Tuesday, April 29, 2014 | TechNews Develop new voice, old opinions at TechNews Austin Gonzalez OPINION EDITOR I was going to write an article about the total experience of my first year, but in— stead of rehashing all of the things (especially the negative things) I’ve written about to this point, I figured I’d write about one of my favor- ite things on campus: TechNews. During one my first few days on campus there was an organization fair. Half the tables were empty and half of those that were there weren’t doing much to grab your atten— tion. TechNews was one of the few organiza- tions bodacious enough to say “hello.” Hearing that I could write whatever opinions I wanted and that I could be paid for my submissions was a double whammy of awe- some. After a year of writing, I still love Tech- News, but for more important reasons. They weren’t kidding when they said I could write about whatever I wanted. Tech— News will print students’ opinions whether they’re positive or critical. TechNews will even print critical articles even about itself, and all they ask is for it to be at least 350 words. No one will censor what you say and better yet no one wants to! Everyone at TechNews is just happy to support the opinions of whoever wants to have them. Whether or not we agree with you, we aren’t going to write off or silence your voice. No one is going to control what you hear and see as long as TechNews is around. First week here? Want to write an ar- ticle bashing the ENTIRE Humanities Depart- ment, or scream at the top your lungs about how expensive college is? Done deal. Whether or not it was smart to do that remains to be seen, but I did it! All Tech— News did was say, “Here’s your platform to scream off of.” TechNews brings real awareness to 146 people confirmed dead Shireen Gul COPY EDITOR There are times in our life when we think we are going through a lot of struggle and pain. While we think about this, some— thing so disastrous happens right in front of us that we forget about our struggle and pain and all we think of is the pain that the other people are going through. We still not out ot-the trauma of the missing l\rlalaysian Airlines llight when a ferry sinks in South Korea. The Sewol (name of the ferry) was en route from Incheon, on South Kore; . Northwest coast, to the South ern resort island of ieju when it turned sharp- ly, listed and began taking on water. There were more than 300 people in the boat includ- Tales from the Victory Lap: ing high school students. 7 Until now at least 146 people were confirmed dead, according to the joint task force leading the search. Earlier, when the death toll was reported to be 128, authorities had said that 174 people were still missing. The death toll had been expected to climb as divers were able to reach the ship’s cafete- ria, where many ssengers were thought to be when the ship began to have troubles last week. Just imagine how many people lost their loved ones in this tragic event. How many relations turn into memories wl ich will always be associated with pain? How many parents lost their children, with \ om they had seen their future? We sit here and coni- plain that we are struggling because we don’t problems and generates discussion. I've gotten response articles to things I’ve written about in TechNews twice now! I was even contacted by a start-up company to write an article about their product. President Anderson knows that I write for TechNews, not that I was an active member of SGA committees. TechNews does more to bring awareness to the issues we face on this campus than any other organization on campus. I have been recognized so many times on campus for my articles in TechNews, and all I have to do is choice to have a voice. I can’t think of a better deal. TechNews is a business. TechNews has been around for almost 100 years and sustains itself through ad sales. We generate content every week. We have the experience to ensure that the student opinion keeps getting out there for another 100 years. We print two thousand issues to be distributed across cam- pus each week and issues are delivered to the President and the Board of Trustees. No matter what anyone says, people are reading TechNews. Technewsiit.com re- ceives over two thousand hits per week TechNews is doing a great job taking care of itself. I’ve heard some negative opinions about TechNews recently, but I think these people simply haven’t taken the chance to meet us and see how we work. TechNews is one of the greatest things on this campus. If you ever wanted the chance to talk directly to the president, TechNews is always ready for your submission. Without Tech- News, there is no guarantee that opinions will be fully voiced. Administration and teachers recog- nize the times I’ve written. TechNews exists for the student body and it’s so important that it receives the support it deserves. These opinions are my own, at Tech- News I feel that I can be a part of something bigger and help make a better tomorrow. in South Korea ferry disaster get good food or grades. How about those children who were struggling in that ferry for their lives, all because ofone captain’s mistake. I feel sad and ashamed over those people who played stupid pranks by sending messages to the parents of missing children saying that they were still alive and wanted their help. Don’t the have any emotions? Why do we always torget that what goes arou 1 comes around? \Ve have no right to play will someone‘s emotions especially dur— ing this crucial time when we know that they are wishing for some good news but some p are just so sense ess that they want to play pranks with them. i don’t know about other people but for me such events are always an eye-opener. They let me retlect over my blessings and be thankful for whatever I have. They teach me the importance of relations and the uncertain- ty of life. They teach me how easy it is to lose your loved ones at 1 how hard it is to wait for someone who has been missing for a while. They teach me how people survive through pain and how hard it is for them to resume their lives once again. All I want to say is, please try be good to everyone around you. ’ou never know when a rson we know becomes a person we knew. What’s the use ofliving your life with guilt of not appreciating someone or something around you? All you have to do is to be a good person, not for others but for yourself because when you lose a relation, you r one who knows what you are go- ing through. Graduation imminent, musings for commencement Miriam Schmid TECHNEWS WRITER As graduation approaches and I pre- pare to leave IIT and start my career, I have been thinking about what I would say to cur— rent and incoming students. It has been a long, challenging, awesome, crazy five years at IIT, so I should have learned something, right? So here it is, my commencement thoughts: three lessons I learned at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Number one. Life is about taking advantage of the opportunities you do have, not worrying about the ones you don’t. When I came to IIT, I made a deal with myself that I didn’t want to leave with regrets of things I should have done. I wanted to do well in school, get involved in organizations, make friends, and travel. As I spent time at IIT, I took advan— tage of as many opportunities as I could travel- ing with ASB to Georgia twice, joining Alpha Sigma Alpha, exploring Chicago, doing re— search, joining Union Board, getting involved with SGA, and making friends from all over the world and in all majors. As I am graduating, there are few re- grets of things I wish I hadn’t done, and fewer that I wish I had. Number two. Learn to work hard. My favorite quote to live by is: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” If an opportunity arises that you are not prepared for, it doesn’t matter how amazing the opportunity is and how perfect the timing is. Especially as the dynamic, interdisciplinary world that we live in becomes even smaller as travel becomes less expensive and our com- munication tools improve, being skilled and flexible will increasingly lead to “lucky” oppor- tunities to those who are prepared. One of my “lucky” breaks at IIT started when I worked as an Orientation Lead- er my freshman year. I began playing ultimate frisbee with Ciaran Shaughnessy, and we be— came friends. Later that year, he mentioned that he was going to get an octopus to do re— campris©technewsiitcom search with, and I began to ask more about it. We ended up taking Environmental Chemistry together, and our professor-his adviser—asked me to join their team in the CRABLab. Because I joined the CRABLab, I have met numerous Shedd Aquarium staff (my dream organiza- tion to work for) traveled to Alabama to do research where I met two of my best friends, and joined the Chicago Area Undergradu- ate Research Inter-School Board to plan the tenth annual CAURS Symposium. To make a long story short, play ultimate frisbee because you will meet incredible people. Seriously, you never know where your next “lucky” break will come from, so always work hard at the oppor- tunities you have at the moment. Number three. Never be afraid to speak up for what is right. Though it might be hard and you may be ignored or not taken seriously, do it. An Irish author and statesman once said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I want to always do what is in my power to stand up for what is right, regardless of what the majority or popular opinion may be. My biggest regrets in college will be the times where I did not stand up when I should have because I was afraid to risk hurting my pride and getting out of my comfort zone. One of the toughest conversations I had was with a staff member asking her to support her em- ployees better and be more understanding of the students at IIT. ' Even though I feel as though my thoughts and concerns were brushed aside, I knew that I had stood up for what I knew to be right, and sometimes that was the most I could do. So as you start your careers and pro— fessional lives or continue at IIT, just remem- bet: 1. Don’t ever pass up an opportunity 2. Work harder than you think you can at everything you do 3. Never be afraid to speak up for what is right Thank you for an awesome five years and a lifetime of friends. ‘UTSVAV-GANDHI .‘ |EEE@|IT conducts elections, last meeting of semester Vijai Baskar COPY EDITOR The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engi— neers (IEEE) conducted their fourth and final general body meeting of the spring semester on Wednesday, April 23 in the Siegel Hall Au- ditorium. This meeting mainly focused on the election of candidates to fill the executive board positions for the next year. The Treasur- er of IEEE @ IIT, Rohit Agarwal started off the meeting by introducing the new National Instruments (NT) representative for the Chi- cago region, Minh Tran, to the students. He also gave a brief introduction into the election process and also introduced the candidates to the audience. Tran replaces the previous Program Manager at National Instruments, Dave Wil— son. He works as the local field engineer cov- ering Oregon. Tran spoke about the products and technologies currently in use by N1 and encouraged students to use them in their proj— ects. The candidates running for the exec- utive board positions were asked to give their speeches on why they should be elected and what they hope to achieve out of their position at the executive board. The voting started im- mediately after the meeting and all members were asked to vote for the candidates. The re- sults were announced at noon on Friday, April 25. All those who voted were sent emails about the results. Others can also look up the results on the website at ieee.iit.edu. The IEEE @ IIT student branch has also been offered the privilege of hosting the IEEE region 4 Student Leadership Conference for the year 2014. This will be a huge event as IEEE members from the states of Illinois, In— diana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin in USA and Windsor Area in Canada would be participating. This event will be held during the month of October. The exact dates are to be announced soon. A raffle was conducted at the end of the meeting and the winners were given gift cards towards renewing their IEEE national membership for a full year. IEEE @ IIT will sign off with this academic year by conducting a BBQ at the Siegel Hall field on Friday, May 2 at 12.50 pm. The last tour of the semester will be a visit to a wind farm on May 10. Stay tuned for more details.