Occupy Wall Street Gains Momentum

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

“We are the 99 percent!”

This saying has gained a lot of traction over the past two months as the Occupy Wall Street movements have been expanding out of New York’s financial district in Manhattan and into local cities and neighborhoods across the United States.

Salt Lake City has its own Occupy movement that stands strong with the thousands of other demonstrators across the United States. Even after conflicts with police, eviction from headquarters and treacherous weather the movement is still gathering ground and more followers are joining as each day progresses.

According to http://occupywallstreet.org the Occupy movement has gained substantial ground for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons being that many people are becoming ever more unsettled with the growing amount of wealth that CEOs and large corporations, also known as the top 1 percent of earners, are acquiring. At the same time families across the U.S. are struggling to make ends meet.

“For me one of the major issues is (the) growing income inequality in the United States. While the top 1 percent of earners have seen their share of wealth and real income skyrocket over the last 30 years, real wages for the middle class have stagnated, “ said Charles Benard, an avid follower and participant of the Occupy Salt Lake movement.

Frank Wood, a man who grew up in U.S. during the ‘50s and ‘60s, talks about a time in which the U.S. was a model to the rest of the world. This model “was a meld of our own social programs and capitalism,” suggested Wood.

It is the failure of this American model that calls for people such as Wood to defend the country. “I just can’t go to the grave thinking I haven’t done everything possible to leave this country the way my folks left it to me.”

When looking at the official Occupy Wall Street webpage one can see that Occupy Wall Street is a “people powered” movement that is aimed at “fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations.”

“The top combined 1 percent of wealth holders in the United States has more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. This consolidation of wealth at the top is what is responsible for dropping wages, unemployment and many problems we see in our economy including the ongoing disappearance of the middle class,” said Jesse Fruthwithe an Occupy Wall Street supporter, who helped organize Occupy SLC.

As the movements have expanded over hundreds of cities, many protesters have been faced with conflict and frustration. Such issues have caused Americans to wonder if this movement will continue until change is made.

Abbie Minkler, a participant in the Occupy movement stated, “We are here until the end. The American people have had enough. It’s time to take our country back! It is not just the people in New York who are sick and tired of the 1 percent who are filthy rich and are getting richer off of the poor and middle class here in America and around the world.”

College Football Players Weigh in on Life as a Student-Athlete

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by: Chris Washington

Every Saturday, from the beginning of September all the way until early December, millions of Americans attend college football games. Millions of others, who don’t make it to the games, watch them on television. However, the difficulties that these student-athletes face while attempting to juggle two full-time jobs is often ignored.

An average workday for a collegiate football player is typically not considered luxurious. After a six-o-clock conditioning session, a player will generally have to attend approximately three hours of classes. However, it isn’t necessarily the classes that give players a tough time; it is the fact that the player must fit the conditioning, along with the classes, into their schedule before one-o-clock, at which point they would be preparing for another 4 hours of practice and meetings.

A general defense, and common misconception that is often attributed to student-athletes, especially football players, is the idea that athletes live like kings on campus. Chandler Johnson, a wide receiver for the University of Utah football team, didn’t agree with that.

“People always think that professors just hand out passing grades and that athletes drive nice cars and have plenty of money, but in all reality that couldn’t be more false”, Johnson said.

According to Johnson, not only do many professors treat athletes in a stricter manner, due to the perception that football players might be expecting unearned grades, but a lot of players have less money than regular students.

Johnson elaborated by saying, “Most students have time to get a job when they are short on cash, but we don’t even have time to get jobs, so we basically just have to live off of the $910 scholarship check that we get every month.”

Sam Brenner, an offensive guard for the Utah Utes, believed that things like weight demands can make it even harder to live comfortably off of the $910 monthly check.

“We are expected to weigh a certain amount every week, some players are told to gain like 50 or 60 pounds, so we pretty much have to spend around 300 dollars of our money every month on food. If you add rent and things like that into the equation, before you know it your whole check is gone”, explained Brenner.

Things like this are often not thought about when millions of people are enjoying their favorite team’s triumphs on the field.

Fortunately it is possible to gain perspective from both the student-athlete’s side, as well as the experiences of the regular students on campus.

“I’m not sure what life is like for football players, but I would imagine it is probably not that great other than when they are playing in games and signing autographs”, said Liz Anderson, a student at the University of Utah.

Anderson went on to explain how she has time to go to school full-time and also work as much as she needs to.

Despite Universities bringing in millions of dollars on the player’s behalf, athletes everywhere often struggle, both mentally and financially.

Although life can be very difficult for a college football player, it is a life that each player signed up for completely of his own free will.

The good news is that life is not all frowns for these guys. There are numerous benefits to playing football at such an elite level. Sam Brenner explained how gratifying the life of a college football player can be, by saying,

“Even though there are times when it’s hard, at the end of the day I am doing what I dreamed of as a child. That’s all that really matters to me.”

With the possibility of college players being paid to play in the future, people like Sam Brenner might be the last of a dying breed.

NPR Pledge Drive Drastically Affected by the Economy

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

By: Callie Mendenhall

How the economy is doing affects most everything in the United States and the National Public Radio (NPR) pledge drive is no exception. When the economy is in a recession so is the pledge drive by affecting it through listener and corporate support.

A pledge drive is an extended period of fundraising activities for public broadcasting stations to increase contributors for their station. Pledge drives are used so the station can receive the majority of their funding. Local NPR stations are known for their enthusiastic and persuasive pledge drives, but pledge drives funding can quickly dwindle when the economy is in a downfall, as any NPR employee knows.

“The pledge drive is an event we have where listeners and companies give back to the station for what we do for them all year. Listeners and companies donate money and or gifts to the station to insure we can pay for everything because it is where we receive most of our funding.” Said Rebecca McInroy, Producer for KUT— local Austin, Texas NPR station.

Other funding “..come from foundations, and business support, what we call program underwriting,” According to John Greene, General Manager of KUER.

The NPR pledge drives are a “special time when I feel good about giving money to the station that I absolutely love to listen to on my way to work.” Said avid KUER listener, James Meisinger.

Although many NPR listeners feel that they should give back during the pledge drives, it’s hard when the economy isn’t booming which causes the pledge drive to be drastically affected.

Tristin Tabish, Program Director of KUER, said, “Our fund drives are affected by the economy in two major ways: listener and corporate support. The economy affects the pledge drive as it affects every other aspect of society – consumers have to make priorities about their purchases. Philanthropy tends to be an area that is perceived as a “luxury” and so people will either give less to their favorite charities, focus on a single organization or choose not to contribute at all.”

Pledge drives may be perceived as luxuries as Tabish vocalized, but that doesn’t mean that the NPR stations reduce the need for funding when the economy is down. NPR stations need more money every year due to the increase in living prices which means that stations can’t afford to lose any funding no matter how bad the economy may be doing.

According to Tabish, instead of lowering their pledge drive goal they instead, “..have to work harder at being consistent with our message, and tell our listeners exactly why we need their support and where their contributions are going. We try to connect with our most loyal donors to give what they can, so we send e-solicitations and direct mail to give them as many opportunities as they can to give.”

NPR pledge drives are no different than any other aspect of life. It’s a simple fact, when the economy is low so is the funding that stations receive during their pledge drives.

Jordan High Celebrates Native American Culture Through Art

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

by Meish Roundy

Utah’s Jordan High School, under the direction of the Center for Documentary Expression and Art, celebrated the completion of a Native American mural named “Sacred Images” Tuesday, Nov. 29 in Jordan High’s commons. Karen Sterling, the director of student advocacy and access from Jordan High, hopes the mural will “give all students the opportunity to have a greater awareness and appreciation of Native American history.”
The unveiling began with a Native American prayer said in Shoshoni and translated later into English by Rupert Steele. Steele expressed thanks in his prayer that the “mural accomplishes school unity.”
Beginning two months ago, the project was overseen by resident artist Lee Madrid, under the direction of the Center for Documentary Expression and Art with cooperation from Canyons School District.
Madrid initially took students on a sacred images field trip to southern Utah to look at Native American art. The 10 students, which later became 15 students, were also taught after school about common Native American symbols in art.
Madrid was impressed with Jordan High’s students saying that, “they were open to the mural and the images flowed. The (mural’s) stories are touching, deep; full of cultural forgiveness, death, personal growth and economic struggles.”
Remarking on the night’s unveiling Madrid said. “I have only happy memories; except that it’s over.”
The painting includes a dream catcher, a Native American woman praying and an Indian chief but it also includes other symbols such as the American flag, piano sheet music, the Salt Lake City Latter-day Saint temple, and the artists’ faces gathered around a campfire.
Meghan Asbell, one of the student artists from Jordan High School, speaking about the mural said: “At first we based the art on Native American tradition and then it grew into something else. Something that’s ours.”
Each of the student artists at the event signed the back of the mural twice: Once with their given name and a second time with a Native American handprint.
Leslie Kelen, head financer of the project and president of the Center for Documentary Expression and Art, said about the painting. “We share these images with young people to remind them we all come from the same stalk.” He explained that the “sacred (Native American) images extend knowledge of ancient families.” and that “(The mural) reclaims and reuses ancient images of those that loved and died in Utah.”
Closing remarks and the prayer were offered by Steve Todachiny. He expressed thanks for the tree in the center of the mural and described the tree’s multiple meanings in the Native American Culture. “ The tree is a foundation. Leaves change and represent the cycle of life. It represents our protection and feeds us.”
The unveiling also included a Native American performing group called “Princess and Singers” along with refreshments.
The mural will hang in the Student Service Center in Utah’s Jordan High School.

Bell Ringers Brave Cold For Donations

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story By: Kade Sybrowsky

Armed with nothing but a tiny bell and a red tin kettle. Salvation Army bell ringers are out in full force again this holiday season. Receiving spare change donations anywhere from grocery stores to malls.

Bell ringers got their start in the United States with Captain Joseph McFee back in 1891. Mcfee wanted to raise money to feed the poor in San Francisco. He put out a red kettle and a sign that said, “Keep the Pot Boiling.” McFee raised enough money to feed the poor that Christmas and the holiday tradition was born.

Drew Jones, Janet Harris and Malcom Wells are bell ringers that will be out ringing this holiday season. Braving the wintery and cold conditions to receive valuable donations for the Salvation Army.

Jones, 43, originally from California, bell rings in front of the Harmons grocery store on thirteenth east near thirty-third south. This will be his third holiday season of bell ringing in Utah.

“I do it because I enjoy being around people,” Jones Said. “I just wanted to help out in some way…it’s not a lot but still its something.”

For the most part Jones enjoys his job. He doesn’t like to be out in the cold but believes that the cause is worth his body being frozen for hours on end.

“Its freaking cold…(but) seeing the best in people even though its just spare change can mean a lot to other people,” said Jones.

One of those people was Janet Harris, in her fourth year as a bell ringer. She currently bell rings in front of a Wal-Mart store in Murray. She has received first hand the benefits of what these donations can do for someone and that is why she bell rings.

“The salvation army helped me out so I just wanted to help them out,” Harris said. “Everyone likes to give back especially this time of year so it’s nice.”

Harris does not plan on being a bell ringer for life but has enjoyed her time doing it. She like Jones is not particularly fond of the cold because her hands get so cold but doesn’t mind to sacrifice for the cause

After ten years of bell ringing Wells, 53, likes to think he is use to the cold by now. He currently bell rings in front of the Smiths Marketplace in Millcreek.

“I have done it for about ten years and every year I say I am not going to do it the next, but I always end up back here,” Wells said.

Wells, unlike the other bell ringers, gets paid for his duties of bell ringing. Although most bell ringers are volunteers there are some that get paid right around minimum wage.

“I got nothing else to do. I thought I might as well make a little more Christmas money for my family,” said wells.

Whether getting paid or just volunteering, Wells, Harris and Jones are all in aggreeance that seeing the holiday spirit and the good in people makes the job worth doing.

“I love seeing the spirit of the season in everyone,” said wells

The Salvation Army is hoping to capture this spirit during the holiday season by receiving donations. To donate simply put spare change in the red kettle donate where bell ringers are located or visit http://www.salvationarmyutah.org/ to fill the online red kettle or to volunteer time.

Students from all over the world choose the University of Utah

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Max Lennardt

“The University of Utah is a well known institution within the academic world. We are the only Research 1 University in the state of Utah. The University of Utah is also ranked among the top 25 public U.S. Research Universities and No. 82 in the world for academics,” said Moana Hansen, a graduate advisor in the mechanical engineering department, on the topic why so many international students choose the University of Utah.
There is a total of 2,097 international students from 91 different countries at the University of Utah. Most of them come from China, Korea, and India.
“There is an emerging middle class in these Asian countries, but not enough good institutions for the need for good education. Especially in Korea, it is prestige to have a degree from the United States,” said Sabine Klahr, the director of the international center.
According to a 2010 academic ranking of world universities in China, the University of Utah is ranked No. 47 in the U.S. and No. 82 in the world.
“The rankings definitely speak volumes, and these are aspects that prospective international applicants consider when selecting a University. International students are also attracted to the low cost of attendance compared to other universities, which can provide for a better quality of life. Quality of life can be attributed to the weather, affordable housing, transportation, outdoor recreation, and many other factors,” said Hansen.
The majority of the international students study business, science or mechanical engineering. Mechanical engineering is especially popular since the University of Utah is ranked No. 67 in the nation according to a 2011 U.S. News and World Report, which is highly attractive for students from all over the world.
International students are interested in specific research areas that the Department of Mechanical Engineering has to offer such as: Robotics and controls, thermal fluids and energy systems, design, ergonomics and manufacturing systems and solid mechanics.
”International students are also aware of our faculty members, who carry a strong reputation within the academic community for their innovation and contributions to research. Overall, our faculty, research and funding really set us apart from other institutions,” said Hansen.
According to Klahr, all the international students contribute to global development, diversity and internationalize the campus. “International students are really important for diversity reasons. I believe the U.S needs to be more connected. Other countries are more open, and the U.S. needs to be more diverse and is still to isolated,” said Klahr.
Klahr grew up in Germany and lived all over the United States before she moved took the position as the international director at the University of Utah.
“All students can learn from another. American students have the chance to learn about different cultures, and the international students have the opportunity to experience the American way of live,” added Klahr.
There are 10 international clubs on campus like the Chinese, Japanese, African or Muslim student association, and the cross culture club, where Americans and international students meet and can learn from each other.
Most of the international students are degree-seeking students. “The majority of students are not exchange students. Most come for a degree and are with us for the long haul,” said Julie Scott, the office manager in the international office. A data sheet, presented from the international office showed that there are around 1,000 master or PhD seeking international students and around 1,300 undergrads.
”Eighty percent of the international applicants were admitted to the PhD program while 20 percent were admitted to the master’s program”, said Hansen. Some International students even decide to stay and work in the U.S. for a 1-year period in their field of study. “Those in a STEM major (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) can qualify for an additional 17 months of employment. If the employers love these employees, they can hire them on an H-1B visa, and some can eventually qualify for a Green Card,” said Scott.

The Rise of The Audience

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

By: Callie Mendenhall

“Journalists are increasingly becoming the audience and the audience is increasingly becoming the journalist,” said Matthew LaPlante on Thursday, October 26. KUER’s own Radio West was recorded in the Hinkley Institute of Politics and the topic of the show was how journalism is shifting and how it’s affecting the audience. Doug Fabrizio hosted the show alond side the panel of four others: Matthew Ingram, a senior writer at GigaOM.com; Holly Mullen, a writer and former reporter; Matthew LaPlante, a journalism instructor at Utah Sate; and Holly Richardson, a member of the Utah House of Representatives and an active blogger.

The way citizens receive information is changing. Journalism used to be an article about every event, but now even Jeff Jarvis, an American journalist, is saying, “Today an article is no longer needed for every event.” What that means is now piece of information or journalism might be a tweet or a Facebook status instead of a well-written and edited news article. News is now on a 24-hour cycle and it can no longer be an industry where news and stories are only updates every morning when the paper comes out. If a person wants information about anything they are able to get on the Internet and find it out. Ingram said, “We are turning the Internet into a small town where everyone knows everything.”

Because everyone knows everything, journalists have had to change the way that they interact with their audience by making news a process and not a product.

“The relationship between journalist and the audience was fundamentally disconnected”, said Ingram with the concurrence of Mullen and Richardson. Before the wave of social media, a story was written and then unless a journalist got a letter from a citizen it was done. Now when a journalist writes a story, they get an immense amount of feedback within minutes from their readers. This change has made the journalists more accountable for their information put out. Kate VanWagoner, a senior communication major at the University of Utah said she believes that, “Journalism has reached a new level of efficiency.”

Social media is still a work in progress and therefore is still having many hiccups and discussions along the way. With Facebook and Twitter anyone can be a journalist, but discussed in the show is, is it necessary to be a card-carrying journalist anymore? Richarson who had no college training to be a journalist said she feels a person doesn’t have to have the training of a college degree because a person can simply teach themselves. Mullen, on the other side, said she believes that having a degree and learning techniques in college in order to write is extremely important and society will never lose the appreciation for it. Traditional journalists or card-carrying journalists will always have a place in journalism, but now so do citizen journalists.

Citizen journalists report information to citizens every day because the traditional journalist can even submit a story on the same event and that is how journalism is changing. Citizen journalists are everywhere and continue to grow everyday.

When the panel of guests were asked how to be a citizen journalist the answer was to be interesting, relevant, factual and above all seek the truth and report it.

Emily Dunn, a junior communication major at the University of Utah said, I would consider myself a citizen journalist, but I’m still taking the appropriate steps in order to get an education to learn everything that I possibly can.”

Journalism is an ever-changing industry and LaPlante put it best that we are democratizing the system of journalism by having the audience become the journalist and the journalists become the audience.

The Changes in Modern Journalism

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Rachel Maughan

Journalism is no longer owned and controlled by powerful people, it is owned by everyone. Last week at the University of Utah Doug Fabrizio from KUER radio hosted a live broadcast discussion on the subject of what journalism is becoming in modern times. Students from the university attended the event. Guests on the show included Matt Ingram, Holly Mullen, Matt Leplante and Holly Richardson who all have experience in reporting or blogging.
“Journalists are increasingly becoming the audience and the audience is increasingly becoming the journalist,” Leplante stated. One of the main focuses of the discussion was about citizen journalism, which is when common people even with no journalism training can make news.
“How do you become a citizen journalist?” Fabrizio said, “Be meaningful, be relevant and be accurate.”
Richardson, a member of the Utah Legislature, calls herself “a conservative social media journalist.” She has no official training in journalism but has her own blog and tweets the news herself. She says her news travels fast and in one tweet has received over 6,500 responses from different people.
“The Internet is turning into a small town,” Richardson said, “everyone knows your business and we largely volunteer away our privacy.”
Ingram had a similar view as Richardson. He said that people don’t need to have specific training to do journalism. One of the issues was that citizen journalists, due to their lack of knowledge about the laws of journalism, will be susceptible to libel cases. People may miswrite stories because of emotional responses. Ingram said that libel law will evolve due to the fact that anyone can respond and share the news.
Mullen said that libel and privacy issues are essential to teach in journalism school.
Leplante and Mullen both said that education in journalism is very important. They both saw the importance that journalists be taught news ethics and values.
The changes in journalism are also affecting jobs. Some people think that newspapers, magazines, radio and television journalism will cease to exist due to citizen journalism and the Internet.
“For people who want to go into journalism, they didn’t address how new media is affecting jobs. Is new media discouraging or encouraging for new journalists?” said Nic Smith, a journalism student at the University of Utah.
“You can’t run with the wolves when you pee like a puppy,” Mullen said referring to the pace of journalism. She talked about how it takes people with a lot of drive to survive in the social media world.
“I think that the traditional media is something that our generation needs to understand even though we weren’t really a part of it,” said Molly Wheeler, a political science major.
Journalism is changing. Internet sites such as Twitter and Facebook are becoming popular places for people to get their daily news. Though the Internet may seem to be taking over, there is still room for news articles and reporters.
At the discussion, they talked about writing news stories and some of the things to consider. Self editing is important and something to be aware of. Also, every angle and opinion transforms the story. News writing is an ongoing process.
“A story doesn’t have to be a beginning, middle and end, but ongoing,” said Fabrizio. Journalism will always be around. People want to know what’s going on around them and what it means. Citizen journalism is growing, but the speakers also assured that there will still be a place for writers in the future.
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Spinal Chord Veterans Learn to Paraglide

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Rachel Maughan
A Sun Valley program helps veterans and disabled persons paraglide.

SUN VALLEY, IDAHO – This weekend, five veterans with spinal chord injuries got the opportunity to paraglide.

The veterans had their training with ABLE pilot, an organization that helps disabled people have the chance to paraglide.

Training for the SCI veterans started Friday and went to Monday. They learned how to operate an adaptive flight chair at the Sun Valley Camp. Starting Friday, the veterans learned how to operate a paraglider and how to function as a pilot. Next, they gained experience by flying 3 feet above the ground, and took practice flights with instructors. By Monday the veterans were flying solo.

The veterans had the option of flying in two chairs, the Phoenix 1.0 and the Phoenix 1.5. Under the direction of Don Bloswick, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Utah, four mechanical engineering students at the University of Utah made these chairs.

Mark Gaskill is a trained solo tandem pilot from ABLE pilot. He started paragliding on the University of Utah team. Gaskill now trains people how to paraglide and has created a paragliding program for persons with disabilities. He also trained the veterans this past weekend.

“ABLE Pilot is an organization committed to getting people with spinal chord injuries, amputations and neuromuscular diseases safely into the air, piloting and flying with the minimum amount of assistance,” said Gaskill.

To learn more about ABLE Pilot and their service to disabled persons, visit http://ablepilot.com/.
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The NBA Lockouts Impact on Salt Lake City Businesses

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

By Steven Blomquist

The NBA Lockouts Impact on Salt Lake City Businesses

The labor disagreement between the NBA and its players not only put the NBA season in jeopardy, but also raised concern in many small market areas about potential decline in revenue.
“The NBA lockout is not only affecting the players on the court but Salt Lake City businesses who rely on the Jazz fans for business” said local business and Jazz fan Mark Maybee.
Energy Solutions Arena can hold more than 19,911 fans. With the great influx of people coming downtown, many come early on game night to go to local restaurants, shop at stores and ride TRAX. All of which will see the effects.
Vincent V. Fonua, who has worked for the downtown Crown Burger for 3 years, said, “Crown burger and other restaurants will be for sure be affected by no Jazz season. It’s a usually are busiest part of the year.”
“Around 5 p.m. for about 2 hours we get a major rush,” right before the game starts around the corner from the arena. “It is great business for us. We do very well during Jazz season,” Fonua added.
“I have been a Jazz fan all my life. Going to games is a tradition I have with my brothers. We would always go Crown Burger to eat before the games and since the lockout I haven’t been to there,” said Jazz fan Mike Plant.
It’s not only the restaurants who suffer; it’s all those who rely on people coming downtown for games to make their business go.
Torry Austin, a local cab driver, said, “It’s not just restaurants that are seeing the effects. It’s parking revenue, it’s transportation revenues, it’s taxi cab rides.” Austin who has been a cab driver for over 20 years said, “Jazz season really allows me to make ends meet through the winter.”
Salt Lake is not the only city that has seen the effects of the lockout on the local economy. Fourteen other small market cities such as the Indianapolis, Memphis and Portland have also seen effects.
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker was one of 14 mayors in October who sent an open letter to league owners and players pleading their case for a season to take place for the sake of the local economies.
“It has created a huge strain,” Becker said. “I’m sure there are people who these part-time jobs at the arena make a difference in their ability to make end’s meet.” He added, “There are going to be economic casualties.”
On Nov. 26, the NBA and its players agreed on terms of a new collective bargain agreement. After missing all the preseason games and first 6 weeks of 2011-2012 play has been slated to start on Dec. 25.
While the NBA players celebrate their new deal they are not the only ones jumping for joy. Local businesses also celebrate the end of the lockout, with the hope to make up for the lost profits

Natural History Museum of Utah Opened Offering Educational Opportunities

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Makaylee Pettit

The new Natural History Museum of Utah opened last Friday in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountain Range. It has 10 new galleries, which include three learning labs, providing further education.

Design architect for the building, Todd Schliemann, spent several years studying the geography of Utah prior to construction. He wanted to, “symbolize the beauty and magnitude of the state’s unique landscapes.”

The building followed Schliemann’s vision. It sits on the shores of the ancient Lake Bonneville, and has views of the Rocky Mountains and the Salt Lake Valley.

Director of public relations for the NHMU, Patti Carpenter, said, “ I think we put together a great museum in a great location.

There are 10 different galleries: Utah Sky and View Terrace, Native Voices, Land, Life, First Peoples, Lake, Past Worlds, Utah Futures, Rio Tinto Center and Our Backyard. Each one portrays a unique theme but also emphasizes interpretive links to other areas of science.
Three of the galleries are learning labs, which are going to be used for school and public programming. The labs, Embedded in the Life, Past Worlds and First Peoples galleries, are in prime locations and utilize surroundings to provide further learning opportunities.

Museum exhibit director Becky Menlove said, “The opportunities for kids to explore science here are endless. What we’ve tried to do throughout the museum is to create very interdisciplinary exhibits so that you’re not learning about rocks at a particular time, but also about plants, about paleontology, about hydrology and all the forces that go together because that’s really how we learn when we’re out in nature ourselves.”

The museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Wednesdays it stays open until 9:00 p.m. The prices are $6.00 for children, $7.00 for youth, $9.00 for adults, $7,00 for seniors and children two and under are free.

My Resume

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Chris Washington

650 West South Temple SLC, UT 84104

Cwash37@gmail.com (801) 682-7769

Education:

University of Utah

Fall of 2009 – Present

GPA – 3.0

Northridge High School – Layton, Utah 2006-2009

Employment History:

Worked at the Northwest Recreation Center 2011

Worked at Loni DeLand Law Office 2011 – Present

Volunteer Experience and Campus Involvement:

Played football for the University of Utah 2009 – 2011

Member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) 2010 – Present

Achievements/Awards:

Lettered in three sports in high school

All-state football player in high school

Full athletic scholarship to the University of Utah

The Immigration Issue Moved One Step Forward With Utah’s Senate Bill 138

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Makaylee Pettit
Melinda Lyon, a student at Utah State University said she was heart broken when she renewed her license last July. She witnessed a Hispanic man yelling at a worker because his wife had no way of showing more identification.

“His wife was bawling and the front desk lady was almost in tears. They had to be asked to leave by security,” said Lyon.

This year a bill was proposed to eliminate driving privilege cards as an attempt to aid in the issue of immigration. This resulted in more requirements making the cards harder to obtain.

Utah allows three types of driver licenses to be obtained: one for citizens, one for legal non-citizens and one for illegal aliens. In February of 2011, Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George set out to eliminate the latter of the three by proposing Senate Bill 138.

He argued that illegal aliens are allowed to present documentation that could too easily be forged, allowing the creation of false identity.

SB-138 did pass, but with a substitution made by Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, who was the original author of the law that authorized the driving privilege card in 2005. The substitution added the requirement of fingerprinting to obtain a card instead of eliminating it.

Urquhart was disappointed with the result and feels changes still need to be made. In a blog post he said, “That’s not what I think we should do, but it is a step forward.”

He also said, “Right now, the Utah Legislature is battling out several approaches to the illegal immigration issue. With the varying approaches we’re considering, we’ve probably managed to tick off every citizen in the State.”

Urquhart said at the end of the day much of what they are doing is challenged and overturned by the federal government because immigration is their job.

Resident of Hurricane, Utah, Mike Hinkleman, agreed with Urquhart and said he was surprised to discover that Utah of all places is issuing drivers licenses to undocumented aliens.

Hinkleman said this was driver license division’s clerk response when asked if illegal aliens could obtain a license, “…Don’t you think it’s better for them to be driving with a license then with no license?” They have to provide evidence that they paid taxes in Utah.

Hinkleman questions how many illegal aliens pay any tax to any governmental agency or state. He said the practice makes Utah look stupid and wants it to be stopped because it’s dangerous.

Though it’s not his desired result Urquhart himself said, the new requirement is a step forward in the immigration issue. When the application and fingerprints are completed they are sent to the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security to check for felonies.

Nanette Rolfe, director of public safety, told the Salt Lake Tribune in the article, “Undocumented Utah drivers to be fingerprinted,” by David Montero, that as long as an individual is upholding the law there is no reason to be afraid of the fingerprinting.

Businesses Prepare for Chaotic Black Friday Crowds

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Lacy Jamison

This year businesses around the valley took extra measures in preparing for chaotic Black Friday crowds through special employee organization and tight product management.

Small businesses like Bath & Body Works and large enterprises like Costco were highly affected by the Black Friday rush. These businesses had to make special preparations in being organized for such a hectic day.

“We hired a shuttle for employees to take so the parking lot was available for our members. Extra help is scheduled on the front end and by major sales, which are the busiest areas during these days,” said Sean Hancock, the produce supervisor of Murray’s Costco.

A lot of this preparation also went into ensuring that employees were efficient in their roles.

“Our all-store meeting was the big key in preparing our associates for Black Friday. We made sure they knew what their roles would be almost two weeks early. We also put new employees with core employees to ensure the day would go smoothly,” said Mclinn Ebert, the store manager of South Towne’s Bath & Body Works.

Businesses around the valley felt the rush as lines wrapped around their stores. Many employees often expect to encounter these high volume demands, but do not expect certain types of businesses to be encountering the same thing.

For example, most people do not realize that even banks had to take special measures in making sure their day would run smoothly.

“We had to up our security and lower the amount of money in our vaults. People are more desperate on Black Friday so there are more robberies,” said Ashley Azarow, a teller at Holiday’s US Bank.

Another serious issue that businesses had to account for was a higher demand for products. Larger crowds brought a larger demand for having enough products to accommodate the customers’ needs. Costco gauged how much product to order from the previous year’s sales.

“All items that are on coupon are ordered from our buying office in bulk and distributed amongst all warehouses according to projected sales, based off sales of similar items the previous year. When the product arrives at our warehouse, we stage them on our receiving dock and pull it to the merchandising floor as needed,” said Hancock.

Bank businesses were even forced to prepare for a higher demand of money use due to its aesthetic appeal.

“We ordered new money from the Federal Reserves. People don’t want old money around Christmas and like new money better,” said Azarow.

Most of the businesses around the valley struggled with this product issue.

“The most unsuccessful part of Black Friday was not having enough of the products that people wanted,” said Cristine Seabury, a co-manager at South Towne’s Bath & Body Works.

Another prominent issue that sparked some Black Friday woes among businesses was that some of them lacked sales in certain areas. Black Friday is an important day to sell products in bulk since it is so close to Christmas, but according to some businesses, not all products are always the most popular.

“My position [at Costco] is produce supervisor. My role during Black Friday changes a little from maintaining my area to maintaining high sales in my area, due to the fact that sales are extremely low for food items because it is after Thanksgiving and people are interested in what we call hard products, not food products,” said Hancock.

Other businesses were completely dead on Black Friday because people did not know their services were even available. This happened frequently to a lot of the banks around the valley.

“We [US Bank] ended up being very slow. People thought we were closed, like it was a federal holiday,” said Azarow.

To ensure that their day was successful, it was also common that most businesses around the valley set sales goals to take advantage of the busy day. Most set goals at how much money they wanted to make in the period they were open that day, and at how many products they wanted to see leave their stores.

With Costco being the large enterprise that it is, most of the individual stores around the valley were able to set very high goals for the day.

“This year, we [Costco] fell a little short of our goal. We were predicting sales to go beyond one million for the day. We still came close with about $987,000 in sales. Overall, the day ran smoothly and we had no problems,” said Hancock.

Smaller businesses were able to set goals more fitting to their volume size and traffic running in and out of the store.

“Our [Bath & Body Works] goal was to make $130,000 and get all 833 of our V.I.P. bags sold by 6:00 p.m. We sold all the bags but fell a little short at $110,000,” said Ebert.

When the businesses interviewed were asked if their special preparations paid off in maintaining good business on Black Friday, most responded that they were successful due to organization, advanced preparation and informed associates.

“All efforts were successful because we [Costco] were prepared and are familiar with what is needed to get done in order to keep everything running smoothly,” said Hancock.

Seabury attributed her store’s success to, “Months of planning, organization and a great team.”

Even slower businesses like the banks were happy they had been prepared for the chaotic day.

“The new money was a big success. So was the extra security-we [US Bank] had less of a chance of being robbed,” said Azarow. (919)

Black Friday Effect on Small Businesses

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by: Brenda Mandujano

Thanksgiving dinner is ready and set on the table at 2 p.m.; shoes are waiting by the door. The biggest deals of the year are here and stores open as early as 8 p.m. Thanksgiving day. Big box stores means big discounts. The store with the biggest discounts brings in the biggest crowd.

On Black Friday no one has in mind that buying locally means keeping close to home. Andrew Velasco, a black Friday shopper said, “I’d prefer to buy local, but many times smaller companies can’t afford to drop the prices as much as big box stores.”

Many local stores realize they cannot compete with discounts like gap.com. They offered their online customers 60 percent off the total purchase, plus free shipping on orders over $50, on this year’s Black Friday sale.

Other great deals this year were Walmart, with $5 pajamas for kids and pants for women, and JcPenney, offering up to 60 percent discounts on all items.

Claudia Sanchez said, “I love shopping and getting the best deals. Who can pass up a deal like this.” Sanchez feels that big stores can bring in the most savings, after all that is what she’s led to believe with dozens of websites following big box store deals.

Jeremy Reid, All the Rage Boutique owner, said, “It is difficult to compete on price because of the volume that I purchase compared to the volume that big stores purchase. We are lucky to purchase 6-12 of each item, where big box retailers are purchasing thousands of pieces per item.”

People believe that as a small independent retailer, lower prices are expected and what most consumers don’t understand is that they actually pay more for their product. This is the reason why smaller businesses have trouble keeping up with huge deals. They buy their items at higher prices because of the quantity they purchase and the room they have left to make a profit is small.

Smaller businesses however still need to bring in customers. They do what they can to offer the best deals their store can offer even if some profit is lost. All The Rage also does not advertise, other than connecting with customers through Facebook. Not having a budget to advertise is another obstacle that small businesses have to over come to bring in the most customers.

All the Rage Boutique, opened their second store in Utah, just days before Black Friday. They have been connecting with their customers, via Facebook offering deals and auctions to get their attention.

For Black Friday, All the Rage offered their customers up to a 35 percent discount starting at 5 am at their new location in Gardner Village, located on 1100 West 7800 South in West Jordan.

When asked what Reid would change for next years black Friday, he stated, “next year I may offer a few more Doorbuster only deals or ‘free’ items to the first customers. Our sales were up from last year so next year we will build upon what we accomplished this year.”

Growing National Interest Reflected in Utah

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Connor Wallace

With the induction of seven man rugby into the Olympics, public interest for the sport has gone up rather quickly. In most other countries rugby is one of the more popular sports, especially in Europe, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, South Africa and Australia. In fact, rugby spawned football, which is better known in the U.S.

However popular the sport may be in other distant countries, it’s lacking attention in the U.S., but changes are occurring rapidly at the local level. Utah has a strong rugby base and it continues to grow.

A person who has never seen a rugby game before would most likely be confused with the rules and even the simplest aspects of the game. Rugby is a sport that combines the endurance that a soccer player would need, the strength that a football player would require and the strategy that would be found in chess. Explaining the details of the game would require a novel, and there are many out there. An easy way to explain it is that it’s football without pads, a timeout is only taken for an injury or for a penalty, passing the ball forward is prohibited and the players wear short shorts.

The increase in popularity and change in public reception of rugby isn’t any more apparent than in Utah. Rugby’s popularity in Utah is in large part due to the large Polynesian population in Utah. Rugby is one of the more popular sports in their culture. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 4% of all the native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders that live in the U.S., live in Utah; this is just behind Hawaii and California.

Utah has the most successful high school rugby team in the nation, two of the best collegiate club teams, the youngest rugby player to ever have played in the Rugby World Cup lives in Utah and a number of other players who come from Utah have suited up to play for the U.S.A. Eagles, America’s national rugby team. With this type of success at all levels in Utah, rugby will continue to flourish.

Highland Rugby Club is by far one of the best high school rugby teams to have played. In the club’s 32 year history it has won 19 national championships. The club’s success was even made into the movie, “Forever Strong.” Highland has brought attention to rugby not only in Utah but also around all of the U.S. Highland, however, is not the only impressive rugby team in the state. United Rugby Club is another powerhouse rugby team in Utah, and the state championship usually comes down to Highland and United.

Former United and University of Utah rugby player Bryce Jenkins had this to say about his experience with rugby, “I had been a long time fan of the sport, and when I got the opportunity to play I took it. Playing football in the fall, rugby was the perfect sport to play to become a better athlete with an opposing season to football.”

An individual going from playing football to rugby isn’t very uncommon; however going from rugby to football is uncommon, but this is the story of Thretton Palamo. Palamo’s family is originally from Samoa, but he was born in California. His father played for Samoa’s national team, and his brothers both played for the U.S. Sevens rugby team. He originally came to Utah to play rugby for the University of Utah, and after two impressive seasons he received a scholarship to play for the university’s football team.

Arguably his most impressive accomplishment is that he was the youngest player to ever play for a national team in the Rugby World Cup. He made his first appearance when he was just 19 years old. If he is as successful on the football field as he has been on the rugby pitch, then the University of Utah is in for a treat.

Two of the most successful collegiate rugby teams in the U.S. both reside in Utah. BYU and the University of Utah are at the top of the collegiate rankings every year. The Utes finished in the final four last spring, and BYU finished their season in the national championship game against the University of California Berkley where they lost a tightly contested game.

Current University of Utah rugby coach, and former U.S.A. Eagle Blake Burdette believes that rugby’s future is at the collegiate level. “The future is bright. With the announcement of having rugby in the Olympics, is huge for our sport. I would imagine that you will see more and more universities embracing the sport because of the Olympic inclusion. If rugby is going to continue to grow, it has to be at the grassroots level and at the universities.”

Reiterating what Burdette said, success at the lower levels in rugby will continue on into the upper levels. This is portrayed well by Jason Pye. Jason Pye began playing rugby when he was a senior in high school. With such little time to learn the game, he went on to play for the University of Utah, U.S.A. Eagles 15-man team and started for the Eagles seven-man team.

Pye thinks that the future of rugby resides with the success of the game in the Olympics. “I think rugby 7’s will be a major sport in America in the next 5-10 years due to the acceptance of the game into the 2016 Olympics. In 20 years, who knows? I can only dream about its success.”

The success of rugby in the U.S. has progressed leaps and bounds in such a short amount of time. The advancing popularity of rugby in Utah is a microcosm of the growth that is taking place within the United States. Rugby has the potential to become one of the most popular sports in America, not just in distant countries.

Black Friday Mall Madness

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Morgan Heath

“The second the clock struck twelve; I could feel the floors shaking from the massive crowd running into the mall. Needless to say I was a little scared,” says Bridgette Boyland an employee at South Towne Mall.

When it comes to the biggest shopping day of the year, Black Friday is known for being a rush. This year South Towne Mall again opened it’s door to the public at midnight and remained opened till nine o’clock the next day.

Mall employees arrived earlier before the doors opened to get ready for the serious Black Friday shoppers.

Andrea Mena an employee for Journey’s arrived an hour early. ”This is a big day for shoppers, but it’s also a big day for me to make some serious money,” Mena explains.

Some of the retailer’s biggest deals of the year are displayed on Black Friday. It’s the day that people stand out in line fighting the cold and anxiously wait to get that good deal. Once the shoppers are inside the game is on; but is all this waiting and fighting for the good deal worth it in the end?

Hannah Campanzano is an expert in the art of Black Friday shopping and argues it’s not for the good deal is what attracts her to the sales. As she waited outside of South Towne mall before midnight with her friends, Campanzano explains the waiting and anticipation you get from Black Friday is what makes it worthwhile. “It’s a fun tradition to kick off Christmas and the holiday season. I do it for the excitement and while I’m at it get a good deal on something new for myself.”

The second the doors opened at South Towne was filled with all ages running from store to store. Flyers were handed out to let shoppers know every deal in every store. The foot traffic was heavy but somehow stayed in control. Corey Ellett is the head of security at South Towne Mall had only good things to say about Black Friday. “This year’s Black Friday turn out was no different than the last few years. It went smoothly which is what we hoped for. I have no complaints.”

Liz Attkinson, another security guard at South Towne was new to the Black Friday scene but was pleasantly surprised.

“I have never shopped on Black Friday, I don’t even leave my house. It was crazy to work it though. I actually had a lot of fun,” says Attkinson.

For those who frequently shop at South Towne mall on the average day agree with Attkinson first statement of never leaving the house on Black Friday. Andrea Swensen frequently shops at Express and Victoria’s Secret at South Towne avoids the Black Friday holiday rush.

“I hate it. I hate crowds I’ve never shopped on Black Friday and would never get up early to stand in line to save a few bucks,” says Swenson.

Regardless, of what many may think about Black Friday it seemed to be a success at South Towne mall. Ellett, head of security did mention however they do not know the exact number of the Black Friday’s turn out, but will know by mid January.

The State of the American Economy: One Man’s Perspective

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story By: Megan Combe

A group of students and faculty from the University of Utah gathered on Oct. 26 to hear one man’s opinion on what is wrong with the American economy. The speaker, Floyd Norris, is the chief financial correspondent for The New York Times. The message that Norris gave to his audience was one that has been repeated often: “There is no way out of this crisis.”

Norris communicated four specific points that he believes to be crucial to reviving the American economy:

• The banks need to take responsibility for their actions. The government, as Norris explained, cannot continue to bail out the banks based upon the banker’s speculation, as this was what led to the economic downturn in 2008.

• Norris explained that the debt overhang is one of the largest factors that has kept our economy from correctly functioning. “The debt that we have is insane and extremely tricky,” said Norris.

• Norris expressed his self-proclaimed “idealistic” hope that one day, people would be willing to pay higher taxes if it would benefit the country. “Presumably,” said Norris, “it is a better idea to fire teachers than to increase taxes to provide what used to be the most basic of public services.”

• Norris believes that “inflation could help” the current economic situation. Since the United States is over 14 trillion dollars in debt, some economists believe that inflation would lead make the dollar worth less, and would subsequently lead to the United States owing less money to the creditors. Norris described this as “a minority view that is held by some of the best economists.”

• Norris quoted Herman Cain in saying, “Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks; if you aren’t rich, blame yourself.” He went on to explain that Andrew Mellon, the Secretary of the Treasury under President Herbert Hoover, first expressed the attitude that if someone was poor, and wiped out from the depression, it was their own fault. Mellon and Hoover both held the attitude that “enterprising people would pick up the slack from the less confident people,” as Norris put it. This attitude has never disappeared, and Norris believes that people need to be rid of this attitude to fix the financial issues at hand.

The audience had a mixed reaction to Norris’s thoughts on how to heal the American economy. Abbie Owens, a student at the University of Utah, said: “Norris did not bring anything new to the table. He expressed the same concerns about the economy that many people do, but did not present any tactical or inventive solutions. Anyone who is familiar with business and economics should have been embarrassed for him.”

McCall Cottle, also a U. of U. student, said that “Norris didn’t strike me as a incredible speaker, but I thought that his points were valuable. I enjoyed this forum very much.”

Norris also writes a weekly column for the financial section in The New York Times. He currently lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his wife and son.

Floyd Norris Speaks to University of Utah Students of Economical Complications

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Morgan Heath

“There is a feeling of the duty of government to get there own spending down somehow that would restore confidence to the rest of us.” – said Floyd Norris, New York Times chief financial correspondent Floyd Norris went back in time to explain modern day financial economical complications. He opened his Wednesday lecture by talking of Andrew Mellon who was the Economic Secretary of Treasury who was known for being a very influential man in American history; While in office for twelve years “it was said that three presidents worked under him,” Norris said as he then explained the history of the stock market crash in 1929.

Norris said that the Great Depression has a lot to do with recent economy complications. Almost as if the American people didn’t learn the first economical crisis; or maybe we didn’t really known what really happened from the beginning. Norris explained, “ We never really reach a consensus of what happened and is why we failed again. After it started if the authorities knew what to do a lot of unnecessary suffering could have been avoided.”

While speaking of Mellon, Norris compared the Mellon’s ideology of “government should keep its hand off and let things work themselves out –liquidate labor liquidate stocks. Liquidate the farmers, liquidate real estate.” While still on the topic of Mellon’s ideology Norris spoke about another influential man. Herman Cain a Republican Candidate this election. A recent quote given by Cain with talks of the economy Cain replied,“ Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a good job you’re not rich blame yourself!” This goes back to what Norris argues in the first place stating maybe the American people didn’t learn from the previous mistake of the first economical crisis.

Kent Ava, a U of U senior studying strategic communication was pleased with the lecture.“ I felt the forum provided a personal insight on how the fix on the economy will play out in the near future.”

Another University of Utah student Sean Gustafson studying news journalism questioned Norris and asked the question “Why should college students be concerned about the economy-why bother?” Norris replied explaining the importance the economy does have to providing more jobs and after leaving the university students will want a job. “I think people assume in that sometimes assume a well operating economic and a financial system and if assume it you don’t pay attention to it and that is what was happening a few years ago and then it blew up. -Obviously there is no real need to worry about the economy if you have happened to have somehow found a good career and where you can get a job now.“ Said Norris. Norris ended the question with acknowledging that 91 percent of Americans are now working.

A New Era Starts Now

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story By Avery Mills

With the conclusion of their first regular season in the PAC-12, a new chapter has begun for University of Utah football.

In the summer of 2010, rumors began floating throughout the Salt Lake Valley that the PAC-10 was talking about expansion and the University of Utah was being considered. Message boards, chat rooms and social media sites were full of anxious fans as the rumor mill churned and they waited for an official word.

“It was always that way out there, pie in the sky possibility,” Ben Bagley, host of 1320 KFAN’s Powerhouse, recalled of the possibility of an invite to a BCS conference for Utah. “So when it started to look more and more real… the excitement began to boil.”

On June 16, 2010, it was officially announced that both the University of Utah and the University of Colorado had been extended, and then shortly after accepted, invitations to join the newly formed PAC-12 beginning the 2011 season.

“Given everything that was going on with conference realignment leading up to Utah’s invitation to the PAC-12, the initial reaction was one of relief,” said Patrick Sheltra, author of the book ‘100 Things Utes Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die.’ “But in the big picture, there was a tremendous amount of pride and excitement on my end.”

Utah first had to finish their final season in the Mountain West conference before they were able to call the PAC-12 home. With a head coach who is notorious within the media world for his refusal to look ahead past that week’s game, fans and media alike had to wait to talk about the changes coming for Utah until after the 2010 season was over.

“In the press conference after the BYU game someone goes ‘so Kyle, the regular season is now over, can we talk PAC-12?’” Bagley recalled. “And without missing a beat Coach goes, ‘I guess we can, go ahead,’ and that’s how it started.”

The off-season brought a lot of change to Utah. Not only were they in a new conference, but there were also new additions to the coaching staff. Norm Chow was brought in as offensive coordinator along with offensive line coach Tim Davis.

“Those hires legitimized the coaching staff,” Bagley said. “Once you brought those guys in… it became a PAC-12 coaching staff.”

Once the season began, it was anything but a smooth transition for Utah. They lost their first PAC-12 game at USC with a missed field goal that could have tied up the game and taken it into overtime.

They didn’t fare any better at home, losing the next two games against University of Washington and Arizona State, losing starting quarterback Jordan Wynn in the process to a shoulder injury. Their conference record was then brought to 0-4 with a loss to the University of California.

These events had many critics saying that schools like Utah, those who were in the top tier of their non-AQ conference, couldn’t handle the week in, week out grind that came along with a BCS conference.

“We always knew (Utah) belonged,” said Nancy Lewis, a Utah fan and long-time football season ticket holder. “However, we also knew it was going to be a rebuilding year. Once we lost Jordan Wynn, we knew it would be that much more difficult to win games, but we never once doubted that we belonged there.”

So with a Division II quarterback, who only ended up at Utah after his original choice of school cut their football program, and a junior college transfer running back who became the main feature of the offense, the team managed to turn things around, winning their next 4 games.

“The two snow games, vs. UCLA and at Washington State. Those are images that few who were there will ever forget,” Sheltra noted as his favorite moments of the season. “Utah won both games, the first against the eventual South representative in the title game, the second in overtime in a blizzard, makes those memories even more indelible.”

The Utes couldn’t hold onto their winning streak at the end, losing at home to Colorado, and barely missing out on the opportunity to play in the inaugural PAC-12 Championship game at Oregon the following week. However, there was no denying the fact that Utah was now a part of the world of big-time college football.

“I’m a huge college football fan… and I always hated the fact that I missed all the good games by going to watch Utah and Wyoming, who is just a horrible team. Now it feels like I’m watching college football,” Bagley said, when asked what the best part of covering a PAC-12 team was. “Going to these stadiums and watching these teams that I grew up watching on TV, it’s just wow.”

The future looks bright for Utah Football as they move forward on their new journey. Despite the sometimes rocky road that was endured during the inaugural PAC-12 season, Ute fans can’t wait to see what lies ahead.

“I’ve been to the Sugar and Fiesta bowls, so I joke around about wanting to wake up to the smell of roses one time in January,” Sheltra said, “But the prospect of one legitimate national title run in my lifetime is enough to keep me afloat during 7-5 (or worse) seasons. Being in the PAC-12 means you can dream big like that.”

Small Businesses Look for Big Boost

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story By: Megan Combe

While Small Business Saturday is growing in popularity and gaining support from businesses and the public, it has a long way to go before it makes a large impact on small businesses across America.

American Express OPEN, a division of American Express that caters to small businesses, began the idea for Small Business Saturday in 2010. It falls on the day after Black Friday, and two days prior to Cyber Monday, which is one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.
While many large businesses rely on Black Friday to make up their losses from the rest of the year, the idea of Small Business Saturday is not to have major sales; it is to get people into the small business community who normally wouldn’t be there.

According to Shelly Simpson of Apt. 202, a boutique in the 9th and 9th district of downtown Salt Lake City, it helps small businesses “bring in clients that (they) could potentially keep year round.”

The idea has grown steadily and quickly. American Express has a Facebook page dedicated to the event, and has accumulated over 2.5 million “likes” in the past two years.

“Social media and other online outlets seem to have been huge for small businesses in general, especially on Small Business Saturday,” said Carlee Beyer, a self-proclaimed “small business shopaholic.” Beyer said that she “enjoyed finding new mom and pop stores around the Salt Lake Valley.”

In October 2011, American Express and Civic Economics published their findings in a study of market trends in “The American Express OPEN Independent Retail Index.” It examined the successes of small businesses in 15 major U.S. cities over a twenty year time period. The research concluded that close to half of all retail shopping and approximately 64 percent of eating and drinking establishments take place at small businesses.

This year, American Express teamed up with other large-names such as Google, Twitter, and YourBuzz, to create a free online toolkit for small business owners. The kit included:

• $100 in free Facebook advertising to the first 10,000 business owners who signed up.

• A downloadable display for business owners to advertise with, and customizable email templates to help raise awareness.

• A “Follow” button for small business websites, that enables those who visit the website to follow the small businesses twitter posts.

• A tool to create free, professional online videos about a small business, powered by Google and American Express.

• $100 credit for LinkedIn ads and $100 in Facebook advertising credits for up to 6,500 business owners, powered by YourBuzz.

This online toolkit was created in an attempt to help small businesses attract an even larger crowd than the year prior. According to studies conducted by American Express, business owners saw a 28 percent increase in sales on the first Small Business Saturday in 2010, when compared to the same day in 2009. Many small businesses in the Salt Lake Valley agreed that while Small Business Saturday is helpful in bringing in new clientele, it does not bolster sales as significantly as they hope it one day may.

Simpson expressed that the community and business location are often key to success in small businesses. “(Small Business Saturday) brought in a lot of new business, but it also brought in a lot of our regular customers who really wanted to show that they were supporting their favorite small businesses.”

Pauline Sargetakis, Owner of Precocious K Boutique in the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City, expressed similar ideas. “It’s better if a lot of small businesses ban together. I think this neighborhood will do it in the next couple of years; we are just barely creating our business district.”

With all of the changes that have been made in the past two years to promote Small Business Saturday, business owners hope that it will soon become a staple in the Thanksgiving weekend shopping experience.

UTA TRAX: Life Saver or Life Taker

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Kent Ava

SALT LAKE CITY—The rash of recent accidents that involve taking UTA TRAX has raised some serious questions on safety and whether or not it’s a lifesaver or a life taker. According to Utah Transit Authority’s mission statement, its purpose is to “enable individuals to pursue a fuller life with greater ease and convenience.” These accidents according to experts are due to the lack of patience and carelessness of others.

Deseret News reports according to UTA, there have been 11 accidents involving TRAX, including five fatalities — the most since light rail began in Utah — and six that resulted in injuries in 2011 so far.

A recent Deseret News article compared accident rates among similar-sized light-rail systems across the U.S. and found that Utah ranks high in the number of accidents.

Sheena McFarland, justice writer for the Salt Lake Tribune, who has covered numerous reports in regards to the string of accidents, said safety simply comes down to patience and awareness in and around the TRAX.

McFarland said, about the recent accidents,” I’m trying to figure out why people are suddenly making really poor choices around the TRAX. Are they overly comfortable and confident because the trains have been around for so long?”

McFarland suggests typical safety rules like: staying behind yellow lines on platforms, not crossing in front of trains or going underneath cross-arms.

“Getting too comfortable with them [TRAX] is a terrible idea, as is thinking you can beat a racing, oncoming train. Have they become too accustomed to the general warnings about trains?” said McFarland.

In effort to promote and maintain safety in and around the TRAX, UTA has launched a new safety campaign “Operation Lifesaver: Train for Safety.” The advertising campaign was aimed to increase awareness around train platforms and crossings.

“We have the best safety devices [available] in the system right now and we are asking people to obey those devices and systems to keep them safe,” said UTA General Manager Michael Allegra.

Allegra says, recent incidents involving vehicles at crossings and pedestrians near TRAX platforms prompted the new campaign. Similar to the way distracted driving has become an issue with drivers on roadways, people becoming distracted around trains has also developed into a serious concern.

Derrick Klarr, TRAX operator said, accidents affect not only the families of the victims, but the operators also when such tragedy happens and can be prevented by paying attention to safety devices like cross-arms and signs.

“I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t been involved in a fatality, but we’ve had our share of operators that have and some take weeks of counseling before they get back in the seat, and some never return,” said Klarr.

Klarr explains, “we [train] are on fixed rails and have all required safety devices in place, and then some. However, people seem to ignore or just don’t care about these devices and choose to go around them putting themselves at harm.”

Despite such accidents UTA TRAX continues to promote and encourage safety with future expansions into Draper City and the Salt Lake City Airport. This is part of the “Front Lines 2015” project.

For more information on TRAX safety and Operation Lifesaver visit: http://www.rideuta.com/mc/?page=TRAX-TRAXSafety and http://oli.org/

The Ever-Changing Classroom: Technology Today

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by Kourtney Mather

Technology is a constantly changing subject in today’s world. Every year new gadgets and apps come out, changing a wide spectrum of possibilities: from how jobs are done, to how cultures worldwide operate. One area in which technology is changing is education; how materials and information are communicated to students, and how students learn and do their homework.
Today it is common for a student to find course materials, assignments, quizzes, and teachers’ comments all online. This makes interacting with a teacher possible without ever speaking face-to-face.
In the duration of the last eight years alone, technology has progressed dramatically, increasing and improving with each consecutive year.
“We still used WEBCT back then,” said a 2003 University of Utah graduate, Jason Carter, of his college days. “They would mostly use it for syllabi and notes. In my senior year they starting putting quizzes up online too.”
This has not only made life more convenient for students, but it has sped up the learning process in classrooms, as well as making schooling an option for students who have difficult a schedule to work around.
“In 2002 most students showed up to class with a notebook and a pen,” explained Cory Stokes, the director of the Technology Assisted Curriculum Center at the University of Utah. “Many of today’s students walk into class with laptops or smart phones served by a high-speed wireless connection. They can access documents or look up information in a second – often answering their own questions.”
Stokes continues to explain the benefits of technology in school, “Perhaps the biggest technological advancement has been the explosion of fully-online classes, which sets students free to work class around the rest of their schedule.”
Even some of the older generation believes that that it would have been nice to have technology in their day. Forty years ago, everything was done with a paper and pencil, and the Internet was only a vague idea that few had heard of.
Jane Ridd, a class of 1970 graduate from the University of Utah said of today’s technology, “It would be so much more convenient, you wouldn’t have to get yourself through a storm to turn in your paper. When I was in school, an overhead projector was considered high tech.”
With technology progressing so quickly, it’s nearly impossible to imagine what a classroom may be like in even twenty years. Stokes, however, did give a good idea of what to expect in the next couple years for the university.
“The new Canvas course system will replace the WebCT system by summer 2012,” Stokes explained. “Students can tell Canvas where they want to receive many different kinds of messages from their classes. You might have Canvas send your class announcements to Facebook and due date reminders as a text to your phone. Students will also like the Canvas mobile app when it is release this spring.”
While these changes are easy to imagine and close at hand, one thing is for certain about the far off future: technology will continue to progress and improve classroom communication and organization for years to come.

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The Perils of Utah Backcountry

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

Story by: Elizabeth Briggs

It is the moment that every skier dreads, the moment when the mountain abruptly becomes alive. Not only is Utah famous for having “the greatest snow on earth,” but also for its frequent and dangerous avalanches.

The recent death of professional skier Jamie Pierre, who died when he triggered an avalanche while skiing at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, is an example of Utah’s dangerous terrain.

“ I filmed with Pierre, and this is devastating,” said Todd Ligare, a professional big mountain skier for Teton Gravity Research (TGR). “ There were a lot of weird circumstances about that day that could have been avoided, all of the signs were there. I think that it is a reminder that familiarity is a track, it is a comfort level that leads skiers to make questionable decisions” said Ligare.

Tony Daffern, author of, “Backcountry Avalanche Safety: Skiers, Climbers, Boarders, Snowshoers,” said, “…(avalanches) catch and very often kill the unwary who literally trigger their own destiny when they venture onto unsafe snow slopes in a moment of inattention or ignorance.”

With more people venturing into the backcountry annually, the amount of deaths inflicted by avalanches has increased exponentially. According to the Utah Avalanche Center, in the last five years alone, avalanches killed 27 people in Utah.

With Pierre’s passing, it is a reminder that these deaths do not account for just uneducated skiers. Even experienced professional skiers make mistakes and with lives on the line, it is important to be avalanche educated.

In a fifteen-minute online tutorial, the Utah Avalanche Center has introduced a minimal education program titled, “Know Before You Go.” Going over the basics of avalanche safety, the program suggests calling the avalanche report center for regular avalanche advisories. Secondly, check the terrain for recent avalanches; the best clues for avalanches are other avalanches. Stay off of collapsing and cracking snow on steep slopes, these sounds are cues that the snow is extremely unstable. Lastly recall the recent weather, avalanches happen with rapid changes such as wind, warming, melting, new snow and rain.

Bruce Temper, the director for the Utah Avalanche Center says that when a slide occurs “ try heading straight down the hill to build up speed, then angle off the side of the moving slab.”

“ If you speak to experienced professionals, they will tell you go into lines with options and knowing that it could slide. Always have an alternative line planned because if danger arises, your pre-thoughts will subconsciously surface and you have a greater chance of making it out alive, “ said Ligare who suggests to always ski with someone who has more knowledge about the backcountry and more experience to ensure safety.

So this holiday season, if plans of adventuring into the backcountry are in the forecast, take the time to get avalanche educated. Courses are available year round with the most recent being Friday, December 9, 2011 at 6:00 pm through Utah Mountain Adventures (801-550-3986) in Salt Lake City. For Christmas ask for useful gifts such as a beacon, shovel, probe, and most importantly education so as not to become another avalanche statistic.

Mixed Reviews on Safety of New Paths

Posted on December 7, 2011 by comm5775

By Stephanie Graves

Mixed Reviews on Safety of New Paths

With the completion of the HPER bicycle path at the University of Utah, some students and faculty view this as a progressive step towards the future for transportation at the University. Others believe that the hilly terrain of the University’s campus make these paths a recipe for disaster.

“I have never been hit by bikers, but I have seen a couple of close calls,” said Chris Bond, a business student at the University of Utah.

Bond frequently treks across campus and especially on the new bike path created along the HPER highway.

“I have noticed that the majority of the time when there is a close call, it is often due to lack of communication from the cyclist or reckless driving,” said Bond.

With the implementation of the new bicycle paths, there is an opportunity to reduce the number of cyclist/pedestrians accidents.

The new bike path, which is located along HPER Mall and University Street had been “in the works” for 3 years and was completed early last year.

“The HPER Mall bicycle path was the only path on campus constructed last year. Salt Lake City Transportation reduced University Street to one lane each way and installed bicycle lanes,” said Chad Larsen, University Commuter Services Manager.

The new bike path was constructed to ease campus traffic and create a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists to maneuver around campus. Many students are not observing the signs designating the paths as “bicycles only.”

After witnessing a cyclist skid to the ground on approaching the newly constructed path, architecture student Kaleb Larsen said, “You don’t realize there is a dangerous situation until something like this happens.”

Even though there was a campus-wide release informing students that the cyclist/boarder/scooter speed limit is 10 mph, there is rarely enough numbers among the campus police to constantly monitor these paths and cite offenders.

“Many bicycle incidents and crashes are underreported to the (campus) police department,” said Chad Larsen.

And while it is those involved in the accidents duty to report these incidents, they rarely do.

With the development of this new bike path, Chad Larsen believes that the path will reduce bicycle and pedestrian conflicts and allow the cyclists to ride to their destination more efficiently.

Even though this new bicycle path along the HPER highway is less than a year old, there are already plans to expand the bicycle network across campus.

“Currently the University is completing a Bicycle Master Plan. The bicycle network is organized in short term, medium term and long term projects,” said Chad Larsen.

With the addition of the new path along HPER highway and future plans for more bicycle paths, it is important for all students to be aware of their surroundings and each other.

Chad Larsen said, “Bicyclists and pedestrians need to be aware of their surroundings on shared sidewalks and Trax stations. “

If students and faculties are more aware of their surroundings and each other on and near these paths, these paths will create a huge impact on the efficiency and traffic flow around campus.

U NewsWriting

Stories by student-journalists in COMM 1610, Introduction to News Writing

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