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A new species was found in which Utah natural feature?
A. Bryce Canyon
B. The Great Salt Lake
C. Bear Lake
D. Goblin Valley
2 | NEWS | thesignpostwsu.com | March 14, 2024
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By ASHLEY MURRAY Utah News Dispatch
WASHINGTON — Citing major national security concerns, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that effectively bans TikTok unless the company splits from its Chinese owner ByteDance on March 13.
The 352-65 vote occurred just a week after lawmakers introduced the bipartisan proposal and days after the powerful House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously advanced the legislation, an unusual speed for the 118th Congress.
The bill required a two-thirds majority because House leadership placed it on the floor under a fast-track procedure called “suspension of the rules.” All four of Utah’s Republican representatives voted in favor.
The legislation, dubbed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, now heads to the Senate, where concerns over singling out a private company in legislation may slow momentum.
“The overwhelming vote today is a strong signal to the Senate that they need to act,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Washington Republican who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee, said after the vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement on March 13 that the body “will review the legislation when it comes over from the House.”
Leaders on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said they are united in concern about a platform that has “enormous power to influence and divide Americans whose parent company ByteDance remains legally required to do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party.”
President Joe Biden, whose administration had a hand in crafting the bill, is expected to sign the measure if the upper chamber approves it.
Despite Biden’s support of the bill, his re-election campaign joined TikTok last month as a way to reach Gen Z voters.
‘Hell no’
While broad support swells from both sides of the aisle, the legislation has been met by fierce opposition from TikTok users — totaling some 170 million in the U.S. — and from a coalition of young House lawmakers.
“Not only am I a ‘no’ on tomorrow’s TikTok ban bill, I’m a ‘Hell no,’” Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat representing Florida, said at a March 12 press conference where he questioned which companies are large enough to
acquire TikTok. Frost is the youngest member of Congress at 27.
Forty-nine Democrats joined Frost in opposing the bill March 13, including several members of the so-called squad, a group of progressive Democrats that includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Greg Casar of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Cori Bush of Missouri and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Washington Democrat Pramila Jayapal voted against the measure, saying in a statement that the “overly rushed” bill “provides an unworkable path to remove TikTok from ownership by a Chinese company, making it a de facto ban.”
Notably, Connecticut Democrat Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, voted against the legislation.
“I have more insight than most into the online threats posed by our adversaries. But one of the key differences between us and those adversaries is the fact that they shut down newspapers, broadcast stations, and social media platforms. We do not. We trust our citizens to be worthy of their democracy. We do not trust our government to decide what infor-
mation they may or may not see,” Himes said in a statement after the vote.
The bill’s original sponsor, Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, said he and Himes were in the same security threats hearing Tuesday where intel officials warned against TikTok.
“We had every major Biden administration national security official saying the current ownership structure of TikTok is a security threat. Perhaps Mr. Himes had presidential concerns or constitutional concerns? I don’t know. But I don’t think anyone can make a case that under the current ownership structure TikTok is not a threat,” Gallagher, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said.
Calls deluge congressional offices
Users of the wildly popular social media platform flooded lawmakers’ offices with thousands of calls Thursday after the company sent a push notification warning that a ban could be imminent, an argument the company maintains.
The platform attracts user-made videos hitting the areas of politics and news, celebrity gossip, dance trends, recipes and expensive skin care routines.
“This process was secret and the bill was
4 | NEWS | thesignpostwsu.com | March 14, 2024
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ban TikTok unless the company splits from the Chinese company it is run by.
MGN
jammed through for one reason: it’s a ban. We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday.
Supporters from both parties refute that claim.
“The legislation before the Congress does not ban TikTok. It is designed to address legitimate national security and privacy concerns related to the Chinese Communist Party’s engagement with a frequently used social media platform,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday. “If enacted, the bill would require divestiture by ByteDance and the sale of TikTok to an American company.”
Divestiture deadline set
The bill gives TikTok 180 days to splinter from ByteDance and will make it unlawful for any American app store or web hosting company to distribute or maintain platforms controlled by designated U.S. foreign adversaries.
The social media platform, 100% owned by ByteDance, has long been in the crosshairs of federal and state lawmakers, whom intelligence officials have warned of the possibility
of China’s government accessing Americans’ data via the app.
Lawmakers passed legislation in December 2022 banning the app from most federal employee devices. The Montana Legislature banned the app last year, but the law remains tied up in court.
Former President Donald Trump issued an executive order in 2020 banning TikTok unless it broke from ByteDance. This week Trump reversed his position on the platform, telling CNBC that “without TikTok you’re going to make Facebook bigger.”
March 13’s passage of the bill represents a rare departure for House Republicans from Trump, the party’s front-runner in the 2024 general election.
But some Republican lawmakers have fallen in line with Trump’s opposition, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who said on the floor March 13 before the vote she worries that Congress could open a “Pandora’s box” and target other platforms like X.
Greene said her “free speech” was “restored” when Elon Musk purchased Twitter and reinstated her account.
“This is really about controlling Americans’ data,” Greene said on the floor before the vote.
First Amendment concerns
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky criticized the bill on the floor prior to the vote, despite saying he believes the bill’s supporters “are sincere in their concerns and in their effort to protect Americans.”
“They describe the TikTok application as a Trojan horse, but there’s some of us who feel that either intentionally or unintentionally this legislation to ban TikTok is actually a Trojan horse,” Massie said before the vote. “Some of us are concerned that there are First Amendment implications here. Americans have the right to view information. … Some of us just don’t want the president picking which apps we can put on our phones.”
The bill would empower the president to determine whether a “foreign adversary controlled application” poses a national security threat.
The president would then need to determine, in conjunction with executive branch agencies, if and when the foreign-owned app has undergone a “qualified divestiture,” according to the bill text.
Republicans voting no
Among the 15 House GOP members including Greene and Massie casting ‘no’ votes were: Andy Biggs and David Schweikert of
Arizona, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Warren Davidson of Ohio, John Duarte and Tom McClintock of California, Matt Gaetz and Greg Steube of Florida, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Barry Moore of Alabama and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
Gallagher said he wanted to clear up “misconceptions” of the bill ahead of the vote.
“It does not apply to American companies,” Gallagher said on the floor and later posted on X from his office’s account. “It only applies to companies subject to the control of foreign adversaries defined by Congress. It says nothing about election interference and cannot be turned against any American social media platform. It does not impact websites in general. The only impacted sites are those associated with foreign adversary apps, such as TikTok. com.”
March 14, 2024 | thesignpostwsu.com | NEWS | 5
A photo illustration of a student opening up the TikTok app.
ANNA KULGAR
The Signpost
By COOPER HATSIS Columnist
Weber State University’s Study Abroad program offers many exciting travel opportunities, both in-state and out of the country, for the many different programs that are available at WSU. Communication and media students were offered to have an immer-
sive multimedia experience during spring break.
The “Windy City Wildcats” experience started on March 1 and ended on March 9. This study abroad trip cost $1,400 (not including flight) and was one of the cheaper study abroad programs students could go on.
During this trip I and 23 of my peers came together to work on social media campaigns that brought us closer to both the city and community of Chicago. We also got the opportunity to visit and explore a variety of different museums, institutes and the many iconic landmarks that make up Chicago.
Weeks before going to the Windy City, the students participating in the trip were brought together and divided into groups of four to begin the early stages of our social media campaign.
After throwing around a few ideas, my group decided to focus our Instagram page on thrift shopping in Chicago, but more specifically the local businesses in the city. We went with the name “Windy City Thrifters.”
Other groups that were on the trip focused their social media on local restaurants, bookstores in Chicago and some of the locations where films and TV shows had been filmed amongst other things.
We checked into the Freehand Hotel, a building constructed in 1927, when we arrived in Chicago. The Freehand Hotel is located in the River North neighborhood on Ohio Street and is within walking distance of many attractions in the city as well as many restaurants.
Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due, the local restaurants where the Chicago deep dish pizza originates from, were two of the restaurants that were near the hotel. During our first evening in the city we went to Due and I found out that the Chicago deep dish style was unfortunately not for me. I will stick with my thin crust pizza for now.
The following day, we split into our social media groups and went on a scavenger hunt across the city. This scavenger hunt took us to many well known landmarks in the city such as Navy Pier, Cloud Gate and a more recent
attraction, the Rat Hole.
After becoming more orientated with the city through the scavenger hunt, my group took on the task of thrift shopping and recording footage of our activities for our social media page.
During this first outing we visited a variety of stores all located in Wicker Park that sell thrifted clothing, including Round Two Chicago, Store B Vintage, Crossroads Trading and 2nd Street, which was celebrating a grand opening while we were there.
For me, the highlights were The Exchange, a local DVD and record store, and Myopic Books, a great bookstore where I found a book called “Shock Value” about the history of horror films.
A few days later we returned to Wicker Park to find more stores to shop at. We discovered a Village Discount Outlet and Reckless Records. Reckless has a great variety of records and I was able to find a few to add to my collection. The bulk of the content posted for our social media came from these shopping sprees.
6 | CULTURE | thesignpostwsu.com | March 14, 2024
Windy City Wildcats at the Chicago Cultural Center.
LESLIE HOWERTON | Weber State University
The social media side of the trip was a great way for students in all areas of the communication and digital media departments to learn about the work that is needed for storytelling on social media platforms. Teamwork and consistent communication is important for a project like this to run smoothly and build up traction.
With most videos uploaded to social media only being about a minute long, I found it eye-opening to figure out what content would be important/essential for our posts to not only tell our story but the story of these local businesses.
Another exciting side of this study abroad trip was visiting some of the professional
organizations that make up the world of media. On day five of the trip we visited The Associated Press, one of the prolific news outlets in Chicago. We had a discussion with a handful of individuals working in the world of journalism — editors, reporters and video journalists. It was interesting to hear what journalism was like in a city so much larger than Salt Lake City.
Day six of the trip consisted of visiting Northwestern University. We got to check out the Knight Lab, a project that brings developers, students, educators, journalists and designers together to create new technology and methods of advancing journalism. It was interesting to hear about some of the
innovations that institutions are working on to bring the world of research to new heights with technology like AR and VR.
On day seven we visited BCW Chicago and Ogilvy, two public relations companies. Personally, I found this visit insightful as someone who has not spent much time with PR or advertising. I was fascinated by the process of their work and how they used teamwork to achieve their goals in advertising.
When we were not working on our social media project or visiting firms, we got to explore some of the local attractions. The Museum of Ice Cream was one of the highlights of our travels. A brightly-colored and fun museum that lets you learn about the
history of the treat and sample some of the unique flavors of ice cream that the museum has created.
We also got to travel to the top floor of the Willis Tower to look off the sky deck, but unfortunately, it was cloudy that day and made it impossible to see just how high up in the air we were.
The “Windy City Wildcats” experience was a great way to spend my spring break, making new friends and exploring a city I had never been to before. Study Abroad trips are a great way to have experiences that will benefit your education while at WSU.
March 14, 2024 | thesignpostwsu.com | CULTURE | 7
The Windy City Wildcats stop to take pictures of the Wrigley Building.
The Signpost Share this story at thesignpostwsu.com
MEGAN SWANN |
POR MARIA MANTILLA Traductor
POR COOPER HATSIS Columnista
El programa de estudios en el extranjero de la Universidad Weber State ofrece muchas oportunidades de viajes emocionantes, tanto dentro de los estados como fuera del país, para los diferentes programas que están disponibles en WSU. A los estudiantes de comunicación y medios se les ofreció tener una experiencia multimedia inmersiva durante las vacaciones de primavera.
La experiencia “ Wildcats en la Ciudad del Viento” comenzó el 1 de marzo y terminó el 9 de marzo. Este viaje de estudios en el extranjero costó 1.400 dólares (sin incluir el vuelo) y fue uno de los programas de estudios en el extranjero más baratos a los que podían ir los estudiantes.
Durante este viaje yo y 23 de mis compañeros nos reunimos para trabajar en campañas de medios sociales que nos acercaron tanto a la ciudad como a la comunidad de Chicago. También tuvimos la oportunidad de visitar y explorar diferentes museos, institutos y los muchos lugares emblemáticos que conforman Chicago.
Semanas antes de ir a la Ciudad del Viento, los estudiantes que participábamos en el
viaje nos reunimos y dividimos en grupos de cuatro para comenzar las primeras fases de nuestra campaña en las redes sociales.
Después de proponer algunas ideas, mi grupo decidió centrar nuestra página de Instagram en las compras de segunda mano en Chicago, pero más concretamente en los negocios locales de la ciudad. Optamos por el nombre “Windy City Thrifters”.
Otros grupos que participaron en el viaje centraron sus redes sociales en restaurantes locales, librerías de Chicago y algunos de los lugares donde se habían rodado películas y programas de televisión, entre otras cosas.
Cuando llegamos a Chicago nos registramos en el Hotel Freehand, un edificio construido en 1927. El Hotel Freehand está situado en el barrio de River North, en Ohio Street, a poca distancia a pie de muchos lugares de interés de la ciudad, así como de muchos restaurantes.
Pizzeria Uno y Pizzeria Due, los restaurantes locales de donde es originaria la pizza de plato hondo de Chicago, eran dos de los restaurantes que estaban cerca del hotel. Durante nuestra primera noche en la ciudad fuimos a Due y descubrí que el estilo de plato hondo de Chicago, por desgracia, no era para mí. De momento me quedo con mi pizza de masa fina.
Al día siguiente, nos dividimos en nuestros grupos de redes sociales y nos fuimos a buscar el tesoro por toda la ciudad. Esta búsqueda nos llevó a muchos lugares conocidos de la ciudad como Navy Pier, Cloud Gate y una atracción más reciente, el Rat Hole.
Después de familiarizarnos con la ciudad a través de la búsqueda del tesoro, mi grupo se dedicó a comprar artículos de segunda mano y a grabar nuestras actividades para nuestra página en las redes sociales.
Durante esta primera salida visitamos varias tiendas de ropa de segunda mano situadas en Wicker Park, como Round Two Chicago, Store B Vintage, Crossroads Trading y 2nd
Street, que celebraba su gran inauguración mientras estábamos allí.
Para mí, lo más destacado fue The Exchange, una tienda local de DVD y discos, y Myopic Books, una librería estupenda donde encontré un libro titulado “Shock Value” sobre la historia del cine de terror.
Unos días después volvimos a Wicker Park en busca de más tiendas en las que comprar. Descubrimos Village Discount Outlet y Reckless Records. Reckless tiene una gran variedad de discos y pude encontrar algunos para añadir a mi colección. La mayor parte del contenido publicado en nuestras redes sociales provino de estas compras.
La parte del viaje dedicada a las redes sociales fue una excelente manera para que los estudiantes de todas las áreas de los departamentos de comunicación y medios digitales conocieran el trabajo necesario para contar historias en las plataformas de las redes sociales. El trabajo en equipo y la comunicación constante son importantes para que un proyecto de este tipo funcione sin problemas y gane tracción.
Dado que la mayoría de los vídeos que se suben a las redes sociales sólo duran un minuto, me resultó revelador averiguar qué contenido sería importante o esencial para que nuestras publicaciones no sólo contaran nuestra historia, sino también la de estas empresas locales.
Otro aspecto interesante de este viaje de estudios al extranjero fue la visita a algunas de las organizaciones profesionales que conforman el mundo de los medios de comunicación. El quinto día del viaje visitamos The Associated Press, uno de los medios de comunicación más prolíficos de Chicago. Mantuvimos un debate con un grupo de personas que trabajan en el mundo del periodismo: redactores, reporteros y video periodistas. Fue interesante saber cómo era el periodismo en una ciudad mucho más grande que Salt Lake City.
El sexto día del viaje consistió en visitar la Universidad Northwestern. Pudimos echar un vistazo al Knight Lab, un proyecto que reúne a desarrolladores, estudiantes, educadores, periodistas y diseñadores para crear nuevas tecnologías y métodos que hagan avanzar el periodismo. Fue interesante conocer algunas de las innovaciones en las que están trabajando las instituciones para llevar el mundo de la investigación a nuevas cotas con tecnologías como la Realidad Aumentada y la Realidad Virtual.
El séptimo día visitamos BCW Chicago y Ogilvy, dos empresas de relaciones públicas. Personalmente, esta visita me pareció muy instructiva para alguien que no ha pasado mucho tiempo con las relaciones públicas o la publicidad. Me fascinó el proceso de su trabajo y cómo utilizaban el trabajo en equipo para lograr sus objetivos en publicidad.
Cuando no estábamos trabajando en nuestro proyecto de redes sociales o visitando empresas, pudimos explorar algunas de las atracciones locales. El Museo del Helado fue uno de los más destacados de nuestro viaje. Un museo divertido y lleno de color que permite conocer la historia de este manjar y degustar algunos de los sabores únicos de helado que ha creado el museo.
También pudimos subir a la última planta de la Torre Willis para contemplar el cielo desde la cubierta, pero desgraciadamente ese día estaba nublado y no pudimos ver lo alto que estábamos.
La experiencia “ Wildcats de la Ciudad del Viento” fue una gran manera de pasar mis vacaciones de primavera, haciendo nuevos amigos y explorando una ciudad en la que nunca había estado antes. Los viajes de estudios en el extranjero son una gran manera de tener experiencias que beneficiarán a su educación, mientras que en WSU.
8 | CULTURE | thesignpostwsu.com | March 14, 2024
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March 14, 2024 | thesignpostwsu.com Get Involved! Find friends and amazing college experiences: weber.edu/studentlife
MEGAN SWANN | The Signpost
St. Regis Chicago, one of the interesting buildings featured on the architecture tour.
By BRISA ODENTHAL Section Editor
On March 1, Weber State University held its 2024 legislative session review. In this town hall meeting, topics such as funding allocation, six-year completion rates and bills of interest were discussed by WSU faculty and staff.
Because of recent legislative changes, WSU will be receiving less funding from the state of Utah than it has in the past; the allocation of funding must change to match this lack of
funding and the needs of the institution.
WSU President Brad Mortensen discussed the allocation of funds as it relates to salary and benefits for faculty and staff at the university, as well as how different public grants for WSU will be utilized.
The meeting also discussed the performance metrics of the institution, including access, timely completion and high-yield graduates. Access performed slightly lower than expected for the university, timely completion performed close to target and high-yield graduates performed higher than target.
MASTER OF SCIENCE
The main focus of the meeting was how recent legislature motions are going to affect the university and the organizations within. One of these bills was H.B. 257, which dealt with sex-based designations for privacy, anti-bullying and women’s opportunities. This passing of this bill means that restrooms may be used by those who identify with said gender while changing rooms are based on one’s assigned sex at birth. WSU provided a single-stall restroom resource for students.
Other bills of interest discussed in the meeting were H.B. 261, dealing with equal opportunity initiatives, and H.B. 438 and S.B.
192, dealing with higher education revisions. Other bills dealing with external issues that may or may not impact the university were discussed in the meeting as well, but only briefly.
A recording of the Weber State University’s March 1 town hall meeting and slides relating to the meeting are available on the university’s website.
10 | NEWS | thesignpostwsu.com | March 14, 2024 , Applied Science & Technology
Computer Science
Computer Engineering
Data Science
Electrical Engineering
Systems Engineering (Online)
Weber State University president Brad Mortensen. Dec. 5, 2018.
BENJAMIN ZACK | Weber State University
