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1. Music to the Ears |
by John Gagnon, promotional writer
We bumped into Keith Kinnear, from Duluth, Monday night, as he "worked the sound board" for a rock concert in the Memorial Union Ballroom. The two-hour show, part of Orientation, featured a local group with an x-rated name; a group called Grampus from Marquette; and a twosome named Baby Guts from Minneapolis. "They’re loud," Kinnear said. "It should be interesting."
Kinnear is a senior majoring in audio and production technology and likes the program. "I know enough to know I don't know enough," he said. But he's right on key with it. "This is what I'm going to do for a long time," he said. He had sound-board duty because he works for WMTU Radio, which organized the event.
When it comes to decibels, Kinnear proved prophetic. No dulcet tones here. The music started out ear-splitting and ended up deafening. "Classic punk rock," said John Walikainen, a senior in computer network and system administration, who was in the audience and who comes from a lineage that listens hard to music.
The T-shirts captured the spirit of the doings: Pink Floyd, Ozzie Osbourne, Javelina--and Jimi Hendrix with angel wings. Orientation folks wore T-shirts with this inscription on the back: "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." Victor Hugo talking.
While Kinnear and cohorts worked on the sound Monday, people dribbled in. First a dozen. Then, with the music blaring, a throng gathered for an hour and a half. One woman from China walked out with her hands over her ears. Then the music died and all departed except for a few stragglers.
Midway through the doings, Michelle Bangen, of Counseling and Wellness Services, and her student helpers showed up and passed around doughnut-hole Frisbees with this message:
"81 percent of Michigan Tech students recognize that there are risks associated with consuming alcohol prior to being sexually active."
This is what Bangan calls "a social norms message" and it was the first of several that will be floated at Orientation this week.
Bangen was excited about the work, and her enthusiasm was shared by two lively students who were helping her: Christina Mishica, a junior from Hancock, and Kristen Monahan, a senior from Minneapolis. Both are in HOWL (Healthy Options for a Wellness Lifestyle), both are in the exercise science program, and both are on the varsity cross country and Nordic skiing teams.
All these folks are trying to encourage responsible drinking and dispel misinformation. "Students think that other students drink a lot more than they actually do," Bangen says. That mistaken notion, she adds, can constitute pressure to drink, especially among first-year students. "If students perceive others as heavy drinkers," she says, "they are more likely to become heavy drinkers, if they think it will help them fit in."
Bangan and Katie Russell, coordinator of Orientation, have spearheaded a campus effort to try to curtail high-risk drinking, a project for which they received a grant of $116,840 from the Department of Education.
"The misconception about alcohol abuse on campus is gigantic," Bangen adds. She cites a 2006 alcohol- and drug-use survey that measured usage, attitudes and perceptions. It showed that more than 90 percent of Tech students believe that the average student drinks once a week or more, while, in fact, 70 percent of students drink once a week or less, and 20 percent don't consume alcohol at all.
"Although the majority of our students are making smart decisions related to alcohol use," Bangen says, "the percentage of Michigan Tech students engaging in high-risk drinking behaviors is still unsettling."
Thus, the effort to enlighten first-year students about this nationwide problem.
The message fell on open ears in the case of Peter Denney, of Green Bay, who is majoring in general engineering.
He says Orientation in general, and the alcohol message in particular, are "helpful." He liked the straightforward approach the University used in an online interactive program, AlcoholEdu for College Students, which was emailed to all incoming students over the summer. It identified drinking habits and addressed the policies, risks and consequences of problem drinking.
"They give you the facts so you can make your own educated decision," Denney said. "Drinking is definitely the image most people have about college. It's not as true as they make it out to be. It's only a problem if you make it one."
Overall, Orientation, which ends Sunday, helps first-year students fit in and feel comfortable. Arriving on campus can be hard. "Super overwhelming," said Kim Hammer, from Eden Prairie, Minn., who is majoring in chemical engineering. It's her first time away from home. "You have no idea who people are, whether they're nice and what they think of you," she worries.
Orientation has been helpful. "Everybody has been really nice," Hammer says. She likes the mix of the fun with the sober. "It works really well," she says. "It keeps you alert."
As for alcohol use? They're preaching to the choir as far as Hammer is concerned. "Way too many students have their own idea of drinking," she says. "But what an awful way to meet people. It's your first impression, and you're making a fool of yourself."
Instead, she can't wait to hit the broomball rink. Seeing it being played was the highlight of her visit to campus in the winter of her junior year in high school.
Hammer liked the music at the rock concert. Another student, Tingwen Li from China, had this to say about it: "It was the first time I heard music so close. I like softer music." |
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2. Reminder: Provost Search Committee Seeking Nominations Until Oct. 15 |
The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs search committee invites the University community to nominate qualified candidates for this position. Information about the position can be found at www.mtu.edu/provost/ .
Applications should be received by Oct. 15. Appointment is anticipated to be effective as early as summer 2010. Submit your nominations to Robert Lawless at rwl@academic-search.com. Lawless represents Academic Search Inc., the firm that is assisting the search committee. The names of all applicants will remain confidential, and only the finalists will be identified. |
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3. KSO, Concert Choir Auditions Next Week |
The Michigan Tech Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir will hold auditions for the 2009-10 season during the week of Aug. 31.
Experienced community musicians interested in joining either ensemble are invited to attend the first rehearsals to play or sing and learn more about this year's concerts. Information on auditions will be available at these rehearsals. The orchestra's first meeting is on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. in Rozsa 208, and the choir's is on Monday, Aug. 31, at 4 p.m. in Rozsa 120. Access to both rooms is available through the Walker Center.
Both the choir and orchestra are open to Michigan Tech students and community members by audition. Those who can't attend the first rehearsals but would like to find out more or to schedule an audition time should contact Joel Neves (KSO) at jbneves@mtu.edu or 487-2859, or Susan Byykkonen (Choir) at sbyykkonen@charter.net or 281-1966.
The KSO rehearses Tuesdays from 7 to 9:30 p.m. throughout the academic year and presents four concerts each season in the Rozsa Center. Founded in 1971, the KSO is the oldest continuously programming symphony orchestra in the Upper Peninsula and frequently features distinguished professional soloists on its programs.
The Concert Choir meets each Monday and Wednesday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. during the academic year. The 80-voice choir is one of Michigan's leading university-community ensembles. Each season, it presents two major concerts, one of which is with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra. The choir also performs at community and University functions, including Spring Commencement. Drop-in choir auditions will be held Tuesday, Sept. 1, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the choir room (Rozsa 120).
The KSO and Concert Choir will give a joint presentation of Handel's "Messiah" in the Rozsa Center on Dec. 5. |
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4. Retirement Party for Michael Andrieni Friday |
submitted by Dining Services
A retirement party will be held to honor Michael Andrieni, who recently retired after a colorful 35-year career in the Dining Services trenches.
Join us for cake, ice cream and good company in the Wadsworth Annex on Friday, Aug. 28, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. |
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5. New Funding |
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Andrew Storer (SFRES) has received funding for two projects: $114,913 from the USDA Forest Service for "Factors Affecting the Growth of Emerald Ash Borer Infestations in Northern Forests"; and $225,000 from the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, for a three-year project, "Beech Bark Disease and Resistance in American Beech." |
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6. In Print |
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Undergraduate students Kyrie Pappas and Wei Tang published a paper with graduate student Xiang Zhang and Assistant Professor Shiyue Fang (Chemistry), "Phenyl Esters, Preferred Reagents for Mono-Acylation of Polyamines in the Presence of Water," in Tetrahedron Letters, 2009, volume 50, pages 5741-5743. Pappas and Tang were supported by Michigan Tech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program. |
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7. Free Office Furniture |
The Dean of Students office has the following office furniture available for free:
* one tan upholstered chair with no arms
* four light-gray upholstered chairs with arms
* two blue upholstered chairs, one with arms and one without
* one bookshelf, dark cherry in color with four shelves, measuring 12 by 29 by 54 inches
* one black, three-drawer metal desk wing, measuring 20 by 26 by 38 inches
* one black, two-drawer metal lateral file cabinet, measuring 18 by 27 by 42 inches
* one black, two-drawer metal lateral file cabinet with a wood-grain top, measuring 20 by 30 by 36 inches
Contact Debbie in the Dean of Students office at 487-2951 or dforsell@mtu.edu .
University property may only be transferred between departments; it may not be given or sold to individuals. |
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8. Free Metal Electronic Rack Box |
The Campus Bookstore is giving away a metal electronic rack box with an amplifier. Call 487-2410 or stop in to view the items.
University property may only be transferred between departments; it may not be given or sold to individuals. |
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