The 2022 midterm election is winding down and the results are slowly trickling in. All four Republican incumbents are expected to keep their seats while Republican Mike Lee is winning a close battle against unaffiliated candidate Evan McMullin.
Constitutional Amendment A, which would increase the limit on the total amount of money the Legislature can allocate during a session, has not received substantial support. About 62.81% of voters are against the amendment, keeping the legislature’s available budget amount to 1% of the allocated budget from the preceding fiscal year.
To keep up to date with the final election results, go to electionresults.utah.gov.
Coming off a loss against Sacramento State University, Weber State University will face their long time rivals: Idaho State University.
The Wildcats have walked away with a win against the Bengals for the past seven sea sons and since 1962, have an overall record of 47–15 against Idaho State.
Weber State won the last matchup 40–17, a game remembered as a record breaking night when returner Rashid Shaheed ran back his seventh touchdown of the season, a Football Championship Subdivision record.
Taking a look at Weber State, the Wildcats dominated every team they played at the be ginning of the season, going undefeated for six games until their loss to Montana State University on Oct. 22.
There are a few key players to their success on offense and defense.
Running back Dontae McMillan has four touchdowns and 512 rushing yards this season. Against the University of Montana, McMillan put up 100 rushing yards. He is cur rently ranked No. 10 in rushing yards across the Big Sky Conference and already has more yards this season than he did overall in 2021.
Another running back to look out for is Josh Davis. Despite missing a few games due to in jury, Davis has 398 rushing yards this season. Davis recorded 100 rushing yards and one re ceiving touchdown for a season high against UC Davis on Sept. 24.
Wide receiver Jacob Sharp returned to play
against the Hornets on Nov. 5 after missing the Wildcats’ game against the Montana Griz zlies on Oct. 29. So far this season, Sharp has 445 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Sharp had his best game against Portland State University, with 81 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Ty MacPherson leads the team in receiving yards with 743 yards and eight touchdowns. Against Utah Tech University, MacPherson had 140 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He’s currently tied for No. 2 in the Big Sky in touchdowns, averaging 18.6 yards per catch.
Quarterback Bronson Barron has made the most of his options this season. Barron has thrown for 152 completions, 1891 yards and 16 touchdown passes. Currently, he ranks No. 5 in total yards and No. 6 in touchdown passes across the conference.
Looking at the defense, linebacker Winston Reid is ranked No. 5 in the Big Sky in tackles with 46 solo tackles and 30 assisted tackles.
Both teams are strong in rushing yards, with over 1,000 rushing yards each. However, Weber State outweighs Idaho State in rushing touchdowns. The Wildcats have 19 rushing touchdowns compared to the Bengals’ eight.
Weber State will play Idaho State at Stewart Stadium on Nov. 12 at 1 p.m.
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Toward the end of August, The Signpost became aware of efforts being made by the Student Health Center that would change how Weber State University provides healthcare to its students in the near future.
Previously, The Signpost was informed by Dr. Benjamin Heaton, the SHC’s medical director and lone physician, that there is a 70% chance that the SHC will be shut down by April 2023 — a figure that has since been explained away as a “ballpark figure” by Dr. Dianna Abel, WSU’s Executive Director of Counseling, Health and Wellness during an interview with The Signpost on Sept. 26.
During a student senate meeting on Sept. 26, Abel and Jeff Hurst, the interim vice president and dean of students, confirmed that WSU has been considering outsourcing student healthcare to off-campus health providers in lieu of continuing to support
the operation of the SHC on campus. Abel and Hurst reported to the student senate that the primary reasons behind WSU’s decision to consider outsourcing student healthcare were low visitation numbers at the SHC and the opportunity to expand the range of healthcare services available to WSU students.
In contrast to what has been said regarding the SHC’s low visitation numbers, Heaton reported to The Signpost in September that visitation numbers have doubled in 2022 in comparison to visitation numbers during the pandemic.
On Oct. 7, The Signpost obtained additional information regarding the SHC’s visitation numbers, budget and revenue over the past five years. The document confirmed what Heaton told The Signpost about the visitation numbers doubling since the end of the pandemic, citing that the SHC had 1,092 visits during 2020-2021.
The document cites the total number of visits to the SHC as 2,450 from 2021-2022, more than double the number of visits the SHC had the previous year, during the height of the pandemic. The SHC’s visitation numbers during 2021-2022 are nearly on par with the number of visits to the clinic during 2019-2020, with that year’s number of visits reported as 2,758.
However, through multiple interviews with Heaton and SHC staff, The Signpost has learned that they believe the problems causing the low visitation numbers are solvable problems, and resolving said issues could even serve to maximize student utilization of the SHC.
These problems include an inability to hire the appropriate amount of staff, an inability to market or raise awareness among the student body and a continually perpetuated misconception that the SHC does not provide women’s healthcare — specifically,
gynecological care.
With the minimal staff it currently has, the SHC is currently handling as many visits as they possibly can more days than not, with the potential to see more students day-today if it was equipped with additional staff.
“We barely have enough staff to do what we need to do,” Jami Gillis, the SHC’s administrative specialist, said.
Heaton has continually requested that Abel publish job positions for another mid-level provider and another medical assistant since the staff at the SHC believe that the potential to increase visitation numbers exists should they be provided the appropriate staff.
At the beginning of October, postings for temporary positions were published, with the listings stipulating that the positions are only to be filled until April 2023.
According to an email thread provided to The Signpost outlining a conversation
The wall is decorated with memes put up by staff to help patients who may be feeling nervous.
between Abel and Heaton in late August, Heaton was denied his request to make these positions permanent rather than temporary. As previously reported, SHC staff feel that this is ineffective and that the positions are very likely to go unfilled, leaving the SHC without the help its staff is asking for.
Included in the information provided to The Signpost on Oct. 7, a brief written explanation was comprised and addressed some of the reasons why WSU has made the decision to explore external options through the use of a Request For Proposal, which includes granting students access to an increased range of medical services and expertise.
Examples were also provided of how WSU wants to improve student health care with x-ray, increased lab testing, gynecological services and backup for health care providers. This indicates that the SHC does provide gynecological care, as the clinic offers both pap smears and physical examinations, as well as prescriptions for birth control.
“We can get x-rays and imaging at Rayus MRI at a cheaper cost than what it would cost if you were to walk into IHC or the Ogden clinic and pay cash for it,” Heaton said.
Heaton continued by saying that the clinic isn’t deficient in any of the capabilities listed in the aforementioned document besides the want for backup for health care providers, of which Heaton is the only one currently employed at the SHC.
During an interview with The Signpost on Sept. 26, Abel and Hurst indicated that the decision to outsource student healthcare is still very much tentative. Due to a cited lack of support from WSU administration, Heaton and his staff fear that the decision to outsource student healthcare and shut down the SHC has already been set in stone.
“Right now we’re really just in an exploratory phase; no decisions have been made,” Abel said.
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On Sept. 15, Weber State University’s radio station, KWCR, was moved from their original office space on the second floor of Shepherd Union. Though the transition was last-minute and there were those who felt underrepre sented in the decision, KWCR has moved into their new space on campus.
KWCR’s previous office space was turned into a cultural center. Adrienne Andrews, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and chief diversity officer, has been working with the WSU student chapter of NAACP and other on-campus diversity organizations to create a space for students who may feel un derrepresented on campus.
According to collgefactual.com, WSU is
73.8% white, so diversity centers are import ant to represent the 26.2% of students who are not white. Students of color will be able to have a space on-campus they haven’t had before.
Professor Nathan Rodriguez, KWCR’s fac ulty advisor, was surprised after learning the news on Sept. 9, one week before the official eviction date. KWCR’s current space is only a fraction of the size that it was before.
Though having a space for students of col or on campus is incredibly important, KWCR is still struggling with the displacement of the radio station.
“Things have become more complicated in terms of daily operations and events,” Rodriguez said. “Instead of everything be ing centrally located, our gear, merchandise
and physical media are scattered across three buildings. We have to make sure the building is open, find someone with keys to unlock the room for us and then carry items across campus. A basic task that would take 30 seconds before the move might take clos er to 30 minutes.”
Student leaders at KWCR have stepped up and dealt with the changing of spaces. KWCR has been juggling a national conference in Baltimore and hosting their first movie night while still dealing with the recent changes. Though the process has been difficult and frustrating for all parties, these changes have allowed student leaders to step up and show their abilities. Both the students involved in the diversity center and KWCR have found ways to make things work.
“It would have been so easy for them to be upset about the situation, but in essence they looked directly at this oncoming storm, and said ‘is that all you’ve got?’ They’ve been amazing,” Rodriguez said.
The KWCR student leaders are not the only ones who have worked hard in the face of dif ficulty. Andrews pointed out that the diversity leaders on campus have been working hard in their efforts for a more inclusive campus.
“Terri Hughes and other student leaders are passionate about what they are working for, for them and other students,” Andrews said. “It has not gone unnoticed and will not be in vain.” Share this story at thesignpostwsu.com
Durante el 15 de septiembre, la estación de radio KWCR de Weber State University se mudó de su oficina original en el segundo piso del edificio Shepherd Unión. Aunque la transición fue de última hora y eran algunos que no se sentían muy representados en la decisión, KWCR ha mudado a su nuevo espa cio en el campus.
La antigua oficina de KWCR fue trans formada en una central cultural. Adrienne Andrews, el vicepresidente del Diversidad, Equity e inclusión y el oficial primario de diversidad, ha trabajado con el cabildo es tudiantil de WSU del NAACP y otros organi zaciones de diversidad en campus para crear un espacio para estudiantes que se sientan
subrepresentadas en campus.
Según collegefactual.com, el WSU es 73.8% blanco, así que los centros de diver sidad son importantes para representar los 26.2% de estudiantes que no son blancos. Estudiantes de color podrán tener un espacio en campus que no han tenido antes.
El Profesor Nathan Rodriguez, el conse jero de facultad KWCR, estaba sorprendido después de aprender las noticias del 9 de septiembre, una semana antes de la fecha oficial de desalojo. El espacio actual de KWCR es solo una pequeña porción del tamaño que era antes.
A pesar de ser muy importante tener un es pacio para estudiantes de color en campus, el KWCR todavía tiene dificultad con el diz plazamiento de la estación de radio.
“Las cosas han llegado a ser más compli cadas en términos de operaciones diarios y eventos,” dijo Rodriguez. “En vez de tener un
lugar central, nuestro equipaje, mercancías y medios físicos están dispersados por tres ed ificios. Tenemos que asegurarnos de que el edificio está abierto, encontrar a alguien con llaves para desbloquear la sala y entonces llevar las cosas a través del campus. Una tar ea básica que duraba treinta segundos antes de la mudanza ahora puede durar alrededor de treinta minutos.”
Los líderes estudiantiles de KWCR han sido responsables y lidiando con la cambia de espacio. KWCR ha estado ocupado recien temente manejando una conferencia nacio nal en Baltimore y presentando su primera noche de películas mientras que están lidi ando con los cambios recientes.
Aunque el proceso ha sido difícil y frus trante para todos, estos cambios han dado la oportunidad a los líderes estudiantiles a ser responsables y mostrar sus habilidades. Tanto los estudiantes implicados en el centro
de diversidad como KWCR han encontrado maneras de hacer funcionar las cosas.
“Sería tan fácil para ellos estar enfadados de la situación, pero en esencia le miraron a esta tormenta y dijeron “¿es eso tu mejor in tento?” Han sido increíbles,” dijo Rodriguez.
Los líderes estudiantiles KWCR no son los únicos que han trabajado duro contra la di ficultad. Andrews destacó que los líderes de diversidad en campus han trabajado mucho con la meta de tener un campus más inclu sivo.
“Terri Hughes y otros líderes estudiantiles son apasionados por lo que están haciendo, para ellos y los otros estudiantes,” dijo An drews. “No ha pasado desapercibido y no será en vano.”
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Extra Life was a 25-hour livestream on Nov. 5 aiming to give gamers and the average person the ability to contribute to the entertainment of fundraising events. The idea for the event started with a young girl who wanted some video games to play during her stay in the hospital.
Victoria Enmon, a young Texan girl with leukemia, befriended a local DJ who worked on annual call-a-thons for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The DJ asked if Enmon liked to play video games and rallied the gaming community together to provide some games for her while she stayed at Children’s Medical Network Hospitals’ hospital.
The gaming community over-delivered, and sent Enmon more games than she could play herself, so she passed them out to the other kids in the hospital. This inspired Children’s Medical Network Hospitals
to change the fundraiser and the movement inspired the creation of Extra Life.
Extra Life was founded with call-a-thons in mind, where people could get together and show their support for young children dealing with medical issues. This fundraiser lets people from all walks of life come together one day a year to play video games to raise money for the children’s hospital of their choice.
“It was always supposed to be a kind of grassroots movement,” Adam Shifani, community manager for Extra Life, said.
“An old frat brother started doing the yearly game day charity stream four years ago.” Benson Bush, event manager and a member of the Psi Phi Psi Fraternity, said.
This is Bush’s first year running the event for the Psi Phi Psi Fraternity, which has gained a reputation for being full of gamers and fans of overall pretty stereotypical nerdy things.
Their goal was to raise $2,000. The funds raised by the stream held by Psi Phi Psi
Fraternity are going directly to the Primary Children’s Hospital.
After one hour, they raised $800. By noon, they raised $1259, where they remained for a couple hours. During game changes, donations jumped to $1756. Twenty minutes later, it went up to $1806. They reached their goal of $2,000 at 4 a.m.
The Psi Phi Psi Fraternity encouraged anyone to join them in the eSports lab to play games and hang out. At the busiest, there were 20 attendees.
Small groups broke out to play squads in Overwatch, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and GTFO. Other groups broke out playing party games like Mario Kart and Jackbox Party Pack.
“It’s been pretty fun,” Esmael Mousavi, a Psi Phi Psi member and attendee said. ”I’ll be here until about 1 a.m.”
At 10 p.m., there was a brief celebration for the 12-hour mark. Over the course of the full 24 hours, various food was provided in the eSports lab to keep gamers going.
As the participants started to get drowsy, a delivery of Starbucks was brought in. As the night got later, a group left the lab room to the main sitting area of the community center to play board games.
Groups of gamers playing late into the night were not the only people participating in the event. Wizards of the Coast, a company that owns Magic: The Gathering, had a small group of patients from Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals draw what they think well-known Magic: The Gathering creatures looked like.
These drawings were then reimagined by professional illustrators. They are selling the kids’ and illustrators’ versions of the cards in a secret lair with 50% of the profits going to Extra Life and the Seattle Children’s Hospital Autism Center.
“Fourteen, almost 15 years later, here we are. Gamers have raised over $1 billion,” Shifani said.
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Extra Life fue un livestream de 25 horas de duración que tuvo lugar el 5 de noviembre con el objetivo de dar a los jugadores y al público en general la posibilidad de contribuir al entretenimiento de los eventos de recaudación de fondos.
La idea del evento partió de una joven que quería algunos videojuegos para jugar durante su estancia en el hospital.
Victoria Enmon, una joven tejana con leucemia, se hizo amiga de un DJ local que trabajaba en los maratones anuales para Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. El DJ preguntó si a Enmon le gustaban los videojuegos y reunió a la comunidad de jugadores para que le proporcionaran algunos juegos durante su estancia en el hospital Children’s Medical Network Hospitals.
La comunidad de jugadores cumplió con creces y envió a Enmon más juegos de los que podía jugar ella misma, así que los
repartió entre los demás niños del hospital. Esto inspiró a Children’s Medical Network Hospitals a cambiar la recaudación de fondos y el movimiento inspiró la creación de Extra Life.
Extra Life se fundó pensando en los maratones, en los que la gente podía reunirse y mostrar su apoyo a los niños pequeños con problemas médicos. Esta recaudación de fondos permite que personas de todo tipo se reúnan un día al año para participar y jugar a videojuegos en esta afición compartida y recaudar dinero para el hospital infantil que elijan.
“Siempre debió ser una especie de movimiento de base”, explica Adam Shifani, community manager de Extra Life.
“Un antiguo hermano de la fraternidad empezó a hacer el flujo benéfico anual del día del partido hace cuatro años”. dijo Benson Bush, director del evento y miembro de la fraternidad Psi Phi Psi.
Este es el primer año que Bush dirige el evento para la Fraternidad Psi Phi Psi, que se ha ganado la reputación de estar llena de jugadores y fanáticos de cosas bastante estereotipadas.
Su objetivo era recaudar 2.000 dólares.
Los fondos recaudados por el stream realizado por la Fraternidad Psi Phi Psi se destinan directamente al Hospital Infantil Primario.
Después de una hora, recaudaron 800 dólares. Para el mediodía, recaudaron 1259 dólares, donde permanecieron durante un par de horas. Durante los cambios de juego, las donaciones subieron a 1756 dólares. Veinte minutos después, subieron a 1806 dólares. Alcanzaron su objetivo de 2.000 dólares a las 4 de la madrugada.
La Fraternidad Psi Phi Psi animó a todos a unirse a ellos en el laboratorio de eSports para jugar y pasar el rato. En el momento más concurrido, hubo 20 asistentes.
Pequeños grupos se separaron para jugar en escuadrones a Overwatch, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 y GTFO. Otros grupos se separaron para jugar a juegos de fiesta como Mario Kart y Jackbox party pack.
“Ha sido bastante divertido”, dijo Esmael Mousavi, miembro de Psi Phi Psi y asistente. “Estaré aquí hasta la 1 de la madrugada aproximadamente”.
A las 10 de la noche, hubo una breve celebración por la marca de 12 horas. A lo largo de las 24 horas, en el laboratorio de eSports se ofrecieron diversos alimentos
para mantener a los jugadores en marcha. Cuando los participantes empezaron a adormecerse, se trajo una entrega de Starbucks. Cuando la noche se hizo más tarde, un grupo abandonó la sala del laboratorio para ir a la zona principal del centro comunitario a jugar a juegos de mesa.
Los grupos de jugadores que jugaron hasta altas horas de la noche no fueron los únicos que participaron en el evento. Wizards of the Coast, empresa propietaria de Magic the Gathering, hizo que un pequeño grupo de pacientes de Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals dibujaran cómo creían que eran las conocidas criaturas de Magic: The Gathering.
Estos dibujos fueron reimaginados por ilustradores profesionales. En una guarida secreta venden las versiones de los niños y de los ilustradores, y el 50% de los beneficios se destinan a Extra Life y al Centro de Autismo del Hospital Infantil de Seattle.
“14 casi 15 años después, aquí estamos, los jugadores han recaudado más de mil millones de dólares”. dijo Shifani.
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Weber State University students were invit ed to an Election Night Watch party on Nov. 8 to watch the ballots come in and see who was elected in the 2022 midterm elections.
The event, hosted by WSU’s department of political science, took place in Lindquist Hall, starting at 7 p.m. Professor Leah Murray, the head of the political science department, hosted the event. The watch party finished around 9 p.m. after most of the national re sults had come in and been decided.
Around 30 students attended, most of which were either political science students
or studying a similar social science.
Midterm elections are not as popular as presidential elections, with only 40% of vot ers participating in midterms and 50-60% of voters participating in presidential elections, but midterms still have an impact on U.S. cit izens.
“Voting in midterms is important because it demonstrates political continuity and a proclivity to remain involved in issues that are not popular,” Tyson Reese, a political sci ence student who attended the event, said.
The event included a broadcast of the national election results, pizza eating, and students debating for each candidate on the Utah ballot.
Though Utah politics were the hot topic of the night, nationwide elections were dis cussed including Georgia, Idaho and Ohio senate elections.
Summer Thompson, a senior political sci ence student, was one of the attendees for the event. She participated in the political conversation and commented on the results as they came in through the night.
“I came tonight to hang out with my friends and to hear their opinions on the elections,” Thompson said.
In the 2022 midterm election, Utah voted for seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as Utah Amendment A, which would set a limit on spending ap
proved during special sessions of legislature.
Utah residents re-elected Republican Rep. Blake Moore as the winner for the District 1 seat in the House of Representatives and re-elected Republican Sen. Mike Lee for the seat in the Senate.
Lee has been a Utah senator since 2011, and Moore has been the Utah District 1 rep resentative since January 2022. Utah resi dents also voted against Utah Amendment A.
Taking multiple classes with demanding work, both inside and outside of class, can make college intimidating. Students at Weber State University can also join clubs or on-campus groups, which adds to their daily tasks and responsibilities.
To top it off, students have jobs and a life outside of college. It can often feel like students are drowning in a mess of papers, emails and books. However, WSU also provides an academic peer coaching program for handling this type of stress and confusion.
Academic peer coaching is a WSU program that provides students with a connection to other experienced students to help guide and assist in all things related to college.
Unlike tutoring, academic peer coaching isn’t subject specific, instead focusing on giving students guidance in time and mon ey management, studying and procrastina tion, as well as many other topics.
Coaching is provided in one-on-one sessions between students and their coach,
either in-person, online, or even over text.
Coaches and students can meet at a WSU campus or strictly virtually if preferred.
Katie Ewell, an academic peer coach, explained how the coaches aid students in coming to their own realizations to further cement solutions. The mentors find the program not only beneficial to the students they coach, but also to themselves.
“I really like the idea of helping other students … so I saw it benefiting me to take that job,” Noah Bridge, an academic peer coach, said.
Bridge also commented on how his assistance helped a previous student who struggled with taking efficient notes. Bridge helped them find a solution that resulted in an improvement in their grades.
“They were just so ecstatic and super grate ful for this new mindset of note-taking and not having to rewrite their entire textbook,”
Bridge said.
In addition to the one-on-one sessions provided, WSU’s academic peer coaches also host a blog, and most recently, a podcast.
These avenues serve as great options for students who may not have time or would
rather not have the meetings, but still would like some useful guidance.
The podcast titled “College Opportunities and Cultivating Habits” currently has two episodes, with new ones being produced every Monday. The podcast came about as a step forward for the coaches and their goal of assisting students.
“We wanted to find something to go to the next level of connecting with students,” Bridge said. “… The podcast just seemed like such a neat idea to really connect with students on a personal level since you get to hear our voices.”
The blog covers many of the topics previous ly mentioned as well as other more specific tips, such as study groups, testing, online classes and more.
Students can schedule appointments with an academic peer coach on the WSU website under “Academic Peer Coaching.” They also have resources listed on their website, such as links to their blog and podcast.
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Weber State University’s women’s soccer team fell to the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in a shootout in the semifinals of the Big Sky Soccer Championship on Nov. 4, losing 1–1 PK (4–2).
Before the Wildcats’ game against the Lumberjacks, they defeated the Sacramento State Hornets in the quarterfinals on Nov. 2 in a shootout with the same score, 1–1 PK (4–2).
Andelin Binford scored WSU’s only goal
against the Hornets off of a pass from Yira Yoggerst. Morgan Furmaniak, Alexis Simpson, Brynlee Meyerhoffer and Rylee Tatton scored their penalty kicks to advance the ‘Cats.
In the Wildcats’s semifinal matchup against the ‘Jacks, NAU had early control and scored the first goal of the game when Josie Novak was able to get the ball past WSU goalkeeper Mekell Moss.
The Wildcats found multiple chances in tying the game from Furmaniak, Meyerhoffer and Shea Christiansen, but the only player to score a goal against the NAU goalkeeper was Yoggerst.
Yoggerst found the back of the net off of a deflected shot from Grace Kirby in the 82nd minute.
Neither team scored during both overtime periods, so the teams were set to take penalty kicks.
Not a single NAU player missed in the shootout, finding Moss’ weak side and shooting left to take advantage of it.
For the Wildcats, Furmaniak and Meyerhoffer both scored on their kicks, but Lumberjack goalkeeper Trinity Corcoran was able to stop Simpson and Rachel Twede’s shots.
Moss finished the game with nine saves, and the ‘Cats had 20 shots compared to the
Lumberjacks’ 18 shots.
Northern Arizona went on to defeat the University of Idaho Vandals on Nov. 6. It was a scoreless matchup that ended in penalty kicks, where the ‘Jacks defeated the Vandals 4–2.
At the end of the tournament, Yoggerst was named to the All-Tournament team.
WSU handed NAU their only loss against a Big Sky opponent in the season opener on Sept. 29, 1–0.
