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Show .THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE* Friday, March 14,2008 Kids get up close with human brains Melissa Oveson STAFF WRITER The group of seventh graders squirmed and gasped as they watched Olena Filchakova hold out pieces of the human brain •for students to touch. Filchakova, a graduate student in neuroscience, then encouraged students to touch the spinal cord. One student shuddered as he asked, "Is that really inside of us?" . "Yes," Filchakbva said. . The student returned a disgusted look. The human brain was one of five exhibits U graduate students in neuroscience brought to Northwest Middle School on Monday as part of Brain Awareness Week. Supported by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, a nonprofit organization of neuroscientists, Brain Awareness Week is celebrated internationally to increase public aware- ness of the benefits and current progress in brain research. Each exhibit featured activities designed to help young adults learn the importance of keeping the brain healthy. One exhibit included numerous optical illusions which Rebecca Parker, a graduate student in neuroscience, shared with students. Parker helped students understand the science behind the illusions by teaching about shadows and points of reference. She also challenged students to taste the flavor of a jellybean with their noses plugged. Students laughed and tried to outsmart the rest as they guessed the flavor. "It's a lot of fun," said Rhandi Rawson, a graduate student in neuroscience. "Kids ask great questions." The exhibit will travel to different venues this week, including Juan Diego High School, Judge Memorial High School and the YWCA. Northwest Middle School was chosen because of an outgoing teacher, Niki Hack, who once worked as a researcher at the U. She joked about taking a major pay cut to pursue her passion for teaching. "Today has a bit of a dual purpose," Hack said. "I think it's great for students to meet young people involved in science." She described the graduate students as role models to help get students involved in science because some days she just feels too old for her seventh graders to relate to. "They will talk about this for weeks and weeks," Hack said. "It's kind of frightening that's the only thing they will remember you by, but it's fun." During the school visit, Rawson quizzed kids on different animals and brought a sheep brain and two mouse brains for observation. Her exhibit also included several models of different aspects of the human brain, including the cerebellum, which plays a part in the body's sense of balance; the olfactory for smell and an optic lobe for vision. In another exhibit, kids learned about the importance of being healthy and exercising. Three human brains were on display showing the negative effects that injuries and poor health have on the brain. Students were also shown the effects of continued drug use and were encouraged to avoid drugs. "We are not presenting it to scare them," said Andrea Schwager, a graduate student in neuroscience who was in charge of the exhibit. "We are giving them the scientific view to show them the effects." m.oveson@ chronicle.utah.edu MAEGAN BURRmtOaUyUtehChmnJdt U grad student Yelena Fikhakova shows students from North West Middle School the inside of a human brain as part of Brain Awareness Week. Filchakova and other neuroscience students traveled to high schools and elementary schools througout the week doing demonstrations about the brain. Cities hurt by creation Images reflect attitudes toward disabled of LDS 'sacred spaces' Jonathan Ng these received stories, remake them and recirculate them to make them new Images used in society and change them into difreflect the way a culture ferent kinds of stories. She views disability, said Rose- showed photographs of marie Garland-Thompson, conjoined twin slaves, a a professor of women's paraplegic Playboy model studies and English at Em- and a Barbie doll that uses ory University in Atlanta, a wheelchair. Georgia. She also showed how Garland-Thompson pre- people with disabilities sented a lecture Tuesday are used as inspiration, that encouraged commu- such as Bethany Hamilton, nity members and profes- a teenage surfer who lost sionals who attended to her left arm to a shark atview images of disability tack. in a different way. She is "Disability is a new way a visiting speaker for the about thinking about diffirst annual Disability ference, and we've talked a Studies Forum. lot in the university com"Images of people with munity about issues of disabilities are out in the gender, race and class," world. I read images for said Nadja Durbach, a histhe stories that are in tory professor at the U. them," Garland-Thompson "Now we're starting to said to the audience in the talk about disability, and Health Sciences Education I think it's a great way to think about how cultures Building. G a r l a n d - T h o m p s o n organize difference in soanalyzed how people take ciety. I think disability is STAFF WRITER Dan Treasure STAFF WRITER Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and developers can work together to construct a religiously and environmentally sound city space. But it hasn't been that way lately, said Tom Carter, a professor of architecture at the U. 1 Carter, along with several faculty members from universities around the state, discussed religion and the effect it has on development in the environment. The discussion, which took place Monday in the Union Theatre, also focused on the idea of why Mormonism and environmentalism are normally not associated together. U graduate student Bryan Wallis and George Handley, a humanities professor at Brigham Young University, presented research they have written on the subject. The panel, sponsored by the American West Center, focused on how early leaders of the LDS Church such as Brigham Young and Joseph Smith advocated for preserving the environment through proper city development and land management. . "As one watches the older grids of the plat of Zion give way to the curving streets, cul-de-sacs and gridlock of California-style urbanism, -one does have to ask 'What happened?"' said Lawrence Culver, an assistant history professor at Utah State University who was part of the discussion. Carter showed that one possible cause for the environmental disconnection in the LDS Church is the transformation of "sacred space." Carter explained that in early church history, there was an idea that a city of God, known as Zion, encompassed all the land in the earth. However, beginning after 1870, the LDS church began to create separate areas for "sacred spaces," such as temples outside the city. Beginning with the temple in St. George, the only truly sacred places were located upon hills and away from the cities, leaving the public to question the spiritual status of the city. "These new temples and the way they were placed outside of the towns worked symbolically to separate the sacred temple from the now increasingly de-sacrilized city," Carter said. "While the larger environment was rendered secular and subject to normative laws of capitalism." This separation worked against LDS environmental efforts and "sacrificed" the rest of the city for development needs. Tom Alexander, an environmental history professor at BYU, said in order to preserve the environment, the scientific and religious communities must agree with each other and use their resources to help recognize impending environmental problems. He said together, the secular and religious communities have and will be able to help in solving environmental problems such as global warming and finite resource management by making well-researched administrative decisions. d.treasure@ chronicle.utah.edu Politicians discuss gender gap Melissa Oveson in politics is simply in the numbers. In the US. Congress, 70 of 435 representatives an'd only 16 out of 100 Rep. Jennifer Seelig, D-Salt Lake, senators are women. remembers the moment she got "When you read numbers like ; into politics. that it just blows you away," Robles ;' ;A mentor encouraged her not to said. "If it's 2008 and we are still purchase Nestle" products because questioning if a woman can be presthere were concerns over the choc- ident, that's a problem." olate powder milk in the mix. Seelig Robles said she treats her own was worried that her favorite candy daughter like she could be president bars would affect the community, so and young women today should folwith encouragement from her par- low that mindset. Eliana White, legents, she wrote the company with islative chair for the Utah Health her concerns. Insurance Association, agreed and "I have always been encouraged gave women five simple steps to get to be fascinated, involved and con- involved, cerned about the community," See"First of all, vote," White said. lig said. "But voting is not enough because Seelig, who has a strong back- the person you voted for does not ground working with public issues know who you are." around Salt Lake City, was one of She continued by encouraging the four women who met to discuss the public tofindout who their represencritical role of gender in the politi- tatives are and then call them. White cal sphere. said that connection is important. Speaking to a packed room at White also noted the importance the Hinckley Institute of Politics of volunteering for the party of on Tuesday, the women told about your choice and of holding a caubarriers they have faced and en- cus meeting with members of the couraged all to become involved in neighborhood. politics. Finally, the panel urged young "I got involved because I felt we women to become involved in polineeded a change and it was some- tics despite any differences they bething that I could do," said Lohra lieve they have. Miller, Salt Lake County District "I'm going to make a lot of people Attorney. "I feel like we have made uncomfortable" Robles said of her some really positive changes." upcoming run for the State Senate, Luz Robles, who is director of Zi- "I'm female, Latina and young. But I ons Bank Business Resource Center reflect a changing population." and is running foWthe State Senate Seelig agreed. She noted that she representing District i, said one of the most important things to note See PANEL Page 4 STAFF WRJTER Man injured after fight at Field House A man was taken to the U Hospital in fair condition after members of two local soccer teams allegedly fought March 9. Officers from the U Police Department were dispatched to the Field House, where Eleazar Rodriguez, president of a soccer league, said a fight had erupted between two teams. Rodriguez told police that Mario Salcedo started fighting with Francisco Garcia Jr., a member of a rival team. According to a police report, referees jumped in and stopped the fight. When police arrived, Garcia Jr. and members of his team had fled the scene. Salcedo was transported to the U Hospital. kind of the wave of the future." Garland-Thompson presented a slide show that portrayed -stories about disability found within a variety of different images, including historical and modern images. The photographs showed examples of how people with disabilities were depicted through contemporary portraiture. She discussed how different techniques, such as posing in a different way, gave the subject of the portrait dignity, value and recognition. "Portraits are important to look at because they are public stories," GarlandThopmson said. "They are • made to be displayed in public, and they do a lot of important cultural work." During the lecture, Garland-Thompson also addressed eugenics. "Decisions are being made in reproductive technology and genetic engineering about who it is we want to be in the world, and those decisions primarily involve deciding that we don't want disabled people in the world," Garland-Thompson said. She cited the attempt to find the supposed gay gene as an example of eugenics and compared the desire for human diversity to how environmentalists try to maintain the diversity in non-human species. "It's a form of eugenic euthanasia," GarlandThompson said. "I think we should have a lot of ethical conversations about a kind of reductive set of assumptions about who we want to be in the world and what we're going to lose when we reduce human variation the way we're doing through reproductive technology." chronicle.utah.edu Andrade Dairy as 238 W. 4500 N. Delta Utah is requesting temporary n-orkers to plan!, cultivate and harvest hay. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Till soil and apply fertilizers, transplant, weed, thin andpnine crops. Also clean corrals. The time period we are requesting is from 0412512008 to 01/25/2009, Rate is $9.42 hr, 'A guarantees. Tools, supplies & equipment provided at no cost to worker. Transport to job site and housing will be pro vided without cost to workers who cannot reasonably return to their residence. Apply for thisjob or the nearest Utah Department of Workforce Services office using Job Listing Number 8619086. Ana Breton FOCUS AND SPORK PARTIES FACE FINES continued from Page 1 revealed to us." Murphy said that in the elections two years ago, the BLOC Party went to the Hinckley Institute of Politics to acquire a tax exemption fcode and saved $1,500 on their banners because of it. "We did not seek a tax number," he said. Members of the Elections Committee argued that the party should be held accountable. "I think you have to take some responsibility and not put it all on AlphaGraphics," Brandon Patterson, a member of the committee, told the Focus defense team. Reimherr and his vice-presidential candidate Jon Hayes were not present at the hearing. Party members said they were campaigning. Focus was also fined for exceeding allotted budgets for the president, senior class and some senate candidates. They accepted this grievance and will be fined $105, the amount they went over. The party was also fined $30 for not having receipts for some party supplies. The Spork Party was fined $20 for turning in its financial disclosures late and another $20 for being late on turning in their late fee. The party has already paid both fees. Spork was also fined for two Assembly candidates going over budget, and were charged $5.70 for each candidate. They also did not allocate their funds correctly to account for their fliers and must reallocate their funds. All fines and charges must be paid today by 9:30 a.m. r.mcconkie@chronicle.utah.edu m.mcfall@chronicle.utah.edu '.'.*ify The NCAA Tournament Is coming up. Salt Lake's Best Place to Root Against BYU COUTES! SPORTS GRILL .-." {. 3rd South and 4th West •. V : ' Downtown Salt Lake ; 7.; also in Sandy, Union Heights, Jordan Landing Layton, St. George and Logan ^; I- |