Michigan Tech Undergraduate Catalog

The University
Student Life

Activities | Athletics | Health Care | Housing | Support Services | Cultural and Educational Resources

 

Activities  http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/events2/

Michigan Tech offers opportunities for students to participate in a multitude of activities. WebCal, an electronic calendar reached from Michigan Tech's homepage, lists University events, including student activities. Students are encouraged to add their own organization's events to this calendar.

Student Organizations  www.sa.mtu.edu/stulife/stuorg/

More than 180 student groups are registered on campus, including political, cultural/ethnic, social, special interest, media, honorary, religious, service, leadership, and professional organizations, as well as fraternities, sororities, and club sports groups. Many of these groups become involved in new student orientation, Homecoming, Winter Carnival, and other events.

Undergraduate Student Government (USG)—USG is the voice of the student body. This group oversees the disbursement of the revenue collected through the student activity fee and works with student groups to help resolve issues. USG offices are located in the Memorial Union Building.

Tech Traditions

K-Day—On Friday of the first week of classes, all students are invited out to McLain State Park on Lake Superior for a day of fun, sun, music, games and food. Student organizations sponsor booths so students can learn about the varied opportunities available on Tech's campus. The day is a celebration of the beautiful Keweenaw Peninsula, home to Michigan Tech. Classes are canceled at noon so that students and faculty can celebrate and participate in the activities.

Parade of Nations—The Parade of Nations and Multicultural Festival, held in September, celebrate diversity with a colorful parade, complete with floats, bands and flag-bearing students, representing eighty nations. Following the parade, students, faculty, and members of the community gather at a celebration of food, culture, music, and dance.

Homecoming—Few homecoming festivities on any campus can rival Michigan Tech’s for zaniness and all-around fun! In addition to the Homecoming Court and football game, there are also a hobo parade, in which students dress in their worst clothes, a charity canned food drive, a cardboard boat race, a three-legged race, clothing strip relay, and a boisterous tailgate party before the big game.

Family Weekend—During a designated weekend in the fall semester, parents and families are invited to the Keweenaw Peninsula to explore campus, attend cultural events, cheer the Husky teams to victory, cruise the Keweenaw Waterway, and tour the Copper Country as it shows off its vibrant fall colors. It is a weekend filled with fond memories of Michigan Tech and family fun, and it’s a great opportunity to visit with Tech students.

Winter Carnival—No Michigan Tech tradition can match Winter Carnival for national fame and overall involvement. The Winter Carnival started in 1922 and has grown to become one of the largest annual winter festivals in the nation. It features huge, intricate snow statues on campus and in the local area, a home hockey series against a tough WCHA team, men's and women's varsity basketball, skits, broomball and other sports, sleigh rides, a Winter Carnival Queen, and more midwinter fun than you'd think was possible! Winter Carnival is held in early February during a two day class break.

Spring Fling—On a Friday afternoon late in spring semester, students end the academic year and welcome warmer weather by engaging in activities including pie-throwing at professors, mud volleyball (better know as oozeball), and listening to rock bands at the Spring Fling festival. Various student organizations participate in this light-hearted event with food and entertainment for a campus community eager to relax and have fun before the serious business of final exams begins.

Visual and Performing Arts  www.fa.mtu.edu

The Department of Visual and Performing Arts presents a variety of theatrical and musical performances and art exhibits for the campus and local community throughout the year. Programs offered include:

Cultural Enrichment

The University sponsors a broad variety of cultural activities including art exhibits, dance and theater touring companies, musical ensembles, performing artists, and lectures by topical (and often controversial) speakers. The variety of offerings provides opportunities for students to broaden their cultural education and enjoy professional entertainment. Students are also involved in the programming, promotion, and production of cultural events.

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Athletics  www.exsci.mtu.edu/

Intercollegiate Athletics (NCAA)  www.athletics.mtu.edu/

Michigan Tech has a thirteen-sport intercollegiate athletic program, highlighted by its Division I men's ice hockey team, a program that has captured three national championships. Other men's programs include football, basketball, cross country, track and field, tennis, and Nordic skiing. A strong women's program, which participated in nine NCAA tournaments in basketball and five in volleyball in the 1990s, includes cross country, tennis, Nordic skiing, and track and field.

Intramurals  www.aux.mtu.edu/im/

The Department of Physical Education, through its Intramural/ Recreational Sports Services Office, offers competition in more than thirty intramural events—from badminton to water polo—for Michigan Tech's students, faculty, and staff. Stop by the Intramural Office, room 202, Student Development Complex for IM handouts and information.

Recreational Facilities  www.exsci.mtu.edu/facilities/

The University owns and operates multiple athletic facilities and recreation areas for the benefit of its students, faculty, and staff. Facilities include the Student Development Complex, the Gates Tennis Center, and numerous other indoor and outdoor facilities, both on and off campus, for team sports, skiing, golf, tennis, and bowling. Mont Ripley, Michigan Tech’s own ski slope and the only ski mountain in the Midwest owned by a university, is convenient to campus and enjoyed by skiers and snowboarders.


Gates Tennis Center—Located near the SDC, features
Other facilities (on and off campus)

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Health Care

The Houghton Community Health Center—Located on the Michigan Tech campus adjacent to the SDC on MacInnes Drive, the Health Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm and provides primary medical care for the community and Michigan Tech students, their spouses, and their dependents on a fee-for-service basis. Fees are payable to the Portage Health System and are not billed by the university (906-483-1860).

An after-hours walk-in clinic and hospital emergency care are provided by Portage Health at 500 Campus Drive, Hancock, (906-483-1000). www.portagehealth.org.

Student Health Insurance—All students are eligible to enroll in a group health insurance plan facilitated by the University. All international students are required to purchase the University health insurance policy unless they provide proof of comparable coverage applicable in the United States. The plan is optional for domestic students, their dependents, and dependents of international students. For more information, see www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/stud%20insurance/index.shtml.

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Housing  www.housing.mtu.edu

Housing Policy—All unmarried students are required to live in University housing during their first year of attendance at Michigan Tech. This policy does not include transfer students, graduate students, or commuting students living at home with their parent or guardian.

Students currently living in the residence halls are guaranteed a place as long as they sign up for housing by the end of spring semester. Students should clarify their status with the Office of Housing and Residential Life prior to making an off-campus housing commitment.

Housing Contract—A housing application and contract for accommodations in a residence hall will be sent by the Admissions Office when the applicant is accepted for admission. Priority residence hall and roommate preference requests are considered based on the date a completed contract is received.

Residence Halls

Facilities—Douglass Houghton Hall, McNair Hall, and Wadsworth Hall together offer accommodations for more than 2,000 students. Each residence hall has comfortable rooms, large lounges, a dining room, laundry facilities, and recreation areas. Wadsworth Hall has rooms with a private bath. All residence halls are smoke free environments.

LIFESTYLE OPTIONS—Unique living options include the Community Governed Area, several substance-free housing areas and the Learning Communities.

Dining Services—All residents must choose a meal plan. First-year students may choose between the 19- and 14-meals per week plans. The 19-meal plan includes all meals offered and $90 Dining Dollars per year. The 14-meal plan includes up to 14 meals per week and $180 Dining Dollars per year. Dining Dollars allow students to eat at other times or places than at their own residence hall.

Residence Life Staff—Residence hall professional staff live in each hall and maintain regular office hours. They provide information, guidance and aid in dealing with academic or personal issues. Residents are encouraged to seek their assistance with any questions.

Michigan Tech Apartments  www.housing.mtu.edu

The University maintains 348 one and two bedroom apartments at Daniell Heights. The apartments overlook campus and are convenient to both the campus and the Student Development Complex. Rates depend upon the type of contract and occupancy. All utilities, except for telephone, cable and internet, are provided. Residents who sign up for local phone service receive domestic long distance service free. Every apartment is furnished, including an electric stove and refrigerator. Each building of six to eight apartments shares a free washer and dryer.

Picnic tables and children's play areas are located throughout the apartment area. Other amenities include a basketball court, sand volleyball court, high-speed computer access, an activity room, bike storage lockers, and free bus service from the apartments to and from the main campus during the regular academic year.

Off-Campus Housing  www.aux.mtu.edu/usghousing/

Many students choose to continue to live in residence halls beyond their first year, while others elect to live off campus in apartments, homes, or with Greek organizations. In order to assist those students interested in locating off-campus housing, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) maintains a list of off-campus householders renting to students, available from the USG Office, room 106, Memorial Union Building.

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Support Services

Career Center  www.career.mtu.edu

The University Career Center is designed to meet the career planning, preparation and placement needs of all undergraduate and graduate students and alumni of Michigan Tech. Services include seminars, a one credit course, career fairs, a career resource center, individual advising, resume writing and critiquing, mock interviewing, on-campus interviewing, corporate speakers, and a career guidance software program. All services are free to Michigan Tech students and alumni.

Students are encouraged to visit the Career Center early in their academic career. By participating in co-op or summer internship work experience, learning interview skills, and being introduced to the corporate world, students will be well prepared for permanent employment upon graduation.

Students are also encouraged to attend on-campus job fairs sponsored semiannually by Michigan Tech. Job fairs represent one of the most effective opportunities for students to obtain co-op, summer internship, and permanent employment positions.

Visit the Career Center's website at www.career.mtu.edu for a complete description of the numerous services and benefits that are available.

Child Care

The newly opened Little Huskies Child Development Center, located on campus between the SDC tennis courts and the Forestry Complex on MacInnes Drive, encourages and supports the growth and development of young children from infants to kindergartners in a caring and nurturing environment. The Center helps to attract and support world-class faculty, staff, and students. The Center is one of the many people-focused work/life initiatives intended to provide an outstanding educational and work environment for Michigan Tech students, faculty, and staff.

The Little Huskies Child Development Center gives priority to children whose parents or legal guardians are students or employees of Michigan Tech, although children from the community are welcome and may be admitted at an increased tuition rate. For more information please contact center director Eva-Marie Hatfield at (906) 487-3528.

Counseling Services  www.counseling.mtu.edu

Counseling Services assists students with those social and personal/emotional issues that may interfere with the effective use of their talents as well as acquainting them with the opportunities available at Michigan Tech. Professional counselors are available in the Counseling Center, located on the main campus in the white house next to Fisher Hall. Confidential services are available for both individuals and groups.

Counseling helps students improve their emotional well-being by assisting in the development of decision-making skills, stress management skills, interpersonal communication skills, and self-awareness. Counseling assists students facing issues such as depression, pregnancy, anxiety, loneliness, substance abuse, or relationship problems.

International Programs and Services (IPS)  www.ips.mtu.edu

The Office of International Programs and Services (IPS) is the key resource for international initiatives and programs at Michigan Tech. IPS offers information and services to students interested and involved in study abroad opportunities. IPS identifies foreign partner institutions and facilitates the development of student, faculty, and research international exchange agreements. In addition, the IPS serves as a home away from home for over 600 international students at Michigan Tech and provides visa and immigration counseling, advocacy and support services to them. Immigration and support services to international scholars on J-1 visa are also offered. IPS significantly contributes to the internationalization of Michigan Tech and Upper Peninsula communities by offering multiple cultural and educational programs. These include Intercultural Mentorship Program, International Film Festival, Parade of Nations, Festivals of the World, International Spouse Support Program, International Ambassador Program, Holidays Around the World, New International Student Orientation and informational workshops.

Educational Opportunity (EdOpp)  www.edopp.mtu.edu/

The Department of Educational Opportunity (EdOpp), working with other Michigan Tech departments, provides academic, professional, and personal educational opportunities for students. Partnerships with industry, community colleges, and secondary schools provide resources for many EdOpp programs. EdOpp youth programs and outreach divisions support the recruitment and retention of a diverse student body. The department programs primarily focus on topics that address the needs of precollege, female, minority, and nontraditional students. EdOpp also coordinates campus and community multicultural activities, conferences and institutes, and other continuing education programs. EdOpp is the epicenter for diversity and precollege information and assistance.

The department hires and trains a large number of undergraduate and graduate students to work in a variety of academic, diversity, and youth programs throughout the year.

Michigan Tech is active in the following organizations through its Outreach and Multiethnic Programs:  

Outreach & Multiethnic Programs, Conferences and Institutes, Educational Opportunity/Diversity Initiatives are divisions of Educational Opportunity which manage special educational events for the university.

Information Technology (IT)   www.tc.mtu.edu/   www.ets.mtu.edu

IT provides the foundation for Michigan Tech's computing environment and manages the network, data, telephone, video, applications, and systems infrastructure needed to support the University's education, research, and community service missions. Specific academic computing resources are offered by individual schools and college departments. Campus and global network access from the residence halls (Resnet) are available through IT Customer Service. Other offerings include pager leasing, discounted off-campus ISP service, cable TV and movie channels, long distance service, and computer sales and service (including Apple Computer products), educational technology services for students including the Electronic Display System, video studios, audio-visual equipment, streaming media, and videoconferencing.

Student Affairs Office    www.studentaffairs.mtu.edu

The Student Affairs Office provides support to students in co-curricular and extra-curricular areas, enriching and supporting the academic experience of students. Its goal is to create the best possible environment for the professional and personal growth and development of students. The student affairs staff also helps students resolve issues and problems.

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Cultural and Educational Resources

Library  www.lib.mtu.edu

The J. Robert Van Pelt Library contains more than 800,000 volumes and regularly receives approximately 10,000 serials and periodicals. It is a designated depository for official foreign, U.S. government, and Michigan state documents, and for the U.S. Army Map Service. The library archives maintain an important collection of original materials concerning the history of the Keweenaw region, including the records of various copper mining companies.

A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum  www.museum.mtu.edu

Michigan Tech is home to one of the nation's premier collections of crystals, minerals, and ores. The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, the official "Mineralogical Museum of Michigan," contains more than 30,000 specimens, including the world's finest display from Michigan's copper and iron mining districts.

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