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Originally Posted by Hachiban VIII
I am confused... In what way does this promote you guys as hardworking?  I can see how it would raise money but how does it get people to join the club? What connection does it have to robotics?
All the same, it sounds fun 
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Ok, let me try to explain this.
418 is LASA Robotics. LASA is The Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy, a magnet school.
It is set down into LBJ High School, a public high school. We have 2 very different student populations under one roof. We do 2 recruiting events with the robots and information in the high school, one in fall and one in spring. The typical response to the robotics team from a number of students is: it's too hard, it's too much like school, it takes too much time, it's for geeks.
We came up with the car bash at Homecoming. It has nothing to do with robotics but it is sponsored by us. We think it is helping build a bridge of communication between the two populations and getting the word out that the team knows how to have fun as well as work hard, also trying to involve others in doing a fun event together.
The robotics team has a wonderful set-up: a metal shop, a wood shop, a computer lab. At the beginning of this fall, the computer lab was split in half and turned from one into two classrooms. The desks didn't fit so the team dismantled them and put them back together in different configurations. No internet until *someone* *cough* rigged something up in the ceiling....
The metal and wood shops are still in tact. This is where the team lives. They arrive early in the morning, come during lunch, stay after school if they can - don't get out much. It isolates the team, unless other students come by and stick their head in. That happens. We have basketball players stop by, the art teacher, the principal comes down. If you want your school to help support you with funding and promotion you have to be a part of the school. It is a little harder for LASA Robotics to do that but we try with things like the car bash. I've been pushing for a catapult for a couple of years but so far no one is listening. I think it would be cool to launch pumpkins.....
Hope this explains it better.
Jane