The Quad was full of tents displaying student-made posters for Pi Day on March 14. The posters explained how math relates to students’ every day lives. The events started at noon when students presented their projects as part of an assignment for their math classes.
The highlight of the event was when 314 balloons were dropped from the various floors of the R Building at 12:45 p.m. The balloons were weighed down with red envelopes containing raffle tickets, money and small candies.
“I wanted to do something other than eating [pie] and memorizing pi to inspire students to learn about math,†said Pi Club adviser and math instructor Yu Chung Chang.
She organized the event as a way to bring students together through math. “Math is a universal language,†said Chang.
Chang had students find an interest of theirs then research the math behind it. The topics of the posters ranged from roller coasters and music to the technologies in Apple and GPS devices.
“Life is math and math is life,†says Chang. She wanted to help students learn how math affects everything.
The atmosphere was light as the PCC Jazz Band performed and the Honor’s Society’s Blast a Scholar event took place in the Quad. The performance and Blast a Scholar were separate from the Pi Day festivities, but shared the space and gathered a crowd.
“We had to make a poster. It had to be about math or science, because science relates back to math,†says Monique Keszek, undecided. Keszek’s poster displayed the concept of why humans have two eyes and how that affects depth perception.
Students from the science department also participated. Dan Guo, math instructor, explained that Pi Day was about more than numbers. “It is a way to connect the departments,†she said. Math and science students partnered with volunteers and clubs to put on the event.
According to Guo, the festivities were also attended by 60 students from Wilson Elementary School. They received a pizza lunch with pie as dessert.
[wppa type=”slideonly” album=”21″ align=”center”][/wppa]
- $15 million awarded to create Career Pathway programs - July 2, 2014
- Warped Tour thrives after 20 years of music - July 2, 2014
- Academic Senate shoots down Task Team proposal - December 3, 2013
