Program promotes postsecondary training and education in trade and technical skills

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (December 2, 2021) – McWane, a world leader in the manufacture of waterworks and monitoring products, today launched the McWane Scholarship for Skilled Trades, a new initiative aimed at promoting trade and technical education and in celebration of the company’s centennial year of operation.

Through the program, McWane will award up to 60 two-year, $1,000 scholarships for the annual academic year. The program complements McWane’s existing scholarship program, which designates four-year scholarships to dependent children of current team members, and brings the total number of scholarships to 100, one for each year the company has been in business.

“McWane has a history of investing in education in the communities where we operate, and in celebration of our centennial year of operation, we are excited to expand our current scholarship program to focus on skilled trade education,” stated Kevin McCarthy, VP, Human Resources, McWane. “Trade and technical education are vital to forging a path toward successful, lifelong careers, and this program reaffirms our commitment to filling the skilled labor pipeline by providing financial assistance to aspiring workers.”

To be eligible for this program, applicants must be a high school graduate or have a GED equivalent and be enrolled or plan to enroll in a trade-related program in the fall of 2022 at an accredited two-year college, vocational/technical school or other approved technical institute in the United States.

Administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services Inc., an independent, third party that specializes in managing sponsored educational assistance programs, the deadline to apply for the McWane Scholarship for Skilled Trades is February 10, 2022.

For more information and to begin the application process, visit https://www.mcwane.com/responsibility/community/.

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About McWane Inc.

McWane, Inc. is a family-owned business based in Birmingham, Alabama, with companies across the U.S. and around the world. The McWane Family of Companies casts ductile iron products, including pipe, valves, hydrants, fittings, and plumbing products; manufactures fire extinguishers, fire suppression systems and steel pressure vessels; and builds network switches and monitoring equipment. McWane is the leader in delivering clean, safe drinking water around the world while focusing on the safe, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. With more than 6,000 team members, McWane has a longstanding commitment of support to the communities where our team members live and work. For more information, visit mcwane.com.

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A career-high 23 points from freshman Alanna Micheaux wasn’t enough for the Gophers who came up short at home against North Carolina.

After picking up two home victories over the weekend against Bradley and UTSA, the Gophers welcomed a 6-0 North Carolina team to Williams Arena in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Head coach Lindsay Whalen opted to deploy a different starting lineup. Sophomore Alexia Smith replaced second-leading scorer (13 PPG) Jasmine Powell at point guard. She was accompanied by Sara Scalia, Deja Winters, Kadi Sissoko and Bailey Helgren.

It didn’t take long for Powell to check into the game. Less than four minutes into the game, she joined Minnesota’s lineup.

The early change resulted in an evenly matched first quarter. The Gophers and Tar Heels were tied at 17 after 10 minutes of play. Senior guard Gadivia Hubbard led Minnesota with six points.

Redshirt junior forward Kadi Sissoko came up big for the Gophers in the second quarter with a team-high eight points, bringing her first-half total to 10. That was about all of the production Minnesota could find offensively, as freshman Alanna Micheaux was the only other Gophers’ player to record a point, with four in the quarter.

After failing to make a single field goal in the last 4:15 of the second quarter, Minnesota was outscored 12-22 in the quarter, and North Carolina made five of its last seven, taking a 39-29 lead into the half.

Graduate student guard Deja Winters led the Gophers to a hot start out of the locker room. Her two threes in the quarter brought her to three for the game and brought the Maroon & Gold right back into the game.

Six more points from both Powell and Micheaux helped Minnesota storm back in a big way, trailing 55-58 after a last-second North Carolina three-pointer.

North Carolina carried its momentum into the fourth quarter. After the Tar Heels went on a 9-2 run, the Gophers found themselves trailing by 10 points once again.

Minnesota responded with an 8-0 run of its own, making for a back-and-forth finish to the game.

True freshman Alanna Micheaux’s career night went well into the final quarter of play. The 6-foot-2-inch forward finished with a career-best 23 points on a remarkable 8-10 shooting from the field.

It wasn’t enough for the Gophers, losing 46-41 in the rebounding total, and 40-30 in points in the paint. The Tar Heels ultimately came out on top of the scoreboard 82-76.

It was a balanced performance from North Carolina with six different players scoring in double figures, as Minnesota now moves to 6-4 on the season.

The Gophers will now have a five-day break — their longest since tipping off the 2021-22 season, until hosting Nebraska on Dec. 6 in their first Big Ten matchup of the season.

Juana Garcia/The Cougar

It’s no secret that America lives in a consumerism culture. There is a constant advertisement for a brand new thing, whether that be clothes, appliances or electronics. All this overconsumption is horrible for the earth, so if possible, Americans should try to change up their buying habits. 

America wasn’t always a consumer culture. While people have always consumed what they need, such as appliances and clothes to wear, there wasn’t always the emphasis on buying the next best thing.

Around the 1900s, there started to be a change in the general public from buying things for usefulness versus buying things because of trends. Retail clothing shops turned into giant corporations utilizing quicker assembly methods due to new technology.

In order to get people to buy all these new products being made, companies began using advertising extensively, creating new needs and fulfilling those needs with the products.

Now what was once only available to the extremely rich could be made in a factory, and now available in a department store.

One result of this change in how products were made and advertised is how electronics are sold today. New phones come out almost every year. Old iPhones are not supported by Apple Inc. software after a certain time, which encourages customers to buy the newer products.

Those older discarded iPhones often turn to waste. Electronic waste is reported as the fastest growing waste stream in the world. E-waste has accumulated to be over 53.4 million pounds and only 17 percent is recycled. 

As consumers keep buying new electronics, e-waste continues to pile up and leak toxic substances like mercury and arsenic into the environment. 

Fashion trends come and go within a month resulting in people wearing clothes for less time and donating them or throwing them away after. Many donated clothes still end up in landfills, increasing the amount of plastic in the environment. 

Overconsumption is ruining the environment and the obvious way to stop it would be for people to consume less. 

This isn’t realistic for everyone. People need clothes and they need electronics.

However, in a world where it’s the norm for influencers to post monthly hauls of brand new clothes they bought, there’s a clear issue. Many people are not buying intuitively but just buying on impulse.  However, there are some ways to prevent overconsumption.

One way to lessen consumption is to try and think about desired purchases before buying them.

People often will impulse buy and then realize they won’t actually use what they bought. Put the item on a wishlist and wait a few days to see if you still want it before buying it. 

When you do buy things like clothes, try to buy clothes that last longer than some fast fashion.

For example, clothes from SHEIN are inexpensive but they may fall apart after a few months because they’re cheaply made. Try to buy something of good material and take care of it so that you won’t have to buy it again in a few years. 

Another way of trying to lessen consumption is to buy from thrift stores. The clothes have already been made and sold so you’re not contributing to your carbon footprint by buying them.

However, go ahead and look at the clothes to see if they are good quality by making sure seams aren’t coming undone and the fabric isn’t fragile. People send what they don’t want to thrift stores, so it’s important to make sure what you’re buying is a quality purchase.

Unfortunately, as an individual, it’s hard to make an impact on consumption levels as a whole. Still, consuming less is better than overconsumption and you can do that with thoughtful purchases, quality purchases and thrifting when possible. 

Anna Baker is an English senior who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Overconsumption is ruining the planet” was originally posted on The Cougar

The American Geophysical Union will honor four Colorado State University researchers in December.

Richard Aster, V. Chandrasekar and Paul DeMott are 2021 fellows of the American Geophysical Union, a title given to only 59 people this year, according to the AGU website. Fewer than 0.1% of the AGU’s membership have been named as fellows since the Fellows program’s establishment in 1962, making it a prestigious title.

“It is remarkable for Colorado State to have three fellows elected in a single year,” Aster said. “That’s the greatest number of honorees for any single institution in 2021.”

Elizabeth Barnes, an associate professor in the atmospheric science department, will also become a fellow of the AGU this year when she receives the James B. Macelwane Medal, an award for early-career scientists. According to CSU SOURCE, she was chosen for the award due to her research in atmospheric dynamics and the “impacts of anthropogenic climate change.”

Established in 1919, the AGU supports experts in Earth and space sciences, according to their website. The organization hosts conventions and also doubles as a scholarly publisher, allowing researchers to release new findings in peer-reviewed journals and interact with other professionals in their fields.

Aster is the head of the department of geosciences at CSU as well as a geophysics professor and a seismologist, according to SOURCE. He is also the board of directors chair of the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology.

“IRIS facilitates, collaborates and educates across our many science community activities,” Aster said. “We also manage major seismological facilities.”

Aster said he currently has two graduate students engaged in National Science Foundation-supported research with focuses on volcano activity near Mount Erebus and data from the Ross Ice Shelf.

DeMott is a senior research scientist at CSU who works in atmospheric aerosols called nucleating particles, which he called the “seeds for precipitation formation.” He and his team take measurements of these particles for use in cloud and climate modeling.

DeMott also worked as a flight scientist, flying from Hobart, Tasmania, to near the edge of Antarctica. DeMott said the research found that the ocean there is a main source of these nucleating particles.

But in Colorado, DeMott said his research focuses on identifying microbes in the air, how far they’re able to travel and the effects they have on organism health.

DeMott said he attributes his fellowship honor to his colleagues.

“It is, of course, gratifying to be acknowledged this way, and it means a lot to be recognized by my peers,” DeMott said. “I received this honor because of the support of many colleagues, friends and family over the many years.”

Chandrasekar is a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering who focuses on weather radar, remote sensing and geoscience.

He is the director of the CSU-CHILL National Weather Radar Facility and the co-principal investigator of the Sea-Going Polarimetric radar, according to SOURCE. SEA-POL is a radar system used to understand what happens to rainwater as it hits the ocean and aims to aid greater understanding of how rainwater plays into the ocean’s temperature differences.

“This is a great honor,” Aster said. “Many science peers that I hold tremendous respect for are AGU fellows. It is also wonderful to see my CSU colleagues (Chandrasekar) and (DeMott) similarly honored this year.”

Reach Isabel Brown at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @isabelbrown02.

I was in fifth grade when Taylor Swift’s “Red” album came out. I remember using an iTunes gift card to download the album onto my iPod Touch. As an 11-year-old, I had never experienced heartbreak, but I could tell that Swift was determined to overcome anything thrown her way.

I still admire the way that Swift holds her ground in public disputes and continues to stand up for herself. Her recent decision to re-record some of her albums is no exception. Swift’s re-recordings give her another platform to speak out against exploitation, which is all too common for women in the music industry.

Taylor’s History with Scooter Braun

In 2005, Swift signed to Big Machine Records at just 15 years old. Big Machine Records owned the original recordings, or “masters,” until they sold them to a private-equity group called Ithaca Holdings. Ithaca Holdings later sold these masters to Shamrock Capital. The purchase included masters to her first six albums: “Taylor Swift,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “1989” and “Reputation.” Even after the sale, Ithaca Holdings will continue to make money from her work.

Unfortunately, Ithaca Holdings is owned by Scooter Braun. Swift endured “incessant, manipulative bullying” by Braun through his clients — clients such as Justin Bieber and Kanye West have a poor history with Swift. In 2009, West interrupted her acceptance speech at the VMAs. A few years later, Kim Kardashian, West’s wife at the time, leaked a Snapchat phone call between Swift and West regarding his song “Famous.” This song contains the line “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b— famous.”

Bieber later posted a screenshot from a FaceTime call with Braun and West with the caption “Taylor Swift what up.” In response, Swift said, “This is Scooter Braun, bullying me on social media when I was at my lowest point. He’s about to own all the music I’ve ever made.” Taylor also noted the irony in that her “musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.”

Why is Swift Re-Recording?

Because Swift doesn’t own the masters of her first six albums, she made the decision to re-record them. This allows her to earn the money from the re-recorded albums and own her work, effectively reclaiming them from Braun.

Other artists have re-recorded tracks before. But Swift is unique since her career is at a high point and she’s been vocal in her reason for re-recording. Swift, a leading female artist, has taken a stand against a person who hurt her, Braun. Her re-recordings have hit top charts — a testament to her success in reclamation. Seeing the re-recordings gain popularity shows that she rose above exploitation, a common injustice faced by women in the music industry.

Female Exploitation in the Music Industry

In 2020, men made up 98 percent of producers in the music industry. This allows for the perpetuation of power dynamics like those seen between Swift and Braun. Women often face sexist attitudes and power imbalances in the industry.

This is especially exemplified by the notion that a woman’s appearance goes hand-in-hand with her success. Not only is this attitude overtly sexist, but it triggers health problems. Swift, pressured by the constant presence of cameras, stopped eating at times. 41.6 percent of female artists have an eating disorder, compared to 18.27 percent of male artists. And this is only one of the ways the music industry continues to harm women.

Swift’s re-recordings open the door to an honest conversation about exploitation and disparities in the music industry. Currently, the songs from female pop stars that dominate the charts seem to be those about sexism. For example, Swift’s “Mad Woman” on her album “Folklore” talks about how men use their power to make a woman “mad.” Similarly, Miley Cyrus detailed her experience as a woman in the music industry with her song “Golden G String” on her “Plastic Hearts” album.

Even with a few female success stories like Swift, the gender gap in pop music continues to grow and female artists continue to suffer. Pop stars have started using their music platform to highlight sexism in the industries. Doing so through re-recording albums accomplishes this on an entirely new level. Swift’s re-recordings not only draw attention to her feud with Braun, but the experiences of women in the music industry.

I grew up listening to Swift unabashedly sing about the highs and lows of being in love, despite critics saying, “all of her songs are about her exes.” She held true to herself in her music. As I’ve grown up, I’ve watched Taylor hold true to her music by pursuing these re-recordings. Being a Swift fan teaches me and many others to be confident in using their voices to speak out against injustice.

s.kincart@dailyutahchronicle.com

@SydneyKincart

The post Kincart: Taylor Swift’s Re-Recordings Highlight Inequality in the Music Industry appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Andre Dickens will serve as the 61st mayor of Atlanta after defeating Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore in the runoff election Tuesday. Dickens won 44,249 votes out of 70,488 (63%) while Moore garnered 28,572 votes.

“We gather in victory for Atlanta,” Dickens told the crowd at his victory party after the election was called by the Associated Press. “We voted for progress, and a problem solver, and a bridge builder, and transformation.” 

Surrounded by family, members of his campaign and current Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Dickens thanked his supporters.

“They believed that this city needed a unifier, somebody that could bring this whole city together,” Dickens said. “Tonight, I am beyond humbled that you have chosen me.”

Andre Dickens. (Courtesy Atlanta City Council)

He commended Moore for “her desire to serve the city of Atlanta” and expressed a need for unity among city residents.

“We need to capture the spirit of Atlanta in this very moment that we have,” Dickens said. “A future that has one city, with one vision; one city, one future; a future that restores Atlanta to that  shining city on a hill.” 

In Moore’s concession speech to her supporters at her campaign party, she extended support to Dickens, who had called her earlier that night.

“There’s no division tonight between the Dickens camp and the Morre camp, because tonight we’re all camp Atlanta,” Moore said.

She encouraged her supporters to embrace Dickens.

“I certainly will do anything that I can do, and I would ask each and every one of you to do the same, that we can help him and his administration as he moves forward,” Moore said. 

Moore and Dickens advanced to the Nov. 30 runoff election after leading the Nov. 2 mayoral election with 41%  and 23% votes, respectively, according to data from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution collected from Fulton and DeKalb Counties. 

Moore and Dickens campaigned among 14 other candidates: a crowded race after current Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she would not run for a second term. She did not give a specific reason, although she had a tumultuous term as mayor, presiding over both the pandemic and wide-spread protests in summer 2020. 

Moore and Dickens advanced to the runoff after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote. Former Mayor Kasim Reed, an early favorite, came in third behind Dickens and did not proceed to the runoff. 

Prior to the results of the runoff on Tuesday, Dickens discussed his motivation for running for mayor to the news station.

“I see a problem and I solve a problem,” Dickens said. “I’m an engineer that likes to fix things.” 

Channel 2 reported that turnout had been “light” and that this is typical for a runoff election. The news station also reported no issues with lines or voting.

On FOX5 Atlanta, Moore discussed the easy voting day and said “There’s no excuse not to vote.”

Dickens plans to focus on crime as a major issue in Atlanta, in addition to infrastructure, housing and preventing a potential secession of the Buckhead neighborhood.

“Public safety, it can’t wait,” Dickens said in his victory speech.

Additionally, the city council president race runoff occurred on Nov. 30 between Doug Shipman (95C) and councilwoman Natalyn Mosby Achibong. Shipman won with 39,892 of 74,471 votes (54%) to Archibong’s 34,579 votes (46%), according to Fox 5.

Shipman led the Nov. 2 race with 31% of the vote. Achibong, who polled the second-highest with 28% of the votes, advanced to the runoff with Shipman.

The post Andre Dickens wins runoff election against Felicia Moore appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

The post Dear President Fenves, here’s what you need to know about mental health appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

The American Geophysical Union will honor four Colorado State University researchers in December.

Richard Aster, V. Chandrasekar and Paul DeMott are 2021 fellows of the American Geophysical Union, a title given to only 59 people this year, according to the AGU website. Fewer than 0.1% of the AGU’s membership have been named as fellows since the Fellows program’s establishment in 1962, making it a prestigious title.

“It is remarkable for Colorado State to have three fellows elected in a single year,” Aster said. “That’s the greatest number of honorees for any single institution in 2021.”

Elizabeth Barnes, an associate professor in the atmospheric science department, will also become a fellow of the AGU this year when she receives the James B. Macelwane Medal, an award for early-career scientists. According to CSU SOURCE, she was chosen for the award due to her research in atmospheric dynamics and the “impacts of anthropogenic climate change.”

Established in 1919, the AGU supports experts in Earth and space sciences, according to their website. The organization hosts conventions and also doubles as a scholarly publisher, allowing researchers to release new findings in peer-reviewed journals and interact with other professionals in their fields.

Aster is the head of the department of geosciences at CSU as well as a geophysics professor and a seismologist, according to SOURCE. He is also the board of directors chair of the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology.

“IRIS facilitates, collaborates and educates across our many science community activities,” Aster said. “We also manage major seismological facilities.”

Aster said he currently has two graduate students engaged in National Science Foundation-supported research with focuses on volcano activity near Mount Erebus and data from the Ross Ice Shelf.

DeMott is a senior research scientist at CSU who works in atmospheric aerosols called nucleating particles, which he called the “seeds for precipitation formation.” He and his team take measurements of these particles for use in cloud and climate modeling.

DeMott also worked as a flight scientist, flying from Hobart, Tasmania, to near the edge of Antarctica. DeMott said the research found that the ocean there is a main source of these nucleating particles.

But in Colorado, DeMott said his research focuses on identifying microbes in the air, how far they’re able to travel and the effects they have on organism health.

DeMott said he attributes his fellowship honor to his colleagues.

“It is, of course, gratifying to be acknowledged this way, and it means a lot to be recognized by my peers,” DeMott said. “I received this honor because of the support of many colleagues, friends and family over the many years.”

Chandrasekar is a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering who focuses on weather radar, remote sensing and geoscience.

He is the director of the CSU-CHILL National Weather Radar Facility and the co-principal investigator of the Sea-Going Polarimetric radar, according to SOURCE. SEA-POL is a radar system used to understand what happens to rainwater as it hits the ocean and aims to aid greater understanding of how rainwater plays into the ocean’s temperature differences.

“This is a great honor,” Aster said. “Many science peers that I hold tremendous respect for are AGU fellows. It is also wonderful to see my CSU colleagues (Chandrasekar) and (DeMott) similarly honored this year.”

Reach Isabel Brown at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @isabelbrown02.

After their trips was cancelled because of the pandemic, CGS students from the Class of 2023 and 2024 have a new opportunity to explore the streets of London.

Senior Luke Loewe’s first basket of the game was the biggest shot of the night for Minnesota. With two seconds left, Loewe put back a missed layup for the game-winning basket. Panthers forward John Hugley was unable to be stopped for the majority of the game, but it wasn’t enough.

The Gophers behind sophomore Jamison Battle and senior Payton Willis combined for 31 points en route to a 54-53 win. Battle led the team with 16, with Willis close behind with 15.

After a slow start to the second half, Battle got Minnesota out of its funk and hit back-to-back threes to climb back to within two. A mid-range pullup from Battle tied the game at 42.

In the final stretch of the game, neither team could really pull away.

Minnesota found themself in a hole, continuously getting fouls on defense and allowing offensive rebounds. It wasn’t until the five-minute mark of the second quarter that the Gophers shot their first two free throws, which Battle split.

Hugley, the 6-foot-9 sophomore, exploded for 15 points in the first half, including a three-pointer to close out the half. His night was far from over. He accumulated a double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds, including five on the offensive side.

Minnesota didn’t help themselves much in the game with plenty of scoring droughts in both halves.

In the first half, it took nearly four minutes for either team to score a bucket, while the second half was just under two and a half minutes. Fortunately for Minnesota, Pittsburgh also struggled to start the game.

Redshirt senior Eric Curry forced two travels within the first nine minutes of the game but ran into foul trouble, which limited his minutes.

Minnesota is on the road again on Sunday against Mississippi State before opening up Big Ten play against Michigan State Wednesday night at the Barn.