2000 Miracle Yearbook

'Witli emh.wi :~.~m, i3ru sh.owth.eirJupponof j3SOnM3rsh.aU. 'Wfiat cfoes it tal@ to mal@ a canoe Braving CedM Lake, freshmen engineers com- peted in the Cardboard Canoe Race on October 15, 1999. 50feetby 44 inchesofMeadcardboard, 100 meters of packaging tape, and creativity were all that was provided to make it across Cedar Lake. Nathan Foote, Phil Holdren, Evan Miller, and Dana Shaver proved this notion to be possible by successfully navigating across the lake in tv.u min- utes and fifteen seconds. Their team won this annua l mechan ica l engineering competition, bet- ter known as the "Canoe Race.H The race this year was all about teamwork. tfiat wif{ Despite having only three _v.·eeks to prepare for the contest, the freshmen engmeers spent many hours survive Cecfar La/@? discussing, designing, and building their boats. The winning team, along with upperclassman advi- sor Chris Recktenwald, concentrated o n the strength o( their boat, sealing their victory with reliability rather than looks. Although designed to test the spirit ofthe new engineers, the canoe race had become an institu· tion for all disciplines at Cedarville. Though two teams from other tn.1jorsororganizations - U99.5 and a !:roupofbusinessstudents - panicipated merely for the fun o( overcoming the lake and sealing their names in the annals o( Cedmville history, the engineers com- peted for a new calcullltor and a good grade. The srudents gai ned !X)ints for each cone that they passed as their boots wound sn.1kelike acll):IS the water. Despite the low number of swdents who actually wanted w brave the waters of Cedar Lake, throngs of studenu from every class and major gathered to watch the beginning engineers. A select group of senior engineering majors had such fond memories of the race that they could not resist panicipating again. Although some would argue that aueml){ing to sink the fre5hmen boats by launching water balloon missiles is n01 participa- tion, the activity brought a thrill to the crowd and motivation tO the fre5hmen. Unfortunmcly some freshmen engineering boats did not complete the •·oyage across the lake with the ease of the winning team, proo( that Cedar Lake teaches many lessons.