By Bianca Velasquez

Gross! A zine written by only girls and non-binaries that empower them to break social barriers and strive for progression in their community? Pee-ew! Elaine Sayer and Chloe Monson, what are you thinking? You think this is going to work, that people will listen? Hell yeah you do.

A brain baby from The Creative Collective, SLC Pink, (originally known as Girl Germs) has sprouted and is growing wild. Zines usually cover music, art, and other “cool” features. Which is great, but I think we are hungry for something else. Something that summons whispered opinions. Something that reads the writing on the wall. This is why SLC Pink is just that. They explain “Truth is, girls suck at being supportive. It’s about time that changed, and we hope to help do it.” Yes, this quote is great but are you wondering how a zine will do that? The purpose of SLC Pink is to bring girls and non-binary (someone who is not exclusively male or female) together in a celebration of their work, whatever it is. Now your questions should be, why hasn’t anyone done this sooner?

The two bad asses spearheading this are the previously mentioned Elaine Sayer and Chloe Monson. Their main project The Creative Collective was admired and promoted on City Weekly a couple months ago. This article talks about them as individuals but also highlights their campaign “I support you” which is the base for SLC Pink. This I love. Someone is stepping up and calling us out, calling us out as artists and as human beings. SLC Pink is exclaiming the unspoken truth that we need to have each other’s backs. This is an overdue movement but it is in fact moving, and moving fast.

I’ve been following Elaine Sayer’s work ever since my Kilby Court days. Back when I would hang out in that stupid burnt red booth selling tickets trying to refrain from frostbite on cold winter nights. I would poke out my phone from the bottom of my huge overzealous jacket and scroll through her page. What I would find are strong, empowering quotes about every day struggles that riddle our youth. These aren’t the big whiney tumblr quotes about unrequited love, no, I was drawn to hers because these were glowing with honesty. At that age (18/19) honesty is unfortunately rare. You are so consumed by discovering your identity that honesty is your last option. Honesty sneaks out at night like a hungry rat on your forever regrettable drunken nights. You don’t display it on social media for everyone to see. Elaine did that. I will forever admire her for it.

I love Elaine’s little side project called Poems On Places. Where she writes a poem, then nestles it into an envelope with a note saying “Take this poem: If you’re, just barely, getting over a tough heartache.” She embeds these in locations around town for soft hearts who need them. After a seemingly educational time in LA, Elaine came back to SLC and her creativity, combined with the talents of Chloe Monson, exploded into The Creative Collective. This led to SLC Pink.

I have admired Chloe from afar, but I never took the time to really check her out until I started participating in SLC Pink. Though I have seen her artwork circulating the internet prior to knowing she was the creator. Chloe is a very talented embroiderer, stitching expressive female faces onto a canvas like a story teller with a needle. She also tells stories through her illustrations, both very concentrated in feminine energy.
Edition 1 of SLC Pink is called “Girl Power”. It will be released this spring on May 1^st. They will be hosting this release at Kilby Court. An all ages venue that I had previously mentioned hating. I don’t hate it, I just have spent way too many cold nights there accompanied by a broken heater. Anyway, there will be all girl bands playing like Ana Hardy, Sally Yoo, and Big Baby. I had the chance to include my cartoons and an article for this one, so I am extra excited. Can’t wait to see what the other talented ladies bring to the community, pink, warm table.

By Jake Glissmeyer

City councilman Chris McCandless resides at a comfortable abode near the southwestern portion of Sandy, Utah. When I arrive to interview him, it is a crisp cool evening; not quite cold enough for a jacket, but also not shorts and tank top weather. His front porch is not particularly decorated with anything save it be one piece of unique furniture; an original Snowbird ski lift, converted into a bench for sitting on. The councilman is wearing a plaid shirt, green cargo pants, and sandals along with a watch and glasses; not your typical politician ensemble you might expect. After exchanging pleasantries, he opens his office and releases his energetic yellow lab, named Charlie. I make the mistake of engaging Charlie early. This pup wants to play fetch and tug of war and he makes it difficult and distracting to carry on a conversation with McCandless.

Before McCandless and I start to chat, we look out his large floor to ceiling windows overlooking his backyard. In his backyard we see a fountain trickling down to a small pond containing a few fish and some ducks. As we make ourselves comfortable he reminisces of the past ski season, boasting in the fact he’s skied for each of the past 52 years.

Early on there are several things apparent; McCandless is happy to oblige with this interview. He’s sarcastic but soft-spoken; he’s genuine, long winded and loves to go on tangents. One of his tangents I found myself captivated with was a religious experience he told of climbing Mt. Orizaba and how he, through divine warnings, was prepared and able to save the lives of 2 fellow climbers and himself. McCandless is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, something he holds dear that certainly influences the way he governs himself as a representative of the people.

When he got his start in the political world he describes how there weren’t many obstacles and that he almost fell into it. He was basically appointed to his councilman position; because of this he only needed 4 votes to win. In a subsequent councilman election he ran unopposed. We shared a laugh as he wanted his unopposed campaign slogan to be “Chris McCandless: the ONLY choice.” Since then he has run another election unopposed but when he has had competition he makes sure to play by the rules and not do anything to degrade his or his opponent’s character.

McCandless expresses some difficulties of a councilman, “You gotta make decisions that are really unpopular,” he continues with the fact that his paycheck is rather slim compared to the real estate development he used to do. Clearly, he does what he does not for the money or the fame or popular vote; his motives are more selfless. “I’m running to help our community,” he states quietly but with passion.

McCandless wishes that those running in the presidential election would have similar motives. He detests that the nominees verbally tear each other down, bend the truth and attack each other rather than policy and change. In contrast and as stated earlier, he prides himself on running a clean race and never verbally tear down his opponent. Truly motivated by service rather than for personal gain we can see how genuine Chris McCandless truly is.

As a councilman, McCandless and the other councilors approve the mayor’s budget and then pass laws and ordinances in the city for things like the fire department, police department, parks and recreation, lighting, roads and so on. He continues and says the $100 million budget that Sandy City is allotted, comes from property taxes, franchise taxes, public utilities, and gas taxes among a few others.

When asked what an ordinary person may not discover simply by googling his name he chuckled and replied, “I’m pretty much ADD and crazy.” But he also remarked that you wouldn’t find or even be able to measure his level of commitment and obligation to serve the people that elected him. He certainly feels the weight of this solemn duty of representing the people of Sandy as a city councilman.

Story by: Monique Morrison

Imagine spending everyday of your entire life doing the one thing that you love most. Then, when you set out to accomplish one of the most exciting adventures of your career everything gets wiped away from you in a matter of seconds. This is essentially what happened to Jim Harris.

Harris is a professional photographer, a mountaineer, an educator and an all-around outdoor enthusiast. He has shot expeditions everywhere from the mountains in Alaska to the Himalayas, has worked for for National Geographic and has been on the cover of Powder magazine. He started as a mountain guide, taking people on tours through some of the most extreme regions in North America. At first, photography was just a hobby, but with the creation of his blog “Perpetual Weekend”, his photos gained immense popularity.

Perhaps Harris’ most challenging and memorable expedition yet was in November 2014, when he and two other men set off on a 30-day journey through the ice caps of Patagonia, Chile. The trip was sponsored by Polartec, a fabric manufacturer, who asked Harris to test out their new outerwear, while skiing and rafting.

Just before the expedition, Harris was testing out the kite that would help him traverse this 330-mile journey. As soon as he clipped into the kite, a sudden gust of wind scooped him up and launched his body about three feet. After slamming into the ground and bouncing a few times Harris was knocked out. When he came to he quickly realized he had no feeling in his legs and was paralyzed from the waist down.

Discouraged and disoriented, Harris’ expedition crew rushed for help. A few days after the accident, he was flown to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where his broken back and neck were operated on.

After the operation it was still unclear whether Harris would ever gain his mobility back; he just had to wait and see if his nerves would start firing again It wasn’t until a month after surgery he saw his first glimmer hope. Harris remembers sitting in his hospital bed, mentally screaming at his legs to move when finally his big toe bent about one centimeter. This was his first sign of recovery, and after that everything began to go uphill.

Harris says “the loss of being able to use my body in the way I used to still feels like its temporary,” — and sure enough, it is. Today, about one year and four months after the accident, Harris is back on skis, riding mountain bikes and going for trail-runs. So how did he get here?

Harris was in the hospital for a total of seven months, and bedridden for five months before he was able to walk again. Prior to the accident Harris spent about three months a year travelling and shooting expeditions, so being pent up in a hospital was quite a different experience.

However, Harris says he is treating his recovery like he would any expedition — he sets goals, looks to the future with hope and views obstacles as opportunities for progress.

Exactly one year after his accident, Harris was back on the ski slopes. At first he was confined to the bunny hills but everyday saw major progress. He looked to the outdoors as an opportunity for recovery and soon began cross-country skiing. He would time himself going up the mountain as a way to measure progress and was improving his time by 15 seconds each week.

Though Harris is back in the mountains and gaining mobility he knows he is not as strong as he used to be. He says that even if he isn’t ever the athlete that he once was, being able to go outside and reconnect with everything he loves is enough to make him happy.

In hindsight, Harris still doesn’t know why he, of all the people who suffer spinal injuries, was able to gain his mobility back. But he looks at this as accident not as something to be mourned, but as another adventure. Health is now the focus of his journey and healing gives him something more to work towards.

By: Lexie Humphrey

Katie Romney, a loquacious disk jockey from Cottonwood Heights, Utah, has tapped into Washington D. C’s number one “top 40” radio station and is there to stay.

At five AM on the dot, Tuesday through Friday, Romney reports to the iHeartRadio building located in the heart of West Valley, Utah. There she works as one of three hosts on The Kane Show. A show that talks about the hottest topics, celebrity gossip, and highlights new music artists. The Kane Show can be found on Hot 99.5 a station which is owned by iHeartRadio and is broadcasted in Washington D.C, New Jersey, and other parts of Virginia.

Romney has been involved in the radio business for eleven years. Ten of which working as substitute host for the local and iconic show, The Morning Zoo, on 97.1 ZHT. Thus being the start of Romney’s fascination for the business. “I fell in love with the fact that we were good friends simply talking about what’s hot now and hundreds of people wanted to tune in and listen.”

Having found her passion, Romney has worked on The Kane Show for little over a year and describes it as a “…whole different ball game,” due to its unique approach for host set-up. The Kane Show involves three different DJ’s all of whom live in three different states. One in Miami, one in Washington D.C, and one in Salt Lake City. According to Romney Hot 99.5 is not the first nor last station to have this kind of set-up.

“…with the technology we have, it’s easy [to] chat and connect with someone miles away. Listeners think we are all in the same room all the time, and it totally sounds that way…it’s just a matter of getting the hang of it.”

Getting the hang of it is right. Romney recalls her first week working on the show left no room for error. “At five in the morning nobody’s ears are fully awake…during my first day on the show I think I said ‘wait what’ about a hundred times, and [as] a radio DJ that’s a huge no-no.” However, Romney has since quickly caught on and has also embraced the other obstacles that occur while on-air.

With each DJ stationed in a different state, the trio has gotten creative with their communication strategies.

“You can’t give hand signals or eyebrow gestures to one another, it’s just you, the microphone, and a couple of ornery techies near you…you lose that face to face interaction.”

The only time the three DJ’s communicate off-air is via Instant Messaging during the show and privately through their microphones during a song break. This calls for some sharp listening and some quick thinking.

As mentioned earlier, The Kane Show reviews an array of present-day hot topics. When asked how she prepares for each show, Romney chuckled and replied, “I haven’t prepped since I got out of college…There is such thing as over prep, trust me, it comes out dry and unnatural.”

This is true. When tuning into the show you can hear the natural flow of the conversation. A vast amount of the topics addressed, stem from random tangents brought on by Romney or the other hosts.

Romney brings a very delightful and colorful vibe to the show, along with her contagious giggle and witty comments. She tends to help guide the flow of the show to ensure that listeners remain engaged. When asked what it takes to be an effective and intriguing DJ, Romney responded that you need to be outgoing, always up to date, and able to take criticism well. She also went on to say that one cannot be someone their not while working in the radio field. “You’re pretty much on one giant phone call that last for hours, pretty hard to fake who you are for that long.”

Anyone can tune in on just about any radio station across the nation. With the help of iHeartRadio, which happens to be the owner of both Hot 99.5 and 97.1 ZHT, it’s easy to tune in to The Kane Show and hear Katie Romney in her natural habit.

By: Rachel Roach

On February 23, 2016 Nadine Wimmer, of KSL 5 News, presented a story called, “Too much testing? How high-stakes testing impacts our children.” This story got me interested in this topic and made me wonder if our students really are being tested too much. I then wondered if the testers who are actually administering the tests think that students are being tested too much.

I interviewed Lin Hooper, a tester in the Salt Lake City School District, on her thoughts about the testing she administers to kids from Kindergarten to 12^th grade. I first asked her if she thinks the tests that she is giving are beneficial to the student themselves. She responded, “The only benefit is really for the teachers and parents.  The tests we administer show the child’s proficiency level in reading and the use and understanding of the English language.” It was interesting that she thinks that the tests don’t even benefit the children at all, that it only benefits the parents and teachers. Don’t you think that the tests that children are taking should help them in some way? To be better readers, to feel more confident while reading, or just to enjoy reading in and of itself?

“Shortening the length of the English language test would be beneficial because they would not burn out and give up so readily.  Also on that test (WIDA), if they only had to take the parts of the test the[y] didn’t pass the year before instead of having to take the entire test again would be much more motivating to them,” Hooper said happily. Also, shortening this test would allow the testing to go much faster. This would make it so kids would be in class more often rather than sitting at a table taking a test they don’t even care about. Hooper says that most of the kids that take these tests, WIDA and Dibles, just aren’t that interested in the outcome.

Another test, called Dibles, is one that you have to take multiple times a year, but why should you have to take it more than once or twice if you have passed it? Hooper agrees that if you pass it once or twice, you shouldn’t have to take it the multiple other times during the school year. This would clear up so much time for teachers, allowing them to actually teach instead of having to prep their students for a test that they have taken so many times already. It’s frustrating for the testers too. They have to test all of the kids in a school multiple times when most of them have already passed the test. If Hooper could it have her way she would reduce the amount of tests that students take.

“The tests are mandated by people who have never taught or been in classroom other than as children.  There are so many factors that go into a child’s success at school and testing only shows the results of a small number of them.”

In reality, how many of the people who make these tests were ever teachers or worked in a school? Most likely that number is very low. How can they make a good test for the students to take if they don’t understand how the school works? They need to have inside knowledge to create a test that will benefit the students learning and also be time efficient.

Overall, Hooper thinks that if they have less testing kids will actually enjoy learning more. “I would most assuredly reduce the number and kinds of tests given. Maybe then students could love to learn instead of learn to test!” So how do we get our schools to go back to this concept of having their students love to learn instead of learn how to test? Maybe we should take Hooper’s advice of having teachers make the tests that students take since they do have an inside look on how students learn.

Hooper loves when she sees students do better on a test than they did the time before. Seeing them succeed is very rewarding, but she would love it if all of the testing would be reduced in the Salt Lake City school districts. It has come to the point that it is too much, even for the testers themselves.

About me:

I graduated from Cottonwood High School in 2009. Growing up I played all kinds of sports, but once I got to high school, I found my true passion: water polo. I played for 3 years in high school, then played just one year at the University of Utah. I realized I wasn’t cut out to play at a higher level, so I began coaching. My high school didn’t have it’s own water polo team – I played with an East, Highland hybrid team – so me and one of my teammates at the U did some recruiting and started the Cottonwood Water Polo program back up. I have been coaching there ever since. I love my job, and love working with kids. In 2014 I was nominated for the Eastern Conference Girls Coach of the Year, and in 2015 I was awarded Utah State Coach of the Year.

I took a break from school for a few years after my Freshman year to work, and began attending the University of Utah once again in Fall of 2013. It has taken me several semesters to find what I’m really interested in studying. After meeting with my academic advisor, she suggested I look into the Communications department. I have really enjoyed the classes I’ve taken, and am set to graduate Spring 2017 with a degree in Strategic Communications.

Stories I’ve written:

The Life of a New York Editor

Good cop, good cop

Social Media

LinkedIn

By Matt Leavitt

“When you cry like a baby, nobody makes fun of you because everybody’s been there.” explained Ed, a cancer patient fighting stage four melanoma. He was referring to the support group that he found in the Cancer Wellness House.

Just a few blocks east of downtown Salt Lake sits a beautiful old house nestled below the foothills of the Wasatch Front. This pretty, but ordinary looking house is home to an organization that plays a very important role in the lives of many local Salt Lake residents. The Cancer Wellness House (CWH) is a non-profit organization that, according to its mission statement, strives “to support people living with cancer and their families in a homelike setting.”

The Cancer Wellness house was organized in 1997 after their first fundraiser “Survivors at the Summit,” now an annual tradition at the snowbird ski resort. This event along with the other fundraisers and volunteer efforts help maintain  this system of support which provides many free services to cancer patients and their families. These services include activities like socials for cancer patients, group therapy sessions, yoga classes, meditation, wellness counseling, acupuncture, massages, and more. Terri Goldstein, former director of the CWH stated, “What’s really unique about some of these activities is that they’re scientifically proven to help people with cancer have better outcomes.”

Kendra Baum, the current executive director of the CWH, spoke of what makes the organization unique. “Creating a home-like setting is one of our favorite aspects of Cancer Wellness House.  We operate out of two homes across the street from Salt Lake Regional Medical Center. Each home is decorated in a warm inviting way and creates a feeling of serenity and peace. The staff works very hard to make sure that everyone who comes to CWH feels welcome.”

In its 20  years of existence the CWH hasn’t grown immensely, but rather has kept its services very intimate and personal. In this they have been very successful. The level of trust that is built between the cancer fighters and the personnel at CWH has allowed them to plant the seed of hope and the will to fight on.

Ingrid, a previous beneficiary of the services of CWH, explained that “…when the other patients tell you as they are struggling what they are going through, you can be supportive for each other and that way you have the hope that you can do it too.”

Most of the CWH’s patrons have been referred by their doctors and clinics due to the tireless effort of the staff at CWH to spread the word about their free services to medical providers. Baum  explained that most patients are from Salt Lake City, but the CWH has spread its reach to residents of Davis, Tooele, Utah  and Weber counties.  Currently, the CWH is also providing services to two patients from outside the state of Utah who travel to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for their treatments.

 While the services offered by the CWH are specifically geared towards cancer patients, the patrons aren’t the only ones who are affected. Baum  stated that “lives are changed every day by the services provided at the CWH … I have had the opportunity to work with other interns and it is incredible to see the change in them from when they start to when they finish. It would seem that those who work at CWH gain a greater respect for life and remembering to honor the simple things around them.”  She continued , “It also teaches us about gratitude. We work with a lot of volunteers from the community and we also see how this changes their lives for the better. They recognized quickly that these homes are truly filled with love and compassion.”

Cancer Wellness House extends an invitation for all those who currently find themselves in the fight against cancer to come and participate in their program of healing and support, as well as for all who have the capacity to contribute to do so through either time or donations. More information can be found on their website at http://www.cancerwellness.org.

by Misty Packer

Deb Bilbao is the business consultant at the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Women’s Business Center. She counsels start-ups, pre-startups and expanding businesses on critical areas including business planning, finance, marketing, sales, management, operations and government procurement. Although Bilbao works for the Women’s Business Center, her clientele is about 20% male. She believes anyone can be an entrepreneur and no one has to go at it alone.

Bilbao was a middle school math teacher before transitioning into a substitute teacher for East High in Salt Lake City. While at East High, she saw a posting to work in the Women’s Business Center at the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and immediately began her career as a business consultant and has been in this career for two years. When asked what an average day for her looked like, she responded with, “I don’t have average days.” Bilbao continued by saying that no two days are the same and each day she has a combination of things to do, which includes speaking to new clients, returning clients, speaking at meetings or conferences. She happily remarked, “I get challenged every day.”

As a business consultant, Bilbao works with a diverse crowd of entrepreneurs. Her job allows her to help a successful business that’s looking to expand, or simply talk to someone about their idea. She mentioned that a vast majority of her clients work out of their homes, but she also has clients with commercial locations. Bilbao asserted that she can help anyone start a business anywhere.

Let’s say a p wants to open a business. Bilbao explains that the first thing an entrepreneur would need to do is see what free resources, such as the Department of Workforce Services or partners of the Women’s Resource Center such as Downtown Alliance or Utah Small Business Coalition, are available to them thanks to federal tax dollars. The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce is a bigger, more popular free resource as the Women’s Business Center provides free unlimited business counseling. Sometimes the Women’s Business Center will have a weekly networking or training event that are also free and fun to visit so that anyone can learn more. If there isn’t an event anytime soon, an entrepreneur can get in contact with Bilbao by going to the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce’s website and clicking the “Partners” tab. The first blue square icon that will show up is the Women’s Business Center. Through that medium, an entrepreneur will be able to get in contact with Bilbao and her entire team.

An appointment with Bilbao can be about anything. Her main focus is to point an entrepreneur in the right direction even if that involves contacting other resources such as the Department of Health or Agriculture if they want to start a food business. She can talk to an entrepreneur about renting a commercial space or what they need to do to work out of their home. She can talk about loans, restrictions and licenses. She will walk them through the process of getting a license in Utah, facilitate business planning and teach better cash flow maintenance and projections. An entrepreneur can visit Bilbao for an accountability session, a session that is basically a progress update, whenever they need to and she can help them at whatever step of the process they’re at.

Although Bilbao will do the best she can, sometimes entrepreneurs need to go in a different direction. “[Entrepreneurs] deserve to have the best assistance they can get, even if that’s not us,” she said. Bilbao emphasizes that all she wants to do is help an entrepreneur start their dream. She is very passionate about her job and how she is able to “help people start, run and grow their dreams every single day.”

“Anybody can be an entrepreneur,” Bilbao said. “Anybody can do this. But you don’t have to do it alone.”

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By: Maxwell Johnson

It is often said that getting lost in nature is the best way to promote self-discovery; if that’s the case then local business owner Jean-Michel Arrigona must know himself perfectly. At an early age, Jean-Michel began gathering different specimens from the fields of France and Germany where he grew up and putting them in small organized jars and boxes, all of which would be labeled and positioned in their proper place in his room. “Not a lot has changed from then to now,” he says with a laugh. Jean-Michel is still filling showrooms with various specimens from across the world, only this time the natural beauty of these deceased creatures are for everyone to enjoy.

It’s hard to imagine that a showroom of this quality wouldn’t be located in the thick of the 7^th arrondissement, much like notorious Parisian taxidermy shop Deyrolle. Instead, it is located in South Salt Lake City next to a Barbecue joint.

“This one is named Titanus giganteus,” Jean-Michel states as he points to a giant beetle in a frame hanging on the wall of his shop. “Can you even imagine if you lived where this did? What if he were to fly into you while you were riding your bike down the street?” Gathering the specimen was something that he used to do himself, but after establishing relationships with different gatherers around the world, he now requests the different species from them.

Jean-Michel doesn’t just collect these creatures, he poses them to make them look like they did when they were alive. He makes sure that none of the natural color and detail is lost while he relaxes the joints and prepares them for his gallery.

In an interview for VideoWest with Doug Fabrizio, Jean-Michel expresses his admiration for the intricate detail of his work by saying, “there is an appreciation for this natural thing, this product of nature that has evolved into this perfect little machine.”

For many, Natur showroom is the place to find naturally stunning pieces of art: a giant alligator skull for your man cave or a cluster of exquisite blue butterflies to hang on your wall. Natur also provides the opportunity to face your fears. “Most people are comfortable and fully involved in getting up close and studying the insects, and then there are those that walk into the showroom and won’t take another step. Over time I have met several people who started with a simple step into the store, and are now able to get closer to the creatures that truly frighten them, to the point where they’re okay with it. It is so cool to be apart of something like that,” Jean-Michel sincerely says.

After being open for business for the past three years, Jean-Michel has proven that there is definitely a market for the art that he is creating by breathing new life into these expired organisms.

When asked what he is currently working on and what can we expect from Natur showroom in the future, Jean-Michel replied, “I don’t think I have even scratched the surface of what is out there. When I think of all of the different species and subspecies of just a butterfly; it can become a little overwhelming.” In addition to the creatures that he poses, mounts and frames, he also houses a variety of living creepy crawlers that he allows visitors to look at and even hold, if cradling a tarantula is on your bucket list. He intends to aquire more live specimens for visitors of the showroom to enjoy. “I’m thinking about adding a few snakes to the family, even though my wife is terribly frightened of them,” says Jean-Michel as he pleasantly shakes his head.

A trip to Natur showroom offers the visitor a marvelous peek into the natural world around them. Jean-Michel’s love for the natural world is infectious, and it’s hard not to catch the bug when you spend time in his store – no pun intended. As you stroll the showroom, past the ornately framed insects and the shelves lined with gemstones, you can’t help but feel that Jean-Michel has given second life to these organisms. At the end of the day, Jean-Michel is a lucky man to have the chance to do what he loves, and we, as customers, observers, and travelers through his cave of wonders, are lucky to be able to take it all in.

Story by Daniel Tate

As 2015 draws to a close, the issue of illegal immigration is once again making headlines thanks to GOP candidate Donald Trump. Since officially announcing his presidential campaign in June, Trump has made it very clear that one of his biggest selling points is a promise to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants, including their U.S.-born children. But what does this mean for those immigrants whom Trump plans to eject from the United States? How can they keep the American dream alive when it appears so many are against them?

Luis Castro is a 29-year-old male who lives in Magna, Utah. He is married with three kids. He drives a nice Ford truck and works hard to provide for his family. He enjoys watching football with friends on Sunday and loves to barbeque.

From the outside looking in, he appears to be what most would consider a hard working American. However there is one factor that may prevent some U.S. citizens from calling him an all-American.

In 1990 Castro’s parents left Mexico to start what they hoped would be a better life for their children. For the next couple of years his parents worked seven days a week to save up enough money to bring their children to their new home. Finally in 1992 the Castro children began migrating from Mexico to the U.S., but the journey was not so easy.

“They were unable to get me a visa, so my dad and I actually tried crossing here illegally, but we didn’t make it across so we got sent back,” says Castro as he recalls the first time his parents attempted to bring him into the U.S.. After being sent back to Mexico, Castro says it took about three to four months for his parents to obtain the correct documentation. Although his parents were able to get documentation for him, his brothers and sisters were not so lucky. By the end of 1995 the whole family was now living in Salt Lake City, but only Luis was living here legally.

Although the fear is alive in these immigrants’ recent numbers show that deportation is actually down. President Barack Obama administration has deported fewer immigrants over the past 12 months than at any time since 2006, according to internal figures obtained by The Associated Press (Caldwell, Alicia. “U.S. Deportation Rates hit A 10-Year Low.” Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Oct. 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.). When presented with this statistic Castro smiled and said “that’s great,” but he went on to say he hopes more can be done to secure a safe and fear free life for those living in the U.S. illegally.

It’s now been over 20 years since Castro and his brothers and sisters made the move from Mexico to Salt Lake City. He says his all of his family members are now legal citizens and proud to call the U.S. home. Unfortunately though there citizenship has not stopped harassment from some people. He recalled a time the family was out to eat and they were speaking Spanish to each other and he could overhear people saying “why can’t they all just learn English already?” Castro says negativity like this does not upset him or anyone in his family though because they all actually do speak perfect English and thus the joke is on those who think small minded and talk down on them without knowing the whole story

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems to us.” Quotes like this from Trump have enraged many in the Hispanic community, but to Castro its words like this that make him want to be a better man. He believes Trump is just saying these hateful words to get attention from the media and does not believe Trump has any chance of being the next president of the United States. “He’s driving a wedge between himself and probably the second largest population in the U.S. So he is actually hurting himself by saying these hurtful things,” says Castro.

When asked if he feels his life so far could be titled under the umbrella of living the American dream he laughed and said “well I guess so.” He went on to say that he is happy, his family is happy and to him that is the American dream, being truly happy.

Story by Caitlin Jones

Photo by Miguel Rodriguez

It’s two days after Halloween, but there is still fear in the air. There is darkness all around you. The door you push creeks open and you walk through to see the fenced boarder of a cornfield path. The crickets are loud and the lights are limited. Glancing up you see the three scarecrows looking down at you, the first and second both have a sickle. Waiting for the first to move you dodge under it or run past it before something can happen. Little do you know that that this scarecrow is only stuffed. As for me, I am the second scarecrow and I am very much alive. Perched up on a post stuffed with hay, I am ready for my first victims. All of you loud and scattered, I aim for the middle of the group. “AHHHHHH” the sound triggers as I lung off the sound pedal. I swing out with my sickle barley missing the tops my victim’s heads. I hear the screams of men and when I look down you are all struggling to get off of the floor as fast as you can.

The University of Utah’s football team came through Nightmare on 13th haunted house as a team bonding practice outside of our public   hours. In exchange, they offered to give us free tickets to the upcoming game. Mike Henry, the owner, agreed. This meant that he needed to get a cast together for that night and being costume girl I had no choice I had to be there, but I made a compromise with our cast director, Jimmy Dilly. He would put me in my favorite role: Scarecrow.

Regarding the football game tickets that we got in return, I had no interest… until the team walked through the cornfield. I watched all these big muscular men walk up to the fence of the cornfield like they could handle anything but as soon as they saw the first scarecrow they would hide behind each other or push someone else to go first. I thought to myself after the night was over “if these so called men were screaming and running for their lives in a haunted house then I need to see what they are like on the field.” I took the ticket and waited for November 28^th to come. I had never been to a football game and since I am a U student, I thought I should get a little school spirit. I didn’t know much about the game before going and I wasn’t one to go research the rules of football before the game, I would wait and learn from watching.

On game day, Nov 28th I woke up to snow on the ground. It was going to be a cold and snowy day without any sun. I questioned myself about really going to the game or staying home and keeping warm. No, I had to go and my Nightmare family wanted me to go. The game was at 12:30 in the afternoon and the temperature was only around 29 degrees. None of us Nightmare kids were ready to see snow and I am sure most everyone had thought about bailing out on the game.

When we got to the game every one was bundled up and still freezing. This game was going to be rough. It was cold and we were on frozen bleachers. The game started then two minutes later it stopped. I was confused “why are they stopping the game?” I asked my friend next to me.

“It’s the first down,” he told me with a look of pure amusement on his face.

This was going to be a long and confusing game for me, not only was I freezing but I was also asking questions about downs, offside and holding. There is even a rule about the helmets. This was all new to me.

In the first quarter we got our first touchdown. Everyone went wild and I joined the crowd, (later asking questions.) I had noticed by this time that the players weren’t affected by the cold. They were tough and fought through the game; they weren’t scared. It was something I hadn’t seen at the haunt.

By the end of the third quarter the score was 20 to 7 and things were looking good for Utah. Everyone in the stadium was hopeful and those who were freezing were hiding in the bathroom. Five minutes to the end of the game, Colorado made their last touchdown with a good field goal. The game ended 20 to 14. The Utes had won and I had watched my first football game.

Story by Evan Teng

Despite creating several hit singles such as Human and Read My Mind and releasing 4 chart topping albums, Killers drummer Ronnie Vannucci is still not happy with where the band is at. “Let’s put it this way. If the band were to die, I wouldn’t be satisfied with what goes on the epitaph.” Says Ronnie. Ronny does not know when or even if they will reach the desired level of creativity, ingenuity, and capability, but he is optimistic. The band certainly has the work ethic, passion, and lifetime of experience needed to make that sort of transformation.

Ronnie has always been around music. When he was growing up, the radio served as his babysitter, keeping him entertained when his parents were away. His parents could not afford a babysitter and were usually gone for long periods of time. Early on in his life, he had no siblings to keep him entertained, so this tended to happen often. Many of his influences in music, such as blues bands and 80s rock, came from those early years. His drumming ability, or as he likes to call it his “Caveman Gene,” also asserted itself during those early years. “I would see a dryer or washer in the garage and…start to beat on it,” says Ronnie, adding that he would take off his clothes before beating on it for comedic effect.

Following high school, Ronnie enrolled in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or as Ronnie affectionately calls it UNLV, which he claims stands for “you never leave Vegas.” “All of my peers were going to college, so it just felt like the thing to do at that time,” says Ronnie. After initially pursuing a biology degree, he decided to switch to a music degree. His decision to switch majors was vindicated when he was lucky enough to fill in for and eventually completely replace The Killers’ main drummer. Upon joining the band, Ronnie immediately hit it off with half of the band members. The two individuals who he didn’t hit it off with were the bass player and the drummer. The original bass player and drummer left the band after Ronnie and bassist Mark Stoermer joined.

Once the band formed, they quickly started to put short demos up online on a site devoted to the Las Vegas Local Music Scene. The band used the site to arrange dates and locations for concerts and quickly gained a following. The site was also frequented by record representatives who represented major record labels. Once the record label noticed them, they would send a representative to hear them live in concert and negotiate a potential contract with them.

As the band gained more popularity, they began to get more record offers. At one point, the band had offers from all the major record labels, making the choice to select a permanent record label challenging. “We were looking for a label that would allow us to have freedom to dress the way that we wanted and have creative freedom,” says Ronny. “That is why we went with Def Jam.” But being signed up with a record label brought its own problems. “Record labels are basically banks and marketing firms,” says Ronny. He adds, “We [received] stipends and had to pay them back through record sales. Although they did receive some additional money from concerts, it was hardly enough to live on. The record label also took a 50% of the profits that the band made through record sales.”

Fast forward to today and the band has conquered many of the challenges that they faced. Band members earn a steady income despite the record restrictions due to success that they have experienced. The band has also adapted well to their success and the fans that come with it, even though it can be overwhelming at times. “We’re regular people [and] for the most part, people respect that. If we have a heavy breather, we just tell them to calm down. For the most part people listen. There are some people that don’t listen but they are in the minority.” Overall, Ronnie is just grateful that people like to listen to their music.

Story by: ALICIA HOPKINS

With more stores than ever racing to open their doors on Thanksgiving, millions of retail workers are spending more time on the clock than with their own families and loved ones. The success of Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, is leading many companies to want to flip on their open signs earlier and earlier to earn as much profit as possible from this huge weekend of holiday spending.

Companies such as Best Buy, JC Penney, Target, Macy’s, Kohls, Walmart, and many more are now opening for Black Friday on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. A Target executive even called shopping at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving a “tradition” when the company announced its opening time. On November 26, this past Thanksgiving, a record number of stores were open. Shoppers may have been in paradise, but retail employees and their families did not share the sentiment.

To many Americans, Thanksgiving is a significant national holiday—whether it means eating profuse amounts of food, spending quality time with family, or watching football. For the lucky ones, work is usually the furthest thing from their minds. Thanksgiving has traditionally been a day for Americans to give thanks and be grateful for everything they have.

However, with stores now opening on Thanksgiving and advertising such great deals, it is easy to give into the temptation of going shopping. It is easy to forget that people have to give up time with their own families in order to work—in order to help feed our insatiable consumer appetites. It is easy to forget that retail workers are real people. The only difference is that they do not get a break or a holiday. They do not get to eat profuse amounts of food, spend quality time with their families, or watch football on Thanksgiving.

Mario Torres, a Best Buy employee, had to work on Thanksgiving this year like millions of other retail workers across the United States. This year was his second consecutive Thanksgiving he spent working at Best Buy. He recalls the exact words his old general manager said last year. “There will be absolutely no calling-out on Thanksgiving. I don’t care if you’re in the hospital. I’ll drag your hospital bed to work!” She was joking obviously, but they take this day very seriously. “It’s all hands on deck. Nobody gets to spend the day off,” said Torres.

Torres felt especially angry this year because he had been with the company for longer than many of his coworkers and his new manager had promised to let him choose whether he wanted to work on Thanksgiving or not. However, he was forced to work without any say and even worse, he was left with a broken promise. He had made plans to spend the day with his family and girlfriend, but instead of eating Thanksgiving dinner with them he spent his time at work helping what he described as many greedy and ungrateful strangers. “If you’re in retail, you better hope that you’re close to your coworkers. You spend more time with them during the holidays than you do with your own family,” said Torres.

Kelsey Faut, a coworker of Torres, expressed the same anger. “It sickens me that I don’t get to spend time with my family because instead of being thankful for everything they have, people are lining up for door busters,” she said. “When I’m out of retail, I will never do that to someone! This holiday is being pushed away due to the selfishness of humanity.”

In fact, Torres and Faut are not the only ones upset about working on Thanksgiving. Millions of retail workers across the nation are feeling their same exasperation. Some of them even took to Change.org, the world’s most powerful platform for petitioning and one of the most influential tools for online activism, to express their anger.

More than 280,000 people signed petitions on Change.org in favor of retail stores staying closed on Thanksgiving Day. There are over 100 petitions related to “saving Thanksgiving” on the website. Unfortunately, most of these petitions will fail because many companies cannot afford to close their doors on Thanksgiving—there is just too much revenue to be made. The only way to stop companies from continuing to open their doors on Thanksgiving would be for consumers to give up shopping on that day altogether.

It is safe to predict that next year even more stores will be opening on Thanksgiving Day, which means even more people will be spending their time on the clock. These retail workers will not get a break. They will not get a chance to spend time with their families. They will not get a Thanksgiving. It is astonishing how so many consumers still have enough energy to go shopping after eating a whole plate of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes.

AJ Anderson

Mountain Accord is creeping its way through every legislative hoop without much resistance. Similar to a runaway train it will crash through anything that gets into its path.

Mountain Accord is a study group established to figure out the best way to get paying customers into the Central Wasatch. It is built on four main pillars, which are; transportation, recreation, environmental, and economical. These four subjects are to be studied and have public comment provided before moving forward. Mountain Accord has developed a proposed blueprint for transportation.

Blueprint/mountainaccord.com

This is the transportation section of the blueprint, and it shows a variety of options being considered for each canyon. In Little Cottonwood Canyon there are many different options, but some of the more focused options are light rail trains. These trains would go from the mouth of the canyon to the town of Alta. At the top of Alta, there would be tunnels created that would connect Park City, and Big Cottonwood Canyon together. There are proposed routes and transportation changes for Parley’s Canyon as well. There are three other blueprints focused on the other areas of study found at mountainaccord.com.

This planning group will affect all residents in Utah

Many Utah residents have no idea that Mountain Accord exists. This is something that will affect everyone who lives in the state as one single aspect of the plans for Little Cottonwood could cost more than 2 billion dollars. Mountain Accord is no stranger to the media; this article from The Salt Lake Tribune is written by Todd Leeds who writes about some of the steps taken by the Mountain Accord and how it is being rushed. There are other articles about Mountain Accord located on the website’s media tab. There is a potential of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money that will be spent to accomplish some of the desired goals established in the proposed blueprints. Another example of wasted money is UTA officials taking several trips to Europe to study the ski resorts and the transportations there. This has been in the news recently as a great controversy; UTA board member resigns after controversial Swiss trip. There were several officials who went on this trip to Switzerland including Mountain Accord public relations specialist Laynee Jones. They were looking into transportation systems.

Mountain Accord and the NEPA process

Mountain Accord has recently entered the National Environmental Protection Agency process, commonly known as NEPA. Created January 1^st 1970, this process was created to make sure plans that requested government funding are legitimate. Representatives from the government come and do a study of their own based on the studies already performed. Once the studies are completed there will be a decision whether or not to fund the proposed plans.

This has been a rushed process. The public has only recently been learning of the studies performed by Mountain Accord, and it has already entered the NEPA process.

Neighborhoods are outraged about the Mountain Accord

There are those who live in the canyons or at the mouth of the canyons who are very concerned about the Mountain Accord and its proposed plans. The concerned public began taking actions to try and prevent some of the developments planned that will affect their lives. A concerned resident and environmentalist stated, “The public are going to pay to lose their canyon, and make the wealthy elite prosper even more.” She helped raise awareness, and other concerned neighbors who were enlightened because of her created Little Cottonwood Canyon Communities. LCCC’s goal is to make sure the voices of the people living in or near the canyons are heard. They only learned of Mountain Accord two years ago. Once they had heard of it they immediately took action. They created meetings inviting the public and representatives from Mountain Accord. Addressing issues and concerns they had, not only with their situations but as well with the proposed plans presented.

Utah needs to be better informed of Mountain Accord. This group was established in 2013, yet the public has only been aware and able to participate since February of 2015. Since the blueprint was released to the public, Mountain Accord has been making huge decisions. One year of public input is not nearly enough time and in fact most Utah citizens are still very unaware of even the existence of this planning group. The legislative leaders need to do more to inform the public they represent. Mountain Accord has the ability to do the good they claim they want to in preserving the Wasatch Front, but if left unchecked and funded by parties with too much to gain it could prove disastrous for Utah residents.

Utah moves up the rankings on the nation’s education report card; will it stay the same in 2016?

by Nick Jacobs

While Utah moved up the rankings on National Assessment of Education Progress, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Utah who doesn’t think our education system needs improvement. Utah spends less per student on education than any other state. Our test scores for 4^th grade math and science are going down. Our classrooms are the biggest in America, and our teachers are paid less per pupil than any other state. But there is one plus: at least it’s not getting worse.

Utah’s move up the rankings was not a result of improved education, but rather the result of the quality of education falling in many other states. However, there is evidence that education is on the rise in Utah. The new and innovative pay-for-success program put forth by Salt Lake County Mayor helped improve the pre-school education for at risk students. Graduation rates for Latino students have increased since 2009. The legislature even increased funding for education last year, though modestly.

Yet for education in Utah to be higher than average, funding has to increase. Funding in Utah has been on the decline ever since a 1996 amendment to the Utah Constitution allowing for state income tax to be used for purposes other than K-12 funding. Before the amendment, all of the state income tax went directly to K-12 funding. According to State Senator Jim Dabakis this “robbed billions of dollars from Utah’s school children.” The next decrease in education came from a flat tax bill in 2006. The legislation allowed billionaires to pay the same income tax rate as a family making $12,200. This change takes “$280 million every year from Utah public school children.” The last large cut to education came in 2008 as a result of the recession rather than legislation.

However, there has been a push to increase education funding over the last few years. In December of 2014, Governor Herbert released a budget proposal that called for a $500 million increase in funding to education, which included a 6.25 percent per-student increase. Governor Herbert and many others hoped this would bring funding back to what it was before the recession. However, lawmakers at last spring’s legislative session only improved a modest increase of 4 percent per student, or about $100 million total. The increase is to be funded mostly by an adjustment to the dormant statewide property tax.

Education will be a big issue at this next year’s legislative session that runs from January 25 to March 11, with 73 education bills already on the docket. Speaking at a breakfast event on November 29, House Speaker Greg Hughes described education “as both the toughest issue and the top issue facing legislators in next year’s general session”. Unfortunately, with elections coming up for many senators and representatives next fall, it is unlikely that funding will increase since an unpopular tax increase would have to follow as a result.

As the legislative session gets closer more and more information is released regarding new programs and improvements. One bill that will be highly debated this spring is a $100 million school-technology program that would give digital devices to students. There are other tech initiatives on the docket as well, such as a Computer Science Initiative for Public School and amendments and provisions to Digital Teaching and Learning.

In addition, there are also calls to improve early education. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that two business organizations, “threw their support on three education bills that would expand full-day kindergarten and public preschool and provide grant funding for teacher-training programs”. Social studies programs may also see changes if a new proposed standard passes which would favor debate and fostering critical thinking skills. Before being voted on though, the draft of new standards will go through a 90-day review period.

While funding per pupil and teacher pay in Utah are still at the bottom of the nation, education is on rise in Utah; and not simply because other states’ quality of education is falling. However, it’s too early to tell what the full effects of last years legislation had. Additionally, we won’t know all of the upcoming changes to education this year until the legislative session ends on March 13. Nevertheless, hopes are that Utah will move up the rankings for a second year straight.

Story By: Nathan Biddle

On Nov 2, 2015, Time Inc. issued a new contract to freelance photographers. This is not out of the ordinary. What is out of the ordinary are some of the clauses buried within the contract.

Time Inc. sent the contract to photographers who have worked with or are currently working with the company. The contract will go into effect on January 1, 2016. Jeniqua Moore, Associate Director of Digital Assets Contracts and Rights Management with Time Inc., issued this statement with the contract: “No new assignments will be made to you after January 1, 2016 unless you confirm your agreement to the attached new Time Inc. commissioned photography agreement be signing the agreement.” This statement is pretty aggressive. Why were such words used when the new contract was released? Some answers may be lying within the contract.

As you read and study the new contract you will come across clause 4 which mentions the “Idea House Projects”. Any job that you take when on an “Idea House Assignment” is work made for hire. In other words, you release all rights to any and all work that the photographers have created for Time Inc.

Clause 5 states that any assignment that is never published is in the embargo period. This means that the photographer cannot re-license the image to anyone else until the assignment has been published. There could be no end to the embargo period. Many photographers accept these assignments knowing that there is possibility to re-license the image, but if an image remains in an embargo period the photographer cannot try to re-license that image(s).

Clause 6(b) states that payment will be made upon the acceptance of the photograph(s). If the photograph(s) are not acceptable (this is completely subjective), or if the story is cancelled before the image(s) can be delivered, Time Inc. is under no obligation to pay the photographer.

Time Inc. offers this reason for the adjusted terms: “Our goal is to create a new management system that will allow us to track the use of commissioned editorial photography and to foster a consistent approach across Time Inc,” a statement by Norm Pearlstine, Chief Content Officer for Time Inc. There may be more that lies beneath the surface. Allen Murabayashi, writer for PetaPixel.com, suggested that Time Inc. has come under some difficult financial pressure. In May of 2015, before Time Inc. separated from Warner, their stock prices fluctuated from the low to upper 20’s, but once separated, their stock dropped drastically. As of December 2015 their stocks are in the mid teens. It is possible that Time Inc. is trying to recover lost ground in any way they can. Sports Illustrated (SI), which Time Inc. owns, laid off their entire photographic team in hope that they can rely on freelance photographers to fill the void.

“I don’t see the new contract as a way of intentionally screwing freelancers out of a fair wage but simply a form of self preservation and a last ditch effort to stay afloat,” stated local freelance photographer Chad Hurst, who has worked with SI as a freelance photographer.

Is change necessary for Time Inc. to survive? I do believe so. The best way to move forward is to get all who are involved with making Time Inc. successful and see what they can do together that would benefit both sides. “While publishers need to legitimately shift their business models, they should be working with their freelance contributors rather than regarding them as an impediment to make progress,” stated by Tom Kennedy from American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP).

This contract is one sided to the advantage of a major publication. What can the photographic community do to help revise this contract so that it benefits both sides? Kennedy released the following statement for freelance photographers:

Register their objections with all in Time Inc. that might be dealing with them, from Norman Pearlstine on down to the picture editors they work with most closely. … [P]hotographers need to think long and hard about whether such contracts are worth accepting. Many long-time contributors are refusing to sign and I think change can only occur if all stand firm in their resolve not to sign.

Time Inc. is making a move to try to help save a great publication. In an effort to so they may have possibly damaged an integral part. If we continue down this path it may be a race to the bottom.

Story by Kayla Vidal

It’s the most charitable time of year — but what happens to the ‘spirit of giving’ when the holidays end?

The holiday season is a time of giving. People are constantly giving gifts, happiness, and cheer unto others. With high amounts of giving in the air, people often turn their thoughts to charity work and there are thousands of opportunities for them to do so. Grocery store entrances have Salvation Army Santa Clauses ringing bells ready to accept coins in their donation bucket. Radio stations all over the Salt Lake valley give money and gifts to listeners in need so that they are able to have a good Christmas. There are plenty of Christmas themed commercials, movies, advertisements, billboards, fundraisers and more that continue to inspire the giving spirit that exists within the holiday season. The question is: what measures are being used the rest of the year to get others to help those in need like they do during the holiday season?

For research purposes for this article, an online survey was given out to 18 college students who mandatorily do at least 20 hours of charity work through the school year. The survey was comprised of five questions all based around their charity work. The questions ranged from how many hours they put in to when they feel the most charitable through the year. When asked what season they volunteer most in, 14 out of the 18 responders said that they do most of, if not all, of their charity work during the holiday season; and when asked if the holiday season increased their chances of volunteering, 15 out of the 18 respondents said yes.

“All the volunteers come around Christmas. There’s an abundance of help, sometimes we can’t even find somewhere for them to help,” said Marian, an activities director at St. Joseph’s Villa Nursing Home, “But come January, the help dies down and so does the amount of volunteers. February to November, we’re barely scraping by with help, and then all of the sudden, come Christmas and the holiday cheer, we have more volunteers than we know what to do with. It’s not fair.”

The United Way of Utah, which is the organization that runs Sub-For Santa and other non-profits throughout Utah, has a specific section on their website labeled “Holiday Volunteering Opportunities”. In that specific section, there are over 12 ways that a person can donate or volunteer that relate back to the holidays. There’s options such as sponsoring a child for the holidays, suggesting gift ideas for those in need, giving to the Giving Tree at University Mall in Provo along with the Angle Tree at ShopKo. Sub-For-Santa is their biggest holiday non-profit and is able to help over 1,500 Utah families alone per year. That amount of money for other organizations year around could result in big changes for society.

Although the holiday season is a perfect time to be thankful and give to others, there should be a way for the community to know that the spirit of giving to the less fortunate should be a year long event. In 2014, the Comprehensive Report on Homelessness put out by the State of Utah stated that there was 13,621 people that experienced homelessness. Of that 13,621 people, 46 percent of them were families. The Utah Food Bank states that there are 423,000 Utahans who are unsure where their next meal will even come from everyday.

“We appreciate every ounce of help we’re able to get. But at the same time, I wish we could get the same amount of help all year long that we get from November to December.” said Alexis Santoyo, a program coordinator for Friends For Sight, a foundation that offers screenings and education about vision problems to those who need it.

There are people in need 365 days a year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. It is not surprising that the holiday season brings out the need to give because there is so much to be grateful for and so much is being given, but that need to give and gratefulness should be something that is felt everyday. Non-profits are looking for all the help they can get. The high volume of charity work done in December is highly appreciated and brings in a lot of profit for the non-profit, but that money and support cannot last them all year. The spirit of giving should last year around, and not just during a time that the amount of giving equates to what is received.

Story by Kimberly Rodriguez

Thanksgiving is a time filled with turkey, pumpkin pie, and shopping that starts immediately after dinner. Black Friday has become such a popular event in American culture it has almost become a ritual to wait outside stores for hours. But are the deals worth leaving loved ones at the dinner table?

Black Friday has always taken place the day after Thanksgiving, but it was not until the 1930s that it was regarded as the beginning of Christmas shopping season. There have been many theories as to how the term “Black Friday” got started, but the most common dates back to the 1950s in Philadelphia. According to University of North Carolina neuroscientist Bonnie Taylor-Blake, the term was used by police officers in the area to describe the copious amount of shoppers from the suburbs that flooded the city days after Thanksgiving. Attempts to change the name of the event to something more politically correct, like “Big Friday” never stuck.

Today, Black Friday is considered the busiest shopping day of the year and has been since 2003. People line up in front of stores for hours waiting for them to open. Some even set up tents in order to keep their spot. A few stores have taken advantage of this popularity and even started their sales the night of Thanksgiving. Stores flourish as people shop the sales, but is this event worthy enough to garner the attention that it does? Do the sales really outweigh the time one could be spending with family or loved ones?

“I don’t think the sales are worth it,” said Ashley Stronach, a Black Friday shopper. “For standing in line for a half hour in the cold, all I got from Colombia was a ten dollar coupon. I would rather shop online.”

Stronach, who went to the Traverse Mountain Outlets in Lehi on the evening of Thanksgiving, was not the only person to think that. With the success of Black Friday and the ease of access to the internet, a majority of stores also had their sales online over the four-day weekend. According to the National Retail Federation, about 139.4 million adults visited stores’ websites during Thanksgiving weekend. Online sales reached more than 17% on Thanksgiving and 21% on Friday over last year according to IBM Benchmark.

Despite sales also being available online, stores still remain open and welcome the influx of people. Megan Gingerich, an employee for Coach, was working this past Thanksgiving night from 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Black Friday from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. While it was a hectic time, Gingerich remained optimistic about working those days.

“I work at Coach year round and it is almost a requirement. We also get paid extra (time and a half) on thanksgiving night. We are so busy that time goes by really fast as well,” she stated.

Gingerich was patient and prepared to handle Black Friday, but she also believes that the sales are not worth the buildup people make it out to be.

“It’s such a big deal to people because they think they are getting a really good deal on products. I think that a lot of people need to realize that sometimes you’re not really getting a good deal on Black Friday. Do your research.”

Stores have sales throughout the year, yet the public still remains under the illusion they are saving money because of the amount of advertising that gets produced for this day. Retailers make it seem as though there have never been sales like the ones being promoted, yet they are only discounting a couple dollars off products probably found cheaper elsewhere on a regular day. Because Black Friday is still a prevalent event, it means that people still have to sacrifice their time to work that holiday weekend.

“I think Black Friday definitely gets in the way of people who want to be with their families. The retailers I talked to all complained about having to work. Some of them were going to be there all night and I felt very bad for them,” said Stronach.

Black Friday has solidified itself as a cultural norm in the United States, regardless of whether or not sales are good. It has even made its way onto the internet with increasing popularity. Who knows, maybe this is a step in the right direction so people will no longer have to leave their loved ones back home while they are dealing with the frenzy of people in the stores.

Shopping on Black Friday at City Creek Center was very different than expected, it was almost just like any other day at the mall.

This year’s Black Friday shopping at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, may have been one of the most relaxed Black Friday’s ever — it was almost eerie, sort of like a ghost town. It wasn’t until 8 on Friday morning, that the doors of City Creek Center opened. One of the early bird shoppers, Annie, said that “being one of the first people to get into the mall is such an advantage, I get first pick on discounted items in my favorite stores.”

Black Friday is one of the only days of the year where many big name stores like Macy’s, Sears, Dillard’s and Nordstrom have major discounts. People wait in line for hours to score big deals on their favorite store items. However, this year was not as busy as some in the past, or at least that’s how it used to be. The mall wasn’t even busy until about 2 pm.

Manager Erica Crosby at Alex & Ani described the day as a “letdown.” The store was projected to make around $67,000 dollars on Black Friday, but, with low amounts of walk-in traffic, they were behind their final goal by about $20,000. “For the last two years we had lines out the door. This year, we aren’t even half as busy,” Crosby said. “And it’s not just us either. It’s Papyrus, Lush, Pandora and even Steve Madden.”

With having stores at City Creek being over-staffed, open early, and close late on Black Friday, people might not think it is fair to go out and shop on this once a year event. It is not necessarily fair to the people that work on Black Friday if the store is not making a profit, and it is not fair to the public to have to shop in a crowded mall in the freezing cold to only get special deals once a year. Maybe some stores will consider having better deals year round to improve profit and a better shopping experience.

Being one of the biggest shopping days of the year, Black Friday can really change your wallet, and holiday gifting with a lot of remarkable savings. However, some stores in the mall have the exact same discount as they did last year. Alex & Ani, American Eagle, Sunglass Hut, Anthropology and J.Crew had the same discounts as the previous year, and they weren’t all that significant. This year, majority of stores have their deals online as well, plus free shipping. If people want to stay at home in their pajamas and shop online, they still get the benefit of Black Friday savings without dealing with crowds of people and cold weather. Jackie, a shopper at City Creek Center said, “most of my family and friends shop online instead of coming out with me to shop. They don’t like to be in big crowds and wait in long lines, they think it’s a lot easier shopping online, but I like the chaos of it all.” Jackie also discussed that she was familiar about the lack of sales but still wanted to shop nontheless. While some people, like Jackie, actually enjoy the craziness of Black Friday, some might think Black Friday is just a crazed scene of intense shoppers.

Not only has this year’s Black Friday changed the way people shop on this day, it also has extended to the following Monday and sometimes Tuesday as well. By doing this, there is no rush to get everything at one time. Peter, a sales associate at the store Lush, said that “I love that our store extends our deals, it makes it so Black Friday isn’t as insane and not so many people come in at one time. [Extending deals] makes it so the other staff members aren’t so overwhelmed and exhausted by the end of their shift.” Some people prefer to spend their holiday weekend solely with their loved ones instead of going out to shop. Therefore, Black Friday deals are now extended, a great change to this once a year shopping event.

Shopping on Black Friday will continue to change every year with stores starting their sales early and extending them into the next week. Online shopping for Black Friday has become a huge improvement and a time-saver for many. Black Friday shopping this year was out of the norm, and maybe it will change back to its crazy ways in the future. However, as of this year, shopping at City Creek was not as much of a hassle like it has been in the past, it was just a regular day at the mall.

Story by: Madison Facer

Picture this, you’re relaxing on a beach, feet buried in the sand, listening to the waves crashing calm and repeatedly on the soft beach, you’re kicked back in a lounge chair with a nice cool drink and… a Santa hat? Christmas in paradise is the new black, or rather, red (and white and green) and you’ve decided to get away from the old trends of Christmas at Grandma’s and the same old questions year after year. You’ve opted for the heat of the tropical sun, and the only questions you’re getting asked are if you want a refill. But where will you go? This is a guide to this year’s hottest (or coolest) holiday destinations and adventures.

Many travelers are traveling purely for holiday joy may be looking for destinations with those goals in mind. Around the world countries celebrate the holidays in their own special ways. Whether you’re interested in a massive Christmas beach party on Australia’s Bondi Beach or a spectacular Disney style wonderland, these destinations are for you.

Mickeys Very Merry Christmas image by: http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/mvmcp.htm

Orlando, FL: Travelers looking to stay within the states this year may want to check out the spectacle put on by Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida. The Disney Resort throws an annual party known as Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. The party includes events at all 4 of the resorts parks, with special events in the Epcot Park featuring Holidays around the World, The Magical Kingdom hosts a Christmas Time parade down Main Street USA with a Mickey and Santa meet and greet. And a Holiday Parade in the Disney Animal Kingdom gives guests even more fun

Lapland, Finland: Travelers in hopes of an international vacation that has offerings for both children and adults, look no further than the Arctic Circle. Lapland, Finland is the official home of Santa Clause and this small town has a “to-do” for everyone in your party. You can start your trip with a tour of the town in a Reindeer drawn sleigh, and follow this up with a trip to the local post-office and see all of Santa’s letters, or head over to Korvatunturi, the town capital where Santa does his business. You can also enjoy a more calming side of the town with the various ski lodges or ice hotels and relax under the lights of the Aurora Borealis. If you’re interested in visiting Santa this winter, read his tips for your visit to get more ideas.

Viennese Christmas Markets image from: http://www.blog.salutetovienna.com

Vienna, Austria: Austria year round offers guests a beautiful destination to enjoy and take in all the history and sites the city has to offer and the holidays are no exception to that. The city hosts several Christmas markets and villages around the city, such as the Viennese Christmas Market which offers guests the chance to learn the history and traditions of the city, get in the Christmas spirit with workshops for Christmas cookies and candles. Or get in some last minute shopping at the Christmas Village at Belvedere Palace with more than 40 festive market stalls with special holiday goodies and decorations.

Venite Festival in Lucerne image by: http://www.raredelights.com

Many travelers have differing experiences with holiday travel, I had the opportunity to speak with several Utah residents about their experiences. I recently spoke with local business owner Russ Mellor and his wife Joy about their history of holiday travel. Mellor and his wife took a 3 week vacation to Europe over the holidays last year and visited 9 countries in total on their “destination” holiday. The couple decided to opt for a holiday trip instead of the usual holiday celebrations after their youngest child moved out and as their way of celebrating 25 years together.

The couple described the beauty of the sites and cities they visited and how amazing some of the holiday markets, festivals and celebrations were. Joy Mellor talked about her favorite stop of the visit was Lucerne, Switzerland. “I loved it, it is such a beautiful old city sitting on the shores of the massive lake, and surrounded by the towering Swiss Alps, it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.”

Lucerne Switzerland, a Winter Wonderland. image by: http://www.raredelights.com

The couple also talked about how much they enjoyed the “Venite” holiday festival they had the chance to experience. The festival features booths from twenty nearby countries, with each booth presenting holiday items and Christmas traditions from their homeland.

Russ Mellor described his feelings about the festival and stated “I loved getting to see all of the holiday items and booths and traditions from the different countries, the whole experience was neat getting to see not only all of the different countries, but then having the opportunity to see the holiday side of them too, it was really something else.” The couple overall stated the whole experience was an extremely positive one and given the chance would do it again.

Traveling for the holidays has always been a fun and exciting prospect. Whether traveling to see family, or to get away from them, people around the world will embark on adventures around the globe this season. Hopefully you are feeling inspired to get out and explore this season and stop letting Santa have all the fun.

Santa, having all the fun! image by: http://www.newsweek.com

Story by: Sabrina Esposito

December 4th, 2015

For the past 12 years the Melting Pot, located in downtown Salt Lake City, has taken part in the “Thanks and Giving” fundraiser for St. Jude’s Research Hospital. With every ten dollars that the diner at the restaurant donates they get back a Donate and Dine card that is valued at twenty dollars when redeemed at the restaurant wither their next visit. 100 % of the donations given to the restaurant are sent to St. Jude’s to fund cancer research.

“This fundraising campaign for St. Jude is very dear to my heart because it truly shows our core values and vision for the Melting Pot statewide,” explains Zac Black, part owner of the Melting Pot downtown. “It shows our core values by giving to the research hospital to help fight against childhood cancer and many other life-threatening illnesses.” The campaign starts mid-October and runs until mid-December. Not only does the Melting Pot partake in this campaign, but it also supports St. Jude throughout the year with sales of chocolate fondue wafers.

St. Jude’s Research hospital was founded in 1962, and has made an enormous effort in breaking through childhood cancer ever since. Not only does the hospital take part in cancer research, but it also cares for and treats many different cancers and other life-threatening diseases in children from all over the world. Families of these children do not receive bills for treatment, travel, housing or any additional costs because it is all about helping their child survive. According to the St Jude’s organization, 75% of the budgeted costs of St. Jude are covered by public contributions.

Since the Melting Pot started collaborating with St. Jude, they have raised more than nine million dollars. “During the time of the Thanks and Giving campaign, the whole restaurant is focused mainly on selling the Donate and Dine cards for St. Jude,” explains Black. “What’s great is not only do our employees sell them while working but they also take time to sell these cards while out of the restaurant. It just shows how strongly we support this campaign.” The Donate and Dine cards are most often sold in the restaurant, but servers will also attempt to sell these cards outside of work to help raise more funds.

The SLC Melting Pot is one of 138 Melting Pot restaurants in the United States and is in the top 20 highest rank of raising. “The goal is to be in the top 10 within the next couple years as we keep getting better and better at raising money and selling these cards. We want to do as much as possible that we can do in this month of selling cards,” Black says. Although they haven’t yet reached top 10, top 20 is a huge accomplishment for the Melting Pot.

“The season of giving is a bunch of fun, people are very happy to give back to charity so it makes my job a little bit easier,” Amanda, an employee at the melting pot explains. Amanda is one of the highest selling employees at the Melting Pot for the Donate and Dine cards. One of her biggest tactics in getting donations is selling these cards outside of the restaurant to get more people seeing and hearing what it is all about. Just last week she sold up to 100 cards in one day of being outside City Creek letting shoppers know what the campaign is all about. This is a great example that not only does the melting pot make it a goal to get donations in the restaurant, but that they also make it a goal to get donations anywhere else that they can.

Melting Pot has been doing a great job while taking part in the Thanks and giving campaign for St. Jude’s Research Hospital. They have been increasing the amount of their donations every year and the goal just keeps getting set higher and higher by every employee working at the SLC melting pot. The campaign hasn’t ended just yet so make sure to get to the Melting Pot and get your chance to donate to the St Jude’s Research Hospital.

By Chris Ayers

I have done this literally hundreds of times before, but it still feels just as exciting and new as it did the first time. I walk through the tunnel, with “The Ecstasy of Gold” playing in my head. I finally reach the end and see the entirety if Rice-Eccles Stadium before my eyes; a sight that will never get old.

Today is the final game of the regular season for the Utes, and also senior night.

I don’t bring that much gear with me when I’m about to shoot a sports game. I bring my camera, my lens, a teleconverter to multiply the lens’s focal length, and sometimes one of the Chrony’s lenses (Canon 300mm or 400mm) plus a monopod. I would like to get a second camera so I don’t have to change lenses, but that’s not in my budget right now.

After parking in the “Media” section of the lot, I go inside and take the elevator up to the press box. There is a room that was originally a photocopy room, but photographers took it over to place their big, heavy, expensive lenses without the fear of them getting stolen. Outside of it is a buffet exclusive to those who have a pass (steak is on today’s menu).

The week before, it was sunny but cold. Then the shade crept in, and it was just cold. I was joking with other photographers that I would’ve preferred it to be cloudy on a rare afternoon game; shade diffuses light, which avoids creating harsh shadows and is more consistent and even. Luckily, it didn’t rain on our parade: it snowed instead. I’ve never covered a game in the snow before. But the Chrony’s photo editor, Chris Samuels, doesn’t mind at all, and actually enjoys it.

“The snow gives us depth perception and the clouds makes the lighting even,” Samuels says

He was correct, as I took some of my best football shots during the game. Despite the snow giving a good perception, it caused problems. Besides the obvious of it making it colder and wetter, it caused my camera some problems. Thankfully, my camera and lens are both weather sealed, but the snowfall confused my camera’s auto focus on what it wanted to capture.

As I’m covering the game, I’m always aware what is going on. Unlike basketball, I have to constantly move with the action. Wherever the line of scrimmage is, I’m at least 20 yards from it. I check my photos between plays/quarters and mark the ones I think look best. This saves a ton of time when I have to sort through them later since I typically take 800-1000+ per sports game (even more today since it’s Senior Day).

The deadline to submit is only one hour after the game. I don’t need to edit them too much since I know what settings to use on the fly while shooting, but minor edits (such as cropping) are essential. I took 1253 for today’s game and I ended up using 25, which is actually quite above the average amount of keepers (normally around 10-15). Every 20 pictures I take guarantees at least one good picture, but the number dwindles because I need to choose only one specific frame captured. I sometimes submit a couple pictures of the same play and give the burden to the photo desk to determine which is better.

Almost every single picture that is a keeper was marked previously in camera. The photos are ready and I finally upload them to our Google Drive.

After the edits are saved, I write cut lines for every picture with the AP format: “[year] [position] [player name] (number) [action] during an NCAA football game against the [team] at Rice Eccles Stadium on [day, month date]. [Photographer/organization].”

As I make my way back towards the tunnel, I remember that this is it until next year. With the sun finally creeping in, I saw a sight that would last forever in my mind. But because my long term memory isn’t great, I took a picture just to be safe.

When people tell me “you have such a cool job!” I always feel tempted to say to say something along the lines of “It doesn’t pay well” (it doesn’t). But then I remember that amazing feeling I get whenever I walk onto the field.

“Yeah, I do.”

• A cardiologist’s tale
• Are deals really worth the chaos of Black Friday?

About Me: I am currently a University of Utah student pursing a major in Communication and a minor in Spanish.

I hope to pursue a job in advertising because the field has always fascinated me.

My biggest hobby would have to be photography. I have remembered loving it since I was old enough to know how a camera worked.