4A / NEWS / MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN KANSAN.COM
CAMPUS
Howard Ting/KANSAN
Tyler Thompson, a junior from Emporia, demonstrates the phenomenon of Ferrofluid to the attendants of the KU Engineering Expo on Feb 20th. Ferrofluids are mixtures composed of nano-ferromagnetic suspended in an organic solvent, which under forms a sphere under the presence of a magnetic field.
Howard Ting/KANSAN
Expo introduces children to world of engineering
The Ferrofluid, derived from Latin for iron fluid, is a liquid which becomes strongly polarized in the presence of a magnetic field. The seemingly liquid substance forms a spherical arrangement under the influence of a magnetic field.
BY SAMANTHA FOSTER
sfoster@kansan.com
After months of preparation, KU engineering students from more than 20 student organizations finally saw their reward Saturday in the faces of more than 1,200 students from around the state.
The students gathered in Learned and Eaton halls Friday and Saturday for the annual two-day Engineering EXPO.
The expo is an opportunity for the University's engineering students to share their passion for science and discovery with elementary through high school-aged kids from Kansas schools. Displays ranged from a space shuttle simulator to a DNA extraction activity.
Emily Hrenchir, a freshman from Paola, helped with a couple of organizations' demonstrations during the expo in the biomedical and chemical engineering rooms. She said the kids seemed excited about
from corporations.
what they were learning from the displays and demonstrations.
"They get to learn things in a hands-on manner instead of learning it through textbooks." Hrench said.
Davidson said the expo costs between $10,000 and $11,000 each year. He said most of the money went toward projects, activities and demonstrations as well
Engineering
"They get to learn things in a hands-on manner instead of learning it through textbooks."
student organizations have been preparing their displays, demonstrations and design competitions for the expo for months.
Colin Davidson, a junior from Overland Park and co-coordinator of the expo, said the preparation started with the election of the event coordinators in the spring. Then the coordinators chose the theme and started seeking funding
EMILY HRENCHIR Expo volunteer
as the expense of renting the Lied Center for Friday's welcome address
Davidson said this year's theme, "Where in the World," was chosen to show the global nature of engineering.
"One thing we really wanted to highlight this year was the multicultural aspect of engineering and the international impact that engineering can have," Davidson said.
While many aspects of the expo were designed to entertain the kids, some organizations tried to convey some of the more serious social impacts engineering can have.
a Bolivia-themed room where kids learned about water filtration systems that are used in many Third World countries and eco-latrines like the ones KU students worked on in Bolivia.
Engineers Without Borders had
Sonny Hong, a junior from Garden City, said he hoped that kids saw the fun things they could do with science and that they would be motivated to make a difference.
"What I like about the expo is that it's about getting kids to open their minds," Hong said. "Usually they just see what's in the media, like sports figures and movie stars. Here they can see there are opportunities in science."
Stephanie Claar, a sophomore from Overland Park who volunteered with the Biomedical Engineering Society, said the kids who came through her room during the expo were excited about using microscopes to view their DNA and building DNA models.
"I think they like the interactive stuff they can do." Clear said.
— Edited by Ashley Montgomery
Yearbooks lose popularity
BY ZINIE CHEN SAMPSON
RICHMOND, Va. — For the first time since 1887, students at the University of Virginia won't have a hardcover memento of their college years. The school founded by Thomas Jefferson has become the latest college to decide there's no place for the traditional yearbook in the age of Facebook.
The student publishers of "Corks and Curls" decided to scrap this year's edition because they didn't have the money — an edition can cost more than $100,000.
The Charlottesville university joins schools such as Purdue, Mississippi State and Old Dominion that no longer
— or the student demand. Student apathy and the financial realities of publishing makes the chance of reviving it slim, editor Michelle Burch said.
publish yearbooks as more students share memories through social-networking Web sites.
"You have campuses now where students are less connected to the campus itself, and are not participating in the traditional types of activities," said Logan Aimone, executive director of Associated Collegiate Press, a Minneapolis-based organization that advises student media outlets.
See a video and photos of the expo on kansan.com
estimates about 1,000 colleges still publish yearbooks. Sullivan estimates that 15 years ago there were about 2,400.
"People are getting more accustomed to instant documentation, but what they're losing is permanent documentation."
College yearbooks started to fall out of favor during the 1970s as many students lost interest, said Edmund Sullivan, executive director of Columbia Scholastic Press Association, based at Columbia University. Now, yearbooks are losing ground again.
A survey conducted by yearbook publisher Jostens last year
The demise of "Corks and Curls" marks the end of a publication first issued in 1888 by fraternity members at what was then an all-male school. The publication's name harkened back to early traditions at the school. According to the university's Web site, a student who flubbed a question in class was said to have "corked." However, "if he answered with a grand flourish of pertinent information, he was said to have 'curled.'"
A Help "Corks and Curls" site has emerged on Facebook for those interested in reviving the yearbook. University history officer Alexander "Sandy" Gilliam said it's up to students, not school officials, to resurrect a printed yearbook.
INTERNATIONAL
Obama statue sparks controversy
BY ROD MCGUIRK
Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A statue of Barack Obama as a boy was placed late Sunday night at the Jakarta elementary school the U.S. president once attended, after its display in a public park prompted backlash in the Indonesia capital.
The re-placement of the bronze statue a week after it disappeared from public view was a low-key event officiated by the school's principal and three local education officials. Scores of proud students had been among the crowd of 500 watching when Jakarta's mayor unveiled the statue in the nearby park in December.
The likeness based on a childhood photograph shows a 10-year-old Obama smiling at a butterfly perched on his outstretched thumb.
School officials install the statue of U.S. President Barack Obama as a boy in Jakarta late Sunday night. It was originally displayed in a public park but backlash in the Indonesia capital prompted relocation.
Many Indonesians are proud of Obama's connections to Indonesia, but detractors of the statue's park display argued an Indonesia hero should be honored instead. A Facebook campaign attracted more than 50,000 supporters of the statue's removal, and court action was initiated to force it.
The late night schedule was aimed at finishing before almost 500 students arrive for school Monday, not an attempt to keep a low profile, said the main fundraiser for the statue, Ron Mullers. The statue's removal from the park also was done on a Sunday night.
Mullers accused them of politicizing a statue meant to inspire Indonesian children to follow their dreams.
"This is a statue of boy named Little Barry who went to this school; it's not President Obama," Mullers said.
Opponents had mixed feelings about the statue's new position at Menteng 1 Elementary School where it remains clearly visible from the street through a front gate.
Heru Nugroho, leader of the Facebook campaign to remove the
statue, he was "not happy" but declined to comment further.
Another opponent involved in the court action, Yenni Rosa Damayanti, said she was satisfied that the statue was no longer in a public park.
"We should not erect statues of other countries' presidents in public parks when so many of Indonesia's heroes are not immortalized," she said. She added that she didn't mind the new location because the school had history with Obama.
Central Jakarta Education Office head Zainal Soleman and Vice Principal Sollkhin, who goes by one name, helped three laborers set the statue in its wet concrete base.
Soleman said it was welcomed by the school. "It will inspire and motivate the children every day," he said.
Obama, whose America. mother married an Indonesian after divorcing his Kenyan father, went to school in the capital from 1967 to 1971.
GET INVOLVED
Major League Baseball: A Look From Both Sides of the Bargaining Table
Rob Mantfred, Executive Vice President, Labor Relations & Human Resources, Major League Baseball
Presented by The Kansas Sports & Entertainment Law Society
Steve Fahn  Special Counsel to the Major League Baseball Players Association
Monday, February 22nd
Green Ball, Room 104
4 - 5 pm
YES [Yoga + Empowerment
+ Service]
The Art Of Living Club
Balance, Focus, Leadership, Service,
Success, Friends
February 4th to 25th at ECM
Contact manas@ku.edu for more details!
785·979·3179
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