Agricultural science faculty members Dwayne Pavelock and Doug Ullrich traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas in February to participate in the Southern Region Agricultural Education Research Conference. The two presented a paper entitled, Student Demographics, Extracurricular Involvement and Safety Education of Students Participating in the 2003 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Agricultural Mechanics Project Show. Paper submissions were peer-reviewed and selected for presentation based on their quality and potential value to the fields of agriculture and agricultural education.

The paper included findings from research conducted by Pavelock, Ullrich, Billy Harrell and Joe Muller as part of a grant from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Results of the study revealed that an overwhelming percentage of students in the activity were white males. Surprisingly, over one-third indicated the FFA was the only extracurricular activity in which they participated. Regarding safety, more than 90% indicated they had taken a safety exam and received instruction in topics such as fire, ear/hearing, tool, chemical, greenhouse, and eye safety. Unfortunately, just over three-fourths had learned about electrical safety, and even lower percentages had received instruction on electrical and equipment safety. More than two out of five students indicated they were not required to wear eye protection in the agricultural mechanics laboratory, and almost four out of five were not required to wear ear/hearing protection.