Team 116 at the White House

[dlavery]

Please forgive the somewhat formal tone in the rest of the post. We just finished writing up the visit report, and rather than re-write the whole adventure, I am just going to cut-and-paste this summary of what became a very exciting day for our team yesterday...



Outside the West Wing


As part of the celebration of the 37th anniversary of the Title IX legislation, the White House Council on Women and Girls held a roundtable discussion on Tuesday, June 23. Title IX was the portion of the Education Amendments of 1972 that guaranteed equal access to all educational programs for everyone, regardless of gender. This landmark legislation provided equal access to all educational resources for young women all across the country. The effects of Title IX, although most commonly connected with athletic programs, were felt in all aspects of education programs, including the STEM disciplines, career education, and access to scholarships.

Ten female students from FRC Team 116 (Epsilon Delta, Herndon High School and NASA Headquarters) were invited to participate in the event. The girls that attended were recognized by the panel as great examples of the effects of Title IX, and how it opened access to science and math education for young women.

In her opening comments, panelist Dr. Joyce Winterton, NASA Assistant Administrator for Education, highlighted the activities of Epsilon Delta as a competitive team activity that fully involved male and female students equitably, and provided all the positive benefits of both academics and teamwork. During the discussion, the team members were cited by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as role models for younger female students, and exemplars for student interest in science and technology. Billie Jean King referenced the efforts of the team as she described her love for math, which she discovered when she first analyzed the game of tennis in terms of geometry and basic physics. In summarizing her comments, the tennis champion shouted to the audience “Nerds rule!”

A copy of the formal White House press release for the event is attached below. The entire event was streamed live over the web from the White House web site.

Also, a personal note on how this all happened. The first that we heard about this opportunity was when I got a phone call at 4:45 last Friday afternoon, with the request to identify ten students that could be available to participate in the event. We had to provide the White House with identification of the participants for advance clearance purposes no later than Sunday evening. So we did not get a whole lot of advance notice on this, or much time to get the word out. Since school had just ended and summer vacations were already underway for lots of folks on the team, there were a lot of frantic phone calls to identify ten female team members that were still in town, available on Tuesday, and that we could reach. To the ten young ladies that quickly worked their schedules to be available and help, I thank you profusely. They were great representatives for the team, for Herndon High School, for NASA, for FIRST, and for young women across the country.


------ Forwarded Message


THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
__________________________________________________ _____________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2009

Valerie Jarrett and Education Secretary Arne Duncan Hold White House Roundtable on Title IX

Today, on the 37th anniversary of the enactment of Title IX, White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and an all-star line-up of women athletes and scientists will hold a roundtable discussion on that key legislation. Participants include Billie Jean King and Dominique Dawes, and 30 local high school aged girls will be in the audience along with several professional athletes and well-known Title IX advocates.

The roundtable will be streamed live on the web both at WhiteHouse.gov/live, and as part of an innovative Facebook application that allows users to both watch the live-stream and be part of an online chat about the roundtable simultaneously. The roundtable will be kept up to date during the event on the comments and questions coming in through the chat, which will take place at this address: http://apps.facebook.com/whitehouselive/. Non-facebook users can also submit their comments and questions at a special comment form that the White House will be monitoring during the event at the standard live-stream address: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/.

“Title IX represents a major advance not just for women, but for all Americans and for higher education,” said Jarrett, who serves as chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls. “I'm especially proud of our efforts to encourage women to pursue their aspirations in fields in which they have been historically underrepresented such as science and technology. The Obama Administration is working closely with all government agencies to understand how we can elevate issues related to girls in this country. Title IX is integral to that effort and that is why it is so fitting know that any girl can be ready to discover our next cure to cancer, win the next triathlon or become President of the United States.”

“The Administration continues striving to remove the obstacle of gender discrimination and increase access to college and careers for students,” said Secretary Duncan. “The White House Council on Women and Girls and many Title IX advocacy groups play an extremely important role in ensuring fairness and access to education. This work is absolutely critical for the success of our students and for the competitive future of our nation.”

Today’s event honors the work of Title IX advocates over the last four decades and demonstrates the Obama Administration’s commitment to Title IX. Title IX, is the landmark legislation that bans sex discrimination in schools, whether it be in academics or athletics. The law enacted on June 23, 1972 states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

------ End of Forwarded Message


Talking with Billie Jean King after the formal presentation



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[falconmaster]

Fantastic Dave! Fantastic!Keep up the great work!

[Jon236]

Great work Dave! It's nice to see a team get this sort of recognition at the highest level!

[waialua359]

Great job Dave!
I'll be visiting the White House myself on a tour early next week.

Glenn

[Mr MOE]

Awesome opportunity and great way to represent FIRST! Thanks to the young women on Team 116 for being great role models!

Congratulations!

[PaW]

Did Billie Jean King really say "Nerds rule!" ? I think that's awesome.

[Rich Kressly]

Wow. just ... wow. Many of you may know that Dave and I have become good friends through FIRST. Privately, I have mentioned to Dave more than once how selfless he has been with NASA and Washington-related FIRST events/opportunities over the years; most frequently coordinating efforts of many teams other than FRC 116 to be participants and be in the "spotlight" while he supported with great vigor and then took a step back. Because of Dave's tireless and selfless work along with that of his team over many years, I'm absolutely thrilled than 116 had this incredible opportunity to represent us all so exceedingly well.

Namaste, Dave. Namaste, ladies of 116.

Now, about the shortest one. I think she looks familiar...

[Andy Baker]

This is awesome. Congrats to team 116. Thank you for representing all of us in FIRST with your efforts.

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

[MissInformation]

An interesting side note to this is that a sports columnist from USA Today sat in front of our girls and talked to them a bit... it came out that one of our girls plays boys football at school and now she and the columnist are arranging a time and place for an interview...

These students are wonderful ambassadors for 116 and FIRST. Between the ten of them we have representatives from FRC/FTC/VEX... subgroups include mobility, End Effector, Chairman's, Animation, and Control hardware. They are some of the strongest builders on our team, not just of the robot but of the team itself and of our growing community network. And I could go on for the rest of these days bragging about them as a group and individually but instead I'll end with saying how proud I am to work with them and how happy I am to see them shine!

Heidi

p.s. Their generosity goes beyond robotics... five of these ladies were on my Relay for Life team this year and we raised over $4,000 for the American Cancer Society.

[Carol]

What a great opportunity. Great job to all who participated. And, to put in a personal note, it's also great that Title IX is being recognized as the success it is. For those who criticize the program as being discriminatory to males, just talk to a female who went to school before Title IX. I was just a little too old to benefit from Title IX, but my younger sister was just old enough to get the first benefits. There was a big, big difference in the opportunities and expectations for us.

I was of the group that was expected to sit on the sidelines and support the boys - not just in sports but in academics as well. My younger sister was urged to go out and do it all herself.

In high school I could play tennis, swim, or be a cheerleader. My sister also had the choice to play field hockey, basketball, softball, or track. I was encouraged to hang back in academic competitions to let the boys win. My sister was expected to go out and win the competitions.

Changes took longer to come about in the workplace, but that's a different story.