On 22 Jan 2002, at 15:27, Kenneth E. Harker wrote:
> And yet, less than two years ago, an article I wrote about the (long)
> history of contesting at the University of Texas (OK, so we're already
> licensed
> college students and not bright, rosy-cheeked 8-year-olds who may or may not
> ever get a license, but damn aren't they just so cute!) was outright rejected
> as being "of limited interest" (but later published in CQ Contest.)
> As a former president of a University radio club, I can tell you that
> President Haynie's agenda of getting "young people" into ham radio stops at
> the age of cuteness. Any issue related to college student hams gets the
> big yawn.
>
After Lurking through this entire discussion, Ken's Comment finally
made me respond, Because he hit the nail on the head when it
comes to ARRL's stance on Young Hams, Contester's in particular.
Before i start, Ive Been a Ham for 10 years now. Im a Current University
ARC Club President and have been for the last 3 years. Ive been
contesting for about as long and only got into HF and Contesting
because of my College Experience. See Sept 01' CQ Contest Mag
for more Bio on me.
Getting More people into Ham Radio, Younger people especially,
has got to be Priority #1. And by Younger i dont mean only lil billy
and mary at the local elementary school. High school and
Especially the Collegiate level has to be emphasized alot more
than is currently.
Ham's are getting old. I dont need to remind anyone of this . When
i go to a Florida Contest Group Meeting or a hamfest -It becomes
painfully clear what the average age of the people there is. If you
were to believe the life expectancy of the average male is about 75
years of age, Then in about the next quarter century, the majority
of current hams will no longer be with us. Whats the point of having
frequency's and fighting off CC&R's if there's only a few of us left to
continue Ham Raido on?
I speak from experience being a "young" ham - Contesting can be
a driving force in saving the hobby. Let me just give an example: Im
an avid Player of 1st person 3D shooters . One of my favourites is
called Counterstrike. At any given time of the evening - there may
be 50,000 or more people playing counterstrike, online, against
each other (Myself included). How many contesting hams are there
in this country? Hmmm.. Why do i play games like that? The
Competitive Aspects. Your average young adult plays these types
of games for their competitive value mostly. Racking up scores,
Playing again to better my score, How many different games can i
master, beating other live people in the world and not a computer...
What aspect of ham radio is this starting to sound like?
Similarities? You bet'cha
So establishing that. When was the last time anyone reading this
reached out to their local High School, or University ? For all of you
still near your old Alma Maters, When was the last time you went
back and leant a hand? I bet not alot. I know at my University, I
have almost no Alumni support. I have to run the club myself with
the help of the other student officers because if we dont, the club
ends. If everyone reading this reached out and helped or tried to
establish some kind of amateur radio club,project, etc at their local
school - i bet we wouldn't be having this problem today.
I can go to my Student Government (And do every year) and ask
for Several Thousand dollars in radio equipment. I get a yearly
budget. I get travel money to take the club members to Dayton
most every year. This is the power of the collegiate level. How many
elementary school kids can go up their principal and ask them for
new equipment and proper facilities? So why is the ARRL and
most everyone else going out of their way to alienate the collegiate
level - the place where you can attract and provide the most for your
members. The fact a group of college's had to establish the
collegiate championship separate of SS because of Policy shifts in
the ARRL (Without Input from the hams its affecting) sums up the
rifts best.
I have some more to say, But i'll leave that for another post. Sorry
for making this a tad long ;-)
73 all
Ulysses Rodriguez - NS4W (Ex: KD4RWN)
President - University Of Central Florida ARC (K4UCF)
Member: ARRL, FCG, WWYC # 77
ns4w@arrl.net
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