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Show MONDAY, MARCH 24,2008 • THE COLLEGE TIMES News Blackjack Team member to speak at Math Week Sittin College Marketing Chad Clark / College Times With only five weeks left until the last graduating class of Utah Valley State College reaches commencement, students are starting to hunker down and channel their efforts on preparing for finals. The last day of the Spring 2008 semester is April 17, with the following Friday held aside as a Study Day. Finals week will begin April 21 and continue through April 24, culminating with graduation ceremonies taking place Friday, April 25. UVSC will be hosting their third annual Math Awareness Week, March 24-28. Participants can expect Sudoku tournaments, an "Amazing Math Race" and keynote speaker David Irvine, co-founder of the Blackjack Institute and one of the original members of the MIT Blackjack Team, a group of students from MIT who formed an after-school club and won millions of dollars around the world playing blackjack. As an undergraduate at MIT, Irvine was recruited to the team and refined his blackjack skills playing in casinos all over the country. The team provides the basis for the bestselling book "Bringing Down the House" and the major motion picture "21," scheduled to be released at the end of the month. "With respect to the concern of promoting gambling, I can tell you that what we do is not gambling," said Irvine. "It is hard for some people to believe, but what we did was calculate the mathematics behind the game of blackjack and develop a strategy to beat it. We only played blackjack because it could be beaten." Irvine will be telling the real story of his blackjack experience, not the Hollywood interpretation. Also included in Math Week is the "Amazing Math Race," a play off the hit TV show, "The Amazing Race." "The 'Amazing Math Race' competition doesn't require great math knowledge, just the ability to find answers to clues that have a math twist," said Kathryn Van Wagoner, math lab manager. "I'm really hoping the students will participate and have a lot of fun." With many more events scheduled, students will get to experience practical math applications that appeal to a broader audience. For more information and scheduling, call (801) 863-8411 or visit the calendar at www. uvsc.edu Math Awareness Week activities INSTITUTE from A3 March 24th in the LA Hallway Christ of Latter-Day Saints is it's greatest asset, not largest liability. Moon spoke of how the LDS church's "Articles of Faith" offer a unique vision for Christianity and those who count themselves among the church's assembly. Moon was quick to quote the Eighth Article which states, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly..." in defense of those who critique the LDS Doctrine as non-Christian. Moon also addressed other unique rituals that the LDS Church offers its members, such as the act of the laying on of hands to bestow upon individuals the "Holy Ghost." The LDS church also believes in "the same organization that existed in (early Christian faiths), namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth." Eider Moon finished his talking by saying, "I bear witness that Jesus is the Christ. He is our savior. He is our redeemer . . . The Holy Ghost bears witness of the father and the son. We have that witness." Talks from LDS leaders are given every Friday at noon in the Orem Institute south chapel. Sudoku Tournament March 25th Lecture: "The Physics of Baseball" Alvin K. Benson, UVSC Prof, of Physics March 26th at 12 p.m. in the Ragen Theater Keynote Speaker; David Irvine, MIT Blackjack Team March 27th The Amazing Race & Chocolate Math Therapy Workshop March 28th Factory Bee REGULAR • HAZELNUI • VANILLA, REMIlM RORST CED TO MEET YOU. Come here my creamy, cold and delicious new best friend. You're my affordable, anytime perk-me-up. i'miovin'if A5 JUSTICE from A3 ference," said Deb Sawyer, a coordinator for the Utah Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. "We're thrilled with what UVSC has done. Each speaker has been incredible." UCAN, which was created in 2007 to educate and involve Utahans to help abolish nuclear weapons, brought 12 people from their organization to the conference. Along with UCAN, several in the audience represented different organizations. Among the many students in attendance, Rachel Draper, a philosophy major in her junior year from Salt Lake City, said that it is a "great opportunity for the university to have conferences about current political issues." After attending the conference she said, "It's weird that nuclear war isn't a bigger issue. It has made me more aware of what is going on internationally as far as public policy." According to the Peace and Justice Studies Program mission, they seek "to understand reasons for and solutions to the complex problems of violence and injustice and to contribute to peaceful and just alternatives." Last year's Dialogue on Peace and Justice was about abolishing land mines, and the year before that, it focused on world hunger. Next year's dialogue will focus on genocide. The Peace and Justice Studies Program hosts several speakers throughout the year. Their next speaker will present on April 3. For more information on upcoming events or to leam how you can get involved, you can go to http://www.uvsc.edu/ peace andjustice |