The Board of Trustees met last week on Feb. 25. Turnout for public comments was unusually high and some issues were brought to light. Following this, all actionable items were passed.

The board approved 2023 board and room rates, including a 3.47% increase on the standard double occupancy rate in Wads and McNair, as well as an increase in the Experience Tech Fee. For the upcoming fall and spring semesters, the fee will be set at $99 for undergraduate students and $80 for graduate students.

11 speakers spoke during public comments, five of which were from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), representing Michigan Technological University’s service and maintenance employees. AFSCME members spoke of staffing issues, unfair wages, gender inequalities, and mismanagement. 

David Robb, the cook in Wadsworth hall was the first to speak. Robb spoke about how when he first got the job there was a lot of competition, but it’s different now. “Part of my job has become convincing people to stick with their job. They’re all saying why don’t I just go somewhere else? They get tired of it. They want more money. I got to just keep telling them, please stay here, give it some time. Just hang in there.” 

This staff shortage leads to food quality issues as they have to close stations, putting pressure on the kitchen which impacts the students. Robb then proposed an across-the-board raise of $2 an hour to help compete with other jobs at Walmart and Calumet Electronics.

We also heard from the custodial staff. D’Neen Kerttu, a custodian since 2018, spoke of unlivable wages and a $6 wage gap between men and women. Jim Newman, another custodian, spoke of skeleton cleaning crews and overtime work as imperfect solutions to staffing problems. “We need to have those positions take priority, and it makes the other areas suffer.” 

Following AFSCME, five members of Keweenaw Youth for Climate Action, from undergraduate to Ph.D. level, spoke to the board. Each member related divestment from fossil fuels, as well as investments in green technology and in socially responsible actions to the values that MTU claims to hold— leadership, community, scholarship, accountability, possibilities, and tenacity —and how doing so would support these values. The last public speaker was Riley Powers, speaking on behalf of more than seven students about barriers to receiving accommodations created due to the changed policies. They ask that these policies be reserved as it puts those with disabilities at risk of not completing their education.

After public comments, the board approved several items including a Master of Science degree in Manufacturing Engineering and two updates in the employee handbook. The first update adds section 2.5 on the Role of Innovation and Commercialization to say that faculty who deal in these activities will not face any penalty or adverse effects for doing so. The second update adds section 2.6 on the Role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion which makes it clear that MTU values diversity, but it does not require faculty to actively participate in activities supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and a sense of belonging.

If you are on campus, you most certainly noticed that there is a lot of construction underway right now. This work is part of a rebuilding project of US-41 by Michigan’s Department of Transportation, a project estimated to be over in the fall of 2022. The end result will feature wider sidewalks, designated turn lanes, a reduction from four lanes to two lanes on Townsend Drive, and medians, as well as new crosswalks, including one between E. Montezuma Avenue and College Avenue. While we wait for this improvement, many are left to walk through construction and deal with the detour. According to Dan Weingarten of MDOT communications, due to utility and water main conflicts, it was initially thought that this construction would be done by Aug. 27 and was delayed until Sept. 10. However, due to concerns about pedestrian safety, they have decided to use the new southbound pavement on the roadway as a temporary sidewalk as the old sidewalk is removed and replaced. Weingarten believes that this will likely lead to the detour to be delayed until Monday Sept. 27.

Following this, it will take about four weeks to wrap up the 2021 construction season, which deals with the reconstruction of the southbound section as well as the construction of MacInnes Drive, after which construction will be suspended for winter. This means that construction won’t be wrapped up until mid-to-late October.

Construction picks up again in the spring, with work being done on College Avenue, Montezuma Avenue and Franklin Square. At this time, southbound US-41 will be detoured beginning at the Portage Lift Bridge to Sharon Avenue, ending at MacInnes Drive. This detour will utilize temporary traffic signals at Military Road and Portage Street to replace the existing four-way stops which will maintain a smoother traffic flow.

• On April 5, 1614, Matoaka married John Rolfe. Also known as Pocahontas, she was Chief Powhatan’s 13-year-old daughter. This name is actually a childhood nickname and has been translated as “Little Playful One” or “Little Mischief” As the 1607 legend goes, John Smith was captured and nearly clubbed to death when Matoaka saved him. However, this is largely believed to be false as Algonquian culture wouldn’t have participated in such a ceremony. Additionally, Matoaka was only 10 or 11 at the time. In fact, Jamestown settlers didn’t trust Smith’s tales. Despite this, Matoaka often went to Jamestown as an emissary of her father bearing gifts until 1609 when war broke out. In 1613, she was captured, forced to convert to Christianity, and marry Rolfe to get her freedom back. Matoaka died on March 21, 1617, shortly after beginning the trip back to the Americas. While most believe she died from smallpox or tuberculosis, the relatives that accompanied her to England reported that she was poisoned.
• On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while standing outside on a second-floor balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. The day before, he gave his last sermon, saying, “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop … And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” Looking back now, it was almost as if he knew something was going to happen. King’s death caused riots in cities all across America;on April 9th, tens of thousands of people paid their respects as King was laid to rest in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. James Earl Ray was found to be King’s murderer even after the case was reexamined. Despite this, the King family believes that Ray was framed and/or did not work alone.
• On April 8, 1990, a national symbol of the AIDS crisis died. Ryan White was an 18-year-old with hemophilia and required weekly blood transfusions — which is where he contracted AIDS. Just after his 13th birthday, White was diagnosed with AIDS and given six months to live. About 90% of American hemophiliacs between 1979 and 1984 had the same fate. Unfortunately, not everyone was as fortunate as White who exceeded expectations and lived another five years before contracting pneumonia and dying. Despite knowing that AIDS could only be spread through bodily fluids, people were so scared of White that his school board unanimously voted to keep him out of school when he was healthy enough to return. This brought about a legal battle which many famous public figures weighed in on. Eventually, White was able to return to school, but he remained a leading spokesperson in the movement to destigmatize HIV/AIDS. White spent the rest of his life educating others on social media. Due to the role he played, there is now a federal law called the Ryan White CARE Act which provided funding for the treatment of low-income and uninsured people with HIV/AIDS.

• On Mar. 3, 1863, Congress passed the Civil War Conscription Cct, also known as The Enrollment Act and the Civil War Military Draft Act. The act required all males between 20 and 45 years old to register, and were then drafted as needed. Those who could pay $300 (equivalent to about $5,800 today) or find a substitute draftee could be exempted from the draft. This act was the first compulsory enlistment of US citizens in American history. This sparked five days of violent rioting in New York, which is known as the New York Draft Riots. This is because the working class felt that only the wealthy could buy a pass to life. Additionally, New York City was not fond of the civil war because it meant that they lost a valuable trade partner. The riots happened all over the country, such as Detroit and Boston, but the deadliest riots occurred in New York City. When the riots first began, they only targeted the local police. Then, they moved to African Americans who were not included in the act. Eventually, the violence spread to white abolitionists and interracial couples. Near the end, rioters had killed 3,000 black citizens and caused millions in damage. The series of riots are known as the deadliest in US history. While it inspired another abolitionist movement that led to the first all-black regiment, by 1965 New York City saw a 20% decrease in the population of black citizens, a devastating loss to the black community.
• On Mar. 2, 1944, 530 stowaways on a freight train asphyxiated due to carbon monoxide poisoning while stopped in a tunnel near Salerno, Italy. The details as to why it was forced to stop are unclear; the train either had too much cargo, or it was waiting for another train to descend. Either way, the train had stalled, and because of war shortages, the train had been forced to burn low-quality coal substitutes that produced a lot of odorless carbon monoxide. This led the passengers to death, and when they finally got help, rescuers found bodies sprawled along the track. The government, captivated by the war and not wanting to harm Italian morale, failed to report the story even though it was, and still is, one of the most strange as well as one of the worst railroad disasters. In March of 1951, the Italian government finally went public with it because the families of victims had filed 300 lawsuits that demanded $1,600,000 in damages.
• On Mar. 4, 1944, Louis Buchalter was executed, becoming the first mobster to die by electric chair. Buchalter began his criminal career by robbing pushcarts, where he met his partner in crime, Jacob Shapiro. They began by taking control of unions, soon having control of the New York garment industry. In the 1920s, they moved to bootlegging, gambling, and drugs. Buchalter and Shapiro eventually had a large team of hired killers, leading them to create Murder, Inc., thought to be responsible for up to 1,000 contract killings, contracting as many as 250 hitmen. Buchalter eventually began working with famous mobsters, including Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Dutch Schultz. With them, they were able to control crime throughout the nation. Because of this, Murder, Inc. is known as the country’s largest crime syndicate of the 1930s. However, in 1936, he and Shapiro were convicted of violating antitrust laws. While on the run, one of his trusted colleagues, Abraham Reles, became a government informant in order to avoid execution and ultimately betrayed him by implicating him in the murder of Joseph Rosen.

• On Feb. 24, 1886, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson due to his removal of the Secretary of War. This was said to be a violation of the Tenure of Office Act, which stated that the president couldn’t fire civil officers without getting the approval of the Senate. Johnson was the first American president that was impeached, but he was never removed from office. This was because, while the House voted to impeach, the Senate was one vote short of a two-thirds majority.
• On Feb. 23, 1945, US soldiers raised the flag on the summit of Iwo Jima. The battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest military campaigns of World War II, as it spanned over five weeks, with the Japanese losing 216 out of around 21,000 and the US losing nearly 7,000. The American military had initially thought that the battle would only last a few days. However, due to the leadership of Japanese General Tadamichi Kuribayash, the American army met many unforeseen challenges. Instead, the American army was only able to land after a couple of days. Two days later, on February 23, Joe Rosenthal took one of the photos that defined the World War II period. Unfortunately, many of those that Rosenthal captured ended up dying in the fighting that came afterward. Despite General Kuribayashi committing suicide in his command post on March 23, the battle is seen as coming to an end on March 25, when 300 of Kuribayashi’s men launched the last banzai attack. While many died, about 3,000 Japanese soldiers went into hiding when the US occupied the island and many continued to fight until 1949.
• On Feb. 21, 1965,  Malcolm X was assassinated. Malcolm X lived a life of crime but is said to have abandoned that life and embraced Islam while in prison. This is where he met the leader of the Nation of Islam, an African American religious group that combines Islamic traditions with Black nationalism. When Malcolm X was released from prison, he became a minister of the Nation of Islam where he began to feel that The Nation didn’t support the civil rights movement enough. This led to Malcolm X leaving The Nation in 1963 to make the pilgrimage to Mecca; here, he was shocked to learn that racism within the Islamic faith was present — it wasn’t just white people at fault. This solidified his belief that racism — not white people — was what he should be working against. Malcolm X worked toward that ideal for the rest of his life until he was assassinated in Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom by people who were said to be affiliated with the Nation of Islam.
• On Feb. 27, 1980, Gloria Gaynor was awarded the first Grammy for best disco recording for her song “I Will Survive”. Disco music originated in the nightclubs of the 1960s and became the most popular genre of dance music in the 70s. In fact, Gloria Gaynor was also responsible for the first disco hit, a song called, “Never Can Say Goodbye”. After this, many musicians and bands emerged known for their disco music. By the time the Grammys gave the award for best disco recording, the genre was already losing its fame. While it has inspired many musicians, the award for best disco recording was never given out again.

• On Feb. 20, 1792, George Washington signed the Postal Service Act to regulate the United States Post Office Department. This guaranteed inexpensive delivery of newspapers. While mail delivery had been in place previously, this changed the future of the postal service because it gave the postmaster general broader powers. It addressed issues of privacy by making it illegal for anyone to open mail but the person it was addressed to. Those who did open mail before it was delivered faced a $300 fine. Additionally, the act imposed harsh penalties on those that stole mail or robbed delivery people. This act was essential in spreading information in order to create an informed citizenry and paved the way for the modern postal system.
• On Feb. 19, 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which allowed certain areas to be labeled as military zones, authorizing the removal of anyone from these military zones “as deemed necessary or desirable.” This was the beginning of the US internment camps of World War II. Over the next five months, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, many of whom were US citizens, were forcibly evicted from the west coast and held in “relocation centers.” While the government mostly imprisoned Japanese Americans, this also affected Italian and German Americans. While these camps were closed in December of 1944 when President Roosevelt rescinded executive order 9066, those two and a half years forced many to endure harsh living conditions including food shortages, poor sanitary conditions, and violence.
• In 1967, AT&T suggested that the Federal Communications Commission use the number 911 for emergency communications because it was brief, easily remembered, and had not been assigned as an area code. A year after this was suggested, it was officially adopted by AT&T and Senator Rankin Fite made the first 911 call on Feb. 16, 1968, in Haleyville, Alabama. Six days later, the second call was made in Nome, Alaska. This system steadily grew in popularity and by 1987, half the country was using it. Now, about 96% of the geographical US is covered by the system, allowing the majority of the US population to place 911 calls that save the lives of themselves and others. 
• On Feb. 18, 2010, WikiLeaks published the first documents leaked by Chelsea Manning. The first leak was called Reykjavik13 and contained documents that showed the US bullying Icelandic officials. While this first leak barely registered with the public, Manning continued sending sensitive information to Wikileaks. In fact, this was the first of around 750,000 sensitive documents — the largest leak of classified information in US history. Manning had gathered the data while working as an intelligence analyst within the US army by putting it on a CD labeled “Lady Gaga” in order to secretly bring it home. The data held thousands of documents showing the atrocities that the US committed in the Iraq War and Afghanistan, such as videos of airstrikes killing citizens and information that the US was responsible for over 10,000 innocent deaths. Because of this, Manning is now known as one of the most significant whistleblowers in the history of the United States and was even given international acclaim from free speech and anti-war activists.

• On Feb. 10, 1996, world chess champion Garry Kasparov lost the first of six chess games with Deep Blue.  Kasparov is known as one of the greatest chess champions of all time due to his early achievements, his swashbuckling play style, and his ability to change strategies mid-game. Deep Blue was a computer developed by IBM that had the ability to evaluate 200 million moves per second. While Kasparov ended up winning, this was a legendary match because it was the first time a man challenged a computer in an official competition.
• During a protest against racial segregation on Feb. 8, 1968, police fired into the crowd of about 200 unarmed African American students, killing three and wounding 30. The protests began in Orangeburg, home of South Carolina State and Claflin University, both of which had a high population of black students. Students gathered to protest racial segregation of a bowling alley and other local privately owned establishments. As it got later in the day, students built a bonfire at the campus entrance. Eventually, fed up by the attitude of the protests, Chief Pete Strom ordered the fire to be put out. As the fire was being put out, a police officer was allegedly hit. In response, a few police officers raised their guns and shot into the darkness. Chaos ensued as students feared for their lives and tried to run away. Freshman Sammy Hammond was shot in the back; 17-year-old high school student Delano Middleton was shot seven times, and 18-year-old Henry Smith was shot three times. This massacre is known to be one of the most violent incidents in the civil rights movement. 
• After 27 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela was released on Feb. 11, 1990. Mandela was a leader to end South African Apartheid and had organized many nonviolent protests. However, in 1960 police opened fire on a group of unarmed black South African demonstrators in what became known as the Massacre in Sharpeville. In response, Mandela organized an unofficial military force of the African National Congress to engage in guerilla warfare against the white minority government. As a result, Mandela was arrested for treason. Mandela was released from his imprisonment after F.W. de Klerk became South African president. Three years later, Mandela and de Klerk were awarded the Nobel peace prize. One year after that, in South Africa’s first free elections, Mandela became the president.
• On Feb. 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially named the coronavirus COVID-19. CO stands for corona, VI stands for virus, D stands for disease, and 19 stands for the year it was discovered. While it was originally referred to as the Wuhan Virus or nCoV-201 in the early stages, these were discarded due to the organization naming guidelines which state that new names for infectious diseases cannot be named after locations, animals, individuals or groups of people. Additionally, the names must be pronounceable. In an interview, the organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that having an official name prevents the use of other names that may be stigmatizing and inaccurate.

On Dec. 9, 2020, the Michigan Tech Senate passed proposal 41-21. This proposal, “Embodying University Values: Condemning Hate Speech, White Supremacy, and Ethnically and Racially Motivated Intolerance” acknowledges systematic racism as a barrier to campus diversity. The proposal resolves to educate students and staff about African American prejudice and systematic racism, as well as to work towards a campus that is more diverse by protecting the rights of students, staff, and faculty that belong to historically discriminated against minorities. Additionally, the proposal denounced white supremacy, systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, fatphobia, and other oppressive and intolerant behaviors.

In response to this resolution, two senators, Associate Professor Jeffrey B. Burl and Professor Jaroslaw W. Drelich voiced their opposition, sparking a campus-wide controversy. Many are calling for these professors to be fired; there was even a petition going around calling for Professor Burl’s termination. 

At the senate meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 3, many students and other community members voiced their thoughts on these letters. First, they opened the meeting by apologizing to the minority communities who were harmed by the letters and continue to be harmed by the bigotry that exists on campus. They went through some formalities and official proceedings until it was time for public comments. There was a wide variety of comments, from people who disliked this proposal, to people disappointed and ashamed of Michigan Tech, to people who want to address and fix this problem.

Before moving officially to public comments, the Senate shared research that showed how racism persists. Looking at the statistic, coupled with the plethora of people who shared their experience being put down, discriminated against, and not feeling safe on campus — it is no lie that racism exists here. Many of the participants urged for Michigan Tech to take action to make it a more diverse and safe place that is representative of America, of which the Senators agreed. One common sentiment many shared was that MTU needs to hold people who discriminate accountable, namely Professor Burl and Professor Drelich. The following are just a few of the people who shared their sentiments.

One community member, Randy McClellan, spoke about the parade on Sept. 27, where he claimed this wasn’t a xenophobic or racist display and wasn’t indicative of systematic racist. Additionally, he claimed that the rainbow flags, “communist China” flags, Iranian, and Syrian flags that were flying during the parade of nations were threatening, comparing it to the confederate flag. 

Another person, a 5th-year undergraduate student Anna Browne, shared how unsafe she felt after reading the letters as a person from a minority group, but claimed she felt better after hearing the Senators support for minorities on campus. 

Clair Decker, a representative from the Panhellenic Council named gathered comments from various sorority women from Michigan Tech. These comments highlighted the sexism that women experience here. One woman was sexually assaulted twice and told by a male therapist at MTU, “what did you expect with a 3 to 1 ratio?”. Multiple women were discouraged from pursuing a STEM career because they are women. Decker even shared her own chilling experiences that caused her to fear coming back to Houghton.

Angie Carter, an Assistant Professor, spoke about how professors need to educate themselves and each other because it was not the student’s job to do this. The student’s job is to learn and grow. To this end, she invited professors to attend her Sociology class to learn more about racial disparities, as well as to talk to her during office hours. A few other staff members agreed with Carter.

A graduate student named Jennifer Rachel also spoke about how the university recently changed the funding model for graduate students. Before, they had plenty of tuition support via research or being a teacher’s assistant. Now that this is gone, many minority students, particularly international students, are finding it more difficult to attend Michigan Tech.

One lady voiced her concern over Michigan Tech valuing race and ethnicity over academic talents — a concern that was shared by a few other participants. The same people also claimed that Michigan Tech was discriminating against white people.

The public comments ended with Stefani, a senator who has worked hard to promote campus diversity. Recently, she has worked especially hard to dismantle the harm that these two letters have created. In a voice strained by tears, she urged people to really think about the harm this is doing to the students, the young adults that staff and faculty are supposed to nurture and protect. 

If you are interested in hearing more thoughts that people shared during this meeting, the Senate will be updating this page with the minutes, where you will find the video and important information shared.

• The first Groundhog Day took place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on Feb. 2, 1887. Thought up by a newspaper editor, Clymer Freas, it is now an annual event that thousands of spectators attend. If the groundhog sees its shadow and runs back into its burrow in fear, that means there will be six more weeks of winter. This tradition was brought to Pennsylvania by German settlers, who originally used hedgehogs to predict the weather. The first groundhog in Freas’ event was named Phil and was said to be the only true weather-forecasting hedgehog, and since then there has been a line of Phils. Unfortunately, groundhogs actually exit their burrow in February to look for their mate before going back underground to finish hibernating, finally coming out in March. Nonetheless, it is a fun event. In fact, this generation’s Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter and a beautiful spring afterward.
• On Feb. 6, 1928, a lady claiming to be Anastasia Romanov arrived in the U.S. seeking medical attention. The Romanovs were the last imperial dynasty to rule Russia until they were executed by Bolshevik revolutionaries. This lady claimed that she narrowly escaped this fate, but that her jaw had been broken in the process. While many were suspicious of her true identity, the son of Romanov family doctor, Gleb Botkin, claimed that she was indeed the Grand Duchess Anastasia that he’d played with as a child. After being welcomed to New York, she participated in numerous interviews where many were impressed about her knowledge of the Romanov family and similarity to Anastasia. Still, there were skeptics who claimed she lacked the knowledge of Anastasia’s personal life, and were particularly alarmed by the lack of knowledge she had about the language Anastasia spoke. After multiple attempts to explain her “true identity,” she adopted the name, Anna Anderson. Years after she died, the remains of the Romanov family were found in a mass grave in 1991. According to DNA experts, the son Alexei and one daughter were missing from the burial site. Stumped by this, scientists exhumed multiple bodies and compared mtDNA samples. It was found that Anna Anderson was not a Romanov. In 2007, the real missing Romanovs were found in a second grave that was discovered near the large grave which experts believe to be the son Alexei and one of the missing daughters. 
• On Feb. 1, 1960, Woolworth refused to serve four African American students lunch, leading to what is now known as the Greensboro Sit-In. Supposedly, the students were inspired by Gandhi and inflamed by the murder of an innocent young black boy, Emmett Till, and planned this sit-in protest. After Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil were denied service, they refused to give up their seats at the lunch counter. The police were called, but Ralph Johns, a white businessman assisting these young men, had called the media. The police were unable to do anything due to lack of provocation; the students were silently and peacefully sitting at the counter. The students stayed until the store closed and came back the next day with even more students. Only five days later, around 300 students from multiple colleges had joined the protest. This sparked a sit-in movement throughout the country as students peacefully protested segregation in a number of different establishments. Although there were a number of arrests, this movement was largely successful and led to the desegregation of southern dining facilities over the summer of 1960.
• On Feb. 1, 2004, Justin Timberlake exposed one of Janet Jackson’s breasts during the  Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, sparking a controversy called Nipplegate. At the end of the final song, “Rock Your Body”, Timberlake sang, “Bet I’ll have you naked by the end of this song,” and subsequently ripped Jackson’s clothes off, revealing her breast. While it definitely fit the song, the plan was to rip off the bodice to reveal Janet’s red lace bra. This was called a “wardrobe malfunction,” but many believe that it was an intentional publicity stunt. After this incident, the Federal Communications Commission received over 540,000 complaints, accusing them of exposing children to inappropriate content. In the end, the parent company of CBS, Viacom, had to pay a $3.5 million fine. 

• On Jan. 9, 1493, Columbus mistook manatees for mermaids. Columbus claimed they were “not half as beautiful as they are painted.” This was the first written record of manatees in North America, and it was the claim that they were mermaids! This may seem really strange, but it is actually really common for manatees to be mistaken for mermaids and sirens. So common, in fact, that their taxonomic order is known as sirenia, a name derived from the sirens of Greek mythology.
• The idea of a circus is not new, as it first appeared in ancient Rome, but circuses did not always look like they did today. This is credited towards Englishman Philip Astley who, on Jan. 9, 1768, staged the first modern circus in London. It started off with Astley performing shocking stunts on the back of a horse, where he performed seemingly impossible feats. This first performance received such a good response that Astley hired other performers and built a structure that he called structure Astley’s Amphitheatre. Astley even performed for King Louis XV! People began opening circuses elsewhere, and later, smaller traveling circuses began popping up.
• On Jan. 12, 1962, the American government launched Operation Ranch Hand against Vietnam. This was part of the chemical warfare program called Operation Trail Dust, and involved spraying a multitude of herbicides designed to expose roads and trails used by the Viet Cong as well as deprive them of food. Over the course of almost 10 years,  U.S. personnel dumped an estimated 19 million gallons of these herbicides over 10-20% of Vietnam. The herbicides used, also known as the rainbow herbicides, have caused many long-term ecological problems and health issues for the Vietnamese people l such as cancer, birth defects, congenital malformations, and even miscarriages. Exposure to herbicide orange alone is thought to have caused the health issues of 3 million and birth defects of 1 million.
• During 12-day trade trip around Asia, President George H.W. Bush attended a dinner on Jan. 8, 1992, hosted by the Prime Minister of Japan,  Kiichi Miyazawa, where he ended up vomiting on the lap of the host. He had appeared to be fine, even played doubles tennis with the Emperor of Japan and his son that morning. However, while at this dinner party Bush suddenly leaned forward, fell to his side, and regurgitated upon the lap of Miyazawa, fainting as his wife, aides, and the secret service attended to him. Later, doctors stated that he was only suffering acute gastroenteritis, easily remedied by an anti-nausea pill. Bush apologized for the incident, but that did not keep this incident from becoming one of the most memorable presidential gaffes in history. Comedians in both the United States and Japan were quick to pick it up. Hilariously, the phrase Busshusuru (ブッシュする)  became a popular slang term for vomiting after the incident, which roughly translates to “to pull a Bush”.