By Kate Pekuri

SALT LAKE CITY–The University of Utah boasts nearly 280,000 alumni, and the Alumni Association has the massive task of managing this group of people. On their website, the Alumni Association claims they are “dedicated to forging and preserving lifelong relationships with alumni, students and the community.” Through their efforts, they work to create a sense of loyalty to the U, give to philanthropy, as well as be a central hub of campus activity. 

This past year, the Alumni House has undergone a complete renovation, resulting in the opening of the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House. The building features ballrooms, meeting rooms, and beautiful outdoor spaces, located at the center of campus. It is often used as an activity hub, always hosting different organizations’ events. Anyone can reserve a room in the Alumni House, from a club meeting to a wedding.

Despite being a brand-new building, students often have no interaction with the Alumni House aside from picking up their MUSS passes. The Alumni Association has numerous leadership opportunities for University students such as the Student Alumni Board and the MUSS Board. The MUSS Board even has their own room in the new building complete with couches and ping pong tables where members of the board can spend their free time between classes. Students can also reap the benefits of the Alumni Association. Here, students can forge connections with professionals within the Alumni Association as well as build their own resumes.

University of Utah Alumni Zac Williams served time in many organizations during his time at the U. This included ASUU, Inter-Fraternal Council, and the MUSS Board. He was also a part of homecoming royalty in 2016. “It’s been a huge part in shaping the leader I am today,” says Williams. Not only did he gain leadership skills and professional connections, but he was also a recipient of one of the Alumni Association scholarships. Williams is now in graduate school at the Southern California Institute of Architecture studying for his Masters of Architecture after receiving his undergraduate degree at the U.

One of the associations main incentives is to connect U Alumni with current U students. The main avenue of doing this is known as AlumniFire. This is a grassroots network where current students can connect with young alumni in order to find jobs, internships, or just get career advice. Karen Ashton, Manager of Marketing and Membership at the Alumni Association, is a member of AlumniFire as a mentor. Ashton says she is a believer in AlumniFire because “I can put in as little or as much time as I’d like, I can look at a couple resumes or do a full-blown mock interview with a student.” Campaigns such as this one reinforce the Alumni Association’s mission to connect students with young alumni in a natural, simple way and gives mentors a sense of making a difference.

If alumni would rather not give up their time, there are currently eight different scholarship funds they can donate toward. These scholarships are awarded to students achievement based as well as need based.

Kelsy Patrick, a University of Utah graduate in Anthropology with a health emphasis, landed a job in the healthcare field with the help of alumni. “I would not have the job I do right now if it weren’t for the connections the University has brought me” says Patrick. She explains the loyalty of the University’s alumni and their inherent desire to give back. Patrick now works at the Granger Medical Clinic while applying to Physicians Assistant schools. With the help of alumni, she now looks forward to giving back to future students.

Like many organizations on campus, the resources are there just waiting to be used. As students, it is imperative for the college experience to get out and seek new opportunities as well as focus on creating a future beyond college. The resources of the Alumni Association are just a few of thousands of resources provided to students by the University.  The University of Utah Alumni Association aids students in seeing beyond the diploma and promoting lifelong Ute pride amongst its graduates.

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ABOUT KATE PEKURI

CBD Oil bottled for medical use. CBD Oil was legal in Utah before Proposition 2 . Taken on January 1, 2018. (420 LightGuide)

By Araceli Haslam

SALT LAKE CITY––During the 2018 midterm elections, Utahns voted “yes” on Proposition 2. Despite a five year effort to put the bill on the ballot, however, critics of proposition 2 expressed concerns with the initiative and  began the process of a legislative solution. On December 3, a compromise bill prepared by the Office of Governor Gary Herbert and legislative leaders is expected pass in a special session of the Utah Legislature. Now, Rocky Anderson, a former mayor of Salt Lake City, has threatened to file a lawsuit to stop the compromise bill from passing.

Prior to the election, the Utah legislature passed a bill to allow for legalized possession and use of THC/CBD oil for patients suffering from intractable epilepsy. The bill didn’t include a provision for patients to acquire the drug in the State of Utah, however, until the legislature passed HB197, which authorized the regulated sale of CBD oil.

During the 2018 legislative session, the Right to Try bill — which grants access to marijuana for terminally ill patients expected to live no more than six months — was passed. HB197 calls for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food to begin growing marijuana in Utah by January 1, 2019. The marijuana may be sold to research institutions or terminally ill patients. 

Proposition 2 is a broader bill, which makes medical marijuana available to more patients in Utah. The bill allows patients 18 and over with epilepsy, cancer, chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, autism, PTSD, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease and ALS, access to medical marijuana with a physician’s recommendation. If a patient doesn’t have one of the listed diseases they must provide evidence to a five-member board of physicians that indicates their need for medical marijuana. Under Proposition 2, the marijuana will be grown by un-taxed private facilities.

The compromise bill calls for patients under 21 years old to obtain approval from their doctor and a state appointed-panel of medical professionals, according to a report from KSL news.

Walt Plumb Jr., a local land developer and opponent of Proposition 2, expressed his concern that younger patients might have access to marijuana. “We know that someone’s brain hasn’t developed until the age of 25,” says Plumb. “We restrict tobacco use, we restrict alcohol use. It just seems insane to me that all of a sudden we would let someone as young as 18 years old go into these dispensaries and try and cure these illnesses.”  

May 5, 2015 Legal marijuana growing in greenhouses in Minnesota. This shows what medical marijuana could look like growing in Utah. (Glenn Stubbe/ Star Tribune via The Salt Lake Tribune)

The compromise bill will further regulate the growth and distribution of the marijuana. “One of the problems with the substitute is you get rid of the privately-owned businesses,” said former Utah Legislator Steve Urquhart. Without private businesses the state will be in charge of running drugs, which is a violation of federal law. “It’s one thing to say ‘okay citizens if you do this, we the state won’t prosecute you.’ It’s a much different thing for the state to tell our state employees to deal drugs in violation of federal law.”

Rocky Anderson, the former mayor of Salt Lake City, has introduced yet another twist into the medical marijuana saga, threatening a lawsuit. According to Deseret News, the complaint is based upon the involvement of the Church Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in crafting the compromise bill. Urquhart maintains that Marty Stephens, Director of Community and Government Relations for the LDS Church, sent an email initiating the drafting of a compromise bill. 

Utah State Capitol where Propostion 2 will be implemented or replaced by the compromise bill. Taken on May 22, 2008. (Soupstance/ Flickr)

Recently, Speaker of the House Greg Hughes sat down with the anti-Prop 2 side — the LDS Church and the Utah Medical Association — and the pro-Prop 2 side — the Utah Patients Coalition (who got Prop 2 on the ballot) and the Libertas Institute — to draft the compromise bill on common ground. All parties agreed to support the compromise bill, according to Deseret News. However, Urquhart believes that the church being represented in these private government negotiations, raises suspicions of the church’s influence over the new bill.  

In the wake of the agreement, Anderson sent out letters to each party involved informing them of his intent to sue if the compromise bill is pursued. Anderson’s letter claims that the church’s involvement in creating the bill violates the constitution, according to a Deseret News Report. “The Mormon Church is controlling the issue,” says Urquhart. “The Mormon Church is telling them through speakers what they’re going to pass.”

Subsequently, the Church issued a statement in response to the pending lawsuit.  “Broad community engagement was the reason a workable, beneficial and safer medical cannabis program was put together at the direction of state leadership. We stand behind and look forward to the safe, responsible and compassionate solution that will be considered by the state Legislature.” The Church reiterated that it is allowed to have political standpoints, and that their involvement comes from a place of concern for the Utah populous, the Deseret News reported. 

Anderson told the Deseret News that the lawsuit’s goal would be “stopping the session, stopping any move toward gutting the initiative.”

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By Taylor Watkins

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah is an intensely partisan state with the majority of the votes going to the conservative party. In this kind of political climate, it can be challenging for constituents to find reasons to go to the polls and cast their votes. However, for many students at the University of Utah, this election cycle felt different. With a critical race in Utah’s 4th District and several progressive ballot measures, students were more motivated than ever to get out and vote.

Wyatt Hudgens, a first-year student at the U, said that he voted because, “Voting is a right that we often take for granted, and it is important to participate in the political process by electing your representatives.” Hudgens said that the non-binding Question 1 and Proposition 2 were his main motivators to vote in the midterm election.

Hudgens opposed Question 1 because he believes that gas tax should fund roads and infrastructure rather than education initiatives. Although Hudgens supported Proposition 2, he doesn’t believe that this ballot measure will have a substantial impact on Utahns until the medicinal marijuana program is expanded to a broader range of illnesses.

Mitt Romney will be representing Utah in the United States Senate after receiving over 62 percent of the votes. Although Romney faced many qualified opponents, despite public debates and funding, none of them managed to close the gap between themselves and Romney.

Results for the Utah U.S. Senate Election

Erin Sleater, a third-year student at the U, believes that “the election results will ignite the motivation we need to start real change within our state and country.” Sleater said that students at the U will be more motivated to vote in the future because of the different ballot measures; as well as the state and national races becoming more competitive, like the 4th District congressional race.

The 4th District U.S. House race was regarded as a toss-up until Ben McAdams gained a significant lead over incumbent Mia Love just last week. McAdams’ leads by a margin of 0.26 percent, just above the 0.25 percent needed to qualify for a recount.

The race between Love and McAdams was highly publicized and caught the attention of national donors and the Federal Election Commission after Love violated federal guidelines regarding campaign funding for primary elections. In Utah, candidates are not permitted to raise funds for primary elections if a primary is not expected to occur. Love admitted to improperly raising primary election funds and told the FEC that the campaign would work to refund the contributors or redistribute the money for the general election fund.

Results for the Utah U.S. House District 4 Election

Three constitutional amendments were proposed during this election cycle. The first, Constitutional Amendment A proposed a property tax exemption for active members of the military, this amendment passed. The second, Constitutional Amendment B, proposed a tax exemption for government-leased property, 71.62 percent of citizens voted against this amendment. Finally, Constitutional Amendment C passed, giving the legislator the ability to call a special session, limiting the power of the state executive branch.

Question 1 proposed a non-binding opinion about an increase in gas tax to fund education. Question 1 failed, with over 65 percent of constituents voting against the question.

Proposition 2, the medical marijuana initiative passed, however, legislators are working quickly to create an alternative bill to replace the ballot measure Utahns already voted on. With the proposal of the new bill, there would be more state-run pharmacies, but fewer licensed grow facilities. A special medical cannabis board would also be implemented and would require patients under the age of 21 to seek approval from the board before obtaining medical cannabis. Legislators are facing some opposition to the compromise bill because of the significant changes to the citizen ballot initiative.

The ballot measure to expand Medicaid to include people younger than 65 with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty line passed with 53.32 percent of the popular vote.

Proposition 4, the ballot measure to create an independent non-partisan redistricting seven-member redistricting commission for congressional and state legislative districts, is still a toss-up with 50.34 percent for the measure, and 49.66 percent against the measure.

Results for Proposition 4

Meghan Pollard, a fourth-year student at the U, majoring in Marketing said that Proposition 4 was a ballot measure that motivated her to vote. She believes that “Our voices are only heard if properly represented and loud enough, redistricting would allow for that.”

Meghan believes this election cycle is different because citizens are acting on their frustrations with the current administration and trying to create positive changes within federal and state governments. “People are angry, scared, and disheartened by the current state of the government. They rallied around that frustration and really went to work to improve their lives and the future of America.”

Voter turnout for this midterm election cycle hit a record high across the United States. Over 110 million people voted, compared to 83 million in 2014. In Congress, Republicans strengthened their control over the Senate, but Democrats picked up 29 seats and gained control of the House of Representatives.

Julianne Skrivan, a former White House Intern and current Johns Hopkins University masters student for Political Communications and Strategy, attributes voter increases to the increased publicity of the election cycle, especially with social media becoming more prominent to encourage political participation.

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Reflections on Women in Utah recently rank more sexist than men 

by KAELI WILTBANK

I haven’t always been passionate about feminism, in fact, I used to think it was quite bogus how women were being so stubborn about their “rights.” I’m not sure when and I can’t even say what triggered the change, but I’ve recently become very passionate about women’s rights. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Utah, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of members who are very turned off by the word feminism. It’s a strange thing because I know that they would never support gender inequality and most of the members of the church are very passionate about living a life of good morals and ethics.

When I read the above-mentioned article from the Salt Lake Tribune and learned that not only is Utah one of the most sexist states in the nation but that it’s the women who are more sexist than the men, honestly I wasn’t surprised. There is an air of competitiveness among LDS women that can really be destructive.

Did you know that Utah is number six for the number of plastic surgeons per US capita? While I would love to attribute this statistic to men, I believe that it comes as a direct result of women living in a never-ending beauty pageant.

While writing this article and interviewing people, I found that others also expected no less from Utah. It didn’t come as a surprise that Utah was ranked so lowly, but some were surprised that it was women who were more sexist than men. Although, after conversing about the matter, women were able to see the destructive behavior that is present in our society.

This article was fun to write! I enjoy talking with people about feminism and it’s interesting to interview people and learn from them.

Story and gallery by HANNAH COOK

It’s a choice that can save a life.

Many people in this world don’t know the importance of organ donation. They don’t understand how many people are affected by just one organ that is donated.

For Bob Daniels, receiving an organ would be a second chance at life. A chance to attend his son’s wedding. A chance to be a grandpa.

Due to genetic failure, Daniels is currently waitlisted for a kidney and has been waitlisted for one year. Daniels lives in South Weber, Utah, and is currently working for the railroad to continue to provide for his family.

Daniels and his family are doing everything they can to prolong his life,while he is on the wait list. His wife is even donating her kidney to someone in need to help move him higher up on the list.

Daniels said in a phone interview that organ donation is much more than what is done with your body once you have died. It is what gives some people a second chance at life.

“Though I am biased, I wish people knew that organ donation is not a bad thing and should actually be praised. Many are concerned with what happens with their body afterwards, but they don’t see that good that is done,” he said.

In the subject of people offering to be organ donors and if people should be forced to donate their organs after they’ve died, or if it should always be a choice, he said. “I do believe that everyone should have a choice. I just wish they would make the right choice.”

Though becoming an organ donor is a choice that each person makes, there are many logistics that play into being a donor. Intermountain Donor Services is a company that takes care of those logistics for people who are waitlisted.

Intermountain Donor Services is a nonprofit organization located in Salt Lake City that retrieves organs from a body of a person who has died. It is the only organization in Utah that can retrieve all organs. Organs that can be retrieved are the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas and occasionally the small bowel and tissues can be taken and used in organ donation.

All organs can be used from the body of someone who has died if that person has given consent by becoming a donor.

“Organ donation affects many people. Both the recipient and the donor, both of these parties have parents, and friends, and coworkers, and neighbors that are affected by a successful transplant,” said Alex McDonald, director of public relations for Intermountain Donor Services.

Nationally, there are about 115,000 people who are waiting for a transplant. These people range in ages from newborn to 70 years old. Of those, approximately 80,000 are waiting for kidneys. McDonald said “numerically, kidneys are the most needed.”

“With a failing liver, there is no artificial way to keep a liver going. If a person needs a kidney, they can be temporarily sustained with dialysis. If a heart is needed, it can be artificially sustained, and lungs can be helped with oxygen. But there is no way to artificially represent a liver and its functions to the human body,” McDonald said.

If McDonald were to say anything to someone who was becoming an organ donor, he would tell them, “About 21 people die every day waiting for a transplant. This would equal about seven thousand and four hundred people a year, nationally, who die waiting. Utah alone has approximatively 800 people on the waitlist.”

McDonald would like anyone who is considering becoming a donor to think that no one just woke up one day and decided they wanted a new organ. They were put into this situation and now they are in need. “Would you wish someone would be a donor, so you could live? Would you be willing to do the same?” McDonald said.

A person can choose for themselves at the age of 16 if they’d like to be a donor or not. If a donor is under the age of 18, Intermountain Donor Services will honor the parents’ wishes. Some parents can’t fathom the thought, but for parents such as Kathy Shelton, it was a miracle.

Shelton is a resident of Roy, Utah. Her daughter, Heidi, lived in Salt Lake City. She died in the summer of 2014 of an accidental overdose. Kathy was able to donate her daughter’s corneas and some of the larger bones in her arms.

Organ donation is important to her because due to her daughter donating, someone is able to see again, or someone who needed a bone graft is now able to receive one. Shelton strongly believes in the benefits of organ donation and explains that organ donation is the only way that science and medicine will every advance.

Shelton’s daughter at some point actually needed a bone graft and had received one from a cadaver.

“You hear about the parents get to meet the people whose organs go to many people. Think if a person can recover eight organs that’s eight people that are affected. And eight people with parents and families and friends who get a second chance at life,” Shelton said.

Shelton is a donor herself and said she plans to donate her entire body to science. This will help doctors to be able to practice and to help the advancement of medicine.

Organ donation can touch many lives and is very important to many. You can grant someone a second chance at life. You can change the lives of thousands by just saying “Yes” to becoming an organ donor when obtaining your driver license. You can also register to become an organ donor online through Intermountain Donor Services.

A Celebration of Life Monument that is dedicated to those who have given the gift of life through organ donation.

A letter and certificate of recognition to the family of a donor from Utah’s Donate Life Coalition.

A plaque recognizing the supporters and sponsors of the monument, including Intermountain Donor Services.

Platform describing the Celebration of Life Monument and what it symbolizes.

Glass wall of names of the living and deceased donors who improved the life of others.

A pamphlet that Shelton received explaining the donation her daughter made.

Kathy Shelton at her home in Roy, Utah.

The “Me Too” movement and the effect on college campuses

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-child-852870ab/

ABOUT ME:

I’m a seasoned digital executive, leader, and strategist. I’m in an expert in strategic communications, business management, event management, and design. After receiving my Bachelors Degree in Strategic Communication at the University of Utah, I’ve been able to be a CEO of a successful commercial cleaning company, an event, and marketing manager, a financial account manager, and have had the opportunity to work on different projects and events with several different non-profit organizations.

Any project I take on, I take pride in completing it to the best of my abilities. I love a challenge and welcome them in all aspects of my life. I am the hardest worker in the room, always striving to gain additional skill sets.

In my free time, I enjoy working with non-profit organizations and traveling internationally. I am passionate about engaging in other cultures, foods, religions, and the environment. My dream would be to become a travel writer, working with National Geographic…. maybe one day.