Dean's BAE Homework--political propaganda

[Petey]

For all of you who were at BAE GSR, you heard Dean's rather radical proposition for homework this year.

For those of you who didn't, Dean declined to specify the homework until Representative Bass spoke. He had said, however, that he wanted to see every high school in the country offer FIRST. Bass said, somewhat off the cuff, that he'd try to make New Hampshire be the first state to do that.

Dean, in response, asked each and every FIRST member to write a letter to each and every Congress member in their state and tell them about their positive experience and urge them to come to a competition. Obviously it's too late for this first week, but maybe it could happen for next year. Anyway, the important thing is that Dean also asked that he be personally CC'd on each one of these emails.

I'm starting to send mine out for New Hampshire.

For you NH FIRSTers, Judd Gregg can be emailed via a form here. John Sununu has a similar form here.

Charlie Bass makes it easy and gives an email address:
cbass@mail.house.gov

Does anyone know the actual addresses to Gregg and Sununu? It would be nice to email them and know that even if it gets filtered it's getting filtered by someone by hand and doesn't simply drop into a black hole.

And what about Dean? Best email I can find for him is contactdeka@dekaresearch.com, but that's specified on the website as something that doesn't go to him...can anyone else help out here with info?I want to send my emails tonight...let's start clogging inboxes! Politicians do have to listen to us...

--Petey

p.s. Can Brandon or someone sticky this (or their own explanation) on the front page? I figure it's Dean's homework...it's important....

p.p.s. Sent off the first message! Boy, will they soon be receiving a flood...

Good evening, Senator Gregg.

I expect this email to be not the first you will receive tonight from a member of FIRST Robotics (www.usfirst.org).

Today, you see, was the final day of the BAE-sponsored New Hampshire regional competition, and Dean Kamen used the occasion, as he always does, to assign each and every FIRSTer "homework." This homework, if completed, would spread the message of FIRST--that is, the message of the importance of science and technology and the need for gracious professionalism in all social dealings--through team members.

Well, this year, Dean and Rep. Bass bantered back and forth about the need to support programs like FIRST. And reasoning that there is something wrong about the ubiquity of, say, sports programs--that is, programs that, while physically entertaining, will not be career options for 99% of participants--when a realistically career-oriented program like FIRST is still only available at 1100 schools nationwide.

Dean urged us to email our Congressmen, and I thought it was a reasonable request. As politicians, it seems your duty is to serve the people, and I believe that the popularization of FIRST would be a great service indeed.

In high school--I am a college freshman at the College of William and Mary--I partook of many extracurricular activities. I played football. I was editor of the school newspaper. I played in a band, produced rock concerts for charity, wrote and directed skits during pep rallies, and acted in two plays.

But no activity meant more to me than FIRST Robotics. I am not an engineer: I've not the technical mental mastery needed for that sort of rigorous education. I wish I did, because I do believe that through science and technology we can solve a great many of the problems that still plague our planet and our people.

FIRST competitions, if you have never been, are amazing. The BAE one ended today, and it was a blast (as it always is). To see 53 teams of students--ranging in size from 6 members to 60--readying, playing, cheering, fixing, and replaying a robot that they made in six short weeks is truly a sight to behold.

So here is my request of you:

I know your time is valuable and scarce. But please, attend a FIRST regional at some point. Allow yourself to be impressed--for it is an impressive sight--by the dignity, the intelligence, and the work ethic of these amazing teenagers.

And then do the right thing, and help Dean's vision come true. Help make FIRST as ubiquitous as football. Help encourage American students to approach real problems and to seek practical solutions through science and technology.

This isn't about big government or small government. This is about showing up to some Regional events and speaking favorably about them. You're a politician, sir: the press follows you, and the press will report on FIRST. Push schools to pick it up and offer it. Maybe create incentive packages. Do whatever you can to provide these experiences to students, and rest comfortably in the knowledge that you have done something that will have a long lasting and incredibly beneficial affect on the youngsters of our nation.

The New Hampshire regional will be back next year at this same time. In the meantime, though, there will be a regional event at Aggannis Arena at B.U. in Boston on March 23rd-25th. It is the first regional in Boston history and promises to be a good one.

Best,

--Chris Peterson
Alum of Team 1073
Hollis/Brookline High School
Hollis, NH

p.s. I've provided some helpful links in case you need more information on the program.

www.usfirst.org: the official FIRST site, with resources for teams.
www.chiefdelphi.com: the "official unofficial" site for FIRST team members, with pictures, conversations, and discussions about the program. It also contains lists of post-season competitions, many of which take place in our area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRST_robotics: Wikipedia entry about FIRST

[psquared89]

It's a great idea, our team already does.

Check it out here: http://adambots.gotdns.com/cgi-bin/v...liticalLetters

[Petey]

Have any other teams started his homework yet?

--Petey

[WEHickok]

In January the Heroes Of Tomorrow (HOT) and Frog Force (Team 503) were invited to attend the Detroit International Auto Show. Dean was there as was Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. Dean made the same challenge to her--get FIRST in all Michigan high schools.
I think that Governor Granholm has accepted the challenge. She has met several times with FIRST people to discuss how to get FIRST in the rural schools. She will be attending the Great Lakes Regional this Friday to see firsthand how the competition works. She will meet with four teams to talk to them about how FIRST works for them. There will also be a FLL demo for her to see.
Dean has made these comments for several years, but he now seems to be shifting into high gear.
Our team works closely with State Senator Nancy Cassis. She has been a judge at the Official Michigan FLL Tournament for six years. She has invited our team to address the Senate Education Subcommittee and has allowed us, and Frog Force, to address the entire State Senate.

Keep working on the elected officials. They are looking for ways to encourage science and technology in the schools...and FIRST is a great answer. Write those letters. Set up meetings to go talk to them. Invite them to FIRST events. This is a great way to help FIRST grow.

[sw293]

New Jersey's 12th Congressional District (which includes Trenton, home to the NJ Regional) is represented by Rush Holt, former Assisstant Director at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Holt, who lives in Hopewell Township (also home to team 293) spends a lot of time in the district and in fact just today attended a local town hall meeting. Holt is also a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee and he convened the first "Einstein's Alley" conference with the goal of strengthening central NJ as a hotbed of science, technology and innovation in the 21st century. He would no doubt be more than willing to speak at a FIRST regional.

As I have mentioned earlier on these forums, it behooves winners of regional championships and chairmans awards to write their legislators (state or federal). Your legislator might congratulate your team on the floor of the state legislature or even the US House.

[Elite101]

This would be huge for spreading the FIRST Fever across the country. Furthermore, since it is now just FIRST and no longer US FIRST, maybe the time should be taken out to increase international teams. I know in the NJ Regional, the Vice Consolate of Brazil was there to watch one of the Brazilian teams be chosen for an alliance and end up becoming finalists. If we could just encourage members of the international community to come out and just watch for a day... see what happens and the excitement of a competition... I think it would really help. This would especially be true if they came out to Nationals, where you cannot not cheer or have some feeling of excitement while watching the competition.

[Andrew Blair]

This is a great thing; I just need to buckle down and write. But petey if you havn't mailed that yet, your wiki link is wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRST


But the letter does look good. A very good model.

[Petey]

Originally Posted by Andrew Blair

This is a great thing; I just need to buckle down and write. But petey if you havn't mailed that yet, your wiki link is wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRST

Crap.

Oh, well. As we've seen on /., plenty of politicians are familiar with Wiki and will probably know how to find it if they want to.

But the letter does look good. A very good model.

Thanks, sir...although I am a little disappointed Dean hasn't released some sort of blast about it that would actually inspire all students to do such a thing. Oh well. I bet all his time is taken up selecting his differentiated wardrobe...

--Petey

[MattK]

I think its almost impossible for every school in the country to have a FIRST team when even registration is $6k. There seems to be a major problem with this all... we are loosing companies that are potential FIRST Team sponsors- yet - FIRST is trying to gobble up as many High Schools as possible... the system is growing to fast, and will suffer the consequences at some point.

[Petey]

Agreed. The problem is not mentors, as Dean said. The problem is money.

FIRST needs to make it less expensive or convince the government or some giant corporation to subsidize programs.

But that won't happen as long as similarly expensive football, etc programs don't receive such funding beyond the local level.

--Petey

[Steve Howland]

I just sent mine - to those looking to contact your Sentors, here is a site that I found useful.
http://www.senate.com/stindex.html
It's a directory page - click on your state abbreviation and you will be given direct links to your senator's email adresses and websites. There is also an option to find the congressmen for your district but the site only allows you to contact your personal representative; not the whole state.

[Martinez]

I think this is a good idea. When President Bush spoke during the State of the Union about supporting programs that motivate young people into technology fields (yes I'm paraphrasing), I thought FIRST would be the perfect match. After my rookie year, I felt every school in the country should know what FIRST is and be involved at least in some way.

Sadly, my high school never had a FIRST team and may never get one. I learned about it in college and now am very glad I did. Every person here should be glad they have a Robotics team and can at least get involved at some level. Perhaps it is from my own experiences, but Dean's homework always touches me and have fallen for all the propaganda.

Yes, I could give up on FIRST. Yes, I could take the easy way out and join Chuck pernamently. However, these kids in Owego diserve a team of their own. Lockheed Martin Owego should not only know about it but be actively involved. Its what keeps me motivated, its what keeps me going.

So go out their and get new teams onboard! Go out their and get new sponsors! Talk to your congressmen and be part of the democratic process. Its ok to be active, its ok to be a lobbiest espeically if it is for the betterment of society!

/steps off his soapbox.
Sorry for the Rant. I just fell it should be said.

[KenWittlief]

I think a piece of important information is missing here.

We get government officials to attend events. Then what?

What exactly do we want state and federal government to DO to support FIRST?

We should have the best answer to this question. If we leave it up to them then who knows what their respose will be ?

[nuggetsyl]

Originally Posted by Petey

Agreed. The problem is not mentors, as Dean said. The problem is money.

FIRST needs to make it less expensive or convince the government or some giant corporation to subsidize programs.

But that won't happen as long as similarly expensive football, etc programs don't receive such funding beyond the local level.

--Petey

How much does you fooball team cost your school????? Yet they find money for that.

shaun

[sgeorge]

Originally Posted by nuggetsyl

How much does you fooball team cost your school????? Yet they find money for that.

shaun

Yes, they do find money for the sports teams and not for much else. That will not change. As long as we need to continue to beg from taxpayers and corporations for funding we continue to prove Dean wrong.
We don't have a shortage of mentors. We have a huge shortage of available funds.
We continue to see teams win regional events and not be able to afford to attend the championship. That is a lack of funds, not a lack of mentors.
FIRST is too expensive for the startup organization to sustain without a lot of outside money to help them along.

Just my 2 cents worth