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April 2006 Viewpoints

Organizing MTU-EWB's Bolivia project

By Brandon Braithwaite Posted and updated 04/27/2006 

HOUGHTON -- Last November Brandon Braithwaite, a graduate student in Michigan Tech's Peace Corps Masters International program, participated in a project to build a sewage treatment system and bathroom facilities for a school in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, with the Michigan Tech Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), an organization dedicated to construction and environmental projects in the developing world. Braithwaite shares his thoughts on how he became involved in the organization and fundraising (He served as EWB event organizer) of the project and on the positive interaction of the MTU group with the local Bolivian community, where smiles and a sense of humor helped overcome language barriers. more

DEQ Public Hearing on sulfide mining: Apr. 18, 2006

By Ted Soldan Posted 04/25/2006 

HOUGHTON -- Guest columnist Ted Soldan was among steering committee members of FOLK (Friends of the Land of Keweenaw) who attended the DEQ (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality) Apr. 18 public hearing on Kennecott Minerals Company's proposed Eagle Project sulfide mine on the Yellow Dog Plains east of Marquette. Soldan offers his impressions of the hearing: a two-hour, informative informal session where DEQ staff reviewing the permit application made themselves available for questions and comments and a 90-minute public comment session where concerned citizens could sign up and give a very brief (90-second) comment to DEQ officials. Soldan reports the DEQ ended the hearing at 10 p.m., depriving some citizens of their right to speak. more

My outward-facing church

By Carolyn "Candy" Peterson  Posted 04/14/2006 

HANCOCK -- Carolyn "Candy" Peterson says her church, the First United Methodist Church in Hancock, welcomes people with a variety of beliefs and opens its doors to a variety of groups, from her own "neighborhood coffee" gathering to the Copper Country Guatemalan Accompaniment Project (CCGAP) to Tai Chi classes. Peterson attributes the congregation's openness to Minister Eugene Bacon, who, she says, "challenges us to stand outside our culture of competition, hard work, frenetic activity and material possessions and to recognize how these influences have stifled our better selves. He encourages our congregation to be an outward-facing circle that sees the good in all people." more 

Letter to Editor: Scrubbing chalk ...

By Anna Cynar  Posted 04/11/2006  Updated 04/17/2006

HOUGHTON -- On Friday morning, April 7, 2006, during (Gay) Pride Week at Michigan Technological University, hate-filled, anti-gay messages written in chalk appeared in many locations on the campus. MTU's office of Public Safety is conducting a full investigation of this incident. University officials have condemned these actions as "inappropriate and harmful to members of our community," not to be tolerated. On Friday, MTU student Anna Cynar found herself taking photos of the chalkings and then scraping away the hateful messages. Soon others joined her, scraping away the chalk in silence. Later, Anna sent an email expressing her own reaction to the chalkings. "Chalk does disintegrate, does wash away, because it is nothing compared to compassion and understanding," she writes. "Although hate doesn't wash away with a splash of water, it can be flooded, flooded by voices who are not silenced by its foolishness." more 

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