By Emily Albrecht

My Story: In the Salt Lake Fire Department, it’s still a man’s world

When it comes to talking about a subject that can be as personal and volatile as sexual harassment, it’s hard to know where to begin. I have friends that work with the Salt Lake Fire Department, and I knew that there was a story to tell about the casual sexism that borders on harassment in such a male-dominated environment. I didn’t want to write a scandalous exposé of something along the lines of Harvey Weinstein, I wanted to highlight the ways that women are still seen as objects: even when they’re doing the same type of back-breaking work as the men around them.

The first and hardest part of developing this story was finding people who were ready to talk on the record. Everyone in this story has had their names changed for privacy. If they didn’t, no one would’ve been willing to come forward. I knew from hearing offhand comments that there was something there, but when your job is on the line if someone gets wind of what you’re saying, it’s quite the deterrent to speaking freely. My issue was this: I wanted a space for both the women and the men who have seen this type of behavior to tell their story, I needed it to be reputable so I didn’t look like I was making things up, and the people who gave their stories to my piece had to be protected. I struggled with how much information was too little or too much, whether I needed to focus more on reputability or safety. In the end, I came to a conclusion that defined my writing and the rest of my process: women will always be told they’re lying. Victims will never be believed by everyone, much as they may speak their truth. I had to put their safety first, and trust that people will believe the testimonies regardless of what they’re told about the speakers.

In the end, there were a lot of things that I wish I could’ve included that I couldn’t because it jeopardized the safety of my sources. For every story that’s happened to every woman on the force, there’s ten more that are incredibly personal and would give away the source in an instant to anyone who’d seen it happen. I think for some journalists, they’d err on the opposite side of me, and maybe that’s a mistake. But I stand by my decisions, and if nothing else they taught me more about myself.

by Emerald Barney

SALT LAKE CITY – Teen usage of electronic cigarettes is expanding, with 3.6 million middle school and high school-aged teens confirming their usage in a survey conducted by the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) in 2018. The overall number of users has increased by 1.5 million since 2017, making electronic cigarettes the number one teen used tobacco and nicotine product.

Electronic cigarettes, more commonly known as e-cigarettes, e-cigs, or vapes, were first introduced to the United States in 2007. Initially marketed as a safer alternative to smoking, e-cigarettes gained popularity among those trying to quit smoking. With the option to choose the nicotine levels in the products, e-cigs made cutting back on the habit a reality. After surviving bans on sales, regulations, and research, e-cigarettes have seen enormous commercial growth. Roughly 10.8 million American adults currently use e-cigarettes, with more than half of them being under 35 years old.

New products emerging on the market are offering smaller devices, rechargeable batteries, and new flavors. These products are appealing new consumers into the market – many of whom never smoked in the first place, creating nicotine addictions that weren’t there to begin with. Younger e-cigarette users are more likely to become addicted to nicotine and have greater difficulty quitting. They are also nearly four times more likely to start smoking cigarettes than those who do not use e-cigs. But e-cigs are becoming more popular among teens, 2018 saw a 78% increase in high school users, as it is seen as a social activity. Logan Loftis, a 19-year-old student at Utah State University does not own an e-cigarette but will vape when she’s with her friends. “People make fun of the ‘vape kids’ in high school, even though everyone does it,” she said. “It is seriously stigmatized. I think they are fun to use once in a while. They are quite comical too, but overall they can be fun to do tricks and ‘shotgun’ with friends.” Loftis recognizes the possible negative effects and is thankful she isn’t addicted to using an e-cig.

Many teens underestimate how addictive nicotine is and have low risk perceptions of products like e-cigarettes. Teens are more likely to experiment with different substances in their youth, especially if they believe that e-cigs are safer than cigarettes. Tau Mamata, 20, has been using a variety of e-cigarettes since he was 16 and purchased his own when he turned 19. “E-cigs don’t produce tar on the lungs. You’re not as likely to have lung or throat cancer,” he said.  “I just think they are overall safer, especially since you can control the amount of nicotine you inhale.” The NYTS found that 17.1 percent of teen users believe that “they are less harmful than other tobacco products such as cigarettes.”

E-cigarettes don’t contain the carcinogens that tobacco cigarettes do, encouraging the belief that they are the safer option. However, e-cigarettes are not without toxins. Vape aerosol can contain toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde, acrolein, and acetaldehyde – which are found in cigarette smoke and can cause irreversible lung damage. Nicotine can potentially harm adolescent brain development, particularly areas that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control.

Some brands that are popular among kids, such as JUUL, deliver especially high levels of nicotine. Users may be getting a higher concentration of toxins due to the frequency and depth of the inhalation. According to the manufacturer of JUUL, a single pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of 20 regular cigarettes. Teens are especially susceptible to addiction to nicotine. The risks and lack of research regarding long term use are at the forefront of the restrictions and regulations being proposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state lawmakers.

The FDA has developed the Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan, targeting the prevention of youth access to tobacco products, restricting advertisements of tobacco products aimed at youth, and educating teens about the dangers of e-cigarettes. The FDA encouraged restrictions to be placed on all flavored products, excluding tobacco, mint, and menthol. The restrictions would limit flavored products to be sold in age-restricted, in-person locations, and if sold online, require strict practices for age verification. Data from the NYTS shows that 31 percent of teens who used e-cigarettes cited the availability of flavors such as candy, fruit, and chocolate as a primary reason for their continued uses of the products.

In the 2019 Utah legislative session, HB252 proposed by Rep. Paul Ray (R-Clearfield), would impose an 86 percent tax on vaping products. Ray has been trying for several years to get a tax on e-cigarettes approved to discourage teen usage. If approved, the tax could potentially generate $23.6 million each year. However, the bill failed to make it through the state senate before the 2019 session ended.

Lewie Lambros, co-owner of Vapor Dreams in Bountiful, Utah, is adamant that HB252 would be destructive to business and encourages lawmakers to enforce online sale bans. “If that bill went through it would put the vapor industry out of business,” Lambros said. “Kids have dispensable money; they don’t have bills like adults do so it’s easier for them to come up with the money.” Lambros determines that the bill would hurt business and the consumers that the products are helping. He stated that the way to eliminate teen usage to enforce punishments on teens who are caught using e-cigarettes and make access online stricter.

Teen tobacco use was nearly eradicated, but now national concern rises once again about the safety and health of the youth. Reports like those conducted by the NYTS show the concerns are justified. E-cigarettes can help encourage adult smokers to a less harmful delivery system, it just should not be at the expense of exposing a new generation to the addiction of nicotine.

by Emerald Barney

I’ve wanted to go into advertising for nearly seven years. I try and stay up to date on new advertisements as well as new regulations relating to advertising. At the end of 2018, the FDA was putting regulations on JUUL because they were putting out “fun” ads – bright colors, young actors, and new flavors. This was targeting teens in a way that was familiar, but it was for a product that was illegal for teens to use – nicotine.

When I came up with the idea, Utah legislators were thinking along the same lines up on the hill. Rep. Paul Ray wanted to impose an 86% tax on vape products, which seemed outrageous to me. I wanted to talk to him about it and the reasoning for it being so high. I also wanted to talk to vape shop owners to see how they felt about the FDA regulations and the bill proposed by Rep. Ray. The shop owner brought up a good point that if they wanted to limit teen use, they would tackle the online age verification issue as that’s where most kids are getting their products.

I also wanted to talk the people I know who use e-cigarettes, as we all grew up with this idea that drugs are bad, and they will kill you. I was curious why they started, why they continue, and what they think about the negative effects. What interested me was that every one of my friends told me they thought it was safer than smoking – as if that is the only alternative as opposed to not doing drugs.

The biggest issues I had was when I felt conflicted on what I wanted to report on. There is so much data from the FDA about how it can harm teens, but then after talking to the shop owners, I realized it isn’t their fault teens are addicted. They can’t always be the ones trying to discourage teen use and enforce it as well. I decided to make the points of both sources, strengthening the idea that no one wants teens to become addicted. The thing I found most interesting were that my friends spend anywhere from $30-$90 a month to keep up with their habits. The bill proposed by Rep. Ray stood on the idea that teens aren’t going to have that kind of money to spend, but I don’t see any of my friends stopping because of the price.

My Story: Teen nicotine use

By: Elise Dunaway

My original idea was a vaguer version of my final idea. I wanted to write about the connection college students feel to pop culture. In Fall 2017 I took an Introduction to Interpersonal Communication course. One of the concepts we talked about was parasocial relationships. In a parasocial relationship, one person puts in a lot of time and emotional energy into the relationship. The other party does not reciprocate because they’re a fictional character, celebrity, athlete, or other media figure. They don’t know the person exists. Writing about parasocial relationships was a more specific way to talk about my original idea, and I could still apply it to college students. 

I first emailed Dr. Julia Moore, the professor for the Introduction to Interpersonal Communication course I took. I also emailed a lot of professors from the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah who focus on social psychology. Dr. Bert Uchino, the Department Chair, emailed me back and was able to answer my questions. I reached out to a friend, Lily Chidester, so that I could also have the perspective of a college student. I think they were the best sources because Dr. Moore and Dr. Uchino had a lot of knowledge about the concept and Lily had a lot of experience with it. I feel like her comments are reflective of many college students’ experience. 

The only real obstacle I encountered was setting up interviews with my sources. I never heard back from a lot of people I emailed, but luckily heard back from Dr. Moore and Dr. Uchino. Finding data to use in my story was slightly difficult, but I ended up finding a great study that added a lot of insight to my topic.

I decided to focus on college students because they’re the audience for my article. I also think that teens and college students are more likely to experience parasocial relationships than older people due to the use and presence of social media in their lives. When doing research, I kept notes of what information I felt was the most relevant to the article I was trying to write. Having the notes kept me organized because I didn’t have to go back and scour through websites to find the information I wanted.

I approached writing this article as I did the other articles I had to write for this course. I found my topic, gathered sources, and tried to arrange the information in the most engaging and accessible way. I used quotes from my sources in places where they explained the concept better than I could. 

There were quite a few interesting details that didn’t make it in. My friend Lily was pretty in depth about how her parasocial relationships has strengthened her interpersonal relationships. I wasn’t able to include all of what she said about that. Dr. Moore mentioned that parasocial relationships can possibly help decrease prejudices. Dr. Uchino talked about how relationships can influence how long a person lives. While there haven’t been any studies done to see if parasocial relationships are part of this, Dr. Uchino guesses that a positive parasocial relationship could be good for mental and physical health. I wish I could have included everything they said, but my story would have been too long if I did.

Nothing in particular about writing this surprised me. A lot of what I learned about parasocial relationships made sense. I think it’s interesting that the concept of parasocial relationships isn’t more well-known because it’s something everyone experiences.

A look at parasocial relationships

By Michael Boswell

SALT LAKE CITY— College can be a very exciting but stressful time in our lives. Senior’s in high school develop presumptions of how hard college will be. Upon arriving, and after orientation, they find out that it isn’t that bad, that they will survive. Coming from out of state, a new school, town, and area can be quite intimidating. Some of your friends will join fraternities, sororities, and clubs while they are in college, and you, well you may do nothing. Your friends are out at their events and you are sitting in your dorm room, or your house thinking about how can you make college better, you wonder how being apart of something on campus can impact your college experience.

There are many ways to get involved on campus. Whether it be joining a fraternity, sorority, or any club, there are many ways to enjoy these experiences. Though this poses the question of what are the pros and cons of being involved on campus at the U of U. Does it really better your experience or does it add to the difficulty?

“There are pros and cons to everything you do.” Said Dylan James a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. “I chose to rush to better my experience. Not being from Utah, I didn’t have a lot of friends at the U. I thought it would be a great opportunity to make new friends and meet more people. Being apart of Sigma Chi makes you be accountable, you have to maintain good grades and they push you to better yourself. We also give back to the community, by holding fundraisers for Huntsman Cancer Institute. This year we were the first Sigma Chi fraternity to raise over $100,000 for the Cancer Institute. I was very skeptical to rush a fraternity, because of the movies and how they make them seem, but it has been one of the best choices I’ve ever made.”

Research has shown that joining a extracurricular organizations are beneficial to college students. They help bring students and faculty together, let students interact in a non-formal atmosphere, and allow students to strengthen their leadership and communications skills. According to a study conducted by Birkenholz “Communications skills of College of Agriculture students are enhanced through participation in student organizations and activities.” What if none of that sounds interesting to you. Maybe you aren’t a social butterfly and you enjoy your alone time. What would happen if you chose not to join a club or Greek Row. It wouldn’t be the end of the world but how could it affect or add to your college experience.

“At first it was different from high school.” Said Cam Daley, a student at the University of Utah. “Since I’ve played sports my whole life and being apart of a team it was a hard transition. But since I’m not playing baseball or football anymore it makes me focus more on academics, and not the social aspect of it. Part of me would want to do it over but I am happy at where I am. My first two years I would join something but my last two I wouldn’t.” Cam also went on to talk about how his first two years he felt out of place at the U. However now he feels that his priorities are in line with school, and he feels he belongs.

In a John Hopkins University Press article it stated that, “Females and full-time students who spent more time preparing for class or otherwise engaging in academic tasks earned a higher GPA and reported higher satisfaction with their overall academic experience.” And a recent study from Ohio State University suggests that “students who work 20 hours a week or more are less likely to be involved in a student organization. Compared to students who work less than 20 hour a week, or students who do not work.”  Students who belonged to an organization felt more connected to the university, more confident, and learned problem solving skills, the article said.

It can be very hard to let go of who you used to be in high school. The person you were back then will be different than who you are today.  Some students carry on some aspects whether it be sports, or friends. Nate Nelson is apart of the University of Utah Rugby team but he also works three jobs, and is a fulltime student. “It can be hard to find a balance” said Nate Nelson. “I know this won’t last forever, so that’s why I do it now. The bonds I have created through rugby and what it has taught me will last a lifetime.”

It can be hard to determine what you want out of college, whether you want the social aspect or the academics. Your priorities can and will change throughout your college journey, but to narrow down on what is important to you will help make this journey a lot easier.  College is a great experience and should be used for its full potential. There is no right or wrong on wanting to join a club or not. The worst thing you can do, is look back on your college experience and have regrets.

By Michael Boswell: Campus involvement and student success

As an incoming Freshman, I remember being scared of college. The idea of college and not knowing what was in store for me was intimidating. When we were told to write a story, this idea instantly popped into my head. Since I play rugby I was curious how my college experience differed to other students. Was it beneficial to be a part of a club or organization on campus, or was there no major impact. How could joining a club or Greek Row help or make it more difficult? Locating my sources was fairly easy. I knew a lot of people apart of on-campus organizations but little who aren’t. It was also difficult to find a study on students who aren’t apart of organizations and how their success is. They were the best sources because they have been students at the U for some time now, and understand the effects of being apart or not being apart of something on campus. My focus was to provide people with a solution. If you were thinking about joining but were scared, or maybe you weren’t how could it affect or better your college experience. My writing process was broken up into multiple days. Knocking bits and pieces out time at a time. I found this to be quite effective. My brain was able to stay fresh and process information as needed. What surprised me was how passionate people were towards what they were apart of.

April 15th, 2019

By Brock Bernstein

SALT LAKE CITY — Like many university students across the United States, Cian Smyth, 20, is no stranger to a slim budget.

Working 28 hours a week as a director and producer for the University of Utah’s gaming production team, one would expect Smyth to be earning more than many of the team’s other members. They would be wrong. He currently earns the same amount as everyone else: absolutely nothing.

His story is just one of many among the university’s production team. Despite this, these students continue to invest their spare time into both the recording and streaming of games for Utah’s student Esports teams.

“I think a lot of students realize the grim reality of the esports industry is [that they’ll] be doing unpaid work for quite a while,” says Smyth. “I’m not happy that our production is perpetuating that.” While he acknowledges any kind of compensation lies far within the future, Smyth is just one of many voices advocating for reimbursement for the team’s efforts.

The loudest and most supportive of these voices is that of A.J. Dimick, the 40-year-old Director of Esports at the University of Utah. “Our production team is one of the most zealous, professional and talented volunteer organizations in collegiate esports,” Dimick proudly proclaimed. “They absolutely should be scholarshipped and officially part of the varsity program. What they do for the University is a service and they do it incredibly well.” While scholarships are generally based on academic or athletic merit, Dimick feels strongly that the team’s quality of work is deserving of such an award and is quick to share his frustration of a limited budget.

“I think there are always limitations to what volunteer force can accomplish relative to what could happen with additional resources,” he admitted. “What has been accomplished is remarkable and has made the argument for what we hope comes next a very reachable reality.”

According to a National Public Radio interview of Mark Kantrowitz, a recognized expert on college financing and author of Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, “less than 3/10ths of a percent of undergraduate students pursuing bachelor’s degrees have won enough money to cover their complete tuition… so most students are going to have to rely on federal grants, state grants, and money from the college itself.”

One such example would be Utah’s 21-year-old League of Legends Varsity Team Captain, James “Jayms” Tran.  The official NCSA website mentions how the University of Utah was the first Power Five school to launch a varsity esports program, having done so in 2017. Tran looks back on the time before this fondly.

“The people that you get to meet and interact with has been a really great opportunity for me, and was a reason that I played for the team in the first place,” Tran says. As he’s gotten older and looked to further his education, Tran confessed that without a scholarship he wouldn’t have been able to play for the team in 2019. “Having the scholarship allowed me to do something that I really [enjoy],” noted Tran, “which is playing competitive League of Legends. Without it, I would have to find a job in order to pay for tuition.”

While Tran doesn’t participate as a member of the production team, he remains sympathetic to their plight. “Students are attending university, and it is expensive. Not being offered money definitely hinders people’s ability to participate in production.”

A former professional player for Blizzard Entertainment’s Heroes of the Storm, Skylar “Casanova” Mulder is well-acquainted with the amount of labor needed to put on a broadcast. “FI know how important a great production team is. What we do as pros doesn’t happen without the people behind us making it look good,” Mulder laughed. “I think having scholarships or paid positions and incentives, as well as making connections and working with industry professionals in order to train more competent production staff would be amazing.”

Mulder’s career was brought to a grinding halt when Blizzard announced late on December 13th, 2017, that it would be shutting down its Heroes of the Storm Global Championship esports league. Wasting no time, he has since worked as a League of Legends caster with the University of Utah, but openly expresses his disappointment with the handling of the production team.

“I think the skills required are very much worthy of a scholarship, but if they were made paid positions with internships available for students to get experience and connections in the field, I think that would be a great alternative.” While Mulder hopes to continue casting for the U, “Casanova” is forced to supplement his income through playing in tournaments for both League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm on a weekly basis.

Though all members of the production team feel both pride and passion in their work, the amount of time required from each member has weighed upon even the most optimistic of the group. One such example would be Archie “LegendOfSleek” Smith, who has worked within every role possible: casting, observing, and directing whenever he’s needed. Yet even he notes of constant complaints among peers, due to the difficulty of juggling classes, actual jobs, and production. Despite his glass-half-full outlook, Smith admits just how fruitless the majority of opportunities can prove. “Esports connections are about as valuable as a lottery ticket,” says Smith. “For some people they mean everything, [but for most]: nothing.”

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Story and gallery by BENNY CARDULLO

Salt Lake City is known for stunning mountain scenery, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, and the 2002 Winter Olympics. But on Jan. 10, 2019, it was also named the Gayest City in America by The Advocate magazine.

This is not the first time Salt Lake City has earned this title from The Advocate. In 2012, Salt Lake City was given the top spot on the list of the gayest cities in America, and in 2016 it made the magazine’s top-10 list.

Jimmy Kimmel quipped in 2012, “I wonder how they (The Advocate) measure this — do they walk into the local Abercrombie & Fitch and see how full it is?”

Although this is not the magazine’s procedure, the ranking process is admittedly based on non-scientific criteria. The magazine looks at the number of gay and lesbian bookstores, elected officials who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, and some edgier qualifiers such as the number of International Mr. Leather competition semifinalists and the presence of nude yoga classes.

Of course these qualifiers are more abundant in larger cities such as San Francisco, Miami, Boston, and New York. But The Advocate wanted to focus on smaller cities for this year’s list.

To explain its unconventional forms of ranking, The Advocate said, “There’s the official census with information on same-sex couples as a percentage of the population, then there’s our accounting of the gayest places in the USA — and we know the twain shan’t meet. But do we really need another article telling us that the homos gather in West Hollywood and Hell’s Kitchen?”

Utah’s LGBTQ+ advocates were pleasantly surprised by the rankings.

“Well, you know, we’re all very proud of our community here, and we’ve done a lot of growing and empowering of each other and our allies in the community,” said Utah Pride Center Executive Director Valerie Larabee in a 2012 press release after Salt Lake City was named America’s gayest city.

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of law found that the LGBTQ+ presence in Salt Lake City is substantially growing and becoming more open and visible at a pace quicker than the rest of the United States.

Walker Boyes, a local artist who moved with his family to Utah from California, said, “Salt Lake City is an up-and-coming place. I’d rather set roots here and build connections than live in a city where no one cares about me.” Walker continued, “I also love how you walk down the street and people wave to you, I don’t get that in LA or New York.”

While many rejoice in the progress Utah has made in their relation to the LGBTQ+ community, many still feel there is a long way to go.

Sean Edwards, who moved to Utah from Princeton, New Jersey, 12 years ago, said, “While I have felt very well-received in the LDS and Utah community, I feel like there’s still work to be done.” However, Edwards and his husband, Matt Doane, are still members of the predominant religion of Utah, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and plan to raise their future children in the faith.

“I feel like by having my family here, or our family here, we can continue to embrace diversity as a community, and I think that’s important,” Edwards said, “I think successful societies and successful communities and successful people are people who really know how to work with and get along with and collaborate with other people who are different than them. If I’m going to be an advocate for our community here I need to be willing to raise my family here.”

According to a 2013 study by Gary J. Gates, a distinguished scholar for the Williams Institute, Salt Lake City is “the gay parenting capital of the United States.” Gates’ data reveals that among couples of the same sex in the Salt Lake City area, more than one in four are rearing children.

Nicole Dicou, a former employee at Equality Utah, is getting ready to raise her baby girl in Salt Lake City with her wife Natalie. Dicou said, “My wife and I want to raise our child in Utah because we grew up here and call it home. We are close to our family here, love the mountains, and enjoy all that the state has to offer.”

Dicou added, “We can’t wait to welcome our little girl to this beautiful place.”

Story and photos by PAMELA SMITH

 Salt Lake City is made up of many local businesses that are run by friends, neighbors, and others in the community. These businesses help the local economy prosper. But it can be daunting competing against large corporations.

Highlighted is one local business in the Salt Lake area that has made a name for itself with little marketing — until now, when it recently changed its marketing strategies in order to grow and stay competitive.

Sacred Energy is a crystal, meditation and energy shop, located on 261 E. 4500 South in Murray. Owner Janet Wall started the company in 2016 and it has only prospered since then. She has taken the store from one location to three in just a few short years.

Being a spiritual person, Wall was constantly traveling to Phoenix to take classes and learn about the various types of energy work and uses for various crystals. Wanting to create a classroom closer to home, she thought up the idea of Sacred Energy. But, working a 9-5 job made it nearly impossible to start a business.

Three years ago, she asked the spirits to lay her off of her administrative assistant job so that she could open up Sacred Energy and help others learn this spiritual practice. Over the past three years, the store has flourished with the help of her husband, customers, and energy workers, the people who do tarot reading and run the classes. Wall says opening this business has impacted her life and “changed her world completely.”

The shop’s main location sells crystals, jewelry and healing books, and offers a variety of energy work such as sound baths, crystal healing chamber, Reiki, card readings, and aura pictures. The other two locations are energy healing retreats for people to rent and hold weekend getaways and more intimate customized classes.

Being a small business, Wall has only used Facebook and word of mouth to market the shop. Although these marketing strategies have brought her lots of customers, more crystal shops are popping up and she has had to hire a woman to work on the media presence and make her stand out.

Wall says that Google, Instagram and Twitter are a few of the media platforms she plans on having her media person use for the shop.

Sacred Energy’s website will give you full details for all the events, activities, and items you can purchase, as well as bios for the energy workers.

The moment you walk into Sacred Energy you are overtaken with a positive and calm atmosphere. The staff welcomes everyone with smiles and a helping hand to find what you need. Wall wants to know that everyone who enters into Sacred Energy has a purpose or reason for walking in. She is truly there to help people and isn’t in it for the money.

Customers who walk in bring a different kind of energy. She says that she loves to watch people grow spiritually and enjoys building relationships with them.

Erica Blewett has been going to Sacred Energy for almost three years. She heard about it through a friend and now also continues to inform her friends of the relaxed environment it provides. She has gone to other crystal stores, but none have quite the same atmosphere as Sacred Energy.

Wall says Sacred Energy is set apart from other stores such as Dancing Crane, Lotus, and Turyeas because of the “good energy you feel when you walk in and our high-quality crystals.” Although she doesn’t believe in competition, she says “there is a purpose for each business.”

Sacred Energy’s motto will surely draw in all who want to find self-awareness and feel like they are a part of a community: “To provide high rejuvenation products and services to our community; that offers spiritual awareness, growth, and transformation. Within the peaceful retreat and home away from home, clients enjoy a variety of alternative, holistic, and spiritual interpretations and modalities, all within an unbiased and loving environment.”

Crystal healer and Reiki master Michael Eakett is one of 11 energy workers who teach at Sacred Energy. He teaches mediation and he says, “It has changed my life for the better.”

Eakett was not on a “good path.” Sacred Energy gave him a place to go and be a part of a community. He promotes himself by business cards, word of mouth, and Facebook. With his way of marketing, he brings in many customers for the shop who want to grow in their spirituality.

“I want to help people be the best they can be.” he says. “I know that if I don’t meditate daily I get lost. Hopefully I can just teach people the power of mediation.”

With all the large corporations taking over, Sacred Energy seems to be keeping up by revamping the way it markets itself. Watch for posts on Twitter and Instagram.