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Show 8 MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2014 THE SIGNPOST WWW.WSUSIGNPOST.COM NUAMES continued from front awards in robotics. It deals with community outreach and spreading science, technology, engineering and math ideas. In an effort to spread robotics opportunities, NUAMES has been visiting local elementary schools and offering them the resources to participate in Lego robotics competitions, NUAMES has invested in a few Lego robotics kits, each of which costs approximately $600. They are using these kits to compile a robot library, which allows local elementary schools to borrow the kits for a year. “We’ll try to help out teams that haven’t participated before,” Rudes said. This is the first official year NUAMES has been working on community outreach, although it usually takes three years of such activities for a school to receive the Chairman’s Award. A few NUAMES students began pilot testing the idea last year. “We got started doing it last year; we went to one elementary school last year. A couple of our students went over there every day,” Rudes added. One of these students, Jack Fernald, a junior, thought it was great seeing the elementary students try different things and suc- ceed, although it was difficult to be a teacher. “Being able to get the kids to figure out ideas on their own instead of just giving them answers is a challenge in and of itself,” Fernald said. To gather money to purchase the kits for the NUAMES robotics library, Rudes has been writing grants and organizing fundraisers. The NUAMES clubs do not necessarily act as mentors to the elementary students, but the school still likes to stay updated with their progress. Either Rudes or one of the other three NUAMES engineering teachers plan on going to each competition. “We’re really going to try to break it up between the four of us just because there’s so many,” Rudes told. Members of the robotics teams have been getting their younger siblings excited about robotics and coming to NUAMES, This could benefit NUAMES because many of the students who choose to participate in elementary robotics programs may eventually enroll at NUAMES, and will already be familiar with the process. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com EDUCATION continued from front Not every student participating in the simulation was given a certain disability. Some students were assigned to act as peer tutors. “If they need help, I’m here for them. I’m acting as their peer tutor,” said Rachel Henriod, as student participating in the simulation. “So long as they ask for help, I will give it to them.” Every student was given a certain disability. Some of the disabilities simulated for the students were impairments that confined them to a wheelchair. Like Violette, many students had to walk through the Shepherd Union without sight. Other students had hearing impairment and some students even got to experience what it was like to have deaf-blindness. “We wanted to give them an opportunity to experience having a disability, to raise awareness and empathy for those who have disabilities,” Jack Mayhew, a teacher in Weber State University’s special education department, said. “We wanted to do this to help the Future Educators Association and to get the students excited about becoming teachers.” Throughout the simulation, students had to conquer a number of simple, everyday acts that people without disabilities would never have to think too hard about. “I want to be able to help people (with disabilities) reach their highest potential,” Violette said. “Just like I’ve tried to.” Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com FIVE CRAZY HEADLINES BY MATT KUNES SIGNPOST COLUMNIST MONDAY, DECEMBER 1 2014 1 MCDONALD’S IN A CHURCH MIGHT JUST BE THE NEXT BIG THING Paul di Lucca, a creative director at the church branding agency Lux Dei Design, holds the future of churches in his hand. Lucca wants to create a church with an attached McDonald’s franchise. Lucca’s idea is being crowdfunded by Kickstarter. Out of the expected $1 million he needs to go forward with his plans, Lucca has raised $103. Backer prizes include T-shirts with the hashtag “#feast4jesus.” Source: The Stupid News Network 2 TOWN BANS WINNIE THE POOH FOR BEING HALF-NAKED While the cartoon bear was never the most upright moral guide, a Polish town banned the character for his inappropriate dress and “dubious sexuality.” Polish officials saw Pooh’s lack of pants as troubling, going so far as to label the character a “hermaphrodite” and criticizing Pooh’s creator, author A. A. Milne. Pooh was apparently adventuring in the Hundred-Acre Wood when the news broke and was unavailable to comment. Source: Oddity World News 3 CHINA BANS WORDPLAY IN ATTEMPT AT PUN CONTROL In a surprisingly Orwellian turn of events, China’s print and broadcast officials have officially outlawed the use of puns in radio and television. The Chinese language has a wealth of puns due to the large number of homophones in the language. Officials said the ban prevents misleading the public, especially children, and helps promote Chinese cultural heritage. Most officials probably didn’t think news jokes were very punny anyway. Source: The Guardian 4 JACKIE CHAN BLU-RAY DISC BOOSTS SOLAR PANEL EFFICIENCY BY A MASSIVE 22 PERCENT Researchers of clean energy at Northwestern University made a breakthrough discovery when they used the Blu-ray disc of the Jackie Chan film “Police Story 3: Supercop” as a solar panel. The recording medium on the disc was especially effective in trapping incoming light particles, or photons, increasing the efficiency of the solar panel by a shocking 22 percent. Researchers said any Blu-ray disc would work, though fans of Jackie Chan are doubtful. Source: Extreme Tech 5 HUMAN POOP-POWERED ROCKET MAY FLY MAN TO THE MOON IN THE FUTURE Researchers from the University of Florida have discovered a creative way to put astronaut waste to good use. Using solid human waste supplied by NASA, two graduate students at the university demonstrated a way to convert the waste into rocket fuel. This method could create about 290 liters of fuel per crew member, per week. The process can also convert waste into drinkable water and, in a pinch, breathable oxygen. Source: Tech Times See more crazy headlines, or comment on these at wsusignpost.com Alaska Summer Jobs E S AL D ILY IV A ED EE V I CE le RE ersa TO eb UP .ly/w N it SIG w.b ww US XL AT EXPERIENCE HOSPITALITY www.alaskatourjobs.com Start a New Adventure, in Alaska! Holland America Line and Princess Cruises are now hiring Driver Guides for summer 2015. Apply today and begin your Alaska journey! 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