Thursday | November 21, 2019 | Volume 90 | Issue 31
ORCHESIS HIGHLIGHTS
CONNECTION CONNECTION THROUGH THROUGH DANCE DANCE >>Page 5
NIKKI DORBER | The Signpost
OPINION » PAGE 10
THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING
NEWS » PAGE 15
KALIE PEAD | The Signpost
JUDGE PASSES PROBATION FOR SEX OFFENDER
DEBORAH WILBER | The Signpost
2 | November 21, 2019 | MyWeberMedia.com
By JENNIFER GREENLEE
Section Editor
A gun was found in an Elizabeth Hall women’s bathroom on Nov. 12. A student reported it to police, who confiscated it. The gun was registered to a female student with a concealed carry permit. The gun was returned to the student.
On Nov. 11, a student sent a 911 text.
Police found the student had been bored and sent the text. This is considered a crime, and you can be a arrested for wasting police time.
Three students had seizures on campus throughout the week of Nov. 11. One student had a seizure at Wildcat Village on Nov. 13. Police and medical responded, and the student required transportation. Also on Nov. 13, another student had a
seizure at University Village. The student was coherent upon police and medical’s arrival and denied being transported. On Nov. 14, a student with a history of seizures collapsed in the Shepherd Union Building. Police and medical responded. The student declined transportation.
At Wildcat Village, a student entered a common room and began to throw things around on Nov. 17. Police responded to the disturbance and are screening charges against the individual.
Students reported a professor expressing suicidal thoughts in front of the class. Police responded and the professor was taken to get help on Nov. 15.
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Photo by Matt Popovich on Unsplash
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The sixth annual Big Lebowski festival was a popular event on the night of Nov. 16. The Big Lebowski festival is a get together for all of the “achievers” who are fans of the 1998 cult film "The Big Lebowski." “I love the atmosphere of this event from the White Russians and trivia all the way to the lead up to the costume contest. We achievers are very dedicating at making this festival inviting to all," attendee Ben Jaques, stated. He has been to the festival four of the six times it’s been in Ogden. The event started at 6 p.m. with trivia and went on while White Russians flowed through the crowd. “I don’t think I am the greatest at knowing every single second of the film, but I do know my quotes. I should’ve done the trivia if I was not so focused on winning
the costume contest, and showing that I am The Dude in cosplay and in real life," attendee Kadyn Seibert said. After the trivia, the achievers went into the theater to get their seats as close as they could to the front of the stage to get the best view. After being seated, the audience members, who were dressed up as characters from the film, came up on stage to be in the costume contest. The costume contest was split up into certain characters from Jeff Bridges' "The Dude," all the way to John Turturro’s character of Jesus Quintana. “I can’t wait to come down to Ogden from Logan, so I can drink White Russians with some of my now close friends, and enjoy a film that has been in my life for the 21 years that it’s been out,” Seibert said.
Top: The two first place winners for The Dude's character in the costume contest. Bottom Left: The first place winner for Walter's character in the costume contest. Bottom Righ: Costume Contest participants display their best imitation of Maude's character in the film.
NIKKI DORBER | The Signpost
NIKKI DORBER | The Signpost
MyWeberMedia.com | November 21, 2019 | 5
Orchesis Inter Action offers a collaboration of dance pieces, choreographed and performed by students. By CAITLYN LARSEN Reporter
The Orchesis Dance Theatre of the Lindquist College of Art and Humanities Department of Performing Arts presented their concert “Inter Action” Nov. 14-16. The concert featured modern contemporary, tap and dance theatre styles of dance, with hints of balletic technique, to present a few pieces choreographed by five students, the centerpiece performance, “Take Us As We Are,” and a collaborative piece between Dance and Music faculty Erik Stern and Daniel Jonas. “Take Us As We Are” was the centerpiece of “Inter Action,” choreographed by the new Assistant Professor of Dance, Jo Blake, and performed by this year’s Moving Company. Moving Company is a year-long, community-engaged learning
dance course that partnered with the WSU Women’s Center and Ogden’s YCC Family Crisis Center. They put together this first piece of the year, using popular music, classical music and excerpts of women empowerment speeches, to bring awareness to women’s suffrage. “It’s exciting and humbling to get to partner with so many groups on- and off-campus,” Blake said. Besides “Take Us As We Are,” Erik Stern, Professor of Dance, said that there was no specifically obvious theme to the other dances performed. He said that the exact messages of the thought-provoking performances would depend upon the viewer. “In the physicality, you get the feeling of what people are experiencing,” Stern said. In the collaborative piece between
Stern and Daniel Jonas, Assistant Professor of Music, the two professors mix Jazz trumpet music with rhythm tap dance for a duet. For both Blake and Stern, dance is everything. Blake described movement as a language that humans “innately understand.” He said that, whether it be in the car, in front of the mirror, on the stage, or simply by moving in a crowd, everyone dances. Stern said that dance has the ability to change lives as it allows people to learn to experiment, take risks, explore, and challenge themselves. “I think it should be something that people are allowed to experiment with and play with,” Stern said. The movement of the human body is what creates art in this kind of performance. Props such as capes, metal bars,
tables, and chairs were also occasionally used in “Inter Action” to add effect and a range of moods to the dances. “Inter Action” was the debut performance for Blake as a new faculty member. Before coming to WSU, Blake performed and toured professionally with the world class Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company of Salt Lake City. “He brings a wealth of experience, but also energy and ideas, and he’s connecting with a lot of groups,” said Stern. “We’re just thrilled to have him.” Blake expressed appreciation for the people he has worked with so far and their support both on-campus and off.
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6 | November 21, 2019 | MyWeberMedia.com
RECOGNIZING THE COMMUNITY: TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
By KIERSTYNN KING Reporter
In 1999, Gwendolyn Ann Smith — a transgender advocate — created a vigil to pay homage to transgender lives lost to anti-transgender violence, according to GLAAD. This vigil was the catalyst for Transgender Day of Remembrance, celebrated annually on Nov. 20. On Nov. 19, Weber State's LGBT Resource Center held their own vigil in the Shepherd Union Atrium where they read 23 names of transgender black women who were killed during acts of anti-transgender violence in 2019. Terri Hughes, a WSU political science major, attended the vigil. She said the event felt personal for her.
"As a young, black woman, this really impacted me because those are my sisters. Those women had their lives taken from them, and it breaks my heart," Hughes said. "These women were unapologetically themselves, and that's what I love about them. Sadly that cost them their lives, but their legacy will forever live on and forever be with me and black transgender generations to come." Hughes attends events hosted by the LGBT Resource Center to show her support for the community and people within her own life, like her sister. "I've learned how to be unapologetically myself from my friends and my sister, and that's because they are living a different life, but they know who they are, and they're okay with that," Hughes said. "I've
Be an Angel to someone in need November 11 - December 13
Angel Tree Select an angel off the trees in the Shepherd Union Atrium or WSU Davis D3 Atrium. Donations are due back to CCEL (SU 324) no later than Dec. 13 by 2 p.m.
learned love, loving yourself and being okay with who you are." Jayson Stokes, WSU's LGBT Resource Center coordinator, said Transgender Day of Remembrance is important to honor. "The transgender community is often marginalized and left out of recognition, in terms of LGBTQ efforts," Stokes said. "There's also other important reasons to recognize and honor Transgender Day of Remembrance. Our trans friends and family are often more likely to experience discrimination based on their identity." Stokes said transgender people often face obstacles when trying to obtain healthcare, housing and jobs because of stigmas and discrimination. "Because of this stigma and discrimination that transgender folks face every
day of their life, we see very high rates of depression, anxiety and suicide within the community," Stokes said. "Outside of that, there's an even higher rate of transgender folks being the victim of violent crimes and lack of reporting to law enforcement." Stokes says that one way students can help stop the stigma and discrimination is by starting conversations. "What we find is that when somebody knows someone else in this community, it's very difficult to continue to believe biased inaccurate information," Stokes said. "Students have power among their peers by speaking up and creating spaces where our transgender community feels safe and just as welcome as anybody else."
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By CHRISTIAN JOHNSON Reporter
dunk from junior guard Kham Davis. Harding led Weber in scoring in the first half with 13 points. Weber had three total players score in double digits as they shot an efficient 73 percent from the field as a team. The ‘Cats also had five blocks to go along with their stellar offense. Weber started the second half with a 10–0 run increasing the Wildcat lead to 52. The Wildcat run had swelled to a 22–3 runaway train as they held a 60 point lead with 13 minutes left in the second half. True freshman guard Austin Galuppo was a spark for Weber off the bench scoring 12 points including an aggressive fast-break dunk that brought the Weber bench and the crowd to their feet. Ultimately, Weber dribbled the clock out to end the suffering of the Eagles. Harding led all scorers with 23 points
ISRAEL CAMPA | The Signpost
The Weber State University Wildcats pummeled the West Coast Baptist Eagles on Nov. 19 in the Dee Events Center to get their first win of the season, 130–50. Weber State had quite a noticeable height advantage as the Eagles only had two players taller than 6 foot 4 inches. For comparison, WSU has 11 players that are 6 foot 4 inches or taller. The Wildcats used their height early on defense, securing two blocks within the first four minutes. In fact, Weber seemed to be the more athletic team in general. Every fast break saw flashes of purple and black jerseys race past the Eagles. Weber knew this and took full advantage as redshirt freshman Tim Fuller threw down a monster alley-oop as the West Coast Baptist defenders watched helplessly. “Each game he plays, he gets a little
more comfortable in who he is and what he can do to be successful,” head coach Randy Rahe said about Fuller's game. Contributions from young players like Fuller will be essential to this Wildcat team. Fuller will look to help fill the role that was once occupied by Donatas Kupsas. With seven minutes left in the first half, West Coast took a timeout to regroup. They needed a lot more than regrouping, however, as they couldn’t stop the Wildcat offense, and they already had seven team fouls. Whatever rust senior guard Jerrick Harding had during his first game of the season was gone as he looked like the 20 points per game scorer that he is during the first half, running, shooting and even dunking with ease. Weber ended the half with a 42 point lead capped off by an emphatic putback
The Weber defense is what helped to get a win over West Coast Baptist Eagles.
on a super-efficient 8-10 shooting. Weber as a team shot 75 percent from the field. The Wildcats also hit 17 three-pointers, two away from tying the previous record of 19 in a game. Weber State set a new record for points scored in a single game as well as margin of victory. “We just played how we play, honestly,” Harding said about the team's efficient offense. The ’Cats improved to 1-2 on the young season and will head to Estero, Florida, for the Gulf Coast Showcase. WSU is set to take on Wright State in the first round of the Showcase on Nov. 25. The ’Cats were crowned champions defeating Murray State in 2015. Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com
8 | November 21, 2019 | MyWeberMedia.com
BALANCING FREE SPEECH AND SAFETY ON CAMPUS
By FRANCISCO RUIZ Reporter
Dr. Stevenson added to Herzog's sentiment. "You have the freedom to teach anything that falls within the purview of the legitimate pedagogical reason," Stevenson said. "How do we balance student rights and teacher rights? You have to fall back on policy." According to Stevenson, current university policy gives students the right and responsibility to determine whether they should or can complete a course. If a student has a problem with a course's material, they may drop the course. If the course is a requirement for degree completion, the student may ask the course instructor for a reasonable accommodation. It is up to the faculty member to determine what the accommodation will be. The faculty member may deny the request unless the denial is "arbitrary, capricious or illegal." Crawford addressed the issue of free speech.
YouTube Screenshot
The recent interaction between student Michael Moreno and debate coach Ryan Wash caused significant controversy online and on campus after Moreno posted recordings of in-class interactions on YouTube. Since then, WSU's faculty and staff have refocused on what it means to provide an environment of academic freedom and free speech while at the same time ensuring that all people on campus feel physically and intellectually safe. Adrienne Andrews, WSU's Vice President for Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer, hosted a forum discussion for faculty and staff on the morning of Nov. 20. Andrews invited several faculty and staff members to share their ideas and to review the university's official policies regarding these matters. The panelists in the discussion included
Professor of Economics, Dr. Doris Stevenson; Dean of the Library, Wendy Holliday; Director of the Women's Center, Paige Davies; Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Tim Herzog; Professor of Teacher Education, Dr. Forrest Crawford and Dane LeBlanc, the former chief of WSUPD and the current Director of Safety. "Academic freedom is one of the pillars of the university," Herzog said. "It allows us to do things that are controversial and challenging, things that may be upsetting to other people." Herzog believes that there are challenges with how others may interpret or use academic freedom. He also believes that curriculum should fall within an agreed-upon set of rules. The university has curriculum review processes and committees to ensure and approve curriculum quality. "Faculty cannot just teach any controversial topic they want outside of their disciplinary area," Herzog said.
Screenshot from Michael Moreno's video addressing his concerns related to Ryan Wash
"The student comes (to class) with the view that they have a wide range of consideration that they can explore," Crawford said. "To me, I do not assume that free speech is 'whenever, wherever, however.' Free speech has a particular obligation, a particular guideline, a particular way." Crawford believes, from a faculty standpoint, that teachers ultimately want students to respond to questions, but in a responsible way. Teachers should provide a structured way for students to share a diversity of opinion. Andrews concurred with Crawford's idea by suggesting that faculty, with their students' consent, should establish rules of debate on the first day of class each semester. Andrews believes students can express dissent more constructively if they establish rules with their peers for expressing opinion. Holliday continued the discussion on free speech by arguing that spaces for free speech must also be spaces of productive learning. She believes the university must ultimately fulfill its role, not as a public forum, but as a learning space. Holliday will not censor what students and faculty choose to read, but she hopes students and faculty will choose to address inequities. The conversation then turned to LeBlanc to address issues of campus safety. "If someone wants to protest, we take an unbiased approach," LeBlanc said. "Our job is to facilitate safe free expression." LeBlanc acknowledges that this sometimes means having to physically separate protestors from counter-protestors. Davies reviewed and reinforced university policy that is meant to prevent any type of discriminatory harassment. "If a university employee or student is experiencing any type of harassment or feels physical danger, they can seek remedies through the Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity (AAEO) Office," Davies said. "There are formal and informal measures to help students, faculty and staff." An audience member asked about what students can do if they feel disrespected by a professor, but not harassed or unsafe. "In this case, students should report how they feel to the department chair," Herzog said. "The department chair or dean can explore that. If the need arises, students can also file complaints with the AAEO Office or the Provost's Office." Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com
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THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
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LANDIN GRIFFITH Commentary
KALIE PEAD | The Signpost
For many Native Americans, the Thanksgiving story is a sanitized, watered-down version that only focuses on the light-hearted traditions and interactions between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians during the first Thanksgiving. In 1621, the Wampanoag Indians and Plymouth colonists shared an autumn harvest feast, followed by singing and dancing and a prayer to celebrate the conjoining of the two colonies. The Native Americans and Pilgrims did hold a uniting feast, but 10 years later when thousands of Englishmen arrived in the New World, their a short-lived symbiotic relationship ended. From there, conflicts between English settlers and Native Americans became a part of our nation’s history, but they’re not mentioned until children are older. Most Americans are taught about Thanksgiving in grade school, where they often learn about the first autumn harvest feast through crafts and drawings of hand-painted turkeys and cornucopias, decorating headdresses, and roleplaying and performing skits dressed up as Pilgrims and Native Americans in their school plays. Generally, it’s not until high school that American students learn about settlers
trading smallpox-infested blankets and purposefully cheating Native Americans out of land deals and treaties, not to mention the forced march of 60,000 Native Americans on the Trail of Tears. Since children remain largely uninformed of the injustices Native American tribes had to go through, this exposure to common misconceptions of Native Americans was and is damaging to the people and culture that helped shape the holiday. Common stereotypes of American Indians continue to be portrayed through media outlets such as cartoons and movies, often depicting them as savage warriors and as mascots of national sporting teams, including the Washington Redskins and Atlanta Braves. In addition, Thanksgiving Day is largely recognized by parades, televised sporting events, large family gatherings, and potlucks, and a day of rest and relaxation. These portrayals and common practices often lead people away from the holiday’s intended historical meanings and purposes. It was disappointing for Weber State University student Jillian Twogood when she recalled how she was taught about Thanksgiving in her school, then to learn about the long and bloody history between the two colonies years later. “I enjoy Thanksgiving because I get to spend time with all of my family, but it’s sad that we don’t really acknowledge why we’re celebrating it,” Twogood said. “When I was younger, I was taught that Thanksgiving was the bonding between Native Americans and Europeans where everyone got along. But when I learned about its history in high school, I was disappointed, and now I think
of Thanksgiving in a different way than when I used to.” The month of November is Native American Heritage Month, and unfortunately, inaccurate historical references continue to be perpetrated annually, thus making the battle for equality among Native Americans in America an ongoing struggle. In order to change the holiday’s infrastructure, the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) organized an annual protest on Thanksgiving Day at the top of Cole’s Hill in Virginia overlooking Plymouth Rock – where the first Thanksgiving was held. The protest aims to commemorate a “National Day of Mourning” to honor all of the Native Americans who have died because of the United State’s government and continued suffering that Native Americans still face today. In today’s societal climate — and depending on what region of the United States you’re in — children knowing the context and history behind holidays can make them more critical and open-minded adults. “I think children should be taught about the facts and what happened afterward, instead of just skipping over that part of history,” Twogood said. “But it has to be taught a certain way to children, and that’s the difficult part.” Weber State student Jenny Rubi thinks educators can incorporate serious discussions into how children are taught about Thanksgiving by relying on the facts as well as having their students engage in hands-on learning activities instead of reading about it in textbooks. “With hands-on activities, children are much more likely to express themselves
and are able to understand what educators are trying to teach them,” Rubi said. “I don’t think there’s another way to do it. Children don’t want to be lectured about that sort of thing. But I think if the serious issues aren’t taught early enough, then people tend to be close-minded about a lot of things later in life.” So when is it too early to teach children about the historical relevancies of Thanksgiving and its dark parts throughout history? According to Weber State student Ashleey Walters, children are already taught about dark parts of history, as early as the third grade, she remembered. “It’s definitely a lot of information to tell children, but I remember learning about slavery in the third grade so what’s the difference?” Walters said. “It’s hard to know what age is too young to teach children about it, but there is a point where when we do teach children the truth early on, it spreads the message of tolerance and the realities of things.” Moving forward, teaching children about the historical context of Thanksgiving should be no different than teaching them about other dark parts in American History. By having these discussions at this year’s Thanksgiving gatherings while also enjoying the delicious foods that come with it, including cornbread, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and the infamous turkey, it may provide a stepping stone to help pave the way for equality among Native Americans, as well as all people living in America. Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com
12 | November 21, 2019 | MyWeberMedia.com
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FRANCISCO RUIZ | The Signpost
WSU political science professors Leah Murray (left), Gary Johnson (center) and Thom Kuehls (right) discuss the history and process of impeachment.
MyWeberMedia.com | November 21, 2019 | 13
IMPEACHMENT’S INDETERMINATE IMPLICATIONS By FRANCISCO RUIZ Reporter
The public received its first televised glimpse into the U.S. House’s impeachment inquiry on Nov. 13. Three WSU Political Science professors, Dr. Gary Johnson, Dr. Thomas Kuehls and Dr. Leah Murray hosted a panel discussion to briefly recap the first day of the televised impeachment proceedings and to present a history and explanation of the impeachment process. They also offered their predictions of what could happen in the indefinite time to come. The inquiry began after the House of Representatives was alerted to a possible impeachable offense of bribery perpetrated by President Trump when he asked the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden in exchange for military aid and a visit to the White House. The impeachment process was created by the founders of the U.S. in order to add checks and balances to the executive branch during the creation of the Constitution. The delegates present at the Constitutional Convention decided it would be up to Congress to remove a sitting president. “One of the original standards was that
Congress would remove the President for ‘malpractices or neglect of duty,’” Kuehls said. Some delegates argued that an unimpeachable President would be open to using corrupt means to stay in power. Others argued voters would simply choose not to reelect a poor executive. “It was George Mason from Virginia who said ‘No one should be above justice,’” Kuehls said. Eventually, the delegates determined that a good president would have nothing to fear from impeachment. The delegates then changed the criteria for impeachment from “malpractices or neglect of duty” to “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Dr. Murray highlighted the difficulty of comparing the current impeachment process with previous attempts due to the limited instances and varied reasons for impeachment in U.S. history. The Senate has never convicted a sitting president and removed him from office. John Tyler, Andrew Johnson, and Bill Clinton were acquitted after being impeached in the House of Representatives. Nixon resigned during his impeachment inquiry. “I would argue — it is hard to define what a high crime or misdemeanor is —
the answer is, if the Congress does not want you there, they impeach you,” Murray said. “Impeachment has always been a political move, even back in the 1300s in England when Parliament would try to impeach the king’s friends.” Dr. Johnson explained the procedural process of impeachment. “The House of Representatives accuses,” Johnson said. “Then the Senate conducts something that resembles a trial. Currently, the Democrats control the House and Republicans control the Senate.” Johnson explained that on numbers alone, the Democrats have the votes to impeach President Trump. Johnson believes the impeachment of President Trump is highly likely on a party-line vote. However, conviction in the Senate falls into the Republican’s hands. The Senate will then be responsible for drafting its own rules for the trial. The Senate may also decide to ignore the House’s articles of impeachment entirely, as there is no constitutional requirement for the Senate to follow through. The Senate Majority Leader, Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has already indicated that if the House impeaches the President, the Senate will hold trial. The Constitution requires a two-thirds
majority Senate vote to convict and remove President Trump. Even if all the Senate Democrats vote to convict President Trump, they still need 20 Republicans to side with the President’s removal. Johnson explained that to establish the trial’s rules in the Senate only requires a simple majority, just 51 votes, and the Vice-President would not be able to cast his vote in the case of a tie. This gives Democrats a chance to persuade three Republicans to pursue secret balloting as part of the Senate rules. Secret balloting would allow Republican senators to vote in support of the President’s impeachment without having their votes revealed. Johnson believes many more Republican senators would side against Trump in the case of secret balloting. He also believes that if the Trump Administration suspects the Senate may convict, the President may resign. Ironically, Trump could run for office again, even if Congress removed him. Likewise, a theoretical President Pence could pardon Donald Trump from any type of conviction or even choose Trump as a running mate in a future election. Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com
For ASL interpretation needs, contact Brady at 801-626-6413 or bradyrae@weber.edu
MyWeberMedia.com | November 21, 2019 | 15
SEX OFFENDER GETS PROBATION By DEBORAH WILBER Reporter
Judge Michael Junk of Ogden City Justice Court struck down a sentence Nov. 14 in the Anthony Sunford case. Sunford was seen on video entering the women’s bathroom and locker room on eight separate occasions between Dec. 12 and Dec. 19, 2018. On one such occasion, he spent 17 minutes inside before seen exiting followed by an unknown woman appearing concerned, according to a written report of the video. The prosecution and defense pulled Sunford from the court gallery a total of five times to discuss negotiations in private. In the minutes leading up to sentencing, defense attorney Randall Phillips asked to speak with Judge Junk in chambers. In an effort to promote his client in the best possible light prior to the judges
ruling, Phillips acknowledged his client’s wrongdoing and that his client takes full responsibility for his actions while at the same time offering a series of explanations as to why Sunford was in the women’s locker room. Phillips claims it was a case of irritable bowel syndrome that brought his client into the women’s bathroom and at no point was Sunford being surreptitious. Judge Junk, however, was not accepting of this explanation and he personally recalled there were plenty of stalls in the men’s locker room on the second floor of the Wildcat Center for Health Education and Wellness. He further added that from the surveillance video provided to him by WSUPD, he could see Sunford looking around to see if anyone was watching before entering the women’s locker room. Phillips argued lack of physical harm. Judge Junk, however, didn’t see the lack of harm as a sufficient argument given Sun-
ford’s past convictions for attempted rape. Junk stated he was worried about Sunford being within the confines of a female, and furthermore believes he is looking at a pattern of behavior rather than an error in judgment. Sunford claims his sexual deviant behavior is a result of stressful situations, hyper-sensitivity and an inability to ask for help, even though, he also claims he did ask for help from WSU’s Counseling & Psychological Services Center. Junk was interested in knowing if Sunford made the same arguments and statements in his previous convictions. “I have concerns,” Junk said. “It scares me.” Given Sunford’s past, Junk felt jail time to be necessary and imposed 180 days per count, totaling 720 days to be served in the Weber County Jail. However, for Sunford’s cooperation with the court, Junk decided
to suspend 660 days. Sunford was granted work release during his 60 days in custody and a $2,040 credit to his $2,720 fine upon compliance. He is placed on supervised probation through Adult Probation & Parole who will also monitor the imposed 90 days home confinement after completing his jail sentence. Sunford is prohibited from returning to WSU. The psychological evaluation of Sunford found him to be highly intelligent and a moderate risk for reoffending, and he is therefore prohibited from entering any changing room, locker room or dressing room. Junk has scheduled a review of the case on Jan. 24, 2020 at 10 a.m. Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com
Randall Phillips (left) and Anthony Sunford (right) at the Ogden City Justice Court.
DEBORAH WILBER | The Signpost
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Ad Manager KC Sanders kcsanders@weber.edu The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State University students. Student fees fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and to refuse to print any letters. Letters should be submitted online to thesignpost@weber.edu and read letter to the Editor in the subject box. Letters should not exceed 350 words. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
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16 | November 21, 2019 | MyWeberMedia.com
THAT REQUIRE PASSION AND RISK By MARISA NELSON Reporter
Seeing strong, successful women inspires younger girls to see the big things they can accomplish. At the first year of Inspiring Girls for the Future event on Nov. 14, many women from all different backgrounds and professions came to talk to girls 12 and older about their potential career options. Inspiring Girls for the Future began with a yearning that Laurie Larsen had to bring everyone the feeling and inspiration she had felt. Her and her four daughters used to attend Provo Girls Summit while living in Utah County, but after moving farther North, Larsen realized there wasn’t anything like that in their new home. So she
set her heart on creating a place for girls to know what opportunities are out there. Larsen reached out to everyone that she knew to tell them about her idea. Many friends and acquaintances reached out and said they wanted to support her mission, gave ideas on who presenters could be, and were willing to help her make this dream a reality. Larsen and her team put together a two-hour event complete with giveaways, a keynote speaker and 27 presenters who ranged in professions, such as engineer, firefighter, costume designer and many more. “It’s easy to float along if you don’t have a vision, so I think having a vision is key,” Larsen said. “If you are willing to work hard for what you want, it can happen.”
She said that she doesn’t have much experience with event planning, but with a goal and a lot of hard work, she made something big happen. Larsen has taught this idea to her children, but she wanted girls of all ages to know that they can learn a lot from setting goals. Keynote speaker Kris Forsyth, who recently retired from being the Executive Assistant to the Athletics Director of the University of Utah, spoke about her life and career experience. She said one of the most important things she has learned through her life is that it is important to do hard things. “Do the little things that make a difference,” Forsyth said. She also talked about her father and their family motto, which was, “and then some,” encouraging the attendees to go the extra mile. Forsyth gave little pieces of advice to the girls about pushing themselves out of their comfort zone, learning all the skills that they could, and not
comparing themselves to others. She said these points have been positives in her life and have led her to where she is today. Monica Collard is the CEO of Allied Electric Sign and Awning. She takes raw materials and turns them into works of art, including neon signs for places like Real Salt Lake and VASA Fitness. One bit of advice she gave was that it is okay to take risks. We can learn from failure, and as she liked to say, she “failed her way to success.” Camille Beckstrand is a social media influencer who, with her six sisters, runs a YouTube channel, a website and multiple social media platforms called SixSistersStuff.com. She is also the author of eight cookbooks, with two more in the works. Her bit of advice for the girls was to “decide what you love and make it your career. Aiming high will always be better than limiting yourself.” Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com ISRAEL CAMPA | The Signpost
Shara Park, award winning KSL journalist gave the girls a chance to know how it feels to be a news journalist.
MyWeberMedia.com | November 21, 2019 | 17
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MyWeberMedia.com | November 21, 2019 | 19
HOW ADVERSITY LED TO
SUCCESS AT ONSET FINANCIAL By LANDIN GRIFFITH Asst. Section Editor
The economic decline of the Great Recession in 2008 produced an opportunity for Justin Nielsen — CEO and founder of Onset Financial and Weber State University alumnus — to start one of the fastest-growing private finance companies in the nation. As part of WSU’s annual Ralph Nye Lecture Series, which discusses the experiences and success stories of regional and national business leaders, Nielsen spoke about how adversity and establishing a strong culture in the workplace led to company success. Nielsen said trying to start a finance company during the Great Recession was so difficult, it was like having gale force winds hit him right in the teeth. “That adversity was so important for us,” Nielsen said. “Just trying to start a financial company during a time when banks are in comatose and aren’t lending money. I needed bank money to start this company, and every bank that I knew said ‘we’re on hold until things turned around financially on a macro level.’” Instead of seeking out bank money, Nielsen resorted to private equity loans to get the money he needed. The key difference between the two is that private equity
Other Side of the Hill
loans generally have a higher interest rate, something that detoured people away. After three years of working with private equity corporations, the economy began to pick back up, and the company that Nielsen started in the worst economic time since the Great Depression began to excel. In 2018, Nielsen was named as a top CEO for Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest jobs and recruiting sites. Nielsen attributed the company’s success to the culture they had established at Onset Financial. “We have this amazing culture at Onset Financial. Let me give you an example,” Nielsen said. “We have a fitness specialist who comes in three days a week and gives everybody physical training. We just released a great video of all our people working out, and it’s funny when we announce to the company that we’re going to do a video of everybody working out. We get like 40 people out there when normally we get 20. So that just says something about the culture where everybody wants to be in our company videos.” An attendee asked if diversity is something Onset Financial focuses on, noting the diversity among the company’s employees in a video Nielsen played. “At the end of the day, we hire talent, and we have been blessed with the fact that the talent that has come to our front door is full
of diversity. And I’m not just saying this to be politically correct,” Nielsen said. Nielsen said the company’s decisions are not based on diversity but rather on individuals who apply. For WSU student, Sean Inagaki, company culture is the most important thing he took away from the event. “In order for your employees to put forth their best efforts, they need to be able to love where they’re going, partly because they’re spending more time there than anywhere else,” Inagaki said. “I’ve had experiences with jobs in the past where the culture just wasn’t there. I was miserable going to work and I was excited when I got to leave.” To close out the lecture, Nielsen said the theme of the lecture is to say no. According to Nielsen, “no” is one of the most fundamental differences between people who are and aren’t successful in business. “You have to be able to say no,” Nielsen said. “Businesses fail when leaders and employees don’t have the ability to say no. In fact, Steve Jobs would tell his executives before their weekly executive meeting
by B.C.Ster rett
‘If you haven’t said no at least three times by the time you come to my meeting, then you can’t come.’” Another attendee asked Nielsen about when he knew he found his passion for the work he is doing. “For each of you, and I get this question a lot, how did you know and when did you know that you found your passion?” Nielsen said. “I didn’t. What I knew is that you don’t follow your passion, you take it with you. Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com