The Signpost: 07.07.20 - KEEPING UP WITH THE WILDCATS: WHAT WENT WRONG IN 2019-20?

ISRAEL CAMPA | The Signpost

Tuesday | July 07, 2020 | Volume 92 | Issue 06

BOXED OUT

BY INJURY >>>PAGE 4

PHOTO ESSAY » PAGE 6

SHOWING OFF THE STARS BRIELLE HARKER | The Signpost

02 | MyWeberMedia.com| July 07, 2020

DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEWS?

By MARISA NELSON Section Editor

d. DoTerra and Nexeo Staffing

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a. Utah

d.15

b. New Hampshire

c. Florida 2.) Recent research into the death of Elijah McClain re- d. Michigan vealed he was injected with what drug while he was hand- 5.) Ogden volunteers, cuffed? including Weber State students, recently helped hand a. Ketamine out face masks to which atrisk community? b. Morphine a. Blacks c. Propofol b. The elderly d. Lorazepam c. Latinos 3.) Utah county released the names of two businesses that d. Children became COVID-19 hotspots and infected more than 50 people. Which of the following businesses were identified during COVID-19 contact tracing? a. Bank of Utah and Target b. Built Bar and Wasatch Truss c. Nu Skin and Burger Bar

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ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS ON PAGE 09

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4.) A recent video of a white 1.) How many states have woman pointing a gun at a seen an increase in coronavi- Black woman and her teenage rus cases over the past week? daughter in _________ has circulated the internet. The a. 30 white couple from the video has been charged with felonib. 42 ous assault.

Volunteers stood outside of two Rancho Markets to hand out masks to those who did not have them or needed them for their family.

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ISRAEL CAMPA | The Signpost

BRIELLE HARKER | The Signpost

KEEPING UP WITH THE WILDCATS: WHAT WENT WRONG IN 2019-20?

ABOVE LEFT: Kayla Watkins getting ready to shoot. ABOVE RIGHT: Shyanne Loiland gets the successful three pointer

By RAYMOND LUCAS Section Editor

Let’s face it. The past two seasons for Weber State’s women’s basketball team were not pretty. The team finished with records of 6-25 and 4-26 during the first two years under Head Coach Velaida Harris, and to say that the team has struggled recently, well, would be an understatement. But like critically acclaimed rapper J Cole once said on his song Love Yourz... “It’s beauty in the struggle.”

The beauty in Weber State’s struggle?

Youth.

As Harris enters her third season leading the program, she has only had to watch three seniors graduate. Last season, during her first full off-season, she brought in six new players, five of whom were freshmen and one a transfer from Salt Lake Community college.

If COVID-19 does not impact college basketball for the second straight year, Harris will only lose two other players to graduation: Kayla Watkins and Dominique Williams.

So where did things go wrong last sea-

son?

Injuries.

Nothing derails a season like injuries, and WSU can attest to that statement after the slate of injuries they suffered last year. Aloma Solovi, the junior transfer from SLCC, was lost for the year shortly after arriving on campus last summer. Junior Shianne Johnson and senior Dominique Williams were next to be pronounced out for the season. Then nine games into the season, freshmen Vicky Parra got hurt and missed the rest of the season. Each of these players was awarded a medical redshirt, which gives them another year of college eligibility.

As if the injuries were not bad enough, the Wildcats active roster toppled from 14 to 10, and, out of those 10 players, five were freshmen making their college debuts and one was a transfer from Brigham Young University and was making her Wildcat debut after being forced to sit due to the NCAA’s transfer rules.

These are the players who finished the season without injury for WSU: Senior: Gina O’Brien Juniors: Kayla Watkins, Liz Graves (BYU

transfer) Sophomores: Ciara James, Kori Pentzer Freshmen: Ashley Thoms (redshirted the year before), Daryn Hickok, Jadyn Mathews, Shyanne Loiland and Ula Chamberlin It’s hard to win in college basketball at any level. It is especially hard when you only have four available players who saw action in the previous season and only three of those four were able to play meaningful minutes.

The record may imply that the Wildcats lacked talent. However, WSU had plenty of games when it seemed like they would have a shot to win it, but the opposing team would start rolling, leading to the ‘Cats losing their lead or a small deficit being blown open.

Coach Harris often explained the quarter lapses by simply calling it for what it was — fatigue — pointing out the five freshmen who played important minutes were undergoing the longest and toughest schedule of their lives with it being their first year of college ball.

Throughout the season, the young Wildcats took their lumps but learned

what college ball was like as they gained experience from each game they played.

Their season ended with a trip to the Big Sky tournament, where they gave Southern Utah a scare behind 23 points on 1015 shooting from Kayla Watkins, but in the end, SUU left the arena with a 62-58 victory.

This off-season has shown that the Wildcats will look a bit different next year.

When 6 foot 2 inch sophomore forward Emma Torbert transferred from the University of Nevada to Weber State midway through the season, she became the first of three new additions to the team. The ‘Cats also welcomed 5 foot 8 inch junior guard Raena Suggs from Cochise College and freshmen 6 foot 1 inch forward Mikayla Peterson from Melbourne, Australia.

Along with three arriving players came four departures.

The first was Gina O’Brien, who is one of the countless seniors around the country who are awaiting their college graduation ceremony. Outside of O’Brien graduating, three players transferred to other programs. Ciara James is now at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

after two years with WSU. Shyanne Loiland left the program after one year to play at Minnesota State University Moorhead and Liz Graves will play at Southern Utah with her sister after transferring from BYU and spending two years in Ogden.

The Wildcats bring in a healthy team and a young, experienced core looking to take a step forward. The biggest factors will be how much the returning players improved and how well they can mesh with the players who missed the season due to injuries.

If the Wildcats can find cohesion on the court and stay healthy, they will undoubtedly see improved production on the court.

Here is how the current roster looks for Weber State Seniors: Dominique Williams and Kayla Watkins Juniors: Aloma Solovi, Kori Pentzer, Raena Suggs and Shianne Johnson Sophomores: Ashley Thoms, Daryn Hickok, Emma Torbert, Jadyn Matthews and Ula Chamberlin Freshmen: Mikayla Peterson and Vicky Parra Kayla Watkins defends to prevent the shot being made.

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KEEPING CONNECTED WE ARE STILL HERE FOR YOU! Find virtual services and engagement opportunities:

weber.edu/keepingconnected TRACY HALL SCIENCE CENTER

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06 | MyWeberMedia.com| July 07, 2020

CAPTURING THE MILKY WAY Photography Editor

By BRIELLE HARKER Assistant Photography Editor

Night Photography at Causey Dam near Huntsville, Utah. A longer exposure allows more light on the camera sensor and the star trails to start forming.

BRIELLE HARKER | The Signpost

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Stars range in colors all the way from blue to red.

ROBERT LEWIS | The Signpost

BriElle Harker and Robert Lewis are photographers for The Signpost at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

During summer vacation, they have been practicing their craft and trying different camera techniques to give readers some ideas for taking their own photographs.

Hi, Robert here. This week, I tried photographing the stars. To do this, you need a wide-angle lens with a fast f-stop.

The wider and faster the lens, the better it will be for letting in more light. You also need a tripod, and you can use the in-camera timer for setting the shutter speed. Also, it helps a lot if you are in a dark-sky area.

I was at Causey Reservoir near Huntsville, Utah, for my photos. It’s not a darksky area, but it worked okay for my first attempt at learning how to photograph the night sky.

The equipment I brought along included a tripod, a 28-millimeter-to-70-millimeter-zoom lens with a f/2.0 stop and the Canon EOS R. I waited for a little more than an hour after sunset to set up and start photographing. At the time, the moon was in the sky. To get better photos, you should choose a time when the phase of the moon is new, to avoid its light pollution. Also, use 500 divided by the focal length of the lens to calculate the shutter time. This is to avoid blurring of the stars in photographs caused by the rotation of the earth.

In this photo, I had the camera aimed below and in the same direction as the moon. There is some light pollution. It makes the dipper hard to see.

The settings I used were ISO 200, fo-

cal length at 28 millimeters, f/2.0 and time of 15 seconds.

In the next photograph, I experimented. I rotated the camera 90 degrees away from the moon’s location and lengthened the time of the shutter to approximately twice the recommendation for the focal length of the lens – 30 seconds. I also increased the ISO to 800. I did this in order to use the moonlight to illuminate the surroundings. It worked, but you can see the stars starting to blur.

I wanted to stay at the dam longer, but there was too much activity from other people to continue. So, I had to leave disappointed because I didn’t get to capture the Milky Way galaxy.

Let’s see how BriElle did.

Hi, BriElle here. For my photos, I was near Monte Cristo Campground, Rich County, Utah. I also waited until after midnight in order to get as little light pollution as possible. I was using my Canon Rebel T7 along with a tripod and an 18-millimeter-to-55-millimeter lens.

One of the first things to know when setting up a camera is how to set the focus. I found it very difficult to see the stars enough to focus on them. So, I have found a few tricks. You can either find a really bright star and focus on that or the moon.

For my photos, I had a friend shine a light on the top of some trees that were as far away as possible. I then focused my camera on those. This technique only works if the f-stop on the camera is set to a large number, making the depth of field great enough to get the stars in focus.

Another issue is camera shake. This is caused when the camera moves from pressing the shutter button, which blurs the image. There are multiple ways around this. One can expose for a few minutes. The long exposure will negate the press of the shutter. Another way is to set a timer on the camera. This works

ROBERT LEWIS | The Signpost

By ROBERT LEWIS

BRIELLE HARKER | The Signpost

ON CAMERA

by d e laying the opening of the shutter for a few seconds, which is just long enough for the slight shaking to stop.

All of my photos were 30-second exposures with the ISO set at 3,600. There is a lot of controversy over using such a high ISO while taking photos. ISO changes how sensitive the light sensor within your camera is to light.

If you are trying to photograph something directly in the sun, choose a lower ISO, restricting the light.

A higher ISO will allow the sensor to capture more light. The issue with a high ISO is that it can create noise within a photo, which makes photos look slightly grainy. This is why some photographers refuse to use the higher ISO settings. I have found the noise is not bad enough for me to really worry about even at these higher ISOs. By using a higher ISO and a 30-second exposure, I was able to capture part of the Milky Way. Within this photo you can also see a really bright star on the left side. This star is actually Venus. It is brighter and larger than the rest because it is closer to the Earth than any other star in the night sky.

Space is an amazing place full of stars and planets. One can use photography to look at the different constellations and planets that surround us. Photography is an amazing thing that can allow someone to learn new things that are not even related to photography. For example, I learned that stars are different colors. Some are red and others are blue, depending on their temperature.

We encourage our readers to try taking photos of the night sky and to see the different types of images that are possible to capture.

Image of the Dipper showing how light pollution affects visibility.

The Milky Way and Venus shining in the night sky.

08 | MyWeberMedia.com| July 07, 2020

DIFFICULT BUT NECESSARY CONVERSATIONS

By MARISA NELSON Section Editor

MARISA NELSON | The Signpost

Panelists at the July 2 student town hall meeting addressed questions and discussions with Weber State students about race, inclusion, diversity and issues that people of color face on a daily basis.

The race relations town hall featured a panel of faculty/ staff members of diversity and people of color from WSU. The panel was comprised of University President Brad Mortensen as well as Tia Nero, Adrienne Andrews, Heather Cimino, Stephanie Speicher, Ravi Krovi, Ken Johnson, Yimin Wang, Enrique Romo, Jonathan Marshall, Gregory Noel and Michiko Nakashima-Lizarazo.

The meeting began with discussion on how students can get involved in clubs and organizations that can help them feel more included and involved.

Heather Cimino, coordinator of clubs and organizations, talked about how students can start their own club if one does not exist that fits your needs and how to join preexisting clubs. Mortensen added that this is great way to have a core group of supporters and peers on campus.

Throughout the discussion, many students asked questions about classes and curriculum. One student asked how teaching social justice issues would affect the science and mathematics curriculum specifically.

Chief Diversity Officer Adrienne Andrews stated that social justice doesn’t “minimize or marginalize the content of the course, it’s to think about it in practical ways and in terms of application.”

She and Provost Ravi Krovi added that adding diversity to if they were comfortable, and to attend events and classes courses helps students consider different questions and be on campus that deal with racism and diversity. The panelists more prepared outside of the classroom. wanted struggling students to personally come speak to Students also asked the panel about how the university them outside of the public panel. plans to be more diverse, specifically addressing racism on Comment on this story at campus. signpost.mywebermedia.com Andrews mentioned that the diversity general education requirement introduces some concepts, and the university is looking directly at courses to see if they are doing well. Mortensen also shared that having these types of meetings and important conversations helps students voices to be heard.

Gregory Noel, who is a new faculty member with a marriage and family therapy background, offered insights on what everyone can do to work on personal biases. He noted that everyone has to work against inherent racism; he and Assistant Professor of Teacher Education Stephanie Speicher also noted that this is a never-ending process.

Noel and Speicher said it takes practice and understanding to eliminate bias. Students can be proactive to seek out opportunities that will help them understand their privilege and concerns Panelists spoke at the July 2 WSU race relations town hall of students of color at WSU. Students were encouraged to speak up, meeting.

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DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEWS? QUIZ ANSWERS FROM PAGE 2

Pexels

1. The correct answer is C. 40 states. According to USA Today, 40 states have seen a rise in coronavirus cases each day and, as of July 3, the new total for cases in the United States is 2.7 million.

2. The correct answer is A. Ketamine. According to NBC News, paramedics injected McClain with Ketamine, which is a sedative used to reduce anxiety, while handcuffed by police. This raised questions as to whether anesthetics should be used on someone for police action.

3. The correct answer is B. Built Bar and Wasatch Truss. Built Bar makes nutritional supplements, and Wasatch Truss is a construction company. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah county has known that the businesses became COVID-19 hotspots for some time but has been refusing to release the business names to the public.

4. The correct answer is D. Michigan. According to the New York Times, the episode began when the two parties bumped into each other and one group expected an apology, and the situation escalated from there.

5. The correct answer is C. Latinos. According to KSL, the Latino population in Weber and Morgan counties have accounted for 44.7% of cases in the two counties. Students and other volunteers stood outside Rancho’s market and handed out between 200 and 250 masks.

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COVID-19 cases have been on the rise throughout the U.S. over the past several weeks, resulting in 2.7 million cases nationally.

THE SIGNPOST TEAM Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Greenlee jennifergreenlee@mail.weber.edu

Photo Editor Robert Lewis robertlewis7@mail.weber.edu

Sports Editor Raymond Lucas raymondlucas@mail.weber.edu

Managing Editor Daryn Steed darynsteed0@gmail.com

Asst. Photo Editor BriElle Harker brielleharker@mail.weber.edu

Asst. Sports Editor Miles Shaw milesshaw@mail.weber.edu

Chief Copy Editor Nic Muranaka nicholasmuranaka@weber.edu

Culture Editor Aubrielle Degn aubrielledegn@gmail.com

News Editor Marisa Nelson marisanelson@mail.weber.edu

Asst. Culture Editor Caitlyn Larsen caitlynlarsen@mail.weber.edu

Asst. News Editor Francia Henriquez Benson fhenriquezbenson@weber.edu

Social Media Manager Kalli Prendergast kandidkalliP@gmail.com

Design & Graphics Editor Aubree Eckhardt aubreeeckhardt@mail.weber.edu Asst. Design & Graphics Editor Alli Rickards alexandrarickards@mail.weber.edu Videography Editor Sarah Earnshaw sarahearnshaw@mail.weber.edu

Webmaster David Morris david.lee.morris@gmail.com Adviser Jean Norman jeannorman@weber.edu 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.

10 | MyWeberMedia.com| July 07, 2020

WSU OFFERS NEW ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE DEGREE IN FALL 2020

By ADAM RUBIN Senior Reporter

Students should not expect to be stuck in the classroom through their time in the major because of the highly-integrated study curriculum, as well as the geographic location of WSU campus.

Public Relations and Outreach Coordinator for the College of Science Alicia “Ali” Miller said that students “will have more say as to how those courses blend together, to really look at complex issues such as climate change, sustainability, natural resources and then the ecosystem and the conservation of it.”

This allows for students to gravitate to the scientific discipline they are most passionate about, while still getting out-of-the-classroom experience such as field work, group study and participating in the hands-on environmental aspects of learning.

Matyjasik said that the new program belongs in the College of Sciences.

“All departments in the College of Sciences can participate in the program,” he said.

The Science Departments at WSU invite students to find out more about the new program and how it might benefit their educational experience and lifelong goals. Ford is the academic advisor for the new program.

WSU’s Science Departments and faculty have high hopes that this will be the start of a long tradition of a new standard to scientific education at WSU.

weber.edu

The Environmental Science Taskforce, chaired by Dr. Richard Ford and comprised of faculty from WSU, developed a plan in Sept. 2019 with the aim of bringing a new degree to WSU students. The university is realizing that plan in the fall.

WSU’s new Environmental Science degree is designed for students to sculpt their own educational emphasis while putting together a variety of electives.

Beginning Fall 2020, students, especially those interested in exploring science degrees, can declare the Environmental Science major.

The program will begin with many “flexible electives” from which students pick and choose, ranging from chemistry, botany, zoology and microbiology.

Currently, WSU has state-of-the-art equipment available to students, such as instruments that have the ability to sample water and break it down to a chemical level.

Chairman of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Dr. Marek Matyjasik said students document where water samples are taken, receive training on how to save the samples and put all the results together in a final project.

“Even in General Education courses, students can collect a water sample for their projects,” Matyjasik A new environmental science degree will be offered starting in Fall 2020. said.

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