Author Archives: comm5775

Breaking Through Universals to Experience Variability

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Story by Spencer Peters

Malcolm Gladwell’s speech on the American pursuit to discover the perfect spaghetti sauce transcends the food industry but makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.
What message Gladwell argued for was not meant to revolve around spaghetti sauce and the specific flavor that we enjoy the most but was to express the movement from search for universals to the understanding of variability. He described this movement as “the great revolution in science of the last 10, 15 years.”
The person he accredited much credit to was to a psychophysicist named Howard Moskowitz, who helped people realize the true importance of horizontal segmentation. He helped people realize that everything exists on this horizontal plane.
He described this plane as having no hierarchy between the different types of spaghetti sauce or mustard offered in stores. There is no good or bad, perfect or imperfect. There are only different types of mustard or other foods that suit different types of people.
Through the use of variability, society can now rid itself of the preconceived notion of how things ought to be and experiment with finding happiness through the use of variety.
Gladwell described this theory as, “the Platonic dish,” where people were afraid to challenge what was thought to be the ideal way that something ought to be.  Being able to have a variety in everyday life can help find the greatest level of pleasure or happiness.

A Panel Debate Defines the Change in Journalism

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Story by Sarah Vaughn

Members of the panel at the Hinckley Institute Forum shared the stage in the Hinckley Caucus room at the University of Utah; discussing the issues of journalism and political reporting in the 21st century on Friday. Members of the panel were Matt Canham, a member of the Salt Lake Tribune’s Washington Bureau, where he has covered congress; Bush and Obama administration.  Also present was John Daley, a reporter for the Deseret News and KSL and a former social studies teacher. The final member of the panel was Susan Tolchin, a professor in the school of Public Policy at  George Mason University.
The panel discussed the state of political reporting and how it has significantly changed over the years.  Social media is the new concept that is being used as main source of communication, which has put damper on print media.
“ Traditional roles in new media has changed and has impacted journalism,” said Matt Canham.  He furthered discussed the lack of boundaries that is evident, between the media and personal lives of citizens. Tolchin sees political reporting in this era in a different light,
“ The state of political reporting is great,” said Tolchin. However, she discussed later on that the media reveals the horrible things of the government and some reporters are not checking the facts anymore.
“Loved the pointers they gave and made me want to read more print media. The panel motivated me in the selection in what I read and to be more informed about the government,” said Ashtin Miller, a political science student. The panel encouraged the audience to read more print media and get involved with the issues of journalism and politics.
People today rely more on social media to receive information and to express their thoughts on issues through sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. Kylee Mecham, a senior at the University of Utah said, “I want to read more newspapers and be more informed. I rely too much on social media and especially Facebook.”

John Daley spoke on the worst of times and the best of times of journalism. Daley explained to the audience that there are fewer people in the newsroom, fewer people to report on issues, and go deeper into stories. However, the best of journalism now is more resources are available to get information and we can get information out faster to the audience. “I found Daley’s points on the times of journalism interesting and I didn’t know that print media was struggling in that way,” said Laura Qualey, a University of Utah student.

The panel left the audience pondering about the revolution of print media and the impact that social media is currently having on society. An society should not abandon the old for the new because both can co-exist.

The Hinckley Institute was established in 1956 through the Noble foundation and Robert H. Hinckley. It serves as a teaching for students for practical politics and to engage university students in the political process.

A Unique View of Utah’s History

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Story by: L. Wylie Shepard

After six years in the making, the Natural History Museum of Utah has opened the Rio Tinto Center, an entirely new building that features ten permanent galleries dedicated to Utah’s history. On opening day, Nov. 18, 2011, admission was free for all museum visitors, allowing anyone to experience the new exhibitions.

Becky Menlove, the exhibit director for the Natural History Museum of Utah, explained that their goal was to “create very interdisciplinary exhibits.”

The creators did not want each exhibit to focus solely on one part of nature, but instead to combine multiple “forces” of nature such as rocks, plants, paleontology and hydrology in order to promote multifaceted learning within each exhibit.

The three-story center is focused around its ten galleries: Utah Sky and View Terrace, Native Voices, Life, Land, First Peoples, Lake Past Worlds, Utah Futures, Minerals and Our Backyard, which focus on “Utah’s history, artifacts and objects from every county in the state,” according to a museum press release.

The Rio Tinto Center utilized recycled resources for more than 25 percent of its overall structure and included “green” features such as radiant heating and cooling.  The Museum was also designed with room to expand to over the next 50 years.

Todd Schliemann, the design architect for the building, said he hoped to “symbolize the beauty and magnitude of the state’s unique landscapes.”

Schliemann said he was excited about the space he has created, stating that the “space is beginning to lift you up and getting you ready to learn, to receive information.”

The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and features four days in 2012 with free admission: Jan. 9, April 9, July 9 and Sept. 22.

911 Emergency Call Not Really Important?

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Story by Joape Pela

 

911 Emergency Call Not Really Important?
Salt Lake City- A woman called 911 early this morning at 2 a.m. about a young gentlemen who appeared to be beaten up and naked outside on the streets.
A woman called 911 early this morning at 2 a.m. about a young gentlemen who appeared to be beaten up and naked outside on the streets. The dispatcher sent out a squad car to check up on the 911 calls. The woman who called 911 witnessed the young looking male being molested by an adult male and flagged down a squad car to let the officer know what is going on. The officer clearly see’s the young man bleeding and beaten with his “boyfriend”. The officer figured it was ok let them go and didn’t take the woman’s name or her niece and daughters name as well for the report. The woman called back to ask to see why she wasn’t questioned about the boy who looked to be a miner. The officer assured her that he was an adult with his boyfriend. The woman was very skeptical about the police officers judgment. The “boyfriend” of the beaten young male turned out to be Jeffery Dahmer who later killed the young man who was 14 years of age. Dahmer confessed to 17 other murders and two police officer was suspended with pay.

Beyond the Call of Duty

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Two citizens help to apprehend suspects in attempted bank robbery

Story by Megan Combe

Two bank couriers are being hailed as heroes after they aided in the arrest of three suspects in a bank robbery. Dennis Boushie, of Festus, Mo., and Willie Moore, of St. Louis, Mo., went “beyond the call of duty,” said Capt. Ed Kemp of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. “They acted more like police officers than private citizens or bank couriers.”

According to the police report, a man entered the Boatman’s Bank of Pevely, Mo., and demanded, “Give me the money or else!” After the suspect took off with the cash in hand, Boushie and Moore decided to take action. Boushie chased the suspect on foot, while Moore hopped in a bank van to pursue the getaway car.

When later asked why he persued the suspects without a second thought, Boushie answered that it was “just common sense.”

Boushie then helped police identify the vehicle, which was found after a police dispatch was put out. The suspects were traveling northbound on I-55 when police pulled them over and searched the vehicle. Thousands of dollars were found in the suspect’s car, as well as stuffed down the pants of the female suspect, according to Capt. Kemp.

The three suspects are being held in jail at Pevely and have been booked on suspicion of drug possession.

Local Businesses Brace For Lockout Fallout

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Story by: Chris Springsteen

Local Downtown Salt Lake businesses and restaurants are struggling and it’s not just because of America’s economic problems.
The NBA will miss the first month and a half of the season because of the NBA lockout. The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has been settled but the question of the restaurants’ survival still remains. Downtown Salt Lake restaurants that usually flourish around this time of year are struggling to make ends meet. Because of this lockout some businesses have even had to reduce workloads because the lack of customers coming into their establishments.
As Susan Shrum, general manager at Thaifoon restaurant, puts it, “I employ 55 people. It impacts everybody from the prep crew to line cooks to waiters to bartenders.”
The NBA and the players association locked out the league on July 1, 2011. The league was locked out (much like the NFL) because the owners and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) couldn’t agree on a deal that both sides thought was fair.
The problem the two sides had agreeing on a deal was the BRI (Basketball Related Income). According to ESPN, the players had 57% of the share last year and the owners wanted them to take as low as 47% in the new deal.
Some of the small market owners (including the Jazz) claimed they were losing money every year and were operating in the red. The Salt Lake Tribune caught up with Greg Miller, current owner of the Jazz and son of first Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller, and he said, “(We) will lose quite a bit of money this season (when asked about it at the end of last year).”
The Utah Jazz is very important for downtown restaurants and bars to be successful in Salt Lake City. Most stores have substantial gains in customers and profit during winter compared to summer. This is directly related to Utah Jazz home games.
Jan Thompson, assistant general manager at Iggy’s Sports Grill, described what her restaurant will be losing from the month and a half long lockout, “We fill up every home game and that’s at all [five] of our locations. Downtown we get the pre- and postgame crowds and a few others who want to watch the games. All the other locations draw big crowds just to watch the Jazz.”
Brady Lambert, supervisor at Ben and Jerry’s, can’t emphasis enough how important the Jazz games are to them, “Our sales almost double on Jazz nights.”
Just recently though, the two sides reached an agreement that will put an end to the lockout on Dec. 9, 2011. This is a breaking development for Salt Lake businesses and will no doubt relieve some of the concerns they had going into a potentially dreary winter. But will this new agreement be able to save some of the failing Salt Lake businesses?
According to the Deseret News, probably but the lost time of November and most of December will no doubt take its toll on local businesses. Hopefully their won’t have to be any businesses or restaurants shut down because of this lost time. The good news is come that Christmas day in December the NBA schedule kicks off and businesses should see the crowds start piling up once again.

Salt Lake’s ‘Little Chocolatiers’ take many steps toward a successful business

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Story and slideshow by CARLY SZEMEREY

“I think there are some similarities with us and Steve Jobs,” Steve Hatch said in a phone interview. “We are both very picky about our businesses.”

Hatch, 41, is one of the owners and founders of Hatch Family Chocolates. Along with his wife Katie Masterson, 41, they are working hard to make their business successful.

After Masterson and Hatch were married, they knew they wanted to start a business at some point. However, these two didn’t know what kind of store they wanted. They weren’t sure if they wanted to open a coffee shop, a bakery or something else.

With a bit of background in chocolate-dipping, Hatch thought a chocolate factory might be a good option.

“My family dipped chocolates all their lives,” Hatch said. His grandmother dipped chocolates and taught his father, who then went on to continue this tradition for many years. He would do it as a hobby and give these chocolates to friends and neighbors. Then, after he retired he began selling his specialty treats at boutiques.

With this experience and tradition, Hatch and Masterson felt confident that this was the business they wanted to go into. So they got to work.

First, Hatch and Masterson searched for a suitable location. They toured several buildings before finding the right space to start their business. “It just fell into place,” Hatch said.

The next step was to prepare for the business aspect of the company since Masterson, who received her culinary degree at CHIC — Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago — had the baking side covered. Hatch enrolled in some business classes at Utah State University and the University of Utah to aid him in this preparation.

They opened their shop, Hatch Family Chocolates, on April 19, 2003. The shop at 390 E. 4th Ave. was small, because they didn’t know if their business was going to be successful.

To boost their business, Hatch and Masterson starred in their own TV series on TLC called the “Little Chocolatiers.”

The series followed Hatch and Masterson through their days at work and described the effort that is put into their products and creations.

After just 12 episodes the couple found themselves with a growing business.

“[The national coverage from TLC] absolutely helped,” Hatch said. “[It] brought in new faces from all over the country.”

With the boost in customers came an increase in sales, which led to some new complications. After four years their 4th Ave. location was beginning to become too cramped. The need for more space, combined with the fact that Hatch and Masterson didn’t own the building, led to their decision that it was time to move.

They began looking for another store, searching from Sugar House to Pioneer Park. The couple didn’t know what to do because they “loved the mom-and-pop shops in the big-city feeling” that the Avenues neighborhood offered them, Hatch said.

Fortunately for them, a grocery store located at 376 E. 8th Ave. was for sale. They felt that this was the perfect location, so they bought the property.

“It helped moving to a bigger shop but was also scary,” Hatch said. With the move came increasing costs, the process of starting all over again and a loss of customers. Moving caused some customers to think that Hatch Family Chocolates had gone out of business, since Hatch and Masterson relied only on word-of-mouth advertising.

“I was convinced that the store had just went out of business,” said Vickie Edmunds, a customer of Hatch Family Chocolates. “I was overjoyed when someone finally told me that they had just moved locations.”

Megan Murdock, a regular customer, said, “I prefer the new location. It’s a lot bigger, which is nice for loitering afterwards.”

Relocating allowed them to refocus their efforts on their business and continue dipping all of their products by hand every day. The freshness is now one of the main attractions of Hatch Family Chocolates and keeps customers coming back.

Not many shops hand dip or make their candy from scratch anymore, Hatch said, but that is exactly what Hatch and Masterson do and will continue to do.

“We want to keep the high quality of our [hand dipped] chocolate and products,” Hatch said. So changing to machinery is not in the cards at the moment.

Aside from their delicious and fresh products, the owners of Hatch Family Chocolates are also known for their great customer service.

“People walking into the doors are the most important thing,” Hatch said.

“My employees probably think that I am picky and strict because I can be in the middle of a personal conversation and if someone walks into the shop I will drop the conversation and turn all my attention to the customer,” he said.

This attention to service has worked well for Hatch and Masterson.

“The customer service there is great and I always feel well attended, especially when the owners are present,” said Murdock, who loves Hatch’s chocolate-dipped bananas with peanuts.

Hatch and Masterson are content with the current state of their business. The store is still evolving and things keep changing but, even so, they want to remain a local spot and do not want to lose the neighborhood feel.

They have recently incorporated an online store to their website and in the future they are considering bottling their caramel — one of the customers’ favorite treats at Hatch Family Chocolate — to be available for purchase.

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Brewvies manager, U professor weigh in on DABC fine

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Story and slideshow by JACOB W. MAXWELL

The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control fined Brewvies Cinema Pub, a locally owned and operated restaurant/movie theater in Salt Lake City, during the summer of 2011.

Andrew Murphy, the pub’s general manager, said Brewvies quietly paid a $1,627 fine for screening “The Hangover Part II,” a movie that the DABC thought violated a section of the Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Act.

This was Brewvies’ first DABC violation since opening its doors in 1997.

Murphy, speaking for the first time about the fine, the law and how they have affected the theater, said Brewvies attracts a variety of customers.

“You don’t have to partake in alcohol to come. So we get LDS people that come in to enjoy a nice meal and a movie. That’s kinda the beauty of the place,” he said.

Murphy said Brewvies screens popular PG, PG-13, R- and G-rated films based upon what the owners think their clientele, 21 years and older, wants.

He said many Brewvies patrons and concerned citizens were outraged to hear about the fine. “We’ve had tons of support. We made national news and have had people writing in from all over the country. Mostly curious because they don’t understand why Brewvies was fined and they think that the issue was deeper than it really is,” Murphy said.

He said many people also questioned why the DABC sent undercover Utah Highway Patrol officers into Brewvies to watch the film at the taxpayers’ expense.

Why was Brewvies fined for showing a summer blockbuster that simultaneously premiered with other local theatres?

Francine Giani, interim director of the DABC, said in a letter that Brewvies was fined because “The Hangover Part II” ran afoul of a Utah law “prohibiting films or pictures depicting sex acts on premises that sell alcohol.”

Giani said Utah’s law is modeled after a similar law in California that was upheld in a 1972 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The only case seen before the Supreme Court regarding sexually oriented entertainment during the time period was Miller v. California (1973), in which a business owner conducted a mass-mail campaign to advertise pornographic material.

In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state and held that material considered obscene was not protected by the First Amendment. The court developed the Miller Test, a legal standard where four qualifications have to be met in order for speech to be considered obscene.

David Vergobbi, an associate professor in the University of Utah’s Department of Communication, said he hasn’t seen the movie, but he doesn’t believe the film depicts sex acts in the same manner that the Miller obscenity test would apply to.

There are parts of “The Hangover Part II” that depict full frontal male nudity. During the end credits of the movie, the character portrayed by Ed Helms is seen having sex with a transsexual.

“If [Giani] is indeed referring to Miller v. California, the Miller obscenity test, it’s moot anyhow because the film isn’t rated obscene,” Vergobbi said. “The R-rating is nowhere near reaching the level of obscene speech and indecent speech is protected under the First Amendment. Obscene speech is not.”

The DABC has the ability to financially force Brewvies to censor movies that violate the section concerning films in the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, despite the content being protected under the First Amendment.

The act allows the DABC to regulate the content of any film depicting the act or simulated acts of sexual intercourse, masturbation, oral copulation, whipping, etc. in an establishment that serves alcohol. Also, if characters in a film fondle or show their genitals, breasts or anus, it is in violation of the law.

After reading the act, Vergobbi said, “Heck, this [law] could cover almost anything,” in reference to what Brewvies is legally allowed to screen.

Vergobbi received a Ph.D. in Mass Communication Law, Ethics and History. He teaches U students about media ethics and mass communication law.

He said the DABC could make a claim that they are only carrying out the law as written. The problem Vergobbi sees is that Brewvies would have to sue the department that holds its liquor license in order to get the law changed. But, he said this scenario could prevent Brewvies from taking legal action.

Brewvies has thought about fighting back but Murphy said the cinema pub doesn’t have the money to do so.

“It’s a considerable amount of money to get the proper lawyer and paperwork filed. And what would it really gain us?” he said. “The law could get changed or we could get back our fine.”

Vergobbi believes the law could be challenged on vagueness and over-breadth, which is the standard test for whether a statute is constitutional.

“I’m sure they were referring to pornographic films,” Vergobbi said regarding why the law was written. “But by just saying ‘showing a film’ it opens it up for this kind of application.”

Giani said Brewvies, upon receiving its alcohol license, was cautioned by a licensing and compliance officer about the law and urged to prescreen movies to avoid any possibility of a violation.

Brewvies had the opportunity to screen “The Hangover Part II” because other Warner Bros. films like “Super Bad” and “Knocked Up” had done well at the theater. The owners had to agree to premier the film before they knew about the content. And to Murphy’s knowledge, the film wasn’t prescreened in Utah.

“We were selling out shows to the first ‘Hangover’ six weeks into the run, which gave us the opportunity to premier more films,” Murphy said.

In the 14 years since Brewvies has been open, it has only premiered a small handful of films.

Murphy said Brewvies has always taken every precaution to not violate DABC regulations, Utah State laws and Salt Lake City and County mandates. Yet he is not sure where to draw the line as far as what films the theater can screen in the future.

“Film is art and as soon as you start regulating what people can put in their art then you are really having a heavy hand on the culture,” Murphy said.

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Park City’s Eating Establishment shares its secret to success

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Story by LAUREN DEANE
Photos by LAUREN DEANE, JULI SALMI, MIRANDA BLAKE AND JORDANNA CHRIS

Juli Salmi, the head manager at the Eating Establishment (EE) in Park City, outlined three essential ingredients for a successful restaurant: great people, a working system and delicious food.

The EE was opened in 1972 and is the oldest full-service restaurant in Park City, Utah. In 2011, it was awarded the achievement of No. 2 best breakfast restaurant in Park City by tasteofparkcity.com.  It was also shown on the Rachael Ray Show, Rachael’s Vacation, on the Food Network Channel and was listed as a local’s favorite by skitownresaurants.com.

According to Salmi, the first vital ingredient for a successful restaurant is to hire hardworking people focused on communication. One of the most indispensable personalities of a restaurant is the owner. The owner has a huge part to play in the success of his or her company.

Salmi said part of the reason why the EE is so successful is because of the effort and heart the owner, Rick Sine, brings to his restaurant.

“He is constantly in and out of the restaurant. He feels it is incredibly important, as the owner, to be around the restaurant daily,” Salmi said. “He works multiple shifts a week as the host and is involved in everything the restaurant does. When he isn’t working he is constantly coming in just to chat with the staff, say hello, thank loyal customers and see if there is anything he can do to help during busy hours.”

Another key personality to any restaurant is in the management position. The EE has two main managers, Salmi and the kitchen manager, Craig Wells. One of the reasons why Salmi and Wells are an effective partnership is because they are in relationship; they have been working side-by-side at the EE and dating for the past seven years.

“We met at the Eating Establishment and soon after started dating. We are both into outdoor sports and started climbing the ranks professionally together,” Salmi said. “He went from the sous chef position, to the head chef and finally the kitchen manager. I went from a waitress, to a manager, to the head manager.”

Miranda Blake, who has been a waitress at the EE for the past six years, said, “We call them ‘the power couple.’ We all know that a lot of the success that has come to the restaurant is because of these two and their integrated work dynamic.”

Salmi appreciates her ability to communicate so easily with Wells. “We always bounce ideas of each other by talking about problems with our staff, the shipping [arrivals and issues] and anything else. It’s easy to communicate with the other manager when you live together,” she said with a laugh.

A successful restaurant also needs great employees in other roles, such as servers and dishwashers. Salmi said that the right employees will create a stable and successful restaurant.

Elizabeth Twilline has worked in the restaurant industry her entire life and has been at the Eating Establishment for the past 10 years. “One thing that I see in the EE that isn’t in other restaurants is the front of the house — the employees that interact with the customers — and the back of the house —the employees that do not interact with the customers — work incredibly together,” she said. “In some of my other waitressing experiences, the kitchen won’t talk to the servers and vice versa. This never creates a good work environment and it also makes it virtually impossible to make customers happy.”

Blake added, “The experience I have had here with the kitchen is completely different than anything else I have ever experienced. We yell, laugh, talk and work with each other.”

The average amount of years that an employee stays at the EE is in double figures, 10 years. Salmi said this statistic is practically unheard of in the restaurant industry. The EE is keeping employees so long they created a retirement program for its employees.

Salmi’s second necessity for a successful restaurant is a working system.

The system at the EE is different from most other restaurants, Wells explained. He said most restaurant systems function by having the kitchen do all the food-related work and the servers do all the customer-support chores. The EE’s system has some of those components with a “special twist.”

At the Eating Establishment, servers prepare items for customers that don’t need to be cooked, such as oatmeal, granola and fruit. Servers also “dress” dishes — they add hollandaise sauce to the eggs benedict and slices of lemon to create balance — before taking plates to customers.

“The kitchen is not responsible for making the food pretty, they make it delicious. The waitresses are in charge of the beauty in a dish,” Blake said.

Wells said it is an exhausting cycle for the servers, but it helps make them in charge of all the services they provide the customer. It also makes sure the kitchen staff is focused on the most important part of their job, the taste and quality of the food they are preparing.

Finally, Salmi believes that a perfect restaurant must have great food.

“The service and the system might be perfect but the most important part is what the public puts into their mouth,” Salmi said. “You need to make sure your food is undeniably the best thing they have ever tasted.”

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Salt Lake Valley schools and shops adapt to changes in the photo industry

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Story and slideshow by RIKKI ALLIE

Digital photography has taken the photo scene by storm and is changing the dynamic of both classrooms and photo shops in the Salt Lake City Valley.

Frank Langheinrich, East High School film photography teacher, talked about how the increase in digital photography has changed the dynamic of his classroom.

Students are coming in to his classes without the knowledge of how to use simple point-and-shoot cameras. Students do not know how to adjust the outcome of a picture from a point-and-shoot, including how to change the shutter-speed for action shots.

Langheinrich learned photography during family road trips. His dad would take him and his brother on weekend trips and would stop the car when he saw a good photo subject. Langheinrich would get tired of sitting in the back seat with his brother, so his dad bought him a small 35mm camera and showed him how to use it.

Langheinrich said he chooses to still teach analog photography because photo galleries prefer silver gelatin prints. They are more archival and last many years. Digital photography can be printed but the ink used is not proven to last for many years; it fades easily and can be smeared.

But it is so expensive to operate the film lab because of  the chemicals used for both developing film and printing the pictures, the school district is remodeling East High photo lab to have more computers. The photo lab would only have three to four enlargers — a projector used to enlarge a negative onto photographic paper — instead of the eight to 10 that the school has now.

According to National Geographic, photography dates back to the early 1800s. The first known photograph was taken with an obscura camera. This camera is different than a 35mm camera because instead of a negative film strip there is a piece of photo paper behind a covered pinhole. When the hole is uncovered the light is let into the box and a picture is imprinted on the photo paper. Once the photo paper is developed in chemicals a picture is revealed.

The first camera was released in 1888. The camera had a strip of film that could take 100 pictures. When a roll of film was full with pictures, photographers would send the entire camera and the film to be developed, according the website. Once the pictures were developed, the camera, along with a whole new roll of film, would be delivered back to the camera owner.

The 35mm camera was developed in 1913-1914. The camera gets its name from its reduced film size. Photographers would then enlarge the photo once the negatives were developed, according to National Geographic.

The first digital camera came out in the mid-1970s once Kodak scientists invented the world’s first megapixel sensor. This meant that light could be converted to digital photography, according to the website.

With all this advancement it isn’t surprising that people are starting to depend on the preprogrammed settings to take care of the technical part of the photo. This includes both the shutter speed and lighting.

Genna Boss-Barney, a student at Salt Lake Community College, took an introduction to photography class in spring of 2011. She said the class covered the basic information about both film and digital photography.

Once the class was over she realized she had known nothing about her digital camera. She hadn’t even known how to change the settings on her camera to make the pictures look better before it was taken.

“We learned about how to work the controls [aperture and shutter speed] on both cameras,” Boss-Barney said.

Unlike East High, which is being remodeled for a smaller wet lab — the workspace that uses chemicals to develop film — SLCC will be moving the wet lab from the Redwood extension to the South Jordan extension to expand the lab space.

“Sadly our wet lab was under construction, so we weren’t able to learn that part of the developing,” Boss-Barney said.

Students were advised to take their film to Inkley’s Camera. It was not recommended to go to Walgreens or Walmart. Boss-Barney said her professor told his students that the quality of those mass-produced prints would not be as good as the prints from Inkley’s.

Like Langheinrich, Boss-Barney’s teacher focused a majority of the term on digital photography.

“I don’t know if it was because we had no wet lab, so it was just a hassle to get the film developed or because he was more passionate about the digital aspect,” Boss-Barney said.

She said that even though the class has been moved to the South Jordan extension, it would be worth the drive to take it again. It was an interesting class and has helped with her digital photography hobby.

Though classes for analog photography are still in Salt Lake Valley, over the past few years it has become less popular. Borge Anderson, local owner of Borge Anderson Photo Digital in Salt Lake City, said on average, they are only using the wet lab about 10 percent of the time.

“We are completely digital,” Anderson said.

Once the film is developed it is digitally scanned to digitize the negatives onto the computer. The prints are then made from those scans. Anderson and his employees do not use enlargers to create photos anymore.

Not only has the developing and printing process changed, but Anderson’s business has changed too. He has gone from 33 employees to only eight in the past five years. Anderson is planning on retiring and the shop will be closing down.

“Unless the employees want to keep it running,” Anderson said. “But that hasn’t been decided at this moment.”

If his shop closes, there will be fewer than 10 shops in the Salt Lake City area that develop film on site.

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Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; how it has affected people in Salt Lake City

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Story and slideshow by SHERYL CRONIN

The long-awaited repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy occurred Sept. 20, 2011, following certification signed by President Barack Obama on July 22.

“Homosexuals have a right to be in the military,” said Ryan Newman, 28, of Salt Lake City. Newman is currently enrolled in the National Guard. He has been in the National Guard for approximately a year and a half and says he is happy about the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy change.

The guidelines that were previously in place for the U.S. Military stated that bisexual, gay, or lesbian individuals were prohibited from being enlisted within the armed forces. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell went into effect in December 1993 after President Bill Clinton signed the policy. According to section 15 of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces, the military could not discriminate against a person simply for being gay, but for openly being gay.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was a step in the right direction to protect homosexuals. Previous guidelines banned anyone who was gay from serving in the military.

This policy was made to decrease the number of people discharged from the military, but it failed to stop discrimination. The intent of the policy was to benefit the gay community but in turn it continued to isolate.

According to section 15, “The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.” Therefore, the U.S. Military was allowed to discharge any member who would disclose their sexual orientation.

But, according to Newman, the Salt Lake man serving in the National Guard, people were commonly known to be homosexual but it just was not talked about due to the repercussions.

Derek Kjar, 26, who is gay, dated Scotland Briner from 2005 to 2010. Briner was a cadet in the U.S. Army Reserve who served a year in Afghanistan before they met. “There were areas of Salt Lake City that we didn’t feel comfortable being a couple, especially at the University of Utah because that is where Scotland did ROTC.”

Before the change of the policy, Briner and Kjar had to be careful of where they showed affection because Briner could have been discharged from the Army. Kjar said that Briner had to act more masculine in public and put on a persona due to fear of being ostracized.

Kjar recalled a time that the couple and another gay friend went to a restaurant near the U for lunch. One of Briner’s sergeants walked into the restaurant and Briner had to act like he was straight. Kjar said he was nervous the sergeant would see through his act.

The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell will make it so situations such as this will not be an issue anymore to the gay community. Individuals will not be forced to hide who they are in or outside of the military.

Under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell police the military was prohibited from investigating a person’s sexual orientation, unless there was an eyewitness account of homosexual behavior. That behavior never was sufficiently defined. These are some of the difficulties the military had to deal with under the policy.

Briner mentioned to Kjar that there were a few men who came out to him in private while he was serving his country. “It was just something people didn’t talk about publicly,” Kjar said.

According to the code, “A member of the armed forces shall be separated from the armed forces [if] the member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a homosexual act or acts.”

Brian Robbins, 26, who has been in the Marine Corps since April 2004 and served a year in Iraq, said that even though he supports homosexuality he thinks that getting rid of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell could cause more problems than solutions. “The people who come out in the military might end up being harassed because they came out of the closet,” he said.

Robbins said the policy was working just fine before the change. Some people may argue against this idea, but the risk of being harassed now will be much greater in Robbins’ opinion. Now that individuals can be open with their sexual orientation, the unit might be unaccepting of the information and could intensify homophobic tendencies.

Robbins felt that the risk for overtly homosexual individuals could be more harmful rather than not talking about it. He said that before the change there wasn’t an issue with homosexuality, but as a straight man he may not have felt the kinds of pressures facing gay  soldiers.

Robbins has not been deployed since the policy change but can be called into duty until April. He said he doesn’t know what kinds of changes will occur but he thinks that within his all-male unit it may be difficult if someone were to come out.

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The repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy has encouraged same-sex couples to speak out against unequal rights. This will be the next battle to overcome for the LGBTQ community.

Jacob W. Maxwell

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Photo by Elizabeth Heaton

MY STORIES:

MY BLOG:

The problem I’ve noticed as a graduating student at the University of Utah is that colleges are academic cocoons. When is it the right time for us to leave the safety of the campus and flutter our wings in the cutthroat job market? In my senior year of college, teachers, peers and guidance counselors have turned into sales people for continuing education. For my slice of life article I decided that I would profile a recent graduate and how he was faring in the job market.

I found a recent graduate named Chris Jex at Brewvies, a cinema pub that I frequent. At that point he was very happy to have found a job one week prior to his graduation. He seemed to be very disheartened at the point of our first interview because he was working the same type of job that he had quit a few years back to concentrate on school.

An ironic twist to my story came when the subject of my profile, who works for local sports merchandise retailer Fanzz, described his absolute displeasure with professional sports.
He said, “I feel that organized sports are beneficial for society’s leisure but are also examples of our society’s misplaced priorities. When things like education, civil engagement take a back burner to an athlete snatching a rubber ball in the air I feel there is something wrong.”

I asked Chris why, then, did he take the job?

He was afraid that if he didn’t start working that he would start to get behind on living expenses and student loan debt. So he bit the bullet and took the best available job. I avoided talking about his initial dislike toward the industry he now works in because it started to detract from the story.

I also had to scrap an interview with Chris’ roommate Brad because it was based on taking an ironic angle to my story that I let go of to write a more clear and concise story. He did compare Chris working for Fanzz to Nick Naylor, a character in “Thank You for Smoking” who lobbies for major tobacco companies. Brad feels that Naylor’s famous quote, “everyone’s got a mortgage to pay,” is the reason Chris keeps going with his job.

With the three ideas I came up with for my enterprise story, I decided to focus my story on a mandate Brewvies Cinema Pub put in place to have its employees cover up their tattoos. When it came time to write the story, the mandate dissolved due to public pressure. However, when I was talking to Andrew Murphy, the pub’s manager, about the tattoo mandate, I found another story to write about.

Murphy talked about a fine that the pub received during the summer of 2011 for showing an R-rated film because it violated a state statute. When the story broke, it quickly received national attention. After a lengthy conversation, I asked him if he would be willing to go on record.

He agreed and gave me an exclusive into Brewvies’ take on the fine and the possible slippery slope that the precedence set by the violation could have in the future.

This happened so fast that I wasn’t sure where I was going with the story. I realized that my enterprise story could go multiple directions so I let my interviewees determine the direction I took it in.

I emailed Francine Giani, interim director of the DABC, to get her comments. She had taken over the DABC after the fine was given to clean the agency up after an audit revealed alleged illegal activity and extensive mismanagement of resources.

She gave a statement describing why the DABC went after Brewvies and cited the law it allegedly violated.

I found both her statement and the law she cited interesting because it looked like the DABC may have violated Brewvies’ First Amendment rights.

David Vergobbi, my third interview, agreed.  He said that any R-rated film falls under protected speech and Brewvies has grounds to fight the violation.

I learned that when writing about heated issues concerning education and alcoholic beverage control, it was difficult to keep my opinion out of the stories.

Also, in putting together these stories, I learned to keep my ear open during the development process for different angles to take my stories in.

ABOUT ME:

Jacob “Jake” Maxwell is currently attending the University of Utah pursuing a Bachelor of Science in strategic communication. He plans to graduate in August 2012.

Maxwell always understood that his life’s journey would include higher education. Originally entering college as a political science major, his plans changed after taking an introduction to communication course at Salt Lake Community College from Philip Anoske, an instructor originally from Africa who taught an English speaking communication course using his third language. He also taught Maxwell that everyone has different ways of communicating and that by becoming aware of these factors; it would help us to become better communicators. Maxwell decided to take the challenge and learn how to be a better communicator.

Maxwell is a 2010 graduate of Salt Lake Community College with an Associate of Science in speech communications and graduated from Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah.

He is a windshield technician for Rock Doc Chip Repair LLC. in Salt Lake City.

Tolerance lets us live together

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By Morgan Powell

Intolerance: Lack of toleration; unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect contrary opinions or beliefs, persons of different races or backgrounds, etc.        — Dictionary.com

The other day I was just minding my own business, walking to my cubicle at work with my hands warm from the steaming brewed cup of joe I was holding. I was just about to flick on the light above my desk when my coworker (we’ll call her Susan) said with such disgust in her voice “Is that coffee?”
My heart thudded frantically as I tried to force an excuse from my lips. I could say it was herbal tea, but the scent was pouring from the lid. It could have been hot chocolate, but the culprit lingered on my lips. All that I could manage was a meek and simple, “yes.”
You see, Susan is a Latter-day Saint, a Mormon. As am I. I was baptized last summer and found faith in the religion. I have had coffee my whole life and grew up in a loving family that drank coffee too. Well, one of church’s guidelines, as you could call them, is the Word of Wisdom, a doctrine in which followers of the faith should not ingest of harmful things or hurt their bodies, coffee being one of those poisons.
Now, why in the hell do you care about me, my religious preference, my warm cup of coffee or my co-worker Susan? Well, you don’t. But you might care about what I’m saying next.
All I could do in those few fateful seconds when “yes” slipped out of my mouth was feel ashamed. But why should I feel ashamed? I wasn’t a murderer, I didn’t hurt, connive, or insult anybody. The reason for my own emotional reaction was because of somebody else’s intolerance for my personal lifestyle.
Intolerance isn’t just found in the LDS religion – it is found in all religions, in all countries, states, cities, neighborhoods and homes. It is found when people are killed for reasons of hatred, when somebody is turned away because of race or gender, when religious people (and non-religious people) clash over personal beliefs, when others are bashed for their sexual preference, or even when a political candidate is attacked for expressing personal opinions.
My good friend and I were discussing this over a lunch break a few days after the incident. She brought up what I believe is the most vital point of all. “Why is it that, when one person strongly believes in something, they feel that it’s their right to police others? Why are they so intolerant?”
It seems to me that the policing of others is something that is so common in our society that’s it’s almost commonplace. We all police others and show blatant intolerance, whether it is a situation I have already mentioned or one much more miniscule, like judging people because of their clothing, their size, the amount of money they make, their standing in church or their intelligence. Maybe even by their drink of choice.
Since that day I have kept this feeling of injustice in my back pocket – until now. I realize how much harm and sadness is brewed by the intolerance of others, and by the intolerance of my own doing.  I am going to start having a more open mind, not always offering my opinion on something I don’t like, not flipping off the driver who cuts me off, not getting mad when someone makes a remark about my clothing, and maybe, just maybe, by understanding somebody else’s point of view. Instead of getting riled up about my morning brew, I’ll just smile and say “yes.”

Steven Blomquist

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MY STORIES:

MY RESUME:

ABOUT ME:

I was born in Logan, Utah on February 23, 1988. I grew up in Holladay, Utah, where I attend Olympus High graduating in 2006. Growing up I was very activity and still am. I also love spending time with family and friends. I played football and lacrosse while in high school but also enjoy basketball, snowboarding and wake-boarding.

Following high school I served an LDS mission in the Canada Toronto East Mission, under Tad R. Callister, from November of 2006 through December of 2008.

Currently a student at the University of Utah studying mass communication focusing on the strategic communication sequence. I planning on graduating in 2012 and then attend graduate school.

Morgan Heath

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MY STORIES:

MY RESUME:

Morgan Heath
Morrgi101@hotmail.com

322 H Street
Salt Lake City, Utah
84103

Education:
University of Utah 2009-present
Majoring in Mass Communication
Lone Peak High School Graduate 2009

Experience:

Retail Manager of Journeys Kidz 2010- present

Fashion Coordinator of Invisible Children Fundraising Event-2009

Sales Associate of Head Over Heels- 2008-2009

Secretary of Firehouse Car Wash and Detail 2006-2008

Other Skills:
Computer:  Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Programming

ABOUT ME:

I’m a 20-year-old student currently stuck somewhere in between a sophomore and a junior at the University of Utah.  I’m majoring in mass communication with a emphasis in public relations. I’m a hardworking, busy college student who is constantly out to try new things. News writing was an exciting way to explore new ways of writing. News writing allows me to think freely and research new topics. On top of being a full time student, I also work full time as  a manager for a retail company. If I’m not at school you will find me at the workplace managing my store. I live a very busy but yet fulfilling life and enjoy every minute of it!

A Brave New Media World

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By: Chris Springsteen
Three well-respected journalists and professors navigated the delicate balance between traditional political journalism and the advent of new media.
Matt Canham (journalist from SL Tribune), Susan Tolchin (professor at George Mason University) and John Daley (reporter at KSL-TV) led an interesting discussion titled “Who Watches Government?” and how new media have changed our culture in terms of political media coverage.
The three experts unanimously agreed that journalism is definitely different than it was just 10 years ago. They all also recognized that this isn’t necessarily bad or good, just different.
Canham was resolute in remarking that, “journalism is in complete flux right now.” The traditional roles have changed and the boundaries blurred.
Daley commented, “It’s the best of times and the worst of times . . . It’s a challenging time to be a journalist because news rooms are cut in half. And because of this we are all doing more work.” But Daley acknowledged, “It’s great how you can get any info you want instantly whenever you want.”
Tolchin added that everybody is now a photojournalist, making the people the best watchdog over the government.
Moderator Bryan Schott followed up Tolchin’s observation with an interesting question, “Then, who is responsible for keeping the media honest and correct?”
Canham responded with, “It is your (referring to us the readers) job to tell a journalist if something is wrong in their article.” He remarked that if the error is not pointed out then the story is archived and consequently becomes the bible truth. The issue for journalists is less time and resources coupled with faster work. The formula makes for a reduction in fact checking and less time to reflect back on impartiality before the stories are released.
Reasonably, this dialogue led to a compelling question, “What is the most important characteristic of writing about politics?”
Moderator Schott asked if “horse race politics” was a legitimate way to cover political races or is it a disservice to not focus entirely on matters of policy.
The TV reporter, Daley, believed it to be a disservice adding that “the people you elect have enormous power to shape lives” and that can be overshadowed by the horse race reporting. Conversely, policy stories are boring and a reporter can’t be repetitive. He felt that for the non-specialized general public outlets the horse race, unfortunately, does dominate.
The political journalist Canham was quick to dismiss that they mostly write about “horse race politics” and stated that, “horse race politics are overblown.” Instead, he offered his perspective that he covers the political races over such a long span of time and that he can only write about their political views for a couple of columns before it becomes repetitive adding that the rest of the year they simply have to write about the race. Canham argued that there used to be less choice for the public but now media outlets have to compete to survive. They are no longer just competing against the other local papers but now against the World Wide Web.
Professor Tolchin had a candid outlook in that there is a direct correlation between money and politics. She added, “A person’s character is his fate.” She said she feels it is important the people are aware who the person is who will be leading the country. As was the case with John Edwards, for example, the exposure of his crime was an important public issue that needed to be revealed.
Kyle Lamb, a student who attended the event from another university, was asked what he thought of this and he stated, “I didn’t care about how the race was going but cared more about the political views of the candidates.” He added, “ I can’t control who is voting for who.”
In the most compelling debate of the forum, the experts discussed the impact of the Internet’s search engines on media coverage. It was agreed that that the day of the newspaper was on the decline citing that people are more and more relying on their search engines to deliver the news in the way they want to receive it. Unfortunately, many times the biggest viral news of the day can be insignificant. Because culture is changing so quickly, Daly implied that it’s a free-for-all where the Internet spreads it and the story just can’t be contained.
The three speakers concluded the forum and Daley capped the talk off the best by saying, ”There is more money in politics than ever before and less watchdogs.” The abundance of money and the fact that there are fewer traditional reporters to investigate will continue to lead to unethical behavior and mischief on the part of our political parties. The public, as part of the new media watchdogs, will need to do their part to keep the balance.
Toby Sutherland, an attendee at the event, stated, “I think Daley nailed it by that last statement, that there are problems and there needs to be more watchdogs.”

Handicapped Veterans Learn to Fly

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By: Chris Springsteen

Five SCI veterans take to the air using adaptive chair
SUN VALLEY, Idaho- Five spinal cord injured (SCI) veterans will learn to paraglide this weekend in Sun Valley, Idaho, using an adaptive flight chair.
Don Bloswick, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Utah, headed a four-man undergraduate team that built the two flight chairs.
Bloswick’s students built the two chairs, the Phoenix 1.0 and the Phoenix 1.5, as part of their senior capstone course.

Mark Gaskill, an ABLE Pilot teacher, will be training the SCI veterans this weekend.
Gaskill is a certified solo and tandem pilot that has been working in the paragliding for disabled persons field for several years. Gaskill has a specific training program, called ABLE Pilot, that he designed for disabled persons and was the person who initially pitched the idea to the U. of U. for an adaptive flight chair.
“Able Pilot is an organization committed to getting people with spinal cord injuries, amputations, and neuromuscular diseases safely into the air, piloting, and flying with the minimum amount of assistance,” proudly stated Gaskill.

Ernie Butler, a former US Air Force Special Operations Pararescueman, had his legs taken from him 16 years ago and the ABLE Pilot program has given him the chance to fly again.
Even though Butler has continued to do other sports his passion still remains with parachuting. He became an ABLE Pilot to help SCI veterans get back what ABLE Pilot gave him.

Training will begin Friday, Sept. 23 and conclude on Monday, Sept. 26. To learn more about ABLE pilot you can visit: http://ablepilot.com/.

Raquel Cook’s new method of teaching

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Story by MARISSA HUNTSMAN

“International experience is not a luxury anymore. It’s a necessity,” said Raquel Cook, a wild-child turned world traveler who has morphed into a professor who teaches at Utah Valley University and has a unique method of teaching English to her students.

Raquel Cook holding a miniature of a Terra Cotta Warrior from China. Photo courtesy of Raquel Cook

Cook claims to have been a nerd during high school, finding interests in debate and the school newspaper rather than cheerleading like her sisters. “I never even attended a high school football game,” Cook said.

After graduating from American Fork High School, Cook began her journey of self-discovery. She attended Brigham Young University choosing a degree in English.

A week after graduation, Cook, 21, set her sights outside of the small Utah community she had spent her life in. “When I first left it wasn’t because I wanted to go anywhere necessarily,” she said. “I just wanted to get out of here (Utah).”

With $100 in her pocket and a one-way ticket to Asia, Cook set out on a journey in a foreign country. The first stop on her grand world tour was South Korea, a country not known for its peaceful political culture, but one that contains hidden treasures of generation that Cook found a niche.

In South Korea she worked as an instructor of American culture and college life for police graduates to prepare for the way of life in America. She also taught English on the side, which paid her very well. Her other jobs included: a staff writer for the entertainment section of an English newspaper and radio host for a “really cheesy program but college students loved it.”

Cook gained minor stardom with countrywide TV appearances. This job enabled Cook to travel all over the country making new friends during her TV appearances, which funded her travels to other countries.

Cook spent the next few years traveling from country to country. Occasionally she got on wrong buses and had misunderstandings with the locals, but these events did her no harm. Instead she grew to feel empowered and limitless in her feature endeavors.

Bonnie Cook, Cook’s mother, said, “I constantly worried for my daughter’s safety while she spent years in foreign countries. There were no cell phones during that time but I knew we had a strong daughter who we taught well.”

Years later, Cook found her path in Manhattan and working in the financial district. She worked out of the South Tower of the Twin Towers.

The morning of Sept. 11, Cook recalls feeling that she shouldn’t have gone into work that day. But, she said, “I’m not the type of person who doesn’t go to work based on a feeling.”

Cook exited the South Tower at the time when the second plane made contact, killing her friends on the 83rd floor. That day is a blur in her mind; she even remembers that a stranger had to remind her to call her parents.

The suicide and a murder of two fellow 9/11 survivors motivated Cook to reevaluate her stance on the aftermath of that day in American history. Furthermore, America’s reaction to these events greatly upset her.

This caused Cook to realize that change could not occur by building walls between nations, or by increasing airport security checks or visa restrictions. Instead the answer could be found in education.

Cook packed up her daughter and moved back to American Fork High School and began teaching at the local high school she had graduated from.

Cook recalls that she wasn’t sure what she was expecting on her first day but remembers that she felt frustrated by the lack of interest the students had in the outside world. This frustration was fueled further by the rigorous rubric she had to follow according to the district’s standards.

However, the second year of her teaching began with the opportunity to create her own class, with its own goals. A class that would educate the senior students of the purpose of the English language and its usages in the world, both formal and informal. Using her experiences from over 40 countries, Cook fashioned a class that many first believed looked more like a history class than an English class.

Cook told her students that she spent a week in a Tibetan monastery in the Himalayas, a silent week, learning to pray. But this experience demonstrates that many people seek the same answers through similar meanings.

Cook’s entire message for the world tour-themed class could be illustrated by a single picture. A picture featuring the events of Tiananmen Square where a single student stood in front of the approaching tanks.

The message is that language, English or otherwise, is a tool used to convey a person’s thoughts and beliefs to the world. Her message championed for her students to use words and language instead of bombs to resolve conflict. To embrace different perspectives and see them as they are a person’s life.

Cook did not travel the world in the American style of guided tours and continental breakfasts. She rode on cramped buses and held everyday jobs. She was able to witness many events including uprisings in Tibet and the World Cup in Paris.

“I want my students to get out of the country,” she said. “To learn what other countries have to offer and realize the people in a different country in a hut are working towards the same goals they are.”

After all, there is too much beauty in the world for American students to fear it. Cook encourages all students to “Get out! You’re cheating yourself if you’re not.”

Pac-12 easy move for gymnastics

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By Larissa Giuliano
When Utah moved to the Pac-12 conference last year, it greatly affected the schedules of most sports, but not gymnastics.
The Utah gymnastics team has always been one of the best. They have won 10 national championships and qualified every single year.
Formerly being part of the Mountain West Conference, most of Utah’s athletic teams played other teams in that conference, which isn’t as competitive as the new conference. The gymnastics team, however, was not in a conference prior to the move. As one of the most dominant gymnastics teams in the country, it already competed against most of the teams in the Pac-10, as well as top-ranked teams all over the country.
Their schedule from last year to this year has barely changed at all. The main difference will be the addition of the Pac-12 championship. When they weren’t in a conference, the Utes had no opportunity to win a championship. Now, they will have the chance to compete for a conference title.
Only eight schools in the Pac-12 have gymnastics teams. Out of the seven other teams, Utah faced five of them last year. This year, Utah will start the season against UCLA, the same team that has been their first opponent all but one season in the past nine years. This meet is a significant test since UCLA won the 2010 nationals and was second last season.
While the move to the Pac-12 doesn’t impact Utah’s gymnastics schedule too much, it will actually make future schedules easier. Before, Utah could choose its schedule and it chose to go up against the best teams in the country. Now, its schedule will already be determined based on the conference rules.
While the more popular sports like football and basketball get most of the hype surrounding Utah’s conference change, we shouldn’t forget that the gymnastics team has been competing with and beating schools in the Pac-12 all along. Gymnasts deserve as much recognition as these other athletes because of their outstanding results.
The gymnastics meets draw large crowds, as Utah frequently has the highest average attendance in the nation. Still, the attendance is only about one-third the attendance of football games.
Utah’s first home meet begins at 7 p.m. on Jan. 13 in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. So come and support the team that is always one of the nation’s best!

Love, marriage, and laziness

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By Julie Burggraf

After 72 days, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from husband Kris Humphries and further tainted the meaning of marriage.
In the United States, men and women aged 20 to 24 statistically show the highest divorce rate of any other age group getting married. When older couples marry, they have a significantly less chance of divorce.
When someone first marries, there is a 41 percent chance of divorce; marrying for a second time means that there is a 60 percent greater chance of divorce. Seventy-three percent of third marriages will end in divorce. According to marriage101.org,  “The Americans for Divorce Reform estimates that probably, 40 or possibly even 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce if current trends continue.”
The sanctity of marriage has long been sought by many, and this is true for the Hollywood elite as well. The difference is, is that when celebrities get married there is no promise of forever. Marriages were not created to be an event for publicity and fame, but for love. While marriages have been arranged for centuries, love has undoubtedly conquered all.
Marriages such as Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe were married for nine months. Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon were married for only 10 weeks, and Britney Spears and Jason Allen Alexander annulled their 56-hour marriage. Couples like these are just a few of the many examples that celebrities marry for all the wrong reasons.
With constant scandals of divorce in the media, statistics have come to prove that celebrities are the royalty of the United States and have an immense influence on the public and their actions. At 9.4 percent, Utah held the seventh-lowest divorce rate in the country in 2008.
Thinking that marriage is as temporary as a fake tattoo, and knowing that someone can find happiness in another person, are just two of ways that celebrities and now the public look at marriage. While many do file for divorce, not all are reasons because of boredom within the marriage or that they stopped trying. A marriage can end for a multitude of reasons. Marital abuse, people and circumstances that change and even death are just a few examples.
Stating that one will love another forever, through good and bad, has been indisputably changed to, we will love each other until one of us gets lazy and stops trying. With such appeal that comes from Hollywood it is hard to not think that someone’s everyday life could be the same as theirs.
Living an ordinary life without public prying into one’s life may be God’s biggest blessing. True love is something that everyone strives to find in his or her lifetime. Celebrities and their influence on the public should be portraying a positive and true meaning of love, rather than tainting the sanctity of marriage by marrying with the thought of maybe this could work.

Batman in the big house

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By Zack Renner
Arkham City looks awful. The special kind of awful that makes you want to explore its every beautifully articulated nook and cranny.
It’s time to don the cape and cowl and step inside the world of everyone’s favorite bat enthusiast for Rocksteady Studios’ Batman: Arkham City. Does the Dark Knight rise above expectations or fall in line with the many third-rate superhero adaptation games clogging disc drives these days?
If 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum was a love letter to comic book fans, and then Batman: Arkham City is a full-blown romantic novel.  Whether it’s the deliberate yet hectic gameplay or the cameo-laden story, being Batman has never been this much fun.
After the events of the first game Batman’s rogue’s gallery repository, Arkham Asylum, is out of order. The solution to this problem is a bigger, better prison built right into the heart of Gotham City. The narrative opens with prisoners taking control of Arkham City under the command of Dr. Hugo Strange. Strange being the one villain smart enough to connect the dots from Bruce Wayne to Batman. It’s up to Batman to clean up the big house any way he can—and oh, the ways he can.
The story will have you running, rolling, grappling, gliding and diving through the missions spread throughout Gotham City’s district turned prison camp. While the main story can keep gamers busy for up 20 hours, the side missions provide fleshed-out optional stories with much incentive for deviation from the beaten path.
Think Grand Theft Batman. While there is no Batmobile in the game, Batman has no trouble traversing rooftops with grace that would give Spiderman a run for his money.  It can be difficult to stop and smell the roses of Arkham City, but if you do you’ll see just how gorgeous and painstakingly realized the environment is.
Once you use the game’s x-ray vision like detective mode, the game’s elements of exploration and treasure hunting come into play. Revealing side quests like the Riddler’s challenges or random chatter among thugs, the game is out to distract you. Although the detective mode is helpful in finding Easter eggs hidden in the vast city, the world simply looks too good not peep out behind the x-ray specs.
Did I mention the game is gorgeous?  Each section of the city has a unique flair that alone provides enough incentive to progress through the story as it takes you from gothic cityscape to art deco underground ruins.
Pitch perfect sound design and a stellar voice cast breathe life into every character you encounter. Anyone familiar with Batman: the Animated Series from the ’90s will recognize the voices of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as they reprise their famous roles once again as the Batman and Joker.
Fans will appreciate the dark and personality driven architecture of Arkham City. The city itself feels alive and volatile, ready for some bone-breaking brawls and sleuthing about. There is plenty to see here and whether you’re a fan of the source material or not and have a good time doing it. (Rating: A)

Kardashian wedding a stunt

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By Kate Van Wagoner
Kim Kardashian is famous for being famous. How is it that the Kardashian name is so well-known all over the world for the sole reason to entertain audiences without a significant talent-or is the talent itself the ability to make an empire off of the public eye? Kris Humphries, an NBA player, helped boost the family fame in his 72-day marriage to Kardashian.
Kardashian began dating Humphries October 2010. They became engaged May 2011, and married Aug 20, 2011, in Montecito, Cali. After 72 days of marriage, Kardashian filed divorce on Oct 31, 2011, citing irreconcilable differences. It was an unnecessary rushed wedding.  The unexpected divorce had the public including me, questioning if this wedding was a hoax or not.
It was a publicity stunt. If anything, I give credit to them both. Bad publicity for not marrying someone for the right reason will blow over. However, the money and camera time they both received is exactly what celebrities are after. It was great for ratings and the wedding brought in millions.
Kardashian’s wedding featured a $2.5 million, 65-carat sparkling diamond headpiece by Lorraine Schwartz; a $2 million, 20.5-carat diamond engagement ring; and 28-carat diamond earrings worth $5 million. All told, she was wearing well over $10 million worth of jewelry on her big day. Not to mention the $150,000 she spent on hair and makeup that day.
Kardashian may have upset her loyal fans but she did exactly what she needed to do to take the negative spotlight away and make it positive. Kardashian donated all of her wedding gifts to charity.
It is incredible to see the money Kardashian made off of this wedding. Besides the reported $2.5 million she got from People, Kardashian is said to have made between  $12 and $15 million for the E! TV special. She also reportedly banked hundreds of thousands of dollars for selling exclusive rights to her engagement announcement, bridal shower and bachelorette party.
Why do people care do much about other people’s lives? Being on television you have to know that you will be criticized. Your every move will be watched but if anything the Kardashian network skyrocketed and that is what being a celebrity is all about.
The New York Times calculated that the couple made $10,358.80 per hour of marriage. Pure genius.

Thanksgiving a forgotten holiday

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By Sarah Stevens

Santa Claus is coming to town, already?
It is the day after Halloween, and Lennox Mall in Atlanta has Christmas trees adorning every corner. “Jingle Bells” is blaring out of the speakers and Santa Claus is sitting proudly in the middle of the mall, ready to lend an ear to the little ones. It is Nov. 1 and we are already forgetting Thanksgiving.
Too many people skip the precious time we are given in the month of November to acknowledge the importance of Thanksgiving. The tenderness of Thanksgiving is easy to miss. It is the most understated and non-commercialized holiday relying on one theme, being thankful.
Most people take down their spooky décor the morning after Halloween, only to drape bright lights on their artificial Christmas tree that very same day.  Where is the momentary lapse in time where we pause between the two most commercialized holidays in America?
Thanksgiving matters. It is the most important holiday. It is not Veterans Day, when we graciously pay our respects to those who fight for our freedom. It is not Christmas, when we pay tribute to Christ. It is Thanksgiving, when we express gratitude for everything and take a day to be grateful that we live in America. I am a firm believer in Thanksgiving, in the celebrations it encompasses as a holiday in America, and I believe we need to give it the attention it deserves.
This past fall break I was at Lennox Mall in Atlanta and I noticed that Nordstrom had signs posted on every exterior door reading, “At Nordstrom…we won’t be decking our halls until Friday, November 27. Why? Well, we like the idea of celebrating one holiday at a time. From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.” How revolutionary that a department store in one of the most popular shopping cities in America would not put up Christmas decorations well in advance, so much so that they have to post signs for concerned consumers.
Even Facebook has a group created last week called “Please Don’t Forget Thanksgiving” boasting 127 members. The group’s information reads, “To many Americans, Thanksgiving is just a time to eat turkey and watch football. We should enjoy Thanksgiving for what it is: a day to thank the Lord for America, our freedom and the many blessings we have.”  These days, it seems like Americans are more concerned with being showered with new gifts rather than be thankful for what they have.
Though some may see Christmas as a legitimate reason to skip Thanksgiving (if honored the right way), the commercialized appeal that perpetuates Christmas and Halloween for so many Americans demonstrates how different the approach of Thanksgiving is.
Thanksgiving needs more attention. We are giving thanks to the nation that provides us with the freedom to celebrate other holidays. We need to take appropriate time to pause and reflect between the busy holidays of Halloween and Christmas and dwell on what it really means to be thankful.

Penn State not about football

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By Mary Stevens
“Beat Nebraska!” was Joe Paterno’s last message to the Penn State football team the Wednesday afternoon before he was fired for not reporting to police a sexual abuse allegation within his coaching staff.
On Nov. 5, Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State defensive coordinator, was arrested and charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse of young boys.
According to the indictment, 28-year-old graduate student and assistant coach Mike McQueary witnessed Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in the Penn Sate locker room and formally met with head coach Joe Paterno to report what he saw.  Paterno notified his superiors and let them handle the situation from there.  Neither Paterno nor McQuery reported the abuse to the police.
“I think he tried to do what he could,” said Matthew Van Wagoner, an English major at Westminster College.  “In most jobs, there is a protocol and I think he simply followed protocol and did what he was trained to do.  Whether he agreed with how the university handled the situation after that is really out of his control.”
Joe Paterno was one of the most successful and influential coaches in the history of college football.  Of course he has control of the situation.  That is his job.  Paterno has made a living instructing men both on and off the field.  For anyone to say Paterno did not have the means or the influence to do something about the situation is a complete misjudgment.
Paterno and other members of his coaching staff and authorities at Penn State had received eyewitness reports that a child predator was on the prowl, and they did nothing.
It is astonishing that these men were not courageous enough o come forward with this sort of information to the police. Regardless of how many games Paterno has won for Penn State he has failed the ultimate test: to stand up for what is morally correct.
“Somebody has to question… the moral requirements for a human being that knows of sexual things that are taking place with a child,” Pennsylvania state police commissioner Frank Noonan said.  “I think you have the moral responsibility whether you’re a football coach or a university president or the guy sweeping the building.  I think you have a moral responsibility to call us.”
Some Penn State students and fans have expressed concern about how this will affect the upcoming football season and whether or not they will ever find a coach to adequately replace Paterno. But at the end of the day, in light of all the real problems at Penn State, who cares if they beat Nebraska?

Is feminism lost in translation?

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By Anna Peterson
Feminism, like almost everything, evolves over time.  The fight for women’s rights has evolved, and some say polluted. The sexualization of women and rejection of traditional roles offends many people, including members of the LDS Church. And I have to say I see their point.
Does being an active member of the LDS Church mean I have to forsake my upbringing as a feminist? I shouldn’t have to choose, but I feel as if I can’t reconcile the two. It makes me wonder: Is something lost in translation?
The crusade for equal job opportunity and the ability to choose work over traditional female roles has translated to a fight for equal pay and recognition in the workplace, as well as a continuation of the sexual revolution.
Just like our “foremothers,” we feminists like to make a splash. Instead of the disposing of our under-things and “wearing mini-skirt[s] and a button that said ‘c— power,’” as Gloria Steinem told the New York Observer, many women embrace the sexual side of their personalities and promote it.
The HBO show “Sex and the City,” for example, documents the lives and friendships of four women in New York City. The focus on their sex lives has been viewed as something of a modern sexual revolution; they view their experiences as men would, which was uncommon on television.
This gives me pause. Does having casual sex give women empowerment or have women conformed to a male paradigm instead of creating their own sexual identities?
The recent image of an “empowered woman” promoted in the media shows women who are empowered because they choose to be sexual objects as opposed to having the role forced on them. What happened to bra burning?
My religious beliefs and moral code prevent me from many of the behaviors that these feminists participate in.  But why should I have to conform to these behaviors in order to be a feminist?
The feminist movement, to me, promotes the ability for women to take on any roles they like without facing discrimination.
Many people find my religion sexist because of its emphasis on traditional female roles of wife and mother. Many feminists regard the role of stay-at-home mom with disdain, as it represents years of female oppression before the feminist movement.
To these critics, I say: Isn’t some kind of reverse sexism to discriminate against a woman who chooses to embrace the role of wife and mother? Does one have to be a CEO or sex symbol to fit the modern ideal of feminist?
So much of feminist ideology has been polluted by modern society. Many young women regard Kim Kardashian as a kind of role model.
Let’s face it: She runs a successful business with her sisters, she is beautiful and she has lots of money. Her behavior, however, is so antithetical to feminist ideals it makes my head want to explode.
The images of “strong females” give a false sense of empowerment to women. I don’t need to be sexualized in order to take control over my life.
Kim Kardashian is a feminist because she runs a business. The short-lived “The Playboy Club” promoted female empowerment because a bunny can wear a corset and heels while killing a major mob boss. Again, I’d like a match and a bra, please.
The choices a woman makes should be taken into account. There is no need to conform to the male paradigm; a woman does not need to be masculine or overtly feminine to assert her role in society.
As a feminist, it’s my right to choose.