Tuesdayjanuary 29, 2013 | TechNews campus@technewsiit.com UTSAV GANDHI Tech Traditions Committee focusing TEDx talks on student engagement, school spirit return to ”T Katie Peters COPY EDITOR & LAYOUT EDITOR Most upperclassmen on campus have heard of lPRO day. Most gamers have heard of the Robotics Dance ‘n’ LAN parties. Most Greeks have heard of Greek Week. Most sophomores have heard of Sophomore Leadership Retreat. Most students might have seen the HT Bucket List posters that are currently circulating through campus. Most students have not, however, heard of the committee that meets once a month to work on keeping these traditions alive, as well as create new traditions. The name of this committee is Tech Traditions, a campusewide effort to promote pride, awareness and gratitude among llT’s student body so that they have a powerful student experience and transition into active and engaged alumni. Started in 2009, the committee works hard to find campus traditions that will enrich students’ educational experiences, and inspire new campus traditions. One of the new traditions they are looking to publicize is a reorganization and unification of the Pi Day activities on campus. Yes, we are a tech school, and so yes, we should celebrate one of the nerdiest days of the year as much as possible. Past Pi Day activities have included learning the HT Engineering Fight Song to earn a piece of pie from the Office of Campus Life or running a 3.14 mile race with Residence and Greek Life. The Tech Traditions committee’s goal for this event is to “bring awareness to Pi Day and be able to market these events in a cohesive manner,” says committee chair Katie Stango, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations. If you are a student who would like to be involved in the committee and help refresh school spirit or if you have a Pi Day event you would like to be included, please email Katie at kstang0@iit.edu.students to move out into fraternity houses for the first semester, making mentoring harder for the most critical semester for an llT student. Greek life is continually scrutinized by the HT administration, and has been victim in the past few years of several changes in policy that influence the Greek community to believe they are under attack by the school. Greek life is not something the administration should be attacking, but encouraging and helping and not stifling. The administration and Greek community should be looking for ways that they can work together to make the HT experience better and the mission more attainable. Students attend undergrad physics conference geared towards women and uni ' . . in: state Emily Hommerding i \ TECHNEWS WRITER informati\ and fun, and pro\ d7 rsities from surround, gather female pl graduates a 18 conference ed a great opportunity for net, Many IIT students are familiar with our institution’s gender atio: those who can’t quote the exact numbers are likelyto know the gist of it, There are more men than women at IIT femal tendees an 0V The prevalence of men in some fiel s is much greater than others, but one of the most maleedominated fields is pl ics, In order to under and the complex rea 11s behind the lack of women in physics and to build community, the Un y of Illinois UrbanaeCharnpaign (UIUC) hosted the 6th annual Mid It Conference for Uni iduate Vomen in P1 ic (l\’ \ICU 18720th, The confe‘ence ics majo 1, along ith students from many Chicago urnv ' k1ng,1\ my highl ul speak, pr tion and in their path to phv. careers, and their pe onal 1i\ vited to speak had incredible ca, anc 1ng career and personal wonder why it is important to ‘e in ted to who ha Idmg conference at, h valuable informae ht, Speakers gave ew ot the research, and their gree becom women are less ea. Although as men at All of the nen in, somewhere along the oke of the challenges 10 a Tire to be how an ad thought she ould be bette ed to ballet than a career in SL1, neutrinos and races cars in her ree time, 'iP plays an important role in g ing young female ph 1c s the confidence to advance in the “'1 ile man I of us hav ence, She no“ tudi MWCU recognize and familie e to their succe Some people upporte being and resou field, likely never dir may 'srcs under ch a conference, Monica P Isci spoke about the lack of women with advanced mngly low percentage of 'omen tenured po tions in physics departments As the def more advanced, 'ound, men have been proven to be as competent cience and math, 1y om, en lose confidence or interest in the field and pursue other things, Fermilab scientist Sam (who, by the way, is beautiful, tall, and blonde) spoke about enced discrimination based on our gender, f f us have any female pl 1c1st role models or iP gave us a place to feel comf table, and to net\ ork with women who had 1ences to our own. sured us we were tale ented ‘ and to not give up on lo areer goals des} rte the lack ot confidence many of us ha\ I Speaker In addition to i1 'ited speakers the conference hosted panel d1scu“rons on the top, ics of undergraduate r ea 11 graduate school, and careers in phi Zeller Conference attendees were able to tour a irrety of UIUC ph abs, and V en, joyed an EV ernng of networking and fine dining at a formal bane quet, Next year’s MWCU ated to be held at the of Chicago, and I would encourage any IIT who are interested in pl exp erie attend, Relay for Life speeding to campus Katie Peters COPY EDITOR & LAYOUT EDITOR Twentyeseven years ago, one man, Dr. Gordy Klatt, started to make a difference just by walking and running around a track for 24 hours. Later this year in April, we will be able to make the same difference and walk to fight cancer. The committee planning the second, ever Relay for Life on llT’s campus has a lot to look forward to and a lot to work for. Relay for Life is an event that is held across the country to raise money and awareness for the fight against cancer, and was held on campus for the first time last year. The coordinators this year, including Nicolette Lewis, Richard Stevenson, Andi Piper, Tracy Pfeffer, and Brandyn Osborne have greater goals for the event this year, including having at least 150 participants and raising over $10,000. They all hope to make Relay a tradition at UT, but they need the help of the HT community to succeed and make a difference in the fight against cancer. It is easy to volunteer for the event, tool You can register for the April 20 event by signing up at tinyurl.com/iitrelayforlife. You can start a new team with your friends, or ask to join an existing team. Participants are asked to raise at least $100, which will also earn you an official Relay for Life teshirt. Although Dr. Klatt sacrificed 24 hours for the cure, the event happening on our campus will only last 12 hours, but will be a night full of food, fun, and people fighting for the same cause. The event will take place the night of the Big Event, and is being kicked off with a show by llT’s own onecampus dance club, New Velociity. Relay for Life will be held on the Quad, so teams can hangout or camp out in the field while members take turns walking around the Quad. Further details as to what activities and food will be at Relay for Life will be updated as it gets closer, so be sure to look out for posters! Key parts of the event include the Survivor’s Walk, the Luminaria Ceremony, and the Fight Back Ceremony. In each, cancer survivors or victims are honored: their lives, their stories, their fights, and sometimes their loss. It is a time to celebrate and mourn the peop le who had to enter a fight with cancer, because there is not yet a cure. However, as Osborne puts it on his participant page, we are the ones who can fight for them: “I fight, so that others do not have to see their loved ones struggle. I fight, so that one day there is a solid cure. I fight, for a world without cancer.” Help make the fight against cancer your fight, and fight for a world without the pain and loss that comes from cancer, but instead a world with more birthdays. For more information on how to volunteer or participate, or if you have any other questions, please contact Nicolette Lewis at nlewis1@hawk.iit.edu. Chanese Smith TECHNEWS WRITER Have you watched any TEDTalks? It’s a global phenomenon with over a billion clicks. TED is a nonprofit organization that is devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started in 1984 as a conference, bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Today, TED.com brings together the world’s leading thinkers and doers in all areas and fields presenting a suite of short, carefully prepared talks, demonstrations and performances that foster learning, inspiration and wonder. Its goal is to provoke conversations that matter. Go to TED.com and watch a few ideas worth sharing. Now you can be part of the planning team and bring TED to UT with TEDx, a program designed to allow TED talks in local communities. TEDxllT is a student organization with the purpose of hosting TEDElike events on campus forthe global community, under the leadership of HT alumna Amy Lee Segami. Segami is a former TEDx Speaker, the founder and champion of TEDxllT in 2009. She will serve as the coeorganizer of the event once again. TEDxllT welcomes everyone from the HT community: alumni, faculty members, staff, and students at any level, with any major. TEDxllT 2013 will be held on April 13, 2013 at the Tower Auditorium on main campus. The theme this year is Exponential. The planning meeting is held every Friday from 9:30 to 10:30 am at the SW Conference Room located on the 16th Floor of the HT Tower. The mission of TEDxllT is to create an amazing event, virtually and live, that is innovative, mindeopening, and attentionegrabbing, featuring inspirational and energizing speakers from the HT community. The inaugural TEDxllT 2011 Break Through http://ted.com/tedx/events/4971 was a great success, as well as TEDxllT 2012 Gaining Momentum http://www.ted.com/ tedx/events/1749. During TEDxllT 2012, HT Provost Alan Cramb, Vice Provost Ierry Doyle, and Stuart Executive Director Nick Rokop all made appearances. The event took place at the Tower Auditorium. It was sold out, with more than 1,000 global viewers live streaming. Sign up on the mailing list at TEDxllT. com to be a part of TEDxllT 2013. Come to the weekly Friday meeting and make this an exponential event. Contact: 2013@ TEDxllT.com, @TEDxllT Chanese Smith is the President of TEDxllT 2013. You can reach her at Chanese@TEDxllT.com TEDx “T an: independently organized TED event Image courtesy ofTEDxIIT