Cooking Corner:

Homemade Pizza
Page 6
Volume 91, Issue 14 January 31 , 2011

Re-evaluating emissions savings from wind

Carly Paige
Staff Writer
Graduate students gathered
Tuesday evening in the Engineer-
ing Hall to hear an presentation by
Mines’ very own Professor Daniel
T. Kaffine. An Assistant Profes-
sor of Economics and Business,
success. Unsurprisingly, Kansas,
Nebraska, and Wyoming top the
list of states. Then, using cost-
benefit analysis, Kaffine attempts
to answer the question of whether
“the environmental benefits cover
the Federal Production Tax Credit
of $22/MWh.”
Power generated from the
emissions rate. Kaffine states the government has allotted to States, and does not imply an
that neither of these methods is wind power generation. In other appreciation for or against wind
very realistic because both can areas, “we are paying $1.5 million power. “We are attempting to
overstate the savings. Natural and only getting $1 million in return estimate the other one-third,” he
gas can often bias results, as it is through emissions avoided.” adds, “through this new method.”
the most expensive and thus the Kaffine notes that his research Kaffine, McBee, and Lieskovsky
most commonly reduced. “Our is only based on two-thirds of wind look forward to publishing their
approach,” Kaffine explains, “is power generation in the United research in the near future.
more flexible and less CARLY PAIGE / OREDIGGER

Professor Kaffine reported to his
audience on the emission savings
from wind power generation in the
United States through a revolution-
ary new method.
Wind power is the most rapidly
growing renewable energy source
in the United States. It currently
provides the US with 2% of its
power, while saving the environ-
ment from the harmful effects
of other sources. According to
Kaffine, and research gathered
from three of the largest operation
facilities in America, 2009 emis-
sions savings in the United States
“totaled 15.9 million pounds of
SO2, 77 million pounds of NOX,
[and] 43 million tons of CO2.”
Research from CAISO, MISO, and
ERCOT, three major US power
producers, revealed the areas with
the most potential for wind power
wind increases as wind speed prone to bias.” This
increases. For example, if the method incorporates
wind speed doubled, the power the marginal unit of
produced would increase by a accommodation and
power of eight. However, as more the marginal emis-
wind power is put onto the power sions rate, rather than
grid, some power must be taken the averages of each,
off at another location. Measur- to give precise results.
ing this displaced generation is Through over
determined by two variables. The 50,000 observations,
unit of accommodation addresses Kaffine exposed that
what comes off the grid when wind only his analysis of
power is put on; the emissions MISO’s results for en-
rate tackles how much the cost vironmental benefits
is being reduced by this process. justifies government
Kaffine and his coauthors, subsidies at about
Brannin McBee and Jozef Lies- $20/MWh. The re-
kovsky, analyzed three different sults for CAISO top
methods for measuring the emis- the chart at more than
sion savings from wind power use. $70/MWh. ERCOT’s
The first two methods include emissions rates come
using either the average unit of in at about $45/MWh,
accommodation or the average more than twice what Professor Kaffine shows graphs of wind power generation potential.

A massive blast rocks Earth’s Devonian past

John Bristow
Staff Writer
Very few events in the history of
the world mirror the shear destruc-
tion brought by a meteor impact.
While there have likely been count-
less collisions in the history of the
planet, it was the proposed Alamo
event that was discussed this past
week at the Geology and Geological
Engineering’s Van Tuyl lecture. Dr.
John Warme, an Emeritus Professor
from Colorado School of Mines and
a team of other geoscientists, includ-
ing the late Dr. Jared R. Morrow, to
are sure to be breccias, a geological
term for broken-up rocks, in addition
to the seismic and other major envi-
ronmental effects; when an event like
this happens over a body of water it
becomes necessary to count in the
effects of tsunamis and structural
collapse on the seafloor. “When a big
event like this happens, there are a lot
of adjustments that happen over a
long period more than the immediate
catastrophes,” stated Warme. In the
case of the Alamo event, Warme and
his team have determined six different
regions that have been affected differ-
ently by the impact, where the effects
stresses exerted by the impact can
warp some of the preexisting sedi-
mentary and limestone beds causing
some of them to fold over each other.
All this time more tsunamis occur as
the sea level fluctuates and more of
the airborne material crashes back
to the ground. On the longer range
timescale of a few days debris flows
begin to pour down the side of the
continental margin that deposit shal-
low water features such as sponges
in deep water settings.
When asked why it was that
Warme originally believed there to
be an impact at the location he re-
that may further bolster the claim
that the Alamo Breccia is, in fact,
an asteroid impact. While a crater
center has not been found yet,
Warme expressed no concern about
its lack of presence. “[The impact]
happened along the margin of the
paleo-Pacific Ocean, the crater could
have self-destructed.” To back up his
thoughts on the idea of self-destruc-
tion, Warme displayed an example
of the rim of a smaller crater on a
planetary body which had slid down
the rim of a much larger preexisting
crater, suggesting that the Alamo
impact occurred
ary between the Cretaceous and
Tertiary periods and given the timing
of the Alamo event it is not likely that
it resulted in an extinction, still more
knowledge can help understand
these catastrophes. In a follow up to
the lecture, the idea that the Alamo
event may have brought about ore
mineralization was entertained. While
most of the features have been worn
away or have yet to be found, at
other impact sites such as Sudbury
in Canada, there is associated min-
eralization via the cracks that would
occur from the stress of the impact.
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

whom the lecture was dedicated,
have spent many years interpreting
the observed structures of the Alamo
Breccia in Nevada. They have come
to the conclusion that there was likely
a very large impact in the area in the
Devonian Period of Earth’s history.
At the time of the Devonian, the
area of the impact was not the moun-
tainous terrain of Southern Nevada as
it is today, but was instead a shallow
carbonate platform much like what
exists off the coast of Florida today.
“There’s a lot of rock in Nevada [cur-
rently],” said Warme, “its a great place
to do geology.” It is this large amount
of history preserved in the rock that
has allowed Warme and others to
investigate this event as much as
they have.
To imagine the Alamo impact,
one must first understand the nature
of meteor collisions. Impacts have a
much broader effects than just the
asteroid hitting the ground. No mat-
ter where the asteroid strikes, there
can range from basic tsunamis to
terrific rains of molten high-velocity
limestone lapilli.
Though it is difficult to sum up
the exact order of events in all their
intricate relationships, a brief timeline
is as follows. As the bolide hits the
ground it burrows in forming a tran-
sient crater and abnormally intense
seismic waves and material is ejected
at speeds above the speed of sound.
This cloud of material plummets to
the ground forming a concentric
ring structure. All this time the heat
of the impact vaporizes some of the
water in the crater, pushes the rest
away as a tsunami, then the crater
is filled by water back-flow. This
surge of water will form a central
spout that then collapses to form
a second tsunami and the process
repeats several times while damping
down. These processes cause huge
volumes of material to be disrupted
and displaced including boulders that
are larger than some houses. The
sponded, “Well the first time I saw on the edge of
it, I knew it had to be an impact, the Devonian
the main thing was that there was North American
a great big breccia sitting on top of continent, then
a long flat platform.” In geology, for the crater slid off
the most part, bedding is deposited into deep water.
horizontally and logically. If there is a If a meteor
large oceanic platform full of carbon- really did hit off
ates, the moment something like a the coast of
breccia is found, with no local brec- the Devonian
cia source, it is a clear indication that North America,
some sort of event happened that it could have
was not normal. After Warme and some interest-
his team began looking closer at the ing ramifications
details, more features like large folded for the current
beds and tsunamiites, a form of rock understanding
deposited by tsunamis, were found. of the relation-
To add to the reality of the find, it ships between
became clear through an analysis of impacts and
the surrounding geology that there extinctions. It is
were signs of multiple catastrophic known that not
processes happening at once. For all large impacts
the most part, the observed features result in mas-
matched the models that had been sive extinctions
proposed for a large impact. Of like that present
course there are still hidden features at the bound- Artist’s rendition of a massive meteorite impact.

News - 2 Features - 5 sports - 4 opinion - 9 satire - 12

~world headlines ~tech break ~mens Wrestling ~morals to your story ~summertime is here
~scientific discoveries ~staff spotlight ~athlete of the week ~tim’s two cents ~let it snow
page 2 n e w s January 31, 2011

Joshua Kleitsch, Staff Writer

New York City, New York - Lab rats

Trelew, Argentina - Argentin-
ean archaeologists discovered the
“missing link” in the chain of evo-
lution of the world’s largest land
animals in the southern plains of
Argentina. The 8-foot-long dinosaur
appears to be the long-lost ancestor
of the sauropods, the family known
for their immense, house-dwarfing
size. Dubbed Leonerasaurus, the
dinosaur showed many of the char-
acteristics of the much larger sau-
ropods such as Brontosaurus, with
one very notable exception: Size.
The smaller dinosaur fits nicely in the
gap between the earliest sauropods,
which were very small, and the large,
younger sauropods.
continue to provide valuable information in
understanding the science behind remember-
ing. Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of
Medicine in New York City have discovered
that the growth hormone IGF-II has some ef-
fect on a rats memory. In a test that involved
the rats receiving a mild shock with certain ac-
tions, the researchers found that if they admin-
istered IGF-II within 24 hours after the shock, Jebel Faya, United Arab Emirates - In a controver-
the rats would have a much greater memory sial new discovery, German archaeologists have found a
of the specific action that caused the shock. collection of tools and artifacts that they think indicate hu-
man presence in northern Africa as much as 125,000 years
ago. This claim goes against the commonly held belief that
humans left the continent roughly 74,000 years ago, before
a massive volcanic eruption. The tools were found protect-
ed under a rock overhang in the desert, perhaps because
that was a safe place for the early humans to live. Oppo-
nents to the claim argue that the tools weren’t necessarily
made by modern humans or that they came from Africa.
London, Canada - State-of-the-art wind tunnels
have found new uses as a testing platform for migra-
tory birds. Researchers at University of Western Ontario
in Ontario, Canada, have begun using a high-tech wind
tunnel to monitor birds in flight for long periods of time.
The researchers hope to learn more about the physiol-
ogy involved in a birds yearly migration; seeking a better
understanding of how body fat, muscle mass and vari-
ous flight mechanisms affect long-term flight. The most
significant challenge facing the researchers now is how
to get birds to fly in a wind tunnel for long periods of time.

Oredigger Staff Local News

Ryan Browne
Editor-in-Chief
Headlines from around the world D. Vaughan Griffiths, a pro-
fessor of civil engineering at
Colorado School of Mines was
recently elected a director of the
Katie Huckfeldt Joshua Kleitsch, Staff Writer
Managing Editor American Society of Civil Engi-
neers (ASCE). Griffiths will be
Robert Gill The Egyptian government or- of mass in nature that would be school. director of Region 7 of the so-
Business Manager dered that all international In- more precise than a chunk of New Yorkers aren’t getting any ciety, representing membership
ternet connections be shut metal. respite from the snow, as a storm in Colorado, Missouri, Kansas,
Steven Wooldridge Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota
Webmaster down. It is unclear why the Egyp- Investments appear to still dropped nearly a foot-and-a-
tian government has chosen to bring in profits for the rich, as half of new snow on Central and Wyoming.
Barbara Anderson exclude 80,000,000 people from hedge-fund manger John Paul- Park by Thursday. This season
Design Editor the world wide web. So far it son brought in a record $5 Billion is on track to become the snowi- Colorado School of Mines
appears that fiber connections in investment profits for 2010. est winter on record, since 1869. defeated the University of Ne-
Zach Boerner through the country have been This record beats out the previ- New York hasn’t seen this kind of braska - Kearney, 72-67 on
Copy Editor Saturday night, January 29th, in
unaffected. ous one-year record also held by snow since the Civil War, accord-
Amazon Inc. continues to Paulson, which was $4 Billion in ing to Central Park records. RMAC men’s basketball action
Neelha Mudigonda at the Health & Sports Center.
Asst. Design Editor expand it’s retail influence, 2007. Jobless claims in the U.S.
showing massive increases in Miami residents were treat- are falling slowly, showing that The women’s basketball team
Abdullah Ahmed sales over previous years. The ed to a strange art exhibit last the economy is slowly improv- shot just 29.4 percent in the
Asst. Business Manager, November-December sales pe- week, as Nicholas Harrington, ing. The recovery, which has now second half and was unable to
Sales and Marketing riod showed a massive $32.6 Bil- 16, placed a burned-out baby been in motion for 18 months ac- overcome a halftime deficit fall-
lion in revenue, with a growth of grand piano on a sandbar in cording to the U.S. Department ing on the road to Chadron State
Ian Littman 60-47.
Asst. Business Manager, 12% over last year. This increase Miami’s Biscayne Bay. The of Labor, continues to strengthen
Web Content in revenue was reflected in the stunt was not a prank, Harrington with dropping unemployment.
sales increase of 36%; far out- says, but rather an attempt at art The department cautions that it Colorado School of Mines
Trevor Crane classing other online retailers. that may help his chances of be- will take a long time to recover received a $100,000 contribu-
Content Manager Protests have spread ing accepted at a prestigious art from the crash of 2007-09. tion from Mintec, Inc., a global
through Northern Africa and software and service provider
Deborah Good the Arabian Peninsula this for the mining industry. With this
Content Manager gift from Mintec, the Department

B E M B E M
week, as thousands from Tuni-
sia, Egypt, and Yemen gather in of Mining Engineering will see
Stephen Hejducek upgrades to its computers and
Content Manager the streets to demonstrate their
dissatisfaction with the local gov- software and improvements to
Shira Richman ernments. In Yemen, protesters other lab equipment including

A D Z A D Z
Faculty Advisor gather to induce the removal of podiums, projectors and projec-
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, tion screens.
who has been accused of cor-
ruption. In men’s wrestling, CSM’s
Brandon Sheldon earned the

M C Q M C Q
The international stan-
dard of mass, a metal slug 174-lb. title while Jesse Snider
of platinum known as “La and Steven Kelly both placed
Grand K” has been los- fourth. Ryan Swanson finished
ing weight over the last fifth and Brennen Knerr placed

P U Y P U Y
122 years. The standard sixth. The Orediggers will also
of measure for the kilo- host #19 Fort Hays State Uni-
gram is kept locked in a versity in an RMAC dual on Sat-
vault in Paris, but its time urday afternoon, February 5th,
at 3:00 p.m. at Volk Gymnasium

B E M T N O
in the limelight may be
limited. Scientists are cur- in Golden.
rently working on finding a
constant definition for the unit

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t
January 31, 2011
Do you want to Magnetic fields and current
work for the EPA? densities affect steel corrosion
Joshua Kleitsch
Staff Writer
In today’s working world, any
opportunity to get a head start
on finding a job is worth taking.
Thursday, four Colorado School
of Mines graduates returned to
Mines to give a talk, explaining
what it’s like to work for the En-
vironmental Protection Agency
and how best to get there. Be-
tween the four presenters, there
was a wide variety of different
job duties, ranging from desk
work and writing proposals to
field work, testing and regulation
enforcement. But one thing they
all had in common was their ed-
ucation at Mines.
Sarah Roberts, who works in
Underground Injection Control
Enforcement, commented that
“one of the biggest challenges
for the underground injection
contamination is that it occurs
underground; it’s really hard to
prove.” She emphasized that
her job with the E.P.A. involved
fact-finding and digging for the
truth, which was not always
easy to find. Roberts continued
“The goal overall is to protect
drinking water for the inhabit-
ants of the region.” Her job in
regulation enforcement encom-
passed both travel for field work
and desk work.
The other side of the Under-
ground Injection Control coin is
Permitting, which is where Ja-
son Deardorff works. Deardorff’s
job doesn’t include as much
time in the field, and is more fo-
cused on writing proposals.
On the other hand, If you’re
more interested in field work and
ASCSM discusses
transportation survey
Ian Littman
Asst. Business Manager, Web
Content
Thursday’s Associated Stu-
dents of the Colorado School
of Mines (ASCSM) meeting be-
gan with an recap of the Joint
Operating Agreement proposal
between ASCSM and the Gradu-
ate Student Association. ASCSM
President Alec Westerman noted
that GSA’s contribution of funds
to some clubs and campus pro-
grams would be modified once
the agreement goes into effect,
due to graduate students’ signifi-
cantly lower use rate of campus
facilities compared with under-
graduates.
ASCSM Advisor Travis Smith
then asked whether ASCSM
would allow Student Activities to
dispose of old financial record
copies held in the Student Activi-
ties office to reclaim space there.
ASCSM members decided that
paper duplicate records older
than three years could be dis-
posed. Records older than three
years will still be available at Gug-
genheim Hall, and electronic re-
cords, starting two years ago, are
stored on ASCSM office comput-
travel, Gary Wang, whose spe-
cialty is underground storage
tanks, estimated that he spends
close to 40% of his time in the
field, going to various places in
the mountain west region pri-
marily testing gas stations.
The fourth presenter, Jennifer
Berig, was involved in a unique
program that allowed for a wid-
er variety of job duties. Berig
works in Quality Control, where
she gets to see a larger picture
of the process of protecting the
environment.
All four agreed that work-
ing for the E.P.A. was a good
choice, and that it gave them a
lot of stability as well as oppor-
tunities to advance and broaden
the scope of their training. Wang
said that his route to working for
the E.P.A. involved a two-year
probationary period where the
agency evaluated his perfor-
mance and likelihood to suc-
ceed before offering him a per-
manent full-time job at the end
of two years. Berig commented
that “if you’re willing to do an
unpaid internship, go for it.” She
said that any way you can get
your foot in the door is worth it.
The panel ended with a few
minutes of questions and an-
swers time, and among the
popular questions was “How
does a Masters or Ph.D. help
you[in the E.P.A.]?” Roberts re-
sponded that “having a Ph.D.
will help you get noticed, espe-
cially in your thesis area.” Berig
further added, “In the current
job market, if you don’t have a
masters, then you won’t com-
pete. You really need a masters
to get in the door.”
ers.
The Parking Committee chair
proxy then noted that Director of
Facilities Management Gary Bow-
ersock had sent out a survey re-
garding transportation services in
the Golden area, as part of an ef-
fort by NREL and RTD to improve
the current situation. Some audi-
ence members commented that
the survey was poorly formulated
due to vaguely worded questions
with answers that should have al-
lowed multiple answers but did
not do so.
The Public Safety Committee
chair announced that the com-
mittee had consulted with act-
ing Chief of Mines Police George
Hughes about concealed carry, a
situation discussed at length dur-
ing the previous ASCSM meeting.
Hughes said that Public Safety is
watching the current case be-
tween the University of Colora-
do and Students for Concealed
Carry, and will amend policies to
align with the case’s judgment
when it arrives. The Mines Shoot-
ing Sports Club will be discuss-
ing concealed carry at the end of
their next meeting, scheduled for
Wednesday, February 2 at 5:30
PM in Meyer Hall 220.
w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t
n e w s
Katy Beseda
Staff Writer
Wednesday, Tatiana Reyes
spoke for a materials science semi-
nar in Hill Hall. Entitled, “Corrosion
of Supermartenstic Stainless Steel
Under Alternating Current” her dis-
cussion attracted both MME and
EE students.
Supermartenistic stainless steel
works well for offshore pipelines,
except for one problem. Corro-
sion builds up at the site where the
pipes are welded together. Reyes,
who received her bachelor’s degree
in Venezula, and is now working on
her doctorate, is studying this very
problem. The welding process cre-
ates impurities and weaknesses in
the stainless steel. Her team aims
to pinpoint what exactly is causing
the corrosion at these points, and
how to reduce it.
Reyes began her discussion
by explaining the purpose of her
experiments. “The goal of this
research is first to achieve an ac-
curate understanding of the mech-
anisms and severity of applied al-
ternating currents on corrosion of
Hybrid WENO scheme: the trade-
offs between accuracy and cost
Lucas Quintero
Staff Writer
On Wednesday, January 26, Pro-
fessor Jianxian Qui gave a lecture
titled Hybrid Weighted Essentially
Non-Oscillatory Schemes with Differ-
ent Indicators. It is a test of different
methods that can detect a discon-
tinuity in a function. The main idea
is that lower order fluxes could be
combined to find a higher order ap-
proximation of a disturbance.
Qui is from the Nanjing University
Math Department. His research fo-
cus is “on high order hyperbolic func-
tions.” A joint effort with Gang Li, Qui
was able to test several methods of
finding a troubled-cell, a set contain-
ing discontinuity. These include the
approximation of hybrid Weighted
Essentially Non-Oscillatory (WENO)
Schemes, Average Test Variation
(ATV), Monotonicity-Preserving Limit-
er (MP), and a shock-detection tech-
nology by Krivodonova (KXRCF).
One major question is why
should people care about this. Qui
explained, “WENO approxima-
tion is crucial when the strong dis-
continuity, such as shock wave, is
present.” Heat transfer and energy
flux is a large part of engineering.
Whether it is the shock wave that
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13 Chrome stainless steel in artifi-
cial sea water. We want to address
also the change in flexibility to lo-
calize corrosion with and without
alternating currents.”
Reyes and her colleagues de-
signed and performed various
experiments to gather data about
how different variables will af-
fect the rate of corrosion. The oil
company funding her research is
looking for a better way to protect
their pipes. “What they wanted
to prevent is the formation of the
obstruction of the pipeline,” Reyes
explained. “These are problems
they know how to live with, but it is
not quite solved.”
One of the variables examined
was the effect of the changing
magnetic field with the current. So
Reyes tested the corrosion levels
at various strengths of electromag-
nets. “First try, we got fake currents
from the electromagnet. Second
try, there was electric noise from
the [electromagnet]. So that’s be-
ing adjusted, we’ve been working
on that.” As with many tests, she
had to make various adjustments
along the way to ensure she was
travels through a wall or just the heat
transfer from friction of a coarse wall,
approximations to determine how
much of the energy was disturbed or
lost are important. As Qui repeated
multiple times, the “WENO is used in
a large range of fields.” The WENO
scheme was mentioned to be used
in Astronomy, Astrophysics, Semi-
conductors Devices, and Computa-
tional Biology.
The problem with a large amount
of the methods is that they have
problem-dependent variables. Qui
continued to explain that if one was
to be too far off what would be con-
sidered correct, then there would be
a chance that certain discontinuities
would not be counted or there would
be oscillations that are not from the
experiment, but added from the
computations.
According to Qui, the hybrid
WENO scheme has the advantage
over the other methods as it can
calculate with high order accuracy in
smooth regions and small extremes.
The high accuracy with nonlinear
weight comes at a large price as
the “cost of nonlinear weight is very
high.”
Despite the current cost difficul-
ties of the hybrid WENO scheme
approximation, Qui informed the
page 3
measuring the data with as much
accuracy as possible. Reyes ex-
plained her adjustments, “I coated
the electromagnet in epoxy and
silicon to prevent stray currents. I
also used thicker magnetic wire to
prevent excessive heat generation,
that would be another variable I’m
not interested in.” Despite some
remaining corruption in the ex-
periment, the data is still useful for
drawing conclusions.
Reyes described the results
of the experiment, saying, “The
samples [that] pitted under higher
magnetic field were more densely
pitted than those corresponding to
a lower magnetic field.” The pres-
ence of pitting, depressions, and
cracks on the surface of the metal
indicates corrosion. Reyes’ team
then determined that “overall the
magnetic field increases the corro-
sion rate.”
Reyes also added that “alter-
nating current densities of 40 amps
per square meter would produce
pitting.” Her team plans to con-
tinue their research to answer what
is really happening to these pipes
in sea water.
audience that there have been ad-
vancements to minimize the cost
through different combinations of in-
dicators to recognize discontinuities
and through determining non-linear
weight through entropy and pres-
sure, rather characteristic values.
The remainder of the lecture was
about the tests performed on the
indicators and schemes and com-
paring the processing time. At first
Qui showed results that would indi-
cate the hybrid WENO scheme was
worthless, as it would take over ten
times as long to compute the ap-
proximation. But as the presenta-
tion seemed to close, Qui showed
why he still prefers the hybrid WENO
scheme. “The others may have lower
times throughout all orders, but with
the quality, there is no comparison.”
The hybrid WENO scheme had plot-
ted 100% of the reconstruction of
the fluxes while the other schemes
had a maximum plot of 21.1%.
The hybrid WENO may require a
longer time and have a higher cost,
but affords a greater accuracy. Fur-
ther studies aided by the research
presented may allow the accuracy
to increase as CPU time required
decreases. Advancement in this field
will help advance the almost all engi-
neering fields.
page 4 s p o r t s January 31, 2011

Trevor Crane
Content Manager
After watching the Mines Foot-
ball team win the RMAC cham-
pionship, the Men’s Soccer team
become the first #1 ranked team
in the nation, the Men’s Cross
Country team finish fourth in the
nation, and seeing the rest of the
athletic teams witness unprec-
edented success, it seems that
the Mines Swimming and Diving
teams did not want to be left out.
The men’s and women’s teams
are each coming off of first place
finishes at the Colorado College
Invitational and now look to ex-
tend the success as they contend
for the RMAC championship Feb-
ruary 9-10. Leading the aquatic
Orediggers is senior swimmer
Aaron Miller. Miller, a Materials and
Metallurgy major, wasted no time
in earning success, becoming a
co-recipient of the Rookie of the
Year award as a freshman in 2008.
The past three years, his work in
the classroom has earned him re-
Athlete
... Aaron Miller, Senior: Materials/Metallurgy, Men’s Swimming
spect, as he has been named to
the honor roll each year, named to
the Dean’s List in 2010, named an
RMAC All-American, and named
a CSCAA Honorable Mention
Scholar All-American. At Colo-
rado College, Miller dominated
the 1650m freestyle in 17:15.23,
won by nearly two full seconds in
the 500m freestyle (4:51.57), and
placed fourth in the 200m freestyle
(1:48.55). Miller is on the cusp of
qualifying for the National Cham-
pionships in San Antonio for the
first time in his career. For his ef-
forts over the last four years, Miller
is this week’s Athlete of the Week.
How did you begin swim-
ming?
I think I was about 9 years
old, and I would always go swim-
ming because my friends would
go swimming in the summer.
We were all in a swim club back
home. I would swim in the morn-
ing and then go play baseball and
soccer in the afternoon.
Why Mines?
I knew I wanted to go into en-
of
the
Week
gineering, and I knew I wanted to Swimming is my break from the RMAC championship?
keep swimming. It came down school. The 20-plus hours a week Incarnate Word is going to be
to Mines and the Air Force. But I of swimming is 20-plus hours tough. They have people in every
knew I was not up for Air Force; it a week that I don’t have to do event. But it won’t be impossible
was too regimented for me. I re- homework. to beat them. Everyone just has to
member they said I would have to What is your favorite race? have a great race.
get a haircut if I went there, and I’m best at the mile, but that What do you do in your free
that was the last COURTESY CSM ATHLETICS gets old real time (if it exists)?
straw. fast. I like the All my free time goes to home-
What is 200. It’s just long work and trying to get 8 hours
some of the enough for dis- of sleep. But I’m going to try to
training that tance swimmers, snowboard some more. I have to
you go through and long for the pay off my pass.
to prepare for sprinters. Favorite aspect of being a
swimming? What is your student athlete?
Some of us do least favorite? The sense of accomplishment
triathlon training B a c k s t ro k e , that you get from competing. Ev-
in the off-season. probably be- eryone at Mines works hard, it’s
It’s nice not to be cause I’m so ter- fun to be able to play hard as well
in the water for a rible in it. and represent the school doing it.
change. In sea- What is your What is your favorite part
son, we have two favorite swim- about being on the team?
hours of swim- ming memory? Just to see how the team at-
ming in the morning on Mondays, I couldn’t pick out just one. I mosphere has changed over the
Wednesdays, and Friday, and liked the large taper meets, where years. We are like a huge fam-
two hours in the afternoon. We everyone goes and the whole ily. My best friends are the swim
have two hours on Tuesdays and team gets to watch everyone do team. It’s not a coincidence that
Thursdays too. something. as we’ve gotten closer as a team,
How do you stay relaxed? What are your thoughts on we’ve become faster and better.

Mines Wrestling
STEVEN WOOLDRIDGE / OREDIGGER

rebounds with
strong 20-13 win
Oredigger Jamie Sheets
wrestles Matt Adding-
ton in the 157-lb weight
class Friday night. Jamie
defeated Matt with a score
Trevor Crane younger Snider pulled to within 7-4, of 10-7.
making the match interesting, but
Content Manager
the Oredigger’s Snider erased any
It is not uncommon for an older doubt, closing the bout on a 5-1
brother to wrestle his younger broth- run, earning a decision and pulling
er as they are growing up. What is the score even at 7-7. “There was a
uncommon is for that wrestling ri- lot of pressure on Jesse, ” Hutchens
valry to linger between the siblings said, “There is a lot of pressure on
throughout their college years. him, being the older brother, to beat
STEVEN WOOLDRIDGE / OREDIGGER
That is what his younger broth-
faced Mines Wres- “There is a lot of pres- er. But he came
tler Jesse Snider out and wrestled
Friday night when sure on him, being the strong. There’s not
he faced his young- many people who
er brother Jacob,
older brother, to beat can beat Jake by as
who now wrestles his younger brother. much as he did.”
for CSU-Pueblo, At 157, junior
in the 149lb bout. But he came out and Jamie Sheets put
Jesse took on the the Orediggers on Elias Arias narrowly falls
challenge and re- wrestled strong.” top for good with to CSU-Pueblo Wrestler
minded his younger a 7-4 decision. Ju- Lyle Evans in the 125-lb
counterpart who nior Jordan Larsen
weight class.
was the elder, earning a 12-5 major continued the success, grinding out
decision, helping to lead the Oredig- a hard-earned 4-2 decision at 165lb
gers to a much-needed 20-13 team in extra time. Brandon Sheldon
victory over the Thunderwolves. added to the lead in 174, relentlessly
The victory concludes two pounding the Thunderwolves Trevor
weeks of tumultuous duals for the Grant 12-2, giving Mines a 17-7 lead
Orediggers, who first upset #17 with only three weights remaining.
Adams State, then crushed New Sophomore Brandon Knerr also re-
Mexico Highlands 40-3, but seemed corded a 3-1 decision in the 197lb
to suffer a letdown as they were match.
handled easily by Mesa State, Jan The match was a simultaneous
23. “This was definitely a rebound dual meet at Lockridge Arena, as STEVEN WOOLDRIDGE / OREDIGGER

for us,” head coach Josh Hutchens Golden High School edged Wheat
said, “but it’s what we’ve been work- Ridge High School 40-39 in what is
ing on: mental toughness and stay- becoming an annual tradition. “It’s
ing mentally focused. We still have a a good thing for everyone,” Coach
long way to go, but everyone came Hutchens said,”It’s a great experi-
out strong today; everyone wrestled ence on campus, and a great expe-
tough.” rience for the high-schoolers. A lot Chad Lousberg easily
After Mines fell behind early of them have never seen a college
defeated Stephen Gengo
3-0, junior Chad Lousberg put the match before, and it’s great for them
Orediggers on the board, and in to be here.”
in the 133-lb weight class
the lead, with a dominant 9-0 major The win for the Orediggers, who Friday night in Lockridge
decision. CSU-Pueblo regained the received votes in the latest NCAA Arena
lead with a major decision of their division II rankings, moves them to
own in the 141lb, taking a 7-4 ad- 3-1-0 overall and in the RMAC in
vantage into the 149lb match. dual competition. The Orediggers
In the 149lb, Jesse Snider took next travel to Western State Univer-
control of his brother early, and sity Feb. 2, and return to host #18
jumped out to an early 7-2 lead. The Fort Hays State Feb. 5.

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January 31, 2011 f e a t u r e s page 5

The McBride Honors Program in Public Affairs

Division of Liberal Arts & International Studies
Golden Library
An Outstanding Opportunity
for Extraordinary Students to
offers diversions
Deborah Good
do Extraordinary Things Content Manager
The focus of the Program, the only honors program Colorado School of Mines stu-
at Mines, is on public affairs with a unifying theme that will dents tend to be a left-brained
stress global responsibility and sustainability. McBride seminars bunch. They pore over chemistry,
replace Humanities and Social Science requirements physics, mathematics, and engi-
after LAIS 100 and EBGN201. neering late into the night, in an
unending search for the correct
answer. However, many students
recognize, or at least suspect, the
The deadline to apply to existence of a world outside of the
the McBride Honors Program is 2/10/11. left-brained confines of their class-
es. For these students, there is a
Apply online at http://mcbride.mines.edu/ haven just a few blocks away at
the Golden branch of the Jefferson
For more information contact: County Public Library (JCPL).
CSM has a library on campus,
Dr. Arthur Sacks, Director
and it might therefore seem that a
asacks@mines.edu, 303-273-3752 public library is redundant for a stu-
Ms. Peggy Cook, Program Assistant dent. True, the CSM library is the
pcook@mines.edu, 303-273-3990 destination for research, but what
about re-reading Harry Potter?
Center at 911 10th street, which
is now the home of the Golden
Police Department. In 1970, the
library moved to another location
on 10th street, marking its first ex-
clusive building. However, “In the
mid 1990s… it became apparent
that the library was outgrowing its
quarters” and the current 13,500
square foot Golden library facility
opened May 4, 1996.
The library is located at 1019
10th Street, near the Clear Creek
footbridge at Illinois Street. It is
an easy walk down from campus,
though a bit more strenuous on
the uphill route back. The library
is open Tuesday through Thurs-
day 10 AM to 9 PM, Friday and
Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM, Sunday
12 PM to 5 PM, and is closed on
Mondays.
Anyone who resides in Jeffer-

Physics by day, fashion by night

For that sort of thing, the Golden son County is eligible for a library
library is a must. As a member of card, enabling them to check out
JCPL, the Golden library has ac- books. Requirements for proving
cess to 1.2 million items including residency and a registration form
books, movies, and CDs, including for the card are available at the
Carly Paige them! They’re totally open; they since I was already working for the addition to its own collection of ap- JCPL website at http://jeffcolibrary.
Staff Writer seem to really appreciate when State, and I knew I wanted to work proximately 88,000 items. org/about/card.html. If the half-
you take the time to get to know in an academic setting. Physics is The Golden library has a rich mile walk to the libary building is
Summer takes on a whole their culture. I’ve actually learned so big, it’s something you have history, as it is the oldest library in impossible, the hours are inconve-
new meaning when you meet the a little bit of Mandarin Chinese and a hard time understanding. But Jefferson County. On the official nient, or one does not reside in Jef-
young woman working behind the speak to them sometimes. working here, you absorb things website, Ada Jo Barber reported, ferson County, JCPL is a member
scenes in Meyer Hall. A member What do you do when you you didn’t think you would know. “The Golden Library… was incor- of the Prospector library system.
of the Physics Department staff, are not at work? I have gained so much about cre- porated on February 7, 1914, af- This means any JCPL book can
this woman really knows what it Work from home (laughs). When ativity through immersing myself ter a year of planning by four lo- be requested and sent to Mines’s
takes to make things run smoothlyI am not at working, I am working. in the Physics environment. I am cal women’s organizations: Bay own Arthur Lakes Library. Thus,
for faculty and students alike atWhen not actively working at CSM, grateful to work in such an enrich- View, Fortnightly, Progressive, and everyone can have access to these
Mines. When she is not working I am involved in a start-up apparel ing environment. Thursday Musicales.” The orga- nearby, non-technical materials.
on campus, she expresses herself company. Each year I also self- How well does your job at nization was originally christened No matter who they are, every-
through fashion. Colorado School promote, design, and model in my Mines coincide with your fash- the “Golden Library and Improve- one needs an occasional break
of Mines, meet Summer Jackson. annual Zombie-themed fashion ion career? ment Association.” It remained as from studying. At break time, the
[Oredigger] First off, whereshow called “March of the Zom- It works amazing for me! I am such until the Golden Public Li- Golden branch of JCPL is a good
are you from/where did you bies.” This year’s zombie fashion very self-sufficient here. I have my brary merged with JCPL in 1961 choice for a complete change of
grow up? show will take place March 12th list of priorities, get them done, and moved into the Golden Civic pace.
[Jackson] I grew up in Bailey,
at Bender’s Tavern and will feature and then receive the instant grati- DEBORAH GOOD / OREDIGGER

Colorado. CSM Physics students, whom I fication. But that’s only three days
What is it that you do for ushave recruited to rock the runway of the week. Then I can go home
at Mines? in local zombie designer garb. and sort of switch roles, to keep
I work part-time as a perma- With all the photography it fresh.
nent classified employee for the and fashion designing in mind, So you definitely enjoy your
Department of Physics. One of my do you consider yourself an job here?
main duties is to assist faculty and
artist? Definitely! If I didn’t have the
students with their travel and reim- Yes! My creative edge comes support of my boss, Barbara
bursement needs. I also support from my background in fashion Pratt-Johnson, and the depart-
the Physics Colloquium Coordi- design. I graduated in 2005 with a ment head, Tom Furtak, I would
nator by updating the colloquium Bachelor’s degree in Apparel De- not enjoy it as much. In past jobs,
website, sending confirmation let-
sign and Production from CSU. I my creativity was not accepted
ters to speakers, and setting up enjoy infusing creativity in all that or appreciated. [Barbara] encour-
the colloquium refreshments in a I do and I am pleased to have ages me to be creative and con-
visually pleasing and appetizing opportunities to do so within the tinuously improves upon my work
way. Physics Department. processes, while [Tom] recognizes
What is the best part about Why physics instead of my creative strengths and consid-
your job? something more traditionally ers me for creative projects/as-
My favorite part about my role
creative such as LAIS? signments. I feel very fortunate to
is interacting with CSM’s diverse Well I got this job on a transfer be in the position I am here.
Golden Library contains a variety of resources.
range of students and COURTESY SUMMER JACKSON

faculty from all over the DEBORAH GOOD / OREDIGGER

world. I am now inspired
to learn more about oth-
er languages, cultures,
and geography.
If you could travel
anywhere to learn
about their culture,
where would you go
and why?
I think I would pick
Ireland. I just love the
setting. You know, all the
history. And the castles!
Or Germany, so I could
return to my heritage.
Are there any in-
fluential students or
faculty that stand out
from your experienc-
es at Mines?
All the Chinese stu- The Golden branch of JCPL is located close to Mines cam-
dents. I absolutely love Summer Jackson poses as a model in March of the Zombies pus, at Clear Creek.

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page 6 f e a t u r e s January 31, 2011

The Beautiful Dark Twisted It’s not delivery, and

Fantasy of Kanye West it’s not Digiorno…
Tim Weilert
Something Like Sound Blogger
I have observed an interesting
phenomenon. It seems that people
occasionally define their musical
tastes in terms of what genres they
avoid. On more than one occasion
I’ve heard the words “anything except
rap, pop, country… etc.” spoken as
though the speaker were proselytiz-
ing.
In the modern age, we can thank
Michael Jackson for the idea that the
greatest records transcend simplistic
genre-tags. When he released Thriller
in 1982, it paved the way for innova-
tive pop music that could draw from
a wide swath of the musical world.
Fast-forward nearly 30 years: Kanye
West finds himself standing on the
shoulders (and in the shadow) of the
late Jackson.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
topped many 2010 end-of-the-year
lists from music critics at all levels.
Ego, Twitter, and PR stunts aside,
West managed to put together a re-
cord that has more thematic intrigue
than anything else on the Top 40 sta-
tions.
This is not your run-of-the-mill hip-
hop record; it has orchestral, rock,
indie, spoken word, and electronic el-
ements with a slew of guest appear-
ances to match. While several songs from Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be
Katy Beseda until it is smooth. If it’s a little too wet
to handle well, add a little more flour.
are poised to be radio singles (“POW- Startin’ Somethin’,” the circle comes
Staff Writer
Form the dough into a ball and let it
ER,” “All of the Lights,” and “Monster” back in on itself as West orchestrates Instead of ordering or buying a sit covered for at least an hour.
to name a few), it is the overarching a denouement that pays homage to frozen one this weekend, try cook- Once the dough has risen, pre-
drama of Fantasy that makes it a full- his predecessor while maintaining a ing up your own pizza from scratch. heat the oven to 450 degrees Far-
album experience. Prior it its release, striking air of modernity. The great thing about making the enheit. Divide your dough in half
Fantasy made the jump to a visual Overall, it’s the kind of record that pizza yourself is that it is completely if you are using the full recipe and
medium; the nearly 10-minute “Run- should seriously make genre-limited customizable with options for crust work with one half at a time on a
away” served as the apex for West’s listeners reconsider their stuffiness. thickness, toppings and cheeses. floured surface. Roll out the dough
40-minute art-film of the same name. Even if hip-hop isn’t your style, My Maybe you want to stick with original to about half an inch thick. If you do
Lyrics about fame, loss, regret, Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy may pepperoni. Or try mushrooms and not have a pizza pan available, get
pride, and uncertainty thread their change your mind. peppers. Whatever you think of can creative and stretch out the dough in
way through COURTESY KANYE WEST
probably be put on a pizza. And do a brownie pan or cookie sheet.
the record not forget the rest of the ingredients. Whatever your intended shape
as styles shift 1.5 cups warm water and container, finish up by spread-
from track- 1 package yeast ing on the tomato sauce, cheese
to-track. The 3.5 cups of flour and desired toppings. It should take
album closes 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey about 10 minutes to bake. You may
on what I 1 teaspoon of salt need to add a little more time to en-
would per- 1 table spoon olive or vegetable sure the cheese is melted and deli-
sonally con- oil cious. KATY BESEDA / OREDIGGER
sider to be Jar of pizza (or pasta)
the best song sauce
of 2010: Cheese
“Lost in the Toppings
World.” Be- This recipe will give two
ginning from medium size pizzas. Begin
Bon Iver’s by preparing the dough to
“Woods,” rise: dissolve the yeast in
West builds warm water in a large mix-
tribal beats ing bowl. Add flour, sugar
into a four- or honey, salt and oil to the
on-the-floor water and mix until it forms
dance. Wind- a dough. Spend about 10 Delicious Hawaiian pizza is ready
ing in lyrics Album cover - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy minutes kneading the dough to eat

LG Optimus V
Ian Littman, Tech Break Columnist

This week I was going to talk
about anti-competitive shenani-
gans on the part of Apple and
Comcast, but this news is more
current, more important, and more
just-plain-awesome. The reason
is that there now exists an excel-
lent smart phone that does not
require a contract and allows un-
limited data and messaging, plus
some voice minutes for less than
the price of the average cell carri-
er’s unlimited data plan alone. This
phone’s name is Optimus V, and it
is available on Virgin Mobile.
First off, let us get the caveats
out of the way. This phone does not
do 4G. The 3.2-megapixel camera
does not have a flash. Its screen is
not covered with glass and it does
not have a gigahertz processor or
several hundred megabytes of in-
ternal memory. It does not have a
keyboard or an OLED display and it
is not an iPhone. Heck, it does not
even have a brightness sensor to
automatically dim its 3.2-inch dis-
play to save juice.
Other than that, it is perfect.
The first thing you notice when
you hold the Optimus V is that it is
built like a brick. The materials used
are not particularly high-end, but
they do not feel cheap either. LG
opted to use physical buttons in-
stead of capacitive controls on this
phone as well as others like it. Oth-
erwise, the handset has no moving
parts, lowering costs without sac-
rificing build quality. The choice to
use tactile rather than haptic feed-
back was actually a great move
on LG’s part in my opinion, having
used multiple phones where the
alternate method was executed.
That said, this phone is fast enough
that my chief complaint with non-
tactile systems, “did-I-press-it-right
syndrome”, would be a non-issue
anyway.
Another physical point about
this phone. It is on the small size.
Sure, the iPhone 4 is thinner, but
the Optimus V definitely fits the
average criteria for ‘pocketability’
and its weight strikes a balance
between quality and… well… be-
ing an absolute brick. The phone is
large enough to allow for easy tex-
ting with its touch screen keyboard
in landscape mode, yet the call-
making process will not remind you
of bringing a dinner plate to your
ear. One item of note is that, un-
like the Optimus V’s cross-carrier
cousins, this phone sticks to stan-
dard black plastic for its back rath-
er than soft-touch material, prob-
ably in an effort to lower costs. This
has minimal impact on build quality
or the perception thereof.
The Optimus V’s specifica-
tion sheet pales in comparison to
higher-end smart phones upon
first glance. Its 600 MHz single-
core processor is no match for
gigahertz-or-better Snapdragon,
Hummingbird, and TI OMAP chips
powering Droids and Galaxies the
world over. However, the V’s secret
weapon is a separate, 400 MHz
modem processor and a 300 MHz
graphics chip, the Adreno 200, to
be exact. To reiterate, this phone
has a dedicated GPU, along with
a chip whose sole purpose is to
make data transfers go along at
a steady clip. Combine this with a
relatively vanilla build of Google’s
almost-latest build of Android (2.2)
and you get a device whose per-
formance can only be described as
“fluid.”
Another way to describe the Op-
timus V’s display is “sharp,” thanks
to the relatively high pixel density
of its 3.2-inch, 320x480 screen. It
is no retina-enabled iPhone 4, but
it packs more pixels per inch than
older iPhones and outdoes the
other two prepaid Androids, Virgin
Mobile’s Samsung Intercept and T-
Mobile’s Huawei Comet. Notably,
both of these phones cost more
than the Optimus V. On the audio
front, the phone’s loudspeaker is
a little on the tinny side but oth-
erwise, perfectly fine. Phone calls
are clear, and quality through the
phone’s full-sized headphone jack
is excellent.
Going back to the phone’s op-
erating system for a minute, the An-
droid flavor found on the Optimus
V is almost as plain-vanilla as you
can get. Virgin Mobile has added a
few backgrounds and preinstalled
a smattering of applications, in-
cluding front-ends to their activa-
tion and account management
systems, but that is it. This is actu-
ally a good thing; “stock” Android
is synonymous with lean, mean
phones, while overlays by the likes
of Motorola, Samsung, and HTC
just slow things down.
If you want to customize your
experience on your own, there’s
nothing stopping you, but this is
not an iPhone. Virgin Mobile has
locked down a feature or two,
most notably wireless tethering, yet
you can easily circumvent this re-
striction by downloading the Quick
Settings app from the Android
market, going to its customize
screen, moving the Wi-Fi Hotspot
control into view and then hitting
the ‘On’ button.
At this point, you are probably
wondering how much Virgin Mo-
bile’s second smartphone will set
you back, up front and per month.
That’s actually the kicker in this in-
stance. You can walk into Target,
RadioShack, or BestBuy in a few
days and walk out with the Opti-
mus V for $150 plus tax without
signing a contract… provided the
phone is still in stock when you get
there.
How can LG and Virgin Mobile
price the phone so cheaply? Econ-
omies of scale. LG has, or will soon
have, a variant of the Optimus One
for every major and regional United
States carrier except AT&T, which
is seven in all with very few design
differences between them. Sam-
sung has followed a similar trend
with its Galaxy S series; however,
LG’s lower-end focus means that
the Optimus V made it into Virgin
Mobile’s lineup while a Galaxy S
variant did not.
The other half of the phone-plan
equation is even better. For $25
per month, you get 300 minutes,
unlimited messaging, and unlim-
ited data. Data access for a smart
phone is by itself $25-$30 practi-
cally everywhere else, and you
have to sign a contract to get that
price! If more minutes are needed,
$40 per month gives you 1200,
and $60 does away with the min-
ute cap altogether. A few carriers,
most notably CricKet, can match
the high-end price point of Virgin
Mobile’s Sprint-based Beyond Talk
plans. However, the $25 option
simply has no peer at this time.
Put another way, the bang-for-the-
buck meter just had to rescale it-
self.
In summary, the Optimus V
will not make you switch from an
iPhone on specs alone, nor will it
shatter any speed records or win
any photography contests; how-
ever, it is a very solid phone with
an excellent price both up front and
per month, giving me no choice
but to highly recommend it for any-
one who does not have the bud-
get for a top-of-the-line iPhone or
Android, or the expensive rate plan
that accompanies such a phone.
Have questions or comments
about the Optimus V or some other
piece of technology? Go to http://
oredigger.net and post a comment
to this article! Also, come back
next week for a story of conspiracy
and intrigue… seriously.

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t
 o p i n i o n

’ s
January 31, 2011 page 7

T i m Morals to your story

two ¢ ents Shira Richman
Ethics Columnist

Dilemma
When I got accepted to Mines my grandfather offered to pay for my college tuition. He said an engineering degree

Reaction
Tim Weilert
Staff Writer
There is a reason I don’t watch
political pundits on television: most
simply act as reactionaries for their
declared side. There is a reason
they call paramedics “first respond-
ers” (I can only imagine how terrible
life would be if we had to be res-
cued by “first reactors”). My point is
this: at every level of social, political
and professional interaction there is
a tension between the urge to react
and the intellectual wherewithal to
form a response.
Reaction is easy and therein
lays the problem. It is an animal-
istic mechanism designed to help
with survival and oftentimes it can
function free of logic. When upset-
ting circumstances arise, the first
response may be to do some-
thing brash, offensive or generally
disagreeable. As a community of
academics, my hope is that our
cendiary reaction.
It is logic that sets us apart from
the animals, and it is logic that de-
mands that we not take “the easy
way” offered by reaction. Reaction
manifests itself in several ways.
Most commonly I have seen com-
plaining as a responsive mecha-
nism that is pervasive on campus.
Rather than formulating a way to
tackle assignments, it is far easier to
just complain about the workload.
Mastering the art of “response” is
a lifelong endeavor. However, if the
concept of formulating a response
before acting was universal, then
the evening news would only be
filled with stories about the weather.
The truth is that reaction is here to
stay, despite the overtly negative
consequences that come from liv-
ing in a state of instinctive reciprocal
action. This may not be bad when
faced with a bear in the woods, but
in the context of a modern society
the need for well-thought response
is a worthwhile investment. He doesn’t think a marine biology degree is a worthwhile investment, though, so he’s
not paying for my brother’s college tuition. The bad news is that I’ve decided I want to change my major. To physics.
Is it unethical not to tell him? Is there anything wrong with letting him see for himself on graduation day? Maybe
he won’t come to graduation and he’ll never have to know. Or maybe I’m obligated to keep studying what he of-
fered to pay for because life isn’t supposed to fun anyway or something like that.
Physics Rebellion
Responses
I’d say go ahead and study physics if that’s what you want. Here at Mines, we don’t actually have a B.S. in
physics. It’s a B.S. in engineering physics, and it’s accredited by ABET, the board that is responsible for accrediting
engineering programs in the US. It’s meaningfully different from a traditional physics degree (while having all the fun
stuff from a traditional physics degree), and I think if your grandfather called you on it you’d be able to make a good
case. Alternately, you could consider one of the combined programs that give you a B.S. in engineering physics
and an M.S. in a specific type of engineering in five years.
Dr. Patrick Kohl, CSM Department of Physics
In life, I believe you should strive for whatever makes you happiest. If getting a physics degree and exploring that
line of work will make you happier than getting an engineering degree, you should go for the physics. Life won’t
always be fun, but you should at least enjoy your time as much as you can while alive. So, don’t do engineering
because that is what your grandfather wants, but I think you should let him know where his money is going. Maybe
he will think physics is another worthwhile investment and still pay for it, or maybe he will stop paying and you will
have a difficult next few years paying for school. In my opinion though, a couple of tough years doing what you love
is better than a couple of easy years followed by a job that makes you miserable. 
Ryan
First of all, if you want to major in physics, I say you should go for it. It is important to major in something that
you enjoy because you will be spending the rest of your life working in that field of study. Majoring in engineering
when you would rather major in physics may cause you a lifetime of unhappiness, at least professionally. Also,

Sudoku
campus would not be a place of in- is paramount.
if you decide to just stick it out with engineering, in a few years you may end up hating it so much that you will
want to change your major. This would be worse than changing your major right now because you will have
wasted a lot of time, energy and money on something you are not even benefitting from.
Second of all, the ethical thing to do would be to tell your grandfather about changing your major. College is a
huge investment, and if he is putting out that much money, he has the right to know what it is going towards. If you
choose not to say anything, it is likely that he will find out on his own, and he will probably be more upset with you
than if you told it to him straight. Plus, if you can come up with a convincing argument as to why majoring in physics
is a worthwhile investment, he might still pay for your schooling.
Jessica Ho

It is completely unethical to switch majors without telling your grandfather because that would be taking ad-
vantage of him when he’s doing you a huge favor. Before you talk to him though, you should make sure you are
certain that you prefer physics to engineering. If you switch majors right now, and decide later that physics is not
for you, then it would probably be difficult to convince your grandpa to continue funding your education. If you are
absolutely set on physics, then your only option is to find another way to pay for it, such as getting a job.
Honesty, Though It May Cost You

For most scholars, choosing a major is the most difficult decision they will have to make.  Fortunately, there
are people in our lives who are wiser than we are.  If we are lucky they will guide us in the right direction. My first
Bachelors degree was paid for by my grandparents who were just happy to send me to school. It didn’t really mat-
ter what I studied, as long as I was happy. I learned a lot and had a great time.  However, I have a double major in
what most people consider a worthless degree. Today I am at Mines doing it all over again, out of my own pocket. 
Tell your grandfather what you are doing and let him guide you. There is little difference between lying and not telling
the truth. If he does pull your funding, keep with the physics and see where it takes you. Some lessons are harder
to learn than others, and life is really the best teacher.
Starting Over With No Regrets.

I think that your grandfather deserves to know. If he is investing his money into your schooling, and thus future
career, he should know that he is getting his money’s worth out of it. By not telling your grandfather, you are not be-

Solution
ing honest with him and respecting his decision to invest his money in you. And if he finds out through your gradu-
ation, then you will break his trust in you and the relationship that you have with your grandfather will be gone. He
might be upset that you have decided to change your major but he would be more upset if you lied to him and used
him and his money. Trust is a hard thing to earn but, an easy thing to lose. While he might not like your decision to
switch majors, he will respect you for being honest with him. College is expensive and it is nice to not have to worry
about paying for it but, a good relationship with your grandfather, and his trust, is more important.
Trust Matters

Next Week’s Dilemma

I had just received an email stating that tuition would be due in just a few short days and that I needed to check
my account on Trailhead. I proceeded to see what my balance was, and to my astonishment, I had a negative bal-
ance. At first, I had thought that my parents had already paid it, so I called my dad to confirm the payment. He told
me that nothing was paid for yet and that he still needed to write a check. I went back to Trailhead to see the details
of how my schooling was being paid, for and I realized that I had a full tuition four year scholarship. I did not apply for
the scholarship and I am not sure where the money is coming from. Am I taking a scholarship from someone who
deserves it? Or is it fate for me to have this scholarship to help pay for school and lighten the load for my family?
Concerned, but Happy

We would love to know what you think Concerned, but Happy should do and the reasons that make you think
so.
Do you have an ethical dilemma in your personal, academic, or profes-
sional life? You don’t have to figure it out on your own. Send your ethical
dilemmas and responses to Concerned, but Happy to: srichman@mines.
edu by midnight on Friday, February 4th.
Be sure to let me know if you want your name printed or not and if you
have a preferred nickname what it is. We look forward to hearing from you.
Editorials Policy
The Oredigger is a designated public forum. Edi-
tors have the authority to make all content deci-
sions without censorship or advance approval
and may edit submitted pieces for length so long
as the original meaning of the piece is unchanged.
Opinions contained within the Opinion Section do
not necessarily reflect those of Colorado School of
Mines or The Oredigger. The Oredigger does not
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consider all requests for anonymity in publication
on a case-by-case basis. Submissions less than
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page 8 s a t i r e January 31, 2011

School shooting prevented by concealed-carry weapons

Janeen Neri lied,” he said, “to the point where that day. “Don’t get me wrong,” pines. It ranks even higher if only gun-related accidents in the Unit-
NRA President there were no options left for me. he said, “I was ready to die, tak- accidental deaths are measured. ed States in the same year.
Ever since high school people ing as many of those scumbags “As we can clearly see from “Being able to have guns for
Given Mines’ ongoing delib- have treated me like I’m beneath down with me. But when I looked this incident,” Schmeits pointed self-defense is a necessity in this
erations about whether to allow them, unworthy. They told me I at the firearm policy again, it said out, “putting guns into the hands country,” Schmeits said, “I mean,
concealed carry guns, last week’s was nothing. I’d show them what that concealed-carry guns were of responsible, law-abiding citi- we could close the income in-
news of a school shooting pre- nothing was. What oblivion really allowed on campus. That meant zens is not equality gaps
vented by gun- meant, those that I could get gunned down be- only a funda- “But [closing the income in our country,
toting good “We finally have proof h y p o c r i t e s ! fore taking out the maximum num- mental right; since income
guys has the Didn’t matter if ber of people I could -- instead of it’s a neces- inequality gaps] would unfor- inequality has
campus abuzz. that allowing responsible I had to go out killing 30 people, I might get only sity.
“We finally have with them, I’d be 15 or 16. Think how
tunately make [our country] ac ohigh positive
rrelation
proof,” said pro- students to carry guns doing the world So I decided I’d let them all many lives socialist Nazi freedom-killing to homicide
gun sophomore
Ryan Schmeits,
on campus may provide aingservice by wip-
their worth-
live, and get myself checked into
therapy. I can’t stand being less
could have
been lost if
rates. But that
communist liberals, so the would unfor-
“that allowing more than just an illu- less faces off the than perfect.” that shooter tunately make
responsible stu- planet.” This lack of tragedy was a hadn’t been best way we can protect our us socialist
dents to carry sion of safety.” Once he had welcome piece of good news for scared away Nazi freedom-
guns on campus decided what Sriracha students, who were still by the con- law-abiding citizens is by killing com-
may provide more than just an illu- he was going to do, he began the reeling from the recent loss of two cealed-carry munist liber-
sion of safety.” steps for acquiring a handgun and of their students to a drunken fire- laws on his allowing them to carry guns als, so the
Though there have been a few training himself in its use. He im- arm accident. Indeed, it is a happy campus!” In- best way we
incidents of shootings that were mersed himself in violent literature, piece of news for the United States deed, school everywhere they go.” can protect
shortened by the presence of oth- psyching himself up for what he at large, which is the top country shootings our law-abid-
er students or teachers who car- felt was a heroic role. in civilian gun ownership by a wide have a history of tragically high ing citizens is by allowing them to
ried guns, this is the first reported On that fateful morning, he margin, almost double the rate of mortality rates; in the U.S., up carry guns everywhere they go.
case where they prevented a trag- checked his school’s firearm the next highest country. to 38 people have been killed by Just because this is supposed to
edy from occurring at all. policy once more before heading Coincidentally, it is also among school shootings in a single year. be a first-world country doesn’t
When interviewed, the mentally out. “I didn’t want to get caught the top ten in gun-related deaths To put this in perspective, this mean that you’re paranoid if you
unstable Sriracha University stu- before I even got started,” he ex- per capita, higher than countries was almost 1/16 of the number of need to carry a gun in your back-
dent laid out the facts. “I was bul- plained. But something changed like Zimbabwe and the Philip- people that were killed in the 613 pack to feel safe at school.”

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