Physics and Astronomy Club at SFSU

Minutes from the February 10, 2004 PAC meeting
Submitted by Leah Zimmerman

Welcome to all new and old members of PAC!

We'd like to remind you that we (usually) have quite a stock of cheap beverages and snacks for your refreshment, known lovingly as h-bar. (Note to officers: restock h-bar shelves).

We will be publishing a newsletter hopefully several times this semester (as long as people get me their articles stat!). If you have any subjects that you would like to hear more about, just let me know by responding to this email.

We will be updating the photo board of current students and professors shortly.

We would also like to announce that in our effort to be more organized, we have chosen dates for all the PAC meetings of the semester. So mark your calendars and show up to the PAC room (TH 115)

Thursday, March 11 at noon
Wednesday April 7 at noon
Thursday May 6 at 4:30

Treasurer's report from Dennis
We have about $9,430 (minus about 80 for the pizza). But we need to hold onto about $5,000 for next semester's lab manuals. (Note that this year's lab manual sales are going quite well!)

SPS--Society of Physics Students
This is a national club whose SF State chapter has been dormant, until now. So if you'd like to become a member (benefits include access to scholarships internships, Physics Today magazine) fill out an application form (only one page). Applications are on top of the mailboxes in TH 115. PAC will pay for your first year of membership fees because we like you! For more information (or to turn in your application) email DLamenti@stars.sfsu.edu

T-shirts
Okay people, this is really it! I know we've said it before, but we're really making t-shirts THIS SEMESTER! Hey, maybe you Demons can wear them at your next game (that's the intermural soccer team). Anyhow, we (being non-creative PAC officers) have yet to come up with our own design for the back so we're passing the duty to our happy members. Basically come up with a design, logo, phrase, photo, etc and bring it to the next PAC meeting (see dates above). And we will take a vote at the next PAC meeting.

Events
We are planning a trip to Chabot observatory on Fri. February 20th. Join us to admire our place in the cosmos. If the weather is poor we will still be able to check out all their exhibits. Cara and Louise will work out transportation.

Later on in the semester we will likely return to Chabot with the sole intention of checking out their exhibits.

Come take a group of middle school students to the Exploratorium. Help them understand these crazy science experiments and be rewarded with their smiles of understanding. More information will follow.

How many times have you calculated a rocket's speed given certain parameters? How many times have you actually fired a rocket? Well, here's your chance. Louise is planning to find a field on which you can fire her really cool rocket into outer space (or something a little closer). More information will follow.

How many times have you calculated the normal force of a racecar on a banked curve? Never? Well, I bet you still want to drive a racecar! Come go-carting with PAC! More information will follow.

!!Graduation party!!
The official commencement ceremony is Saturday 29 May. But PAC would like to throw you a party to celebrate your acheivement! Would you like to decide when and where this party is? what partiers will do for entertainment? Are you graduating? Email Cara at chenson@stars.sfsu.edu

We would like to put up a poster on the back of the PAC room to make it a little homier in there. So check out the options posted to the left of the front door as you walk in and make your vote. Keep the PAC room beautiful!

Demons: if you missed it, the Demons are an intermural soccer team consisting solely of physics students. We aren't just brains on legs. We kick soccer balls too! So come watch our games and support your team Monday nights. Practices are Fridays at 1:30 and Mondays at 5:30 (until games start).

We will also be having a book sorting party. Have you noticed all the anceint books that are sagging our poor bookshelves? We would like to go through all the books and donate the ones that are duplicates or outdated or just simply not applicable to PAC to make room for some new ones. Ideally we will get a set of books for each physics class offered for reference use in TH 115. If you come help sort, you get first dibs on the books that will be donated.

Gooooooo Gators!!

That ends the official PAC meeting notes. But I'd like to mention that the department wants to hold an informational meeting about the student vote coming up about the fee increase. Yes, that's right, students are being asked to vote for a fee increase. Learn more at the meeting: FEB 23 before the colloquium. Location to be announced. We will also likely discuss the TA union.