SGA Spends $5000 (revised)

The atmosphere was stormy at Wednesday night's student government association meeting when the American Meteorological Society was denied money for the 90^th Meeting of the American Meteorological Society.

AMS members requested $2539.76 from the general fund in order to help send four students to Atlanta, GA in mid-January. The amount requested was meant to be a stipend to help students who may not be able to afford the entire cost, which is estimated to be about $1000 per person. Only four students who need financial assistance would get these stipends. Anyone else who wishes to attend would need to raise money for themselves.

To justify the request, Tony McGee said, "It's [the conference] a great networking experience. It gives students a reason to stay active in AMS."

As other club representatives questioned AMS, tension began to build.

"You guys get so much money for sending people to conferences," Brian Wilcock of the High Society said.

Kaitlyn Jacobs of AMS replied, "This is the only conference we request money for. The storm conference is put on by us."

When asked about fundraising toward the cost of the conference, AMS explained that the money they raise between now and January will go toward the annual storm conference that they themselves put on.

After many questions from the other clubs, AMS was denied its request.

Stephanie Tyler requested $5000 from the general fund to allow about twenty students to go to Guatemala for a ten-day service trip in February. This money will give each student about $250 toward airfare and hotel expenses, while the total cost per person is generally between $800 and $1000.

The students will be volunteering to help those struggling in poverty through after school programs. They will also be working with an orphanage. The motion passed without much debate.

The Student Investment Club was approved by the SGA as well. With a starting budget of $5000 from two outside donors, the club will provide real-life experiences in the stock and bond market, according to Kyle Hessler. The club will be working with a broker from Edward-Jones.

Tom Leeman and Brian Wilcock of the High Society requested $877.79 in order to put in four 'boxes' on President's Hill. These boxes are meant for anyone who wants to skateboard or snowboard on them.

Suzanne Proulx of American Woman in Radio and Television asked, "You had $1800 in your budget for these last year. Why didn't you use it then?"

Leeman replied, "We had an incompetent exec board."

The High Society's request was then denied.

The SGA executive board requested $280.42 be reallocated from the leadership conference fund to the dining services and event supplies. This request was approved.

SGA Representatives Ready for Action

From a senior with a vision of stopping bottled water sales to a freshman with lots of high school government experience, the newly elected SGA representatives are getting ready to make changes for their fellow students.

President Andrew Chapin announced the results for the 2009-10 elections on Monday. Each class now has three elected members of the student body to represent their wants and needs on campus.

Seniors Chris Wentworth, Chris Shadrock, and Morgan Reilly now hold positions in the SGA. Wentworth said of his new role, "I was interested in the position because I have enjoyed my time here at LSC, and I feel SGA is a good opportunity to give back to the LSC community in my final year."

Shadrock has an interesting goal for this year. He wants to discontinue the sale of bottled water in the Hornet's Nest. He also made it clear that representatives need to be unbiased and work for the student body as a whole. "If all we have are club reps that are interested in their clubs and furthering their agendas, the general student body would be left in the dust," he said.

The junior class welcomes Jarryd Guinard, Alison Ciaramitaro, and Jeff Rusack as representatives. Rusack said, "As a representative I will voice any opinion from anyone I represent."

Sophomore representatives are Rachel Keller, Michelle Wilcox, and Tyler Kittleman. Wilcox's attitude about her new position is positive. "I have always been a big supporter of “it’s what you make of it," she said."If you think that things need to be changed then instead of complaining about it, come up with a reasonable idea and get involved."

Keller's thoughts mirrored Wilcox's. "My main goal is to increase the faith in SGA. I want to prove to students here that if they have a problem and want it addressed, that going through me or any other SGA representative/member will guarantee at least an effort to solve the problem," she said.

The freshman class has the enthusiastic new representatives Arianna Millington, Dominique Boyd, and Alex Hernandez. Millington said, "I feel that I will personally contribute an opinion from different perspectives to SGA, as I am involved in various clubs and activities."

Boyd and Hernandez both want to help their class express ideas and concerns to improve the environment in which students receive their education, and plan to work with SGA to make that happen.

Each representative plans to do their best to meet the needs of their classmates. Students with new ideas or concerns can go to their representative and ask for the SGA to consider them. SGA meetings are every other Wednesday evening.

Storm Chasers: LSC-style

By Madison Cox and Danielle Drown

Like a scene out of a blockbuster movie, Tony McGee watched a tornado form in front of his very eyes.

"I looked on in awe. I didn't jump up and down and yell and scream, mostly because I was too excited and shocked to do so." McGee said.

From May 8 to June 13, McGee and Rachel Ducharme, both atmospheric science seniors, accompanied Nolan Atkins, professor of atmospheric science, on a research trip across the country called Vortex 2. This government-funded program allows researchers and students to travel around the country collecting data on all types of severe weather. The main objective of this program is to discover more about severe weather in order to improve warning systems.

For McGee and Ducharme, this trip was an opportunity to further their atmospheric studies. Neither had seen tornados previously. Ducharme said, "I have always been interested in severe weather. Tornadoes were just the next thrills on the list that I had yet to have the pleasure to encounter."

Vortex 2 is comprised of about 100 people from all parts of the country. The group divides into small teams in order to obtain different types of data. Atkins' team was responsible for collecting visual images, videos, and recordings of the various weather they encountered.

After traveling thousands of miles, the teams finally got their big break on June 5 in Meriden, Wyo. A moderately sized (EF2 on a 0-5 scale) tornado began to develop. According to Atkins, this was surprising to spot a tornado in Wyoming because it is not considered to be part of "Tornado Alley". It began to develop six miles away from Atkins and Ducharme. McGee and his research partner were at a different location and were able to see the storm from further away.

At the tornado's closest point, it was roughly one mile away from Atkins and Ducharme. This was the most frightening part of the entire trip for Ducharme, who said, "We had to bug out of the area because the tornado was heading right for us. We were driving away and Dr. Atkins lost sight of the tornado. I looked in my rear-view mirror and I saw the tornado crossing the street behind us."

McGee had different thoughts about the tornado. He said, "I wasn't going to cheer for something that was wrecking people's homes and lives, maybe even causing death. It turns out that very little damage was done, and we were very excited to have finally gotten a case to work with." Everyone involved in Vortex 2 was unharmed after the tornado touched down.

Atkins said that contrary to popular belief, watching a tornado from a relatively short distance is actually quiet and calm. He stated that where they were positioned, it was cloudy and slightly windy with no rain whatsoever.

Vortex 2 is going to continue operating until summer 2010, with even more research to develop safer warning systems for those living in tornado territory. Atkins will be going for another six weeks, but is unsure who will be accompanying him.

What do you think of the construction on campus?

Wil Dens
Sophomore, Physical Therapy
"It doesn't bother me much because it's out of the way. They've done a good job on the building."

Joe Adams
Junior, Animation/Illustration
"The building looks great. I hope I have a class or event in there. I haven't been in it yet."

Shelby Coutu
Freshman, Graphic Design
"I don't really mind the construction."

In loving memory

Daniel W. Williams, 52, of Lyndon, Vt., died after a jousting incident with former student Eric Wayne.
Born in Berwyn, Ill., on October 26th, 1956, he was the son of James and the late Mary Williams of Hilton Head, S.C. He was educated at Kansas State University in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He then went on to earn his master's degree at Ohio State University.
In 1982, Williams traveled to Munich, Germany, to work at Radio-Free Europe. He remained in Germany for nine years before coming back to the United States to work at CNN. From 2004 to 2006, he was employed by Sanford University as a journalism professor. Beginning in the fall of 2006, Williams had worked as a professor at Lyndon State College. During the summer months, he also remained with CNN as a writer and copy editor of CNN International.
Williams will be remembered as a fantastic English professor. He was loved by faculty and students alike for his silly sense of humor. An avid gardener and chef, his hobbies included cooking vegetables from his home garden. He was a member of College Media Advisers for four years, and was also involved in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Williams is survived by his wife, Susan Millar-Williams, and their three children, Gretchen Williams of Detroit, Mich., Martin Williams of Providence, R.I., and James "Jimmy" Williams of Lyndon, Vt. He is also survived by his father, James Williams, of Hilton Head, S.C. He was predeceased by his mother, Mary Williams. Williams also leaves behind his dog, Louis.
In lieu of flowers, please submit donations to the Dan Williams Journalistic Excellence Scholarship at Lyndon State College.