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CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, February 28,1994
知
Engineers display their wares
Expo provides fun educational exhibits
By Susan White
By Susan White
Kansan staff writer
The lights went out, and the room became silent — but not everyone was left in the dark.
Some people had a perfect view with the aid of infrared night-vision goggles.
Second Lt. Johnie Gallegos of the Kansas Army National Guard said soldiers used the goggles at night for a light source to see where they were going.
"If infantry are out patrolling, the guy in front wears the night vision goggles to detect where the roads are or to guide the way when moving from point A to point B," he said. "Also, if a guy is on guard duty, he has to make sure that nobody steals the equipment. The goggles were used a lot in Desert Storm for terrain perception."
The demonstration was just one of several exhibits and demonstrations — including a flight simulator, a hover craft and a laser show — from the 1994 Engineering Expo on Friday.
All the departments from the School of Engineering participated in the Expo.
Donna Payne, Colony senior, said the civil engineering department had a variety of items on exhibit and a few demonstrations.
"We have cement canoes that we use for racing in a Big Eight competition," she said. "If we win, we get to go on to the nationals. We also compete in a steel bridge-building contest. We also have a quicksand trap where students can experience the real feeling of quicksand."
Shawn Shelton, Overland Park senior,
put on wader boots and stepped into the
sand trap. Payne slowly released water from a spigot attached to the pit. As the water rose, Shelton sank into the sand.
Shelton said it felt like being in real quick-sand.
"I hope I never have to experience the real thing," he said. "But it's a great way to spend a Friday afternoon."
One of the aerospace engineering demonstrations simulated a wind tunnel.
Jason Frank, Great Bend graduate student, said the demonstration used a triangular-shaped wing to show the effects of the wind on an airplane.
"The wind over an airplane delta wing creates a tornado flow," he said. "When an airplane produces lift, the low pressure wants to go down, and the high pressure wants to go up. We use a laser and a sheet to demonstrate the flow. Lots of wind sucks the airplane up and gives it that extra lift."
The aerospace engineering department also offered students rides on a hover craft.
Mike Unger, Herdson senior, said the idea to build the hover craft came from a friend.
"He had built one in junior high from a kit," Unger said. "All the wood and supplies came from the hardware store, and the hover board runs on a grain aerator fan off a farm."
Once the students had all their supplies, they were able to build the hover board, Unger said.
"When we knew the amount of pressure the fan put out, we decided how big we wanted it," he said. "There is a hole underneath that catches the plastic skirt and makes it float."
Unger said the hover craft had been popular all day long.
"We start out with about five people and usually end up with about 25," he said. "People are not just looking at a display but seeing and experiencing how it works."
Greg Litterick, Shawnee senior, struggles to free his legs from quicksand. Experi-
menting with quicksand was just one of the exhibits on display during the Engineer-
ing Expo Friday in Learned Hall.
Groups promote engineering to women
By introducing girls to the world of engineering, two KU women's engineering groups are hoping to attract more women to the field.
Activities sponsored by the KU women's engineering program and the Society of Women Engineers have played instrumental roles in the 5.3 percent increase in the number of women enrolled at the School of Engineering since 1988.
One of the groups' recruitment activities was the eighth annual "A Day of Engineering." Twenty-seven Kansas high schools attended the event on Friday.
By Roberta Johnson Kansan staff writer
In addition to listening to speakers, students participated in hands-on activities, such as building a tower of marshmallows and toothpicks.
"One guy showed us a project where he put matches in a glass container, and the egg slipped through to show us about aerospace engineering," said Toyin Adeyarju, Lawrence High School sophomore.
"We're trying to get young girls to think about engineering now so they aren't afraid to do it later," said Cindy Travinek, El Dorado senior and SWE president. "In high school, I was told that not too many women were in engineering."
SWE members also spoke with the girls about the engineering programs and degree choices.
More female engineers
Mary Plumb, director of the KU women's engineering program, said that contact with women students helped destroy the myth that women cannot do math and science.
"If they see women students that can relate to, then it makes engineering more achievable," she said. "It helps them understand that engineers aren't just nerds." During Friday's student program, math and science teachers attended seminars about gender equity in the classroom.
"Relationships are very important to young girls," she said. "Many girls feel they could jeopardize their relationship with friends and boys, so they don't take math and science."
Plumb said one reason that few girls decided to enter science programs was that they felt it was not socially acceptable to take those classes.
$ ^{C} $R. Herpish, a math teacher at Baldwin High School in Baldwin City, disagreed with Plumb.
"The upper-level classes at our school are predominantly girls," he said.
Plumb said if the women did not take those classes in high school, they could start out being behind in the engineering program. The idea of an additional year of classes could discourage them from continuing in the program, she said.
In addition to working with high school teachers and students, the women's engineering program and SWE encourage young girls to consider an engineering career.
Plumb said that many engineering students worked in the elementary schools, helping children with science projects.
The Lawrence school district does not have a specific science curriculum, she said.
SWE also volunteers with Girl Scout troops, helping them earn science-oriented badges such as engineering, Travinek said.
"Many young girls choose engineering because of some personal contact with someone who encouraged them," Plumb said.
Martin or Malcolm? African Americans take both sides
By Jennifer Freund Kansan staff writer
Malcolm X
Robert Vaughn, Chicago senior, said he supported Malcolm X.
"Martin was for turning the other cheek," Vaughn said.
Malcolm was for not turning the other cheek. I'm for not turning the other cheek. If someone violates me, I have the human right to violate them."
Harold Harris, Lawrence junior,
said that although he related more to
the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he thought more African Americans preferred Malcolm X.
"People don't want to be into passivity," he said. "They want to be into Black power."
A week after the 29th anniversary
Malcolm X was assassinated Feb. 21, 1965, and Martin Luther King was assassinated April 4, 1968.
of the assassination of Malcolm X and one month prior to the 26th anniversary of King's assassination, many still debate about which leader's message should lead the African-American community.
Harris said that despite popular sentiment, he still followed King's philosophy.
"I look at things from a Biblical standpoint of 'love thy neighbor," he said.
Harris said that he thought Malcolm's message exacerbated racial problems.
"Martin Luther King didn't want to fight," he said. "Fighting just eggs people on and causes more fights."
Martin Luther King
While many students think Malcolm's message is more popular, many African-American faculty still see King as the dominant leader.
John Tidwell, Langston Hughes visiting professor of English, said that King continued to dominate Malcolm in popular thought.
"King is acknowledged in ways that Malcolm never was," Tidwell said. "We don't have a holiday on Feb. 21, the anniversary of Malcolm's assassination."
Samuel Adams, associate professor of journalism, said that although many African Americans started to question King's tactics, he still remained a dominant leader.
"Black frustrations lead to questioning of the King tactics, which, to many, smacked of accommodation." Adams said. "Those who respond to that way of thinking fail to understand King's message. He was a revolutionary, not an accommodationist."
While King may have been viewed as an accommodationist, Malcolm was best known for his senatorial views.
Some African Americans think that this image of Malcolm may threaten whites.
"Any time the system is threatened, people feel threatened," Vaughn said. "But for the most part, educated white people will respect Malcolm for his role and position."
Sherwood Thompson, director of the Office of Minority Affairs, agreed that whites should not feel threatened by Malcolm X or any African American.
"No one's plotting to kill white people," he said. "It's not on our minds."
Charles Hargadine, Lawrence senior, said that he was not threatened by either Malcolm's or King's messages.
"I don't feel threatened by Malcolm X, but I relate more with Martin Luther King's message because I believe in his teachings of peace." Hargardine said.
But while others debate over the slain civil rights leaders, Thompson said, their messages may be outdated for the '90s.
"Today Blacks are more American in their profiles than in the '60s," he said. "Now when you look at Blacks in the '90s, most people see Americans that happen to be Black. In the '60s, you saw Blacks wanting to be Americans."
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