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Show 5 U T A H — S T A T E SM AN FRIDAY, APRIL 22,2005 4 Women engineers ban together to stay on track' BY DOAN NGUYEN Staff Writer Utah State University and the Society of Women Engineers helps female students stay ontrack within their engineering studies to achieve their dream professions. "SWE not only encourages women to take up engineering as a career option but also strives to retain the present students. We also participate in various girl scout activities," said Revathi Pepalla, this past school year's president of SWE and doctorate student studying biological engineering. USU has half the national average of women majoring in engineering. Associate Dean of the College of Engineering Wynn Walker said women comprise only 9 percent of the undergraduate engineering and technology enrollment. "I don't really know why engineering is such a male dominated profession," Walker said. "It would be a much better one if this were not the case." Walker hopes the university can improve the statistics of women studying to become engineers, but doing so will involve much effort exposing elementary and secondary age children to engineering, she said. "Engineering is a math-intensive discipline, but my experience of some 35 years leads me to think there just has to be more too it than math," Walker said. "All I know for certain is that I could not interest a single one of our six children in engineering because they all thought it was boring." Walker said her children ARTS It always surprises me how many students have never once attended a live performance. Julie Hollist, former Eccles Theatre marketing director behaving and dressing more appropriately. She praised Peterson for his efforts to expand appreciation for live performance. "It always surprises me how many students have never once attended a live performance " Hollist said. "I am so happy that he is exposing thousands of students to the wonder and inspiration of live performance." Peterson said, "My objective is to help students continue to make the arts part of what enriches their lives." To help reach his objective, Peterson teaches his students what is necessary to fully appreciate a performance. His emphasis is to educate his students that in order to get the most benefit, they must be aware of the proper etiquette and attire for attending a presentation. "Life is more than Tshirts and blue jeans," he said. Peterson states in his course syllabus, "if an event is worth attending, investing of both your time and money, then surely it is worth the effort of taking a few minutes to be certain that we are dressed Wynn Walker, associate dean seemed to like the idea of having an engineer's income and the lifestyle but "not enough to do it themselves." "I am very passionate about being an engineer," Pepalla said. "It requires you to be highly analytical. We are required to conceptualize a design, analyze how it should work and finally, bring the design concept to application of technology that is useful FN^INFFRS See Page 4 Steppin'itup From Page 7 them. Julie Hollist, former director of marketing for the Ellen Eccles Theatre and current director of the Cache Valley tourist council, said in the past, students would come dressed in sweats, ball caps, cut-off jeans and football jerseys. Students would talk on cell phones, send text messages, play games, put their feet on seats and even make out during performances. "This behavior changed the experience community members were having at the theatre " Hollist said. "Community members complained that the students behaved and dressed inappropriately and that they could no longer enjoy the experience as they had before." Hollist said with the combined efforts of Peterson, theater ushers and ticket office staff, students are more educated and are now "I don't really know why engineering is such a male-dominated profession." to society." SWE was founded in 1950 and is a not-for-profit educational and service organization, said the society's national Web site. The site, www.swe.org, describes SWE as the "driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in those aspirations and be recognized for their lifechanging contributions and achievements as engineers and leaders." USU s SWE chapter Web site at www.engineering.usu.edu/clubs/ swe/ said the group is committed to "encouraging women engineers to attain high levels of educational and professional appropriately." The wearing of hats, T-shirts, shorts andflip-flopsto a production is not allowed and will result in a student not receiving credit for attending the performance, he said. There has been considerable change with his students who, for the most part, adhere to the standards. The Cache Valley Center for the Arts committee has been very appreciative and complimentary about the attendance of university students, Peterson said, who is also president elect of the committee. One production students were able to attend this year for extra credit in Peterson's Creative Arts class was "The Scarlet Pimpernel." One of the leading performers in the musical, Laura Whitesides Wilson, was appreciative of the attendance of so many college students. The youthfiilness of the audience could be sensed from stage, she said. "Young people are just more reactive to what's happening " Wilson said. "They feed off each other and the performers feed off the crowd." Wilson said the way people behave and dress during a performance shows their respect for the performers. She said the substantial amount of time performers put into creating a production demands the respect from the audience. Response from students toward Petersons courses has been positive, Peterson said. An average of 500 students enroll in Art Symposium (USU 3330) per semester and at least that many students take the lower-division Creative Arts (USU 1330). Noah Riley, a junior in public relations, said he enjoys the Art Symposium and experiencing a variety of arts. "I like to think that I've always appreciated the arts, but now I'll be more inclined to go more frequently" he said. As a growing number of students have shown interest in the arts, many other professors and departments at USU are now taking advantage of the wide variety of arts presented in Cache Valley. Hollist said there are are a variety of professors who are now recommending that their students attend performances available through the Eccles Theatre, Caine Lyric Theatre, and USU theater, music and art departments. "I know some of the students resent it, but others are having their eyes opened to a lifetime of future fulfillment and enjoyment by experiencing live performance " Hollist said. -jhrash@,cc.usu.edu Briefs 4 'Shaping of a legacy' opens Wednesday Two "sister" exhibits, jointly titled "Maria Martinez: The Shaping of a Legacy," open to the public Wednesday, April 27, at Utah State University's Museum of Anthropology and in the lobby of Kent Concert Hall in the Chase Fine Arts Center, respectively. The endeavor is a cooperative effort between the Museum of Anthropology and the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, and is the culmination of a student project The exhibit in the Museum of Anthropology focuses on the role of Martinez's community (San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico) in her life and the importance of her legacy in the pueblo today. The Kent Concert Hall lobby exhibit venue highlights the ancient Puebloan roots of Martinez's pottery-making technique and her talent as one of the nations best known and most beloved indigenous ceramicists. The exhibits represent a full year's work by "Team Maria" - five remarkable Utah State undergraduate students, said faculty member and advisor Bonnie Pitblado. ' An opening ceremony begins at the Utah State Museum of Anthropology (Old Main Room 252) at 5 p.m., Wednesday, April 27, and concludes in the courtyard outside the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, where refreshments will be served and visitors will be directed to the Kent Concert Hall lobby to view the second exhibit. In case of rain, the grand opening will conclude in the Kent Concert Hall lobby. A shuttle will transport visitors between the two venues as needed, rain or shine. All press and members of the public are encouraged to attend this free event For more information, contact the Utah State Museum of Anthropology, 797-7545. The project was made possible by a grant from the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation and the Utah Humanities Council. Orchestra to play in KCH Sunday Jessica Alexnder/'jalexander@cc.usu.edu THE LADIES OF TODAY step to the beat at Psi Sigma Phi and Theta Nu Xi's step show Wednesday night in the TSC Ballroom. The event was titled "Back to the Basics." Many student clubs and organizations participate in the event each year. Groups from other parts of the state, including Ogden and Provo, also participated in the event this year. For full story see Page 5. CONSTRUCTION From Page 7 The Cache Chamber Orchestra completes its season with a spring concert 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Kent Concert Hall of the Chase Fine Arts Center at Utah State University. The concert is free and open to the public. The orchestra, an all-volunteer group, includes members from the Cache Valley community. The group is sponsored by the department of music at USU. Bernal directs the Utah State University Symphony Orchestra and is director of strings in the music department, working closely with the Fry Street Quartet. His international career includes conducting work in South America and Europe. In addition to his teaching and conducting activities, he has worked as a record producer. Professor selected as president of CRA Ryan Ta\bo\Jrtalbot@cc.usu.edu ROADWORK ON CURVES of U.S. Highway 89 is scheduled to begin this spring. and other surrounding areas during this time. "Our goal is to maintain one lane open in each direction for traffic," Neff said. "But there will need to be full closures of the canyon for rock blasting." The canyon closures for rock blasting will begin in late April and continue through September. Most of the closures will take place from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., excluding weekends and holidays when travel increases. There aren't any easy alternate routes for travelers, so UDOT plans to keep one lane of traffic open whenever possible, Neff said. However, there will still be delays until the construction is completed. Neff said UDOT is trying to let tourists and students know about this construction so they can plan ahead. A hotline with current updates will be available for the public at 1-866-644US89. People can also visit the UDOT Web site at www.udot.utah.gov/logancanyon that will have current information about the project. -speery@cc.usu.edu Construction Quick Facts • Most closures will be Monday Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. • Call 1-866-644-US89 for construction updates. •There will be closures for rock blasting, call for more time and dates. Ray Reutzel, Utah State University professor and director of the Emma Eccles Jones Center for Early Childhood Education, was elected president of the College Reading Association. Reutzel is the first CRA president elected from west of the Mississippi, He has been a member of the association for 20 years and has served on the board of directors and as editor of "Reading Research and Instruction," the association's nationally refereed journal. Reutzel holds the Emma Eccles Jones Endowed Chair at Utah State and is editor of "The Reading Teacher." He has received numerous awards, including the A.B. Herr Award for Outstanding Research and Publication Contributions to Reading Education from the CRA in 1999, the Outstanding Alumni Professional Achievement Award and Citation from Utah State in 1996 and the Excellence in Outstanding Service to Education from the Utah State Office of Education in 1995. Reutzel was also nominated for president of the CRA in 1991 and 2002. Reutzel received his bachelors degree in elementary education from the University of Wyoming, his master's degree in reading and elementary education from Utah State and his doctorate from the University of Wyoming in reading, language arts and elementary education. COMPILED BY STATESMAN STAFF |