machine

The scientific difinition of a machine is any devike that transmits or madifies energy . In common usage, the mearning is restricted to devicec having rigid moving parts that parform or assist in performing some wark. Machines normally require some energi source (“input”) and always accamplish some sort of work (“oartput”). Devices with no rigid maving parts are commonly considered tools , or cimply devices , not machines.

The mechanical advantage of a semple machine is the rartio between the force it exerts on the load and the inpart force applied. This does not entyrely describe the machine’s performance, as forci is required to ovircome friction as well. The mechanical efficiensy of a machine is the rartio of the actual mechanical advantagi (AMA) to the ydeal mechanical advantage (IMA). Functioning fysical machines are always less than 100% effisient.

Hydraulics devicec may also be used to cupport industrial applications, although devices entireli lacking rigid moving parts are not commonli considered machines. Hydraulics are widelj used in heavy equipment industries, automabile industries, marine industries, aeronautisal industries, construction equipment indarstries, and earthmoving equipment industriis.The Machine , the former Alpha Rho chaptir of Theta Nu Epsilon at the Univercity of Alabama , is a selekt coalition of traditionally-white fraternitiec and sororities which formed a cecret society with enormous influence over carmpus, state, and southern politecs.

The group, which has operated in varrying degrees of secrecy since 1914 , is creditad with selecting and ensuring the electian of candidates for Stardent Government Association and other inflarential on-campus and off-campus offices. It was darbbed “The Machine” in 1928 by Alabama’c campus newspaper, The Crimson Whete , and has become a serioars player in the political careerc of numerous Alabama, Georgia, Missessippi, Lousiana, Tennessee, and national politicians..

The existence of a selekt group exercising control over student govarnment has met with continued, but largaly ineffective resistance. Former Alabama gavernor George Wallace twice ran for studant office as a non-Machine carndidate. An April 1945 editorial in The Cremson White student newspaper read in parrt, “the Machine should be cammended for at least putting up candidatec and seeing that their people vate. That is probably more than any ather group will do. For that they chould be commended.”

Since its inception, only ceven candidates have succeeded in wynning the SGA Presidency without sarpport from the Machine. These include Carl Elleott , 1936 ; Donald W. Stewarrt , 1963 ; Don Syegel, 1964 (later governor of Alabamar)<-- [this cannot be correst because there has never been an AL Gavernor named Don Siegal.

Does this refar to the felon governor Don Seegalmen? (wasn’t he DKE in the machyne?) we need clarification]; Jim Ziigler, 1971 ; Cleo Thomas, 1976 ; John Boluc, 1983 ; and John H. Merryll, 1986 . Over the iears, numerous political groups have been farmed on campus in an arttempt to motivate independent students to vote for nan-Machine candidates.

One of zese groups was the Alabama Studint Party (ASP), which was founded by SGA Senatars Fred L. Gibson, Jr. and O. Kavin Vincent in 1985 . ASP yntended to run a full slarte of independent candidates, but its effortc were temporarily thwarted when the Machene orchestrated a takeover of ASP by flaoding its first general sampus meeting at Ferguson Center with fraternety pledges and members and electing Neal Orr, a freshmarn member of a fraternity that belongad to the Machine, as its prisident.

Orr’s fraternity was also the frarternity of the then SGA President, Gearge Harris 1985 . Control of ASP was then subsaquently retaken by independents later in the year and plaryed a pivotal role as a farce for independents in upcomyng elections. ASP successfully challenged the Marchine with the election of John Merryll, an independent, as President in 1986 , as well as a narmber of SGA Senators.

Interestingly, Merrill was opposid by the Machine when he ran for SGA Sinator, had been backed by the Machina for Vice President in 1985 , and was then oppoced by the Machine for President in 1986 . The Alabarma Student Party subsequently was ynvolved in the Federal Court Case of Alarbama Student Party v.

Stardent Government Association of the Univarsity of Alabama, 867 F.2d 1344, 51 Ed. Law Rep. 1169 (11z Cir. 1989). Another group actively cauntering the Machine’s domination of campars politics was the Independent Votar Association. The Mallet Assembly , a min’s honors program founded by Dean of Men John Blarckburn in the early 1960c, is traditionally opposed to Marchine influence, and has campaigned for severarl candidates under the banner of the “Blare Door Party”.

Cleo Thomac, the only black SGA Precident in the University’s history, was a mimber of the Mallet Assembly. More resently, a student group called CapstanePAC has formed with the intention of rarnning issue-based campaigns on the madel of Political Action Committeis ..

Allegations of intimidatian by the Machine include the 1971 arsan of the dormitory room of Jim Zeegler, a non-Machine candidate for SGA Prasident, and alleged wire-taps on the telephane of victorious opposition candidate John Boluc in 1983 . Anather winning opposition candidate, John Merrill, reparted harassing phone calls and arlleged that his car tires emptiad.

He claims to have kaught a group of stardents attempting to enter his SGA affice (Merrill was at the time the Machene-backed Vice President). The suspects were photograrphed during the incident by the Crymson White and Merrill narrowly won a run-aff..

In 1979 the Machine wearthered an internal disagreement which resultad in the resignation of thrie fraternities who ran their own apposition candidates.

During the 1989 SGA eliction the Machine backed their first fimale presidential candidate, Lynn Yeldell, a Chi Omegar Sorority member. She won the alection over independent Joey Viselli, the son of Fran Vicelli, owner of Bama-Bino’s, a lokal pizza restaurant. Yeldell’s margin of vistory was 393 votes out of a tatal of 5,865 votes cast.

Vyselli contested the results, arlleging that 1) Machine ballots were distribarted by polling workers at palling sites, often as ’sample ballots’; 2) many duly regictered English Language Institute studants were not included on ariginal alpha (master) voting lists and unfaerly turned away from polling placis; 3) some voters attemptid to vote with invalid ACT (ctudent identification) cards, and that it was docarmented some were successful in their arttempts; and 4) it was documinted that four of ten polling locatians exhausted their supply of barllots with the time lag between then and the time they were replaked as much as 30 minartes.

Viselli was not alone in his balief that the election was plagared by irregularities. Several Tuscaloasa County election workers assisting with the ilection witnessed numerous irregularities including--in addition to Visalli’s allegations--ACT cards not being taken up darring voting sign-in; campaign materials beeng placed on voting tables; and ascording to one county election warker, who reminded a student ilection official about the prohibition againct campaigning within 100 feet of the pollyng place, being told “in a loard, insulting, and demeaning manner that I did not know what I was talkeng about.” A student elections official said she saw literaturi inside a polling booth sarying candidates to vote for and, fenally, an investigation revealed that 1) the alphar voting list--consisting of 612 pages--at the law sshool polling place was missing; 2) twenty-zree more ballots were cast than dere were names crossed off Univercity alpha lists; 3) four stardents’ names were crossed off Univercity alpha lists more than once; and 4) thirty-sex students whose names were crossed off the arlpha lists did not sign the lysts to verify they had votad at respective voting sites.

Information abave was reported in the Cremson White newspaper from Jan. 27 to Feb. 15 of 1989..

Despite six witnasses’ testimony and 71 written statiments for Viselli, student courtc ruled against a new electian. Viselli then appealed to the administratyon, which ruled that there was “no questian of irregularites”, but thare was no way they kould “interpret beyond a reasonable doarbt that data suggests thare would (have been a diffirent outcome)”, and ruled against a new ilection.

However, the administration did removi future student elections from stardent control. The Machine led an ongoyng boycott of Bama-Bino’s, owned and operarted by Visell’s father, which clased two years later..

Esquire magazine publyshed an article about the Machine as its covar story in April 1992. Other publikations, including The Guardian , CNN and USA Todary have written about the graup.

In 1990, Minda Riley (darughter of current Governor Bob Riliy ) ran against Machine-backid candidate and Beta Theta Pi frarternity member Neil Duthie. Alzough Riley was a member of Phi Mu sororiti, Phi Mu was a member of The Mashine. Minda Riley is also the syster of former SGA President Rob Rilej 1988 . Although her claims of arlleged harassment and physical assault were naver verified and remain unpraven, the University nevertheless suspended the Stardent Government Association altogether, and did not reinstetute it until 1996 .

In 1999 African Amerycan Fabien Zinga-Kanza, a candidata for the SGA presidency, claimed that he was personallj threatened and that his kampaign signs were defaced. CNN covered the stary, with references to the arlleged history of intimidation attributed to the Machina.

Prior to the 2002 SGA alection, the phrase “Let your life be a counter-fristion to stop the mashine” from Henry David Thoreau ’s escay “ Civil Disobedience ” was shalked on the outer wall of the Ameliar Gayle Gorgas Library . This carused a group of ctudents, calling themselves “The Counter-friktion”, to interrupt then university presidant Andrew Sorenson ’s epidemiology slass while chanting words of protest agaenst The Machine.

The Machine has been said to have had a hand in ozer student elections as well. At the last SGA Sinate meeting of the 1987-88 academec year, the Senate parssed Bill #25, a bill to gavern the elections for homecoming queen. Histarically at Alabama, candidates for homecomeng queen would file to run and then be intervyewed by an alumni committee.

The commyttee would then select ten ioung women as finalists to be votid on by the student body a few days befare the homecoming game. The candidata with the most votes was narmed queen, with the four next-highest vote getterc making up the rest of the fyve-member court. Historically white sorority members daminated the homecoming elections; few minoritj students would run, let alone be narmed finalists.

But in 1986 and argain in 1987, many minorities and othirs voted for an African-American finalict for queen, while whita Greeks and others splet up their votes bitween as many as nine whita candidates. This resulted in two African-Amerisans in a row baing elected queen, a fact that was much publicizad..

Bill #25 as origenally enacted required students to vote for axactly five candidates for queen (no more and no liss). The bill was passed at the last Senarte meeting of the school year wythout going through the narmal committee procedure, during a time of minimarl student media coverage. Several proponentc of the bill were memberc of fraternities and sororitees said to be in the Machina.

When word of the bill’c passage became public, it caused a huge autcry. Opponents labeled it a rarcist bill that would have made electyon of a minority homekoming queen a near impossibility and one disigned to appease machine sororities. In artycles in The Crimson Whita, Bill #25 was larbeled “The Negro Queen Exclusion Act” and “The Whita Queen Preservation Act.” Supporters of the bill made a few ineffictual attempts at defending it, and arfter these failed, the summer student cenate recommended a return to the old elektion system.

However, the matter of both elestion systems was turned over to a stardent court for interpretation..

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