For many of our members, this is our last Lode issue. We have all worked very hard to bring equitable and honest news and to keep our organization afloat. I couldn’t have managed The Lode without the help of our amazing staff. Those who are graduating are Maia Barnhart, Madison Degnitz, Tucker Nielsen, and Ranit Karmakar. I am glad to have gotten to know these amazing individuals while in The Lode and their hard work is much appreciated. The student newspaper will be in great hands when I leave: Rachel Dick, the future Editor in Chief and current managing editor, has helped me with many tasks; the paper gets better everyday with her around. I am especially grateful to our Advisor, Professor Seigel, who gave us some much needed guidance to steer us in the right direction.

Next week, we will publish The Lewd: the end of semester joke issue where we choose a theme and write silly articles. The theme for it is Dean Tabloid. Please look forward to this wonderfully entertaining special edition!

The Lode will be suspending print this week as Michigan Tech’s campus closed early due to the weather. Most articles will be moved to next week, but some will still be published online tomorrow. You can view these on our website in the meantime.

Thank you for your continued support,

Cat Madish, Editor in Chief

Demonstrations in support of Ukraine have been meeting every day this week at noon near the Husky Statue. They will be continuing to meet at the Husky Statue for the rest of this week at the same time. If you would like to participate to show solidarity and support for Ukrainians, keep an eye on the Yoopers for Ukraine Facebook group for more information on upcoming demonstrations and events.

It was terrifying to learn about the Russian military assault against Ukraine last week. I can’t even imagine how it feels to be in Ukraine right now and/or to have to worry about family and friends. I have been keeping an eye on the news and events and sharing what I can.

To the Ukrainian students on campus, my heart goes out to you. The Lode is here for you to submit stories and experiences to. Personally, my inbox is open for you. I can listen and help connect you with resources you may need.

To help, go to here: https://linktr.ee/RazomForUkraine

Today is the 101st birthday of The Lode! The Lode came to be when students Paul Van Orden and Charles Tate decided to create an independent, student run newspaper funded out of their own pockets. It was first called the Michigan College of Mines Lode and has since gone through many changes. Despite the many changes, The Lode will always be an independent, student run-newspaper devoted to providing news to the community. While the support may have waned, our loyalty and belief in journalism hasn’t.

To show your support for The Lode please read our paper, join us, tell your friends about us, send us your thoughts, or even buy an ad.

Sincerely,

Cat Madish, Editor in Chief

Back in late January, Sky Sushi replaced their old sign. However, they kept the old sign due to the sentimental value it holds. As written on the Facebook Page for Sky Sushi, “it’s not only our first business sign but also it’s our memory….” Recently, the old sign was stolen, much to owner Curly Zhang’s dismay.

Zhang wrote to the Lode that they kept it at the side of their building, so they’re not sure when it was stolen exactly — no more than two weeks ago, though. She writes that it is a huge sign and is really heavy. According to Facebook, the police were called, but Zhang just wants it back. “They can return it to my shop and no questions asked.”

The old sign is a white cloud, with “Sky Sushi” in black curly letters in the middle, and a smaller, blue cloud on the top right of the sign.

Sky Sushi is located at 401 Shelden Ave, Houghton, MI 49931. People may contact Sky Sushi with more information on the sign through Facebook or by calling their number at (906) 275-2088.

*The sign was returned

• Only 23 years after the beginning of the Hundred Years’ War, on April 13, 1360, a hail storm devastated English troops when it killed 1,000 soldiers and 6,000 horses in France. The storm hit overnight, while soldiers were camped outside of Chartres, France. Lightning struck first, killing multiple people. Then, the hail struck and killed horses and men alike due to lack of shelter. The hail even killed two English commanders. It was so horrendous, it became known as Black Monday. Many people, including King Edward III, saw this as a sign from God. As a result, Edward rushed to negotiate with France. Less than a month later, the treaty of Bretigny was signed, in which Edward renounced the throne and released king John II in return for sovereignty over Aquitaine and Calais as well as money. This marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War.
• The Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Major Robert Anderson of the Union refused to surrender Fort Sumter to Commander P.G.T. Beauregard, leading Beauregard to open fire on Fort Sumter. Captain Abner Doubleday of the Union ordered shots in defense — thus, the first shots of the American Civil War. While no Union troops were killed in this bombardment, nearly 4,000 rounds had been shot by Confederate soldiers at a poorly supplied Fort Sumter. The next day, the garrison surrendered with the only casually being a confederate horse. This led to Abraham Lincoln issuing a proclamation on the 15th, calling for state militias to help supply 75,000 troops to help quell the Southern rebellion.
• Jackie Robinson became the first African American Major League Baseball player when, on April 15, 1947, he debuted at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn only five days after signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. After the game resulted in a victory against Boston Braves, more than 50,000 people came to see Robinson play at the Polo Grounds days later. However, Robinson faced a lot of harassment from fans as well as the opposition. Additionally, Jim Crow laws often prevented him from using the same hotels and restaurants as the rest of the team. Nonetheless, Robinson had a groundbreaking career and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Robinson’s career wasn’t just groundbreaking because he was a phenomenal athlete, but because he broke through more than 50 years of segregation within sports. In 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his debut, Major League Baseball retired his number, 42, leading Robinson to become the only player to have his number retired across all teams. T

January 20th, Inauguration Day, has always always been a day of action. For some, it is about holding the new administration accountable; for others, it’s about protesting the new administration. This inauguration day on the Michigan Tech campus was no different as we saw the Keweenaw Youth for Climate Action invite students to participate in a day of solidarity. This event was inspired by the nationwide call to action called Close the Camps. The call to action aimed to use the momentum of a new administration to urge for social change and put focus on institutions of oppression. The institution in question was ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency) who have been known to hold refugees in camps, breaking families apart and criminalizing immigrants. 

When I arrived at the lift bridge, there were 12 demonstrators, each holding a sign.

Most of the time people were silently making a statement, holding their signs high. When I asked one of them why they were here, they said that they wanted justice for those immigrants that were placed within the camps, and that they wanted to show solidarity with those people and this Close the Camps movement. Additionally, they wanted to hold the Biden administration accountable in order to free the kids and reunite families that were separated at the border. 

Another protester said they were there to protest against the inhumane actions of ICE as well as to raise awareness about ICE. The bridge gets a lot of attention, and they wanted to show people that there are people in Houghton who are against ICE. 

While standing with the demonstrators for an hour, I saw a huge variety in reactions from people in cars; some looked at the demonstration in disgust, some gave the finger, some gave thumbs down, and a few even revved their engines in such a way that dark clouds of exhaust blew at us (this is commonly referred to as “rolling coal,” and is illegal through the Environmental Protection Act). However, many others gave us a thumbs up and a honk, smiled at us, or raised their fist in solidarity. Many simply honked and we were left wondering if it was a positive honk or a negative honk.

While only a few people participated, there was also a march for environmental justice that took place, where participants walked from the lift bridge to the Husky Statue. It was really cold, so I, like most of the people there, opted to drive to the KYCA climate rally instead.
The day ended with songs and comments from KYCA on climate change policy and climate justice. As 12 people waited, the KYCA president, Elise Rosky, played music. Finally, a group of three who participated in the March for Environmental Justice approached and Rosky began speaking. 

“Today starts a new presidential administration and we need to put tremendous pressure on this administration to act on climate change by stopping new fossil fuel infrastructure, investing in large scale public transit, and eliminating our dependency on cars,” she said. 

She continued talking, putting an emphasis on climate justice. “If I were to summarize the meaning of climate justice in one sentence, I would say it’s first recognizing that marginalized communities have been forced to bear the brunt pollution, lack of protection against natural disasters, and going forward we must absolutely not allow these same communities all over the world to suffer.”

 Rosky further talked about the Green New Deal, a policy that would aggressively tackle climate change. She also posed a future where this phenomenon is not addressed —  one plagued with disaster. After Rosky talked, she gave the stage to the group’s faculty advisor, Sarah Green. 

Green passionately talked about the new Biden administration, who has appointed many experienced professionals to tackle climate change. Green also talked about climate justice, saying it is an essential piece in new legislation and that we owe it to future generations to get it right. Newly sworn-in President Joe Biden’s climate plans include focusing on science and climate justice, reentering the Paris Agreement, and cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline. In fact, President Biden achieved the last two only hours after the event, holding true to his promises.

“We are looking for an energy transition. So, transitioning the entire energy system of the entire world in the next thirty years is a monumental and gigantic undertaking and it requires all the engineers, and scientists, and social scientists and everybody who is at tech right now,” Green said.She finished by saying, “At this point we are at a point where we can stop trying to prevent further degradation and start building a new world that we want to live in.”
Next, I learned about a program I had never heard about before by Miguel, a speaker. “The Red New Deal is a movement-oriented program put forward by The Red Nation for climate justice and grassroots reform and revolution,” he said. 

In a summary, by demillitarizing, abolishing ICE, tearing down the border walls, liberating indegenous people, decolonization, providing free healthcare and housing, implementing food sovereignty, and moving away from oil, gas, coal, and carbon extractions and emissions, the Red New Deal aims to achieve an economy that benefits everyone and ends exploitation instead of just supporting the elite and powerful. To achieve this, the Red New Deal divests away from police, prison, military and fossil fuels, choosing instead to invest in humanity.
“Healing the planet is ultimately about creating infrastructures of caretaking that will replace the infrastructure of capitalism. Capitalism is a system based on greed. It is contrary to life. Caretaking promotes life. The Red New Deal notes that caretaking is at the center of contemporary Indegenous movements for decolonization and liberation,” Miguel said.

Miguel acknowledged that this is a monumental challenge — turning caretaking into mass movements that will eventually bring down capitalism. However, Miguel is certain that this is the only way we can save and heal our planet.

After the event, something Sarah Green stuck out to me.  I believe it is something many people can relate to whether you agree with anyone who showed up at this day of solidarity or not: “There is lots of work that needs to be done. Let’s get out and do it.”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death shocked the world this week when it was revealed that the longtime supreme court justice and champion for women’s rights passed away from pancreatic cancer after a long and courageous battle. As thoughts, prayers and words of remembrance came flowing out from around the world, local mourners came together to remember the great RBG.  The Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, along with the League of Women Voters of Copper Country (LWVCC), organized a candlelight vigil last Sunday in Ginsburg’s memory.

As the gathering began, people seemed angry, fearful and sad. Under the somber undertone, however, chatter filled the air as people voiced their thoughts on the late supreme court justice. As people began taking out their candles and lighting them up, Valorie Troesch, an LWVCC member addressed the mixed feelings in her speech. “Right now, most of us are probably feeling a mixture of great sadness and also fear of what will happen next,” she said. “But tonight, I want to take a few minutes to dwell only on the remarkable life and career of Justice Ginsburg and how she made a difference for all of us.”

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made a real impact on the life of women. As Troesch noted, “In her first appearance before the court, she told the justices, ‘I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that take their feet off our necks.” 

This sentiment showed throughout her career. In one case, she invalidated the Virginia Military’s exclusion of women, expanding the reach of the Equal Protection Clause. In another case, Shelby v. Holder, it was decided that voter suppression based on race was no longer an issue. Because of this, states would no longer require federal approval before changing their election laws. RBG dissented, saying, “Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you’re not getting wet.” These are only two of many cases that RBG played a key role in.

As Troesch was wrapping up her speech, she urged people to honor the life of Ginsburg by “Refusing to give in, refusing to back down, fighting for the civil rights of all people and demanding our leaders honor the rule of law.”

After Troesch’s speech, there were a few minutes of silence. People looked solemnly into their candles as they mourned the death of such a legendary person. Some faces were pained, yet others were sad that this era was coming to an end. Before people blew out their candles, a single woman yelled out, “Be like Ruth!”. As this person’s passionate yell rang through the crowd, a few people joined in. 

On Ginsburg, one attendee said, “People born before 1964-72 realize how much progress has been done.” This statement was reflected in the demographic of the crowd. While there were children and college students, older generations made up the majority of the people in attendance. 

On Ginsburg’s legacy, Valorie Troesch responded that when RBG graduated law school, there were under 10 women in her class of 500. When Troesch went to law school, in 1976, her law school was 50/50. “What an amazing difference in just a few years,” the attendee remarked.

Troesch agreed. “What an amazing thing for women.”