112807issue

UtahStatesman The

Utah State University

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007 Breaking News French police respond to rioters shooting at police and torching buildings in suburbs north of Paris.

www.utahstatesman.com

Logan, Utah

Student could pay $3,000 fine to RIAA for file sharing

Campus News

TYLER LARSON photo illustration

Many USU teachers are turning to new technology like iPods to help teach students.

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Features

African dance classes help people relax.

Page 6

By LIZ LAWYER assistant news writer

“It has finally happened,” Bob Bayn said.

Last week, USU received advanced notice about an early settlement offer from the Recording Industry Association of America to an unidentified USU student over the matter of a single song he had available to download from his computer. Information Technology Security Team Coordinator Bayn said of the hundreds of take-down notices a year USU has received concerning students sharing music and other electronic files on the USU server, this is the first time a copyright watchdog has taken the step of starting litigation.

The amount of the offer the RIAA is proposing? Three thousand dollars.

“I think (the recording industry is) trying to create uncertainty and publicity and some fear,” Bayn said. “This student getting this next level hasn’t done anything different than the others that I’ve seen.”

Copyright watchdogs monitor college campuses because students on average commit more copyright infringements than other demographics. Students at universities and colleges across the country have received notices warning of potential consequences if file sharing doesn’t stop. When they find a computer on a university server with file-sharing software like LimeWire, BitTorrent, KaZaA or dozens of other programs, they send a notice to the university giving the IP address of the offending computer, and the university contacts the student.

The student, whom Bayn declined to identify pending a subpoena if the student does not settle with the RIAA, received a take-down notification in September, a day when several other similar notifications were sent to USU. Bayn said it appears this student has done nothing worse than what other students have done, yet he is the only one at USU who has been picked out by the RIAA so far. So far in all his dealings with the watchdogs and students, Bayn said he has never had to give out any student’s personal information. But, if the subpoena is issued, he

Sports

will have to report the student, he said.

Students seem reluctant to accept that file sharing is illegal, said Tiffany Evans, ASUSU director, who has been taking an informal poll of students.

“We need to educate students,” she said.

“What is happening is the recording industry is really going after people downloading illegally.

File sharing is stealing. Until technology and the recording industry and the law tell us otherwise, we should treat it as stealing. It could come back to haunt you.”

Students at other schools have been hit with fines ranging from $750 to $150,000.

Bayn said complaints from watchdog groups have gone up this year at USU, possibly because of improvements in the university’s bandwidth.

He said not only student computers linked to USU’s wireless Internet are found to have the software, but some school-owned computers have received take-down notices, also.

Music fans who download music from most

- See FINE, page 3

Students tuning in to mp3 players to study

Four USU athletes explain their love for other sports they are good at.

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By RACHEL CHRISTENSEN staff writer

Opinion “Guy kicks players off the team when they repeatedly break the rules he has set forth. Why hate a man who is trying to create a positive image for Aggie football?”

Page 12

Almanac Today in History: In 1520, Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan becomes the first European explorer to reach the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic, as three of his ships pass through the straits below South America, which later became known as the Strait of Magellan.

Weather High: 34° Low: 9° Skies: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow.

Archives and breaking news always ready for you at www.utahstatesman.com

Advent Creative won won the Apple 24-hour Insomnia Film Festival out of a field of more than 1,700 entries. The team members, (left to right) Jackson Olsen, Scott Hyldahl, Clay Olsen, Pete Smithsuth and Cam Lee, won about $5,000 worth of equipment and software. photo courtesy Advent Creative

Students win grand prize in Apple film making contest

By RANAE BANGERTER staff writer

The five USU students who entered Apple’s 24-hour Insomnia Film Festival on Oct. 13 found out Monday they had won not only the festival, but also the grand prize, second place in the peer review and first place in the judge’s choice award. ”It’s definitely a shocker, definitely a surprise,” said Clay Olsen, director of the student-produced film.

Olsen’s Logan-based company, Advent Creative, entered the contest just days before and wrote, directed and edited a two-minute and 40-second film called “Imagine.”

They said they hoped to win, but did not think it could actually happen.

To ensure all the entrants to the festival completed their film in 24 hours, they had to use three of 10 items or filming techniques chosen by the contest coordinators.

The film includes a helicopter scene and a Mini Cooper car chase.

“We knew our film was good, but I didn’t personally expect to win,” said Pete Smithsuth, who was in charge of audio for the project.

The team members are all students at USU and also work for Advent Creative.

The grand prize includes each team member receiving a MacBook Pro, Final Cut Studio 2, Logic Studio music editor and Shake, a motion graphics program, worth about $5,000 per person, Smithsuth said. ”It’s a good Christmas present,” he said.

The judges for the competition, which had more than 1,700 entries, were professionals in the business, including James Mangold, Nora Ephron and Barry Sonnenfeld, according to Apple.com In order to even be considered by the judges, the films had to be in the top 25 based on popular vote. ”We almost kinda gave up hope because we saw the level of competition that was in this competition,” said Smithsuth, sophomore in

- See WINNERS, page 3

As technology is advancing, the way USU students get their education is changing. One of the newest ways for students to learn from their professors is through online lectures.

Greg Podgorski, an associate professor in biology, uses audio lectures in two forms in his classes. The first way is by podcast. Through podcasts, students can listen to past lectures directly from their iPods.

“My students wanted something so if they were driving somewhere, or if they were bored, they could listen to past lectures,” he said. “Podcasts let them do that.”

Another way Podgorski uses audio lecture recordings is through a program called Macromedia Breeze.

- See PODCASTS, page 3

Professor Greg Podgorski of the genetics department records his lectures and makes them available to his students online in the form of a podcast. CAMERON PETERSON photo

2

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World&Nation 2

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Today’sIssue

Celebs&People

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007.

Today’s issue of The Utah Statesman is published especially for Adam Talbot, a senior majoring in chemistry from Pocatello, Idaho.

ClarifyCorrect

The policy of The Utah Statesman is to correct any error made as soon as possible. If you find something you would like clarified or find unfair, please contact the editor at 797-1762 or TSC 105.

Nat’lBriefs

Suspect charged with murder in rare case LAKEPORT, Calif. (AP) – Three young black men break into a white man’s home in rural Northern California. The homeowner shoots two of them to death but it’s the surviving black man who is charged with murder.

In a case that has brought cries of racism from civil rights groups, Renato Hughes Jr., 22, was charged by prosecutors in this overwhelmingly white county under a rarely invoked legal doctrine that could make him responsible for the bloodshed.

“It was pandemonium” inside the house that night, District Attorney Jon Hopkins said. Hughes was responsible for “setting the whole thing in motion by his actions and the actions of his accomplices.”

Prosecutors said homeowner Shannon Edmonds opened fire Dec. 7 after three young men rampaged through the Clearlake house demanding marijuana and brutally beat his stepson. Rashad Williams, 21, and Christian Foster, 22, were shot in the back. Hughes fled.

Hughes was charged with first-degree murder under California’s Provocative Act doctrine, versions of which have been on the books in many states for generations but are rarely used.

Congress unlikely to send money for Iraq WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress likely will hold off on sending President Bush money for Iraq until early next year, pushing the Pentagon to the brink of an accounting nightmare and deepening Democrats’ conflict with the White House on the war.

Democrats say the tough approach is needed.

“Everybody knows that the president is stuck in his place, a place where he wants a 10-year war,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

This week, the House passed, 218203, a $50 billion bill that would pay for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan but require that troops start coming home. The measure sets a goal of ending combat by Dec. 15, 2008.

The Senate planned to vote as early as Friday on the measure, although it was not expected to pass. Democrats hold a narrow majority and 60 votes are needed for the measure to advance.

Smoke billows as books still burn in a damaged public library that was vandalized and set on fire in Villiers-le-Bel, a northern Paris suburb, Tuesday, Nov. 27. Rioting in the tough suburbs of northern Paris took a dramatic and potentially deadly new turn with the use of firearms against police, officials said Tuesday. Police unions said some 80 officers were hurt overnight. AP Photo

Riot in Paris suburbs after youths fire shotguns at police VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France (AP) – Youths rampaged for a third night in the tough suburbs north of Paris and violence spread to a southern city late Tuesday as police struggled to contain rioters who have burned cars and buildings and – in an ominous turn – shot at officers.

A senior police union official warned that “urban guerrillas” had joined the unrest, saying the violence was worse than during three weeks of rioting that raged around French cities in 2005, when firearms were rarely used.

Bands of young people set more cars on fire in and around Villiers-le-Bel, the Paris suburb where the latest trouble first erupted, and 22 youths were taken into custody, the regional government said. In the southern city of Toulouse, 20 cars were set ablaze, and fires at two libraries were quickly brought under control, police said.

Despite the renewed violence, France’s prime minister said the situation was calmer than the two previous nights.

About 1,000 officers patrolled trouble spots in and around Villiers-le-Bel on Tuesday, he said.

The government was striving to keep violence from spreading in what was shaping up as a stern test for new President Nicolas Sarkozy. The unrest showed anger still smolders in France’s poor neighborhoods, where many Arabs, blacks and other minorities live largely isolated from the rest of society.

The trigger was the deaths Sunday of two minority teens when their motorscooter collided with a police car in Villiers-le-Bel, a blue-collar town on Paris’ northern edge.

Residents claimed the officers left without helping the teens. Prosecutor Marie-Therese de Givry denied that, saying police stayed on the scene until firefighters arrived.

Rioting and arson quickly erupted after the crash. The violence worsened Monday night as it spread from Villiers-le-Bel to other impoverished

suburbs north of the French capital.

Rioters burned a library, a nursery school and a car dealership and tried to set some buildings on fire by crashing burning cars into them.

Officials have pledged tough punishments for rioters: Eight people were convicted Tuesday in fast-track trials and sentenced to 3-10 months in prison, the regional government said.

Police reinforcements were moved into trouble spots north of Paris on Tuesday. Helicopters flew overhead, shining powerful spotlights into apartment buildings to keep people from leaving their homes.

“The situation is under control,” said Denis Joubert, director of public safety for the region surrounding Villiers-leBel. Prime Minister Francois Fillon, who was briefed by police in Villiers-le-Bel, said things were “much calmer than the previous two nights, but we feel that things are still fragile, and we need a large preventative force on the ground so that what happened last night does not happen again.”

Patrice Ribeiro of the Synergie police union said rioters this time included “genuine urban guerrillas,” saying the use of firearms – hunting shotguns so far – had added a dangerous dimension.

Police said 82 officers were injured Monday night, 10 of them by buckshot and pellets. Four were seriously wounded, the force said. Police unions said 30 officers were struck by buckshot.

One rioter with a shotgun “was firing off two shots, reloading in a stairwell, coming back out – boom, boom – and firing again,” said Gilles Wiart, No. 2 official in the SGP-FO police union.

Youths, many of them Arab and black children of immigrants, again appeared to be lashing out at police and other targets seen to represent a French establishment they feel has left them behind.

“I don’t think it’s an ethnic problem,” Wiart said. “Most of all it is youths who

reject all state authority. They attack firefighters, everything that represents the state.”

Suspicion of the police runs high among people in the drab housing project where the two teenagers died in the crash. The boys were identified in French media only by their first names, Lakhami, 16, and Mouhsin, 15.

There have long been tensions between France’s largely white police force and the ethnic minorities trapped in poor neighborhoods.

Despite decades of problems and heavy state investments to improve housing and create jobs, the depressed projects that ring Paris are a world apart from the tourist attractions of the capital. Police speak of no-go zones where they and firefighters fear to patrol.

“The problem of bad relations between the police and minorities is underestimated,” said criminologist Sebastian Roche.

Sarkozy, speaking from China, appealed for calm and called a security meeting with his Cabinet ministers for Wednesday on his return home.

Sarkozy was interior minister, in charge of police, during the riots of 2005 and took a hard line against the violence. He angered many in housing projects when he called delinquents there “scum.”

The rioting youths “want Sarkozy – they want him to come and explain” what happened to the two teenage boys, said Linda Beddar, a 40-year-old mother of three in Villiers-le-Bel. Beddar woke Tuesday to find the library across from her house a burned-out shell.

The violence two years ago also started in the suburbs of northern Paris, when two teens were electrocuted in a power substation while hiding from police. The government is keen to keep the new violence from spreading.

In Villiers-le-Bel late Monday, arsonists set fire to the municipal library and burned books littered its floor Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) – Caroline Kennedy turned 50 Tuesday, becoming eligible for membership in AARP. But the nonprofit organization for people 50 and over has bigger plans for Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie.

The former first daughter is featured on the cover of the January/February issue of AARP The Magazine, on newsstands next month, and will receive the magazine’s Inspire Award next week.

KENNEDY “Ever since I was a little girl, people have told me that my father changed their lives, or that President Kennedy’s inaugural challenge, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country,’ inspired a generation in the 1960s that transformed our nation with courage,” she told the magazine.

“To me that is one of his greatest legacies. Now, it is up to us to redefine that commitment for our time.”

NEW YORK (AP) – Amy Winehouse has canceled all concerts and public appearances for the rest of the year on doctor’s orders.

“The rigors involved in touring and the intense emotional strain that Amy has been under in recent weeks have taken their toll,” said Winehouse representative Tracey Miller in a statement Tuesday.

“In the interests of her health and wellbeing, Amy has been ordered to take complete rest and deal with her health issues.”

The decision by the 24–year–old retro soul singer comes “on the instruction of her doctor,” the statement said. Her family asked the media to “respect Amy’s privacy at this time.”

Winehouse’s 25-year-old husband, Blake Fielder–Civil, was ordered held in custody in London earlier this month on charges stemming from a case in which he is accused of assaulting a barman in June.

LateNiteHumor

Top Ten Things Overheard at the Late Show Christmas Party from Dec. 17, 2002

10– “Can we go now?”

9– “Attention: please wash your paper plates and return them to the supply closet” 8– “Can we go now?”

7– “Okay, that comes to $17 a person” 6– “Hey, it’s 11:30 – turn on Leno” 5– “Is it okay to take Lipitor with whiskey?”

4– “For the love of God can we go now?”

3– “Christmas party? Sorry, Mr. Philbin – don’t know anything about a Christmas party” 2– “Do you want to throw in five bucks for the intern fight?”

1– “Why is Letterman here?”

StatesmanCampus News

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Page 3

Univ. of Kansas librarian named dean of libraries

By MARILYN SHELTON staff writer

Richard W. Clement has been appointed as the new dean of libraries for the Merrill-Cazier Library.

Clement is currently the head of the department of special collections at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas.

Clement will begin his position at USU on July Richard Clement

1, 2008.

“The dean of libraries will be in charge of library services at both Logan and regional campuses as well as billing and collections and supervision of the library staff,” Provost Ray Coward said.

He said Clement was chosen from candidates all over the United States.

Clement said he plans to make the Merrill-Cazier Library more technologically advanced.

“We need to move forward into the digital age,” he said. “That is the future of America’s libraries.”

Concerning USU’s distance education campuses, Clement said he plans to try to improve satellite technology.

Clement also said despite the need he feels for implementing technology, he “is still an advocate of the book.”

“I worked with special collections and historical documents,” he said. “I recognize that there is a need to preserve these things. You’d rather hold ‘Harry Potter’ in your hand than have to read it online.”

Clement said he is not sure how he will do either of

these yet.

“I don’t know the specifics of what I’m going to do,” he said. “I don’t have specific plans, but I am excited to be in this position and I will be making several trips to Logan over the next few months.

“I heard you guys have a great ski resort near Logan, and I’ll enjoy working with someone with such vision as Stan Albrecht and also Raymond Coward.”

Clement has a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in English from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. He also earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of Chicago.

He was a Fulbright Educational Partnership Fellow in Peru in 2004 and received the Gretchen and Gene A. Budig Distinguished Librarian Award from the University of Kansas in 2003. Clement has been with the University of Kansas from 1987 through the present. He was an English professor there before being named head of special collections.

-marilyn.shelton@aggiemail.usu.edu

Podcasts: Students can plug in to lectures Winners: Locals take prize

-continued from page 1

-continued from page 1

This program records an audio track of the lecture and synchronizes it with feed directly from the professor’s computer. This way, Podgorski said, students can go back and listen to lectures as well as see the slide or visual image that would have been showed during the actual lecture.

“Students who use this technology properly can review any lecture,” he said. “If you don’t catch something the first time, you can listen again and get the information the second time.”

Scott Ensign, professor in the chemistry and biochemistry department at USU, uses Macromedia Breeze as well as Blackboard and iClickers in his classrooms. One of his online PowerPoint presentations says it is better to provide online or homemade resources rather than to rely on “canned textbook resources.”

Some professors worry if they start using online educational measures, the negative side effects will be too great.

Tyler Bowles, professor of economics, said he posts audio recordings on the Internet that correspond with PowerPoints from his lectures so students can revisit what they learned in class. Bowles said he also uses Blackboard extensively.

Bowles said some negative effects are simply inherent to the Internet, such as security issues and technological glitches. Students experienced these technological problems this week when Blackboard temporarily shut down.

Online education tools also take some effort from the students, Bowles said.

“It places more burden on students, and they need to be more aware of how to adhere to the honor code and complete their own work,” Bowles said. “Also, some students procrastinate, some students fall behind. With online assignments, it’s easy to lose track and fall behind.”

Brian Harker, a graduate student professor associated with the Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences, said although audio lecture recordings and online tools could be great supplemental material, he worries they could damage the classroom.

“Some things you can’t do on the Internet with enough exposure,” Harker said. “Everything’s going online and it takes away from the classroom experience, which is essential.”

While the lectures are available free on the

Students can access their professors’ lectures via the Internet in the form of podcasts for some classes. CAMERON PETERSON photo illustration

Internet, students still need proper equipment to be able to use them. Harker said it is unfair to students who can’t afford the high costs of new technology.

“Some things like iClickers can be bought in the (USU) Bookstore,” Harker said. “In the end, it’s just another piece of equipment you have to buy along with your books. It’s just another cost.”

Podgorski said one of the biggest fears USU professors have is attendance might drop as professors put more tools on the Internet.

Despite this fear, Podgorski said he hasn’t seen any drop in his classroom attendance since he began using online audio recordings.

“I have seen the benefits outweigh the potential downsides,” Podgorski said. “I like what I’ve seen so far.”

-rac.ch@aggiemail.usu.edu

professional piloting.

The judge’s selection is the most prestigious of the three awards, and to even get there they had to market it, said Olsen, a graphic design student.

The team didn’t want to promote their own film, but they realized they would have to if they were going to make it in the competition, Olsen said.

“We had to put an extra effort forward because we’re a small community,” Olsen said.

For marketing, Olsen said they put fliers on all the cars at a USU basketball game, an article was published in the Herald Journal’s Cache Magazine, and Macey’s put fliers in every single grocery bag. ”It really was incredible the support that we got,” Olsen added.

In addition to word of mouth and other fliers, the team also went around to high school art classes as well as one of USU’s largest classes, Creative Arts, taught by Tom Peterson.

“Tom Peterson was very helpful and supportive of that,” Olsen said.

Olsen said they wanted people to be aware that a local film was in the running for a national film contest. ”I think it was probably a shock to some people that we were in the running for a national film festival,” he said.

Opportunities are just the beginning for Advent Creative, Clay said. Already they have been contacted by several out-of-state companies wanting them to do some very large projects, he said. ”Maybe locally people think it was just a little thing,” he said, “(but) it raised a lot of awareness of who we are as filmmakers.”

Before they received the call Monday, Clay said most of the crew had given up on the idea of taking first place. They had just decided they hadn’t won when they received a call from their office, he said.

Clay said they just heard them screaming on the other line that they won, and all of them in the car screamed as well, completely shocked at the reality.

“I don’t think it’s hit yet,” Clay said Tuesday afternoon.

The team will receive their prizes after they finalize the paperwork and 15 days have passed, he said. ”We could have won nothing, and it would have been worth the experience,” Clay said.

“Regardless, we all thought, ‘This is the best that we could have ever done,’” Lee said.

To see the final results and the movie, go to www.apple. com/education/insomnia/winners.html.

-ranae.bang@aggiemail.usu.edu

Fine: Student may be hit with fine from recording industry

-continued from page 1

file-sharing programs automatically become providers of that music, Bayn said. This is one of the ways students get caught in the recording industry’s net – they don’t realize their computer is visible to others on the Internet, and their library becomes a source of pirated music when they use file sharing software, he said. The software can be used for other, legal, purposes, such as for start-up bands to get their music out there, but illegal downloading is the most popular use, Bayn said.

Evans said a lot of the problem starts with students’ ideas about music ownership.

“I know this generation knows technology and doesn’t know anything different,” she said. Back when Napster was popular, people got used to having access to any music they wanted for free, she said. Now it’s hard to accept that the situation has changed.

“A whole other issue, which especially students get caught up in, is there is music out there for free, and they think they should get it for free,” Evans said. “I think they’re so accustomed to having things right at their fingertips.”

Bayn said the school really cannot wash its hands of the matter and let students deal with the copyright watchdogs directly. As long as USU is an Internet provider, it will be responsible for what is done over its connection. Evans said from an educational standpoint, it is not necessarily the university’s responsibility. However, she said the school wants to help train students for the “Not really. You real world. can get it anyChief Conduct Officer Dallin Phillips said the chances of getting caught file sharing seem fairly significant, where for free. though he is only asked to get involved when a student You can just plug does not comply with the take-down notices. That has in and get it. It’s only happened three or four times, he said. But if a accessible.” student were to consistently refuse to comply with the

notices issued by the RIAA or another watchdog group, – Alex White, consequences could include taking all computer priviFreshman leges away from that student, Phillips said.

As for the student who has already been hit with a potential fine, Bayn said he may receive the actual settlement offer or he might not.

“It’s too bad if he ends up having to pay thousands of dollars,” Bayn said. “I expect if infringement doesn’t go down, we’ll see another one picked out of the herd.”

-elizabeth.lawyer@aggiemail.usu.edu

StreetSpeak

Do you think downloading free music and video files from the Internet is wrong?

“Depends. For example, Sony DRM root kits would track music but open security vulnerabilities in your computer. In that case I feel it’s much more justified.”

– John Cutler, senior

“I don’t think it’s wrong. If you’re taking it and using it that’s fine, but if you’re making a profit off it that’s wrong.”

– Alex Rodriguez, grad student

“Obviously it’s illegal, so let’s start from there.

It’s unethical and I don’t do it and would discourage others from doing it.”

– Zach Morris, Sophomore

Briefs Campus & Community

Students rally around DR hurricane victims The USU Dominican Student Association, in conjunction with USU Dining Services, will host a fundraiser dinner Friday, Nov. 30, to raise funds to help with relief efforts following Storm Noel that caused significant damage in the Dominican Republic.

USU Executive Chef Don Donaldson will prepare an authentic Dominican menu for the event. Donaldson will be assisted in the kitchen bystudents from the DSA. Tickets for the event are available at any Dining Services location on campus and cost $5.

Donation collection boxes have been set up at the Marketplace and Junction Dining Halls on campus to collect supplies for relief efforts. Needed items include water purification tablets, soap, detergent, clothes, shoes, diapers and over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin and antihistamines.

“Although I have some experience with Caribbean cooking, having the students in the kitchen with me will be a big help in making this a very authentic Dominican meal,” Donaldson said.

USU students from the Dominican Republic were shocked at the heart-breaking stories coming from their country after the heavy rains and wind damage from Storm Noel caused significant flooding and other damage. Noel, which later turned into a hurricane, killed at least 85 people and displaced 70,000 residents in the Dominican Republic when it struck on Oct. 28.

USU has close ties to the Dominican Republic. There are more than 140 Dominican students attending USU. In response to the tragedy, Jose Luis Camilo, president of the Dominican Student Association, has been spending a lot of time with members of the group discussing events in their home country.

“We feel helpless watching the images and stories on the news,” he said. “The damages are a huge step backward for our country. The pictures remind me of Hurricane Katrina.”

But Camilo is optimistic. “My country is a proud one,” he said. “I’m sure we can put things back together, but it’s frustrating not being able to be there to help.”

All funds raised by this event will go to provide relief efforts. “We have a number of student employees and customers who are from the Dominican Republic,” said Alan Anderson, director of Dining Services.

“When the Dominican Student Association asked about helping with a fund raiser, we felt it was the least we could do.”

Following the dinner at the Junction Dining Hall, students from the DSA will provide entertainment. Members of the student group will perform music, and there will also be dancing.

“This event will be a lot of fun,” Camilo said. “It will be a great help for the Domincan students to have a good time while helping out their friends and family back home.”

Jazz alum returns to USU for concert Wed. It will be a homecoming for jazz musician Dana Landry when he visits Utah State University for a three-day residency with the school’s jazz bands in the department of music. A concert tops the list of activities that includes Landry and the Dana Landry Trio. Other highlights include jazz arrangements by USU jazz students.

The concert is Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Concert Hall of the Chase Fine Arts center on campus (approximately 1110 E. 610 North, Logan). Tickets are available at the door. General admission is $5, and USU students with valid ID are admitted free.

The Dana Landry Trio, based at the University of Northern Colorado, will perform with USU’s jazz groups, including the USU Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Todd Fallis, and the USU Jazz Orchestra, directed by Jon Gudmundson. In addition to Landry, the trio includes Eric Applegate (acoustic bass) and Jim White (drums).

“Dana Landry is director of jazz studies at the University of Northern Colorado,” Gudmundson, USU’s current director of jazz studies said. “But back in the ‘80s, he was a student here at USU and studied under the previous jazz director, Larry Smith.”

The concert opens with Fallis’s Jazz Ensemble locking in on some well-known standards in the repertoire, including “Stolen Moments” by Oliver Nelson.

“This recognizable tune and chords give ample opportunity for the students to improvise,” Fallis said.

Up next is the beautifully arranged ballad “Central Park West” by John Coltrane.

Fallis said he was inspired by

-Compiled from staff and media reports

StatesmanCampus News

Page 4

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

U.S. is virtually unscathed by hurricanes in 2007; emergency planners worry about apathy MIAMI (AP) – Despite alarming predictions, the U.S. came through a second straight hurricane season virtually unscathed, raising fears among emergency planners that they will be fighting public apathy and overconfidence when they warn people to prepare for next year.

Friday marks the official close of the Atlantic season, so unless a storm forms in the next few days, only one hurricane — and a minor one at that — will have hit the U.S. during the June-to-November period. Mexico and Central America, however, were struck by a record two top-scale Category 5 storms.

The preliminary total for the season: 14 named storms, six of them hurricanes, two of them major.

That was less activity than the government predicted before the season started, and stands in stark contrast to 2004 and 2005, when the U.S. was hit

by one devastating storm after another, including Hurricane Katrina.

However, forecasters and emergency managers warned that one result of the good year for the country may be increased skepticism when they urge people to stock up on food and draw up their hurricane evacuation plans for next year.

“Now that we’ve gone a couple of years without major hurricanes will the public be more apathetic before the next hurricane season? The answer is absolutely,” said Craig Fugate, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “The further we get away from these types of events ... the more complacent people become, and that’s the challenge we have to continue to fight.”

Similarly, Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, said the industry

+EEP THAT HEALTHY TAN ALL WINTER

saw about a 20 percent increase in the number of flood policies sold in Gulf Coast states in the two years after Katrina. But about one in five new policies is not being renewed, he said.

“People believe they’ve rode out the worst of the storm, so to speak,” Hartwig said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

He warned that the failure of homeowners to renew their policies is “a tragedy in the making.”

The season’s 14 named storms were on the low end of the 13 to 17 government scientists predicted.

The six hurricanes didn’t reach the seven to 10 forecast. The two major hurricanes were also below the three to five predicted.

Colorado State University weather researcher William Gray was further off the mark. Before the start of the season, he forecast 17 named storms, including nine hurricanes, five of them major, with a strong chance that a major hurricane would hit the U.S. coast.

Humberto, a Category 1 storm that hit Texas and Louisiana in September, was the first hurricane to strike the U.S. in two years. It was blamed for one death and $30 million in damage.

Gerry Bell, a hurricane forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the

season was relatively quiet largely because La Nina, a cooling of the water in the Pacific that normally boosts the formation of hurricanes, had weaker-thanexpected effects.

The government’s 2006 preseason forecast proved overly pessimistic as well. Scientists predicted 13 to 16 named storms, eight to 10 of them hurricanes, with four to six of them major. Instead, there were nine named storms and five hurricanes, two of them major.

Bell said that this marks the second “near normal” season in a row. However, storm activity tends to go in cycles, and he said the Atlantic is still believed to be in a more active hurricane period that began in 1995.

Forecasters underestimated the 2005 season, which proved the busiest on record, with 28 named storms, including 15 hurricanes, four of which hit the U.S. That year brought Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in American history.

Despite the overpredictions for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Bell said the government’s forecasts are still valuable, stressing that they remind coastal residents they need to be prepared.

“Generally our forecasts have been very good,” he said.

Mike Stone of the Florida Division of Emergency Management said emergency managers don’t base stockpiles or hurricane preparations on the government’s forecast. Instead, he said, they have standing contracts for ice, meals and other perishables, and they can call on the suppliers when they need the items.

Nevada officials glad to see big drop in Mormon crickets

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RENO, Nev. (AP) – State officials are encouraged by a dramatic drop in the size of Nevada’s Mormon cricket infestation, but they’re reluctant to celebrate.

The insects covered between 750,000 and 1 million acres, about 10 percent of the land infested in 2006, said Jeff Knight, entomologist for the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

The crickets were concentrated in Elko County, the Eureka area and a portion of Sparks.

“The numbers dropped off drastically this year,” Knight told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “Definitely, the trend was downward, and significantly so.”

The crickets returned to Nevada for a seventh straight year in what Knight describes as the worst such lingering infestation in 50 or 60 years.

At a peak in 2005, the crickets infested about 12 million acres in Nevada.

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Mormon crickets swarm in groups by the thousands, gobbling lawns, gardens and crops. The insect was made infamous by nearly destroying the crops of Utah’s Mormon settlers in 1848.

Knight said he had expected the cricket infestation to cover 8 million to 10 million acres this year.

He hopes the drop in cricket numbers signals an end to a problem that has cost about $6 million in state and federal money to fight.

But Knight warned that drought conditions helped start the current infestation seven years ago, and “it looks we could be going into the same type drought pattern that started this whole thing.”

Knight and other officials plan to meet to discuss a strategy for battling the crickets next year.

He said he doesn’t want to risk dismantling a system established to combat the insect based on a single year of diminishing numbers.

Parents taking plea bargain on bride-kidnap charge SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – The parents charged with kidnapping their daughter to stop her wedding have reached a plea agreement less than a week before their trial was to start.

A court docket shows that Julia Redd, 57, and husband Lemuel Redd, 60, will appear in court on Wednesday to enter a plea before 4th District Judge James Taylor.

The docket doesn’t elaborate, but the Redd’s criminal defense lawyer, Rhome Zabriskie, told The Associated Press the parents have agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges.

Prosecutors couldn’t be reached after-hours. The Redds originally were charged with felony kidnapping, and their trial was to start Monday. Zabriskie wouldn’t disclose terms of the plea agreement.

Negotiations to settle the kidnapping case against the Redds broke down last spring

over a prosecutor’s demands for an explicit apology by the parents, but Zabriskie said nothing stands in the way of an agreement now.

“I don’t think it’s going to blow up,” Zabriskie said late Tuesday. “I think everything’s going to go as planned.”

The parents, who live in Monticello in southern Utah, were accused of kidnapping their daughter, Julianna Myers, on the eve of her wedding. A brief trip to buy religious garments for the ceremony in a Mormon temple turned into a long drive to Grand Junction, Colo., and a night in a motel on Aug. 4, 2006.

Julianna and Perry Myers were married Aug. 8, 2006, three days later than planned, at the Salt Lake City temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. Her parents, who are cattle ranchers and dry-wheat farmers, did not attend.

The parents’ lawyers argued

in court papers that Perry Myers coached his bride to tell police it was a kidnapping, and that he even suggested at the outset of her disappearance that she may have been a victim of a murdersuicide.

Her mother said a court order has prevented her from speaking to her daughter or son-in-law for more than a year.

“We feel sorry for the whole situation that we don’t understand,” Julia Redd told the AP late Tuesday. “We had concerns about (the groom,) and she was only 20 years old. We’re not against marriage. We just believe people need to be wise.”

She said she and her husband planned to be in court Wednesday. She wouldn’t discuss terms of the plea deal.

“I’m just referring all calls to our attorneys until things are for sure,” she said.

A phone listing couldn’t be found for Perry and Julianna Myers.

Finals are just around the corner Good luck, from the Utah Statesman

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Page 6

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Interracial dating becoming more common

By MANETTE NEWBOLD features editor

Since Audrey Oldham began dating her boyfriend Eric Schwartz 5 1/2 years ago, she said she has learned to appreciate rice – and lots of it.

Oldham, who is originally from Idaho and Oregon, said dating someone who is Japanese has helped her learn to appreciate diversity and opinions different from her own.

“We have lots of new food,” said Oldham, who is Caucasian and attends USU as a graduate student in clinical psychology. “We eat a lot of rice, which is great. It’s something I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.”

Sitting next to her, Schwartz said he admits he is taking his girlfriend out for sushi for her birthday. He also said the couple often eats a lot of teriyaki chicken and marinated steak. He said his grandparents are from Japan, moved to America and had three children who all married Caucasians.

Schwartz grew up in Southeast Alaska and said for him and his family, dating outside of his ethnicity was not a big deal. Now that he and Oldham have been together, it seems their differences only add to their relationship.

Interracial relationships are becoming more and more common in the United States.

Marriages between different races alone have increased is the U.S. from .04 percent (149,000) in 1960 to 2.4 percent (1,348,000) of all marriages in 2000, according to the U.S. Census 2000.

Elisaida Méndez, graduate student in clinical psychology, is currently teaching multicultural psychology and is writing her thesis on interracial couples. She said through all the interviews she has completed, not one interracial couple has said they regretted their relationship.

Méndez, who is from Puerto Rico, has experienced interracial relationships and said learning about the different cultures can not only help each person understand a new culture, but their own as well. One person may realize his or her partner acts in a certain way because of ethnicity, and in turn come to understand the things unique to his or her own culture.

“The challenge is to learn and understand their mindset, to understand attitudes that might not be in your cultural background and not to take offense, to be open-minded enough to question where their mindset is comes from,” Méndez said.

Other challenges may include facing discrimination from the public or loved ones.

Méndez said although she dated an Asian whose parents did not have any reservations toward the relationship, she also dated a

Marriages between different races have increased in the U.S. from 149,000 to 1,480,000 of all marriages in 2000. DEBRA HAWKINS photo

Caucasian whose parents did not make it easy on the couple.

“His parents wouldn’t meet me so I couldn’t go to his family activities, and when they found out the relationship was serious, they threatened to disown him,” she said.

Although Oldham and Schwartz said they have not faced any major issues with intolerance, Schwartz said he thought Oldham’s grandparents didn’t like him when they first met. Other than that, the couple said they couldn’t think of any time when they felt prejudice against their relationship.

Interracial couple Maria and David said most people just find them unique, Maria being of Latin descent and David being of European descent. The couple, who did not want their last names to be mentioned in this article, said they have known each other for about a year and have been dating since the spring.

“People just think we’re an interesting couple,” said Maria, who is getting a master’s degree in engineering.

One thing that sets them apart from Oldham and Schwartz is not only are they different ethnicities, but they both grew up in their native countries as well, which means they have to communicate using their second language, which is English for both of them.

Most of their communication with other family members has been through the Internet.

David, who is working on getting a doctorate in mathematical statistics, said Maria has only met his father and brothers through instant messaging, although he was able to meet Maria’s mother when she came to visit recently.

Maria said it’s been fun to date someone outside her ethnicity because of the food.

“We try different food and different flavors and styles,” she said. “I cook and then try the way he cooks, and I love both ways.”

Because interracial couples get to try new things from other cultures, Méndez said the relationships can be very enriching.

In Puerto Rico, she said she knew a couple where the husband was a white American and the wife was Puerto Rican. They had seven children and a good mix of culture, she said.

“In Puerto Rico, there is no American football, but with them, we would play American football on the beach,” she said.

If an interracial couple has children, they may be discriminated against, depending on the combination of races, Méndez said. Also, depending on the different ethnicities, one partner may be more equipped to cope with racial issues, she said. For example, if a black person has children with someone of another race, Méndez said he or she will be better able to discuss intolerance and other ethnic issues with the children.

“If you’ve never been discriminated against, you can’t teach those coping skills,” she said.

The children also go through a different ethnic identity development process, Méndez said. If one race has negative connotations in society, the child may feel an inner struggle, she said, and may feel like he or she has to choose between the two ethnic groups.

However, within the family circle, children who grow up with parents of two different ethnic groups may learn to be very wellrounded, she said.

“It could be a fun learning experience,” she said. “The total experience of mixed race can be enriching and can lead you to be more open-minded and accepting.”

If two people are interested in dating, they shouldn’t let skin color hold them back, Schwartz said.

“Go for it as if it were any relationship,” he said. “Being open-minded regardless of the race is the best thing possible.”

If she had any advice for those in interracial relationships, Méndez said to worry less about the ethnicity and more about the person.

“Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s great, but marriage is marriage,” she said.

“Go for it. Definitely. It’s relationships with human beings. It’s fun, it’s enriching, it’s learning. For some, it’s stepping outside of their comfort zone. I know of many interracial marriages that are doing well. It’s about valuing what people have to offer.”

Besides, Maria said, “If love is in between, I think you are able to understand.”

-manette.n@aggiemail.usu.edu

Dancing to the beat of an African drum For use with our wedding Rhythmic beats of the drum, page. bright clothing, and dancers

By MALISSA CANDLAND staff writer

performing a healing dance do not make up a scene from the latest National Geographic documentary on African cultural rituals on campus. They are part of PE 1910.

The activity course, African Dance, gives students and community members the opportunity to immerse themselves in African culture through music and dance every Tuesday night.

“The drums and body movements make it so organic and so deep, and then you have the

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vibrations,” instructor Jaynan Chancellor said. “I don’t know how people can hear that and not dance.”

Each class begins with a series of warm-up exercises, which gradually progress to specific dances. As the warm-up moves along, the accompanying drums get louder and the music more intense, coinciding with the gradual loosening of the body and muscles as the dancers prepare themselves for larger movements.

In a typical class, once the beginning exercises are over, the instructor leads the class through a dance inspired by traditional African ceremonies and events, like a healing dance.

Chancellor, who has taught the class for the past three years, first demonstrates the dance. African dance embodies its own, distinct technique, Chancellor said. The entire body is involved in the movement–the head, arms, legs, neck, center, feet and even the fingers.

Chancellor said this style of dance takes some getting used to for most people.

“As Americans, we don’t know our bodies or how to move our butts because we’re tight, so it’s like relearning your body,” Chancellor said.

And unlike some forms of dance, like classical ballet, African dance isn’t so strict, she said.

Valorie Reit, senior in English teaching, said students can just “go with it.”

“If you don’t know the steps, you’re fine, you can do no wrong. It’s all in the hips,” Reit said.

Amanda Rudd, community resident, said because the movement isn’t very dictated, it

Community member jenny wolfgram dances to music in the African dancing class offered at USU. Wolfgram said she finds African dancing very grounding and natural. NOELLE BERLAGE photo

allows for flexibility and the opportunity for dancers to create their own flair.

“It is not a matter of getting the steps right, it is just getting into your body and about the movement,” Rudd said.

Community resident Jenny Wolfgram said, “The movement is just so natural and earthy, and when the drummers start playing, it is grounding.”

The five drummers play three sizes of djunjun and djembes, and each drum creates a different rhythm.

Chancellor said although someone can become a good drummer after doing it every day for six months, it takes about six years to become an expert drummer.

“We have incredible drummers this year,” Chancellor said.

“We now have two drummers who have been doing it for more than six years.”

One of the drummers, Ryan Russell, said he has played the drums for 16 years and African rhythms for the past couple of years.

“I have just been delving into it and diving deeper into ancient rhythms,” Russell said, who is playing for the class for the first time this year.

Becoming a skilled African dancer takes more than knowing the steps, Chancellor said.

Students need to be familiar

- See DANCE, page 8

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2007

AggieLife

Page 7

www.itsaboutlove.org

Multicultural clubs enhance learning at USU

By MALISSA CANDLAND staff writer

Multicultural clubs seek to enrich the cultural diversity at USU through sharing language and cultural practices at meetings and activities. They serve as avenues that preserve traditions for minorities while educating the rest of the campus population, said Chantear Song, president of the Asian American Student Council.

Currently there are more than 20 multicultural clubs at USU. They include both common clubs, like the French and German clubs, as well as more rare clubs, like the Friends of Nepal Club and Medical UNITY. College learning extends beyond the classroom, and participation in student organizations offers great learning experiences otherwise unavailable, said Sarah Gordon, assistant French professor and adviser of the French Club.

“Going to French Club or other language clubs is like leaving Logan for a couple hours,” Gordon said.

Multicultural clubs combine all aspects of the college experience in one setting, Song said.

She said their goal is to provide an environment for students that balances the academic, cultural and social dimensions of college life.

To fulfill the social aspect, the clubs provide a place to socialize. The Japan Club has a place to socialize in the Japanese Resource Center, located in the Animal Science building, Atsuko Neely said. Neely, lecturer of Japanese and adviser of the Japan Club, said the resource center has a small collection of Japanese books, mangas and movies.

All clubs offer activities throughout the school year.

Gordon said the French Club has a noon conversation hour in the Hub at Café Ibis every Wednesday. Neely said the Japan Club holds monthly activities ranging from Movie Night and the Round Table Discussion to the Japanese Fall Festival.

And Subash Shrestha, graduate in food science and director of the Friends of Nepal Club, said that club will host a Nepali cultural show and a Nepal food cookout soon.

Song said another activity coming up is the Annual Tip-Toe Into Asia Banquet in January, featuring belly and dragon dancers and homemade Asian food. Devin Rowley, director of the Japan Club, said next semester the Japan Club will take a ski trip and host an evening at an assisted living home.

Gordon said the French Club will be showing the film “Ratatouille” in French while eating the dish ratatouille in December.

All clubs extend membership to anyone interested in joining, regardless of race or national origin.

“The club is about celebrating and educating the public on Asian Americans, and we encourage people of all races to join,” Song said.

Rowley said membership in the Japan Club includes native speakers as well as those with no language training at all.

Neely said all students are welcome if they are interested in something Japanese.

The French club also welcomes people in all degrees of language comprehension, Gordon said. She said the club has members from Canada and Africa, who speak fluent French,

to beginners.

“All are welcome, and you will learn some French phrases if you come to events,” Gordon said.

Some of the multicultural clubs focus on an entire nation’s language and culture, while others have a narrower focus.

Medical UNITY, a new club this semester, addresses the need for bilingualism in the medical field, said Chris Bowen, senior in biochemistry and biology. He said he saw the need while volunteering at Logan Region Hospital and created the club to deal with the problem.

The vision of Medical UNITY is that students leave USU with an appreciation, love, and respect for the Latino culture that will aid them in their interactions and ability to better serve the Latino people in their future health profession endeavors, Bowen said.

Like other student clubs, there are no specific requirements to join Medical UNITY. “We have students that are not even in pre-health programs, but are here to increase their vocabulary as interpreters in elementary schools and eventually interpret at hospitals,” Bowen said.

Song said multicultural clubs exist to serve students on campus, from the minorities to the whole student body.

“The student body population here at Utah State is dominantly Caucasian,” Song said. “As a minority on campus and in the community, it is easy to forget your traditions and culture and just assimilate into the mainstream culture. Without a club or a program that draws people together to preserve a culture, it can all start to disappear.”

In some cases, the clubs operate to ease the transition for for-

eign students, Rowley said. USU has a fair amount of Japanese exchange students, so the activities put on by the Japan Club help integrate and include the exchange students who otherwise may feel isolated and lost.

Friends of Nepal was established to provide Nepali students with assistance as well as share Nepal’s culture and social settings with the general public.

Shrestha said Nepal is comprised of diverse ethnic groups.

“Each of them have a different language, culture, customs and traditions, yet they live in a perfect harmony,” Shrestha said.

Shrestha said he also hopes his club can spurn interest in Nepal’s resources, like a variety of medicinal plants and herbs.

Focusing on Nepal and what makes it distinct can help students explore these research opportunities in Nepal, he said.

Sharing one’s culture with others to enhance understanding and appreciation is a goal of every multicultural club.

Bowen said clubs can enrich the total scholastic experience of students at USU and are vital to provide a healthy understanding of the ever-growing multicultural nation.

Neely said, “It is my hope that language studies makes it possible to build deeper understanding of outside world through personal encounters and connections to the world.”

Having organizations that lessen ethnocentrism is important in this age of globalization, Song said.

“Without a cross-cultural understanding of one another, we create a wall of ignorance and thus open the door for prejudice and hate,” Song said.

-malissa.candland@aggiemail. usu.edu

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Survey: More college students studying Arabic, African, and Asian languages

By LISA M. KRIEGER San Jose Mercury News (MCT)

College students are increasingly opting to study Middle Eastern, African and Asian languages rather than Spanish, French and German, according to a major new survey by a group that has tracked such statistics for

nearly 50 years.

A study by the Modern Language Association released earlier this month, the first since 2002, offers a snapshot of student interest in languages in the fall of 2006 at all post-secondary schools in the country.

Still, Spanish is by far the most popular language studied at U.S.

colleges and universities, the study found.

For reasons ranging from Sept.

11 to the Internet and the globalization of the American economy, the largest increases in interest were in Middle Eastern and African languages, where enrollments grew by 55.9 percent and in Asian and Pacific languages,

-continued from page 5 officers everywhere and all different types of people anxiously awaiting to enter the store to get the hot item of the year. Once I got inside, it was a madhouse. The place was jam-packed, and I had to muscle my way through to the back of the store to get to the DVDs. By the time I got there, all of them were gone. I wanted to punch someone but I couldn’t because there were too many people and if I tried, I would almost certainly have dislocated my shoulder on some lady’s oversized purse she was using likea Klingon bat’leth.

As we drove back home, I couldn’t help but notice how crowded the stores were everywhere. The traffic was awful, too. I couldn’t help but think how sad it was that people care this much about saving a few dollars that they’re willing to wake up before the zombies do, stand out in the bitter cold, fight hoards of people for a Tickle Me Elmo that can sumo wrestle with a child and then stand in line for two hours listening to mothers trying to console their screaming children. At first it disgusted me, but as I thought about it, it all made sense.

Women have replaced men as the hunters.

No, it’s true. Sure, some men hunt, but they’re only a small breed of masculine patriots who are holding out in a world that is trying to make men more effeminate. Women have taken up the thrill of the hunt and call it shopping. Instead of a spear or gun, women are armed with a dangerous arsenal of credit cards, checkbooks and cold, hard cash. Black Friday is the female equivalent of the opening day of hunting season, complete with strange bright orange clothes and everything.

All I know is, women can have the thrill of the hunt, as long as I can go back to bed.

Seth Hawkins is a junior majoring in public relations. He is looking for a good lawyer to defend him in his upcoming case for breaking the man code by shopping on Black Friday. Comments and questions can be sent to him at seth.h@aggiemail.usu. edu

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Shop: Black Friday a violation of the man code like she doesn’t have any of these either. She gets them every year and had to continue the tradition so she could have one that said 2007 on it.

I can handle that. It’s a weird tradition and she can do whatever she wants, but I had the hardest time understanding why I had to go.

She explained it to me in much the same way a science professor calmly explains nuclear fusion theory, fully expecting you to understand it as easy as if he were teaching how to write your name. Needless to say, my head nearly exploded.

After a considerable amount of confusion, she finally made it clear I was getting a snow globe for her 26-year-old sister who lives in New York and has no access to a JCPenney, and if I didn’t get this snow globe it would cause a cosmic rift that would make the icecaps melt 20 years sooner than they were supposed to, thereby throwing off the balance of the Earth and send the planet hurtling toward a superstar some 80,000 light years away, which would make Al Gore mad enough to produce another movie, which would destroy life as we know it. Whew.

And all this time I thought a snow globe was just a Christmas decoration.

Anyway, I got the snow globe and I didn’t even have to stand in line for it. I walked right into the store and was handed a snow globe by an employee who had a smile pasted on her smiling face. But behind the placebo smile I could see what she really thought, “Oh, how dare you come to this place this early in the morning, forcing me to wake up early and be nice to you? I had to down 12 Prozacs to even be tolerable this morning, and here you are excited about making me suffer. I’ll show you. Where’s your car?”

That was enough to make me leave, but not before my father-in-law and I snagged a few more snow globes. Our thinking was if we got enough this time, we wouldn’t have to be dragged out next year. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to work though.

Since I was up anyway, I decided to drop by Best Buy and pick up a 100 pack of DVDs that were on sale for $6.99. Bad idea. By the time I arrived at Best Buy, the line was wrapped around the building. I stayed in the car and talked to my father-in-law until the store opened, and then we followed the line like a herd of sheep.

This experience was like something out of the “Twilight Zone” for me. There were police

which reported a 24.6 increase.

“There is a readiness on the part of many students to study what have long been considered less familiar and more difficult languages,” said Karin Ryding, a member of the MLA’s the association’s Committee on Foreign Languages and Professor of Arabic at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. “Americans are, above all, pragmatic language learners,” said Ryding at a news conference Nov. 13. “If they see a vital need in terms of national interest or professional opportunity, they will invest the time and energy to study those languages.”

The single most dramatic increase was in Arabic, with a 126.5-percent jump in enrollments between 2002 and 2006.

Not only have enrollments in Arabic expanded more than two-fold, but the number of colleges and universities offering Arabic has also nearly doubled.

Researchers received reports from 466 Arabic programs in 2006 vs.

264 in 2002.

Chinese and Korean enrollments climbed by 51 and 37 percent, respectively, during the four-year period. Some of these students are what researchers call “heritage learners,” who seek to reconnect with their native culture and the language of their parents and grandparents.

But almost three–quarters of all students continue to study the traditional favorites–Spanish, French and German.

Spanish remains the most taught language in the United States, outdistancing all other contenders. Enrollment in Spanish has expanded by 10.3 percent, continuing a record of uninterrupted growth begun in 1980. French remains second and German third in popularity.

But as a percentage of total language enrollments, Spanish, French, and German have lost ground in the past four decades.

Spanish remains above 50 percent of total language enrollments, where it has been since 1995, having risen from 32.4 percent in 1968. French has fallen from 34.4 percent in 1968 to 13.1 percent in 2006. Over the same period, German has fallen from 19.2 percent to 6.0 percent.

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Possession, consumption, sale, purchase, distribution, manufacture, and/or storage of any alcoholic beverage and/or illegal drugs anywhere on campus is Prohibited by the USU Student Code. For a complete copy of the USU Student Code, go to http:// www.usu.edu/stuserv/scode/index.html.

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9 out of 10 USU students know that USU has an Alcohol/Drug Policy.

AggieLife

Page 8

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Dance: Training bodies to relax

-continued from page 6

with the music as well.

“Each rhythm and each movement is set, and you don’t dance a movement to the wrong rhythm,” Chancellor said.

At the end of each class, every dancer bows to each individual drummer, offering thanks.

African Dance is a credited course, yet some students return year after year. Katie Hein, fourth-year graduate student in aquatic ecology, said she is taking the class for the fourth time because she said it is the highlight of her week.

Rudd said having newcomers in the class creates degrees of aptitude.

“There are different ability levels, so there is always someone to watch. So if you’re falling behind and not understanding the steps, people are always willing to help you,” Rudd said.

Reit said, “I took (the class) because it sounded like the most fun, most exotic dance offered on

campus.”

Hein said she continues taking it because she loves the energy and the synergism between the drummers and dancers.

In eight years, Chancellor said she has gone from being a student of African dance to a teacher. After taking her first workshop at the University of Utah, she has continued working with the art form, she said.

“I’ve done modern dance for 15 years (as well as) the Graham method, but it seems a lot more structured, whereas African dance is what your body does. It is training the body to relax into its natural environment,” she said.

The class performs at least once a semester.

This fall they performed at the Gardener’s Market and on campus during Diversity Week.

-malissa.candland@aggiemail.usu.edu

Oven: Customers taste authentic food

-continued from page 5

ble masala, he said, which is a dish of mixed vegetables cooked with onions, ginger, tomatoes, cream and spices. However, Jaggi said he warns those who come for the first time to avoid asking for hot spices.

“Many do not understand their use of spices,” he said.

“When my wife and I first came here, I asked for my dish hot, and my wife asked for hers to be very mild. Somehow we

got one another’s orders, and my wife’s dish was so hot she couldn’t speak for three days.”

Singh said the chefs at the Indian Oven Restaurant know how to use spices to make their food taste unique to many other foods their customer’s may try.

The chefs love the food they are making and love the spices they use, he said.

“We enjoy everything we do here,” Singh said. “We do our best to make sure you do also.”

The cooks’ use of spices and their cooking skills have helped them receive many awards throughout the state.

In 2006, the Indian Oven Restaurant was rated one of

the top 10 restaurants in Utah from the Salt Lake magazine.

It also received the Best Chef of the Year Award from the Cache Valley Ice Center.

“We have had a really good response here in Cache Calley,” Singh said. “It has become a great goal.”

The Indian Oven Restaurant is located at 130 N. Main Street.

It is open Monday though Saturday with lunch served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner served from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Takeout is also available from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

-courtnie.packer@aggiemail.usu. edu

Media: Filtering out stereotypes -continued from page 5

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images, but that hiding from the problem won’t make it go away.

“We have a way of filtering out media to enforce local values,” Mannon said. “It’s a form of censorship.”

Rather than “burying their heads in the sand,” Mannon said Utahans need to accept the fact that different viewpoints exist in media and try to make choices based on a more complete knowledge. Otherwise, Mannon said, the problems of stereotypes in society will never cease to exist.

In addition to location as a means of perpetuating a stereotype, Gordon said the problem can also be attributed to the fact that it’s hard to decipher who or what is to blame.

Gordon describes the problem

of stereotyping in the media as a “chicken or the egg” scenario.

“The question remains, does society mirror media or does media mirror society?” Gordon said. “It’s never a clear-cut answer.”

Rather than trying to fix the media, Gordon said people should focus on what they are seeing and filtering out what is unnecessary.

“I wouldn’t wait for media,” Gordon said. “It’s up to the consumer.”

Gordon said one thing consumers can do to eliminate stereotyping in the media and their effects on society is to look for other forms of information off the beaten path.

“Look for in-depth news articles and alternative news Web sites like democracynow,” Gordon said. “If you’re interested in music, get past BET EXCD and MTV. You have so many resources like iTunes and CD Google to seek out underground music.”

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“It’s important to explore as our world gets more and more GA diverse,” Gordon said. “It’s smart to understand different AS cultures and their intricacies.”

From a sociological point of PPM view, Mannon said it is important to begin by restructuring the social relationships that Spell Check already exist and get other images out there.

Proofreader Sociologist C. Wright Mills said the first thing to do when Traffic Manager looking at problems in society is to examine the roots.

Mannon said it is only after the big problem is brought to light that viewers can start connecting the images to constraining roles placed on them.

Gordon said he tries to arm students theories that help FILE BUILTwith AT 100% them understand the bad and LASER PROOF AT 100% seek out the good.

“I can’t tell students what do,” Gordon said. “But I can hitores placed give them the information they need.”

Some of the advice Gordon said he gives is to think about the messages being sent and where they come from, instead of seeing media strictly as entertainment value.

“Engagement is an active process, and taking things for face value is stagnation,” Gordon said.

-amanda.m@aggiemail.usu.edu

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Aggie Life

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007 Page 5

Focus: Race

Pictured is RodNey KIng, who was beaten by Los Angeles police officers in 1991. The event was videotaped and broadcast, which sparked the Los Angeles riots. Photo taken from Time Magazine

Media stereotypes can do harm

By AMANDA MEARS staff writer

Poet Allen Ginsberg once said, “Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.”

From magazines to the nightly news, the media can have a deep and lasting impact on how people view the world around them.

Unfortunately, the view the media present often perpetuates common stereotypes that are already rooted in society, said Susan Mannon, assistant professor in the sociology department.

“Generally the media in many ways reflects long-holding stereotypes and in some cases exploits them,” Mannon said. “But they originate from a much deeper place.”

Mannon said family, peers and large social institutions act in conjunction with the media as a way for stereotypes to be communicated and learned.

Jeremy Gordon, adjunct instructor, said the media do not purposefully create stereotypes, but that it’s just how our culture has developed.

Gordon, who teaches a class about media in the journalism

and communications department, said although people often think of media as connecting them to each other, they often become a driving factor in separating and stereotyping certain groups.

“The complexity of our society creates a fractured population,” Gordon said. “So the media have to provide a simplistic view of a group of people that is easily identifiable.”

Gordon said a problem is created when people stop trying to interpret the different media that are being thrown at them and think of them as “harmless entertainment”.

Mannon used the example of cleaning supply commercials to illustrate a socially constructed stereotype passed on through various media without most people even realizing it.

“When you continually see cleaning supply commercials with women, or even men who look incompetent, it reproduces the idea of division of labor based on gender,” Mannon said.

The message sent about gender roles can be harmful, Mannon said, because it continues the gender stereotype and teaches people

how to act in society.

“It acts as a socializing agent,” Mannon said. “That’s not to say you won’t resist, but it does bombard you.”

However, it is not only the bombardment of images that can be a problem, she said. Omission of certain images can also create stereotypes in media, so in some cases, it is what is not being shown that’s important.

“You just don’t see role models for women in fields like engineering,” Mannon said.

As prevalent as they are, media are not the only factors to blame for stereotyping, Mannon said, and location can play a big part in cultivating and even producing stereotypes.

“I don’t think Utah is too different when it comes to things like women going to college to get their MRS degree, you hear that everywhere,” Mannon said. “But it’s more intensely concentrated here.”

Mannon said people in Utah often try to create a bubble in order to ward off unwanted media

- See MEDIA, page 8

Susan Mannon, assistant professor of sociology, said the media generally reflect long-holding stereotypes. She also said family, peers, and large social institutions act in conjunction with the media as a way for stereotypes to be communicated and learned. Photo illustration

Going through hell Valley’s Indian Oven grows in popularity and back for a snow globe

By COURTNIE PACKER senior writer

T

he devil must have awaken with frostbite last Friday, because I’m pretty sure hell froze over.

No, it wasn’t because the Cleveland Browns won the Superbowl. It wasn’t because my parents bought me a car, either.

It was due to something so incredibly implausible that I’m sure it will take the devil the entire millennium to defrost the place. Don’t worry, I sent him a bag of that annoying rock salt to compensate for the trouble.

My wife made me go shopping at 3:30 a.m. on Black Friday – or as I like to call it, the day from hell. But let it be put on the record that I went completely against my will.

What, you don’t feel sorry for me? You should. Not only was I harshly awaken at an hour I’m sure even the devil himself doesn’t like, I was forced to go to the mall. I hate the mall. It’s a giant hangout for the upper class who have nothing better to do with their time and money. They’re tourist traps on steroids.

When I arrived in the mall parking lot with my father-in-law, I was shocked to see the sheer number of cars there. I thought I was there at 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon because the parking lot was so full. I checked my watch to make sure it really was that unsightly hour in the morning and that the sun just hadn’t been blocked out by some massive meteor explosion in Magna. Not that anyone would know or care.

We met up with my wife and mother-in-law at JCPenney.

Now, of all the possible locations to go at 4 a.m., why JCPenney? Perhaps a nice shirt or new shoes or maybe some new bedding? Nope. It was all for a snow globe. I’m not even kidding.

My wife woke me up, made me stand in the cold and walk into the mall – which instantly induces a violent shopping twitch in me – all for a Mickey Mouse snow globe that stands about two inches high and barely has any fake snow inside. It’s not

- See SHOP, page 7

For Dorothy there was no place like home, and for many Cache Valley residents, there is no place like the Indian Oven Restaurant.

The Indian Oven is the only place from Brigham City to Pocatello where customers can taste authentic Indian cuisine. Matt Singh, owner of the Indian Oven, said the restaurant was just an idea that arose from a family of many talented cooks.

“We lived in Salt Lake City at the time and decided that we wanted to start a restaurant,” Singh said. “We looked at a section off of a gas station to hold our business. We had worked with a gas station before, so it did not bother us.”

After three years, the Indian Oven became too busy to accommodate all its guests inside the tiny space it was given. Singh said he knew they needed to be someplace larger.

“When we were too busy to accommodate our customers, that is when we decided to move our restaurant someplace larger,” he said. “Our building here on Main Street is now perfect for our guests and atmosphere.”

The walls of the restaurant are painted in different colors, and Indian music is played.

Wayne Jaggi, regular customer at the Indian Oven, said the atmosphere was what attracted him to the restaurant a little over a year ago.

“My wife and I were coming across campus when we stopped by the gas station,” Jaggi said. “It attracted our attention.”

The six-page menu ranges from Asian and Indian dishes, lamb, seafood, and a selection of vegetarian foods. Each dish is served with rice, and each loaf of bread is cooked in a clay oven, which Singh said he believes gives the loaf its “charcoal flavor.”

One of the more popular dishes, he said, is the chicken tikka masala, which is a boneless chicken barbecued in a clay oven and then cooked with bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, cream and spices. Other favorites include the mango ice cream, a homemade Indian ice cream made from Indian mango pulp and vanilla. Also, the mango lassi beverage is a yogurt drink blended with mangos and homemade yogurt.

Jaggi’s favorite is the vegeta-

- See OVEN, page 8

matt singh, waiter at Indian Oven, showcases some of the Indian cuisine offered: Chicken Tikka Masala, Aloo Mattar. TYLER LARSON photo

WednesdaySports

Page 9

Nov. 28, 2007

The other sport they’re good at Spencer Johnson, football team Other Sport: Basketball, Tennis

By G. CHRISTOPHER TERRY staff writer

The USU football team’s starting left tackle Spencer Johnson is getting his education thanks to his football skills, but he comes from a basketball family.

Basketball was Johnson and all of his siblings’ first sport. According to Johnson, his little brother is the star of the family, having sprouted to 6-foot-8-inches.

Nnamdi Gwacham, football team Other Sport: Track and Field

“I won’t play him anymore,” Johnson said.

Growing up in California, Johnson said he always played hoops with his best friend, Allan Mohan, who is now a linebacker at Sacramento State University. Mohan, a money shooter, played power forward, and Johnson played center.

Johnson said he was not a creative ball-

- See JOHNSON, page 10

By HOLLI L. GIL staff writer

Nnamdi Gwacham plays football for USU in the fall and is on the track and field team during the spring.

Juggling football, track and his education has become a great balancing act that Gwacham has learned to perform year round.

Danielle Taylor, volleyball team Other Sport: Basketball

By G. CHRISTOPHER TERRY staff writer

Danielle Taylor, sophomore middle blocker from Springville, Utah, was named second-team all-WAC this year, racking up 1.12 blocks per game for the third place Aggies.

But the volleyball standout also played basketball at Springville high school through her junior year.

- See GWACHAM, page 10

Maciej Michalik, hockey team Other Sport: Boxing

The 6-foot-1-inch Taylor said she enjoyed shooting the ball and played center.

“I was kind of small for that, but I was the tallest girl on the team,” she said.

Basketball, however, could never compete with the fun of playing volleyball for Taylor. Ultimately she gave up hoops because volleyball was consuming so much of her time. Taylor also played club volley-

- See TAYLOR, page 11

“It’s very demanding and it takes a lot of effort and motivation,” Gwacham said.

Gwacham attended Ayala High School in Chino Hills, Calif., where he was involved in track his sophomore year and football his junior year. He found his niche in track in the jumping events. He did the long jump, triple jump and the high jump. He went to

By HOLLI L. GIL staff writer

Maciej Michalik found a passion for boxing at the early age of nine. In his home town of Sanok, Poland, Michalik’s uncle was one of the top boxers during the ‘60s and ‘70s and Michalik wanted to follow in his uncle’s footsteps. His uncle was his inspiration for getting into boxing.

“One day he took me to the gym to work out and they said this kid has skills,”

Michalik said.

From that day on Michalik was at the gym training and learning from his uncle non-stop for three years.

At the age of 12 Michalik found another passion—ice hockey. He took the skills he had learned from boxing and put them to use on the ice rink. These skills came in handy for Michalik, from his intense body checks to his ferocious slap-shot he

- See MICHALIK, page 11

Guy’s focus is the future

By SAMMY HISLOP sports editor

It isn’t hard to find a critic of the USU football program.

With only six wins in the past three years and players being kicked off the team in that time span for various problems, one can understand this.

How does head coach Brent Guy, who just completed the third season of his five-year contract, handle the firestorm of criticism?

“To be quite honest with you, I don’t,” Guy said Tuesday. “People have a hard time believing that I (only) read USA Today, and if it’s in USA Today I know about it. Other than that, I don’t really read local (newspapers). I don’t listen to any kind of talk

radio, and I don’t even know how to get on to the chat rooms.”

He pointed to the current situation at the University of Arkansas, where Houston Nutt — a former teammate and friend of Guy — resigned Monday as head coach to help correct a division among fans after the off-the-field problems were compounded by a difficult season. The Arkansas Razorbacks had begun the year ranked but failed to win a Southeastern Conference game.

“I have seen it tear coaches apart, families apart,” Guy said. “Nutt basically destroyed a good legacy there ... I don’t get involved with (criticism). I really can’t affect people’s opinion other than winning and losing. I have to concentrate on mak-

ing the team better and keeping the team together.

“It’s America,” Guy continued. “They have a right to their opinion. I just hope that anybody that’s a critic is also a donor.

That would be the only thing I would say is I don’t think you have a voice unless you donate money and have season tickets. As long as you do that, you have every right to criticize me in any kind of form you want.

If you don’t, I would think you’d have a hard time criticizing someone if you don’t have a vested interest.”

Another important aspect Guy pointed out is the difference in the degree in dif-

- See GUY, page 11

usu head football coach brent guy said he doesn’t pay attention to critics in the local media so he can focus on helping the Aggies get back to a winning season. PATRICK ODEN photo

StatesmanSports

Page 10

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Trying to start a streak The Blue and the White

By ERIN WADSWORTH staff writer

Fresh off an 89-74 loss to Utah Valley State College on Saturday, the Aggies head north to face Idaho State University for their second travel schedule of the season.

Standing on an 0-4 season, the Aggies are looking to get a winning streak started at Wednesday’s game in Pocatello, Idaho. Staying focused and remaining aware of the constructive uses of a loss is what keeps the team motivated to continue, head coach Raegan Pebley said.

“We show them the areas in which, if we would have done better, we could have won the game,” Pebley said. “We show them how those things are fixable. If the team looks at where they lost a game and there’s nothing they can do about it, that’s where you’ll see a team’s confidence go down. But as a coaching staff, we feel everything was completely fixable.”

Junior guard Danyelle Snelgro led the Aggies against Utah Valley with 16 points. Snelgro,

senior center Jenny Gross and senior guard Jamelah Brown were the only players to reach double digits.

The Aggies’ use of bench players keeps going strong as they utilized the talents of the entire group during the game. Senior guard Taylor Richards played 30 minutes on Saturday, and every player got a chance to take the court.

Losing control and failing to execute offensive and defensive strategy allowed the Aggies to waiver, Pebley said. As they continue to learn from mistakes, the Aggies have been working on the entire package to create a better team. In general, the center of the team’s concentration is focus and discipline, she said.

“We’ve had nice practices,” Pebley said. “Things, I think, that are helping us get better.

Some slight adjustments we’re doing personnel-wise. I think we’ve had great practices. I’m happy.”

Idaho State senior center Natalie Doma and senior guard Andrea Lightfoot hit their hometown court after being named to the Basketball Traveler’s Classic

all-tournament team. During the tournament, held in Lubbock, Texas, the Bengals went 2-1.

Overall, the team stands 3-2 on the season.

USU defeated the Bengals last season 85-83 in the Spectrum.

Richards, who averages 12.5 points per game this season, scored 26 points against the Bengals in their last meeting.

The Aggies will now seek out one of many capable candidates to lead the team to another victory over Idaho State.

“We just wanted to see consistent leadership,” Pebley said.

“We want to see in the games that our performance and our leadership is consistently the same people. Not a role of the dice of who’s going to score points, who’s going to play defense that day. But people we can count on game in, game out.”

Wednesday’s game marks the beginning of a four-game road trip for the Aggies, ending in Salt Lake City as they face the University of Utah on Dec. 15.

-erin.wadsworth@aggiemail. usu.edu

Johnson: Tennis and basketball

-continued from page 9

handler.

“Get me the ball in the post and I’m pretty good,” Johnson said. “I was a rebound guy, then kick it out to Allan.”

For Johnson, the tipping point

came when he was in his sophomore year of high school when he started to fill out and attain the physique that has made him a Division I-A left tackle as a redshirt freshman. The big five-

deuce started all 12 games at tackle for the Aggies this year.

“I was good at basketball until my sophomore year, then I started getting bigger,” Johnson said.

“I was tall and skinny before then.”

A three-sport athlete in basketball, football and track and field where he threw the discus and shot; Johnson quit the basketball team to play tennis his senior year.

Tennis?

“It helps out a lot with footwork,” the 6-foot-5-inch, 283pound, Johnson said.

The tennis coach at Antelope Valley High was also one of Johnson’s favorite teachers, Mr. McCrumb. When McCrumb mentioned to Johnson that he might not have enough players for the upcoming season and was looking at forfeiting all of the matches, Johnson didn’t hesitate.

“I said, ‘Don’t even worry about that. We’ll convince enough kids to come out and compete,’” Johnson said.

-graham.terry@aggiemail.usu. edu

Gwacham: On the track in the offseason -continued from page 9

10. 100% Tuition & Fees 9. $1200 a year for Books 8. $400 monthly cash 7. Logan Canyon is your classroom (repelling & adventure training) 6. Learn leadership by taking charge 5. Set yourself apart from your peers 4. Don’t buy action figures, be one (Like Major Bruce) 3. Make a difference in the world 2. College credit to get strong 1. Someday history classes could read about you.

state both his junior and senior year of high school.

When asked what it is like to be involved in two sports and attend college, he simply said “when you love it, you don’t worry about it, you just go.”

Gwacham is a 6-foot-3-inch wide receiver for USU’s football team and is now getting ready for the track season. For having so much on his plate, Gwacham keeps it all together.

“Prioritize and time management is how I keep it all balanced,” Gwacham said. “If you think you’re stressed, you are.”

As the track season approaches, Gwacham keeps his focus on his studies and football until it’s time to make the change to studies and track.

-holligil@cc.usu.edu

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Sam Bryner is a senior majoring in business management. Comments can be sent to him sam.bryner@aggiemail.usu.edu

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Comments can be sent to him da.bake@aggiemail.usu.edu

1. Packers or Cowboys?

I’ve heard this game called Super Bowl 41 3/4.

Stupidity running rampant again in the world of sports coverage, no doubt. The majority of us won’t be watching the game because it’s on the NFL Network. Thanks. Back to the matter at hand, I feel like Brett Favre and the Packers are going to win. Why? Favre is old enough to have invented the football and leather and maybe even cows. Is Brett Favre God? Maybe. No matter whether Favre is God or just a mortal man, his corps of young receivers and good defense will help him pick up his first-ever win in Dallas.

Brett Farve and the rest of Packers are a lot better than anyone could have imagined. Early on in the season, after five games, I said in this debate the Packers could not continue playing how they were. They proved me wrong. They may have even found a run game these last couple of weeks. Now are they good enough to beat the Cowboys, yes. But will they beat the Cowboys? No. The reason I give the edge to Dallas is because the game is being played in Dallas. The match-up should be a good one, and I look for the Cowboys to pull away in the fourth quarter.

2. Will Missouri play in BCS title game?

Hey, they beat Kansas. They’re No. 1 ... That’s the sort of short-sighted, backward, Nazi thinking that’s got this country buying little doggie fur coats for Fido or Art Garfunkel, or whatever people are naming their stinking beasts these days.

Missouri is a decent team, but they are No. 1 by default. They are the lucky moron that avoided a crushing by the boulder that’s taken out the rest of major college football this year. Chase Daniels is a squat little spitfire, a play-maker, but he won’t be enough to beat the Oklahoma Sooners — who’ve downed the Tigers once this season — in Saturday’s Big XII Championship.

Everyone is talking about how Missouri will lose to Oklahoma in the Big XII Championship game and their chances at playing for the title will be washed away. I don’t think that will be the case, though. Here’s why: Missouri’s loss to Oklahoma earlier in the year was played at Oklahoma. Missouri was without star running back Tony Temple, who has rushed for 732 yards this season while missing three games. Lastly, this year for college football has been the year of the upsets and the year of the improbable teams.

For Missouri to run the table and win the championship would only be fitting, don’t you think?

3. Will the Dolphins go 0-16?

No. They are going to win in the most brutal, crushing way — at least for the New England Patriots. I’m not alone in thinking that it would be such a magnificent form of justice to have, on the same night, the Dolphins’ hopes of a 0-16 season and the Pats’ hopes for a 16-0 regular season burst into glorious, warming, unquenchable flames that would burn superficial Patriot sycophants, like all of Bristol, Conn. — where ESPN is located. You’re saying, this is a pipe dream.

So. It’s my right as an American to come up with mind-numbingly improbable things. Take that you terrorist swine.

After sitting through the Monday night game against the Steelers, most people are writing off the Dolphins and their chances to win a game.

I’m not one of those people, and I know at least one other person–you know who you are–who feels the Dolphins can win a game. While John Beck isn’t necessarily doing amazing things for the Dolphins, I don’t think he is doing horrible things either. Other than the fumble caused by a blind side hit on Monday night in the rain, the rookie QB hasn’t turned the ball over. He had some good-looking throws when he got protection, and he showed the ability to gain a few yards on the ground. This should be enough to lead the Dolphins to victory over the Jets.

4. Is BYU right? Does God love them?

Only if the god we’re talking about didn’t create such beautiful things as beer, fire, those fresh breath strips, Marshall amps, the beard, indoor plumbing, Judd Apatow movies and all things special, sunny, warm, fuzzy or funny. Any god that could love such an atrocious evil. Such a pariah. Such a travesty of the modern collegiate experience. Such a gross injustice heaped on humanity. Such an awful, morbid fantasy for sickos, creepers and weirdos of all varieties. If god loves BYU, I’m starting my own church, where we worship a mold-crusted, maggot-filled chicken pot pie. It’d be better than serving a god that loves that nasty dung heap.

According to BYU receiver Austin Collie, God does indeed love BYU. After the BYU-Utah game, in an interview Collie said, “Obviously, if you do what’s right on and off the field, I think the Lord steps in and plays a part in it. Magic happens.” This comment would then infer that the Utes were not doing the right things and are bad people and that God favors BYU because of their on and off-the-field righteousness. Collie later said the only reason people are making a big deal out of this is because he is a white Mormon from BYU. Austin, that may be part of it, but I would say the reason people are making a big deal about it is because you are claiming God favors one team over another. Think before you talk next time.

5. Best freshman in college basketball?

Dick Vitale is an ever-more senile, ever-more annoying old man, whose voice is the only weapon needed to overthrow a government or conquer an indigenous people, so don’t listen to him. Listen to me.

It’s the University of Southern California’s OJ Mayo.

The kid can score. He’s a great athlete and probably a top-five pick in next year’s NBA draft. Given, he’s sort of a punk, which Los Angeles won’t cure.

But, attitude adjustments aside, he’s a natural and could actually lead USC deep into March, ala Kevin Durrant last year with Texas.

There are a number of reasons I decided 6-foot-10 big man Kevin Love of UCLA is the best college freshman right now. A couple of those reasons are fairly concrete, and once you read the last reason, he will probably jump to the top of your list as well. Love has been putting up good numbers through his first six games at UCLA. He is averaging 19.3 points per game and pulling down 10.5 rebounds each contest. Pretty impressive numbers.

6. Rant I love the Utah Jazz. If you have ever read this debate before, you may know this. But every once in a while they drive me nuts, and I just can’t figure them out. The latest occurrences of this happened this past Sunday and Monday. They went on the road to Detroit and beat a team that has a terrific home record. The Jazz have been beating the Pistons, who are one of the better NBA teams, consistently for the past few years. But the next night, they went to New York and play the Knicks, considered one of not-so-good NBA teams, and lose. They have not won in New York since 2004. Why is this?

Why do the Jazz play so well against one team but struggle so much against another? Is it match-ups?

Maybe it is. I don’t know for sure. Any suggestions or ideas on this phenomenon can be e-mailed to myself or - Comment on this Jerry Sloan. Go Aggies. @ utahstatesman.com

Yesterday, I was inundated with dimwitted snowfreaks ravaging my ears with nonsense about the glorious arrival of the first snow. I almost committed simple assault by punching — in succession — a priest, a 5-year-old and a semi-good-looking girl, all because they were raving about the snow.

Apparently, in this winter-sports cult, snow is viewed as some sort of gift from above — half true, at least. In the more militant cult that I belong to, we see snow as an inconvenience, a problem, and the people who love it as a soft landing place for fists and swift kicks. Go ahead and do your ridiculous snow sports, my people will be inside playing Mah Jong and drinking Bailey’s in our hot chocolate. Watch out for trees.

StatesmanSports

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Page 11

Peart leaves mark on USU

By SETH R. HAWKINS editor in chief

Leaving her mark on the USU soccer record books in at least eight different categories, Dana Peart has established a legacy, establishing herself as one of the Aggie soccer greats.

But starts, goals and shots on goal aside, the legacy Peart said she wants to leave behind is as an inspiration to future players.

“I hope that they can remember me as a player that’s a great leader,” she said. “I hope they can look at me and think, ‘Oh, she was a great player, a great leader, she inspired me in some way,’ whether something small that they struggle with and saw that I had that strength. Just a leader and that I inspired them in some way, hopefully a good way.”

Inspiration is exactly what USU soccer head coach Heather Cairns said has made Peart a successful team captain this season, leading the Aggies to tie the season-best wins at 10 and into the semi-finals of the WAC Tournament.

“Dana is very much a leader on the field, very emotional,” Cairns said. “She’s quick. She takes accountability for the attack, and that rubs off on her teammates.”

After standing out in her freshman and sophomore seasons and following a successful 2006 season, where Peart was third on the team with eight points and led the team in game-winning goals, Peart said she was not surprised she was selected as team captain – a role

she said she was familiar and comfortable with.

“I wasn’t really surprised because I think I’ve always been kind of a leader on previous teams I’ve been on, so I think coming into my senior year I wanted to step up into that role,” Peart said. “I knew Shannon (Ross) was a leader, but I wanted to help her out with that. So I wasn’t surprised, and I really have enjoyed being a leader for the team.”

But early losses and a team with many new players presented challenges for Peart and the USU soccer team as the Aggies went 4-8 in their non-conference schedule. Peart said during this time, it was important for her and the other upperclassmen to set a positive example and pull the team through the difficult times.

“Sometimes it was harder with (losing), with the younger players looking up to us,” Peart said. “It’s kind of a struggle, but our team’s very good at staying positive and being very enthusiastic and optimistic.

So the whole team helped as a whole at staying positive. As a leader, staying positive, but also the whole team jumped on the wagon.

“I think we struggled at the first, but all of us pushed through it, and now amazing things are happening and we’ve all seen kind of our end goal, what we want, and we’re all pushing for it. If we didn’t struggle at the beginning, I don’t think we would be where we are now.”

Early on in the season, Peart led the team in points, scoring,

Michalik: Uncle taught to box -continued from page 9

was right at home on the ice. He continued to box in the hockey off-season but found his true passion was out on the ice. Michalik was recruited at the age of 17 to come to the United States and play in Connecticut for the Junior Whalers.

“The best part of boxing for me is that I can take out my aggression,” Michalik said.

After graduating high school in Bristol, Conn., Michalik traveled to Texas to play for the Titans and then was traded to the San Diego Surfs. While in California he played with Greg Finatti who later would become

his teammate at Utah State. At the age of 20 he traveled to Puget Sound, Wash., to play hockey when he got a call from Finatti to come play for USU. Michalik is now is a 6-foot-3inch, 240-pound defender for the Aggies, but hasn’t put the boxing gloves down yet. He still boxes during his free time and during the summers he travels back to the East Coast to box at the Mixed Martial Arts Clinic.

Packing a heavy punch and a ridiculous slap shot, Michalik is not someone you want to mess with on or off the ice.

-holligil@cc.usu.edu

Speak Up “I hope they can look at me and think, ‘Oh, she was a great player, a great leader, she inspired me in some way.’”

Dana Peart, soccer shots on goal and shots, establishing herself as the clear leader in the offensive attack. She was poised to break multiple school scoring records and was a scoring and points leader in the conference. With momentum behind her and a limited amount of games remaining in her USU career, Peart was set to be a dangerous threat in conference play.

But that never happened.

Midway through the second conference game of the season against Boise State, Peart took a hard fall and limped off the field. After multiple diagnoses, it was determined she had torn her PCL, an injury that doesn’t require surgery but mandated rehabilitation and time off.

The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time – right when the Aggies were in the thick of the most important part of the season and looking to claim the regular season championship.

“It was a bit frustrating,” Peart said of her injury. “You get into conference, and that’s what you work your butt off all season to get to these conference games, and when you can’t play in them it’s difficult, and

definitely emotional. Being on the bench and watching the team, I could still be a leader on the bench, getting the team going. I’m still satisfied. I’m satisfied watching the team improving and stepping up.”

When the injury happened, Peart said, “I was thinking, ‘OK, it’s going to be short, I’m going to be able to come right back on.’ When that didn’t happen, it was frustrating but also, being out and watching the team develop, and people started stepping up. It wasn’t one or two people, the whole team stepped up, and we’ve been doing great things. Looking at that, yeah, I made points at the beginning, but it’s not just one player. You look from the bench and the whole team’s there and working together.”

Even without their leading scorer constantly on the field, the Aggies won four of the five remaining conference games, showing marked improvement from the slow start.

Peart sat out four conference games, an experience she said taught her a lot about her teammates.

“I have never had an injury before, so I played four years without an injury and it really made me take a step back and look at all the players, because people have had injuries and you tell them, ‘I’m sorry, keep pushing through it,’ but you don’t know what it really feels like until you’re actually there,” Peart said. “So I think I really learned a lot more about how other players are feeling, more than myself. I learned more of other players and how they feel in that position. I don’t know how I felt. It’s just been hard.”

RECRUITING From now until February, with a moratorium between Christmas and New Year’s, Guy and his coaching staff are on the recruiting trail.

Guy said some of his coaching staff went straight out to recruit instead of returning to their homes after Saturday’s win. Currently they are in Kansas, Texas, Arizona, Utah, California and soon to be in Las Vegas.

The biggest position vacancies to fill center around what wide receiver/return specialist Kevin Robinson did, as well as the quarterback position left open with the departure of Leon Jackson III. “Boy, that’s going to be big shoes to fill,” Guy said of Robinson. “We’ve got to find a playmaker that might be at the junior college level that is able to make guys miss.”

At the same time, Guy is realistic. “(Robinson) ended up being the NCAA leader for all-purpose yards. I don’t know you

standout Charity Weston – and fourth place in career shots on goal with 71.

“I’ve had a good season and the team as a whole has had a great season, so I feel like it’s been very satisfying, and I’ve accomplished a lot and so has the team. I think it’s been a great feeling and exciting,” Peart said.

-seth.h@aggiemail.usu.edu USU striker dana peart ends her USU career with at least eight different records. In her first three years as an Aggie she was a standout on the team. Midway through the second WAC game of 2007 she took a hard fall and tore her PCL, which required her to miss four WAC games. But even with the injury, she led the team in shots on goal and was third in goals and points.

DEBRA HAWKINS photo

-continued from page 9 ball all through high school.

“I just played basketball for fun,” Taylor said. “I didn’t like it as much as volleyball.”

Taylor is confident she could have taken it to the next level with basketball if she had been so inclined.

“I think if I would have stuck with it I could have gone further,” she said. “I wasn’t a bad basketball player. I just like volleyball better.”

For Taylor, the biggest drawback to playing basketball was

diving into the scrums beneath the basket and trading elbows with the other post players.

“I didn’t like when girls were pushing me around,” Taylor said.

Now Taylor does her damage for the Aggies with a net between her and the other team’s players. With Taylor in the fold for two more years, the future looks bright for USU’s reigning WAC Coach of the Year Grayson DuBose.

-graham.terry@aggiemail.usu.

-continued from page 9

ficulty between the Western Athletic Conference and the Sun Belt Conference, where the Aggies competed in during the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

“I don’t think people realized how far we were away from being a WAC team,” Guy said.

“I mean that by the level of play.

I don’t think we’ll ever see a Sun Belt team play in the BCS. They’re champion doesn’t break the Top 25.”

The Aggies, who ended the 2007 season with two consecutive road victories, are the first USU team to win back-to-back games in the WAC, home or away. Even so, Guy said the nature of his profession makes it nearly impossible to feel a sense of job security.

“You never really feel secure in coaching because anything can happen,” Guy said. “You don’t coach out of fear, you coach what you believe in and your fundamental philosophies.

The administration came to me well into the season and said keep doing what you’re doing.”

When Peart did return, she played considerably fewer minutes than usual and fought to work past an injury that limited her rapid movement. Near the end of the season, going into tournament play, Peart said she wore a knee brace to protect her leg, but the brace stifled much of her usual fast attack.

Even with the injury, Peart still led the Aggies in shots and shots on goal for the season and finished third in goals and points. She also placed seventh in the WAC for shots per game with a 2.56 average, firing off 46 on the season.

Peart ended her career as an Aggie with eight USU records, including placing first in matches started and tying for first in matches played with former teammate Sierra Smith.

She placed fifth in career points at 37, career goals at 15 – passing former teammate and Aggie

Taylor: Played basketball in HS

Guy: Not paying attention to critics after 2-10 year

can say we’ll go get a guy that will do the stuff Kevin has done sine I’ve been here. But we need more guys like that to compete with the top half of the WAC conference.”

Guy said the message to attract high school and junior college is the WAC, the north end zone facility, the two-game win streak, a solid education and a safe community.

“The thing we try to find are guys who want to get a degree and want to play college football,” Guy said. “We want guys who want to do both.”

OFF-SEASON SETUP At the end of the 1-11 campaign in 2006 — a season Guy admits was much more difficult than ‘07 — he and his staff revamped the off-season program in hope of more positive results in 2007.

Guy said this off-season the lifting program and walking through things with the team will remain from the ‘06 changes. The one thing he said will change slightly is a more

USU Ping Pong Tournie Friday November 30th, Tournament starts at 7pm in institute building, registration from 6-7pm. Free pizza and snacks! Play or watch!

competitive atmosphere among the team “to keep that winning edge.”

“Without question ... there’s a better understanding that it’s not about who gets the credit, it’s about winning,” Guy added.

“I think the guys understand that more than they ever have.

They understand more about chemistry, unity and camaraderie. When I first got here, we had a lot more individualism.

We’re starting to finally get that weeded out of program.”

2008 SCHEDULE Guy said the Aggies open up on the road against University of Nevada at Las Vegas and Oregon before hosting both Utah and Brigham Young University.

After that will come WAC games — a schedule Guy said is set when ESPN gets its TV schedule done.

In all there will be six home games, the most for a Guycoached team.

-samuel.hislop@aggiemail. usu.edu

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Nov. 28, 2007 Page 12

Views&Opinion

editor@statesman.usu.edu statesman@cc.usu.edu

OurView

AboutUs

Editor in Chief

Firing Coach Guy a hasty decision

Seth R. Hawkins News Editor

Though Brent Guy has only collected six victories in his three years as Utah State’s head football coach, calls for his firing are shallow and show a severe lack of understanding.

The two wins the Aggies ended this season with must be carefully considered.

First of all, before this, the team was riding a 16game losing streak. To be able to not give up shows great character, which is a credit to the seniors on the team.

Second, the two wins were victories away from Romney Stadium. Winning on the road is never an easy thing in sports.

Third, they were wins against New Mexico State and Idaho — both of whom are in the Aggies’ Western Athletic Conference. It’s at least a start to winning in a conference that boasts two Top 25 teams. The evidence the WAC is miles deeper in talent and strength than the Sun Belt Conference is plentiful. The past three seasons are proof the Aggies were not ready talent-wise to make the jump. Therefore, expecting lots of wins so soon is unrealistic. As the 2007 season slogan stated, “The road to success is always under construction.”

Fourth, Guy kicks players off the team when they repeatedly break the rules he has set forth. Why hate a man who is trying to create a positive image for Aggie football?

Fifth, firing him makes no sense financially. He has two years remaining on his contract. He can be fired, but the university still has to pay him what’s left on his contract.

Sixth, stability has been a nonexistent word in Aggie football. Previous to Guy was Mick Dennehy, who only lasted five seasons and was fired before his contract was up. Before Dennehy was Dave Arslanian, who got the boot after two seasons and seven wins. Preceding Arslanian were John L. Smith (1995-97) and Charlie Weatherbie (1992-94), both of whom actually had success and then flew the coop after three-year careers for higher paying jobs. Chris Pella (1983-85) and Phil Krueger (197375) were also gone after three seasons.

It’s not like this is UCLA or Oklahoma. For once, an Aggie football coach deserves the opportunity to prove himself to the very end of his contract.

It has been said that if changing coaches so frequently was the way to go, USU would have one of the best football programs at the NCAA Division I-A level.

With six home games in 2008 — which includes hated rivals BYU and Utah — there is reason to get excited about the coming year in Aggie football.

G

iven the controversial nature of some of my articles, you might think I receive a torrent of angry e-mails.

But I don’t—much to my dismay, frankly. Of the few complaints I do hear, this is the most common: “Why are you so negative in your articles? Why so pessimistic?”

Well, in an effort to be more positive, I thought about what I had to be thankful for over Thanksgiving break. The usual came to mind: family, friends, life, etc. But upon further reflection, I also discovered that not everything in the news was all gloom and doom.

First, I’m thankful I am on the chunkier side.

“A startling new study by medical researchers at the American Medical Association has caused consternation among public health professionals by suggesting that, contrary to conventional wisdom, being overweight might actually be beneficial for health,” reported The Independent. On balance, the study found that being slightly overweight increases one’s longevity. The study is the culmination of decades of data and analysis by a reputable team of federal researchers; it cannot easily be dismissed.

I’m thankful health care has risen to prominence as a domestic issue. This summer, Michael Moore adeptly exposed the failings of the U.S. health care system in his film “Sicko” (Rent it if you haven’t seen it yet). Presidential hopeful John Edwards, too, deserves a lot of credit for making health care the single most important domestic issue this campaign season. He was the first candidate to unveil a comprehensive and truly universal health care plan, forcing Clinton and Obama to follow his lead.

I’m thankful Hillary, the once “inevitable nominee” must now fight for the Democratic nomination. Both Obama and Edwards have stepped up their attacks on her, and it’s taking its toll. Hillary has slipped in the national polls and is bogged down in a statistical tie with Obama and Edwards in the early primary states. But no matter who is nominated, I’m simply thankful Americans will elect a Democrat next November.

- See THANKS, page 13

Assistant News Editor

Liz Lawyer Features Editor

Manette Newbold Assistant Features Editor

Brittny Goodsell Jones Sports Editor

Samuel Hislop Assistant Sports Editor

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What it means to be a republic

F

ollowing the signing of the Constitution, Benjamin Franklin was approached by a woman as he was leaving Independence Hall. The woman asked him what form of government had been created by the new Constitution. Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Unfortunately, many of us have been taught that our nation is a democracy. Therefore, it is important to understand the basic differences between a democracy and a republic.

The major difference between the two seemingly similar forms of government lies in who makes the decisions as to what laws will be created and how the government will be run.

In a direct democracy, decisions are made directly by the people. In this form of democracy, it is necessary for all the citizens to assemble in order to make decisions. Because of this, a direct democracy is essentially limited to a small geographic area. A representative democracy serves to alleviate this difficulty. In a representative democracy, representatives are chosen by the people. These representatives then make decisions in government based solely on the will of the majority of those they represent.

In a republic, as in a representative democracy, the people choose their representatives.

However, in a republic, the representatives are expected to make decisions based on their own judgment. Because a republic is dependent on the judgment and character of the people’s representatives, these representatives must be chosen carefully. It is therefore essential that these officials be individuals of

YourTake The untouchables

?

What I’m thankful for this season

Arie Kirk

honor, integrity and good judgment. It is necessary that the people keep a careful eye on their representatives to ensure they are acting honorably. It is also essential for the elected officials to keep close contact with their constituents to ensure they are being represented appropriately. Government officials are also expected to operate within the bounds the people have set for them in their constitution.

If the people are not satisfied with the performance of the representative, that individual is replaced in the next election.

One of the responsibilities the Framers gave to the representatives of the people was the selection of other representatives. They felt this would lead to the selection of qualified individuals to fill positions in the national government. The Constitution directs that Supreme Court justices are to be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

The president is to be chosen by the electoral college. Originally, senators were to be selected by the state legislatures, and not directly by the people. The Framers understood that democratic elections of these representatives could also cause problems for our republic.

In a democracy, the people are directly involved in the decision-making process. In a republic, that involvement is indirect.

Even the most casual reading of the works of the Framers of the Constitution reveals that they never intended to establish a democracy.

This may come as a surprise to many, as we have often been led to believe that democ-

- See REPUBLIC, page 13 Tell us what you think.

Submit a letter to the editor at www.utahstatesman.com

Leave it to an often-outspoken Phil Jackson of the Los Angeles Lakers to get himself in touble by saying something the NBA didn’t like and made him voice an apology. After getting beaten badly by hot 3-point shooting by the San Antonio Spurs, Jackson was asked about the Spurs’ penetration leading to open shooters, to which he responded, “We call this a ‘Brokeback Mountain’ game, because there’s so much penetration and kickouts.” At the time he said it, he said many journalists laughed, but the NBA and many activist groups seemed to miss the humor. Sure the comment wasn’t in the best taste, and Jackson admits that. But would the situation be different had Jackson made a joke about lawyers or accountants? Would people be in such an uproar?

In our increasingly complex society of special interest groups, there seems to be a large number of groups that have special protection. While it may be kosher to say something about one group – such as lawyers – it is completely out of line to say things about other groups.

Is this special protection necessary? Is there actually special protection taking place? Is there a double standard here? What should be done about it?

What’s your take? Tell us at www.utahstatesman.com/messageboard.

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Views&Opinion

Page 13

Republic: Understand what U.S. is

-continued from page 12

racy is desirable and synonymous with freedom.

The Framers understood that it would be both impractical and dangerous for the citizens to be directly involved in the decision-making process. They knew that the people would be too busy in their day-to-day affairs to be informed in every issue and detail of the government.

They also realized that people could be deceived and misinformed. Because of this, citizens would often not be adequately informed to make the right decisions.

The Framers also understood that democracies have historically proven to be unstable and have usually degenerated to tyranny and oppression. In the Federalist. No 10 of the Federalist Papers, James Madison explained, “Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with per-

sonal security or the rights of property.”

Further on in Federalist No. 10, Madison explained why he felt a republic was superior to a democracy. He taught that a republic would “refine and enlarge the public views, by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of their country, and whose patriotism and love of justice, will be least likely to sacrifice it to temporary or partial considerations. Under such a regulation, it may well happen that the public voice pronounced by the representatives of the people, will be more consonant to the public good, than if pronounced by the people themselves convened for the purpose.”

Gradually, our nation has drifted closer to democracy.

Senators are now directly elected by the people, and many are calling for the end of

the electoral college. This is a dangerous trend that must be reversed if our freedom is to be maintained. It is essential for each of us to understand why our nation was established as a republic and what principles must be followed to restore the forgotten principles of our nation’s form of government.

Colby Lyons is a senior majoring in law and constitutional studies.

Comments can be sent to him at c.lyons@ aggiemail. usu.edu.

Agree with what you read? Do you have a different viewpoint? Let us know about it. Send a letter to the editor at

editor@statesman.usu.edu

Thanks: A time to appreciate -continued from page 12 I’m thankful for senators Jim Webb, Byron Dorgan and Jack Reed. Hoping to pre-empt President Bush from making controversial recess appointments, these Senate Democrats decided they would stay in session over the Thanksgiving break to prevent the president from installing several disputed officials to important executive positions in “recess appointments.” These senators forfeited precious time with their families to keep this reckless administration in check; they deserve our thanks.

I’m thankful for people’s capacity for compassion. A young boy and his mother were driving in a remote area just north of the border on a Thanksgiving trip. The mother lost control on a curve and the van was tossed into a canyon, landing 300 feet from the road.

She didn’t survive the crash, but her son was found alive

by Jesus Manuel Cordova as he was entering the U.S. illegally.

He stayed with and comforted the boy for many hours until help arrived. And as the temperatures dropped, Cordova gave him his jacket and built a bonfire. As thanks, the authorities arrested Cordova and are planning his deportation.

I’m thankful Australia’s conservative Prime Minister John Howard suffered a humiliating defeat at the ballot box last week. Howard and his party’s political demise comes as a blow to the Bush administration as Howard’s government was a loyal ally in the war in Iraq and shared Bush’s reluctance to combat climate change. The opposing leader, Kevin Rudd of the Labor Party, won in a surprising landslide on the promises to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq and ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

I’m thankful for last week’s stem-cell research breakthrough.

Scientists from Japan and the U.S. independently confirmed last week that they had successfully manipulated adult stem cells to imitate embryonic stem cells. This advancement might eliminate the need for destroying human embryos to obtain embryonic stem cells, which would neutralize many peoples’ moral objections to the research.

And lastly, I’m thankful the death toll in Iraq, for both Iraqis and U.S. soldiers, has fallen in the past few months—from horrific to horrible. My father leaves for a year-long tour in Iraq early next year, so I’m hoping this trend continues.

The war’s supporters have claimed this news as vindication of the troop surge, but the surge’s impact was only marginal.

Deaths are down primarily because Iraqi neighborhoods have already been ethnically cleansed of rival tribes and sects.

Moreover, these neighborhoods are being patrolled, not by U.S. soldiers, but sectarian militias. Whatever the cause of this relative and fragile calm, it is encouraging, nonetheless.

The above news strengthens my faith in basic human decency and buoys my optimism for the future.

That isn’t to say, though, that we do not face very real challenges. So let’s not ignore them in the name of being “positive.” Instead, we need to tackle these challenges so that come next Thanksgiving, we’ll have even more to be thankful for.

Jon Adams is a junior majoring in political science. Comments and questions can be sent to him at jonadams@cc.usu.edu.

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Page 14

Scientists want to wipe out rats on Alaskan island

In this undated file photo released by the U.S. government, Nuradin Mahamoud Abdi, a Somali immigrant arrested in 2004, who prosecutors say wanted to bomb an unspecified Columbusarea shopiing mall, is seen. A judge on Tuesday, Nov. 27, sentenced Nuradin Abdi to 10 years in prison for plotting to blow up an Ohio shopping mall with a man later convicted of being an al-Qaida terrorist.

Nuradin Abdi, a cell phone salesman before his arrest, will be deported to Somalia after serving the sentence. AP Photo

Immigrant sentenced 10 years for plotting bomb

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A Somali immigrant was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for plotting to blow up an Ohio shopping mall with a man later convicted of being an al-Qaida terrorist.

Nuradin Abdi, a cell phone salesman before his arrest, pleaded guilty in July to conspiring to provide material support for terrorists. He will be deported to Somalia after serving the federal sentence.

In a 20-minute statement to the court, Abdi’s attorney Mahir Sherif said his client apologized to the people of the United States, the people of Ohio and the Muslim community.

He said Abdi regretted that his conviction might lead to problems for other Muslims.

“He apologizes for the things he thought about and the things he talked about and the crimes he pleaded guilty to,” Sherif said. “He wants to make it very, very clear that he does not hate America.”

Prosecutors said Abdi made threatening comments about the unspecified shopping mall during a meeting with two other suspected terrorists on Aug. 8, 2002, at a coffee shop in suburban Columbus.

Abdi and the two “could attack

the mall with a bomb,” Abdi told his friends as they sipped refreshments at the coffee shop, according to court documents.

One of the men with Abdi that day was Iyman Faris, who pleaded guilty in May 2003 to providing material support for terrorism. A Pakistani immigrant, Faris was convicted of plotting to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The third man alleged to be at the meeting is Christopher Paul, a U.S. citizen who grew up in suburban Columbus. He was charged in April with plotting to bomb European tourist resorts frequented by Americans as well as overseas U.S. military bases, and his trial is scheduled for January 2009.

The suspected plot was never carried out, and Sherif has maintained that Abdi was guilty at most of ranting about the United States’ handling of the war in Afghanistan.

Prosecutor Robyn Jones Hahnert, however, told the judge that the case against Abdi went far beyond one angry comment.

She said Abdi illegally traveled out of the U.S. to search for holy war training and provided stolen credit card numbers to buy equipment.

Lawsuit claims Blackwater guards abandoned post WASHINGTON (AP) – A lawsuit against government contractor Blackwater Worldwide accuses its bodyguards of ignoring a direct order and abandoning their post shortly before taking part in a shooting in Baghdad that killed 17 Iraqi civilians.

Filed this week in U.S. District Court in Washington, the complaint also accuses North Carolina-based Blackwater of failing to give drug tests to its guards in Baghdad – even though an estimated one in four of them was using steroids or other “judgment altering substances.”

A Blackwater spokeswoman

said Tuesday its employees are banned from using steroids or other enhancement drugs but declined to comment on the other charges detailed in the 18-page lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed Monday on behalf of five Iraqis who were killed and two who were injured during the Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square. The shootings enraged the Iraqi government, and the Justice Department is investigating whether it can bring criminal charges in the case, even though the State Department promised limited immunity to the Blackwater guards.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – More than 200 years ago, rats jumped ship for Rat Island.

The muscular Norway rat climbed ashore on the rugged, uninhabited island in far southwestern Alaska in 1780 after a rodent-infested Japanese ship ran aground. It was the first time rats had made it to Alaska.

Since then, Rat Island, as the piece of rock was dubbed by a sea captain in the 1800s, has gone eerily silent. The sounds of birds are missing.

That is because the rats feed on eggs, chicks and adult seabirds, which come to the mostly treeless island to nest on the ground or in crevices in the volcanic rock.

“As far as bird life, it is a dead zone,” said Steve Ebbert, a biologist at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, whose 2,500 mostly uninhabited islands include the Aleutian chain, of which Rat Island is a part.

State and federal wildlife biologists are gearing up for an assault on the rats of still-uninhabited Rat Island, hoping to exterminate them with rat poison dropped from helicopters. If they succeed, the birds will sing again on Rat Island. And it will be the third-largest island in the world to be made rat-free.

A visitor to the island 1,700 miles from Anchorage doesn’t have to look far to find evidence of vermin. The landscape is riddled with rat burrows, rat trails, rat droppings and chewed vegetation. Certain plants are all but gone.

“You go to Rat Island and there are hardly any chocolate lilies,” said Jeff Williams, another refuge biologist.

The same for songbirds and seabirds.

Rats have all but wiped out the seabirds on about a dozen large islands and many smaller islands in the refuge, which is home to an estimated 40 million nesting seabirds. Puffins, auklets and storm petrels are most at risk because they leave their eggs and young for extended periods while foraging.

The rats jumped ship beginning in the late 1700s, a problem that worsened in the 1800s when Russian merchant vessels plied the islands, and grew more serious in the 1940s, when hundreds of military ships visited the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Now, the islands are vulnerable to “rat spills” from freighters traveling the quickest route from the West Coast to Asia.

The Aleutians receive about 400

port calls from vessels each year.

Rats have been the scourge of islands worldwide.

According to the Californiabased group Island Conservation, rats are to blame for between 40 percent and 60 percent of all seabirds and reptile extinctions, with 90 percent of those occurring on islands.

“Rats are one of the worst invasive species around,” said Gregg Howald, program manager for Island Conservation, which is working with the U.S. government on a plan for Rat Island.

Norway rats typically have four to six litters a year, each containing six to 12 babies. One pair of rats can produce a population of more than 5,000 rats in an area in one year.

The state is joining forces with federal wildlife biologists in a multi-pronged attack to drive the rats from Alaska.

State regulations went into effect this fall requiring mariners to check for rats and try to eradicate them if found.

Violators face a year in jail and a $10,000 fine. Corporations could be fined up to $200,000.

The state also is mailing out 15,000 “Stop Rats!” brochures to educate mariners on how to control rats aboard boats and keep them from going ashore.

The brochure tells mariners to kill every rat on board, have traps set at all times, keep trash and food in rat-proof containers, use line guards – funnel-shaped devices that go around mooring lines – to keep rats from getting off or coming aboard, and never throw a live rat over the side.

Rats are excellent swimmers.

The assault on the rats of 6,871-acre Rat Island could begin as early as next October.

The plan – which involves the use of a blood thinner that will cause the rodents to bleed to death – still must be reviewed and sent out for public comment.

Scientists want to see how the project goes before deciding whether to try to exterminate the rats on other islands.

The world’s biggest island rat eradication took place on 27,922-acre Campbell Island off New Zealand. Rats also have been wiped out on Canada’s 8,080-acre Langara Island.

Once the rats are gone from Rat Island, wildlife biologists expect the return of birds to be dramatic.

After black rats were wiped out in November and December 2002 on Anacapa Island off the California coast, murrelets were back in force by April.

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows Steve Ebbert, a wildlife biologist for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, posing with a rat response kit on one of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. AP Photo

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

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C232-04 Part Time Lab Technician $300/ month C171-07 Lab Assistant starting: $7.00/hour C075-08 Summer Academy Chaparones $170 lump sum C124-92 Speech Instructional Assistant $5.85/hr C250-04 Grader $5.62/hr C091-08 Part-time Esl Instructor $850 per credit hour C160-06 Substitute Teacher 50.00 Per Day C101-08 Museum Tour Guide $6.00/hr C029-07 Computer Programmer $10-$14 per hour C238-97 Clerk/secretary $5.15/hour C191-07 Software Assistant BOE C375-02 Undergraduate Research Assistant BOE C406-02 Software Tester BOE C059-97 Ushers And Ticket Takers $5.85 C128-08 Field Research Assistant $8.50 $10.00 / hour C135-08 Farm Worker 8.00 C023-01 Network And Systems Administrator Depends on experience C194-98 Undergrad Ta’s For Labs & Paper Graders $6.50/hr C107-07 Quality Assurance Assistant 6-8 C491-90 Housekeeper $5.85 C360-90 Security Officer C358-07 Education Graduate Assistant up to $11/hour C012-93 Computer Consultant $6/hr C154-08 Engineering Tutor For Cee & Ece Student 8.00/hr C154-03 Stage Tech $6.00/hr C259-06 Geomorphology Lab Assistant depends on experience C280-90 Animal Caretaker 6.00/hr C170-08 Tutoring $7.00/hour C169-08 Tutors $8/hr C168-08 Custodial Assistant $8/hr C180-08 Museum Preparator 10.00/hr C176-08 Chem 1210 Tutor $7.00 C269-07 Laboratory Technician 7.00-7.50 C182-08 Office Assistant/classroom Aide $6.50 per hour C135-91 Intramural Official $6 to $8 per game C185-08 Laboratory Technician 7.00-7.50 C171-95 Note Taker $5.15/hr C192-08 Retail Sales $7.50 C274-01 Newspaper Courier NEG. C198-08 Benchmarking Sys Admin Assistant Negotiable C203-08 Assistant Webmaster - Vp For Research $7/hr+, depend on exp C249-07 Electrical Engineering Assistant $9$13 (BOE) C204-08 Assistant System Administrator Vpr $7/hr+, depend on exp C206-08 Laboratory Worker 8.00/hr C031-07 Laboratory Worker $8.00 C208-08 Orchestra Stage Manager 5.85 C186-05 Tutor 6-6:50 C199-08 Research Assistant negotiable C210-08 Ece 3620 Tutor 7.00 C220-08 Farm Worker $7.00 - $8.00 C083-95 Teacher Aide (regular & Substitute) $6/hr

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C053-07 Copy Center Worker $6/hr C279-08 Marketplace Worker 7.00 C280-08 Stats 1040 Tutor 7.00 C073-04 Math Tutor $7.00/hr C372-06 S I Leader - Fchd 1500 002 7.00 C656-98 S I Leader For Econ 1500 002 $7.00 C382-02 S I Leader For Usu 1360 002 $7.00 per hour C283-08 S I Leader For Math 1100 003 7.00 C187-04 S I Leader Nfs 1020 002 $7/hr C191-04 S I Leader Usu 1350 001 $7/hr C201-04 S I Leader Chem 1010 001 $7/hr C268-05 Si Leader Biol 1010 002 $7.00 C371-04 S I Leader Usu 1350 002 $7.00/hr C242-05 S I Leader For Pols 1100 001 $7.00 per hour C284-08 Infant Massage Instructor C484-02 Office Worker $6.50/hr C034-06 Early Morning Custodian (part Time) $8.00 per hour C203-06 Manager Off-campus Jobs: 0090 Handyman $7/hr 1047 Youth Counselor BOE 1017 Cook $10/hr 1076 Assistant Manager $11-$13/hr BOE 1426 Sales/account Representative $50,000+ 1475 Live-in Nanny Full Time/permenant In Ca 400-450 a week 1499 Market Research Agent 6.50 to 8.25 1506 Personal Assistant For Elderly Woman negotiable 1504 Center Sales And Service Associate 8.50-10 1634 Sales Associate/ Management DOE 1640 Nanny Based on Experience 1643 Accountant DOE 1644 Bookkeeper DOE 1642 Auditor DOE 1284 Roofer $8-$13/ hr. BOE 1707 Internet Services Marketing 15% of your sales revenue 1766 Customer Care Operator $9 1849 Delivery Driver 5.85 plus tips 1850 Day Pizza Maker 6.15 1848 Pizza Maker 6.15 0984 Banquet Server/assistant Manager Negotiable 1892 Nanny negotiable 1916 Farm Worker 7.50 starting 1935 Skier Surveyor 8.00/hr + Pass to work 1905 Security Officer $9.07 to $9.20 1938 Heating And A/c Installer 9/hr or based on exper 2021 Handyman Depends on experience 2040 Sales 8.00 2071 Asp.net Programmer varies 2154 Office Equipment Repair Technician commensurate with exper 2152 Animal Shelter Worker $7/hour to start 2282 Data Collection Specialist $7 starting 2180 Milk Delivery Driver 2236 Child Care negotiable 2253 Ballet Instructor Negotiable 2256 Ballroom Dance Instructor Negotiable 2268 Grave Youth Counselor $8.28/hr 2272 Sales Associate For Insurance Agent Based on Experience 2297 Freelance Photography 0099 Customer Service Specialist 2302 Online Tutor $11/hr after one month 2304 House Cleaning Person 10.00 / hour 2307 Hot-line Cook/pantry Cook/baker 6.25 or higher DOE 2313 Building Store Maintenance 2308 Kitchen Maintenance Worker 6.25 or higher DOE 2149 Sales Consultant Base + Commission 0051 Newspaper Sales Rep. $8/hr + commission 4092 Parking Enforcement Officer (night) 9.00 (no commision) 2346 Software Developer Intern / Contractor Market Rate 2345 Sales $8-$15 2341 Guest Service Representative $6-6.50/ hr or more DOE 2351 Manager $13-$15 + Benefits 0363 Helpdesk Operator Based On Experience 2354 Dental Assistant Depends on experience 4330 Full Time Shuttle Driver $9-10/hr. including tips 2359 Sales Person/ Wharehouse neg 2368 Website Developer/programmer Depends on skills 2372 Cost Acct/financial Analyst Manager 2373 Maintenance Manager 2381 Word Processor 7.00/hour 2379 Advertisement Processing 2380 Greeter 7.00/hour 5226 Logan Burgers & Sandwiches $6-7.50 plus tips 2393 Nursery Aid $6.85/hr.

2397 Secretary/writer BOE 2400 Qa Technician Negotiable 2340 Housework/ Some Computer Input $6/hr 2402 Typist $8.00/hr 0698 Sales Consultant commission based

StatesmanBack Burner

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Page 16

Check www.utahstatesman.com for complete calendar listings

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

- Household finance and budgeting, 12 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., TSC. - Richard Olsen Lecture Series – analytical chemist Norman J. Dovichi, 4 to 5 p.m.

- Movie night – Brothers Grimm, 7 to 9 p.m.

- USU women’s basketball at Idaho State, 7 p.m.

- USU College Republicans, 8 to 9 p.m., Merrill-Cazier Library.

- Benefit concert with Kalai, 8 to 10 p.m., TSC Ballroom.

- Penny wars.

- Research Council Meeting, 3 to 5 p.m., Old Main.

- 7th annual print sale, 6 to 9 p.m., Fine Arts building.

- Salsa Club, 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., HPER. - Nieghborhood round-up, 7 p.m., Romney Stadium.

- Penny wars.

- Santa’s Elves: A North Pole Musical, 6 to 9:30 p.m., Eccles Conference Center Auditorium.

- USU Big Band Swing Club, 7 to 9:30 p.m., HPER. - Department of Music event: String Chamber Ensembles, 7:30 p.m., Performance Hall.

- Store donation day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

- Penny wars.

- Benefit for Dominican Republic storm refugees at the Junction, $5 a person.

Nov. 28

Nov. 29

Nov. 30

Flying McCoys • G&G Mccoy Brain Waves • B. Streeter

ROTC military ball The Army and Air Force ROTC presents the Annual Military Ball.

Dec. 7, USU LDS Institute. We would like to invite all veterans for dancing, refreshments, and a tribute to our POW’s and MIA’s.

Poetry & beverage Poetry and a Beverage, Saturday, Dec.1, 9 p.m. to midnight in the HUB.

Christmas social Education and Human services Christmas Social. Thursday, Nov. 29 at 5 p.m. in the Education building, main floor. Hot chocolate and donuts will be served.

Nights of Lights

The Nights of Lights Celebration will be held at the Cache County Fairground, 500 S. 500 West, Dec. 3-15. Enjoy Christmas lights, window displays, sleigh rides, crafts, hot chocolate and meet Santa.

Proceeds benefit the after school program Alliance for Youth. www. foryouth.org

String recital

Caine School of the Arts String Chamber Music Ensemble Recital: Nov. 30, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in

the Performance Hall. String Students perform their semester ending recital for their chamber groups – Music of Mozart, Haydn, Shostakovich, Bartok and others. Free with ID, $5 General Admission

Oil paintings

On Friday, Nov. 30, as a part of the downtown Gallery Walk, Caffe Ibis will be holding and opening reception for the oil paintings of Kristi Grussendorf called “Western Plein Air.” The reception will be from 6-9 p.m. at 52 Federal Ave.

More to remember ...

• USU Museum of Anthropology, Old Main Room 252, will be hosting special activities from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Dec. 1. This week, guests are invited to learn about how anthropologists use DNA to uncover long-lost mysteries. The museum will provide “National Child Identification Program” kits. Remember we are also open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission is always free.

• Julie Hafen senior recital Sunday, Dec. 2 at 4:30 p.m. in the USU Performance Hall.

• Aggie Walking Club: First lady Joyce Albrecht joins the club,

Pearls Before Swine • Steve Pastis

Wednesday, Nov. 28. Meet on the Fieldhouse track at noon. Weather permitting, we will walk around USU campus. Everyone is welcome.

• Ecology Center hosts: Dr. Owen K. Davis, who will present two seminars as part of the Ecology Center Seminar Series, Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 6-7 p.m. and Thursday, Dec. 6 from 3-4 p.m. Held in the Natural Resources Building Room 105. All are welcome to attend.

For more information, please visit the Ecology Center web page at (http://www.usu.edu/ecology/ htm/seminar) • Operation Clean Teeth: Collecting dental floss, mouth wash and toothpaste to send to Iraq and Afghanistan. Donation boxes will be in the library and Business building, there will also be a table se tup in TSC on Wednesday to collect items and spare change.

• Charity Anywhere is looking for a group of service-motivated people to come to Mexico over Christmas Break, Dec. 26-Jan. 3 to help those in need by building houses. Contact Bryce yat bryce. jensen@aggiemail.usu.edu •Friday, Nov. 30, Religion in Life with Lynn Stevens a retired Major General in the US Army at 11:30.