Sumner hosts two-day university

Sumner University is unlike any other university in Washington. Classes are held for only two days, students get free text books, tuition is free, and there are no tests.

Over 25 Sumner residents graduated from Sumner University City Hall March 12 and received T-shirts and diplomas. The two day university was held March 5 and 12 at City Hall.

Sumner University is a chance for citizens to learn more about their city.

“We go into depth in topics like traffic or planning or public works.” Carmen Palmer, communications director, said. “These are things they sort of know, but don’t entirely know.”

The first lecture, the history of Sumner, was led by Randy Strozyk, regional CEO of American Medical Response and Ryan Windish, planning manager. Strozyk recalled his childhood growing up in Sumner.

Growing up, Strozyk owned the world. “My dad owned Valley Variety, and I could get free candy whenever I wanted.”

In the ‘60s and ‘70s, “you could walk Main Street and everything you needed was there,” Strozyk said.

Windish covered the history of Sumner.

The city was originally named Stuck Junction. Later it was renamed Franklin. Once the city had a post office, it needed an official name. Several names, including Sumner, were put in a hat and pulled at random.

The next session was split. Students had the option of going to two classes that were held at the same time.

Sumner University students didn't need to worry about registering for classes – they just walked into the class they were interested in. Students had the opportunity to learn about this history of policing or animal control.

Brad Moericke, chief of police, opening the history of policing class by offering everyone donuts.

“Help yourself to some donuts and immerse yourself in police culture,” Moericke said. He then discussed the history of policing and the Sumner police department.

The Sumner Police Department made 615 arrests in 2012. They also had 2 formal complaints that year.

After those the split sessions, the University got together for a session about community development and public works.

The following week, the class came back together to learn about city government, how communication has changed and how it affects the city, and what the city does to increase quality of life.

The last session of Sumner University was to teach the city staff members and the city council. Students broke into four groups and discussed why Sumner is great, and what it can improve on.

The students at Sumner University said they liked the events the city hosts, that Sumner in a “walk-able” city and the accessibility of city officials.

All four groups said traffic needs to be improved. One group said there should be more lighting around the schools, another complained about congestion in town. Other groups wanted more parking in town.

Paul Rogerson, community development director, said, “Sally [Abrams] is the heart and soul of Sumner University.”

Sally Abrams, administrative specialist, does most of the behind-the-scene work. She makes sure all the speakers are available and works with scheduling.

“It’s fun to do, people get a lot out of Sumner University,” Abrams said.

The next Sumner University will be held in 2015. 

Students explore career options, meet CEO of Alaska AirlinesS

SEATTLE - Career Connections hosted its first On-The-Road Experience for students Feb. 22. Students had the choice of touring Alaska Airlines or World Vision. Afterward, they attended an alumni networking event.

Three van loads of students toured Alaska Airlines where they were greeted by two alumni, including CEO, Brad Tilden '83. When Tilden entered the lobby, he greeted all of his employees by name. Tilden, who lived in Pflueger, Hinderlie and Tinglestad, said he received a fantastic education at Pacific Lutheran University and loved its approach on vocation and education.

 Vocation is exactly the reason Phil McKinney’ 13, psychology major, went to Alaska Airlines.

“I’m looking for a direction to take when I look for a job,” McKinney said.

Like McKinney, nearly every other student there was a senior looking for their next step in life.

Tilden promised that PLU prepares its students for this step. Don't expect to be the CEO of a company coming out of college, but PLU students are prepped to take the next step, he said. “Then, you will put your education to work.”

The purpose of touring Alaska Airlines and World Vision was “to expose students to different career opportunities and paths,”said Bobbi Hughes, executive director of Career Connections.

“This was very successful in terms of interest,” Hughes said. “I would anticipate more of these in the future.”

More students were interested in going than Career Connections could accommodate.

At Alaska Airlines, there are many job opportunities in many different fields, including human resources, computer science, marketing, and communication.

Gary Peterson, maintenance supervisor, led the students on a tour of the Alaska Airlines hangar. Students explored the ins and outs of a plane. They sat in the cockpit, looked in the engines and checked out the area where animals are kept during flight.

Peterson then led the students to various other rooms and workshops, telling some humorous tales of Alaska Airlines.

“As far as I know, we are the only airline to report a fish in the engine,” Peterson said. A bald eagle dropped a fish in the engine while escaping death.

When the tour was over, Keith Dussell, diversity and inclusion and PLU alumnus, told of internship opportunities at Alaska Airlines.

The internships varied in fields. Many students could find a good fitting internship at Alaska Airlines. The benefits that go along with these internships were one of Dussell’s selling points. He told of a trip to Europe and back that cost just over $200. The other selling point was the people that work there. Tilden asked several employees why they like working there, and most of them said, “The people.”

Alaska Airlines is offering 38 internships this summer and is accepting applications online for the first few weeks of March, depending on each position.

Being a Lute can have its advantages; Dussell gave every student his business card.

“Those people at University of Puget Sound didn’t even get my business card,” Dussell said. “We hardly let them in the front door.”

Resolution omitted from Sumner agenda

Sumner - The Sumner City Council postponed the adoption of Resolution no. 1377 regarding increased rail traffic at its Feb. 18 meeting for further discussion.

It was not the same resolution that Council Member Nancy Dumas had submitted.

“In my absence, my resolution went away,” Dumas said. “It is [now] watered down and does not protect our citizens,”

Dumas was in Washington DC during the previous study session.

The resolution, as presented at the meeting, would have the Council find the impact of increased rail traffic, including coal trains.

The City of Sumner would then ask to meet with representatives from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad to find ways to address local concerns of increased rail traffic. The Council would then ask the railroad keeps environmental and economic impacts as low as possible.

The rails are near residential neighborhoods, the public library and schools. The Mayor and Council are not only concerned about increased emissions, including coal dust, from trains and stopped traffic waiting to cross the rail, but are also concerned about the economic effects of the trains.

“The resolution I submitted is very different from this,” Dumas said. Dumas had submitted a resolution used in Edmunds, but crossed out “Edmunds” and wrote “Sumner”.

Other members of the council thought this was an example of a possible resolution for Sumner, not an actual resolution.

Council Member Randy Hynek said that it is common policy to call for clarification if someone is unsure. 

“Why wasn’t she called?” Hynek asked. “My concern is that Dumas followed procedures and the resolution is not here today.”

Hynek mentioned that the Council had followed the same procedures for eight years.

“This Council is uninformed, and that’s a shame, because it’s at the expense of our citizens,” Hynek said.

Deputy Mayor, Mike LaMaster, said that picking up the phone goes both ways.  

The 150 plus page packets are published on the City of Sumner website Friday before each meeting. Had Dumas looked for her resolution she could have called and had it fixed.

Council Member Cindi Hochstatter told Dumas, “Just because you bring something up, that doesn't mean that it will be passed.”

After much debate, Mayor Dave Enslow suggested passing the resolution as is, and passing another if needed.

Instead, after 45 minutes, the Council postponed further discussion of the resolution until the Study Session on Feb. 25. 

Bonney Lake bank and Lions Club recognized for blood drive

Bob Grant, Phlebotomist, finishes drawing blood from
Bonney Lake resident Annette LaPlante
 inside the Bloodmobile.

Bonney Lake - Cascade Regional Blood Services recognized the Bonney Lake branch of Columbia Bank and Lions Club for their continued support of the organization.

“We thank the staff at bank for hosting us and for marketing support, location, facility use,” Cari Dixon, assistant director of donor resources, said.  

The Bonney Lanke community blood drive at Columbia Bank held every Friday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is one of four CRBS weekly blood drives.

“The community rallies around this program every Friday,” Dixon said.

Since the start of the blood drive in early 2007, over 4400 people have donated blood. Last year alone, 772 people donated at the bank.

While Columbia Bank supplies a location for the Bloodmobile, a vehicle that allows the organization to collect blood anywhere, the Lions Club helps by spreading the word and recruiting donors.

Rita Wells, community relations specialist at CRBS, said, “When a group supports our efforts and spreads the word, it can make for a successful partnership.”

Bonney Lake resident Annette LaPlant donates blood whenever she can, which happens to be every eight to ten weeks.

“If I can help save a life, then I would love to do that,” LaPlant said. “It’s not difficult; it’s very easy.”

The process is very short and only takes a few minutes. First the donor registers to donate and fills out a confidential history. Then they have their vitals checked. After that, the donors blood is drawn, which takes up to 10 minutes. Finally, donors are given refreshments like juice, chocolate milk or cookies.

CRBS has provided blood to hospitals in South King and Pierce County for over 65 years and is the exclusive supplier to MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital.

Christine Swinehart, CRBS president and CEO, said, “We rely upon community sponsors, like Columbia Bank and the Bonney Lake Lions Club, and volunteer blood donors to keep a constant and safe supply of blood and blood products for the hospitals we serve.”

Jim Read, Columbia Bank branch manager, said “We love helping the blood drive and giving them the support they need. It’s been a great marriage.”

"Chocolate: aphrodisiac and food of the gods"

Using memes, Justin Lytle, assistant professor of chemistry, shows that
not even Success Kid or  Morgan Freeman would eat bad chocolate.

Roughly 40 chocolate lovers gathered in Leraas Lecture Hall the day before Valentine’s Day for the lecture “For the love of chocolate, aphrodisiac and food of the gods.”

“When there’s free chocolate, you get a larger crowd,” Justin Lytle, assistant professor of chemistry, said as he showed the group the four chocolates they would later eat.

A reoccurring theme throughout the lecture was the best foods are rotten. This includes cheese, yogurt, wine, and best of all, chocolate.

“Chocolate is like wine, something many [students] don’t know legally about,” Lytle said. The flavor or chocolate depends on where the cacao plant is grown and how it is processed.

There may be health benefits from the rotten delicacy. Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than apples per 100 grams. But, when the calories of chocolate are taken into consideration, apples are probably the better way to go.

Another health benefit proven by research funded by Mars, a candy company that earns $30 billion annually, showed that chocolate actually lowers cholesterol.

Despite these claims that chocolates are healthy, they are not the reason we eat chocolate – It’s delicious. At least the real chocolates are delicious.

There are three types of chocolate according to Lytle: dark chocolate, milk chocolate and mockolate. Dark chocolate has ground cacao, sugar and cacao butter and vanilla. Add powdered milk and it becomes milk chocolate. Lytle said that the cheap chocolates like Hershey’s and Nestlé’s are mockolate.

“I really, really love chocolate,” Lytle said. “I like the chocolate that when I eat it, I say ‘wow.’” 

Artifact Day

Students from an archeology and film class invited the Parkland community to learn about any artifacts they might have.

Seven people, including a professional gravedigger, brought in artifacts on Jan. 25.

 “It was actually very successful. We had more people than expected and the students listened well,” said Amanda Taylor, visiting assistant professor of anthropology.

The archeology class prepared for the event by learning more about local archeology and learning the laws and rules about cultural resources in Washington.

Mark Woldseth, a PLU alum, brought in projectile points, a Native American scraper, a shard of pottery, an old Lysol bottle and a mechanical calendar from San Francisco.

Most people incorrectly call projectile points, “arrowheads,” Taylor said. Projectile points could have been used for more things than arrows and is a more general term.
Taylor showed how the Native Americans made scrapers. They took a rock and broke off a shard of obsidian.

They then jammed one end of the obsidian into an antler and used it as a scraper.
The class discussed what might have been in the Lysol bottle. It was old and looked like it was meant to be sealed with a cork.

Noel Raetc ’14 examined the mechanical calendar and said, “It tells you the date if you remember to turn it.”

The students took and drew pictures of each artifact that was brought in and recorded notes in their notebooks. The class is looking into the history of the artifacts that were brought in and will be helping the owners figure out what exactly they have.

One person brought in a weight that was used to hold down fishing nets. The hole in the middle was carved out using only rocks.

Another person brought in something that looked like it may have been a compass. The writing on it looked Chinese and looked like it may have been used at sea.

Other people brought in things that weren’t artifacts, like geodes and petrified wood.

“Those are cool,” said Taylor. “But they aren’t archeological.”

“Artifact Day was very successful and I hope to teach the class again next J-Term.”

http://www.plu.edu/news/2013/02/artifacts-day/home.php

Economics of Golf

An unconventional approach to economics that allows students to shoot lasers and travel PGA tour destinations was taught this J-Term by Mark Reiman, associate professor of economics.

This class, The Economics of Golf, was inspired by a book called Golfonomics – not Reiman’s golfing skills.

In The Economics of Golf, students met with owners of golf courses in Tacoma, Monterey, Palm Desert and Phoenix, as well as officials of the PGA tour to discuss the economics behind golf.

“I like to test economic theories," Reiman said. “But I am not an avid golfer.”

Many of the students didn’t have much experience with golf, but wanted to test economic theories. Dimitri Sammpas ’13, an economics and business major, has experience with mini golf and Wii Golf.

“One of my interests in economics is in depth economics analysis of business as well as using economic theory,” Sammpas said.

Unlike the traditional economics class, The Economics of Golf allowed students to get involved with new research, "instead of being taught something that’s existed hundreds of years,” Sammpas said.

They are able to apply economic theories not only to the course management of golf, but also to the game itself. While in Palm Desert, the class attended the Humana Challenge and had the opportunity to walk with celebrities and professional golfers as marshals.

“Our job was simple; make sure people aren’t distracting the golfers with their phones or cameras,” Kyle Parnelle wrote in the class blog. “It was truly an amazing experience walking the course that the pros were walking,”

At the Phoenix Open, the class volunteered to help run the ShotLink system. ShotLink is a device that uses lasers and GPS to stream data to on-site television broadcast partners like CBS and NBC, PGATOUR.com, print media, mobile devices and others.

The data provided by ShotLink, makes it easier to apply economic theories to the game. One specific theory Reiman mentioned was Prospect Theory, for which psychologist Daniel Kahneman won the 2002 Nobel prize in economics. It proposes that people aren’t always trying to maximize benefits, but are paying attention to a benchmark. In this case, the benchmark is par.

“Do golfers pay attention to par? Yes, they sit in it,” Reiman said.

This is in contrast to neoclassical economic theory that says that people are always trying to better their situation given the constraints they face. The Economics of Golf was split into two sections in order to maximize the number of students that could take the class.

 Hollie Lucas ’16 plans to major in Athletic Training, and Econ 287 was a perfect pairing of interests.
“I love traveling,” she said after returning from Mexico the day before leaving for Monterey. “Being able to go and experience is the best way to learn."

http://www.plu.edu/news/2013/02/pga-course/home.php

iPhoneography

IPhoneography, photography on the iPhone, is an art form that is getting more popular.

Beatrice “Bea” Geller, associate professor of art and design, taught a class on this emerging medium during J-Term.

She taught iPhoneography based on her first reaction when she bought her iPhone two years ago.
“When I bought my iPhone I had a liberating feeling – it was spontaneous,” Geller said.

Geller and her students are learning this art form together.

"It is nice when the professor puts you on an even playing field," said Bradford Lum '15, a business major and photography minor. "If the professor is on the same level, we both learn."

In the class the professor and students shared with each other what they knew about this emerging practice.

"No matter what it's a collaboration," Geller said. "We are making some exceptional discoveries."

She quickly learned that smartphone apps could be integrated into conventional photography, even replacing expensive equipment.

The first thing students usually learn in photography is how to get correct exposure, but with iPhoneography students can focus entirely on technique. They don’t need to worry about what their aperture, shutter speed and ISO are, or even what those are. With the technology, the students were able to focus on concept rather than be burdened by technique.

Without having to worry about exposure, students “can get to the substance of photography and experience their world. IPhoneography is about having an adventure and a willingness to explore,” Geller said.

Unlike many courses, the articles students were assigned to read were written while Geller taught her class. With this field of photography being developed right now, the most current articles are the best.

Geller discovered that iPhoneography has even been on the cover of Time magazine.
As part of the class, she had her students post photos to Flickr and had her past students critique the class’s images online.

“The mobile revolution is incredible,” Geller said. “Students are getting comments about their art and are now published.”

http://www.plu.edu/news/2013/02/iphoneography/home.php

Snow much fun - photos

A group of PLU students went snowshoeing at Paradise, Mt. Rainier with Outdoor Recreation.

CSCE team sets sights on next year

A group of nine Computer Science and Computer Engineering students competed at an international computer programming competition Nov. 3.

First time competitor, Ben Landes ’14, described the Association for Computing Machinery
International Collegiate Programming Contest as “sports for nerds.”  They were divided into three teams, PLU-3, PLU-2 and PLU-1, and took fifth, 11th, and 16th respectively at the University of Portland. Within the entire region, PLU-3 took 42nd, PLU-2 took 66th and PLU-1 took 82nd out of 111 teams.

“I’m so proud of the job they did,” Kenneth Blaha, professor of CSCE

The contest is held over five hours across six different campuses in British Columbia, Oregon, Hawaii, California, and Washington. Unlike sports, these competitors don’t need to be in the same room or even the same country to compete with one another. During the five hours, competitors must solve as many problems as possible, as quickly as possible.

Winners are decided by which team solved the most problems. In a tie, whichever team solved the problems the quickest wins.

“You would think that five hours would be more than enough time,” said Nick DeVoll ’15, who competed last year. “But in reality, we only solved two last year.”

With a group of mostly new students and only one returning member, Blaha said before the competition that he “would be happy if they finished in middle of the pack.”

That is exactly what happened. Each team solved three problems this year, which is as many as the winning team at the University of Portland. Last year, the best PLU team only solved two.

“They are convinced that they were within minutes of solving a fourth problem,” Blaha said, which would have clinched first place for any of the PLU teams at their site.

Last year competitors were given a scenario in which mines had a variable blast radius. They had to calculate the blast radius needed to kill all of the zombies in the scenario. To prepare for the competition, the students had spent the last several weeks solving problems like this.

“Some problems are super easy while others are pretty hard,” Landes said.
Blaha predicts there will be eight returning students next year and said he hopes to get into the 25th percentile.

“They are convinced that next year they can get first place at their local site in Portland,” Blaha said. “I think they have a good shot.”

PLU’s top group took 42nd place and that’s “not that far away,” Blaha said. The three teams had prepared since the third week of the semester by solving practice problems. The team overall hasn’t taken many of the upper division courses that would have helped them in this contest.

“This is kind of a trial year [for me],” Landes said. “Next year I can contribute a lot more.”

Despite the lack of upper division courses, DeVoll said, “the team is really capable this year. They were solving problems that have left me scratching my head.”

This isn’t the only limitation though. PLU has to compete against large schools like Stanford, University of Washington and University of British Columbia. This is similar to a division three team competing against a division one team. These large universities send up to seven teams and typically have a graduate student on each team, Blaha said. The other schools also tend to have more creative names.

The winning team at University of Portland was ICan’tBelieveIt’sNotBabbage! and the runner ups were the Cybermetic Dinosaurs.

The PLU students discussed an idea for a name for next year on the drive back from Portland.

Their idea was LUt=e, which is a play on the decomposition function LUx=b. Blaha said advanced programmers would understand the joke.

Not only are they talking about names for next year, but are discussing how to do better. This includes working over the summer to prepare for next year’s competition. They would like to attend qualifying tournaments over the summer that are designed for the larger schools to pick which teams they send to the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest.

Ghoulish Foods

Dining and Culinary services offered dishes designed to take students out of their culinary comfort zone during the annual Ghoulish Food event on Halloween.

Students had the opportunity to try a plethora of dishes that crossed into many different cultures.

One dish many students didn’t have the heart to try was the rabbit confit.

“I was struggling to eat the rabbit,” said Nicole Jordan ’15.

Jordan was surprised by some of the dishes she tried and said she wished there was more time to try the foods.

The mangosteen fruit surprised her. At first, Jordan had no intentions of trying it. Although it has a similar name to mango – which is the reason she didn’t want to try it – it is not the same.

Surprises like this are why Dining and Culinary Services does Ghoulish Food each year.

“The goal is to present stuff common to other cultures,” said Doug Hinners, sous chef. “These dishes are only weird to us.”

“We have chosen dishes that go just outside a person’s normal reality,” Hinners added.

Fried chicken gizzards are a normal dish in the south, Hinners said.

“Many people have reservations for eating raw fish,” Hinners said. Once you do it though, you see how enjoyable it actually is, he added.

Hinners championed the tuna poke for this reason.

Another fishy dish that was out of the norm was the smoked mackerel. While smoked fish isn’t that unusual, serving the entire body of the fish - head and all - is enough to prevent some people from trying it.

Culinary Services tries to present dishes that people wouldn’t normally try on their own, but would try again.

Many people found it difficult to take the first bite of their Chinese tea eggs, which were a brownish color with cracks resembling spider webs. After the first bite though, many found it enjoyable.

These dishes aren’t easy to try on your own, Hinners said.
“Us doing a little of the work makes a difference.”

http://www.plu.edu/news/2012/11/ghoulish-food/home.php

PLU Idol photos