Marquette, MI – On a bright and sunny Sunday morning at 10:37 a.m., Ryan Anderson from Roy, Minn., came across the finish line to get the win for the UP 200. Anderson has been handling dogs since he was only five years old and started racing when he turned 12. Anderson, a previous competitor of the UP 200, took home his first win with a total time of 39 hours and 27 minutes.
This annual dog sledding event invaded Marquette this past weekend as 33 mushers competed for this year’s title. This approximately 240-mile race from Marquette to Grand Marais and back always throws its twists and turns into the competition and is a qualifier for the famous Alaska Iditarod. This year, the sun was the main enemy. Clear skies with mid 30s during the day and single digits at night changed how the mushers played out the course. To keep the dogs from overheating, most switched to running at night and resting during the day.
With the sunny days and cold nights, the trail continually changed from a very fast course to a slushy and difficult one. However, with most mushers using the fast track at night, they averaged 10 MPH overall on the course. Of the original 33 mushers who began, 23 completed the journey coming in as late as 8 p.m.
Most mushers made it past the finish line before they were predicted to due to the fast morning track as Sunday morning’s sun and 37 degree weather changed the course once again.
The original track used when the UP 200 began in 1988 was actually a lot shorter then the current 240-mile course. The roughly 89-mile course from Gwinn to Munising, is still completed during the UP 200, known as the Midnight Run. This year’s winner was Joann Fortier from Gaylord, Mich., who just happened to also draw bib #1 for the competition.
The event closed out this year with a breakfast awards banquette Monday morning at the Marquette Holiday Inn, the headquarters for the UP 200 event.
With breakfast off their mind, these mushers can now look forward to the first annual CopperDog 150, which will be held in Calumet, Mich., on March 12. This inaugural event brings a fun challenge, as the teams will start in downtown Calumet, head over to Gay, then up to Copper Harbor and back to Calumet.

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Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) is an honor society that has been present on MTU campus for several years. However, the leadership of ODK, including its’ president and members of the executive board, are all new and looking for fresh and innovative ways to inspire leadership on-campus. While Leadership Week isn’t new, it has been an ODK tradition for many years; the ideas and motivation for the events included a fresh take on what kind of activities will spark leadership in students.
“Last year Leadership Week was a couple of lectures,” says Tim Hammond, ODK’s new president. “We’re trying to incorporate new ideas and increase [Leadership Week’s] presence on-campus where it’s a yearly event that people know about. We want it to be like events such as Stand-a-thon where people know about it every year.” One way the ODK members planned on doing that was by making the events interactive and increasing the diversity of the events themselves.
“ODK has five main areas,” says Hammond, “Creative and Performing Arts, Service, Scholarship, Athletics, and Speech and Media so we catered the events to these five things.” Each of the days had a theme and the events reflected one of the five areas.
Students enjoyed an interactive workshop on Monday, reflecting the importance of Creative and Performing Arts, from Dr. Held, Chair of Creative and Performing Arts.
On Tuesday, attendees of the “Campus Connections to Leadership!” Head from Jess Turuc, Assistant Director of Student Activities for Greek Life and Leadership, who highlighted many groups and organizations on-campus that students can join to become more active. On Wednesday, the cats and dogs at the Copper Country Humane Society enjoyed a visit and a walk or a pet from the ODK future-leaders to explore the Service aspect of leadership. Also on Wednesday, speaker Terry Beam, a professional from “Motor City Connect” detailed the importance of networking to students looking for a fulfilling career in “Networking to Your Next Job Now!” The final day, Thursday, is devoted to the area of Athletics and ODK collaborated with OAP (another aspect of leadership!) to bring a challenge course to DHH for students looking to take a break from studies and challenge their leadership abilities.
ODK members are contacted based on high GPA marks through letter sent out when they reach Junior/Senior status. The Honor Society then works to promote leadership on-campus and help their members network for jobs after college. Sometimes, admits Hammond, students join “because it looks good on a resume” but “just joining isn’t enough to make you a leader,” reminds Hammond. “We are working on building an internal structure for our members to work on their leadership skills.”
One of the ways to do that: collaborate with other leadership opportunities on-campus. One of the hallmarks of the organization that sets ODK apart is their collaborative approach to building events like Leadership Week. Many of the events were sponsored or organized with another campus organization such as Career Services, Creative and Performing Arts Department, and the Outdoor Adventure Program.
The next step for ODK involves setting up a forum for discussing student issues on-campus. “If there’s something you want to see change or a voice that you think needs to be heard—Join in!” says Hammond. “We can talk about it and try to find a solution together.” Look for more on this later, since right now ODK is ready to enjoy the after-glow of their Leadership Week
If you are interested in ODK or Leadership Week events please contact Tim Hammond at tghammon@mtu.edu

African Night 2010: The Story from Within will be held Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. Dinner will start at 5:00 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom (MUB), with performance starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Rozsa Center for Performing Arts. One ticket will cover the dinner and the performance . The prices are $10 for students and $15 for faculty and the general public. Tickets will be available for sell at the Rozsa box office from Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Plus two hours before the performance. Tickets will also be available Thrusday Feb. 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the MUB and Friday Feb. 26 from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. in Fisher Hall. During this event, students from various African countries provide the audience with an exhilarating display of some of the dance routines from their countries. The food prepared before the performance will showcase the culinary masterpieces from certain African countries, which include Nigeria, Ghana, Keyna, Zimbabwe, and more. Apart from food and dancing, other performances such as African dramas, poems and presentations portraying the lifestyles and cultural aspects native to the beautiful continent of Africa will also be showcased. This year’s special guest performers are the Hayor Bibimma Dance Company and the Michigan Tech African Students. This event has grown consistently over the years, and attracts an audience of over 300 people every year. This event is brought to you by the African Student Organization (ASO). ASO is a student organization on Michigan Tech campus comprised mainly of students from various African countries as well as students from other parts of the world. One of the aims of this organization is to promote awareness and share African cultures with the Michigan Tech community as well as with the surrounding Houghton County communities.

Genny Gierke and her family had begun a program a few years ago that is dedicated towards hosting students from abroad. The program, known as the Labo International Exchange (LIE), is a student exchange course that gives incoming Japanese students the opportunity to learn more about American culture, language, and customs. The program is run through the Michigan State University (MSU) Extension.
Courses are conducted right in the family household in Chassell where students are provided with both food and shelter. The first Japanese student was given the chance to experience a one-month course in American culture and, according to the Gierke family, the experience worked out very well. Students from ages three to 18 are allowed to be admitted into the program to gain their knowledge and understanding of America.
The first student enjoyed her experiences with the family and the community. “It’s always really fun. The cultural differences are always neat to see,” she commented.
Hosting foreign exchange students has also given the family the opportunity to establish a long lasting friendship and travel to Japan at discounted rates. Gierke recently visited the country to see one of her previous students and said she really enjoyed having the chance to experience cultural differences in Japan. “It was really neat to see how our culture fit into Japanese life there.”
Students from Japan who were previous hosts of the Gierke family also came to visit. “I always really enjoyed it,” explains Gierke of her experiences. “It’s just like having a friend come visit for a while because you get to know the person so well, and you get to come see them and see them grow.”
Gierke’s family began the program when she was still in high school. Now a second year student at Michigan Tech, Gierke still enjoys aiding and tutoring foreign students who come to her home.
LIE hosts over 1,000 Japanese students in America every summer. Students are assigned to families with children of the same sex and age. Any family is eligible to sign up and become a host family. During stay, students are secured with full accident and health insurance. Students are to come with their own spending money while their hosts provide them with a three-day meal, a bed and room, and transportation.
Student exchange hosting programs are also held throughout the country by the Center for Cultural Interchange (CCI). Similar to LIE, CCI offers over 1000 exchange students to families with programs that range from a few weeks to 10 months. The major difference between the two would account for the broad range of foreign exchange students covered in CCI whereas LIE is limited to Japanese students. CCI does not compensate for families who take part in such a program. However, deductions of $50 per month are made on their tax returns for charitable work.
The state of Michigan is currently attempting to host 53 students according to 4-H Program Associate Carol Kreher. “In the past, we have one or two families. We like to have families with at least one youth around ages 12 to 18,” says Kreher.
For more information, email Carol Kreher at kreher@msu.edu or call the MSU Extension office at 482-5830. To learn more about the Labo International Exchange and/or the Center for Cultural Interchange, visit labo-exchange.com or cci-exchange.com.

Like many campuses, Michigan Tech has its fair share of parking problems, which is why President Mroz put together a task force last fall to investigate possible solutions.

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Gopi Podila, a former Michigan Tech professor, was one of three Alabama Huntsville faculty killed when fellow faculty member Amy Bishop opened fire at a regular Biological Sciences faculty meeting.

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On Monday, Michigan Tech formally announced Max Seel as the provost and vice president for academic affairs. Seel was one of three finalists who completed the rigorous application process, which included open forums on campus, but what set Seel apart was his knowledge and familiarity of Michigan Tech.

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The Undergraduate Student Government covered a lengthy agenda during its meeting Wednesday night. Topics discussed included USG bylaws, budget hearings for student organizations, and USG liaisons with student organizations on campus.
Reviewed bylaws for last week included revising the GPA requirement for undergraduate students involved with government. These effects will come into practice next week. A proposed bylaw would require executive board members to be paid a total amount of $500 per semester and will be voted on next week.
Also discussed were compensations for various student organizations. These included reimbursements of $21.56 for the Pistol Club as well as reimbursements for the Women’s Soccer Club, Ski Patrol, and the Roller Hockey Club among other organizations.
Organizations that have attended last week’s meeting included members of the Habitat for Humanity Chapter who were given allocations of $820 from the opportunities fund for their annual Collegiate Challenge. Also in attendance were members from the Department of Visual and Performing Arts who discussed details about the annual Keweenawesome Fest. They represented the band “Electric Six” and spoke in advocacy for their attendance at the festival.
“The event will take place on the 10th of April and will be located in the McCardle Theater,” said one of the representatives. “Normally about 100 people come to these events and we are predicting that about 200 people will be present this time.”
The representatives requested $5000 from the opportunities fund for the event at the Keweenawesome Fest. USG member, Paul Mattson, expressed his thoughts on the proposal. “It gives an opportunity for students to have fun,” he said. “I think it is a good place to invest in.”
The weekly committee reports included hearings from the service, judiciary, elections, public relations, and civil rights committees. The public relations and the elections committee focused much of their attention on the USG elections that will be held next Monday. A topic that brought up interest was the plan for new members in the fall. “There could be a fear of responsibility, masked by a put-on sense of humility and volunteerism,” commented Senior Representative Kyle Thornton.
USG liaison of this week dealt with members from various organizations. The Students for Environmental Sustainability (SFES) discussed their plans for the upcoming Earth Week. They discussed possible movies and speakers as well as a hands-on “herb planting” event that will be used to represent their organization. Others included hearings on International Night, hosted by the International Club, and African Night, brought out by the Parent’s Fund.
The MUB Board also attended to discuss the permission for student organizations to obtain microwaves in their offices and discussed the need for more microwaves in the MUB.
Other topics included granting funds for student organizations who wish to build storage shelters for places such as snowmobiles. One group in particular was the Sledheads; an organization dedicated to those who are interested in snowmobiling. These funds would be used to provide for heat, rent, and electricity among other things.
This week’s main focus was to discuss budgets for student organizations. One member from each student organization was required to attend this meeting in order to receive funding from the Student Activities Fund (SAF). The meeting was held in the MUB Ballroom A at 7:00 p.m. this past Wednesday.

Events for cultural diversity have grown in size and dominance on-campus. Overflowing to the Houghton community, the parades, musical and dining events, performances, speeches, and organizations have given Michigan Tech students and Houghton residents a multitude of opportunities, almost weekly, to engage in a cultural besides their own. The advent of many of these informative and often celebrative events may be due to one of the newest educational opportunities on-campus—The Diversity Minor.
In 2003, faculty and administrators gathered to address the “diversity problem”, namely the low numbers associated with recruiting and retaining diverse students, faculty, and staff on Michigan Tech’s campus. The outcome, initiated three years later, passed through the Department Administration, the University Senate, and then more administration. Michigan Tech’s response to the “diversity problem” is the relatively new Diversity Minor.
Rhetoric from the proposal to the University Senate argued that an inclusion of diversity studies in Michigan Tech students’ curricular options would address the recruit/retain issue as well as provide an opportunity to educate Michigan Tech students about diversity in the United States.
“The faculty, students, and courses in this minor could have a campus-wide impact far greater than just the number of students selecting this minor might suggest. Such a minor could help to improve the climate for underrepresented groups on campus and, thus, could help with recruiting and retaining underrepresented students, faculty, and staff.” –Senate Proposal 15-07 submitted January 2007.
The Diversity Minor offers students a chance to experience and explore diversity in an academic context but some of the additional benefits expected by the Diversity Studies Committee are the “Ripple Effects”. Mainly, the establishment of a committee dedicated to implementing and supporting courses, events, and organizations on-campus that offer students opportunities to venture into an academic discourse in a variety of contemporary topics in U.S. diversity.
One of the cornerstones of the Diversity Minor is the belief that “problems are more often solved by the collective effort of people involved in many smaller initiatives.” An academic approach is not the “one hundred percent solution” and instead the committee will supplement instead of run, replace, or claim jurisdiction over the on-going efforts of cultural groups that have already been well established at Michigan Tech and in the Keweenaw area for many years.
The Diversity Studies Committee has been busy this year already and the opportunities for students to become active and informed about diversity topics and concerns is increasing. A short list of ten activities pursued by the Diversity Studies Committee this year follows:

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 marked the first State of the Black Union in seven years held on Michigan Tech’s campus. Twenty-five students, along with Gloria Melton, Dean of Students, Chris Anderson, Special Assistant to the President for Institutional Diversity, Susan Liebau, Interim Co-Director of Multicultural Affairs, Director of ExSEL, Associate Director of COMPASS, Kevin J. Walker, outgoing Coordinator of African American Student Support, and Dr. Melvin Norwood, incoming Coordinator of African American Student Support, were all in attendance for the address. Nicole White, President of the Black Student Association gave the opening remarks. Kevin J. Walker delivered the address, which highlighted the academic state of African American students on Michigan Tech’s campus. Kevin began the address by stating, “We are not doing that great.” He announced that after the fall 2009 term, 27 percent of African American undergraduate students were on academic probation. He further announced that the fall 2009 GPA for African American undergraduate students was a 2.43, with a cumulative GPA of a 2.48. Walker did acknowledge that the African American graduate student fall term GPA was a 3.1, with a cumulative GPA of 3.7. Walker also mentioed the decline of African American students enrollment from the fall of 2009 until spring 2010. The graph to the right of this column highlighs the African American student enrollment from fall of 1999 thru fall of 2009. For more enrollment stats, visit www.admin.mtu.edu.