CAMPUS What’s IIT doing about greening its buildings? Pg. 5 ABE Zhou B: Find out why it’s a local hotspot. Pg. 8 SPORTS Can it be true? Is Dennis Hamlett leaving IIT? Student newspaper of Illinois Institute of Technology since 1928 IPRO 335 in Haiti: Arrival By Simon Brauer TECHNEWS WRITER On the morning of January 3, just as the sun began to rise, six individuals boarded a plane leaving Chicago which would ultimately landiwith one layiover, of courseiin the tropical island of Haiti For those of you who have been reading TechNews, you may recog7 nize that this trip was for lPRO 335, a project initiated by Drl Laura Hosman of llT’s social science department which aims to design a solar solution to power laptops distributed through the One Laptop Per Child program (OLPC) The end goal of the project is to design a solar array that would provide enough eleci tricity to charge each laptop in a given school each day and, once our pilot school gets up and running, provide the plans to others in Haiti so that it can be replicated in schools across the country No, we didn’t walk onto the plane with solar panels under our shoulders or with electrical equipment stowed in our carryions; instead our aim for this trip was to scout out four prospective schools in the small city of Lascahobas, assess their structural integrity, and discuss our plans with principals and oth7 er school officials there We landed in PortiauiPrince and as we stepped out of Customs into the warm Ca, ribbean air we were greeted by the sounds of the street, escorts calling out for their passeni gers, the rumble as cars sped by on the bumpy roads, and the penetrating conversations in French creole After a worrisome bout of cell, phone trouble, we were finally led to our 107 cal drivers, a couple of men who were helping with the OLPC organization in Haiti As we headed through the streets, I couldn’t help but think, as we passed the brown concrete walls and rubble, that this was like the pictures we often see of Iraq But as I looked up into the hills upon which thousands of small homes were built, I couldn’t help but recognize the Rio in Haiti Posters littered the streets and walls, each promoting a different candidate for president As we sped up and over hills, around curves and past monuments, we saw so many aspects ofthe people in Haiti We finally arrived at the Prince Hotel where we would be staying for several nights of our trip Even through the destruction of last Ianui ary’s earthquake there were these little alcoves of beauty in PortiauiPrince which we discovi ered along the way The hotel lobby was filled with artworkicarvings, murals, and paint, ingsiand the architecture was practically for, eign to the rest of the city Though we did not attempt any intensive official business than nightiwe were all too tired from the early flight and travel in gene eraliwe did meet up with our local contact in Haiti, Guy Serge Pompilus, along with several local university students who were assisting us in our solar implementation They drove us out into the night and brought us to an excel, lent restaurant with great local dishes Some indulged in the fresh seafood while others stepped out a bit more and tried Haitian treats such as goat; still othersiiel meidecided to take it easy that night and stick with some American favorites After the early morning commute to O’Hare, the subsequent flight across vast wai ters and darted islands, the sensation of being in a foreign land and being introduced to new Photo courtesy ofSlmon Brake!“ u. experiences, and our first indulgence in Haitian culture, we were ready to retire for the night so that we might be prepared for our travel the next morning: a scenic trip over a mountain (or two) and through dusty little villages The next day we would start assessing schools, and that was when our work really started Check out an overview of the trip and proji eat at http://www.inventingthefuture.iit.edu/ journal/2011/1/14/ipr073357visitsihaitiito, help,transformitheiqualityiofieducafltml, and for more information on [PRO 335, please visit http://iitempoweringhaitiorg/ for updates, in, formation, andpictures ofour work. TechNews wants YOU! (to tell us what you think) l ‘ W 1/ http://tinyurl.com/tn-survey Take the survey Win prizes Feelgood TUESDAY January 25, 201 1 Volume 170 I Issue 2 technewsiit.com Opi ion 2-3 Campus 4-6 AErE 1-9 The Slipstick 10 Sports 11 SustainabilllTy is Fun! Harshita Iver TECHNEWS WRITER We hear about green buildings, recy7 cling bins and alternative energy resource es But for the majority of us, that is about as far as it goes Although most people do care a lot about the environment and sustainability, they do not have either the knowledge or the time to do something to help create change Or they simply believe that one person’s actions will not save the planet This may be true, but I believe othi erwisel As said by Confucius, “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step’l And that is where the Office of Cami pus Energy and Sustainability at IIT started off a few years ago Now the of, fice has a Director, a Sustainability Plan and recently received the Princeton Ree view’s “B est Green Rating" in Illinois, tied with the University of Illinois at Urbana7 Champaign. The Office organizes all sorts of fun events throughout the year, such as the Earth Week in April, around Earth Day (April 22), and creates awareness about Recycle Mania, an annual recycling come petition every February among US and Canadian colleges They also organize events a few times every semester, called Campus Sustainability Forums, which are open to all HT students, faculty, and even the community These forums discuss various concerns about sustainability, and attempt to make people aware of what is going on at both HT and in the commu7 nity Each forum covers a new topic, as well as topics that continue to be a con, cern, like recycling which is covered once very semesten The first Sustainability Forum of the semester was on the 21st of January about transportation, and the two speakers at the event were Bob Anderson from Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technologies, and Adolfo Hernandez from Active Transportation Alliancel They spoke about how impor7 tant it is that we depend less on gasoline and how easy it is to make the world move towards healthier and more sustainable modes of transport, like biking and walk, ing (if distance permits) Bike parking, having separate bike and walking trails on roads, and bike renting systems are easy to implement and manage as well The foe rums, initially just speaker sessions have been converted into Speaker Panels, so that the floor can be opened to a question and answer session These forums make people more aware about developments in the arena of sustainability, so that the community as a whole can move towards a more sustainable and healthy way of life The forums are normally held between 12 noon and 130 pm at the MTCC Ball, room, and lunch is served Attendance is preferably by RSVP, as otherwise, there is not enough space to accommodate everyone So anyone interested in going is strongly recommended to RSVP, un less they want to risk having to watch the entire event standing up The list of top, ics for this semester and their dates is on the Campus Sustainability website (http:/l wwwiitledu/sustainabilityl)