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Utah State University
Today is Monday, Nov. 5, 2007 Breaking News
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Logan, Utah
Explosion forces relocation By SETH R. HAWKINS staff writer
USU’s Kevin Robinson becomes the alltime leader in allpurpose yards at USU, with 6,058. Page 16
Campus News Multiple colleges work to find ways to conserve water. Page 3
A MAintenance worker inspects the boiler in Rich Hall after Friday’s explosion. SETH R. HAWKINS photo
Club discusses origin of Bible
Features
An explosion in the boiler room of Rich Hall early Friday evening resulted in a broken window and an extended evacuation of the residents until state safety inspections are completed. USU Police Chief Steve Mecham said dispatch received a call about the explosion at 6:01 p.m. The explosion was heard by a firefighter at the fire station located just north of Rich Hall, who briefly examined the scene before calling in the explosion, he said. “It was the actual burning unit, the heating unit, that’s what we figure the explosion was,” Mecham said. USU Fire Marshall Steve Bell said when he arrived on the scene there were two or three units already there with hoses extended, but there was no fire and no damage to the building other than one broken window in the boiler room and some damage to the boiler unit, though the extent of the damage is yet unknown. Bell said while the actual cause of the explosion is unknown, it is believed the boiler that heats the water for the building had a “small gas leak (that) found an ignition source, resulted in the explosion of the building.” The state inspected all the buildings in the Student Living Center just two weeks ago, said Steve Jenson, USU
Housing executive director. “It’s one of those freak things,” Jenson said. “As far as I know, the state was up here a couple weeks ago and inspected all these buildings, so I’m not sure. This is probably just an unusual incident.” Madelyn Vaterlaus, freshman resident of Rich Hall majoring in speech pathology, said she was walking toward Rich Hall from the Lundstrom Center and was about 15 feet away when the explosion occurred, spraying glass across the grass in front of her. “I screamed really loud,” Vaterlaus said. “I was so freaked out. I had no idea what was going on and heard a bunch of hissing coming from the boiler room. It was really scary.” Vaterlaus said she ran to her room located one floor above the boiler room in the northeast corner of the building and told her roommates to expect a fire alarm, which she said went off two seconds later. She said when she evacuated the building, she could smell gas. In the building one floor above the boiler room at the time of the explosion, Warren Fairbanks, undeclared sophomore, said, “I just heard a loud noise and glass shattered and the room shook. The whole building shook. I just thought that somebody had a bomb, like one of the apartments above was messing around with something.”
- See EXPLOSION, page 20
By ALISON BAUGH staff writer
Study Abroad programs offer chances for growth. Page 6
Sports Jaycee Carroll scores 32 points to lead the Aggies to a 100-46 victory over visiting Leval University. Page 15
Opinion “Let’s make the most of this place while we’re here. Let’s get out and vote on Nov. 6 and hold ‘the man’ accountable. Let’s stun the skeptics and start making a difference.” Page 18
Almanac Today in History: In 1912, Woodrow Wilson makes history, defeating two former presidents – William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt – and is elected the 28th president of the United States.
Weather High: 59° Low: 19° Skies: Mostly clear.
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Allowing open discussion among students on campus is a focus for Aggies for Christ, and they held a four-part discussion series on Friday and Saturday to allow more open discussion. “What I really want to foster on campus is open discussion,” said John Schadegg, campus administrator for Aggies for Christ before the start of one session. Aggies for Christ brought in Mike Schneider, minister from Laramie, Wyo., to present this series’ topic, “How we Cell Phones are influencing behavior for better and for worse. DEBRA HAWKINS illustration got the Bible.” Schnider’s congregation in Wyoming has similar core values to Aggies for Christ, Schadegg said. The two groups often get together for conferences, and this time, students from the University of Wyoming came to the discussion at USU, Schadegg said. Schnider’s presentation was broken into four different sessions, the heart of the Bible–eye witnesses to the Bible, claim of inspiration, canonization, and transmission and translation of the Bible. At the end of each presentation, students were Stefani Nelson, graduate student in psycholBy BRITTNY GOODSELL JONES able to ask questions, opening questions among the entire ogy and USU alumna, said she wrote a paper assistant features editor group. that included information from a news story “I really enjoy presenting things about the Bible, talking to concerning teenagers and cell phones. The Lawrence Fishburne, while acting in a people about it and fielding questions,” Schnider said. newscast, she said, reported a certain police Broadway play, turned to an audience member department is trying to encourage teens to Words were defined and numerous scriptures quoted in after putting up with a cell phone ring for 20 Schnider’s presentation, but he also kept it light-hearted with report crimes by text messaging emergencies seconds and yelled, “Will you turn off that f--jokes about his hair and “The Simpsons.” on cell phones ing phone, please?” University of Wyoming and USU faculty and members of directly to This incident, found in the article, “An the Logan Church of Christ also added their thoughts. the sheriff’s Investigation of Mobile Phone Use: A Socio “I get answers to questions I had before, how the Bible department. technical Approach,” is one of many cell phone The idea A closer look at issues was put together in collection of books,” said Wington Brito, affecting USU USU freshman in computer engineering from the Dominican interruptions experienced by people as they go behind this, about their day. By the year 2001, 97 million Republic. Nelson said, Americans used a mobile phone, the article Getting questions answered was also a big plus of the disis teens are more comfortable communicating stated, and this growth is having an impact on through electronic methods, such as text mescussions, said University of Wyoming student Jessica Szwast. social behavior. Determining if that impact is She said she decided to go after being in a Bible study class saging, than communication through speech. more positive than negative, however, is what American society is currently deciding. - See BIBLE, page 20 - See CELL PHONES, page 20 FACE-TO-FACE COMMUNICATION
Cell phone impacts on social behavior mixed InDepth
Candidates discuss election, issues By KATE ROUSE staff writer
In preparation for Tuesday’s election, city council candidates spoke to The Statesman about pressing issues. VAL EWELL, CANDIDATE SEAT 1 Utah Statesman: If you are elected, how will you improve Logan? Ewell : Primarily, I would want to improve Logan by paying down the debt that we are in right now and trying to reach countywide government. US: How Elwell
will your decisions affect university students? VE: University students are citizens just like everyone else, so the decisions that are made on the council and in the city affect university students as they do everybody else. One of things (we need to look at carefully) is parking and this booting nonsense. US: What do you feel are the important issues in this year’s election? VE: The debt and traffic. Mostly the debt, they’re spending us into oblivion. US: What kind of experience do you have to bring to this position? VE: I have the background, experience and training to analyze the things that are coming before the council to a degree that very few have. I have managed budgets, I have created budgets, I have been a contracting
officer, I’ve been a project manager, I’ve been a cost analyst, I’ve been a price analyst. US: Why are you running for City Council? VE: I have been complaining since I’ve been here about how it’s run, and I decided it was time to give it a go to see if I could do it better. US: If you had been on the council at the time, how would you have voted in regard to the Intermountain Power Plant 3 Program? VE: I would have voted for it, because we had not examined the alternatives and assured that there was reliable energy available before we voted it down. US: How will you address Logan’s air quality problem? VE: Forget it. There’s no big barrier up there that keeps pollution from Franklin County and everywhere else from coming into Logan.
So don’t kid yourself that Logan alone can do anything – other than heckle some people about getting a handle on automobile emissions – seriously about air quality. We don’t own the air. I do think the automobile emissions (testing) is a good idea. If you go beyond that, you’re going to have to look towards Idaho, the surrounding areas, and enlist their cooperation. LARAINE SWENSON, INCUMBENT SEAT 1 US: If you are elected, how will you improve Logan? Swenson: I serve on the Cache Regional Council, and I think the biggest improvement for Logan would be a valleywide plan. That’s what we’re working on right now with the council through Envision Utah, to facilitate a plan where each city
- See CANDIDATES, page 3