December 8, 1999
University prepares for Y2K
By RYAN JOHNSON
Assistant News Editor
In preparation for Y2K-related utility interruptions during the Holiday Break, the Y2K Contingency Task Force requests that certain shutdown procedures are followed. Ted Halm, News Services Manager, said, "The university has been very proactive and organized to make sure that disruptions are a minimum." The guidelines are:
All nonessential electrical equipment in offices, shops, labs, residence halls, classrooms, dining halls and closets should be unplugged from the wall outlets. This procedure reduces the electrical load in the building in the event that the generator in the power plant has to be run to prevent the buildings from freezing
Laboratory refrigerators, freezers, and aquariums will remain operating as long as energy is available from the utility. In the event of a long-term outage, energy to the building will be interrupted which may result in the product being stored in these units destroyed.
Any laboratory experiments that require an uninterruptable power source should be shut down safely before the Holiday Break.
Any equipment sensitive to power disruptions should be handled in a manner that assures that minimal damage will result if the utility power in interrupted several times during the holiday break.
"I predict smooth sailing," Halm said. "We will have the emergency management team in place January first."
A status report will be made available to interested people by 11 a.m. New Year's Day by calling 591-2000. Those people who will be out of town may call 1-800-519-3425. Y2K updates will also be available on the Ferris web page via Lotus Notes. The University is scheduled to open Jan. 3, residence halls open the 8th, and winter semester classes begin on the 10th. |
Hockey calms Western with stunning defense
By CHRIS MILLER
Sports Editor
A strong defensive team came to play on Saturday as the Ferris State Hockey team took one of two games from the Broncos of Western Michigan University.
"After losing Friday night, we wanted to come out and play strong for this game," Head Coach Bob Daniels said. "We had a long streak going until Friday night."
The Bulldogs had a seven-game winning streak on the line until they lost to Western 7-3 on Friday night. They came back on Saturday to dominate the Broncos to a 6-0 shutout victory. Ferris's overall record is now 11-7-0 overall and 7-7-0 in the CCHA.
"It was one of those games where none of the players came out and played great, yet they didn't come out and play good hockey either." Daniels said. The Bulldogs started junior goalie Vince Owen for the game on Friday and sophomore Phil Osaer the next night.
"Owen didn't have a good game, but it was not just him," Daniels said.
In the first game, FSU got down early when Western slapped in their first goal with a less then a minute to play in the first period. In the second period, the Broncos added another goal scored by junior forward Steve Rymsha. Ferris finally put a goal on the board. Freshmen Troy Milam nailed in his fourth goal of the year. Owen and junior Kevin Swider assisted on the power-play goal.
"Western was a tough team, and we knew that we had our work cut out for us," Daniels said. "We were just not doing the little things that it takes to win."
The next two goals were scored by Western Michigan junior center David Grove. The first goal was a shorthand goal scored late in the second period. Grove's second goal was added in the beginning of the third period putting the Broncos up 4-1.
The Bulldogs made a big comeback in the third period by scoring two more goals. Swider struck again with an assist from freshman Phil Lewandowski. A goal by sophomore Jason Basile brought the score to 4-3, but it wasn't enough as the Broncos scored three quick goals to put the game away.
"A part of me thinks that we were due for a bad night," Daniels said. Owen ended the game with 15 saves, while sophomore Bronco goalie Jeff Reynaert stopped a total of 18 shots.
In the second game, Ferris came out dominating with a stellar defense and quick attack.
"We knew that if we could come out a step ahead of Western, it would give us a chance to win this game," Daniels said.
FSU came out firing first late in the first period. Swider nailed his third goal of the weekend while senior Jim Dube and sophomore Rob Collins teamed up for the assist. While the crowd chanted the name "Lewie," junior Scott Lewis popped in his fourth goal of the season during the second period.
"We played a very stingy defense tonight, which showed that we can stop their power play," Daniels said. For the game, the Bulldogs went two for ten in power plays. They shut down the Broncos who couldn't score on a total of nine power play chances.
Ferris added two more goals in the second period making the score 4-0. Basile scored his second goal of the weekend with help from Milam and senior assistant captain Brent Wishart. FSU sophomore Christian Schroder scored the last goal of the period. Lewandowski and Swider assisted the goal.
FSU put the game away in the third period on two goals scored by senior Brian McCullough. McCullough is FSU's leading goal scorer this season with eight goals.
The Bulldogs dominated the shots on goal for the game 40-19.
"Osaer played a good game when he was tested," Daniels said. "I also give him credit for putting up with the onslaught that the Broncos poured on in the third period. He earned his shutout." Osaer improved his record to 7-3-0 overall.
After the game, a small brawl took place after all hands were shook. Western was penalized for fighting and players were disqualified. Up next for the fourth ranked Bulldogs in the CCHA at Colgate University on Dec. 10-11. The next home game for Ferris is not until Jan. 28-29 when they take on the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
"We hope to finish the season in the top five of the GLIAC," Daniels said. "This will give us home ice advantage during playoff time. It would help to play in for the FSU fans here in Big Rapids."
Second-half drought continues for men's basketball
By NICK WASMILLER
Ferris State Torch
Heading into halftime this season Ferris State have never trailed, yet the Bulldogs only have one win to show for their first half success. Ferris dropped their first two games in the new Jim Wink Arena this past week against Calvin College and Westminster (PA.), lowering their record to 1-4.
The Bulldogs once again looked like two different teams against Calvin College Tuesday. After leading by three at halftime, Ferris was outscored by 16 in the second half on way to a 90-77 defeat by Calvin College.
With the score tied 42-42 the Bulldogs nailed a half-court buzzer beater to move the score to 45-42 at the half. Center Adam Anderson led the Bulldogs with 12 points at the break.
Ferris came out looking like another team in the second half, falling behind by 12 with around 13 minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs wouldn't go down easily though, as they climbed back to trail by only four. Four points would be as close as Ferris would come though, as Calvin would pull away once again with their solid outside shooting.
Sophomore Adam Anderson led the team with 18 points and nine rebounds. Four other Bulldogs scored in double figures, including transfer Richard Young's 14 points off the bench. Starters Ray Pope, Matt Miller and reserve Donald Tinsley each scored 10 points in the lose.
Junior guard Donte Hill led the Bulldogs in assists with nine against Calvin, while not allowing a single turnover.
After shooting 52 percent in the first half, Ferris went cold in the second, going 14 for 38 from the floor. The Bulldogs scored only four points off of 11 Calvin turnovers while allowing 21 points off 16 turnovers.
The win moved Calvin's record to 5-0 on the season, while dropping Ferris to 1-3 on the season.
Thursday night the Bulldogs once again played a strong first half. Led by their suffocating defense and senior guard Ray Pope, Ferris headed into the half tied at 27. Westminster pulled away in the second half though, scoring 50 points in the final 20 minutes to collect a 77-72 win.
Pope led all scorers at the break with 15 points. The second half was once again a different story for the Bulldogs. Ferris trailed by as many as 11, before cutting the lead to six at the finish.
Pope was the leading scorer on the night with 28 points. Freshman Brian Monahan turned in his best game of his short career with 14 points, leading the Bulldogs come back attempt in the final minutes. "The team was really behind me, they wanted me to play well," said Monahan.
Monahan also dished out a team high 4 assists and shot 7 for 11 from the field. Sophomore Adam Anderson scored 12 points, bringing his average up to 11.2 points per game. Anderson also led the team in rebounds with 12.
Ferris shot 41 percent against Westminster, connecting on 30 of 73 shot attempts. The Bulldogs also had a tough night from three-point range, making only six of 25 attempts.
The Bulldogs dropped to 1-4 overall this season, and 0-3 in the GLIAC Conference. The Bulldogs travel to Wisconsin-Parkside on Wednesday. Their next home game is Saturday against St. Joseph's at 3 p.m. |
'Tis the season to spend, spend, spend
By KELDA BARNUM
Ferris State Torch
As I battled my way through the mall the day after Thanksgiving, I was reminded of two things: I don't have nearly enough money to buy Christmas presents and Christmas has evolved from day meant to celebrate the birth of Christ to a day that celebrates 30 percent off sales.
The holidays often trigger a yearning for the more spiritual side of Christmas celebrations; a celebration more like it was before department stores and Santa Claus. But historians are discovering that Christmas was never a pure celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and the Christmas "traditions" we adhere to are modern inventions. These studies show that the celebration of Christmas was never a particularly religious event, and was in fact more like New Year's than it was the holy night we envision. It is possible that this commercialism is the only true Christmas tradition we can claim.
Jesus' actual birth date has been the topic of debate since A.D. 175 when Clement, a Bishop of Alexandria claimed Jesus was born on Nov. 18. Hippolytus, a Roman theologian, who died in the early third century, thought Jesus must have been born on a Wednesday because, according to the Bible, this was the day God created the sun. Most churches place his year of birth between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C., but the gospels reveal no clues as to the actual date. It is widely believed that the date of Dec. 25 was chosen because based on an early Judeo belief, important religious figures are born and die on the same day of the month. Most churches believe that Jesus was crucified on March 25, which is the same date of his conception, according to this tradition. This would place his birth date nine months later, on Dec. 25.
It was this confusion over the actual date of his birth that could explain why Christmas was not celebrated until the fourth century, and even then Christmas was seen more as a time of revelry than reflection on the birth of the Savior. In fact, Christmas was banned in Puritan New England of colonial America because these Christmas celebrations created an atmosphere for drunken dancing, rioting and feasting.
It wasn't until 1822, when New York organized it's first police force in response to a violent Christmas riot, that the concept of Santa Claus was introduced to America in Clement Clarke Moore's poem about St. Nick, who bore gifts to children. The poem quickly caught on, and for the first time since the beginning of the Christmas celebration, giving gifts to children and loved-ones became on integral part of Christmas.
Since then, retailers have come to count on Christmas sales for up to 50 percent of their annual profits. This season of consumption propels an estimated $37 billion into the nation's economy. Because of this post-Thanksgiving economy boost, President Franklin Roosevelt actually moved the Thanksgiving date back one week from Nov. 30 to Nov 23 in 1939 so that Americans could have a full four weeks before Christmas to shop.
From now until Christmas evening, our televisions will be flooded with Santa Claus and snowflakes, urging us to buy more in order to make this Christmas season truly special. For many of the 96 percent of Americans who celebrate Christmas in some form, making purchases we can't afford are as much of a Christmas tradition as the tree and mistletoe is.
In Greece, people burn their old shoes on Christmas day to ensure good luck through the following year. In Ireland, it is believed that the gates of heaven open wide on Christmas eve, and those who die will go straight to heaven. In Devonshire, England, a girl raps on the henhouse door on Christmas Eve and if a rooster crows, she will marry within the year. In America, we fall helplessly into the glare of bright department store displays and consume, consume, consume. Further proof that tradition, no matter how strange (or expensive), is after all, tradition.
Exciting and scary possibilities loom for future technology
By JOSH LAREAU
Ferris State Torch
It's sometimes hard to see a trend when you are right in the middle of it. An old euphemism applies; it's not easy to "see the forest through the trees". Right now, we are in the midst of a technological revolution. We are so used to our constantly improving technology that we can't imagine what life must have been like without it. But for thousands of years, humanity plodded along without cell phones, computers, or microwaves. Only in the past 50 years or so have we had vacuum tubes, printed circuit boards, transistors, integrated circuits, and all the other things that make high technology possible.
It is as if humanity was going along in a linearly straight line, and then boom, the equation changed and we shot off at an exponential angle. No one expects this technological revolution to stop. People have trouble looking at this revolution and putting it into context. Technology can't expand forever; eventually we are going to reach an equilibrium point. It may not be for a hundred years, and it may not be in our lifetime, or even our children's lifetime, but if humanity doesn't destroy itself first, the technological revolution will end and humanity will have some very interesting possibilities in store for it.
One possibility may be that technology will become so integrated into our daily lives, that it will become transparent. In other words we will have reached a level of perfection in which we can no longer improve on our devices, and they will run flawlessly and virtually maintenance free. Also, they will have become such a part of our daily lives that we would not be able to distinguish them from our surroundings. We may not even be able to distinguish them from ourselves. The word technology may even become synonymous with the word oxygen.
It sounds scary, but what about technologically enhancing our bodies? Humans are in an evolutionary cul-de-sac right now. We are not going to undergo anymore drastic evolutionary changes because we have such control over our environment that we adapt it to suit us instead of adapting our bodies to suit it. Therefore, the next step in human evolution may be biological implants. What about directly interfacing our brains, our thought patterns, into a global network in order to communicate more effectively and interact with our man made environment?
Can you imagine being able to watch TV any time you want by having it beamed directly into your brain? How about communicating "telepathically" with others through a vast interconnected network of brains? What about being able to control devices by simply thinking about them. Who knows how far we could go with this, perhaps we will lose our bodies altogether. They do seem like very inefficient machines sometimes. What if one day all that existed were pure thought patterns floating through cyber space as we leave the last vestiges of physical human society behind us?
Whoa, I know what you are thinking. What about our humanity? Our culture? Are we going to let our cities turn to dust as we roam around aimlessly as a stream of 1's and 0's for eternity? That is something I definitely do not want, and I don't think anyone alive today can imagine that kind of existence. But whose to say that in a thousand years humanity won't have a new set of values? I bet if you showed a prehistoric man a television that was turned on, he would be scared out of his mind because he wouldn't be able understand it, he wouldn't even begin to be able to grasp the fundamentals of how it worked. As technology advances and we embrace its impact, and new generations are born with it already in place, we tend to forget some of the reservations we may of once had about it.
I would like to believe that one day we will explore space on giant starships, not unlike the vision portrayed in Star Trek. Cruising through space faster than the speed of light, making contact with other civilizations as intelligent as us. Trying to determine the reason for our existence, and how the universe was formed, and by who or what. It is the common vision of what the distant future will be like, but I have a hard time believing it's going to be like that. It might be if we continue on a straight line from where we are heading now, but as we have witnessed before, first with the industrial revolution, and now the technological revolution, humanity is constantly being sent off on tangents, into entirely new directions and modes of thinking. A discovery might be made tomorrow that will have fantastic or even unimaginable consequences.
I can think of a few research areas now that have the potential to do just that. For instance, nanotechnology is the quest to make things increasingly smaller and smaller. It could lead to everything from transporter devices like you see on Star Trek, to wiping out disease. Similarly, genetic research could lead to immortality via the canceling of the aging process. What about S.E.T.I., the search for extraterrestrial intelligence? I have to believe that discovering that life exists elsewhere in the universe will have a profound impact on this planet, maybe even world peace.
Whatever the future holds in store, I just hope it's for the best. It's kind of odd, but even though I will be dead in less than a hundred years, I still care about what's going to happen to humanity long after I've been cryogenically frozen. Oh wait, maybe that's why.
Another possibility is that there will be another revolution that will spur humanity in an entirely new direction. Just like the industrial revolution put in place the backbone of mass production that makes things like integrated circuits possible, the computer revolution might lead to something as yet unimaginable. It's not that hard to believe.
Bring on the new millennium
By JACOB CRAFT
Ferris State Torch
I just put the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme music on in the background in order to help me write this column. At my lovely editor's request, it is required of me to explain to you, dear reader, how life in the new millennium will be. What changes and challenges lie in wait for us, as we teeter on the precipice of the old, waiting to plunge into the abyss of the imminent? The future lies ahead in an unseen path, and it is up to me to cast some illumination upon it, so that we do not trip upon the unseen pitfalls that are doubtlessly lying in wait to wrench my enlightened ankles.
Fortunately for us, I had some help. I was lying awake, late into the night, trying to figure out the best way to portend the dangers that lie ahead. Just as I was about to leave in search of a suitable animal sacrifice, in hopes that some cruel spirit would share his prophecies for a mangled goat limb, it struck me, a deal with the devil is not what I needed. Why sell my eternal soul to fulfill an admittedly silly request by my editor, when the answer had already presented itself in the checkout aisle of every grocery store in these United States?
I am speaking, of course, of the Weekly World News, hailed by Tommy Lee Jones as the finest work of investigative reporting in the world. I went to the grocery store just before Thanksgiving to pick up a few things for our family celebrations the next day. All the while, in the back of my mind, I was pondering life in the new millennium. Then it hit me, this beacon of journalism, boldly reporting the truth, walking where brave men feared to crawl. Superimposed over a poorly drawn illustration of Jesus, the cover of this particular issue had a headline, which read, "Bible prophecies the government doesn't want you to know!"
"Here's my answer!" I thought. I hurriedly purchased the oracle-like tabloid, and in my haste, neglected to buy the Cool-Whip of which I was told, in no uncertain terms, "don't come home without it". Ignoring all other distractions, I immediately flipped to the cover story, knowing the truth was at hand. Wedged in-between an article about a well-placed tassel on a stripper flying off and killing the unfortunate bachelor, and an insightful piece about Adolph Hitler's wax mannequin growing hair, were these forbidden prophecies. I share, and interpret with you now.
The evil anti-Christ mentioned so prominently in the Bible's book of Revelation is not only alive, he's living in the United States.
His name remains a closely guarded, "eyes only" secret in the intelligence community, but sources confirm that he is an extremely wealthy businessman who is amassing a private army of thought-control experts and Satanic "missionaries" to begin his assault on mankind any day now.
Gosh, now we know why everyone bought Windows 98. Thought control experts and satanic missionaries created it. Bill Gates is the anti-ti-Christ! Fortunately, his powers were useless on Janet Reno. She's a Macintosh user.
As prophesied in the Bible, the moon will turn to blood-or blood red, say Bible scholars. And in a top-secret report, astronomers say that a cloud of red "space dust" entered our solar system in 1998. This dust will pass between Earth and the moon causing the moon to turn red as early as Christmas Day of this year.
Top secret documents about multi-colored space dust? They keep us in the dark on purpose. Imagine the panic if everyone were to know about space dust. There would be riots.
The article went on to explain that China would start the war, and the only way to live through the Apocalypse was to say these five words: "My life belongs to God".
No pressure though, it's your decision.
So inspired by the bravery of this overlooked workhorse of the media world, I decided to make a few predictions of my own.
The world won't change much. It will still seem like everyone is stupider than you are, you'll still be selfish, you still won't care about others, you'll still suffer through quiet desperation, and silence the voices with oh so many substances. There will be war, and there will be peace. Love, and hate. Hurt and hope.
The instructions for world to come are brutally simple. Live, try not to die, die. We've been doing the same thing for the past 2000 years, and don't have a whole lot to show for it. It saddens me to think that the 90's will be remembered for "that Pokemon craze", like the 60's are remembered for "that Woodstock thing". We've done so well so far, why should we change now? Happy millennium, everybody. Party like it's 1999, or don't. Whatever.
The Great Millennial Smoke Out
By STEPHANIE GUILES
Opinions Editor
It's no secret that cigarettes kill. They do so in the long run, in a slow and agonizing way. There are so many reasons to quit smoking. The obvious reasons like tumors, emphysema and yellow teeth are discussed through media sources on a daily basis. Sounds yummy right? Well, just keep puffing and you will find out.
Look at the bright side though, at least you'll get lots of attention when you have that lung removed. The people who have watched you "smoke yourself" will silently think to themselves, "I knew this was going to happen" while they then watch you die. How wonderful.
There are several more subtle reasons to quit, though. And there is an easy way to do it. I should know because I just did. I did it cold turkey and I haven't had a smoke for four days. The freaky part is, I don't want one. I mean sure, I have a little craving every now and then, but some candy takes care of it. I psyched myself out about it. It was really easy. I simply convinced myself that I should not smoke anymore. One big key to quitting is to mentally psyche yourself into it. No longer give yourself smoking as an option. If you use this method, your perspective will change.
The reason that most of us ever started smoking was because some time in our past someone or something has set that example for us. Some how we were told that something we desperately need is inside a pack of cigarettes, and we start looking for it.
After trying to quit several times and failing, I had to sit back and think about what was stopping me. It was more than a physical addiction. It is very psychological. I thought about why I first started smoking and how much I have changed since then. I was really vulnerable when I first started smoking. I was 15 and admittedly willing to do anything to have friends. I wasn't very popular. I needed that crutch. The cigarette became my best friend and was until last week. Some friend, huh? Expensive and deadly.
It's scary, but giving up cigarettes was sad for me. It was like a part of me died. That was the hardest part. It was like letting go of my youth and the memories of my smoking companions. Quitting brings about a drastic change in some one's self-image. One has to suddenly view himself/herself as a "non smoker". I now realize that I was extremely emotionally attached to cigarettes, and not matter now hard I tried, I could never have another true best friend while I smoked. Sound weird to you? It's really not that far out there.
Smoking was required in the crowd I fell into, and, through weakness, I decided to hurt myself by doing so. I decided to damage myself because I didn't like myself very much when I was 15. I'm glad I realize this now. Thinking about these things brings about other scary ideas. Did the friends who gave me cigarettes really care about themselves or me at all? Suddenly these romanticized teen-age memories I have of my cool friends don't seem so real any more. They seem like mistakes.
And that, I think, is why many young people can not decide they no longer want to smoke. In order to do so they would have to grow up and admit that their parents were right? They would also have to realize that they are not taking care of themselves.
Smoking stinks. Guess what smokers? You stink. That's right, and no matter how much your non-smoking friends and/or lovers try to tell you it doesn't bother them, guess again.
There is pretty much only one reason most people continue to smoke, and that is the addiction. While in the grips of an addiction one is not truly "themselves." While addicted you are yourself plus one: it is you and your addiction, and I don't know how else to put it. When you smoke you carry your best buddy and most important friend in your pocket. It is the same mentality as an alcoholic. I guess a non-smoker should remember that before dating a smoker. When around smokers you will always come second to a cigarette.
Since I have decided to quit I feel much different. I feel freer than I have in many years, and I can breath much better also. I have heard people say that once a person decides he/she really wants to quit, that the person can and will. I believe that is true. The hardest part is admitting to yourself that you need to and making the commitment to stop for good. |
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