -MTU Youth Dance Friday, Nov. 21. 6:30 p.m. Rosza Center

MTU Youth dance program will be holding the 3rd annual Holiday Dance Production. They will be performing The Night Before Christmas, followed by a showing of the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships -HuskyLEAD Student Activities invites you to attend the next HuskyLEAD professional development session on corporate partnerships and sponsorships, presented by Brent Burns and Beth Hoy. They will be instructing attendees on the best practices for building relationships in the corporate world and the best way to create partnerships with members of industry, among other related topics.

Tuesday, Nov. 18. 6:00 p.m. MUB B2 & B3

Fall Chamber Recital - Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra Thursday, Nov. 20. 7:00 p.m. $5 Portage Lake United Church

The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra will be presenting a Fall Music Recital with the theme Night At the Movies, which will include performances of opera arias and various quartets, beautiful and compelling vocal and instrumental music, as well as a premiere of a new composition. There is no listed ticket price, but a $5 donation is enouraged. There will be a reception after the performance.

ASK TECH

“Highly intricate plot, amazing visuals and the aggregate effect

is overwhelming means watching Interstellar is an interstellar

experience.”

“It is time to let movies teach us something about cosmos and

humanity’s quest to reach for the stars.”

“This movie changed my perspective about gravity and time. Another

master piece of Christopher Nolan.”

“Beautiful manifestation of Einstein’s General Theory of

Relativity. Superb movie a must watch for physics enthusiasts.”

Rohan Kalurkar Mrunmayee Phadnis Sachin Shinde Prathamesh Deshpande

-Manjusha Khaire

What do you think is the most fascinating about the movie Interstellar?

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