The_Rambler_2000-02-10

              WWII Fighter Pilot Speaks to Farmingdale Students
By: Christopher Collora, Susan Carl, and
Jason Hunsicker
The room was silent as 40 aerospace
students listened intently to the World
War n veteran share his experience and
insights, as generations of pilots
crossed paths. Retired USAF Lt. Col.
Spann Watson, age 83, recently gave a
speech to the Farmingdale Aerospace
classes in Lupton Hall, Feb. 3. Lt. Col.
Watson served in the famed Tuskegee
Airmen He trained as a pilot at
Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and was
one of the first black pilots to fight an
air battle in World War II. The colonial
sported a red coat, which was symbolic
of his unit.
He shared some of his World War II
experiences and his post war career in
the Air Force In addition to being a
fighter pilot he also worked on communi
cation and radar systems after the war.
His love of aviation was sparked
by Charles Lindbergh's historic
flight. He grew up near an wr-port
and thought about
becoming a mechanic, but
then became a pilot like his
hero Charles Lindbergh
when the Tuskegee pilot
program was started.
Then he shifted gears
and spoke about his expe-riences
as an African
American in society.
Despite all of our advances,
racial tension still exists in
the world today. "Its got to
change" he said, "it's up to
generation to change it"
He also raise the issue of guns and
militias, warning students to be aware of
these groups and stay away from
§ them. In these cases, he said that
violence was the wrong solu-tion
to problems.
About his own life, he
said that "I've never been
rich, but I've never bera
poor... I can work with
all kinds of people I
don't hate anybody...
the good people in
America always give
you a hand, but the
moral people in America
seem to be in the back-ground
and are late com-ing."
He also spoke about the
role of women in modem socie-ty,
telling the men to "stop controlling
women", suggesting that a male orient-ed
power structure was unfair and hearts
women's chances of success and self
actualization. And he closed by telling
us to enjoy this time in our lives.
Overall his formula for success is
integrity, goals, accomplishment and
never giving up. At the conclusion of
the event. Professor Scala offered some
insights "A good definition for charac-ter"
he said "is who are you when no
one is looking " Stating that Mr. Watson
is a man of character and conviction. "In
order for evil to triumph in the world,
all good people have to do is
nothing"said Scala, "And Col .Watson is
passing a torch of character and knowl-edge
to your generation"^
He hopes that students will realize
their role in the world and society and
try to improve it.
Amelia Earhart Celebration at SUNY Farmingdale Aerospace
By Christopher Collora
Amelia Earhart was one of the pio-neers
of flight and an inspiration to
women and aviators alike. On January
22ed, ZONTA, an international service
organization, held an event at the
SUNY Farmingdale Aerospace Facility
in celebration of her life and career.
NASA Astronaut and Mission
Specialist, Dr Patricia Hilliard
Robertson was the main guest speaker
at this event (see interview page 4).
Some fifty members of the local
ZONTA group were in attendance
They enjoyed lunch, a presentation of
A&E's biography on Amelia Earhart,
and listened to several guest speakers.
Other speakers included Diana
Santiago of Women in Aviation
International, Mae Elaine Smith,
Governor of the NY/NJ Section of the
Ninety-Nines, and Jerry Kessler,
President of the Friends for L I's
Heritage also representing the Cradle of
Aviation Museum
Diana Santiago, representing Women
in Aviation International, gave a speech
on her experiences in aviation and the
state of women in aviation in general
This group was founded in 1990 and
encouraged women to enter aviation.
Out of 700,000 active pilots in the
United States, less then 6% are women
Women account for only 2.1% of
further information on the museum call
571-7606
Mae Elaine Smith, representing the
Ninety-Nines, spoke about the group and
its efforts to promote and encourage
women in aviation. The Ninety-Nines is
an international organization of women
pilots founded in 1929 Amelia Earhart
was a founding member and the first
president The group has about 65,000
members in 30 countries woridwide.
They also promote aviation in general by
offering educational workshops, holding
aerospace education events, and aviation
safety programs.
Finally, Dr Patricia Hilliard Robertson
was introduced as
a representative
of a "21st
Century avia-tor".
They rec-ognized
that
women were
reaching new
heights in avia-tion
with the
recent shuttle
Chris Collora interviews Astronaut Dr. Robertson mission to
include the first
female commander, Astronaut Eileen
Collins.
Dr. Robertson gave an interesting
speech and slide show on the astronaut
training Afterwards she answered ques-
540,000 aviation jobs the U.S. The orga-nization's
goal is to encourage more
women to peruse careers in Aviation.
Diana herself has a bachelor's degree in
Aeronautics from Doweling and works
with the College of Aeronautics.
^ It really was a well organ-ized
sequence of speakers
that built from the history
and diversity of aviation on
Long Island to the 21st
Century and the space age"-
Professor David Schlafman.
Jerry Kessler spoke on the Cradle of
Aviation Museum
in Mitchell
Field, Garden
City. The newly
renovated muse-um
will open in
the fall of 2000.
It will feature
over 65 air and
spacecraft built
or used on Long
Island In addi-tion,
there will
be an I-Max dome theater They also
have one of the three remaining Lunar
Excursion Modules made on Long Island
by Grumman (Coincidentally, one-third
of the engineers that built the LEM's
were SUNY Farmingdale Graduates). For tions and signed photographs
"Well, it really was a very well organ-ized
sequence of speakers that built from
the history and diversity of aviation on
Long Island to the 21 st Century and the
space age so it was quite a wonderful
thrill and she was the capstone... I hope
it's an inspiration to attract more female
students to aviation, because there are
only about 6% in the industry now, and
there's no reason that can't be 50%"
stated David Schlafman, SUNY
Farmingdale Aerospace professor, who
spoke about the Aviation program.
The group also recognized Dr Ivana
Milanovic, and Inge Van Roy who co-chaired
the celebration.
ZONTA International is a service-ori-ented
organization dedicated towards
advancing the status of women world-wide
and helping them realize their
potential It has about 36,000 members
and 1,100 clubs in 65 counties They
have worked with the U.N to help
women in third-worid countries They
are active in four key areas. Women and
Development, Women and Education,
Women in Leadership, and Women in
Global Policy. These four areas are sup-plemented
with scholarships, fund-rais-ers,
and their work with the U.N., con-tributing
to Unicef and Unifem. If you
want more information, visit their web-site
http://Kepler.poly edu/-«imilan01/zonta/A
Aerospace J^chnology: A Taste of
Tropical Paradise:
Culture of the Bahamas
trip review
Page 2
Your World, Your Future 2000:The State of
the Human Report
Page 13
Editorials:
What Motivates
Human Behavior?
Page 11
Interview with
an Astronaut
Page 4