Tuesday, April 2, 2013 | TechNews campus@technewsiit.com UTSAV GANDHI 5 ‘I hate religion' posters ignite confusion Nicole Niewenhuis TECHNEWS WRITER You may have noticed that this past Thursday, March 28, there were a couple of displays set up by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship titled “I hate religion becausew” I am writing to you, the IIT community, to clarify a little bit what the intention and idea of these displays were We put up these signs in order to get a feel for what students on our campus think and feel about religion by letting them add their own comments to the display In no way were we trying to condemn religion or offend or inspire hate towards religious individuals For the entire time the displays were up, we had members of our organization near them in order to start conversations about religion and why people are opp osed to it or have been hurt by it And indeed, many people participated and wrote responses, great conversations oce curred at these displaysi We were there to just listen to what people had to say and not to tell them what to believe If you or any of your friends were offended by the displays that were up, please share the above explanation of our event with them If there are still concerns, please contact Inter, Varsity at iv@iitiedu or Lynne Meyer, Direce tor of the Office of Spiritual Life and Service Learning at lmeyer2@iitiedui Thank you very much if you participated in the conversation yesterday, and please feel free to share this sentiment with your friends and organization membersI ASB returns from another successful humanitarian trip Utsav Gandhi CAMPUS EDITOR After the most successful fundraise ing season in the organization’s short history on campus and months of planning by the executive board and staff members, Alternae tive Spring Break took off to Albany, GA the second day of spring break Continuing to provide students some real service learning experience whist giving them an opportunity to travel and spend a week bonding with fele low students, this trip was special in a way that students got the opportunity to interact extensively with the homeowner as well as the host community; and also had the unique op portunity to visit the Habitat for Humanity International Headquarters in Americus, GA The success of the trip was visible in teary, eyed goodbyes and immediate plans for team reunions, with practically every team member walking off with a satisfactory, productive and fulfilling experience The team left on Saturday morn, ing, choosing to drive 127passenger vans with intermittent stops in Indianapolis, IN and Chattanooga, TN Closer to the Habitat site itself the team had the opportunity to visit the famous World of CocaeCola Museum; AIAA Student Conference next Nishanth Samala TECHNEWS WRITER Founded in 1963, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) was created as a professional society to further developments in the aeronautics and aerospace fields by providing grants, resources, and spaces to professionals and students in the field However, the mission has since which promised to reveal the secret Coke for mula but instead left an awkward taste in our mouths with Beverly Italian soda in their giant tasting room with all the current CocaeCola flavorsi We were lucky to receive accommoe dation in a beautiful little campsite in rural Georgia along with two other collegiate chal lenge teams from the University of Illinois at UrbanaeChampaign and Emporia State Uni, versity from Kansas It definitely was a rare eyeeopening experience to learn from peers about how their Habitat efforts are planned, among other things The work at the site itself was very physically involving and all the more satisfy, ingI Our team had to finish putting together a roof, complete with waterproofing it; along with putting in windows and getting the house ready for dry walling The team had the incredible experience of meeting the home, owner of the house we were helping buildI Restricted to a wheelchair for the last eleven years due to multiple sclerosis, he still had a fantastic perspective on life and wanted to give his daughter a stable environment to grow as well as personally go back to school and earn a Mechanical Engineering degree Habitat for Humanity’s outreach efforts follow the strong philosophy of never “handing out" homes as changed Prompted by an aging workforce, a lot of AIAA’s efforts have shifted to getting more students actively involved in aerospace engineering This effort is visible at IIT as well In fact, IIT’s chapter of AIAA is one of the old, est student organizations still on campus To day, they work on a wide variety of projects designed to get students handseon experience with aerospacei In fact, they are actively in, volved in a joint project with NASA to conduct gifts; rather the homeowners have to work hard for them They have to themselves put in five hundred of community hours in help, ing build their own or other Habitat houses, and even after that they have to go through a rigorous home management and finance pro, gram to make sure they are able to sustain the responsibility of the house Habitat also makes sure to engage volunteers with the communities in which they choose to spend their spring breaks 7 the IIT team had multiple opportunities to interact with kids from the local elementary magnet school, once when they came over to build their own little birdhouses and once when they hosted our team and performed a few songs for us Our team also had the fortune to learn from a few older volunteers on the site, two retired caravaner couples who tour the country six months of the year to work on Habitat projects It really is an incredible learning experience to meet so many people and learn from their varied perspectives and life stories After reflection sessions on ser vice learning and singing the Pi Song around a campfire on the final work day the team headed back to Chicago and the ride back was experiments in near space They are also working on an un manned aerial vehicle capable of flying autone omously and tracking targets on the ground Being held this weekend (April 5th and 6th), the AIAA Region III Student Confer, ence is an annual event where students from universities in the Midwest come together to share the latest research and developments in the aerospace and aeronautics fieldsI To add a bit of competitive spirit, individuals and teams equally memorable as the rest of the trip We stopped by at the International headquarters of Habitat for Humanity, learning more about its global outreach efforts and getting a chance to see the variety of Habitat homes all around the country The team also had the opportue nity to stop by the famous Andersonville Prise oner of War Museum with a chilling Civil War historical component and vast stretches of empty land chronicling brutal stories of racist tensionsI Finally the team also stopped by the Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, taking a two hour tour to observe some mi, raculous cave structures and formations Alternative Spring Break has to be lived to be believed Fundraising efforts and team building sessions prior to the trip are just the icing on the cake, it is the six days itself you spend with colleagues that create lifelong memories and leads to an immensely satisfy, ing spring break experience The challenge of stepping out of your comfort zone and making best friends out of relative strangers while participating in an immensely rewarding satisfying service learning experience is one of the few irree placeable memories I will take from my time at IIT weekend present their findings to a panel of judges and compete for cash prizes The conference provides students an opportunity to network with experts in the field and peers as well as practice their public speaking skills If you’re interested in attending to learn about the latest developments in aeroe space, be sure to sign up at https://region3I aiaastudentconferenceiorg/I EnProSOS: Wishmap supports the Chicago Lighthouse Liam Barrett STAFF WRITER The Chicago Lighthouse for Peoe ple Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired has reached out to IIT’s very own EnPR0303: WishMap in order to help them keep their rae dio show on air The Chicago Lighthouse is a non foreprofit agency that provides many services for people that are blind or visually impaired within the Chicagoland area One of their most successful and popular services is the CRIS radio show, which provides daily read, ings of newspapers and periodicals for listen, ers with a wide range of disabilities CRIS regularly airs to over 40,000 listeners, however, without mucheneeded funding it is under serious threat of being shut down In order to save this valued sere vice, the host of CRISiBill Iurekirecently posted a wish on the WishMap website asking for $5,000 of funding to help keep the show in operation In response to this plea, WishMap collaborating with IIT Dining Services, has created a fundraising event with the goal of not only aiding The Chicago Lighthouse, but also introducing a new Center Court Specialty Burritoi The three new specialties that can be voted on are: - Ground beef burrito with French fries and cheese sauce - Grilled chicken burrito with beans, Fritos and cheese - Tofu burritos with grilled vegetae bles and sweet chili sauce We ask for your participation in voting on one of these choices by submit, ting a monetary contribution either at one of the links below or at one of our fundraising tables in Center Court WishMap tables will be set up from April 175 during the lunch hour where you can stop by, donate and vote The choice with the highest mone etary value contributed will be featured on the menu at Center Court All proceeds will go to Chicago Lighthouse to fulfill their wish of keeping their radio show on the air! Please get involved in this reward, ing initiative and help make someone’s wish become a reality - Ground Beef , http:/l wwwIwishmapInet/wishIphp?wishid:124 - Grilled Chicken , http://www wishmapinet/wishiphp?wishid:125 - Tofu , http://wwwwishmapInet/ wishiphp?wishid: 126 To make your pledge, click “Cone tribute’I You will not be charged when making the pledge You can pledge as much money as you’d like to as many options as you’d like, and you will receive an email notice to pro, cess your payment when the fundraising effort concludesi Make sure to check us out at Wish, MapInetI WHAT: Fundraising event hosted by ENPR0303: WishMap and IIT Dining Serf vices WHEN: April 1 to April 5 WHERE: Center Court and online at WishMapInet WHY: Fulfill wishes and add a new specialty burrito to the Center Court menu HOW: Vote or donate during one of the above dates or log on to WishMapInetI