In classrooms across Oklahoma, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic idea — it is already reality.
Educators face daily challenges keeping up with AI’s capabilities, constantly updating policies and ensuring the available technology is being utilized ethically and effectively.
AI technology is rapidly evolving with new tools and options being developed every day by some of the biggest names in the game, like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe and Meta.
Currently, there are software options that provide a wide array of resources, from those with generative capabilities like ChatGPT and Gemini, writing and grammar assistance like Grammarly or Microsoft Editor, and even audio transcription applications that read PDFs and text from books or notes aloud to users, like Speechify or Natural Reader.
Not all students are convinced that the aforementioned applications should be a first choice, and some urge that an unchecked reliance on AI could erode critical thinking skills and tarnish academic standards.
Senior Journalism and Media Production student and Media Intern at KCCU public radio station on campus Serenity Clark subscribes to
the latter.
“Much of our curriculum has been proven to work, educate and guarantee degrees through years of feedback-based research, trial and error and repeated examination,”
Clark said. “It is very much possible to complete your work without an AI like ChatGPT, and to do it well.
To me, it’s lazy and it’s a bit like cheating."
Clark said, "I think there’s an excitement because it’s newer technology and there’s a dire urge to want to use generative AI and things like that because it’s new and we’re consumptive creatures, but we’ve come a really long way without it.
Using it for tasks as simple as homework feels like regressing.”
Use Policy to aid school districts across the state with integrating AI responsibly, while addressing academic concerns surrounding integrity, equitable access and privacy.
Cameron University’s Student Code of Conduct does not contain any sections related to a specific AI policy or guidelines dictating acceptable standards of use.
These decisions are seemingly at the professor’s discretion, and most have provisions in their syllabi to outline their preferences on what level of AI assistance is permitted in their classroom.
Professors typically operate off the same guidelines they have implemented for plagiarism and cheating, but the ethical amount of AI assistance allowed to be incorporated in a classroom is still to be decided.
While AI has potential to be a powerful tool if used effectively, another facet
battle.
There is an abundance of seemingly AI generated graphic designs and promotional materials circulating around campus, and the idea of faculty and administrators relying on the software with talented students available all around them, is only reflecting them in poor light.
Clark thinks the use of AI by administrators and departments across campus is disheartening, especially to the art and media majors.
“We have students campus-wide with valuable skills and a desire to learn and be able to showcase those skills,” Clark said. “To overlook them in favor of a quick AI generated image feels extremely insulting, especially when you consider the environmental effect of AI tech and how so many of those generators use stolen art from real artists. AI has valuable applications in the real world I won’t deny, especially in the medical and computer science fields, but it has no place in art.”
She is not alone in that ideology, as students on campus have been voicing concerns about these recent practices and the hypocrisy involved.
Considering AI isn’t exactly encouraged by most professors and potentially prohibited by others, seeing it becoming the default in areas that have better solutions is
According to KTUL in Tulsa, the Oklahoma AI Education Summit, which took place in September 2025, provided a statewide survey that indicated nearly 8 out of every 10 Oklahoma students regularly use AI tools for assignments.
The summit leaders reportedly urged educators to embrace AI capabilities since students are already utilizing them, and the technology isn’t going away anytime soon.
Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) has a Model AI
of the problem is lack of training for these technologies. Most students lack adequate guidance on ethical AI usage nor how to maximize its educational benefits, and there hasn’t been much effort from Cameron to change that.
If the object is to master this technology and capitalize on its potential, Aggies are being left to learn for themselves and find their own way through this intelligence
discouraging.
Aggies aren’t just using their voices to object; they have begun to organize across campus with the passing of a recent Student Government Association resolution to display student art in the available spaces on campus, like the McMahon Centennial Complex.
Graphics by Jake Thomas
DR. SCRIVNER Graphic design professor
Steven Utter Staff Writer
Dr. Scott Scrivner, a self-taught Graphic Design professional, is the new professor of Graphic Design here at Cameron.
He has been working in the field of design for over 20 years, starting as a self-taught freelancer. Eventually he started a design studio with a group of friends and that led him into working directly for various agencies.
This semester, Scrivner is teaching Design 1, Graphic Design, and Computer Studio Lab courses.
Many of the students majoring in Graphic Design graduated in recent semesters, leaving only a few currently enrolled in the program.
Yet Scrivner has high hopes of expanding the Graphic Design program as many students in his Design 1 class have expressed their interest in joining.
“I mentioned Graphic Design on the first day,” Scrivner said, “Which I will continue to mention every day and there were a lot of people that were interested … So, I’m hoping, starting even this next semester, we will see a rise in our Graphic Design classes.”
Senior Fine Arts major Katia Skiffington has a concentration in Graphic Design and expressed great enthusiasm for the program.
“Coming from knowing literally nothing about Graphic Design,” Skiffington said, “I now have a very, very good idea and hands on experience.”
Scrivner is confident that his experience outside of the classroom can help provide Cameron Graphic Design students with a sense of growth in their abilities as well as a better understanding
of what they are stepping into once they graduate and move into the professional world.
“I really want to be a
to really have a great career ahead of you. So, I want to get as many students as possible, who are interested, into
voice on campus, wider than the art building,” Scrivner said. “If you are interested in Marketing, if you are interested in Digital Design, all of those things can lead together
the program.”
He also believes that, while deeply connected to art, Graphic Design is actually a separate field of study.
“For me and a lot of people in our industry,”
Scrivner said, “I think they understand art as a personal expression or even a telling of a narrative. Even if it is not your own narrative, you are expressing something to say in the world.
“Graphic Design is really more about, and uses a lot of the same visual tools, maybe, as a fine artist, but a Graphic Design artist is trying to solve problems through design. That can be something like organizing the New York City subway map in a way that makes it so much more easy to find the train you are jumping on and go without all the stress and confusion. Well graphic design can play a role in that.”
Scrivner said that Graphic Design is mostly about service to a client.
Scrivner said it is about what the clients need and is always different for each so he prides himself in people not knowing what work he has done, while still getting to work in plenty of his personal expression.
For more information on Graphic Design courses email Scrivner at sscrivne@cameron. edu.
“You are trying to understand what they actually need and have that conversation.” He said. “The more pointed it is, the more value you can bring as a designer. Ultimately, you’re asking how can I get more eyes on this or how can I get this message across in the most efficient or the most elaborate way. Whatever their audience needs.” He went on to say that while graphic design may have a bit of your own personality in it, graphic design is about creating something that the client needs and is always different. So, you are always adjusting style and preference to arrive at what the client needs.
TURNING POINT USA VIGIL
Amanda Purser Managing Editor
At 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 16, Cameron’s chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) held a memorial and vigil for members, students and the community, following the death of the organization’s founder, Charlie Kirk, on Sept. 10.
Initially formed in Spring 2025, Cameron’s TPUSA chapter received formal recognition this semester upon completing the necessary tasks of an official student organization by the university’s standards.
Faculty Advisor John Young explained that a different event was already being planned for this day and time, before the tragedy occurred.
“So originally it was just an outdoor cookout for TPUSA members, nothing more,” Young said, “but then with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, it obviously morphed into a vigil and what you see now.”
Cameron’s TPUSA chapter President Ruthie Hargrove said that they expected about 50 people to show up, but after the event’s details quickly spread around town, the attendance grew to an estimated 200 people who came out to pay their respects and gather.
Hargrove said that Turning Point’s fundamental values are focused on “free speech, limited government, helping people register to vote and getting the message out to where everybody is welcome.”
Hargrove gave a teary-eyed speech about her memories of Kirk and his work for TPUSA, along with her positive experiences on the two occasions she met Kirk, as she thanked the crowd for being there and supporting this cause.
Among the many Lawtonians and surrounding community members present, guest speaker Dusty Deevers (a Republican Oklahoma State Senator and pastor from Elgin) spoke to the crowd about Christian values and the lifestyle he believes his constituents should be prescribing to.
Chi Alpha President Michael Gonzalez attended
with fellow members to show support and partake in the fellowship.
Freshman Psychology major and Chi Alpha member Josephine Guglielmetti felt compelled to honor Kirk and enjoyed her experience at the vigil.
“Well, I feel like Charlie was a brother in Christ, and he deserved to be remembered and to be honored through what he believed in,” Guglielmetti said. “I think it was beautiful, I think everybody came here to support, and it’s truly remarkable.”
Cameron students from Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) shared in prayer and songs along with fellow Aggies from across campus.
Sophomore English major Rachel Nunn thought it was important to be there after she heard of the event.
“I’m a Christian and see the change that is happening with Turning Points around the country,” Nunn said. “Charlie Kirk was leading people to know Jesus, not just the political side.”
TPUSA Chapter Vice President Lance Wood gave the event’s closing remarks, thanking the Comanche County Republican Chair, and Senator Deevers for collaborating with their organization on the event along with many others who made the memorial successful on such short notice.
“I’d like to thank the Cameron University staff and security for being present and letting us use their resources,” Wood said, ”as well as other local and state officers out here today for the enhanced security, thank you.”
“I’d like to thank you all for
and mourning, and celebrating Charlie Kirk’s life,” Wood said. “As this service comes to an end, we encourage everybody to stay as long as they would like to hang out, continue eating, fellowship and to pray and or meditate for the families and lives directly affected by this event.
coming out here, and taking part in remembering,
Photos by Amanda Purser
Graphic by Scott Scrivner
Do men read?
The male readership epidemic
Julian Ebacher Staff Writer
“Young men don’t read after high school.”
This is one of the most accepted pieces of anecdotal wisdom in the current literary culture.
Women say men don’t read. Publishers say men don’t read. Men who don’t read, say men don’t read. Men who do read, say men don’t read. And I am here to burnish their wisdom with some of my own —I’ll bravely come out and say that men don’t read.
There are a thousand sources to back this up, but the most compelling is the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, run by the U.S. Census Bureau, which in 2022 presented a nineteen-point gender gap, with 46.9 percent of women reading a work of fiction in the previous year, compared to only 27.7 percent of men.
The existence of this gender gap is undisputable, and indeed undisputed. What is disputed, on the other hand, is why.
The obvious answer is that the rise of the internet as a universal and universally accessible phenomenon would naturally destroy any chemical incentive to read in general.
As shown above, more than half of women do not read, and with the focus of men as a market. As an extreme, predictable example, 38 and 31 percent of non-college and college men 21 or younger engaged in heavy gambling, over five times as likely as women.
This is not meant as some QED, but to be frank, it’s difficult to name a vice in which women lead men. Smoking, drinking, cannabis, gambling; all of this is, of course, expected. But even factors that seem universal lean toward male selfdestructive behavior — while internet addiction exists at similar rates across genders, it universally tends to be more severe among males.
The men themselves, by and large on the defensive, offer a somewhat cynical look at the whole matter — it’s the publishers’ faults. If one takes a look at the work published and publicized today, it’s no wonder that men don’t read. Of the New York Times bestsellers of 2024, far and away the most popular (and
the only ones to top the list for over a week) were Yarros’s “Fourth Wing,” “Hannah’s The Women,” and Hoover’s “It Ends With Us.”
These are all highly marketed toward women, particularly young women, because this is the market that does read. The sheer mass of published works means this isn’t quite a vicious cycle, but it does mean that the face of contemporary literature is overwhelmingly coded toward women.
In fact, almost all contemporary literature not written for Gen X men is written toward women. It’s understandable why this happens (if there’s no market for young male readers, then there is no use in writing for the sake of that market). The nostalgic age of scifi stories and male-centric fantasy is over.
But is it? The rise of Amazon as a grassrootsforming institution has led self-published material to be practical, meaning that the publishing industry can more or less be bypassed. In fact, that’s how Colleen Hoover, herself, began her meteoric rise (for better or for worse).
hope, is obvious.
having a devoted selection of readers who would be willing to read anything (anything) as long as it was in the genre they desired; it’s a builtin market for the self-
published author.
A while back, Andy Weir was the success story of the self-published movement, managing to capture, initially, incredibly online young men of all things. He marketed and published online on science fiction forums, one of the first successful examples of online literary marketing.
This only works if the audience is receptive to the work itself, and even twenty years ago most people didn’t see it that way. It was the type of American young male to go onto a science fiction forum.
That’s all only about why they don’t read contemporary fiction, though. Anecdotally, it’s very difficult to get boys to read in school regardless of material, which sort of means that this becomes a cultural issue.
The publication market being restructured around women can’t be the reason because men don’t
generally read the classics or even stereotypically “male” novels, like authors Dostoyevsky or Salinger.
What then in culture would emphasize the divide? Well, the right wing certainly has a thesis. The postliberals have begun to argue that schooling has become its modern incarnation, a primarily feminine institution, one that does not serve the boys as boys, but rather attempts to mold them into a feminine model.
The school system, in its drive towards conformity, “squashes” the “innate masculinity” of these boys. It presents a dampening effect on them. They are presumed to be naturally active, as opposed to the (also patriarchal) feminine ideal of engaging in quiet, studious behavior.
This is not a fringe belief, either — it is probably the most significant driver for neo-populist right wing pedagogy, and Wayne Martino and Michael Kehler write a wonderful journal article about it in Male Teachers and the ‘Boy Problem.’ Now, I’m sure the average reader of this sees why this is nonsense but it must not only be considered that this masculine behavior is similarly socialized, but that it is necessary regardless. Schools as institutions are more or less identical to the way they were a hundred years ago: if anything, they are less conformist–not just of alternate ideas in dress or, shall we
say classroom demographics, but in their ability to allow students to engage in traditionally masculine activities. Reading John Dewey’s work, particularly “Experience and Education,” indicates just how much “student masculinity” was repressed long before the alleged feminisation of the school system.
The second thesis is that male students have a tendency to socialize peers into collective anti-intellectualism. I find this similarly wanting, for one reason alone. This is true in a sense (I don’t think direct anti-intellectualism is the right word, it’s very much incidental), but it’s also entirely avoidable.
What it comes down to is that the abstract zeitgeist places a massive positive social benefit on reading—it is praised by just about everyone willing to stake a claim on the subject at all.
The problem with it is that it is not focused on a personal level. Reading is shown time after time to be a generational activity: parents who read develop children who read, and so on and so forth.
A culture in which reading among adults dies alongside the rise of the internet naturally leads to reading falling out of fashion.
Any cultural positivity about reading is reduced to a spectre trying to whisper encouragement, and it might remain substanceless. The postliberals’ diagnosis is to some degree correct! The (albeit socialized) femininity is what makes women trend as less outgoing, which in turn allows more opportunities to develop an individualized love of reading, not enforced through the institution itself.
A boy, when given the chance to read for no reward but a highly delayed appreciation and a cultural pat on the back will obviously choose the instantaneous reward of fifteen minutes playing with friends.
That external positivity is dwindling. It’s because of that feminine socialization that a subset of girls continues to read — that is not the natural outcome. And that in turn leads to a market centered around those girls, and shuts men out more and more.
The worst part, I think, like all the great social issues, is that nobody is at fault.
Memo from the Managing Editor ...
By Amanda Purser Managing Edior
The Cameron Collegian staff operates according to the Society of Professional Journalism (SPJ) code of ethics and makes a conscious effort to provide balanced and objective journalistic coverage that represents the campus community as
a whole.
We strive to adhere to the SPJ code to “seek truth and report it” in an effort to “boldly tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience.” In accordance with those efforts we “believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy.” As professional
journalists, we share a common responsibility to report on a variety of campus events.
Collegian journalists endeavor to put aside our personal bias when choosing what to cover and what content makes it into our publication. For more information about journalistic ethics and our professional guidelines, review the SPJ code of ethics at SPJ.org
Graphics by Ciera Terry
FINE ARTS DEPARTMENTS
ORGANIZE
Makayla Flenoury Voices Editor
At 9 a.m., Sept. 5, students from different fine art departments gathered in the Music Building, room 141, for the first Cameron Fine Arts Society meeting.
The Fine Arts Society is an aspiring student organization — formed by students — to unify the various art departments and battle against the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on campus.
Society members find the use of AI disrespectful, since students are more than capable of completing the same work without it. They believe the various departments deserve the chance to gain experience in what the students came to Cameron to learn.
Students majoring in music, art, theatre, graphic design, journalism, and even information technology (IT) gathered to discuss the importance of creating an organized space for the arts.
Collin Fallon, Music Education major and the President of the Fine Arts Society, is motivated to take action rather than passively wish for change.
“If we want to do anything around here or make this a better space for art students, then we have to be organized to do that,” Fallon said. “We shouldn’t be so splintered, we all have common goals, common interests.”
Fallon realized that students in one department may not know many students from other departments. He feels that every department is secluded in its own world when different departments should work together to maximize potential.
Fallon said that Cameron may not have been a student’s first choice, but that shouldn’t stop students from having similar experiences as those enrolled at larger universities.
During the meeting. students said they work just as hard and are just as talented as students from larger
universities. They said Cameron students want fun events and potential job experience to further their studies.
The Fine Arts Society wants to make that happen.
Fallon wants to make a lasting impact on campus. He wants the organization to continue to exist even after he has graduated.
The Fine Arts Society is still working toward becoming an official student organization on campus. The deadline to apply is in October, so they should become formally recognized next semester.
The Fine Arts Society is open to any student of any major. They are looking for officers to represent each fine arts department in addition to casual members.
If students are interested, scan the QR code on the Cameron Fine Arts Society flyer.
“I have known a lot of people who use it for everything. It’s like you come to school and that’s all they use. They’re not even trying their best. I have seen people use AI to write their whole paper and turn it in. I have seen them use it for their tests and answer all their questions ... So it can be very harmful because students are not learning like they should. They’re getting all of their answers from AI and not really put in their own thoughts.”
Jada Jeffrey, Junior - Major: Elementary Education
“I think it is so important that you can’t just say this technology is scary and it just shouldn’t exist. I think it is helpful. I think it helps people. It’s already made huge breakthroughs in the medical field. It’s already made huge breakthroughs in the tech field and those are only going to trickle down and help more.”
Trace Boggs, Senior - Major: Computer Science and Mathematics
THE HANDMAIDEN
A Tale of Twists and Turns
Amelia Lozano A&E Editor
This review contains spoilers for “The Handmaiden.”
Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden” is a lesson in good storytelling.
“The Handmaiden” is a 2016 historical thriller film. The film follows the Korean maid Nam Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri) who is working under the rich heiress Izumi Hideko (Kim Min-hee) in Japaneseoccupied Korea.
It is revealed that Sookhee is actually a thief who is trying to convince the rich heiress to marry her associate, a conman posing as the wealthy Count Fujiwara (Ha Jung-woo), so they can steal her fortune.
However, the maid falls in love with the heiress in the process of carrying out the conman’s scheme; the pair join together to carry out a plot of their own.
What I found most compelling about “The Handmaiden” were the many twists and turns within the plot.
The film is broken
down into three parts, with each part revealing a new twist to the original plans.
Although the film begins from the point of view of the maid, this perspective gradually shifts to that of the heiress and the conman to share their sides of the story, as well as their motivations in carrying out this grand scheme.
The acting within the film was incredible and deeply layered.
As the perspectives shift throughout the plot, new angles of the characters are discovered.
pornographic novels to rich audiences. Count Fujiwara, though a conman, is quick to realize that seduction is an impossible task with the heiress.
As the real scheme underlying the plot is revealed, we see the different faces that the characters are wearing.
I was surprised by how layered the characters felt; their pain and misfortunes felt real and whole, not one-note. Every twist was delightfully surprising but
“Last Night in Soho.”
The framing of shots in the film often make scenes more intense.
Characters often feel constrained to scenes due to the strategic framing of lines within the shot; for example, the hatched line pattern of doors behind Hideko during her reading scenes resemble the bars of a cage or prison cell.
The whole scene feels claustrophobic; every element of the setting makes Hideko feel small and trapped within the space.
Even other elements within these scenes — paintings behind her, bonsai trees framing the shot — dwarf her
communicates so much — and so very well — within its two-hour runtime.
LGBT movies are becoming more common nowadays, but after decades of censorship on all ends, there are somewhat archaic tropes that appeared over time.
Oftentimes, queer films end in one partner dying or leaving; many couples in queer films feature considerable age gaps, as in films like “Carol” or “A Single Man.”
While these tropes aren’t necessarily good or bad, they can be tiresome (especially the dead lover trope), so it’s extremely refreshing to see “The Handmaiden” subvert those expectations.
There is a limited selection of iconic queer films, especially lesbian films — and even fewer that allow the heroines to be together in the end.
“The Handmaiden” achieves something rare simply by letting their characters live and experience their love beyond the
After a very delightful viewing, I rate “The Handmaiden” at a full five out of five stars.
Attention readers! This semester “The Collegian” is giving a “thank you” to a special reader. For your chance to win a FREE gift basket, play along! Solve the crossword puzzle below and write down the letter in the gold box. Collect all 8 gold letters from the next issue’s puzzles to spell a secret word. That word is your entry into the drawing at the end of the semester! Combine the letters together and submit the 8-letter word to aggiecentral@cameron.edu with your phone number included. Stay tuned for our drawing at the end of the Fall 2025 semester, and thanks for playing! Gift basket includes: Cameron swag, gift cards, snacks and essentials.
THEME: TECHNOLOGY
ACROSS:
1. You have to ___ 2 Down before you can use it.
2. When you view a video in real time (e.g. over Zoom), you call it a live ___. 3. Megabyte, ___, terabyte.
4. If you have too many tabs open on your computer, you might need a second ___ to view two things at once.
5. If you want to do 1 Down, you have to know your ___. (Don’t share it with anyone!)
6. Competitive video games (i.e. Overwatch, Valorant).
DOWN:
7. The process of accessing a system. (AKA what you do three times to enter Blackboard.)
2. The programs used on a computer. It’s not hard, and you don’t actually wear it.
Something humorous shared over the internet.
A database is stored on a secure ___.
Jake Thomas Assistant Editor
The Robotics Club at Cameron University has recently made strides in outreach by participating in a robotics event at the Lawton Library for volunteer work. Library programs offer younger students a chance to understand the environment for robotics work and a good starting point for aspiring engineers or programmers.
Leading these Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs is coordinator Brooke Rooney for the library. Rooney is a teacher at the LRC, with a VEX robotics class that meets a few times a month. She also coaches the library’s own LEGO robotics league.
“So, today we did VEX robotics, and VEX is just the brand name,” Rooney said. “It’s a robotics brand geared towards eight to fourteen year olds ... but this company accommodates four year olds all the way through postgrad, really, all the way through university level robotics.”
The goal for Rooney is to make the VEX program casual and family oriented. It’s different from the library’s LEGO League, which is structured as a competitive team based event.
“We compete in FIRST LEGO League, so it’s sponsored by LEGO, but there are countless other large companies involved,” Rooney said. “There’s a building and coding element and then they’re on a robotic floor solving missions. Every year has a theme, so they have to research a real-world problem, come up with a solution and present it.”
Although this is the second year the city of Lawton has competed in the program, it is the library’s first time offering their own team.
“Lawton as a community is in its second year with LEGO robotics,” Rooney said. “The elementary and middle schools started it last year, and we decided here at the library to have a team as well, for homeschool students and kids not already on a school team.”
Given the success of the robotics events at the library, the growth has been substantial. It’s likely that with all the new advancements and additions, some help was needed. That’s where the Cameron Robotics Club came in, and Rooney couldn’t be more thankful for them.
“VEX went from about 12 kids to about 70 kids in one month,” Rooney said. “I truly don’t know what I would do without them. Each one of them has their own strength. One or two of them deal with parts, some of them talk with the kids and offer insight, and a couple are just there to make sure I don’t lose my mind. They’re a really great group of young adults, and I’m grateful for them.”
Sophomore Mechanical Engineering major and Robotics Club Activities Coordinator John Martinez has accompanied fellow club members as a regular volunteer at the Lawton Library.
“Since we originally contacted the library about the VEX robotics, I’ve been at every one,” Martinez said. “It’s mostly because I enjoy doing outreach for these programs. With engineering and robotics … that’s part of what we should be doing is outreach to the community.”
Cameron students primarily assist Rooney, helping sessions run efficiently.
“We’re assisting Brooke because it’s her class,” Martinez explained. “We just make sure it goes smoother, like today. When she was a little bit behind, we set it up for her, and
we were ready to go when she got here.”
Martinez said the two formats offer different challenges, but provide similar enrichment to new and younger students.
“VEX is more complicated to build, but LEGO is more complicated to accomplish the goals,” he said. “With LEGO robotics, it’s strictly programming. They build a little RC car-like robot, but it doesn’t have a controller. It’s one of those ‘hit go, and let it do its thing’ robots, and they have to program it to complete specific missions.”
From Martinez’s perspective, the Robotics Club offers an opportunity to experience his degree in a new light.
“Robotics Club gives you an idea of what things you can do with your degree,” he said. “It’s not just simply programming or little robotics kits. You actually have to think about it. I think it’s important to have hands-on experience and not just labs and classes.”
From the library’s perspective, the partnership with the robotics club has been helpful. Tanya Organ, the library’s Community Engagement Librarian, helps oversee programming alongside Rooney, and shares a similar sentiment.
“STEM events and initiatives are really popular right now within the community,”
Organ said. “It gives kids the opportunity to do something greater than what the schools can provide. To compete in LEGO League is a pretty costly adventure, so for us to be able to provide that for free to the community is always a good feeling.”
Organ said the collaboration with Cameron began when students reached out and offered their assistance.
“They saw it in our newsletter and said, ‘Hey, we’d like to volunteer,’” Organ said. “We were absolutely happy to have them. They’ve been very helpful to Brooke. I think it’s been a very good partnership, and we’re grateful they were interested.”
She also emphasized that this level of student involvement is new to the library.
“I believe this is the first time we’ve had Cameron students regularly involved on this scale,” she said. “Hopefully it will continue, and maybe students will get involved in other areas too.”
Organ explained that the Lawton Library has plenty to offer students in various areas.
“We have plenty of databases with study guides, job-seeking resources, and of course, we have e-books and audiobooks that can be helpful for classes,” she said. With library programs expanding and robotics establishing themselves as a proper club, both sides see the volunteer work as a win-win. Kids gain early exposure to engineering and problem-solving, while university students gain real-world leadership and technical skills.
For more information about the Robotics Club, attend one of their several meetings or social events located at the CETES makerspace.
