The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 10, 2002 - 3
Studentsprepare Mars Rover
Vicky Rushton, left, and Robb Rushton, right, with their 22-month-old son Ricky
Rushton stroll along the train tracks between Hill Street and Hoover Road.
Study shows nght-to-
work laws help states
By Ashley Fredma pay union dues in order to get a job?"
Daily StaffReporter Dutcher said RTW laws ensure that
workers are not forced to join unions or
Mark Dilley, a staff organizer for the pay union dues in order to get a job.
Graduate Employees Organization, the According to the study performed
University's union for graduate student by the Mackinac Center for Public
instructors, said he doesn't believe grad- Policy, "right-to-work laws increase
uate students should be forced to join labor productivity by requiring labor
the union, even though state law says unions to earn the support of each
that it's legal for unions to force employ- worker since workers are able to
ees to become members. decide for themselves whether or not
Dilley said the GEO is an open shop to pay dues."
union, which gives people in their bar- Rob Hunter, director of Labor Policy
gaining unit the ability to join the union at the Mackinac Center for Public Poli-
but does not make it a requirement. cy said RTW could affect younger
He added that GEO's membership is workers more than older workers with
about "feeling in solidarity with the rest seniority in unions. Hunter said younger
of the graduate employees and union workers usually "like to be judged on
members on campus." their abilities to perform a job, on the
GEO's policy is consistent with right- quality of their work and their efficiency
to-work laws in place in various states, as opposed to a strict type of seniority
excluding Michigan. The laws allow but evaluation."
do not force employees to join unions, The study shows that states adopting
and recent studies have shown that, RTW laws demonstrate better economic
when in place, they boost states' performance. It also predicts that
economies and help younger employees "Michigan will continue to fall behind
who do nothave seniority. economically relative to RTW states
"Students when they graduate want until it adopts a right-to-work policy."
a job and do have to look at the eco- RTW laws "insulate a state econo-
nomic growth angle ... the major my," Hunter said. He added that RTW
theme in the campaign here -- the laws can also contribute to how a state
more fundamental question - was handles recession.
freedom," said Brandon Dutcher, "The recession that we went through
research director of the Oklahoma since 9-11 has been better handled in
Council of Public Affairs. "Should right-to-work states than in non-right-to-
someone be forced to join a union or work states" he said.
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By Jennifer Watts
For the Daily
To go where no man has gone before was a trend first
established by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. But now a group of University students
hope to continue that trend by helping to put the first man
on Mars.
The Michigan Mars Rover is a converted Army truck
capable of withstanding the low pressure on Mars and
sustaining human life. University Engineering students
have been working on the project since before 2001,
when the Mars Society, a national organization promoting
the exploration of Mars, held a contest for the design of a
vehicle able to bring human exploration to Mars.
The University's design was chosen along with two
others -- the University of Queensland in Australia and a
combination team from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and the University of Toronto.
This summer the vehicle, after S500,000 worth of
donated materials, is closing in on its final design stages.
Three student team members will live in the Rover during
the last two weekends in June to test living conditions
before it is sent to the society's station in Utah for final
testing.
National Mars Society President Robert Zubrin said
students are working "to produce a workable vehicle that
simulates many of the operational characteristics of a
Mars pressurized rover that can be used in the field in
conjunction with the operations research conducted at
one of our Mars research stations."
Engineering senior Anna Paulson said the challenge is
fitting a large amount of material into a small amount of
development nefore going on to Utah for testing.
space. "The biggest challenge is that you have to launch
this vehicle, so it has to be small and lightweight, but that
you also have to fit in all equipment for living and work-
ing," Paulson said.
The final product will be designed to allow three
humans to live on Mars for two weeks. The rover's capa-
bility to cover a a large amount of terrain as well as carry
humans gives it the advantage over robotic exploration
currently in use by NASA. Engineering students
equipped the rover with everything necessary for life and
work on Mars, including a small kitchen, a computer
workshop and a pressurized glove box for doing scientific
study. "We will be installing cameras to watch the
humans inside the rover because that's what this project
is for - to observe," Paulson said.
RED WINGS
Continued from Page 1
from game three and are now going
to watch the game in an environ-
ment more suited to a six period
game.
"(For game three), I watched the
first three periods at my house and
the next three at somebody else's,"
Buikema said.
"In between the second and third
overtime periods, (it was tough to
stay awake) because I had 12 beers
in me and I was like 'I want to get
out.' I've got a big screen television
in my bedroom, so (tonight) I'll
watch the game there," he added.
Though Detroit may have taken
momentum in the series, Red
Wings' fans know not to reserve
spots along Woodward Avenue for
the parade just yet.
"I don't necessarily think that it
is over now, but I think that a win in
three overtimes is a back breaker
for Carolina, especially since the
Wings tied it so late in regulation,"
said Jeff Snyder, an Engineering
junior.
The similarities to Red Wings'
failures in the past also have fans a
bit edgy considering Hurricanes'
goalie Arturs Irbe led the No. 8
seed San Jose Sharks past the No. 1
seed Red Wings eight years ago.
"The San Jose series remains
fresh in my mind because of the
similarities in Detroit's regular sea-
sons,'" Snyder said.
"I think that every series has been
a must-win since everyone says the
Wings are unbeatable -- very simi-
lar to '94 when Detroit won so
many games."
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