Technician Issue 3 Winter 2011

The Technician2 2March 7, 2011 Volume 106 Issue 3

What’s InsideUniversity Remembers Students .......2Students React to Rolling Chairs ......2Parking Problems .............................4“Seeing is Believing” .........................4Kettering Student Government ........5Applications for KSG Councils ........5FCOP Advertising Rules ..................6Antonio Riggs Says Goodbye ...........6Battle of the Bucks Winter 2011 ......7Information Technology and You .....8KUConnections in Space .................9Kettering Hockey .............................9Crash Center in Popular Science ........9Green, Clean Snow...........................9Employment Statistics ......................10Photos ..............................................11Aero Design 2011 ............................12Black History Month .......................14“The Shackles” ..................................14“The Dream Lives” ...........................15“Brotherhood Night” .......................16Meme of the Month .........................18xkcd .................................................18Sudoko Puzzle ..................................19Doghouse Diaries .............................19Comic JK .........................................19

© 2011 The Technician, Kettering University

Visit The Technician online at: www.the-technician.org

All inquiries and questions may be directed to:[email protected]

Town Hall Meeting Reaches Out to Students

Interview with Venetia

PettewayBy Allen HillakerAssistant Editor

The Technician sat down with Venetia Petteway, the Corporate Relations Executive in the Coop-erative Education department to ask about Co-op, the effects of the economy, and unemployment among students at Kettering. The complete inter-view is too long to be published in its entirety, but an abridged and slightly modified interview is be-low. All of interview reflects the original thoughts of Ms. Petteway, although the phrasing may be dif-ferent.

Technician: Employ-ment at Kettering is at 91%, which is a signifi-cant recovery. What do you credit with this ac-complishment?

Petteway: A number of things. Working with the board of trustees and having them push their

companies to hire co-ops has really helped tremen-

dously. Additionally, the co-op staff has worked re-ally hard to reconnect with companies that previ-ously laid off co-ops or put off hiring co-op students due to the economy. Now that the economy is far-ing better, they’re starting to hire co-ops again, and the co-op staff is doing an excellent job of selling the co-op program to new companies. It’s a well-known fact that when the economy goes bad, the co-op programs are the first things that companies cut, but when the economy comes back, they’re

Exciting Events Upcoming for

Student SenateBy John OliverTechnician Writer

President Huong Chim called the meeting to or-der, prepared for the flood of ideas that would be coming from the delegates of Kettering’s Student Senate. Vice President Michael Steinert called on committees for reports of their work over the past week. There are six different committees: Campus Involvement, Campus Improvement, Safety, Com-munications, Delta Force, and Multicultural. Each committee submitted several interesting plans for the future of Kettering, all of which have the po-tential of making Kettering a better place to study.

One of the highlights of the discussion was over a design contest for the new student lounge. This project was handled by the campus improvement committee. They have posed fliers to advertise a design contest where students could submit their ideas for the new commuter lounge (adjacent to BJ’s Lounge). Students will have a budget of $50,000 with which they can choose paint, carpet, furniture, and any other amenities. The winner will receive a $500 Visa gift card. Designs must be submitted by tenth Friday at noon to [email protected] or [email protected]. Look for fliers around campus.

The Campus Involvement committee is pushing for a range of different activities and events that would get students more involved on campus. One of the interesting ideas is the posting of the list of clubs and their pertinent information on Face-book. This would provide a concise, convenient view of all the club-related opportunities offered to Kettering students.

Photo courtesy Kettering University

Continued on page 2 Continued on page 16

By Allen HillakerAssistant Editor

On 8th Tuesday, Kettering’s administration held a townhall-style meeting to bring Kettering stu-dents up to speed on the administrative side of campus. Several members of the President’s cabi-net spoke about topics in their areas.

Karen Full, Director of Undergraduate Admis-sions, spoke first, discussing the status and plans for admission for next year. She thanked the stu-dents for participating in the admissions initiatives. Those initiatives included the “Back to School” program, which sends current undergraduate stu-dents back to their graduating high schools to visit and recruit. She also announced Kettering’s par-ticipation in College Week Live, which gives high school students the opportunity to attend “virtual online college fairs”. Finally, she discussed Ket-tering’s student callers program, where Kettering

students call and talk to potential freshmen about Kettering’s admissions programs and about their

experiences at Kettering. Patricia Mroczek, Chief Public Relations Officer,

stepped up to the podium next. She made a brief, enthusiastic request for student photos. She also discussed Public Relations attempts to “tell the co-op story” and a joint effort with student govern-ment to create an intersectional newsletter.

Viola Sprague, Director of Information Technol-ogy, then took the stage to discuss changes IT was making. A new website is in the works, she encour-aged students with ideas or specific design requests to contact IT.

Robert Nichols, Director of External Affairs, and Venetia Petteway, Corporate Relations Of-ficer from the Co-op Office stood briefly to an-swer student questions about co-op employment. Nichols described the current co-op job market as “On fire”, saying “we have more jobs available now [in many degree areas] than we students to fill

Mr. Robert Nichols and Ms. Venetia Petteway dis-cuss the co-op situation and the 2010 upswing.

Continued on page 2

The Technician

NewsExciting Events Upcoming

for Student Senate

The Safety committee has been holding meetings and discussing ways to increase attendance in the future.

Communications committee is planning a “cof-fee break” event on Wednesday from 7:45 to 10:15 am with coffee and donuts in the Great Court. They are also discussing changing the KSG bul-letin boards to make them more informative.

Delta Force (a committee for student-professor interaction) plans to create a periodical with a fo-cus on student-teacher interaction.

Multicultural committee talked about diversity week and its successes.

It is exciting to think about the ways that Ketter-ing could change for the better in the near future. If the Student Senate is able to follow through on these plans, they will make a big difference to the Kettering community, making Kettering a better place for both students and faculty.

March 7, 2011

CorrectionsThe article “Campus Saddened by Student

Deaths” on Page 2 of the February 7th issue of The Technician spelled the name of deceased student Aaron Hendrick incorrectly. The Technician regrets this typographical error.

The article “Global Issues Film Festival” on Page 12 of the February 7th issue of The Tech-nician incorrectly states that the discussion of the movie “Good Fortune” was led by Dr. Ezekiel Gebissa. While he was listed on the flier, for the event, it was actually Dr. Guluma Gemeda, associate professor of Africana Stud-ies at the University of Michigan Flint, who led the discussion. The Technician regrets this oversight.

Students React to Rolling ChairsBy Christina CutlerAssistant Editor

Reactions to the new chairs showing up on the third floor of the Academic Building are not quite what the administration desired. The chairs—for the students who have not yet experienced them—are equipped with wheels and include a desk that swivels around to just about any desired position from the right side. There is space under the chair for storage of backpacks, laptop bags, or whatever else students may carry. The chairs can easily be moved around into whatever configuration the students or professors deem conducive to a learn-ing environment. This sounds quite nice, but a few problems with the implementation of the new chairs and the chairs themselves have left students and professors dissatisfied with the experience.

Derek Hazard, a Senior III student taking Meth-ods of Applied Mathematics in AB-3332, says that “the chairs allow the room too much entropy. They aren’t conducive to learning and I find my-self constantly distracted…there isn’t enough desk space to take notes…they have to be a fire hazard. They are all over the place. I run into at least one of them every time I’m in the room.” As to the pro-fessor’s reaction to the chairs, Derek believes that the professor was given no direct warning that the new chairs were coming. “He didn’t seem to know. We just came in one day and they were there. He looked rather surprised.”

The apparent general consensus is that the chairs are comfortable, the desks are “pretty alright,” and the freedom of movement has great potential for smaller discussion-based classes, such as senior seminar or upper-level humanities and social sci-ence courses. Unfortunately, the trial rooms in which the desks now reside (AB-3332 and AB-

3334) are used almost exclusively for math and computer science classes. While some of these classes have very few students, they are still not the types of classes that frequently employ discussion as a major part of learning. When students were asked about the new chairs, the overwhelming re-sponse was that they are not appropriate for the classes currently being taught in those rooms.

Left-handed students have raised the issue that the desks on the chairs accommodate right-handed students much better than left-handed students. The desks can swivel to any desired position, pro-vided that said position is at an angle from parallel to your chest to 90 degrees clockwise from that. Left-handed student Tyler Van Eck says, “It isn’t so bad overall, considering I’ve always had to deal with that kind of desk as a left-handed person. It’s just a minor annoyance at this point.”

Overall, the chairs seem like a great idea for some classes, but may not be the best choice for purely lecture-based classes or classrooms that only host that kind of class. If the potential hazards of the excess entropy could be resolved, they would be perfect for many classes held on the fourth floor of the Academic Building, especially the liberal arts classes.

University Remembers

StudentsBy Matthew WhiteLayout Editor

On Friday, February 25, students, staff, and fac-ulty joined the families of Sean Hengel and Aaron Hendrick in McKinnon Theater to celebrate the lives of the two young men who have passed away in the last academic year. Mr. Robert Marias, Di-rector of Greek Life and Master of Ceremonies for the service, offered the remembrance as an experi-ence not of shared grief, but of shared recollections and fond memories. Ms. Betsy Homsher, Dean of Students, spoke, as did Dr. Laura Sullivan and Pro-fessor Reg Bell after a “graveside” service conduct-ed by members of Theta Xi, to which both men were pledging. Mrs. Laura Hengel, Sean’s mother, was in attendance and also gave a few remarks. Af-ter members of the audience were given an oppor-tunity to make statements, Rev. Thomas Firestone, who had opened the service with a prayer, closed with a scripture reading and final prayer. The ser-vice ended with “Amazing Grace,” sung by Mr. Jack Stock.

Continued from front pagethem.” The current unemployment rate at Ketter-ing is about 9 percent, down from 23 percent at this time last year.

Debbie Stewart, Director of Student Life, dis-cussed fine arts at Kettering. The grant-financed program served approximately 80 students this term, providing guitar and piano lessons as well as other fine art programs to Kettering students. She confirmed that the arts program will continue for at least another 2 years. Dr. Stan Liberty, Ket-tering’s president, expressed a desire to endow the fine arts program so that it is available forever.

Dr. Liberty commented briefly on Kettering’s presidential search, stating simply that offsite in-terviews with the potential candidates will be oc-curring within the next month, with on-campus interviews following in mid-to-late April. Liberty also elaborated on the status of Federal Work-Study. Funds for Work-Study were depleted early, due in part to receiving less work-study than last year. Dr. Robert Simpson, the Provost, assured students that essential services that our typically supported by Work-Study, tutoring being a specif-ic example, will not be cut, but will instead receive funding from the Provost’s office.

Dr. Simpson also elaborated on the capital im-provements to the campus. Nine classrooms have been renovated and modernized, including two that include “very mobile seating” to allow stu-dents to cluster easily for group work. Simpson also discussed encouraging a more active learning style, where the students interact with the profes-sor rather than simply listening and taking notes.

Finally, there was a time for open questions at the end of the townhall. Dr. Simpson addressed specific students’ concerns. When asked about safety, he said he felt that campus was, for its loca-tion, incredibly safe, but also stressed that Ketter-ing University was working with the Flint Police Department to increase the police presents both on campus and in the neighborhoods immediately surrounding it. Another student expressed con-cerns about student and faculty parking. Susan Bolt, VP of Administration, encouraged Students with specific concerns about parking to ensure other interest groups on campus agreed with them and then approach her with a specific solution.

Continued from front pageTown Hall

The Technician March 7, 2011

AnnouncementsCoffee Break with

Student Senate10th Wednesday morning in the Great Court - Coffee and Donuts

Late Night Breakfast with Ops Council

11th Wednesday Night at 9:30 in the Sunrise Room

Techno With The TechnicianR A V E

9:00 11th Tuesday Night in BJ’s

Battle of the Bins with GEO9th Friday - All Day

KSG Design Your Student Lounge Competition

Entries Due 10th Friday

The Technician

Opinion

“Seeing is Believing”The Renaissance at Chrysler is Finally Here

By Robert HayesAutomotive Columnist

In 2009, Chrysler seemed like a company burn-ing through options faster than it was burning through its overdraft. Two years earlier, fresh off a painful divorce from a nine-year marriage to

German auto-maker Daimler AG, Chrysler was purchased by Cerberus Capi-tal Management, a private equity firm. Under Cer-berus manage-ment, Chrysler was pushed to the brink of disaster.

Staved for funds, each of Chrysler’s new vehicles were outclassed before they ever reached the show-room floor. This is quickly changing, however, with sixteen new or completely overhauled prod-ucts launched since the second half of last year.

After a highly publicized quick-rinse bankruptcy in 2009, Chrysler entered into a partnership with Italy’s Fiat, which is already delivering on the nev-er-realized promises of Chrysler’s 1998 partnership with Daimler. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrys-ler and Fiat, announced a 15% sales increase last year, a remarkable feat considering that for most of 2010, Chrysler was burdened with their old Cerberus era uncompetitive lineup. Additionally, Chrysler, now 25% owned by Fiat, announced an operating profit of $763 million last year, though the near-usurious interest rates on Chrysler’s gov-

ernment-backed debt dragged that healthy profit to a $652 million loss.

The big story at Chrysler, though, is the product renaissance. Of all the new products out of Auburn Hills, perhaps the most critical are the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger siblings. The new Chrys-ler 200 and redesigned Dodge Avenger dispose with the Cerberus-era austerity and replace hard, cheap plastics with high-quality soft touch materi-als that give the new sedans a distinctly upmarket look. These new sedans represent Chrysler’s entry into the industry’s bread and butter midsize seg-ment, and for the first time since the legendary K-cars of the 1980s, Chrysler has a competitive edge.

Beauty is not just skin deep at the new Chrysler. Underneath the hood of the majority of Chrysler’s new lineup is a proud new V6 engine. The 3.6 li-ter Pentastar was born during Chrysler’s darkest days, originally named “Phoenix” as a symbolic nod to the automaker rising anew from the ashes of years of failed products and opportunities. The new all-aluminum DOHC V6 will replace seven of Chrysler’s current engines, and will find its way into eleven Chrysler vehicles by this spring, with more on the way as Chrysler’s remaining lineup is overhauled. Further powertrain breakthroughs are coming for Chrysler’s four cylinder engine lineup, courtesy of Fiat. Fiat’s 1.4L MultiAir four cylinder recently entered production at Chrysler’s Dundee, MI engine plant, bound for use in the 2011 Fiat 500, to be built in Chrysler’s Toluca, Mexico as-sembly plant. MultiAir technology, a hydraulically operated variable valve timing system, will soon be coming to Chrysler’s corporate World Gas Engine family of 2.0 and 2.4 liter four cylinder engines as

Chrysler’s small-car lineup is refreshed. The new Chrysler is working hard to get their

message across. During Superbowl XLV on Feb-ruary 6th, the longest and most powerful com-mercial belonged to Chrysler. Highlighting the new 200 sedan, the two minute segment featured Eminem driving the 2011 Chrysler 200 through the streets of Detroit in an anthem of resurgence designed to drive home the new Chrysler brand slogan: Imported from Detroit. A risky message, the new slogan is designed to generate buzz for Chrysler’s rebirth, while promoting the positive image of Detroit’s turnaround. While this slogan alone will not decide the fate of the 200 and the Chrysler brand, it is off to a good start. In the week after the Superbowl, the commercial had over four million views on YouTube and had spawned a line of clothing sporting the new tagline.

After years of false starts and countless promises from unresponsive corporate overlords, Chrysler’s renaissance is finally real. Perhaps it can be best summarized by the title of Chrysler’s 2010 finan-cial report: “Seeing is Believing.”

March 7, 2011

Above, the 2011 Dodge Avenger. Below, Chrysler brands and the Fiat logo.

Parking Problems: A Great Test Case for Student-University InteractionBy Isaac Meadows

A heated topic at both the Technician Student Forum on February 23rd and the Student Town Hall Meeting on March 1st was the question of

parking for the students, faculty and staff near the Academic Building. Let me start out by saying that I see the issue not as one of need, but of disparity. That is, no one would be

complaining if Lots 1 and 2 behind the AB did not exist. Walking from behind Thompson Hall would be a fact of life, and hardly an unbearable one.

What frustrates community members is the per-ceived opportunity at better parking, that is, the existence of the well-located lots, combined with the negative experience of not being able to find a good spot, or perhaps that of getting a ticket if a student parks in Lot 2. In addition, the policy that

Lot 2 is for faculty and staff creates a sense of re-sentment among students. Not only is a large area reserved against student use, the argument goes, but the remaining space in Lot 1 is not even re-served for students! Staff members and professors can park in Lot 1 if they wish while spaces in Lot 2 go unused. I believe there are a number of reason-able approaches to address student frustration.

First, reserve Lot 1 (the landing strip) exclusively for students. A number of faculty and staff find it convenient to park there, certainly, but many stu-dents would find it convenient to park in Lot 2. Compromise is the heart of this solution.

Another option is to designate both lots as open parking. This egalitarian measure would give all community members equal access, would reduce the demand on security, and doubtless frustrate faculty and staff used to the privilege of having a more-than sufficient area reserved for them.

The final possibility is a pragmatic one. Make part of Lot #2 open parking, but leave enough

spaces reserved for faculty and staff to accommo-date the majority of employee need. This might satisfy students, who would have more space to park without fear of tickets, and employees alike. The downside to this measure would be the need to mark the parking lot with signs, painting, etc., and slightly increased difficulty of enforcement.

Whatever the best option is, I firmly believe that students are capable of making their voice heard on this minor but irritating issue. To effect change, the Student Senate must correspond with the Fac-ulty Senate and reach out to the school administra-tion. This effort must be sustained over both sec-tions, or momentum will be lost. How students pursue this and other matters will provide a com-mentary on their willingness to engage in the pro-cess of effecting change in a responsible way, while the reaction of the faculty and administration will speak to their view of the Kettering student.


Kettering Student GovernmentNow Accepting Applications for All Councils

Finance CouncilThe Finance Council monitors all budgets, controls the capital equipment fund,

and oversees the capital equipment inventory for student government. The Coun-cil is chaired by the Treasurer. The Treasurer interviews and appoints the new Finance Council during the winter

or spring terms starting as early as fifth week. The term of office for this Council runs from July until June.

Operations CouncilOperations Council (OC) plays a major role in the student government organi-

zational structure. One of the main functions that OC performs is the equitable distribution of the student activity fee. The Operations Council encompasses a set of councils which organize and oversee the athletic and non-athletic clubs, major campus social events, the school paper and the recreational sports program.OC is chaired by the Director of Operations (DO), who interviews and appoints

his/her new council after 5th week of the winter/spring term. The term of office for this Council runs from July until June

Academic CouncilAcademic Council (AC) serves as Student Government’s primary channel of lob-

bying for student interest in academic matters. A few of the main objectives for AC are to create and evaluate proposals pertaining to University policies and practices, investigate issues concerning academic quality for students of the University, and recommend the approval of resolutions and specific courses of action concerning academic affairs. Academic Council is chaired by the Director of Academic Coun-cil, who interviews and appoints his/her new council after 5th week of winter/spring term. The term of office for this Council runs from July until June

Want to get involved?

The KSG councils run events, fund clubs, start new projects and programs, and represent the student

interest schoolwide!

To apply, get an application from the Student Life office (3rd Floor CC), or see Deborah Stewart’s 3-3-11 email for links.

The Technician

Campus LifeLeave Secret Meetings to the Greeks:

FCOP Outlines Club Advertising RulesBy Dominic JandrainTechnician Writer

The Finance Council’s Statement of Operating Policies contains, among other things, the qualifi-cations and guidelines for clubs that are funded by KSG. Among other requirements, it is stated that to be eligible for funding, a club must advertise all events and meetings. The reasoning behind this rule is that by not advertising club meetings, clubs are depriving students the chance to participate in something that they helped fund by paying the activity fee. Although most clubs do an adequate job of advertising, a few clubs fail to adequately advertise every now and then. Clubs that do not advertise risk losing funding for a particular event or even lose funding altogether.

Among representatives of various clubs, there is a general consensus that the rule is fair.

AJ Brinks, the current president of Grill Club, stated in an interview with The Technician that this rule is important, as all students should have the chance to participate in all clubs. AJ also sug-gested that there should be a standard method of advertising that all clubs are required to use; any-thing beyond that would be up to the club. This would be a very effective method of assuring that all students get an equal chance of hearing about a club.

The Statement of Operating Policies defines ad-vertising as “available to the entire Kettering Uni-versity population at least one week in advance of the event or meeting.” While it doesn’t specifically state the medium of advertisement, it can be as-

sumed that flyers, banners, and the Kettering Uni-versity Events Calendar are adequate, as long as they are available to the entire student population.

In addition to the traditional methods, there are quite a few other ways of advertising that are used frequently around campus. Painting the bulldog, Facebook events, and setting up tables in the Great Court or the Pool are a few of the more popular options. However, these methods don’t give all students an equal opportunity to hear about the event. Not all students have Facebook accounts, so that can be ruled out. Painting the bulldog con-veys only a very basic message for a limited time, as it may be painted over within hours. Setting up tables and talking with passing students may be an efficient way of getting new members, but as with painting the bulldog, this is only a temporary way of advertising. Just to be safe, any of the above methods should be used in conjunction with ban-ners and/or flyers.

Clubs that choose not to advertise may be penal-ized by KSG. If a club does not advertise one event or meeting, it is considered a minor offense, which is punished by a denial of a funds relating to the incident. If a club does not advertise at all, it is considered a serious offense, punishable by a sei-zure of all funds and recommendation for removal as a recognized club.

Finance Council members Tim Litchty and Scott Builta declined to comment on the application of the policy directly, but noted that the penalties are at the discretion of the Finance Council.

Antonio Riggs Says Goodbye to

KetteringBy Devin AryanTechnician Writer

February 10, 2011 was Mr. Antonio Riggs’s last day as Director of Residence Life here at Ketter-ing University. While at Kettering University, Mr. Riggs received his Master’s Degree in Student Af-fairs Administration from Saginaw Valley State University. Moving on in his career, Mr. Riggs is transitioning to the position of Career Advisor at Delta College.

Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications

Mr. Riggs contributed to improvements to Thompson Hall in his time here. He added a kitchen on the second floor, acquired new furni-ture for the lobby and lounges, and created more work-study jobs for students; not only new jobs as kitchen monitors, but he’s also begun a plan for student cleaning jobs.

When asked what his favorite memories were, Mr. Riggs stated that he enjoyed “Pie an RA”, B-section’s “All-Night Party”, and conversing in the cafeteria. Mr. Riggs ate three meals a day in the Sunrise Room Cafeteria and thoroughly enjoyed it; “I’m a cafeteria fan: it means I don’t have to cook for myself!”

Now that Mr. Riggs has left, Ms. Deborah Stew-art, Director of Student Life, will be performing his duties until a new Director of Residence Life is hired. Students may approach Ms. Stewart with any issues regarding Thompson Hall, but they should still bring the issue up with an RA first.

A staff member since Spring 2009, Mr. Riggs commented, “It’s been great working in the stu-dent life office.” He also said, “I want to give a shout out to Debbie and Fran.” The Technician would like to wish Mr. Riggs good luck at his new job and in his future career.

March 7, 2011

Did you do cool things this term? We’d like to know about it.

Send photos and a short article telling us what you did to the Technician at [email protected] and we’ll publish it in our End-of-Term Magazine!


The TechnicianIsaac Meadows, Editor-in-chiefAllen Hillaker, Assistant EditorChristina Cutler, Assistant EditorMatthew White, Layout EditorTyler Van Eck, Copy EditorRobert Hayes, Online EditorMarian Swagler, Campus Life EditorRyan Brown, Distribution Editor

The Technician StaffDevin Aryan, StaffKorrine Ketchum, StaffDominic Jandrain, Staff Racquel Lovelace, StaffJohn Oliver, StaffEric Poole, CartoonistEvan Brest, ColumnistMatt Holland, Photographer

Campus Life

Up Til Dawn, 500

Technician, 440

realSERVICE, 250

BUC, 200

Anime, 90

Gaming Society, 16

Chess Club, 0

Kettnetic Thunder, 0

Battle of the Bucks Results

Submissions PolicyThe Technician encourages any interested stu-

dents to attend staff meetings, held each Mon-day and Thursday over the lunch hour in The Technician office, located on the 3rd floor of the Campus Center by Campus Life. Student sub-missions are encouraged and will be published if their material is in the public interest.

Submissions or letters to the editor from fac-ulty of administrative entities will be published if space is available. The Technician reserves the right to edit any and all submissions for brevity.

Anonymous submissions are rarely published and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Individuals wishing to publish anonymously should consult the Editor-in-chief.

The deadline for the upcoming issue of The Technician is 7th Tuesday at noon. Expected distribution is 8th Tuesday. The µTechnician is published Tuesday of every week. Its dead-line is the Monday prior. Send submissions to [email protected].

$1496 Disbursed in Battle of the Bucks

Winter 2011By Isaac MeadowsEditor-in-Chief

When asked for comment on the clubs that did not receive requested funding from Battle of the Bucks, KSG Treasurer Heather Allen said that re-quests from Kettnetic Thunder were not approved because they were for events that occurred after the Winter 2011 term, while Chess Club’s request was denied because the Finance Council Operating Policies expressly exclude hotel costs from budget-ing.

The remainder of cuts were made to reconcile clubs’ requests made with the amount of money available. Clubs and the line items they requested are listed below.

Up Til Dawn Letter Writing Finale- Food $400.00Letter Writing Finale- Prizes $100.00Technician 500 Copies for Magazine $500.00Office Supplies $50.00realSERVICE Up Til Dawn Contribution- Food $200.00Up Til Dawn Contribution- Prizes $150.00Kettnetic ThunderWebsite Renewal $23.97FRED D3 Warm-Up (Apr 2-3) 200.00 Anime Anime Fest $110.00BUC End of Term Banquet $300.00Chess Club Hotel Reimbursement $100.00Gaming Society 1-yr Discount Card $16.00

The Technician

By Isaac MeadowsEditor-in-Chief

The Technician sat down with Ms. Viola Sprague and Mr. Dan Garcia to discuss IT issues at Ket-tering. Ms. Sprague is the Executive Director of Information Technology, and Mr. Garcia is the In-formation Center Manager. Students at The Tech-nician Student Forum posed a number of ques-tions about IT policies and plans, and Kettering’s IT management was eager to respond. For the sake of brevity, this article will utilize a topical for-mat emphasizing key points from the discussion.

On University email: Ms. Sprague was able to confirm off-the-record reports that Google Apps for Education is the leading contender in Ketter-ing’s search for a new webmail system, although the decision is not yet final. The process was been conducted by a committee that received student feedback and considered Merit Mail and Micro-soft Hosted Exchange.

On staff levels: Mr. Garcia and Ms. Sprague each expressed that the university’s 2010 reduc-tion-in-force increased the workload of remaining

employees significantly, and further expressed that three staff resignations in early 2011 had some-what compounded the matter. IT is currently in-terviewing candidates for the three open positions.

On Windows 7: University-wide migration to Windows 7 is being pursued. Currently computer configuration “images” are being created for all dif-ferent computer configurations. Mr. Garcia specif-ically commented on Windows 7, “It takes advan-tage of the hardware a little better than Windows XP, it’s been a win-win.” Ms. Sprague described early testing of Windows Vista as, “challenging” and noted that skipping Vista was a deliberate choice.

On wireless Internet: Ms. Sprague and Mr. Gar-cia made clear that an upgrade to 802.11n routers is being pursued, but that it is a costly and long-term proposition. Steps to faster speeds as well as better connectivity and coverage include improv-ing the current network infrastructure, which in-cludes some 10 megabit CAT-3 cabling and 100 megabit routers, surveying the AB for new routers, and finally replacing the access points. Thomp-

son Hall, they e x p l a i n e d , has wireless in common areas now, a project which cost more than $53,000. To ensure a high-

quality signal in every resident’s room would have cost approximately $300,000. Mr. Garcia praised the top-of-the-line Cisco equipment that IT uses almost exclusively, describing it as “easy to man-age” and “very durable”. He recalled an incident when a Thompson Hall roof leak resulted in a Cisco router being filled with water. After taking the device apart, draining it, and letting it dry, he recounted, the technician was surprised to find that the router still worked. As for the login pro-tocol used to access the wirelesss, both IT manag-ers expressed that the current policy of requiring a username and password for every connection to the network is reflected by the Vernier Secure Login page, but that they would be interested in looking into alternative security measures such as WPA2 Enterprise, which they had not previously considered.

On getting help from IT: Mr. Garcia and Ms. Sprague expressed that students should expect to receive effective, timely help from IT, but that they should also understand that resolving issues may require multiple attempts on the part of IT and that clear, effective communication on the part of the student is very important. The email address [email protected] is the first point of con-tact, but for some kinds of requests and projects it may be necessary to fill out a more detailed sup-port request form. If a student is having trouble getting an IT issue resolved, they should contact Dan Garcia at [email protected] and clearly explain the problem.

UniversityMarch 7, 2011

Dan Garcia, Information Center Manager.

Photos courtesy of Kettering Communications.

Viola SpragueExec Director

9668

OpenDesktop Support

Specialist9641

Kettering UniversityInformation Technology Services Organization

Michelle DikosHelp Desk Coordinator

7894

Winfred HarrelsonSystems Security

Administrator7484

Eric HosmerWindows System

Administrator7964

George JonesHardware Computing

Specialist9942

Dale KarbginskyNetwork Engineer

9799

Glenn LechnerTelecom/Electronics

Analyst9753

Gloria McCarthyWindows System

Administrator7334

Bob OlivarezUnix/CAD Systems

Specialist9558

Dan GarciaDirector Operations

9752

Eileen FarmerBanner Systems

Analyst9766

Wayne ColeBanner Systems

Administrator9921

Aaron GrantWeb Systems Analyst

9781

Tomas HajekUnix/Linux Systems

Specialist7887

OpenWeb Systems Analyst

9559

Robert MorneauUnix Systems Specialist

5612

Donna WicksBlackboard Systems

Administrator7889

Sheila HancockIT Coordinator

7890

Revised - 1/19/2011 DG

Viola SpragueExec Director

9668

Dan GarciaDirector Operations

9752

Information TechnologyFunctional Support

Help Desk Desktop Support Tele-communications

Network Support Card Access Electronics &Hardware

Security WindowsAdministration Windows Labs

Anti-spam/Anti-virus Support

BannerBlackboardAcademicSystem

Oracle DatabaseAdministration

Email/CalenderSupport

WebDevelopment

Unix/LinuxAdministration

Unix/Linux Labs

EmployeeComputer

Training Lab

DesktopEquipment Order

Signoff

KetteringConnect

ApplicationDevelopment

BlackboardTransaction

System

Revised: 1/19/2011 DG

Information Technology and YouHow to get help, find facts, and collaborate for change

At left, functional and organizational charts of IT available at http://www.kettering.edu/it/

Viola Sprague, Executive Director of Information Technology

IT Support Suggestions

• First, email [email protected]. Don’t send the email to mul-tiple addresses or CC anyone else. List in the body of the email if oth-er individuals need to be informed.Explain your problem clearly and give plenty of information. You should receive a “call ticket” email within 1-2 business days.

• If you don’t receive a response within 2-3 business days, try send-ing another email specifically re-questing a response, or look up and email the IT employee most closely related to what you need and send a clear email requesting help. The organization and function charts at left provide information on em-ployee names and functions.

• If a request is urgent, call the help desk at 810-237-8324 or visit in person (it is in the AB at the end of the hall with the Math, CS, and Physics departments. Hours at 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday.

• The IT department has many projects going on and is currently understaffed with three open job positions. Resolving non-critical requests, especially complex or non-routine ones, may take time.


UniversityKettering’s Connections in Space

By Pat MroczekChief Public Relations Officer

On the “coolness scale,” Kettering University alumnus Adam Sanders’s work on Robonaut 2 (R2 for short) has to score pretty high. The 27-year-old finished a Master’s degree in Manufacturing Op-

erations in 2010 while working at NASA develop-ing R2, the torso-up humanoid robot and the first human-like robot to travel into space.

Sanders was on hand February 24 at the Ken-nedy Space Center in Florida to watch as R2 left Earth with the space shuttle Discovery on its final mission.

“The most rewarding part of this is we’re getting to work with technology that puts us at the leading

edge of the field,” Sanders said in a phone inter-view with the Flint Journal from Houston, where he has been living while working at NASA’s John-son Space Center.

The General Motors roboticist engineer joined the then-covert project between GM and NASA in 2007 as the youngest member of the core team

that created what has been dubbed the most sophisticated and dexterously ad-vanced humanoid robot in the world, according to Flint Journal reporter Beata Mostafavi.

Sanders was the lead architect for programming the language R2 rec-ognizes in order to understand human commands.

For the entire Flint Journal story, visit http://bit.ly/g5P3WH

For a story in the Wall Street Journal featuring Sanders and Robonaut 2 at the Super Bowl, visit http://on.wsj.com/gSlBrI

Kettering HockeyBy Pat MroczekChief Public Relations Officer

The MCHC announced awards this week and the hockey team scored big! Toby Brune received the MVP award and earned a spot on the all-conference first team after leading Kettering in both goals and assists. Other first-teamers were forward Steve Bandurski, defenseman Tyler Bandurski, and goalie Tino Lisi; Brad Gallagher and Spencer Scott made second team. Kettering coach Tom Gallagher is Coach of the Year, leading the team to a number 9 ranking and into the ACHA playoffs. Kettering opens playoffs February 18 against Oakland University at Suburban Ice in Macomb, MI.

The awards are as follows:1st Team All-Conference • Forwards o Steve Bandurski (#11, Kettering) o Toby Brune (#22, Kettering) o Matt “Howlin’ Mad” Murdock (#17, U of M Flint) • Defense o Tyler Bandurski (#19, Kettering) o Craig Schmehl (#05, Lawrence Tech) • Goalie: Tino Lisi (#31, Kettering) • MVP: Toby Brune (#22, Kettering) • Coach of the Year: Tom Gallagher (Kettering)2nd Team All-Conference • Forwards o Deno Brockert (#10, Detroit Mercy) o Mike Smartt (#06, Lawrence Tech) o Brad Gallagher (#12, Kettering) • Defense o Brian Gibbons (#14, U of M Flint) o Spencer Scott (#07, Kettering) • Goalie: George Grzywacz (#34, Lawrence Tech)

Crash Center on Popular Science

ListPopular Science magazine will promote a list of

unique and interesting places to visit on summer vacation this year — and Kettering’s Crash Safety Center has been selected for the national listing. The list will be published in the May edition of Popular Science, which will be availabe starting in mid-April. Congratualations to Dr. Janet Brelin-Fornari, her colleagures, and her staff for this na-tional recognition.

Green, Clean Snow

Fifteen universities from the U.S. and Canada will field teams competing in the 2011 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge, set for March 7–12. The event will be at Michigan Technological Univer-sity’s Keweenaw Research Center in Michigan’s upper peninsula. Kettering University is one among the fifteen universities participating in the challenge, and this year’s team is competing in the internal combustion category. Kettering’s team is advised by Dr. Greg Davis, professor of Mechani-cal Engineering. Team members are Joshua Briggs of Sodus, NY (A-section); Steve Brusie of North Branch, MI (A-section); Kurt Grabo of Broad-view Heights, OH (Team Leader, B-Section); Joell Kroll of Montague, MI (B-section); Mike Schip-pert of Freeland, MI (A-section); Bryce Thomp-son of Powell, WY (Team Leader, B-Section); and Greg Lazorcik of Cornwall, PA (Team Leader, A-Section).

The public is welcome to Grand Opening cer-emonies on Tuesday, March 8, which culminate in the Endurance Run north to Copper Harbor. The public is also invited to the acceleration and han-dling events on Saturday, March 12. Winners are announced at the awards banquet later that eve-ning.

The public is welcome to Grand Opening cer-emonies on Tuesday, March 8, which culminate in the Endurance Run north to Copper Harbor. The public is also invited to the acceleration and han-dling events on Saturday, March 12. Winners are announced at the awards banquet later that eve-ning.

For more information, visit www.mtu.edu/snowmobile

Announcements are courtesy of Pat Mroczek and Kettering Communications

Photo courtesy of Adam Sanders


57

1917

1211

108

6

3 32

1 1 1 1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Mechanical Engineering

Computer Engineering

Electrical Engineering

Computer Science

Applied Physics

Chemical Engineering

Industrial Engineering

BBA Biochemistry BS BA Engineering Physics

Applied Math Business Management

Chemistry Undecided Engineering

Unemployment by Major

Unemployed Students9%

Employed Students91%

Juniors and Seniors only, 13

Freshman and Sophmores only, 10

No Class Standing Requirment, 67

Jobs Available by Class Standing Requirement

By The NumbersUnemployment, employment, and jobs at Kettering


Above: EIC Isaac Meadows “test drives” a Chevy Volt at the FIRST Ro-botics competition over Long Weekend.

Below and right: FIRST Robotics in the Connie and Jim John Recreation Center.

The Kettering A-section Delts were just one of many groups who signed up to benefit Michigan Special Olympics. The brothers collected pledges from friends and fam-ily, totaling $1,401.49; some even continued receiving donations on the morning of the Olympics. Tony Forlini, the chapter’s philanthropy chair, found the

event in early January and immediately began getting other members involved. After he was dipped and dried, Tony said, “It was a little cold, but it’s a small price to pay for such a great cause. I was excited we were able raise so much money. To me, it’s fun events like this that define fraternity.”

Photograph and caution courtesy of Andrew Sullivan.


Campus Life

Above, top left: Team captain David Tarlau holds a design model of the new Aero Design entry. Bottom left: The team’s cage in the SAE design center, which features a new foam cutter to reduce construction time.

Above, right: David Tarlau, Jacob Crabill, and Margaret Walch pose with the team’s new milling machine.Opposite page: Drawings of the 2011 design and a table showing SAE Aero Design rules for the Regular class, in which the

Kettering University team participates. All graphics courtesy of the Kettering University SAE Aero Design Team.Below, the Aero Design team’s 2010 entry (left) and the 2011 concept (right).

Aero Design Team Prepares for 2011 CompetitionBy Jacob CrabillAero Design Team

Kettering University’s Aero Design team got its start in the summer of 2009, when it began to plan for the 2010 competition cycle. With limited time and resources, the team used a simple monoplane design in order to have a plane completed in time for the competition in early March. Much of the design process relied upon weekly Skype confer-ence calls over the A-section fall work term, which was a challenge in itself to organize. Once back on campus in January, the team entered rush mode to complete the plane, with many nights spent work-ing until early in the morning. In the end, the plane was finished in time to be shipped to Cali-fornia for the competition.

Once in California, the team entered a mael-strom of activity. First, there were a few finishing touches to complete, such as the school name and team number on the plane. Then came technical inspection, where the entire aircraft is inspected for conformance to the competition rules, as well

as for safety issues such as slop in control surfaces and general structural integrity.

The next stage of the competition is the oral pre-sentation, where each team presents an updated version of their design report to a panel of judges, to be scored on both the content of the presenta-tion and how well the team presented it. The judg-es consist of engineers from across the aerospace industry, from high-ranking leaders to recent grad-uates, all of whom can provide valuable insight for the team into the minds of professional engineers.

Scored flights began the following morning, with the chance to earn an additional bonus on the first round by completing a flight with no weight in the plane. Unfortunately, the engine stalled on the team’s first flight, resulting in a crash that kept everyone working on repairs for the rest of the day. Returning to competition the next day, the team had four successful scored flights, meet-ing all of our team goals along the way. On the very last round of flight, however, the plane’s wing spar broke in flight, causing it to plummet into the ground several hundred feet from the runway.

This resulted in Kettering University winning the rather ignominious award for “Best Crash”, which – along with the remains of the competition plane – have become a talking point for the team over the past year.

With numerous new resources for the 2011 competition year, the team decided to explore more unconventional designs. After researching a broad array of potential design configurations, the team settled upon an especially unique tandem-wing de-sign. A tandem-wing aircraft has two wings (like a biplane), but instead of the wings being offset ver-tically, the wings are offset mostly horizontally for stability. With this unique design, the Kettering team hopes to compete in the top 25% of teams at the competition. Already, the team has submit-ted a design report that is expected to place highly among the other teams, and construction on the new plane will soon commence. Regardless of the results, though, the competition is a huge learning experience for everyone involved, and one that will be remembered for many years to come.

The Technician

Black History MonthMarch 7, 2011

By Korrine KetchumTechnician Writer

What sort of thoughts does the phrase “Febru-ary is Black History Month” elicit? Some think of the past, considering the pain of slaves who were ripped from their homes to be forced into the suf-ferings of hard labor and abuse; others think of the racism that is associated with black history today; still others look to the future of racial relations in America. Americans both black and white have always faced difficulties in treating each other as equals—even after the abolition of slavery—and continue to strive for equality today. They think of a day when they will be judged not by the color of their skin or the way they talk and dress, but by their thoughts and feelings. They must acknowl-edge the past to see the present that they want to change into the future.

Black History Month began in 1926 as Negro History week, the second week in February. This coincides with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. By the 1960s, Black His-tory Week grew into a month and became officially

recognized as such by President Gerald R. Ford in 1976. Black History month is currently observed across the nation with celebrations, lectures and performances dedicated to black history. To learn more about Black History Month, visit http://www.history.com/topics/black-history-month.

Here at Kettering, Professor Levecq assigned her Introduction to Humanities class to write a paper on an African-American cultural event. Canday-shia Loyd, Cordaroy Battles, and Imari Swanson each attended a different event and reflected on what happened and how it made them feel.

“The Shackles”Review by Candayshia LoydGuest Contributor

When I walked into the auditorium, I felt a certain sense of overwhelming comfort. I saw dashikis, kentes, and tribal attire. But the most impressive thing I saw was a set of shackles. These shackles meant so much. There were many artifacts that signified African Americans and their struggles, but the shackles were the most important as they made it seem. They sat in a golden stand in a Plexiglas case. Before the Black History Program started, we received basic instructions to follow before the show. They wanted you to observe the shackles. Not look but really observe the shackles. Question where they were from and what they were doing there. Interested beyond the subject now, I started glancing around at the other artifacts that represent the pain and anguish our ancestors went through until the program started.

The tumbling and rumbling of African drums caught my attention as I scurried to my seat. African dancers moved their limbs to the off-beat of the drum as the drummers marked their own beat. It was an amazing sight. Various colors beaming and dancing around in your eyes with rhythmic steps and movements appealed to even the most untrained eye. Then it all stopped, and a humming began. Old Negro spirituals began in an audible range. The dragging of feet with shackles on could be heard coming from behind

you. Moans and groans were heard over the spiri-tual song. The depiction of slaves being dragged in chains to the stage, which served into a slave auc-tion site, was heartbreaking. As if you could feel their pain, their hearts cried out agony and sorrow, illustrating their miserable lives. One slave lagged behind and received a terrible lashing that made even the darkest face in the room go pale.

Finally reaching the slave auction, there were mothers being torn from husbands and husbands being torn from children. The sight was horrible. A particular visual was when a man was being sold. The new owner asked a question which maybe was not a great line, but to me was the whole point and made the show. The man asked, “Since I bought this nigger, can I have the shackles too?” From then the program went on to show how shackles were the memorabilia of bondage in the African

culture. They explained what pain, anguish, and grief many slaves went through to get rid of the shackles. How the shackles symbolized the chains they came with to the new world - literally. Even when the shackles were physically removed, their slavery was still real, and they could go nowhere of their own free will, since they were always property of their owner. The shackles hindered them from

escaping and running away to find freedom.

This idea of being a slave terrified me and many others that day. The thought of car-rying around 30 pound shack-les on my feet would be over-bearing. However, the point of the program was to show what exactly African ances-tors went through to allow us to be in the position we are in now. How the shackles were one of the things keeping us from succeeding and further our existence in the world. So the show was not just about the past. It was also about the present, and forced us to wonder: our shackles have been removed, but have they completely disappeared? What form have they taken on today,

and how can we remove them?The program “The Shackles” is held every year at

the Flint Public Library during the month of Febru-ary to celebrate and commemorate the lives of African Americans in America. The Flint Public Library is located at 1026 East Kearsley Street, next to the Flint Institute of Arts.

Photo courtesy of the New York Historical Society.


Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and became a leading abolitionist.

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks became synonymous with the Civil Rights Movement when in 1955 she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus.

Barrack Obama

Barack Obama became the first Afri-can-American President in 2010.

All photos courtesy of Wikipedia.

“The Dream Lives”Review By Imari SwansonGuest Contributor

This past Sunday, February 13, 2011, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church held a Black History service entitled, “The Dream Lives”. The service was filled with performances by people of all ages, expressing what Black History meant to them. The program included a skit about Rosa Parks, infor-mation on black inventors, the “I Have a Dream” speech, praise dancing, and the main focus of the program was a short play titled, “Be the Change You Wish to Be”. While the goal of the service was to shine a positive light on the success of the black community, the play focused on how blacks have came a long way, but there is still more work to be done. The play was very well organized and told a great story in three scenes, each one explaining dis-crimination as it pertains to blacks during different time frames: slavery, post-slavery, and present day.

Scene one told the story of a young male slave in love with his master’s daughter. The scene began with a black woman coming in the house after a long day of working in the field. She wore rags and she looked worn. To her surprise, her son came in several moments after her, crying, screaming, and his shirt was torn and covered in blood. After she calmed him down, he begged for her forgiveness before he began his tragic love story. He explained to his mother, (as she sat in a rocking chair and he was on his knees before her) how he had gone into the master’s house because his daughter asked for help with the groceries. Once inside, the daughter led him to her bedroom. He followed her because even though he knew it was wrong, he had fallen for her. In the mist of making love, her father re-turned home and caught them in the act. Furious, he asked his daughter what was going on and she replied, “He raped me Pa!” Upset at the accusa-tion, he pulled out his gun to shoot the slave boy, and they began to tussle with it, until it accidently fired… killing the daughter. The gun fell to the floor, they sat there in disbelief. Once the father recovered, he told the slave he would be hung for raping his white daughter and killing her. In fear, the boy picked up the gun and shot his master. Upon the boy completing this story to his moth-er, they fled. This scene illustrated how strongly blacks were discriminated against by whites and

the thought of the two races sharing a love rela-tionship was forbidden.

Scene two told the story of how blacks were still not accepted even when they became free. The scene began with the father of a black household walking into his home in a fairly nice neighbor-hood, only to find it had been destroyed by the Ku Klux Klan. They had broken the family’s be-longings and wrote graffiti all over the walls. It was

their way of telling the blacks that they were not welcome in that neighborhood. After the man be-gan to cry at the sight of this, his wife and two chil-dren soon came home and began to question what had happened. The very emotional father then be-gan to explain how they were free, but there was no way to escape the hate of the whites. The eldest child was due to go off to school in another city, but at the end of the scene, she announced to her family that it was best that she stayed home be-cause her family needed her during such hardships. This scene illustrated how blacks were successful at ending one part of their battle (slavery), but the battle of equality had still just begun.

The final scene told the story of how discrimi-nation is still existent in modern day society. The scene began with a group of black people waiting

to get inside of a restaurant, when a more “well off” black lady walks up alone, and the greeter offers her a seat ahead of the waiting customers. Upon witnessing her being treated better, they be-gan to rant about how she thinks she’s better than them and how they hate girls like her. The play then came to a pause as the young lady stood to tell her side of this situation in spoken word form. The piece that she recited was titled, “Why Do You Hate Me?” and it was targeted towards blacks hating other blacks. After she concluded her piece, she exited the stage and the play continued with the group of people finally being seated. After they were seated, one of the young men at the table in-formed the rest of the group that he had invited one of his white friends to join them and he would be arriving shortly. After hearing this, the group became upset and went into discussion about how they were tired of white people and they weren’t comfortable in an environment around them. A waiter, who stood close by, overheard all that had been said, and concluded the scene by stating that it seemed as though the tables have turned; it was the blacks that were hated by the whites a century ago, now it seems as though the blacks have be-gun to hate the whites. This scene illustrated how blacks have fought so hard to rid of discrimina-tion, but now they use it against their own kind, as well as against those who used it against them.

This play was a remembrance that many great fights have been fought, marches have been marched, and speeches have been spoken to get the black community to where they are now. For the first time in history, there is a black president and what an accomplishment it truly is. But in order for black people to sustain growth, we must first appreciate our history, look toward the future with intentions of helping our fellow black neighbor, and not hold grudges towards people of another color. Discrimination does indeed still live, as Tali-cia Campbell (the author of this play) explained, and American society still has a long way to go before opportunities are truly equal. We certainly need to keep fighting for social change and real equality. But we must also try to make things bet-ter within ourselves; we have to be the change we wish to be in order to pursue the “Dream” that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. foresaw.

Martin Luther King, Jr., giving his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963.Photo courtesy of the National Archives.


Interview with Venetia PettewayNews

also the first to get hired. Co-op staff members are demonstrating to companies that hiring co-ops is an excellent way for companies to obtain fresh tal-ent at a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee. Fundamentally, they’re demonstrating that co-op makes sense for employers.

Technician: What can you tell us about the placement of co-op managers in specific depart-ments?

Petteway: We’ve talked for a long time about having a closer link between the academics and co-op. If co-op is an academic program, we need to ensure we’re unified with how we administer our programs. To facilitate that, we felt it was impor-tant to have a co-op manager assigned to each aca-demic department. This allows our co-op managers to learn more about our departments and their of-ferings, which will help them sell our co-ops better to each company by sharing specifics of the curric-ulum and knowing more about the faculty. It also

helps the faculty understand the co-op process and also prevents a disconnection between them and the co-op office. It also makes it easy for students to talk to their co-op manager about any concerns. Whether they’re employed or still searching, they can sit down one-on-one and get their questions answered. Obviously, there are specific situations where the department co-op manager will refer a student with concerns to the co-op manager for that area, such as when the area co-op manager has a well-established relationship with the company or significant knowledge about a company.

Communication and the sharing of ideas and job opportunities were the key issues we wanted to address by moving co-op managers into depart-ments, and we think that it’s really working well.

Technician: Which co-op managers are assigned to each department?

Petteway: Sarah Perkins is assigned to Chemis-try, Biochemistry, and Chemical Engineering stu-dents.

Cynthia Gamble and Jill Davie work with the

Electrical and Computer Engineering students. Jill Davie is also in charge of Computer Science

students.Darren Hartwell and Joan Sullivan are assigned

to Mechanical Engineering.Darren Hartwell also manages Industrial Engi-

neering.Joan Sullivan also works with Undecided Engi-

neering students.Karen Westrick is assigned to Business, Applies

Physics, Engineering Physics, and Applied Math.Technician: Freshmen are currently required to

meet with their co-op manager once during their first academic term. After that, many students don’t feel the need to contact their co-op manag-ers. How does the co-op office work to keep stu-dents engaged in their job search?

Petteway: Several ways. The co-op managers fre-quently send out emails with job opportunities to students. Students have access to Kettering Con-

By Cordaroy BattlesGuest Contributor

Last night I attended a “Brotherhood Night” for the historically black, but now open to all, fra-ternity Phi Beta Sigma, Incorporated. This frater-nity was founded January 9, 1914 on the yard of Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C. At this Brotherhood Night, we discussed who the founding brothers were and the reason why this fraternity was created. Also, we discussed the lingo of fraternity life and what you gain from being a brother. All in all, I really enjoyed the evening because it gave me a historical perspective, and showed me how our history can inform our present.

This meeting was held in an apartment complex somewhere in Grand Blanc. Each person invited was given their own letters from the Greek Alpha-bet as the entry code. While inside we were given a presentation about each of the founding brothers individually. The founding brothers were Honor-able A. Langston Taylor, Honorable Leonard F. Morse, and Honorable Charles I. Brown.

Honorable A. Langston Taylor (January 29, 1890-August 8, 1953) was the founder of Phi Beta Sigma, Inc. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee and graduated from Lemoyne-Owen College there in 1909. He received his college and professional training from Howard. He chose to study business as his life’s career and had a real estate and insur-ance business from 1917 to 1926.

Honorable Leonard F. Morse (January 12, 1891-May 22, 1961) trained in the elementary and sec-ondary schools of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and became the valedictorian of his integrated high school. In 1915, he graduated from How-ard University and received a Bachelor of Divin-ity degree later from the Payne School of Divinity, Wilberforce University. He received his Master’s degree from Northwestern University and the de-grees of Doctor of Metaphysics and the Doctor of Psychology from the College of Metaphysics in In-

dianapolis, Indiana. He wrote the first constitution of Phi Beta Sigma and named the fraternity.

Honorable Charles I. Brown (1890-Death un-known) was chosen as “The Most To Be Admired” for the Class of 1914 at Howard University. He did his post-graduate work in Latin. He was credited with choosing the 9 charter members of Phi Beta Sigma. He founded the Delta Chapter of Phi Beta

Sigma at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, on April 9, 1917. Through interviews he became a teacher at the Kansas Industrial School for Negroes in Topeka, Kansas.

These men believed in “Culture for Service, Service for Humanity”. They also believed in the “inclusive we” instead of the “exclusive we”. Rath-er than gaining skills to be utilized exclusively for themselves and their immediate families, the founders of Phi Beta Sigma held a deep conviction that they should return their newly acquired skills to the communities from which they had come. And this is one of the reasons this fraternity was started. The founders wanted to promote Brother-hood, Scholarship, and Service to the community.

This fraternity’s representing flower is the white carnation. Colors that represented it are “royal blue” and “pure white”. This fraternity with the symbols of a Dove and an Ax also hand-picked five virtuous women to be our “Sisterhood”. These five women, Arizona Stemmons, Pearl Neal, Viola Goings, Myrtle Faithful, and Fannie Watts, would be the founders of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incor-porated. They would promote the same principles as the “Brotherhood”, Sisterly Love, Scholarship, Service, as well as what they used to call Finer Womanhood.

The brothers went on to discuss how being a “Sigma” could help and change your everyday life. Some of the brothers talked about how they had had deaths of loved ones and how their immedi-ate brothers, distant brothers and even some of the sorors (Sisterhood) comforted them and sent them letters of condolence and flowers. They also spoke about the networking opportunities that you have by being a brother. One of the brothers explained how he had lost his job on a Thursday and relayed this to his other brothers. By the next week Tues-day, he had already received three job offers from three different companies that had a soror in the positions for hiring.

From this event, I definitely saw the benefits of joining this fraternity. What really interested me, though, was service to the community. I like that an organization actually wants to give back to the community that it resides in, instead of just exist-ing there and only using its services to please itself. One example? Being a resident of Flint, MI you hear about how the economy used to be booming here and how the city was such a better place. The problem is that no one wants to take it back to that place. So, to see an organization that actually holds a principle dear to them to provide services to the community is my ideal type of organization.

Photo courtesy the Phi Delta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

“Brotherhood Night”

Continued on page 17

Continued from front page


nect whenever they have time to look for jobs. We’ve put the co-op managers in departments to make them accessible to students. Finally, we’ve put together co-op postings that list our available job opportunities. Co-op managers are making phone calls and ensuring that students have inter-views.

Technician: Are there plans for additional re-quired activities from unemployed students?

Petteway: We would love to hold regular meet-ings with the co-op office for unemployed stu-dents, but as co-op is an academic program, it would have to come down from the academic side of the school. If I were unemployed, there’s no way I wouldn’t interact with the co-op office and be watching job postings. I understand that students are busy, but their focus should be both on classes and on working with their co-op manager to se-cure employment.

Technician: Many students are unemployed not because they aren’t looking, but because there aren’t jobs for them in their majors. Can you com-ment on the availability—or lack thereof—and challenges of finding jobs in majors such as Bio-chemistry, Chemistry, or Applied Math?

Petteway: Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Chemi-cal Engineering are part of an area wherein com-panies typically expect a certain knowledge base of their students, particularly in dealing with chemi-cals. These employers would like to see specific classes taken and experience with some of the as-sociated tools. In those degree fields, companies typically hire Master’s or Ph.D.-level graduates for those kinds of jobs; we’re asking them to take in students as early as freshman term. This is a new concept for some of these companies. The other issue we’ve run into with a couple of companies that were initially interested hiring was the sala-ries our students make. We’ve had occasions where companies simply weren’t ready to pay that kind of money.

I think our students are hirable. There are com-panies that will hire them. A lot of companies are interested in summer internships to give our stu-dents the experience they need to be hired on a more long-term basis. We’ve also had to open up co-op opportunities with Kettering’s Chemistry faculty to allow them to gain experience and make them more competitive. We’re also attending con-ferences where we’ll have an opportunity to talk to these companies. It’s about selling a concept that isn’t exactly popular at the undergraduate level.

Technician: Do you have a long-term plan for alleviating this issue?

Petteway: We’ll continue with the plan that we have been using: hiring students on campus and giving them the experience of working with faculty and doing research. I think finding other venues is also crucial; for example, there’s a job fair that’s coming up in Novi where students can come into contact with employers and take advantage of the opportunity. In the future, we’ll be targeting these venues to spread information about Kettering. I think those opportunities will appear eventually. We’re working on finding new companies, and they’ll start small—one to two co-ops at first—but as students prove themselves, companies will find

that Kettering is an excellent school from which to pull. “It is nothing for an auto company to come with 5, 10, or 20 openings, but that’s be-cause there’s longevity there. They trust the pro-gram; they know the quality of our students.” New programs coming on board are going to try a few students at a time, but we anticipate the growth of these new companies, combined with students taking what’s available, will ultimately help take care of this issue. We’ve lost a couple of opportu-nities because no one would take the position or show up for interviews for it. One thing students have to remember is that the skill sets you learn will transfer. Students should focus on obtaining the skill sets that will make you more marketable along the way, rather than asking, “What is my dream job?” Case in point: a couple weeks ago, we had Dannon Yogurt on campus sharing their op-portunities. Two of the gentlemen that were here were from the auto industry, which shows that you can go from automotive to food processing. The skill set transfers to aerospace, furniture, or wind turbines to name a few examples. They will be able to take this job—even if it isn’t their dream job—and gain some experience at the freshman or sophomore level, and in the future, maybe transfer to another job if it’s necessary.

Technician: Are there specific situations where a student can switch from employed to employed seeking? What else can you tell me about reassign-ment?

Petteway: First off, we know not every situation will work out. When things aren’t working, we ask the student to talk to their co-op manager and their company. We’re not going to openly market an employed student to another company behind their current employer’s back—we built that re-lationship and we don’t want to sabotage that, so we want it to be an open process—but if there’s a challenge, we want the company to have the first opportunity to meet that challenge. Sometimes that necessitates the co-op manager talking to that company and helping them adjust their program; on other occasions, they talk to the student and encourage them to be a bit more open-minded. If, after those steps have been taken, the prob-lem hasn’t been resolved, the student can request reassignment. In many cases, the companies un-derstand and will continue to employ the student while they look for a new assignment. In that case, we put the students on a status we call “employed but seeking,” but students have to understand that it’s only fair that if they are looking for a new posi-tion, their company may decide they want to find someone new to fill their opening. We recom-mend students give the decision at least a couple of terms. Because of the potentially long work cycle, a student’s first term on the job may be slow by the nature of the business, but later terms might take place during the company’s busy season, where stu-dents are busy as ever and learning a lot. We’re not making students stay in their companies, but we always want to maintain a good relationship with that company, particularly as a freshmen; they are not engineers yet, and their assignments on work term may be more general.

Technician: What challenges has the co-op office faced with the reduction of its staff early last year?

Petteway: The workload was definitely the most noticeable change. A co-op manager is responsible for all the employed students in their territory, all the companies in their territories, and all the unemployed students and incoming freshmen, re-gardless of their territory. That work load becomes much heavier when you go from ten co-op manag-ers down to only six, so they’re spread thin. That’s why I think it was critical for them to get connect-ed to the faculty and their respective departments, so that they can be more available to students both employed and unemployed. Tell them the good, positive things as well as the challenging ones. We want to hear from the employed students when things are going well, the knowledge they’re gain-ing, and what cool things they’re doing. We want to publish some of those stories.

Technician: Do you feel it would be desirable or necessary to hire more co-op managers?

Petteway: We definitely need to get more stu-dents. I would love to have more staff members, but the likelihood of that happening any time soon would depend on the enrollment numbers. The number of staff members we have now can handle the workload, but if we really want to free up people to do a lot of new job development, we’ll need new people on board. Looking down the road, I would like new people to bring on new companies and create new jobs. The current co-op managers are doing some of that, but it’s limited by what they have on their plates right now.

Technician: Are there other perspectives or com-ments you’d like to voice to Kettering students and the community as a whole?

Petteway: The co-op office is very passionate about working with students. We want our stu-dents to be successful. We want Kettering to be successful. If we have students out there that aren’t engaged, we want them to think about what they can to do be more engaged in the process. By not interacting with our office, it hinders our ability to help them, and we want to help them. The more we can interact with them and provide opportuni-ties, the better off we’ll be as a university. It’s a fan-tastic team. My cry to the student body is engage with the co-op managers. If you’re employed and having a wonderful job experience, drop by and share it with them; they really want to hear about those positive experiences. If you’re having chal-lenges on the job, work with them to work things out.

Finally, show up at the job fair on March 29. We have 66 companies signed up so far, which is amazing; usually, companies wait until the last week or two to sign up. We have 43 students so far that have already signed up.

Interview with Venetia PettewayContinued from page 16

Got questions for someone on campus?E-mail The Technician

and we’ll get the [email protected]

Meetings Mon./Thurs. 12:20–1:20 at the office

3rd Floor CC

The Technician

EntertainmentMeme of the Month

Business CatBy Dominic JandrainTechnician Writer

For those who aren’t familiar with it already, Ad-vice Dog is a picture of a very happy-looking puppy posted over a multicolored background and cap-tioned with bad advice. The format has become a staple in in-ternet memes lately with various spi-noffs: Foul B a c h e l o r Frog, Cour-age Wolf, Socially Awk-ward Pen-guin, Para-noid Parrot, and Techno-logically Im-paired Duck, to name a few. Business Cat is among the latest spinoffs to join the group.

The character featured in this version is, as the ti-

tle implies, a cat; however, Business Cat is not just any cat. It can be assumed that Business Cat holds a white-collar job because honestly, why else would he be wearing a tie? Even though his

exact job de-scription is unknown, it is apparent that Business Cat does many help-ful things around the office. A few of Business Cat’s special-ties include chasing red dots that show up on PowerPoint presenta-tions, scratching office doors, batting things off of desks, and licking himself in inappropriate

places at inappropriate times. What really sets Business Cat apart

from regular office cats, though, is his excessive use of cat-based puns. Every meow and then, he can be found kitten around with fellow coworkers and making cat-astrophically terrible puns. Yeah, some of those puns were a bit of a stretch, but hey, nobody’s purr-fect.

Even when he isn’t mak-ing terrible puns, Business Cat gets along really well with his coworkers. When it comes to rewarding person-nel for doing a great job on a project, Business Cat gives out only the best dead birds and rodents. If employees appear to be stressed out or

overworked, Business Cat will even lie across their keyboard and make them take a break. Actually, he only lies on keyboards when he wants atten-tion, but close enough, right? Overall, Business Cat would be an excellent addition to any office environment.

March 7, 2011

xkcd

It’s hard to fit in the backseat of my flying car with my android Realdoll when we’re

both wearing jetpacks.


821953674

593476821

746281539

154798362

269135487

378624195

432569718

617842953

985317246

Puzzle by websudoku.com

1

9

5

2

6

693

67

9

273

5

64

519

8

3

8

4

6

Puzzle by websudoku.com

Sudoko Puzzle and Answer

Evil-level Sudoku puzzle Hard-level Sudoko puzzle answer from last edition

Comic JK

DoghouseDiaries

RIVERFRONT RESIDENCE HALLYour college experience has a lot to do with where you choose to live. MAKE IT COUNT!Riverfront Residence Hall sits in the heart of downtown Flint. With quick access to campus and amenities galore, this is the place to really enjoy the college life! Whether you’re looking for comfort, convenience, fun or low prices we have everything you need.

1 Riverfront Center WestFlint, MI 48502810 - 239 - 1234

[email protected]

Come

take a tour

today!!!

Sig

n

CHICAGO

a leaseTODAY

and enter

for

a CHANCETO WIN

a FREE trip to

!

Technician Issue 3 Winter 2011

Documents

Transcript of Technician Issue 3 Winter 2011