4 UTSAV GANDHI EWB promotes socialjustice with week full of events By Swasti Khuntia LAYOUT EDITOR Social Justice Week (20th 7 25th February) kicked off with an Engineers Without Borders (EWBEUSA) General Body Meeting at IIT The theme of the meeting was “Everybody Without Borders , The Power of Zero’I Dhara Shah, Directors of Projects at EWBEUSA,HT and IL State Representative, EWBEUSA delivered an impressive presentation about the “United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UNMDP)" and some other topics related to social justice around the world Starting the talk with health issues around the world, she explained the interrelation of health, sustainable development and lifestyle “The majority of the world’s designers focus all their efforts on developing products and services exclusively for the richest 10% of the world’s customers Nothing less than a revolution in design is needed to reach the other 90%", she emphasized The keyepoints of her presentation were: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development Speaking about the universal primary education, the goal is to educate 113 million children who do not attend school every day Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education will help in lowering the illiteracy rate in women worldwide On a sadder note, 76 million children die below the age of 5 per year because of malnutrition, disease, eth The goal of the UNMDP is to reduce this rate by 2/ 3rd by 201 5 In addition to the above note, only 53% of deliveries worldwide are attended by skilled health workers S0, achieving universal access to reproductive health is another important goal to be fulfilled by year 2015 Developing a global partnership by addressingthe specific needs for least developed communities, landlocked countries, and small island developing states is a major goal under UNMDP The EWB members also organized other events like a screening of Iron Jawed Angels, an excellent film about women’s suffrage in early 20th century America The week wrapped up with a social gathering at the BOG on Friday SWE regional conference promotes professionalism By Laura Casas Gurri STAFF WRITER Part of our college experience, one of the keys to be prepared for the future, is not gained in class This kind of experience which companies care about is related to our involvement in extra curricular activities, such as student organizations Last weekend, the regional conference of Society of Women Engineers (SWE) took place in Madison, Wisconsin. For two intense days IIT students had the excellent opportunity to network and participate in workshops with professionals and students from different colleges The first activity of the weekend was a welcome dinner for graduate students Professionals were also invited for this event, with the objective being to break the ice, some initial networking and help students prepare for the transition from graduate studies to the professional world The second day began early with a new opportunity to meet other students over the course of breakfast At this time, the student chapters of Purdue, Michigan and Minnesota, defended their candidatures to host next year’s regional conference The three chapters demonstrated their respective involvement and presented their main ideas as to why they wished to be chosen. It was an interesting competition where we could see how the other chapters work After voting for the best presentation, each college as a group had to make a decision The winner was the chapter from the University of Minnesota The day continued with different workshops, catering to varied interests, including a useful one about the do’s and don’ts in an interview All of us know that an interview requires a lot of preparation and each tip someone collects can be really important to help prepare After the morning sessions, a networking lunch was next on the agenda with some companies This was a great opportunity which some of the students were waiting for; to demonstrate their skills, aptitudes and interests to the companies Not every day do students get the possibility of meeting professionals working in the field they are working towards a degree in, and establish a relationship which canpotentially bring them a mentorship or even a job offer! Right after the lunch, the small but rather less crowded career fair began and lasted pretty much the entire evening Again, another opportunity to show ourselves to companies, talk and discuss with them all we had in mind The long day ended with a dinner where we could share and talk about experiences and thoughts , the conference did not leave anyone indifferenti Each one of us learnt something about this event This episode allowed us to develop some skills, meet new people, make some friendships and network with professionals A very productive day indeedl Financial Aid award package updates By IIT Office of Financial Aid Beginning March 1, the Office of Financial Aid will make available student award packages for the 201213 academic year Only students who have completed a FAFSA (fafsa edgov) will have a federal aid package Students will receive an email when their award package is available to view on the portal The Office of Financial Aid will not send a paper letter to continuing students so check your IIT Hawk email address for this notification. Students selected for verification for the 201213 academic year will receive a notification that their FAFSA has been received and that additional documentation is required before an award can be finalized Specific requirements for individual students selected will be found on the portal in the Outstanding Requirements section. Students may have other requirements on their account even if not selected for verification so all students should check to see what is requested for them on the portal The Office of Financial Aid will begin collectng any required documents immediately; however our processing time will not be until May due to the preparation required for incoming fall students That being said, we encourage students to submit documentation as it becomes available to them If you have not completed a FAFSA and are eligible for federal aid, please do so by HT’s priority deadline of March 15 Ifyou have any questions about this process or your specific awards, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@iitiedui campus@technewsiit.com TechNews I Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Sings represent IIT at CLA conference By Mike Purdy OPINION EDITOR & DISTRIBUTION MANAGER The Greek community at IIT was well represented by Sigma Phi Epsilonbrothers at the esteemed Carlson Leadership Academy (CLA) this past weekend After gaining national recognition for outstanding scholarship and manpower on campus, members of the IllinoisEBeta chapter engaged with other Sings from around the Midwest region in valuable leadership training Sing brothers from IIT departed from this great experience with newfound motivation and insight which will help propel their chapter to new heights Held annually, the Carlson Leadership Academy is implemented to provide highecaliber officer training to Sigma Phi Epsilon undergraduates from across the country This year’s Midwest, region academy was held at the Westin Hotel and Conference Center in Lombard, IL, and was the largest ever with nearly 750 Sing brothers in attendance Facilitated by prominent Sing alumni and regional volunteers, CLA is focused on developing individual leadership strengths which will benefit the core executive teams from each chapter Specific leadership training was provided for chapter positions, and consisted of large and small group exercises, goal, setting sessions, and professional networking experience The IlEBeta executive board showed up in fiJll force for the weekend, alongwith many other experienced as well as newlyebudding leaders from the local Chicago chapter here at IIT Those execeboard leaders in attendance were: Clark Zachoki 7 Chapter President, Carlos Vargas , Vice President of Programming, Dan Zweige VP Member Development, Nick Shattuck , VP Communications, Mike Purdy , VP Recruitment, Daniel Cruz rVP Finance, and Chaplain Jake Deters Exhibiting stellar leadership potential throughout the weekend were new members Jerrod Harris, Joannas Joseph, Neil Griflin, Dane Christianson, and Dan Meves Also in attendance were seasoned Sing leaders Frank Morris , Scholarship Chairman, Jefferson West, House Manager, Jeff Bednarz 7 Greek Council President, and Joshua Buck , previous Chapter president and program volunteer The team of Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers from HT was one of the largest groups at CLA, and provided significant energy and insightfiil participation to many of the training sessions Proudly displaying the advantages of Greek life at HT, these Sing brothers added depth and breadth to many leadership conversations, which can be attributed to a tighteknit, diverse brotherhood whose commitment to excellence has not gone unnoticed At the awards ceremony, Sings from Illinois Tech were recognized with the distinguished honors of the Manpower Excellence Award and the Grand Chapter Scholarship Cup The Manpower Excellence award is given to those chapters who have the most manpower on campus among fraternities for an academic term With 59 members in fall 201 1, Sing HEB eta was definitely deserving of this award The Grand Chapter Scholarship Cup was awarded to Illinois Beta for an outstanding academic performance during the fall semester; with an overall 3I16 grade point average, the Sing fraternity at IIT maintains not only the highest GPA of fraternities on campus, but one that is higher than the allecampus undergraduate average of 3095s Under the guiding principle of “Building Balanced Men", Sigma Phi Epsilon is dedicated to the development of both a sound mind and sound body while developing a brotherhood based upon the highest ideals of virtue, diligence, and brotherly love National leadership conventions such as CLA help to instill these values while encouraging chapter progress and consistent local and national achievement Sing brothers from IlEBeta returned to campus late Saturday night with a renewed vis ion of success for their chapter and University Armed with a plethora of new ideas and inspirational perceptions, these brothers willprovide a newfound energy and enthusiasm to a rising Sing chapter as spring, and Greek Week, quickly approaches The executive board will get straight to work, crafting important chapter goals and implementing much of what was learned at CLA in its leadership strategy One of these goals is to obtain a Buchanan Cup, Sing’s most prestigious national award given to those chapters who excel in every area of operations and represent the besteofetheebest around the country With increased philanthropy efforts, campus involvement, and academic success, the brothers from IlEBeta are working hard toward gaining this recognition while improving the IIT community at the same time Although there is still much work to be done, Sigma Phi Epsilon is proud of its current position in manpower and academic excellence atop the Greek community at Illinois TechI obi“ ABDI a... To START YOUR E%’ A§BEL§ Who: All Entrepreneurs. What: Arch Grants will give at least 10 grants of $50,000 each, no equity required. Free business mentoring, legal and accounting services. Discounted living/office space, and access to local angel networks. ARC GRANTS Ingenuity. Innovation. In St. Louis. Learn more and apply at archgrants.orglcompetition When: Deadline for submissions, March 9, 2012. Why: To build a strong network of entrepreneurs in St. Louis. Submit your applications now! Winners announced May 2012. For more information go to wwwarchgrantsorg. H