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TECHNEWS
1.47E6 SECONDS TIL SPRING BREAK
TECHNEWS.IIT.EDU
VOLUME 158, ISSUE 5
Annual Report Shows Strong Financial Picture
INSIDE
ALMANAC
OPINION
NEWS
CHICAGO
TUESDAY
UESDAY, FEB. 22
22,, 2005
2005
2
4
5
6
By Richard Duncan
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
U
niversity financial figures, obtained by TechNews and slated
to appear in this yearʼs annual report, paint a rosy financial picture for
IIT. In the last fiscal year (May 31,
2003-2004), the schoolʼs total assets
increased $21.4 million to $541 million.
With a record $224 million endowment and growth in nearly every
sector of the university, results from
fiscal year 2004 “reflect continued
strengthening of the institutionʼs financial base,” commented John Collins, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, in the report.
Incoming undergraduate students in fall 2004 numbered 615, the
largest class in two decades. New
graduate students also grew to 842,
and enrollment at IITʼs downtown
law school, Chicago-Kent, grew to
1,174. Total enrollment for the university stands at 6,167 as of the printing of the report, a drop of 32 from
last fiscal year.
A further look at IITʼs balance
sheet shows that the largest increases
in assets occur with investments and
physical properties. The McCormick
Tribune Campus Center, with a total
cost quoted in the report at $55.4 million, and State Street Village (SSV)
were both completed during fiscal
year 2004. However, “at the cutting
edge of student housing design,”
SSV is owned by the independent
State Street Village Corporation. The
report also states that improvements
to athletic facilities and laboratories
“enhanced the IIT student experience.”
Despite the growth and financial
improvement shown in the report, fiscal year 2004 did not pass smoothly.
In February of 2004, a university-wide
spending freeze was implemented to
help reach budget goals after IITʼs
Stuart Graduate School of Business
failed to meet enrollment goals. Additionally, though IIT is now in fiscal year 2005, reports have surfaced
that staff were allowed a maximum
1.5% pay increase this fall. Inflation over the past year was estimated
at 3.3% for 2004 in the Department
of Laborʼs Consumer Price Index.
In January, IIT President Lew Col-
lens noted that while the university
is solid financially, budgeting would
be “tight” until 2010, when the universityʼs undergraduate enrollment is
planned to reach 2,500. It is expected
that revenues at this enrollment level
will allow the university to operate
comfortably, though little has been
said as yet about where the university plans to place these new students
in dining or classrooms, or whether
faculty and staff will be increased to
serve them. Public discussions about
new housing are expected very soon.
DIVERSITY
A Chicago (16%)
B Other Illinois (31%)
C Other US and Canada (21%)
D Asia nd Pacific Rim (26%)
E Other Countries (5%)
ENDOWMENT
ENROLLMENT
TECHNOLOGY
7
FEATURE
8-9
ENTERTAINMENT 10
Changes
proposed to
undergrad
honors
By Vaibhav Agrawal
MANAGING EDITOR
LIFE
11
ARTS
I-TECH
12-13
14
SPORTS
15
O
n February 24, 2005 the Undergraduate Studies Committee
Council will be making a proposal
to the Faculty Council highlighting
a change in the honors classification
system in the undergraduate graduation ceremonies.
Currently, IIT undergraduates
with a 3.0 GPA and above are marked
with the simple distinction of Honors
and undergraduates with a GPA of
3.5 and above are marked as High
Honors. However, some students
have reported that these levels of
distinction have not been prestigious
enough. Based on the complaint of
one student last semester, the issue of
the lack of distinction in the graduation ceremony was brought forth to
the UGSC in November and a possible three-point system of honors
was set forth.
The current proposal that the
UGSC is proposing to bring forth
to the Faculty Council is that there
should be three levels of honors
in the undergraduate ceremonies.
Suma cum Laude would essentially
be “Highest Honors” and would be
awarded to students with a 3.9 GPA
and above, Magna cum Laude would
be “Very High Honors” and would be
awarded to students with a 3.8 GPA
and above, and Cum Laude would
continued on page 14
NROTC takes first at national competition
By Callie Johnson
CONTRIBUTOR
E
very Thursday they can be seen
around campus wearing white
hats, dressed in black during the winter, khaki in the fall and white during
the spring. They are in our classes,
in our fraternities and living down
the hall from us in the dorms. While
it may not be known what they do,
sometimes we see them in the gym
while we are going to swim practice,
sometimes we see them carrying
around rifles or leaving from physical training. They may have only
been seen a couple of days a week
in the gym, but in all actuality they
practiced six days a week and some-
times twice a day. Whatever they do
and wherever they are, the men and
women of the Naval Reserve Officer
Training Corps (NROTC) here at Illinois Institute of Technology are a
class act.
When they are carrying around
rifles, they are indeed actually practicing. The NROTC unit sent their
drill team consisting of four University of Illinois at Chicago students
continued on page 14
Photos courtesy Callie Johnson
The squad consisted of SGT Joseph Meisel from UIC, MIDN 4/C Robert Conlisk
from UIC, MIDN 4/C James Aguirre from IIT, MIDN 4/C Ian Faunt from UIC, MIDN 3/C
Zachary Hartnett from IIT, MIDN 4/C Paul Rzucidlo from IIT, MIDN 3/C Johnson from
IIT, and commanded by MIDN 2/C Justin Mediros from UIC. The color guard members
were MIDN 3/C Michael Correa from IIT, MIDN 4/C Martinez from IIT, MIDN 4/C Robert
Conlisk from UIC, MIDN 4/C James Aguirre from IIT, and commanded by MIDN 2/C
Dennis Bahena from IIT.
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
TECHNEWS
2
ALMANAC
YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
Old News
TECHNEWS
IIT to Lose NROTC Program
from Volume 105, Issue 4 9/25/1978
As the IIT Naval ROTC midshipmen came back to school this year, they were confronted with
the news that the NROTC unit at IIT will be “disestablished”. In the traditional “welcome
back” address, unit commander, Captain C.C. Angleman, informed the midshipmen that, for the
fifth year in a row, the IIT unit had not met the minimum enrollment requirement. This requirement, as it currently stands, calls for a minimum of 17 juniors within a unit’s program.
If a unit fails to meet this requirement it is put on probation is then disestablished.
This means that in the near future there will no longer be a Naval ROTC unit on the IIT
campus. The unit currently provides 77 students, of which 14 are juniors, with the Naval
Science training required to become future officers in the US Navy. The IIT unit serves
midshipmen from both IIT and the University of Illinois-Chicago Circle.
The NROTC unit at IIT was established during World War II as one of the original officer
training programs set up to supplement the US Naval Academy in providing officers to the fleet.
Since its origin, over 500 naval officers have gone through the NROTC program at IIT.
What lies ahead for IIT’s NROTC unit is uncertain. Captain Angleman says, “All we are
very sure of is very little.”
The reason behind all the uncertainty concerning the unit is that Congress is undecided
about what to do. It is the Congress which must decide each year the procedure for disestablishing a unit.
As of this date, the Fiscal Year 1979 Defense Appropriation Bill has passed the House of
Representatives, but the Senate Appropriations Committee is considering different language,
concerning ROTC funding, than that passed by the House. To further complicate matters, the
committee has suspended action until both Houses of Congress resolve the problem of the
Defense Authorization Bill which the President vetoed. The likelihood that both bills will
become law before the election recess in October appears to be very slight.
Another cause for uncertainty in the matter of closing down the unit is the many alternatives and methods available for disestablishment. One alternative is to no longer admit
a freshman ROTC class to IIT. This would allow all midshipmen currently at IIT to finish up
their education at IIT. The program would slowly be phased out over a period of four years.
This seems the most viable alternative and would fit the needs of all concerned. This method
has been used in the past to disestablish some units. However, Congress is not forced to
pick this method.
Another alternative would call for the IIT unit to work out an agreement with a neighboring unit, most likely at Northwestern University in Evanston. In this way, the IIT midshipmen would still receive all their classes at IIT while being members of the Northwestern
unit. This method has already been used by some units in the southern states. This would
be similar to the way in which UICC students are now connected to the IIT unit.
As a final alternative, Congress could call for the closing of the IIT unit at the end
of the current school year. This choice would make the Class of ‘79 the last group of
graduating naval officers from IIT. This seems unlikely but is not altogether out of the
question.
As Congress ponders the questions of defense authorization and spending, the midshipmen of the IIT NROTC unit are standing by for word on the future of their unit and their
careers as naval officers.
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TECHNEWS
RICARDO GONZALEZ, EDITOR
4
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
GONZRIC1@IIT.EDU
OPINION
Majeʼs musings: The colors
By Mehjabeen Nazim
NEWS EDITOR
I
see and think in colors (and I know
quite a few people who do, so I am
not the only weird one). Everything
is a color. Everybody is a color. My
friend Margarita is a red. The guy I
have a crush on, is a beautiful sea
green. My mom is lavender. My
room at home is a rich plum and my
dorm room is teal. Love is yellow
and sometimes peach. Ex-boyfriends
are indigo-black and on good days,
a vivid violet. I promise to stop the
color analogies in a bit. (If you want
to know your color and I know you,
ask me!).
Before I even begin my musings, let me tell you the key to reading
these - puns? (All intended), hidden
references? (Yes, read between the
lines, if you suspect I am referring to
someone or some particular group in
an ambiguous manner, I most likely
am). I asked some people what they
think is the color of IIT. Gray was the
top color, followed by brown.
My first exam at IIT, it was a
rosy day. I sat at the only spot left
in the back row and we were packed
like sardines in a can. The tests were
handed out. It was like a mafia, a very
close knit one. An art, if I may say.
An ugly art but still one, very subtly
and sometimes not so subtly executed. The professor was pre-occupied
with something on the table which
held his attention for the whole hour
and fifteen minutes. Eye balls rolled,
sideways, corners, right and left.
Whispers floated and hung around
the air for others to seize. Eye brows
raised, cheat sheets, the ones allowed
and the ones not, passed hands.
An hour and fifteen minutes
later, I was mad, angry and blue. A
few more exams later, I decided to
do something about it, I e-mailed
a professor complaining about the
situation. I received an e mail saying “I will see if I can get a sense of
how best to proceed from here”. No
changes were made nor were any extra precautions taken.
Now, I am not naïve, I do not
whine, bawl and complain anymore,
it does not affect me to a great extent
Rage against VD: It needs to stop
By Alex Belzer
CULTURE EDITOR
N
o, not venereal disease. Though
I am talking about something
just as bad—thatʼs right, Valentines
Day. Valentines Day has come and
gone, and now it is time to sit and reflect upon how it went. IIT did step
up and offer a romantic dinner using
a meal swipe at U-Cuisine. Although
poorly advertised, I set up a reservation for myself and a friend, because
hey, I donʼt have anyone special to
go with (not saying Entertainment
Editor Spencer is not special, but,
you know). Upon arriving, I was surprised to find my friend and I the only
people there. So we hung up our coats
and there we sat, at a table for two,
three roses between us, a fire blazing to the side, weird looks from the
waiters, and classical music playing,
trying to make the situation as less
awkward as possible.
As more people started drifting
into the romantic dinner, however,
it quickly became apparent that we
were not the only friends there— in
fact, I think I only saw about one
couple there the entire meal; everyone else there were sitting in groups
of threes and fours, just friends. On
the plus side, the situation dropped
all its awkwardness instantly upon
this realization. Then came the second realization: Wow, dating life
here is sad! I mean, come on people,
what the deal? Get some girlfriends,
or boyfriends, or something. And in
case you were wondering, yes: the
dinner was fantastic.
To coincide with Valentines
Day is Sexual Responsibility week.
Safe-sex packets were handed out to
students at a table during lunch, which
included condoms, lubricants, and hotto diagrams showing how to lower the
chances of getting VD (not Valentines
Day, stupid). I, for one, would be very
interested to know how many students
actually used these during this week,
or even the entirety of Sexual Responsibility month. Or even the rest of the
year. Letʼs face it: the dating life here
just isnʼt up to par. Even the randomly-hooking up scene is bad.
At schools like these, all Valentines Day exists for is to sell roses,
chocolates, and heart-shaped candies
to people who actually have significant others. And, as one of my friends
pointed out, if you have a boyfriend
(or girlfriend), why do you need to
celebrate it? What Iʼm trying to say
here is, Valentines Day is really, really stupid. Though I didnʼt mind the
free three-course meal. Itʼs a tradeoff, I know, but Iʼm going to have to
say that the chocolate pyramid I got
at the end of my “romantic” dinner is
not worth the existence of this consumer holiday.
I say we, the students of IIT,
shoukd unite and end Valentines Day
once and for all—hard. Next year
we should start a petition or something. Or by hosting an anti-V day
event, like dodge-ball. Either way
we should still get free three-course
meals. Or at least chocolate pyramids. Mmm. Chocolate pyramids. I
could go for some chocolate pyramid
about now. What was I complaining
about again?
Un-Beer-ievable
By Abhinav Hasija
TECHNEWS STAFF WRITER
I
tʼs an interesting choice to be
drinking during the super bowl,
but thatʼs what I ended up doing anyways. My first tryst with Blue Moon
was last year in Bloomington, Indiana.
She came to my table; all honey
golden, with that delicious aroma and
a wedge of orange. This was the first
time I had something quite so delectable with and orange in it. I must say
ladies and gentlemen, that I was taken.
And of course the wings accompanying were even better because of her.
This evening I am sitting with
her again, pre-partying for the Super Bowl. Her name is Blue Moon
Belgian White Ale. Most think itʼs a
micro brew, but to the contrary itʼs
made by Coors. Maybe thatʼs why it
smells like the Silver Bullet (Coors
Light), with a hint of wheat and citrus.
It has an extremely interesting texture;
it doesnʼt really feel like an ale, more
like a lager.
I poured beer in a clear glass, that
is the right way to drink a beer after
all. The color is hazy murky yellow,
with not a lot of head. It looks like
someone mixed honey in water, and
the slightly sweet aftertaste only adds
to that notion.
Whats the verdict on this beer? I
would highly recommend it. It goes
well with almost any kind of food,
and at the same time it can be had by
itself. Being relatively cheap and easily available, people SHOULD consume more of it.
Poppin Place of the Week:
Martini Ranch
311 W. Chicago, Chicago
Tel: (312) 335-9500
s its name indicates, Martini Ranch is known for its
martinis. Cosmos, chocolate, whatever you want, they probably have
it. Interestingly enough, though the
drinks taste good, they are extremely
strong.
Right off the Chicago Stop on
the Brown line, The Ranch is a popular spot for after work get-togethers,
and fills up close to the 5 oʼclock
mark, when the bar opens. It can
get pretty crowded during the week,
though the crowd can start to wane
by 8 or 9 p.m. Smelling perpetually
of cigarette smoke, Martini Ranch is
loud, dark and small, although thatʼs
no deterrent to its regulars; it has
a pool table and a great jukebox to
make up for it. A pleasant walled-in
patio is open seasonally, though the
three or four tables that fit in it are
staked early on nice days. Otherwise,
you can squeeze into a booth, perch
on a barstool or lounge on the couches in the back room.
I went there to celebrate a
friends 21st, and interestingly enough
2 martinis were enough to put her
A
in a giggling fit. The bartenders and
waitresses are extremely pretty and
sweet, making for some delectable
eye candy. For most guys, who think
martinis are too feminine for them do
remember, the Ranch carries 20 different scotches and bourbons, and the bartenders can set you up with anything,
of cheating
anymore, at least not in the way it did
before. Cheating and plagiarism are
an integral part of IIT. It is a shame
that I do not look at it in the same horrified way as I did before.
I think, I have seen it all -- ingenious methods of covering a pencil
with tape and writing stuff on it with
another pencil, plugging equations
in calculators, hiding copies of the
text book among allowed equation
sheets and tiny scrawling on desks,
to name a few. I am sure every one
of you has either witnessed or been a
part of (voluntarily or involuntarily -because your test is never completely
safe from that roving eye) this malice.
It maddens me (and I am sure many
others), when I witness people (blue
-gray) indulge in such acts.
It irks me because it is not fair.
It irks me because nobody does anything about it. It irks me because it
is overlooked and ignored. It irks me
because it lowers our morals -- as a
school, a community and as human
beings. It irks me because it stereotypes colors and that should simply
not happen. Most of all it irks me
because in a few years, I might have
one of you operating on my cirrhotic
liver or my gall bladder for cholelithiasis and that scares the hell out of
me. Doesnʼt it scare you?
Experience or grades
By Richard Duncan
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
icture this: you walk into a large
companyʼs human resources
department for an interview. The
interviewer has reviewed your resume, and it is impressive: 4.0 GPA,
graduated summa cum laude, completed two degrees in just four years,
and garnered every academic award
imaginable.
Your competition? A single
degree holder with a 3.21 GPA
and no awards or notable academic
achievements. This is a highly competitive job market, especially in
your highly-specialized field, but
you are confident. I mean, really,
how can you beat a 4.0?
Well, imagine your disbelief
when you find that your less-thanacademically-perfect rival was offered the job, and at a higher pay rate
than you would have expected. See,
while you were studying, working
hard to preserve that perfect GPA,
your friend here was working as an
undergraduate research assistant.
During the summer, he/she worked
for the companyʼs competition as a
summer intern, making little money
but gaining the one thing that no
grades can trump: experience.
Such is the case in many of
todayʼs engineering fields. While
great grades may be the key to
graduate school acceptance, for
those not wishing to go beyond their
bachelorʼs education, “real-world”
experience can be the difference
maker when applying for jobs. And
with so many opportunities to gain
experience, whether on campus
in research labs, or off in business
or industry, experience is almost a
prerequisite for getting the job you
want upon graduation.
Many employers cite a general
lack of understanding beyond books
and theories for discouraging unexperienced hirings. While acing tests
and quizzes may prove a student
understands a topic, only through
actually working in the field will the
employer be sure the student knows
what he/she is doing.
In a job market where productivity and efficiency are stressed, and
training can be seen as lost time, real
experience is an invaluable asset for
any student to add to their resume.
Some would even go as far as saying that theyʼd rather have a student
who does not make perfect grades
or was president of every organization created to stuff resumes - this
student probably spent so much time
studying he/she knows little of how
to function outside of school.
be it a Kamakazi or a shot of Liquid
Cocaine
Martini Ranch also has a full
kitchen, featuring greasy appetizer
plates to nosh on. Mozzarella sticks,
nachos, potato skins, chicken fingers:
itʼs the champagne of bar food and perfect for the pre-dinner munchies or post
drunken stupor dining needs. Will I recommend it? Of course, I love the ambience and the great crowd. Who knows I
might visit it again this weekend.
P
Chris Rock: Comedian, player, and sage
By Anthony Gaddini
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
C
hris Rock, a comedian know for
his ridicule of racial tensions, is
slated to host the Oscars this year.
Last week he has made headlines by
making incendiary comments. First,
he claimed that straight men do not
watch the Oscars on television. Then
he made a comment about abortion,
a moral question that has been biting at Americaʼs conscience since
that cold January day in 1973.
“Abortion, itʼs beautiful, itʼs
beautiful abortion is legal. I love
going to an abortion rally to pick
up women, cause you know they
are fu@&ing,” Rock said during
one of recent stand-up routines.
While his comments may seem
coarse, profane, and incredibly ignorant to any thoughtful person, he
did in fact expose a profound side
effect of legalized abortion—the
sexual exploitation of women.
Itʼs been over 31 years since
the United States Supreme Court
began our nationʼs social engineering foray in legalized abortion.
The tragic stories and broken
hearts of millions of post-abortive women prove that Alice Paul,
the drafter of the Equal Rights
Amendment, was right when she
said, “abortion is the ultimate
exploitation of women.” She abhorred abortion alongside Susan
B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady
Stanton.
Itʼs telling that it took a comedian, and a bombastic comedian
at that, to state the obvious: that
American adult males (not men)
know full well that abortion is
great for their “sex lives.”
It permits them to completely degrade women into “sex objects” with the explicit consent
of the highest court in the land.
It gives them license to engage
in sex with many women without
worrying about the consequences.
Instead of being forced to support the woman and child, which
could put a serious crimp in
their meterosexual lifestyles,
American adult males can simply pay a couple hundred dollars to have the woman “exercise her right to choose.”
No wonder more men support
abortion than women! It has unshackled them from nearly 5,000
years of responsibility. Once
upon a time men were forced
into marriage with women they
impregnated. At least they were
expected to support the woman
and child. If they did not, they
were scorned or in some places
killed. Not any more in our era of
“liberation.”
We have replaced the “patriarchy” with “anarchy.” Itʼs
every man, woman, and child...
oops...they donʼt have a choice,
they are the “choice.”
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
News Briefs
By Sherine George
TECHNEWS WRITER
CHICAGO
F
ed up with a increasing number of bogus calls to Chicagoʼs 911 center -- including nearly
4,000 allegedly traced to a single
West Side address -- officials today
threatened fines of up to $1,000
against pranksters. More than 500
warning letters will go out on Feb
18th to people who allegedly have
placed more than 50 improper
calls in the last six months to the
911 system. The system reportedly has received more than 50,000
prank calls since August.
T
he Chicago Transit Authority is seeking a consultant to
develop a business model to operate premium express trains from
downtown to OʼHare International
and Midway Airports. The elevated trains non-stop trains would cut
the 45-minute ride from the Loop
to OʼHare to about 20 minutes,
transit officials said Thursday. The
25-minute trip to Midway would
be made in at least half the time.
Riders would pay $10 to $15 for
the faster service on the Blue Line
to OʼHare and the Orange Line to
Midway, according to early CTA
estimates.
LOS ANGELES
R
epeatedly over the last eight
years, the tart, celebrity-centric Web site (thesmokinggun.
com) has found and posted original documents about the missteps
of the rich and famous. This time,
the three-man staff at the Smoking Gun appeared, once again, to
have scooped the United Statesʼ
biggest media outlets by obtaining
and publishing much of a 1,903page document from the Michael
Jackson sexual molestation case
that had been sealed by Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge
Rodney S. Melville.
BOSTON
H
arvard President Lawrence
Summers released a transcript of his provocative remarks
on women in science and said he
relented to help his school get beyond the furor the comments created. Heading into a potentially
contentious meeting with faculty
on Tuesday seemed to spark another round of debate. Summers
could face a no-confidence vote
by faculty next week, though only
the Harvard Corporation could fire
him.
WASHINGTON
A
group of senators who include Hilary Clinton and
John McCain will be traveling to
Iraq during the weekend of Feb
18th. They will meet with military
leaders, top Iraqi officials and local women leaders. McCain and
Clinton have often challenged the
Pentagonʼs planning and management of the Iraq effort, particularly
once major combat ended.
TECHNEWS
ALEXANDER GRAY BELZER, EDITOR
NEWS
5
BELZALE@IIT.
HP begins headhunt for
new CEO
By Sherine George
NEWS WRITER
H
ewlett-Packard Company has
hired private headhunting firm
Russell Reynolds Associates Incorporated, based in New York to help
find a new CEO, following the departure last week of former Chairman
and CEO Carly Fiorina.
The search will be conducted
with the “highest level of confidentiality,” HP said on February 17, adding
that it wonʼt comment further on the
hunt for a new chief executive. Russell Reynolds, with thirty-two worldwide offices including one in Menlo
Park, California, near HPʼs Palo Alto
headquarters has helped find CEOs
for companies such as Aetna Inc. and
Bank One Corp.
Fiorina, who is 50, was a top
saleswoman at Lucent Technologies
and its former parent, AT&T for two
decades before she joined HP as its
CEO in the summer of 1999, after an
extensive executive search. Fiorina
has an interesting education background with a bachelors degree in
medieval history and philosophy from
Stanford University (1976), a Master
in Business Administration degree,
University of Maryland (1980) and
finally, a Master of Science degree in
management from MIT (1989).
Fiorina is characterized as quick,
bright, well-spoken and authoritative,
but, as her experience in taking the
place of then CEO and HP lifelong
worker, Lew Platt, none of these
qualities necessarily mean that she
can get an $80 billion behemoth to
move in the direction or at the speed
that she believed was necessary.
Many analysts have compared
HPʼs choice of Carly Fiorina to how
IBM in 1993 ousted chairman and
CEO John Akers, replacing him with
an outsider, Louis Gerstner, on April
Foolsʼ Day. One of the main differences between Gerstnerʼs run at IBM,
until December 2002, and Fiorinaʼs
run at HP is that Gerstner came into a
company that was approaching bankruptcy and fixed it just long enough
for a recession to end and the dotcom boom to begin. The boom gave
IBM time to fix on itʼs own, to create
a very good software, services, and
Unix server business.
Neither HP nor Compaq had the
luxury of time as the IT market started
imploding in 2000. HP made a big bet
on Fiorina, believing that a young executive would come in, shake things
up and get the company moving in
the direction of innovation and profit.
Then the dot-com bubble burst,
and soon thereafter only one day
after Fiorina announced the merger
with Compaq the terrorist attacks
hit in America, and the worldwide
economy went into shock.
“Carly Fiorina came to HP to
revitalize and reinvigorate the company,” said Dunn in a statement an-
nouncing Fiorinaʼs departure. “She
had a strategic vision, and put in
place a plan that has given HP the
capabilities to compete and win.
We thank Carly for her significant
leadership over the past six years
as we look forward to accelerating
execution of the companyʼs strategy.” HPʼs chief financial officer,
Robert P. Wayman, has taken over
as CEO on an interim basis, while
HP Director Patricia Dunn became
non-executive chairman.
Fiorinaʼs terse sentences in
her final statement before what
seemed like a sudden departure on
Feb 9th seemed to indicate that the
boardʼs issue with her was not one
of strategy, but one of execution of
that strategy: “While I regret the
board and I have differences about
how to execute HPʼs strategy,” she
said, “I respect their decision. HP
is a great company, and I wish all
the people of HP much success in
the future.”
She has left with an estimated
$45 million worth in stock options
and severance pay on top of her
regular salary and cash bonuses
after five years at the company according to an HP spokeswoman.
The $45 million is based on the
current value of roughly $23.5 million in previously awarded stock
options and a $21.4 million severance package awarded to Fiorina
after she resigned.
Syrian troops asked
to leave Lebanon
By Shravani Pasupneti
NEWS WRITER
P
resident Bush urged Syrian forces
to vacate Lebanon as opposition
to the pro-Syrian leadership became
more widespread this week.
The anti-Syrian sentiment stems
from the widespread belief that individuals from Damascus were responsible for the car bombing that
killed seventeen people and injured
137. Among those that were fatally
wounded was Rafik al-Hariri, the
countryʼs most influential politician.
Despite the lack of any proof, many
Lebanese citizens are pointing the
finger at Syria.
Rafik al-Hariri was the prime
minister of Lebanon for nearly a
dozen years. He came into power
as the country was emerging from
a seventeen-year civil war. He led
Syria out of its war torn state and was
one of the most influential figures in
its reconstruction. After four terms,
he gave up his position last October
due to growing resentment for Syrian
officials who continually insisted on
extending the term of his political rival, President Emile Lahoud.
President Bush has asked Syria
to remove the 13,000 troops stationed
in Lebanon, which are there to maintain security, according to Syria and
pro-Syrian Lebanese government officials. The withdrawl of the troops
was originally called for by a United
Nations resolution passed last October.
In addition, President Bush
is requesting that Syrian troops allow the Lebanese elections, which
are scheduled for May, to proceed
freely and fairly. Secretary of State,
Condoleezza Rice, said that the Bush
administration hopes to resolve the
issues with Syria diplomatically, but
is not dismissing any of its other options, which could be code for military action.
Over the past eighteen months,
tensions between Syria and the US
have continued to escalate. Just last
week, the US Ambassador to Syria,
Margaret Scobey, was taken out of
Syria. In response to this, Syrian Ambassador, Imad Moustapha, fervently
held that his country was cooperating
with the US to ease any ill-will between the two countries.
In response to the countryʼs
refusal to remove its troops from
Lebanon, he stated that if Lebanonʼs
government, either the current one or
the one that will be elected in a few
months, requests Syrian forces to
leave, “We will leave immediately.
We will not blink an eye.”
Bush will meet with NATO and
European Union leaders in Brussels
next week. Among the top priorities is
to determine the best course of action
to resolve the situation with Syria. He
remarked, “I look forward to working
with my European friends on my upcoming trip to talk about how we can
work together to convince the Syrians
to make rational decisions.”
TECHNEWS WRITER
AFRICA
T
he Sudan government has
denied the need of the International Criminal Court to try the
war-criminals in the almost-agenocide taken place in Western
Sudan, claiming that the matter
needs to be settled in Sudanese
courts. International trust in the
Sudanese legal system remains
skeptical.
U
ganda: Former child soldiers
return to the battlefield, this
time to fight on the opposite side.
After being abducted by the Lordʼs
Resistance Army as children
to fight against their will, these
people return to conflict, this time
doing so willingly, to fight against
for the Ugandan Army against the
LRA. Some of these returning soldiers are under eighteen, against
international laws. But given their
limited options for employment,
many Ugandans sign up for war
willingly. However, the United
Nations Childrenʼs Fund opposes
this, claiming that the former child
soldiers need much rehabilitation
before being able to move on with
their lives, much less partake in
another war.
ASIA
H
oward Baker, the United
States Ambassador to Japan,
believes in North Koreaʼs claim
that it has nuclear weapons. Since
making that claim, North Korea
has since withdrawn from international talks regarding the end of
nuclear weapons programs. Baker
also urged the United States to
move its efforts in getting North
Korea to rejoin the talks, and believes that it is not too late for them
to do so. While Baker doesnʼt fear
that North Korea will launch nuclear weapons at anyone anytime
soon, he is worried of the more
likely possibility of NK selling its
weapons, given its track record.
A
deteriorating human rights
situation in Nepal has occurred ever since February 1st,
when a state-of-emergency was
declared. Many in opposition to
Nepalʼs main political party were
illegally detained, including students and teachers. Humanitarian
organization Amnesty International calls for a restoration of human
rights and for countries supplying
military aid to Nepal, such as the
United States, to suspend aid.
I
n the southern area of Thailand,
a car bomb killed five people,
adding to the carnage caused by
conflict between Muslim insurgents and the Thai government.
No group has yet taken responsibility.
MIDDLE EAST
Interested in
the news?
I
nternational pressures gather
on Syria, specifically from the
United States, with Bush demanding that Syria pull out of Lebanon,
in addition to handing over any
Saddam Hussein supporters. Iran,
already in hot water in the United
Statesʼ boiling pot, sides with Syria, much to Bushʼs dismay.
Want to
make money?
Write for TechNews!
technews@iit.edu
Mad World
By Alex Belzer
Mad World: The Vatican endorsed Rome’s Pontifical Academy teaching courses on
exorcism in Italy this week. In-pho-graph-ick courtesy: Spencer Elliott-Manheim.
6
TECHNEWS
MELISSA PROS, EDITOR
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
CHICAGO
Gung Hay
Fat Choy
By Melissa Pros
CHICAGO EDITOR
F
ebruary 9, 2005 marked the beginning of the year 4702 on the
Chinese calendar. Also known as the
Year of the Rooster, this occasion was
celebrated on February 13, 2005 in
the streets of Chicagoʼs Chinatown.
Despite the rain and dreary weather,
Wentworth Avenue was packed with
tourists and locals alike. Like all Chinatown parades, the floats were those
of city politicians and officials and
the bands were all from local, but
non-Chinatown high schools, providing an ambiance more like Columbus
Avenue than Wentworth. But once
the dragons started to pass and the
drum beats and clangy cymbals took
over, it was back to Chinese New
Year mode and the “Gung Hay Fat
Choy” greetings emanated from the
mouths of everyone. Even the lack of
fireworks and the rain couldnʼt stop
this yearʼs celebration from being enjoyed by all.
For the Roosters:
The sign of the Rooster indicates a
person who is hard-working and definite about their decisions. Roosters
are not afraid to speak their minds and
can therefore sometimes come across
as boastful. They make good restaurant owners and world travelers.
Chinatown:
More than
the typical
Chinese
By Melissa Pros
CHICAGO EDITOR
Non-Chinese
Chinatown Cafes
The Noodle
PROSMEL@IIT.EDU
Creepy guy on the ʻLʼ On
By Melissa Pros
CHICAGO EDITOR
T
his weekʼs Creepy Guy approved
ʻLʼ stop is Cermak/Chinatown
on the Red Line. Everyone knows
this nearby restaurant mecca. But this
section will cover the lesser known
great finds and interesting shops that
hide themselves among the plethora
of Chinese-American eateries.
lic” warehouse has everything you
need to make your favorite Eastern
specialties. From rice in sacks of all
sizes to frozen mochi, Richwell market is a fully stocked grocery. They
also carry an amazing array of bottled
teas and drinks and they have a bakery with fresh baked buns and pastries. Stop in, stock up and make your
own Chinese dishes sans MSG.
237 W. Cermak Avenue
After a long day of shopping, B&B
will provide a welcome retreat. Besides other services offered by a
typical salon, B&B offers massages.
They must be really good, because
on weekends the sailors come down
and line up outside the door. Really
good or really cheap, either way, itʼs
a deal.
Tea Leaf Cafe
2334 S. Wentworth Ave. #A
Second Stop:
Red Line
Aji Ichiban
2117 A S. China Place (Chinatown
Square)
Are you a sucker for cutely wrapped
Asian candies? Or maybe you just
have a hankering for some dried fish.
Either way, this “buy it by the pound”
shop is for you. Often times samples
are available so you can try that Ten
Scented Olive before you buy. And
when you decide what you want, a
polite but shy girl will help you fill
your bag. You can get out of there
relatively cheap, but itʼs also easy
to drop a bunch of cash. Either way
youʼll leave happy.
Richwell Market
1835 S. Canal Street
Now that you have gotten the yummy
stuff, you can stop here for the essentials. The Richwell Market is not
in Chinatown proper, but it is well
worth the long walk/drive from Chinatown. This “Wholesale to the Pub-
Tea Leaf Cafe (TLC to the cool
kids) is a hip hangout for Chinatown
youngsters. With a full menu of Boba
Tea, also known as Bubble Tea, you
can customize your tea and make it
the perfect beverage. They also carry
smoothies, shaved ice and espresso
drinks along with a small, but good
munchies menu. Tea Leaf Cafe is
probably the only place in Chinatown
where ordering a burger wouldnʼt
warrant a questioning stare. Make
sure you grab a punch card, because
the 11th Boba is free! And TLC is
open late too, midnight on weekdays and till 2am on weekends. Great
place to hangout and “study” they
even provide free wireless access.
In Shop/4U Fashion
Cermak Avenue
Designer-esque clothing goods at
Chinese import prices, a perfect
pair. These two shops, both run by
the same hip chick, carry an amazing selection of t-shirts, skirts, shoes,
cute underpants, accessories and even
alarm clocks. You can also rent a fancy cotillion gown for the next IIT formal. The selection is great and always
changing and the prices are amazing.
The stores have also expanded to the
old Hong Minh location, but the new
stores still remain unnamed.
the
B & B Salon
Hoypoloi Gallery
2235 S Wentworth Ave.
This is definitely off the beaten path
for Chinatown. Visitors will say that
Hoypoloi belongs on Michigan Avenue, even the name comes from the
Greek Hoipolloi, meaning the common people. But Hoypoloi is neither
Greek nor common. They feature
everything from Zen art to priceless
glass platters (hey, $1500 is priceless
to college students). But they also
feature a good collection of books,
gifts and authentic Japanese incense,
which are more within an IIt student
budget. Even if you are on a tight
budget, stop by and check it out, museum style. Hoypoloi has the sights
and sounds (and smells) of a chic
museum without the hefty admission
fee.
Cheap
By Melissa Pros
CHICAGO EDITOR
Chinatown Deals:
Think ten bucks wonʼt buy two
people lunch in Chinatown?
Think again. Dim Sum, literally translated from Cantonese
to “dot hearts” are small treats
that touch the heart. More specifically they are small pastries,
dumplings, buns and noodles
that are served in small quantities that diners can sample a variety. Each dish costs an average of $1.50 and itʼs surprsing
how fast they will fill you up.
Ten dollars should provide two
people with plenty to eat and
some to take home for later. You
also get to partake in free tea at
most chinatown restuants. Dim
Sum is traditionally a morning/
afternoon meal so it is usually
only available until 3pm. Also,
itʼs best on weekends, when
dishes can be ordered right off
the steamer cart.
Cheap Entertainment:
“Because of Winn Dixie “ is
in theaters now! Most of your
friends would make fun of you
for seeing it, but I would make
fun of your for paying more than
five bucks to see it. “Winn Dixie” is playing at the AMC City
North theater which offers $5
Tuesdays. For just $5 (thatʼs
less than Sodexho sushi) you
get a ticket to any of the movies
playing and a coupon for FREE
small popcorn. The parking garage is also free, which is good
because itʼs a pretty long walk
from the L. Make sure you get
an AMC Moviewatcher card,
too. You can sign up at the
customer service desk and start
earning free movie tickets and
consessions
Press Pass
By Melissa Pros
Wentworth Avenue
CHICAGO EDITOR
F
Tuesday 2/22:
Kings of Convenience
Double Door
ormerly a franchise restaurant
called Pho Hua, the noodle specializes in Vietnamese Pho (pronounced Fa), or noodle soup. The
soups are all the same, you just pick
the meats you want in them. All
soups are served with a garnish plate
of spouts, basil leaves, limes and jalepeno peppers. They also have rice
and noodle plates, which are equally
delicious. But nothing will warm you
up on a cold winter day like a piping hot bowl of Pho. The small size
is plenty for even the hungriest IIT
student, the large is just a waste of
money. The Noodle also has fantastic
fried rolls and a moderate selection
of fruit smoothie drinks, similar to
those served at Joy Yees. The service
is great, but the food is even better,
and itʼs never too crowded. They also
carry a good selection of authentic
Vietnamese beverages including iced
coffee, which comes in a brewer atop
a coffee cup, and even salty lemon
drink. Drink, Pho and fried roll will
cost less that 10 bucks, which makes
The Noodle and even more perfect
IIT student destination.
Soulfly/Morbid Angel
House of Blues
Wednesday 2/23:
Luna
Metro / Smartbar
Thursday 2/24:
Bella Lea
Schubaʼs
Friday 2/25:
Modest Mouse
Congress Theater
DJ Hell
Soundbar
Saturday 2/26:
Ani DiFranco
Auditorium Theatre
Sunday 2/27:
Ani DiFranco
Vic Theatre
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
TECHNEWS
7
TECHNOLOGY
ANTHONY GADDINI, EDITOR
GADDANT1@IIT.EDU
Robo-soldier: The troop of the future
By Anthony Gaddini
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
E
ighteen Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems (SWORDS) robots are
heading to Iraq to support American
soldiers in March or April
SWORDS was developed by the
Army and Foster-Miller of Waltham,
Mass., a robotics firm bought in
November by QinetiQ Group PLC,
which is a partnership between the
British Ministry of Defense and the
Washington holding company The
Carlyle Group.
SWORDS is based of the Talon
platform, a rugged and tested mineclearing robot that has been used by
Army Combat engineers. SWORDS
is an improved Talon outfitted with
standard-issue squad automatic
weapons, either the M249, which
fires 5.56 mm rounds at a rate of
750 per minute, or the M240, which
can fire about 700 to 1,000 7.62 mm
rounds per minute. The SWORDS
can fire about 300 rounds using the
M240 and about 350 rounds using
the M249 before needing to reload.
SWORDS will be the first armed robotic vehicles to see combat.
Each SWORDS unit costs
around $200,000 to manufacture, a
fraction of the lifetime cost of a soldier—around $4 million according to
a Pentagon study. Furthermore, the
destruction of a robot will not have
the emotional impact of a solider
killed in action.
The military plans to invest tens
Engineerʼs week
By Anthony Gaddini
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
E
ngineers Week is a formal coalition of more than 70 engineering,
education, and cultural societies, and
more than 50 corporations and government agencies. Founded in 1951
in the United States by the National
Society of Professional Engineers,
Engineers week is dedicated to raising public awareness of engineersʼ
positive contributions to society. Engineers Week stresses the importance
of math, science, and technology education. Engineers Week encourages
students to peruse engineering education in undergraduate studies.
This year Engineers Week (February 20-26) is headed up by the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
and British Petroleum.
IIT is hosting two events for Engineering week.
The IIT Student chapter of ASM International is presenting “Metallographic
Examination of Heavily Eroded Structural
Steel from the World Trade Center (WTC)
Buildings 1, 2, and 7” on Thursday, Feb-
ruary 24th from 10:00am-12:00pm in the
MTCC auditorium.
Mr. George F. Vander Voort, Director of Research and Technology at Buehler
Ltd., Lake Bluff, IL will discuss the microstructural features observed in specimens
of the A 36 and HSLA steel beams from
the WTC buildings, particularly building
number 7. The beams underwent near perforation under the explosive impact and
high temperatures created by the WTC
disaster.
Students are encouraged to RSVP
to asm.iit@gmail.com and are invited to
lunch following the discussion and seminar from 12:00pm-2:00pm in the MTCC
Ballroom.
The MMAE department and SAF
sponsor the event. Professional organizations, including ASM International, The
American Ceramics Society, and The
Minerals, Metals and Materials Society,
will be in attendance.
The IIT chapter of IEEE invites students to “Motorola Day.” IEEE will build
a radio from scratch in honor of Engineering week. An initial session on AM/FM
signals will be held at Siegel Hall Auditorium on Wednesday 23rd at 12:00pm.
of billions of dollars in automated armaments over the next decades.
Running on lithium ion batteries, it can operate for up to four hours
at a time. Operators control the robot
using a 30 lb remote transmitter. It
moves using tank-like tracks, which
help it overcome rocky obstacles
and barbed wire, but prevent it from
achieving speeds greater than 4 mph.
SWORDS weighs 75 lbs and
is outfitted with many proven technologies from the Armyʼs parts bin.
It features optical systems that have
been in use for decades, telepresent
rapid aiming platform (TRAP), and a
modified fire control system. It uses
night vision and may be outfitted with
infrared sensors. Even olfactory sensors are a possibility, allowing the
Astrofest
By Anthony Gaddini
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
C
hicago Astronomical Society
(CAS) and The Macintosh Astronomy Workshop I (MAW) will be
held in Chicago on Thursday, September 8th, 2005 at the MTCC campus center.
CAS is the worldʼs oldest amateur astronomical society founded in
1862. The MAW event will feature
various Macintosh application workshops and will be part of the larger
annual Astrofest even held by CAS.
CAS Holds its general membership meeting the first Wednesday
each month at the Adler Planetarium
(1300 S Lake Shore Dr).
CAS offers numerous public
viewing opportunities and will even
help people fix broken telescope optics
(www.chicagoastro.org/main.
html).
Rumor has it that the monthly
viewings at Adler planetarium are
excellent date outings.
Astrofest is one of the largest
star parties in the country. Last year
over 820 people attended.
operator to gather information about
the presence of possible explosives or
chemical/biological agents.
Several other combat robots are
slated for development and/or production. The “hunter-killer” is being
developed at the Space and Naval
Warfare Systems Center. The Army
is developing a reconnaissance robot
that scouts buildings, tunnels and
caves. A third robot hauls weapons
and equipment as well as perform reconnaissance and search missions. A
forth originally designed to be a sentinel, will soon be able conduct surveillance, psychological warfare and
other missions. Finally an air based
drone plane called the Predator is already in use.
Critics have questioned the mo-
rality of using robo-soliders. They
fear that it dehumanizes war. It tips
the balance of warfare in favor of the
side that uses robots since that side
will not necessarily suffer any loss
of life. Many have pointed out that
it breaks Isaac Asimovʼs first law of
robotics: A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Unfortunately these critics do
not realize that Pandoraʼs box has
been opened and it cannot be closed.
The Atom bomb, the machine gun,
dynamite—all these technologies
dehumanized war, making it more
destructive, quicker, and impersonal.
Did we abandon these technologies?
No. Why? Because they enemy may
not.
According to MAW: “The workshop will feature speakers describing
and demonstrating the features of
numerous Mac-based astronomy programs. Featured areas will be Image
Collection and Processing, Planetarium and Planning Programs, and Telescope Control Programs. While some
of the programs are Mac-only, many
have Windows versions as well.”
MAW is in desperate need for
more volunteers. IIT students with
interest in astronomy should consider
registering (http://mrmac.mr.aps.anl.
gov/~macastroworkshop).
The registration fee for the workshop will be $75.00. Astrofest can be
attended for the following discounted
rates, 3 days ($30), 2 days ($25), and
1 day ($20). Families can register at
discounted rates as well. Astrofest is
free for anyone 14 years of age and
under as long as an adult accompanies him or her.
Chicago Astronomical Society RSS
feed: http://chicagoastro.org/cas_rss.htm
8
TECHNEWS
FEATURE
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
Scenes from the 2005 C
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
TECHNEWS
FEATURE
Chicago
hicagoAutoShow
Photos by Abhinav Hasija
9
10
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
TECHNEWS
ENTERTAINMENT
SPENCER JAMES ELLIOTT-MANHEIM ESQUIRE, EDITOR
ELLISPE@IIT.EDU
Songs for the jaded music listener
By Alex Belzer
TECHNEWS EDITOR
W
ant something fresh? Something deeper and different
from the traditional pop songs that
dominate music video channels and
air waves? Are you absolutely sick
of hearing the new Green Day single
repeat again and again? If the answer
is, “Yes,” and I know it is, you liar,
then check out these songs for some
refreshingly good music.
Matthew Good—21st Century Living
Listen as lead singer of the under-appreciated Matthew Good Band rants,
raves, and rocks against corporations,
advertising, and the media. Witty,
hilarious, and bitter, this is a hypocritically catchy song that everyone
should listen to.
Kidz Bop
By Keisha Smith
ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
T
hursday morning, 2/17, while
watching Captain Planet, I saw
a commercial for another Kidz Bop
CD—Volume 7, might I add. For
those of you who have not ever heard
of the Kidz Bop collection: Some
company gets little kids to sing covers of the popular songs of the year.
After securing the rights to do so,
these CDs are released for kids everywhere to sing along to and enjoy.
However, while looking at the
list of songs for Kidz Bop 7, and going
into my lyrical memory bank, I realized that most of the songs on this CD
Del Ray—Malvado
This instrumental rock band proves
that you do not need lyrics or vocalists to create awesome music. Download for free at www.epitonic.com.
Murder by Death—Killbot 2000
Murder by Death is a great indie rock
band that can rock hard with not just
the standard guitar and drum, but violin and piano additions as well. Each
one of their songs starts off slowly
and builds towards its climactic end.
Murder by Death never fails to deliver, so check this out now. You can
download for free at www.murderbydeath.com.
explodes, taking the song into a completely different direction. A good
portion of the bandʼs music is instrumental, and well done at that, using
a melange of different instruments to
create a unique sound. This is worth
checking out.
The Ides of Space—Switchboard
This relatively unknown Australian
band surprised many with their debut
release that seemed uncharacteristically mature for such a new band.
This is really good music.
Appleseed Cast—Strings
Starting off in a slow, sedative tone,
this indie rock band surprises listeners when, like every other indie rock
band, halfway into the song the music
Matthew Good—Weapon
After the Matthew Good Band split
up, some of the members returned
and formed Matthew Good. The
bandʼs debut album, Avalanche,
showed that there is life after the
MGB. A great song that once again
starts off slowly, gains momentum,
do not even need a Kidz Bop version!
Kidz Bop 7 includes: Pieces of Me
(Ashlee Simpson), Breakaway (Kelly
Clarkson), My Boo (Usher and Alicia
Keys), and Leave (Get Out) (JoJo). If
you have ever listened to any of these
songs, you would know that there is
not any sexual, derogatory, or violent content in any of them. Yet, they
need a Kidz Bop version. Why? It is
beyond me. If any song truly needs a
Kidz Bop remake, why are little kids
listening to it anyway?
Also included on Kidz Bop 7 is
Lose My Breath which is originally
sung by Destinyʼs Child. If you actually listen to the content of the song,
the entire song is about SEX. And of
course I want my 8-year-old daughter to be able to ask some little boy,
“Can you keep up, baby boy? Make
me lose my breath!” Now, if we were
talking about a relay race, I would be
okay with it, but the entire song consists of the girls asking guys to keep
up in bed. The Black Eyed Peas also
contribute Letʼs Get It Started which
is actually “Letʼs Get Retarded.” I
know every parentʼs dream is to have
their son/daughter decide to “get retarded,” literally or figuratively. I do
not think I have heard of a cure for
being retarded, and I am sure those
kids do not really want to find out
what the short bus is like.
So, lastly, I have decided that
if those two songs can become Kidz
Bop songs, there are a few others that
deserve special treatment. For that
reason, I have made a list of the top
10 songs for Kidz Bop 8, especially if
your child/niece/nephew/little cousin/younger sibling is already off to a
bad start.
Above in-pho-graph-icks assembled by Spencer Elliott-Manheim. The list is part of Smith’s article and not necessarily endorsed
by Captain Planet or any of the Planeteers, past or present. Actually, all views belong to the individual who voices them and are
independent of each other. Please refrain from assuming false associations. It is only going to bite you in the end—HARD!
Think writing about Entertainment! is entertaining? Then, write: Ellispe@iit.edu!
and then transitions from acoustic to
rock guitar and pounding drums. This
is the soundtrack to your life.
already than listening to this hard to
pronounce band is a no-brainer. if
not, then, try something new!
Hawksley Workman—Jealous of
your Cigarette
Hilariously raunchy, catchy, and fantastic. How is it that one man can rock
so hard? Did you know he plays all of
the instruments on the entire album?
No? Neither did I! Listen to this Canadian artist immediately.
The Blood Brothers—Peacock
Skeleton with Crooked Feathers
Combing cool key board instrumentals, with a catchy chorus and classic
Blood Brothers charm (i.e. melodic
screaming), this music takes you into
the absolutely strange, sick, and sadistic with its violent lyrics and fresh
sound. Like pop music but without all
that conventional boringness: this is
the good stuff.
Okay, so now maybe you kids
can discover some other music besides what is currently being fed to
you by the mainstream music industry. I swear, if I hear Boulevard of
Broken Dreams one more time I am
going to snap. Go. You have much
downloading to do.
The Desaparecidos—The Happiest
Place on Earth
Conor Oberstʼs other band (the other
being Bright Eyes), the Desaparecidos are decidedly more rock than
Oberstʼs other projects. On their
album Read Music/Speak Spanish
Oberst rocks against consumerism,
corporate America, and industrialization. If you are a fan of Oberst
By Andres De La Hoz
ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
W
hile we are barely into 2005,
there has already been a few
notable releases in the music world.
Austin indie rockers, And You
Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead,
have followed up 2002ʼs widely acclaimed Source Tags & Codes with
Worlds Apart. Instead of repeating
the formula and sound that put them
on Top 10 lists for that offering, the
band has decided to mix things up,
much to the dismay of many. Whereas their earlier work was characterized by dirty, aggressive, feedbackdrenched walls of sound and urgent
riffing with hints of grandiosity, their
new sound is much more polished
and relaxed, influenced more by 70s
arena rock than their earlier “Sonic
Youth on crack” sound. The results
are not entirely successful, but work
more often than not: The title track
overcomes its heavy-handed lyrics
with a memorable chorus and a hint
of The Who on its intro; All White
harkens back to the glory days of
David Bowie in its too brief runtime,
Summer of ʻ91 reaches a rousing climax, while Will You Smile Again For
Me and Caterwaul return to more aggressive territory. The second half of
the album is noticeably less interesting, ending in Lost City Of Refuge,
the most boring song they have ever
made. While the band has not fully
honed their new sound, they should
at least be applauded for trying, especially in an era where bombast is
frowned upon.
On the more mellow side of
things, Bright Eyes began the year
with the simultaneous release of 2 albums. Iʼm Wide Awake, Itʼs Morning
is the more conventional (in comparison to his previous work) country-folk
collection of heartbreak songs (just
as always). Digital Ash In A Digital
Urn, on the other hand, sees frontman
Conor Oberst harkening back to 80s
pop in an album that fulfills his long
known interest to make an electronic
album. Singles for both albums were
released last year and surprisingly
landed at #1 and #2 on the Billboard
singles chart. While Lua (the single
for Wide Awake) is merely a teaser
of the quality to come, Take It Easy
(from Digital Ash) is the best song on
the album by far. Digital Ash suffers
from a lack of hooks; while most of
the production is adequate, very few
of the songs are musically memorable. Furthermore, Oberst has relaxed
his traditional singing voice, which
while very emotive, can also be ridiculously melodramatic and cringeinducing. This lack of emotion ends
up hindering Digital Ash, making it
an interesting yet disappointing departure. However, the opposite is true
for Wide Awake. By toning down his
random screaming and weepy voice,
the songs seem more mature, more
world-weary. Conorʼs lyrical prowess is in full force here: Lua never
fails to be depressing, Landlocked
Blues expertly weaves romance with
commentary on current events, and
First Day of My Life manages to not
fall into the typical cheesiness of previous albums. Musically, the melodies are among the most memorable
Oberst has ever composed; legendary
Emmylou Harris sings backup on a
few songs, adding a more traditional
country sound to the proceedings,
while horns and acoustic guitar create a timeless feeling. Oberst even
manages to get away with an absurd
anecdote that begins the album, and
with using Beethoven as the main
melody of the final song, a rousing
climax that finally sees some of his
more traditional random yelling.
Both Digital Ash and Wide Awake
are fairly cohesive pieces of work,
but Wide Awake is considerably more
satisfying. While Oberstʼs experiment is not a failure, it is his more
traditional work that shows an artist
reaching new heights, and probably
landing on many Top 10 lists come
the end of the year.
Bright Eyes will be touring
alongside The Faint later this year.
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
TECHNEWS
DAISY AGOSE, EDITOR
LIFE
11
AGOSDAI@IIT.EDU
Profile- Professor Said Al-Hallaj talks E d i t o r ʼ s
about his research experience, hobbies.... C o l u m n
By Daisy Agose
LIFE EDITOR
W
e hear a lot about renewable
energy and how it is the solution to the worldʼs energy problems.
How much is really know about this
concept and what kind of solutins
does it offer to existing engineering
problems? What is the role and challenge of renewable energy in a sustainable energy future? Professor Said
Al-Hallaj, Coordinator of Renewable
Energy Programs at IIT, sheds some
light on this complex issue in an interview with TechNews.
Professor Said Al-Hallaj is a
Research Associate Professor at the
Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department at IIT where he
has also earned his Ph.D in Chemical Engineering in 1999 . Prior to
Chicago, as a citizen of Jordan he has
formerly earned his B.S. and M.S. in
Chemical Engineering from Jordan
University of Science and Technology in 1994. He has published over
thirty papers for technical journal and
co-authored several patent applications in the areas of: energy storage
and conversion, with emphasis on
renewable energy, in addition to hydrogen, batteries and fuel cells for
stationary and transportation applications.
TN: What stirred your interest in renewable energy?
SAH: I started my interest in my
home country Jordan which was motivated by the lack of energy sources
in Jordan coupled by shortage for
drinking water.
TN: In your words, what is the role
of renewable energy in a sustainable
energy future?
SAH: Renewable energy should be
a prime and major contributor in any
real sustainable
energy
system.
However,
such a system may
include
a variety
of
other
sources
including conventional
ones.
TN: What
can
of
problem
does this
presents to
engineers
Professor Profile
By Brianna Swenson
SPORTS WRITER
A
ssociate Dean John Snapper of
the Undergraduate College is
really a fascinating person on Main
Campus. Anyone interested in having a lively conversation about anything should stop by his Siegel Hall
office and strike one up. Perhaps ask
about philosophy, progressive jazz
or even about the arrows in his office from the New Guinea cannibals
he spent time with. No matter what
the subject, I can assure you that
you will both learn something and
be highly entertained.
Last week I did just that and
sat down with philosophy professor
John “Jack” Snapper. The following
subjects are just a few of the many
we discussed at length.
TN: Letʼs start with the basics
– where did you grow up, where did
you go to school?
JS: My undergraduate was at Princeton, my graduate at University of
Chicago. I started in math there and
then I switched around a couple subjects, finally ending in philosophy.
High school was in Bloomington, Indiana. Before that my family moved
around a lot. I was born in New Jersey. Before I was one-year-old we
moved to Los Angeles. Then we
lived for a year or two in the Boston
area. Then back to New Jersey for
a year or so. We lived in southern
Ohio for maybe three or four years
before we moved to Bloomington,
Indiana. The year after I graduated
high school my family moved again.
My father now lives in Vermont. I
have a brother who lives in North
Carolina.
TN: Why philosophy?
JS: Thatʼs an interesting question. I
have a strange suspicion that I never
actually make any decisions in my
life, I think I got sort of kicked that
way. I just sort of drift.
TN: How long have you been teaching at IIT?
JS: I donʼt know... since sometime
in the late ʻ70s. So that would be 25
years-plus.
TN: What is your favorite class that
you have taught here?
JS: Whatever I happen to be teaching at the moment. Right now Iʼm
teaching the Art Theory course and
Iʼm having a walloping good time. I
donʼt know if my students are having a good time, but I am. And Iʼm
doing the little language seminar
and Iʼm enjoying that as well.
TN: What do you do at this school
besides teach?
JS: Associate Dean of the Undergraduate College. Mostly what I try
to deal with there is students who
are in academic trouble in one way
or another and try to get them out
of it.
and what do you see as the solutions?
SAH: I wish I have the answer on
what is the solution, I would be retired and on an extended vacation already. Seriously, there are multiple
challenges for these problems and
it will require a lot of work to solve
them.
TN: What do you see as the primary
role of engineers in the development
of a sustainable global energy system?
SAH: Develop, design and demonstrate new technologies that are more
efficient and cost effective on the
long run.
TN: What are the implications of the
results of your experiments? How
have you implemented these results
on a small or large scale?
SAH: Our research group was successful in taking some ideas from
concept to bench scale testing, prototype design to testing and commercialization into consumer products
which is currently adopted by other
research groups worldwide.
TN: Tell us more about the E3 concept and how you think it can help
achieve sustainability?
SAH: E3 is an important tactical element in achieving sustainability with
the consideration of all energy supply
and end-use options in the context of
their economic, social and environmental impacts. This concept is now
generally captured by the notation
Energy/Environment/Economics,
or E3 for short. It is a comprehensive approach to a complex problem
“sustainability” and addresses it from
all potential aspects. Anything less,
would not be sufficient and may lead
to false conclusions.
TN: What are the exciting new developments you have made so far?
SAH: We are currently working on
several projects on batteries, fuel
cells, hydrogen and solar energy with
partners. We are hoping to continue
to make great breakthroughs in the
near future.
TN: Can you tell us more about your
other research interests. How about
the calorimetric studies of batteries
and fuel cells? Or the modeling or
simulation and scale-up design of
batteries and fuel cells for electric
vehicle (EV) and stationary applications?
SAH: It is a methodology to study
the safety issues related to heating of
Li-ion batteries during operation.
TN: What do you enjoy most about
conducting your research?
SAH: Working with students and
other associates on solving real world
problems.
TN: What kind of Progress have
you made so far? What plans do you
have for the nearest future?
SAH: We have made great progress
and pioneered the work in this area
TN: Interesting, they are regular
hobbies (laughter). What kind of
music or food do you like?
TN: Letʼs talk about some of the
stuff that you do outside of the university.
JS: I live in Hyde Park. Push comes
to shove, Iʼm a pretty decent cook.
I occasionally go to weird concerts
and I listen to really off-the-wall
noise bands more than music.
spent some time with the cannibals in
New Guinea. Iʼve moved around. Iʼve
been to Wisconsin.
TN: Like electronic music?
JS: Waaaay off the walls stuff. You
know, things that I think are closer
to weird sounds than anything you
could recognize as typical music.
Yeah, electronic stuff. I do that sort
of stuff. I hang out in some of the
more progressive jazz bars. I was a
bar tender for 20 years, but everyone
knows that. In one of the bigger, better
known Chicago bars. Since I live in
Hyde Park, weather-permitting I usually bicycle back and forth rather than
drive, just because I like the bicycle
trip up the lake front. Itʼs pretty.
TN: You go to art gallery openings,
right?
JS: I go to the gallery openings. And
I have several friends who exhibit occasionally, so when theyʼre exhibiting
I go to their openings. And I know
some of the gallery owners so when
they have a show opening they always call me up and say “come to our
show”.
TN: What about traveling? I know
youʼve been to some fun places...
JS: You know, I havenʼt traveled a
lot recently. Iʼm going off to Paris
this summer, I hope, to teach a course
there. I have at one time or another
been to India, Russia, Australia, I
TN: How do you spend the thirty
minutes of free time you have each
week? Do you have any hobbies?
SAH: I enjoy basketball, movies and
animated conversations.
TN: Pretty much. What about the
things you collect?
JS: [I collect] mostly tribal stuff. The
big collection at home is mostly oceanic, thatʼs to say New Guinea and
the nearby islands. The stuff here is
mostly a collection of baskets. Some
of those are oceanic, some are American Indian, some of those are African,
thereʼs one Chinese piece up there,
couple of Filipino.
TN: Are they all items that you picked
up in your travels?
JS: Well, some of itʼs stuff that I
picked up myself, some of it has been
sent to me by friends and others Iʼve
gotten through galleries or dealers.
TN: Do you have a favorite piece?
JS: I happen to like the little New
Guinea turtle piece. Itʼs a woven
piece with a real turtle shell in the
background and a little embalmed
turtleʼs head embedded in it, and itʼs
made then out of a woven material
that surrounds it. Iʼm fond of that. Of
the pieces I have in this office, the old
Navajo water basket is rather nice.
Thatʼs the red one up there with
horse hair in it. I guess I sort of like
the folk art piece from India that is
a rather odd picture of Ganesh, but
it looks rather feminine to me. Now
Ganesh is a male form, so itʼs odd
that you should have a feminine Ganesh. I like the Ganesh. Ganesh is
familiar, you know the Hindu gods
have a figure that they associate
Take another look
T
here is so much to complain
about on campus and believe
me, everybody, including myself
is good at bringing down one thing
or another. However, if you looked
a little closer, there are so many
people doing amazing things here. I
hope this page would be a window
for some of these great people to
share their ideas and thoughts. I had
the opportunity of talking to Professor Said Al-Hallaj sometime last
week, and it is funny how I only got
to hear about his research because
another professor of mine would not
stop talking about the great work
Al-Hallaj is doing. Professor Jack
Snapper also talks about his travels
around the world, his love for noisy
music and why he studied philosophy amongst other things
I guess what I am saying in essence is whether you love or hate
IIT; you will not get the best of it
by just complaining. If you take
time to observe the people around
you would definitely appreciate IIT
more.
SAH: I like to experiment all types
of food and music.
TN: What do you like the most
about the IIT campus or students?
SAH: It is a real window to the
world. You can meet people from
all kinds of backgrounds, cultures,
and countries.
To get more details about Professor
Said Al-Hallajʼs research visit
http:// www.chee.iit.edu/faculty/alhallaj.html
themselves with. He rides on what
is commonly called a mouse or a rat,
although I think thatʼs a mistranslation, itʼs a rodent of some sort, more
like a shrew. So the fact that I have
a couple Ganesh figures explains
why I have a couple pictures of rats
as well.
TN: Anything else you would like
TechNews readers to know?
JS: Oh I donʼt know. Usually people
ask me why I like teaching at IIT.
Which is, of course, a good question. And, the fact is, that I really
like teaching the sort of students that
IIT has; I like to teach philosophy in
that context, much more than I enjoy
teaching philosophy to philosophy
majors. And the point here is that
Iʼm not convinced that the world
needs a lot more philosophers. Philosophers are not making the world
go around. Architects and engineers
are making the world go around.
But I think philosophy is useful to
those scientists that are making the
world work, I think itʼs really quite
a worthwhile thing to study; both
because it helps you understand
your own profession better and also,
in some sort of an old fashioned
way, it makes life more pleasant to
know some philosophy. I think itʼs
somehow a good thing to do to be
teaching philosophy to IIT students
because I am doing something that
is useful to the world.
If you have a professor that you
admire and would like to see interviewed, please email Brianna at
swenbri@iit.edu.
12
TECHNEWS
ARTS
SABINE KOLLWITZ, EDITOR
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
KOLLSAB@IIT.EDU
Jaguar and Maserati: Automotive art
By Anthony Gaddini
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
T
wo vehicles at this yearʼs
Chicago Autoshow were
true knockouts for automotive styling—technological art.
Jaguar, always a hallmark of
automotive style, debuted the “Advanced Lightweight Coupe” a 2+2
all-aluminum luxury sport car. Since
Ford acquired Jaguar in 1998, Ford
has positioned Jaguar as a beacon
of cutting edge design in a ocean of
look-alike, focus-group designed, artless boxes.
“I firmly believe that Jaguars
should appear powerful as well as elegant,” said Ian Callum, the Design
Director.
The aerodynamic all-aluminum
skin on the “Advanced Lightweight”
is muscular and taut yet subtle and
curvaceous. Like a well-toned Greek
goddess, this Jag beguiles the senses.
It is a perfect example of proportion and stance. The svelte silhouette
boasts a drag coefficient of 0.37. The
wheels are positioned at the corners
of the vehicle, offering improved stability and lending the whole vehicle
a hunkered-down look reminiscent of
nothing other than a jaguar.
There are no wheel overhangs,
giving the car a bold profile and unfettered visual appeal. Simple, clean,
well-defined lines grace the sides and
join custom-crafted body hardware
with mathematical perfection.
Beneath the skin of this of this
beauty lies the heart of a true predator. The use of aluminum makes the
frame 40% lighter and 60% stiffer
than a conventional steel body.
Coupled with Jaguarʼs supercharged
400 horsepower V-8 power plant, the
“Advanced Lightweight” can sprint
to 60 mph in well under 5 seconds.
Ian Callumʼs philosophy was to
execute the most advanced automotive technologies in an exquisitely
elegant form. The suspension is computer controlled and integrated with
the safety control system and the engine control system, making the “Advanced Lightweight” an engineering
marvel as well.
“The next generation of Jaguars
will be remarkable driverʼs cars,” said
Phil Hodgkison, Director of product
engineering, but I disagree, this Jag is
a remarkable spectatorsʼ car.
Born of the Maserati brothers
in 1914, Maserati has had a long an
arduous journey as an automaker. After being acquired by Ferrari in December of 1999, new hands wield the
Trident. An injection of new capital,
Ferrari designers and engineers, and
the improvement of Maseratiʼs 40year-old manufacturing facility have
launched Maserati back onto the
playing field.
The new “Coupe” is a delicious
blend of disciplined sculpture and
hot-blooded Italian sports engineering.
The 2+2 sport coupe features a
long, gently sloped deck. Two subtle
streaks define a prominent bulge on
the hood, lending a feeling of unmistakable power. Rising above the
assertive grille, these lines run to
the base of the windshield and draw
back over the hood culminating in
two fluid tapers on the rear trunk lid,
providing focal points for the distinctive dual exhaust. Every surface, line,
and seam was lovingly assembled,
by hand, in Viale Ciro Menotti, Italy,
by the hands of skilled craftsmen and
technicians.
The headlamps fit neatly into the
front-side body panel and form a continuous line, broken only by voluptuous bugles, to the taillights, which
are formed inside of the rear deck,
for a razor clean look. The C-pillar
merges with the rear-body panels
forming a unbroken surface rounded
off behind the wheel wells, giving
the entire vehicle an unmistakably
sensual presence that may get some
at the Vatican upset—its nearly and
occasion of sin!
The designers didnʼt stop at
style either. Beneath to hood lies
a Ferrari designed and built 400
horsepower V-8 which can launch,
with the help of a clutch-less manual
transmission, the “Coupe” to 60 mph
in under 5 seconds. The frame is sport
tuned, and Ferrari imbued their racing know-how into square inch of this
Mediterranean marvel.
In early December, Maserati announced that their ownership, once
again, would be transferred. This
time, it will go to Italian automotive
giant Fiat. Letʼs hope that Fiat can do
for Maserati what Ford did for Jaguar.
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
TECHNEWS
ARTS
SABINE KOLLWITZ, EDITOR
This week
By Sabine Kollwitz
ART EDITOR
PRAVDA
David Hare and Howard Brentonʼs
satire on the media in the era of
Rupert Murdoch is presented in its
Chicago premiere. Louis Contey directs. It got good reviews from the
Tribune.
Baird Hall Theatre
615 W. Wellington (courtyard entrance)
Through 3/26: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun
2 PM.
$10-$22.
13
KOLLSAB@IIT.EDU
Twenty years well worth the wait
By Sabine Kollwitz
ARTS EDITOR
S
ince 1979, the artists Christo
and Jean-Claude (they go
mostly by only their first names) have
had a major undertaking in mind for
New Yorkʼs Central Park. Being most
known for their work with fabric, the
pair have enveloped whole islands in
acres of pink fabric. Other famous
works include Wrapped Reichstag,
The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Running
Fence, and Valley Curtain. Since
emigrating to the States in 1964, the
pair has been based out of New York,
yet doing work internationally. Having had their work displayed on four
continents, Christo and Jean-Claude
wanted to contribute to their adopted
hometown. Central Park was chosen
as the site because of the massive flow
of people who traverse the park every
single day. The mammoth gates were
specifically adapted to human form,
and scaled to appreciable proportions. And what a magnificient sight
it is: 7,500 gates, 16 feet high with a
width varying from 5 feet 6 inches to
18 feet meander around 23 miles in
the park! The vibrant color, Saffron,
was chosen for the gates because of
itʼs stark and playful contrast with the
dreary fog and rain that are of the season. This makes for a variable river
of airiness and light which slowly
slithers through the park and serves
as a gentel reminder that summer is
not far off. Until February 27th, the
Park will be a haven for summer in a
winterlogged city.
All of Christo and Jean-Claudeʼs
work is temporary. Although, for rea-
sons rather obvious - fabric does after
all, not last forever- Jean Claude and
Christo had a few words of their own.
The work is temporary to create an
urgency to visit the site, and to evoke
a feeling of tenderness for something
that will not last forever. Much like
youth, and childhood, the gates will
become branded on oneʼs memory
and will be looked upon as a tender
memory. The gates will forever be
shrouded with pristine newness and
will not suffer the degenerative erosion of sunlight, snow, and rain.
SALOME
Biblical tragedy and drama at itʼs
best, thanks to our beloved Oscar
Wilde! A teenage temptress lusts
for John the Baptist. Can it get any
better?
Side Studio, 1520 W. Jarvis
Through 3/20: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun
3 PM
$12-$15; $20 for this show and
When Women Wore Wings (see
below)
WHEN
WOMEN
WORE
WINGS
In praise of fabulous women who
rule the stories of old. Appearances by Medusa, Medea, Rapunzel,
Snow White, Eve, and Amelia Earhart. Ladies, this is our day!
Side Studio, 1520 W. Jarvis
Through 3/20: Sun 7 PM
$10; $20 for this show and Salome
(see above)
THE WIZARD OF OZ
Tried and true, faithful. Only without Judy Garland.
Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln
Through 3/26: Sat-Sun 1 PM. ThuFri 2/10-2/18, 10:15 AM. Sun 3/63/20, 10:30 AM and 1 PM.
$9-$12.
VERBATIM VERBOTEN
Snippets of conversation among
the countryʼs finest. Judy Garland
included. Also starring Richard
Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Prince
Charles. Bound to raise a few eyebrows and bring a rush of blood to
some cheeks.
Royal George Theatre, 1641 N.
Halsted
Open run, Fri-Sat 9:30 PM.
$10-$15
THEREʼS A BOY IN THE
GIRLSʼ BATHROOM
Louis Sacharʼs childrenʼs story
about the relationship between a
chumpy unpopular boy and his
allknowing, very wise, school
counselor.
Merle Reskin Theatre, 60 E. Balbo
Through 3/12: Tue and Thu 10 AM,
Sat 2 PM.
$8
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
When in doubt, this is sure to be a
winner. Over the edge, wildry risque for itʼs day, wildry tragic, and
with enough popular lines to keep
you quoting for a long time. Stelllaaaa!!! There is also a film featuring Vivienne Leigh (Gone with the
Wind) and Marlon Brando (The
Godfather). Thank you, Tennessee
Williams.
Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark
Through 3/5: Fri-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3
PM.
$20-$25
Here comes the dance part
By Sabine Kollwitz
ARTS EDITOR
T
he other day I had the great pleasure of chatting with the boys
from Olathe. Three bright eyed boys
sat across from me and we discussed
the bandʼs history, favorite shows,
and the general evolution of the band
made up as a group of individuals.
For those of you not in the
know, all of Olatheʼs members attend
IIT, but I wouldnʼt want to refer to
them as a ʻcampus bandʼ. Comprised
of Chris (guitar and vocals), Ed
(bass, auxillary, guitar when he feels
like it, and any other instrument not
played by another member), Federico
(drums, bells, occasionally the xylophone), and Patrick (guitar, vocals,
accordion, brings the dance).
Coming from a vibrant past of
Oasis cover bands, Alkaline Trio rip
offs, samba bands, and wonderfully
fun grunge bands, one could say it
was fated. All four guys met on campus, and two were roommates. Patrick and Ed, having met in the dorms,
picked up Chris and Federico and
Olathe, the Shawnee word for beautiful, came into being. Having graduated from playing top secret shows in
the MSV basement to playing shows
at Phyillisʼs, Olathe seems to be going
in a very interesting direction musically. All four members bring a wonderful dynamic to the band, which
adds a distinct vivacity to the music.
Best classified as indie rock, Olathe
traverses a fine line between straight,
simple, methodic riffs, ethereal, light,
and airy harmonies which pander to
the instrument, and more technical,
meaty melodies. Their style is vaguely reminiscent of Jawbreaker and has
been compared to The Promise Ring.
Hailing from the south side of
Chicago, the kids from Olathe eventually plan to tour internationally (see
: Mexico and Canada) and spread the
rock. When I posed the question of
being able to play anywhere, at any
time, and with any band, I got mixed
responses. Chris would love to revive
the recently shut down Fireside Bowl
and play with the likes of Broken
Social Scene and Interpol. Ed chose
to fuse architecture with music, picking his site as the legendary Auditorium Theater (by Louis Sullivan),
but specifying that it would have to
be right after it was built. Patrickʼs
hopes and dreams included playing
the Coachella Festival in California which showcases every amazing
band that is a band these days. (Read
: Mogwai, Interpol, Bauhaus, Wilco,
The Faint, Bright Eyes, New Order,
you get the picture). All four are also
champion air guitar players. Whatʼs
even better, 3⁄4 of the band is single.
TECHNEWS
14
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
I-TECH
ADEJOKE AKIN-ADERIBIGBE, EDITOR
AKINADE@IIT.EDU
Academic performance drops: Valentines Day: Be mine
What is IIT to do?
S
By Faraz Hussain
I-TECH WRITER
By Ayomide Fawole
I-TECH WRITER
O
ver the past few years, there
have been complaints that the
students are not doing as well they
should be considering the fact they
were admitted into IIT because of
their very good SAT or ACT scores
and wonderful performances in
high school. Grade point averages
have been reducing as the years
go by and many more people have
shown less interest in academia and
everything that comes with school.
TechNews had the opportunity to
talk with the Provost and Senior
Vice President, Dr. Allan Myerson.
He said a lot about what the administration has researched since the
dropping grades were noticed, and
the resources that are available to
fix the problem.
TN: What do you have to say
about the low grades of the freshman class this year?
AM: I would not just say the freshman class, probably sophomores and
maybe juniors too. The students who
attend classes do relatively well in
comparison to those who donʼt turn
in homework, sleep in class, read
newspapers during the lectures or
just donʼt care. It is easy to pick out
such people because it is noticeable;
they are completely not interested in
making education an important part
of their lives. They would rather hang
around in their dorm rooms playing
video games or cards. It is also a maturity issue; itʼs really important to
be able to decide for yourself that it
is time to get a college degree.
TN: Do you think that having a
scholarship changes the attitude
of people to school work?
AM: Scholarships have nothing to
do with it. Almost 99% of IIT is receiving at least one form of scholarship, so itʼs not accurate to say that
people are less interested if their
college is funded by some other
means. There are people who do not
do very well with school work, but
have shown interest and are looking
to do better; for such people there
are resources available to them every time. The Academic Resource
Center has tutors and other people
who help out with difficult subjects,
the professors are available at their
office hours and recently the Learning Assistant positions have been
created to provide help for freshmen who have academic problems,
in the dorms. This shows that the
school recognizes that people may
have difficulties, and we are ready
to help. All these resources are
available to everyone; itʼs left for
the students to show commitment.
One interesting thing is that we
did a study of grade point averages
with reference to where people live,
and we found out that people who
live in the fraternities have lower
GPAs than those who live in MSV
or SSV, and that has not always
been the case. We are also looking
to provide more academic support
for commuters. Susan Sitton and
Doug Geiger also chair a Retention
committee, as part of the universityʼs ongoing efforts to enhance student retention.
TN: In a business class this semester, someone came up with the
idea of helping students develop
an interest in school work by first
giving them a practical look of
things; for example a kind of shop
class for mechanical engineers.
Do you think that this idea would
work if the school implements it?
AM: Itʼs not really about how entertaining the class is. Now, Iʼm
not disagreeing that there are many
ways to make classes interesting,
because people donʼt like some
classes, or some professors; some
people change their majors because
they develop an interest in something from another field, and that
is ok. Itʼs a personal thing; some
people are just dedicated to excellence. The people who make use
of the help that the school provides
generally do very well in their
school work. Itʼs quite unfortunate
that although we have had a larger
number of students admitted over
the past 2 – 3 years, many of them
are not interested in school work. It
all boils down to commitment. The
professors really care about how the
students are faring in their classes
but they cannot make the students
pay attention or force them to learn.
Many students think that the professors are oblivious of these things,
but they know the student that is
never in class, or the one that al-
ways takes a nap during the class.
I think the students generally enjoy their classes because although there were a few classes and
professors that students complained
about, the subject and professor
surveys that we got were generally
high. We (the administration) want
everyone to do well and would provide all the help that is needed but
itʼs a two way street. You students
have to play your part by attending
classes, buying textbooks and getting help from the tutors.
TN: One big problem that the students have is that the books are
really expensive...
AM: Yes, the books are expensive
but you canʼt help it. Books are
part of college expenses. When
preparing to pay for college, books
are just as important as tuition and
room and board. It is not possible
to go through your freshman class
successfully without owning a textbook. Roommates can buy books
together; people can sell their books
to other people, thereʼs definitely a
way to get around it.
TN: The bookstore does not allow
students to advertise the books
that they have for sale anymore,
so itʼs hard to sell books back.
AM: If you guys were enterprising,
you could start a student organization that took care of selling books
back, your own little eBay. People
have always sold their books back
and people would still do so. You
are not here to save a couple of dollars but to earn a good education.
You need to get books to get a good
education, saving money can come
later. This is the kind of poor judgment that students make; itʼs like
spending $5,000 on a ski trip and
then not buying skis because they
are too expensive.
People should not lose the real
reason for coming to school because
of all these little things. It has all
been said. The school does a lot to
help the students to do well. Itʼs left
to the students to show dedication
and develop habits that will help
them excel. Making use of services
provided by the learning assistants
and the academic resource center,
and visiting the professors would
help to really improve the grades.
Honors system changes proposed
continued from page 1
recognize a graduation “With Honors” and would be awarded to students with a 3.5 GPA and above.
According to current GPAʼs of
the graduating class, approximately
30-40% of the class would be classified as Cum Laude, 15% would be
Magna cum Laude, and 5-7% would
be Suma cum Laude. This proposed
system plans to provide more of a
barrier and level of honorary distinction for an overall academically prestigious campus.
“This is primarily an issue for
students,” commented UGSC member Associate Dean John Snapper.
“Graduation with honors is something to brag about and something to
put on oneʼs resume and it just an issue that students have to decide how
strongly they feel about it.”
The current proposal by the
UGSC also entails that this honors
system be implemented starting in
the January 2006 graduation ceremony. There has been considerable debate regarding when exactly
to implement the system because
there is the argument that the change
should be implemented solely for the
new incoming freshman class, meaning it wouldnʼt affect the graduation
ceremony for about 5-6 years. The
opposing argument is that the change
should be implemented as soon as
possible as so that there will not be
any more doubt.
The current proposal by the
UGSC has been brought forth to
the Student Government Association for debate and discussion. Rahul
Dronamraju, the chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee Council
sub-committee, has been organizing
discussion pertaining this proposal.
SGA, as the representative of the
student body, will be offering its
opinion on this proposal for graduation with honors to the UGSC after
the SGA meeting on February 22,
2005. Though the opinion shared by
SGA will not have any direct effect
on whether the proposal should be
implemented or not, the voice of the
student body will definitely carry a
lot of weight in the discussion.
There are numerous arguments
in favor of this proposal and others
against this proposal and discussion
is something that can be continued for
quite some time, but the UGSC has
agreed to present the Faculty Council
with its proposal on the February 24th
meeting. The committee wonʼt make
anything more than a recommendation
to the Faculty Council and the decision
will ultimately be given to the Faculty
Council, but the discssion by the UGSC
will play a huge influence.
t. Valentineʼs Day took the IIT campus by storm this year, with many
students truly catching the spirit, looking beyond the popular commercialized
image generated by the mass media and
into the greater and richer heart of this
tradition. While the same cannot be said
of IIT students, Cupid certainly hasnʼt
been slacking this semester.
The week was kicked off to an
early start with the awesome Valentineʼs Day party organized by the RAʼs
on Thursday the 10th. With food and
drinks aplenty, this gathering served as
a hub for MSV dwellers to get together
and make plans, though some just
grabbed the grub and made off to their
rooms to get their own parties started.
When Valentineʼs Day finally arrived, some couples chose to spend a
quiet but fun evening at home, while
others really got into the mood and
opted for the fine dining offered by
the U-Club. For the ones for whom a
candle-lit dinner in the company of the
person they love and, for a change, really good food just didnʼt make the cut,
the countless clubs and discotheques of
the chic Chicago nightlife lay beckoning beyond.
Whether you were single or involved, or like me, just blissfully confused, there was something for everyone. Partying hearty not your thing?
Just drop by the lounge or the MTCC
to hang out. Have dinner and take a trip
to the Cheesecake factory to get that
sugar rush youʼve been craving. Meet
someone new or hook up with someone
youʼve lost touch with. The day offered
endless possibilities. For those who had
left their other half back home, it was
a time for catching up using their un-
limited calling minutes and giving their
cell phone providers a chance to put
their money where their mouth is.
The Counseling Center was heavily involved all week, as the Wellness Committee launching Sexual
Responsibility Month on Valentineʼs
Day. Informational sessions entitled
ʻHugs, Kisses, & Condomsʼ and ʻThe
Clothesline Projectʼ were held at the
MTCC until Thursday; the former being a counter where you could grab free
safe sex kits and get info on sexuality,
protected sex and related issues, and
the latter being a thought-provoking
T-shirt montage depicting violence
against women and screaming at you
to stop it. Scheduled for Monday at
the U-Club is Sex with K.J, who will
provide an interactive presentation that
includes a discussion regarding sexuality, sexual responsibility, and how to
have safe fun. Coming up this Wednesday is a Leadership Lunch featuring
Gender Communication as its theme (a
must for most of you guys out there).
Sexual Responsibility Month at IIT is
scheduled to last until March 11th, but
we hope that yaʼll will continue to be
responsible thereafter.
This year many inspired souls
decided to steer clear of the convenient candy and mass-produced greeting cards and gave their sweetheart a
flower or a handwritten note instead.
Some even chose to draw pictures of
flowers, and hope that their affection
would make up for their thoughtlessness. However, what really made the
day glorious was that there was no
price tag put on love. What made my
day was being told by someone that I
had just made her day, and in the end it
was things like these that made the day,
that made it Valentineʼs Day.
Whatʼs up with
Center Court?
By Elena Davis
I-TECH WRITER
I
f youʼre ever confused about
what you can get with your bonus points, remember that youʼre
not alone.
The guidelines fluctuate every
week, leaving students and staff
scrambling to catch up. Students
often lose money in the process, as
the policy tends to get hazier every
time it changes. In fact, the last
time I bought food at Center Court,
I had to explain to the cashier what
was covered by my meal plan and
what wasnʼt.
The Sodexho management
has long been a contributor to this
confusion, claiming that they lose
money when students can buy such
items as Odwalla juice and sushi
NROTC
continued from page 1
(a cross-town affiliate of IIT) and six
IIT students down to New Orleans for
a drill competition at Tulane University. ROTC programs from all over
the country come to compete at Tulane, including all service academies,
the Citadel and Texas A&M. IITʼs
NROTC participated in the Squad
Basic and Color Guard sections of
the competition.
After a fifteen-hour bus ride to
New Orleans and a hard day of competing with drill teams who practice
seven days a week and multiple hours
a day at that, the awards ceremony began. All the placings were announced
with their bonus points; that they
buy their food at retail prices.
“If Sodexho gets their milk
from Jewel, they really need to
rethink their business strategy,” a
student remarked. “Center Court
is supposed to provide students on
the run with quick food, food you
can get on your meal plan so you
donʼt have to delve into your bonus points every time youʼre late
to class.”
So should students be able to
use their meal plan for everything
sold at Center Court?
“It doesnʼt matter what they
call it, youʼre paying the same
amount of money to the institution,” said Stephanie Moy, frustrated with the constant change.
“It shouldnʼt matter.”
for Individual Drill, Platoon Exhibition, Platoon Basic,and Color Guard.
At this time, IIT had not placed at all.
Squad Basic was announced, IIT did
not win third place, nor second place,
but first place! The win was not without surprise and IIT definitely did not
place in the Overall category, but first
place in Squad Basic was certainly
deserved.
The NROTC here at IIT does
things other than just take up gym
space. Drilling is not a sport, but it
takes enough practice, dedication,
and patience to be one. So, the next
time you see them drilling in the gym,
take a second to watch and appreciate
them.Congratulations to those who
went and competed!
TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2005
TECHNEWS
MATTHEW HELLAND, EDITOR
15
S
PORTS
Swim Team Prepares For National Meet
By Brianna Swenson
SPORTS WRITER
T
he swimmers had an absolutely
fantastic meet this past weekend. On Friday morning they headed out to Wheaton College for the
Midwest Invitational, which was the
last meet of the year before Nationals. Nine of the 22 swimmers were
rested and tapered for this meet in
hopes that they would swim fast
enough to make the time cuts and
then be able join their teammates
at the National meet in March. Every one of those nine “taper group”
swimmers swam season bests, eight
of the nine swam lifetime bests, and
six new swimmers will be headed
to Nationals. To make the outcome
of the meet even more amazing, the
team swam over 30 lifetime best
races, over 19 season best races,
there were 10 total new National
cuts made and at least 5 more in-
dividual school records were broken! The icing on the cake came
at the end of the meet when it was
announced that the IIT women took
FIRST PLACE out of 10 teams and
the IIT men took second place (to
Wheaton College) out of 12 teams.
These are the highest places taken at
Midwest Champs by any IIT swim
team ever in recent memory.
The taper group consisted of
senior Co-Captain Matt Pearson,
juniors Kaylyn Siefkas and Siddha Pimputkar, and freshmen Sarah
Johnson, Dave Perry, Phil Pannenko, John Groszko, Robert Whittlesey, and Kyle Carlton. Pearson
swam two amazing races, making
National cuts and season bests in
both his 100 and 200 Breaststrokes.
Siefkas swam lifetime bests in every one of her races: the 200 and
400 Individual Medleys and the
100 and 200 Backstrokes. Pimput-
kar made National cuts and season
bests in his 50 and 100 Freestyles,
as well as a lifetime best in his 100
Butterfly. Johnson also had four
amazing races, swimming lifetime
bests in the 50 and 100 Freestyles
and the 100 and 200 Breaststrokes.
Perry had three great swims, the 50,
100 and 200 Freestyles, all of which
were lifetime bests. Pannenko also
had three lifetime best swims in the
50 Freestyle, 100 and 200 Breaststrokes, as well as making National
cuts in both of his Breaststroke
events. Groszko swam three lifetime bests in the 200 Freestyle, 100
and 200 Backstrokes with a National cut in the 200 Back. Carlton
swam three lifetime bests as well,
in the 100 and 200 Butterflies and
500 Freestyle, with a new National
cut in the 500. And finally, last, but
certainly not least, Whittlesey swam
three lifetime bests in the 200, 500
The Week In International Sports
By Shivam Srivastava
TECHNEWS SPORTS WRITER
Motorsports
Formula One Boss Bernie Ecclestone has said that India should be
hosting a Grand Prix by 2008. The
venue will be either Mumbai, Hyderabad or Calcutta. This comes a few
days before Narain Karthikeyan is set
to become the first Indian to debut
on the F1 circuit. Karthikeyan completed 80 laps at the Barcelona circuit
as part of the second round of testing
of Jordanʼs new car. In other news,
Marcus Gronholm crashed out of the
Rally of Sweden allowing Petter Solberg a comfortable victory.
Soccer
Chelsea extended their lead at
the top of the English Premier League
table to 12 points with a 1-0 win over
Everton last Saturday. However,
Manchester United continued to do
their best to stay close to the leaders
by scoring a 2-0 win over neighbors
Manchester city. Arsenal fielded an
all-foreign squad as they thrashed
relegation-threatened Crystal Palace,
5-0. Manager Arsene Wenger came
under heavy criticism for making
Arsenal the first English club to exclude all their English players from
the team.
Inter Milan maintained an unbeaten record in the Serie A with a
2-0 win over Roma on Saturday. Inter
also secured a place in the semi-finals
of the Italian Cup after defeating Atlanta, 3-0. Juventus extended its lead
over AC Milan to 5 points after winning 2-1 over Udinese.
In Spain, Barcelona thrashed
Real Zaragoza 4-1 to bounce back
from their loss last week. Michael
Owen scored for Real Madrid to inspire them to a 2-1 win at Osasuna on
Sunday.
Cricket
In a huge setback for Pakistan,
Shoaib Akhtar pulled out of the test
matches of the tour to India to recover from his hamstring injury. He will
most likely be able to join the tour for
the one-day internationals. However,
India may face even a greater set back
as Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the
worldʼs best player, seems increasingly unlikely to play in the series.
The Indian and Pakistani Cricket Boards finally resolved the issue
over venues. According to the revised
schedule, Calcutta will host the test
match that was initially planned for
Ahmedabad. The Gujarati city will
now play host to an extra one day
international. The series may not get
underway on time as some of the tele-
vision rights issues between BCCI,
ESPN STAR and Zee TV remain to
be resolved.
Tennis
Sania Mirza became the first Indian to win a WTA title after winning
the final of the Hyderabad open over
Alyona Bondarenko 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
With the win, she broke into the top
100s of the WTA ranking.
American Andre Agassi lost to
Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-1 in the biggest
upset of the ATP San Jose hardcourt
tournament. The final of the tournament was played out between Andy
Roddick and Cyril Saulnier. Roddick
proved too strong for the unseeded
Saulnier and cruised to a 6-0, 6-4
win.
Amelie Mauresmo of France
lost the final of the Paris Indoor open
to Russian Sinara Safina, who happens to be the younger sister of top
ranked menʼs player Marat Safin.
However, Mauresmo moved up to
number 2 in the world rankings after
the result of this tournament. Belgian
Kim Clijsters has made a very successful return from injury at the WTA
tournament in Antwerp. She defeated
Russian Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-7, 6-1
on Thursday and now plays Serena
Williams in the next round.
HELLMAT@IIT.EDU
and 1650 Freestyles, with National
cuts in both the 500 and 1650.
Of the non-taper group, some
still swam superior races, lending some extra excitement for the
National meet when they will be
tapered and rested. The five new
individual school records were set
by: Liz Wong (50 Freestyle, 100
Freestyle), Samantha Staley (200
Individual Medley), and Co-Captain Marina Hartung (100 Breaststroke, 200 Breaststroke). There
were at least five lifetime bests
and 14 season bests swum by these
swimmers, including: Amy Beribak – lifetime best 500 Freestyle;
Daniel Crandall – season best 100
Backstroke and 200 Individual
Medley; Hartung – lifetime best
100 and 200 Breaststrokes; Jef
Larson – season best 200 Breastroke, 200 and 400 Individual Medleys; Luke Shorette – season bests
50, 100 and 200 Freestyles as well
as new National cuts in the 50 and
200; Aron Varhegyi – lifetime best
200 Freestyle; Sarah Stone – season bests 50 and 100 Freestyles,
200 and 400 Individual Medleys;
Wong – season best 50 and 100
Freestyles; and Staley – lifetime
best 100 Butterfly, season best 200
Individual Medley.
Additionally, there was at least
one IIT swimmer that made it to the
finals in every single race save the
menʼs 400 Individual Medley and
the womenʼs 1650 Freestyle (but
those two events were empty only
because there were no IIT swimmers entered in them). Such a feat
is pretty incredible when there are
26 individual events and 10 relays
but only 22 swimmers on the IIT
swim team with 10 other womenʼs
and 12 other menʼs teams competing.
March to the arch
By Matt Helland
or most teams on the ʻbubbleʼ,
the last two weeks of the regular
season are vital. A string of wins can
clinch a berth in the NCAA tournament, while a couple of losses will
ruin all hopes of getting a bid. Illinois and North Carolina have been
the most impressive teams to date,
and are considered favorites for the
Final Four and a number one seed.
The other two number one seeds are
up for grabs, with Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest,
and Boston College all trying to obtain a top spot. Who will get those
last number one seeds? As of today,
hereʼs who I think will round out the
top 16.
No. 1 Seeds
Illinois (27-0)
North Carolina (22-3)
Boston College (22-1)
Oklahoma State (20-3)
No. 3 Seeds
Arizona (22-4)
Louisville (22-4)
Alabama (21-4)
Michigan State (19-4)
No. 2 Seeds
Wake Forest (22-3)
Kentucky (20-3)
Kansas (20-3)
Duke (18-4)
No. 4 Seeds
Pittsburgh (18-4)
Syracuse (22-5)
Washington (21-4)
Utah (23-3)
SPORTS EDITOR
F
Key games next week
Wednesday
Duke @ Georgia Tech (6:00 ESPN)
Tech needs a big win to help their
tournament chances.
Thursday
Wisconsin @ Michigan State (6:00
ESPN)
Battle for the second best team in the
Big Ten.
Saturday
Kentucky @ Alabama (12:30 CBS)
The SECʼs best battle for conference
bragging rights.
Arizona @ Washington (3:00 ABC)
Whoever wins this game will get a
two seed in the tourney.
SCARLET HAWKS ATHLETICS
This Week
Tuesday
2/15
Wednesday
2/16
Thursday
2/17
Friday
2/18
Sunday
2/20
Monday
2/21
Sunday
2/13
Monday
2/14
Robert Morris
2:00 PM
Men’s Basketball
Women’s Basketball
Saturday
2/19
Indiana S. Bend
7:00 PM
Swimming
Last Week
Tuesday
2/8
Lost, 59-62
Saint Francis
Men’s Basketball
Women’s Basketball
Swimming
Wednesday
2/9
Lost, 77-89
at Saint Xavier
Thursday
2/10
Friday
2/11
Saturday
2/12
at Indiana S. Bend
12:00 PM
at Saint Francis
TBA
at Midwest Champ. at Midwest Champ.
TBA
TBA