The Signpost: HOMECOMING COME AND GONE >>> PAGE 7 REBUILDING A ROSTER

WORSHIPING DURING COVID >>>PAGE 8

NEWS » PAGE 4

SPORTS » PAGE 7

HOMECOMING COME AND GONE

REBUILDING A ROSTER PAIGE MCKINNON | The Signpost

The Signpost Archives

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Tuesday | October 13, 2020 | Volume 93 | Issue 15

02 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020

DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEWS?

By FRANCIA HENRIQUEZ-BENSON Asst. Section Editor

b. New York

1. A leader of protests against new coronavirus restrictions was arrested on charges of inciting to riot in which city?

c. Chicago

a. Los Angeles b. Salt Lake City

crime? a. Rape b. Murder

d. Wisconsin 3. What color does Utah fall into on the COVID-19 color-coded risk levels?

c. Theft d. Rioting

a. Green

c. Oklahoma

b. Orange

2. In which state did a judge uphold an order by Gov. Tony Evers to wear a mask in closed spaces? a. California

c. Yellow

pixabay.com

d. Brooklyn

d. Red 4. Bangladesh is about to introduce the death penalty for what

As the coronavirus continues, state governors have been mandating new mask restrictions.

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS ON PAGE 15

WEBER CAMPUS COVID CASE UPDATES 7 days: 34 14 days: 56 total: 122

By JENNIFER GREENLEE

DAVIS COUNTY

WEBER COUNTY

7 days: 774 total: 6,417

7 days: 351 total: 5,092

COVID CASE UPDATES

CORRECTIONS:

COVID CASE UPDATES

UTAH total: 85,844

WEBER CAMPUS COVID CASE UPDATES

Editor in Chief

In the Friday, Oct. 9 edition of The Signpost, there were four errors.

In the story, “For some WSU students, stay-at-home homecoming lacks the appeal,” Erik Ashby’s name was spelled incorrectly. It was also reported that there were only ten attendees; however, there were 39.

In the story, “WSU professors launch new podcast about racism,” both Andrea Garavito Martinez and Ryan Zimmerman were labeled as associate professors, and they are assistant professors.

MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020 | 03

By MILES SHAW Section Editor

The Wildcat’s All-American offensive lineman Ty Whitworth was named one of 199 semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy.

Players are nominated for the award based

on their excellence in academics, performance on the field and community service contributions.

The 199 semifinalists for 2020 is an alltime record number of nominations.

The trophy spans every division of college football and is awarded by the National Football Foundation. It’s known across college

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football as the “Academic Heisman.”

Whitworth received All-Big Sky Academic Honors the last three seasons with the Wildcats, along with two first-team All-Conference offensive lineman selections in 2018 and 2019.

“It’s an honor, hearing players such as Peyton Manning win that kind of award. It places a special emphasis on it,” Whitworth said of his nomination.

Other notable past recipients of the Campbell Trophy include former NFL players Chad Pennington, Alex Mack, Tim Tebow and Justin Herbert.

Whitworth graduated in December 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

“I wanted to be able to have a degree, and also put in the time and effort to really earn it,” Whitworth said of his academic success.

Juggling the demands of practice and focusing on classes can be difficult for student athletes.

Whitworth said he’s been able to have success in both areas by just putting in the work and having the willpower to do it, also noting that being organized is maybe the most important part of his success academically.

After college, he wants to be a government teacher because of his experience in that class during his senior year of high school.

“I had a fabulous government teacher and, she’s the reason I wanted to be a teacher and teach anything political science related,” Whitworth said.

He is currently pursuing a Master of Education.

However, he’s not done with football yet.

The Wildcat’s season, while postponed, is returning in the spring.

Whitworth’s been one of Weber State’s top players and a pillar on the offensive line for the past three seasons, helping the team reach new heights.

The Wildcat’s loss in the FCS Semifinals in December to James Madison is the closest the team’s ever been to reaching the National Championship game.

“Our goal is to win the Conference Championship again and keep that going, but I really do believe, and Coach Hill has expressed, we need to take that next step forward. I believe we have the team to do it, and the next step forward is winning the national title,” Whitworth said.

In order for the team to take the next step, they’ll have to continue to improve. The defense was the No.1 ranked scoring defense in the Big Sky last year, only giving up on average 20.8 points per game. The Wildcat defense also led the conference in sacks and interceptions, but the offense was the No. 8 scoring offense.

“A lot of last season you’ve got to give props to the defense, but I’m excited to see what the offense can do, and it’s on us to step it up, we had good instances as an offense here and there, but it’s got to be consistent to win a national title,” Whitworth said.

Despite the postponement, the Wildcats have been practicing since Sept. 22, and are working out for the upcoming season, continuing their “fall ball” practices.

“Whatever delays come our way we’ll work through it, and do it as a team,” Whitworth said.

Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com

04 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020

PAIGE MCKINNON | The Signpost

Wildcat chairs are set up on the football field of Weber State University for the homecoming showing of “The Great Gatsby.”

By JOSHUA KAMP Reporter

By FRANCIA BENSON Asst. Section Editor

By ADAM RUBIN Senior Reporter

By MARISA NELSON Section Editor

Homecoming events didn’t escape the changes COVID-19 guidelines have imposed on fall 2020. Many of the events were different than previous years, but students still had plenty to keep them busy.

It’s all about tradition Each homecoming event is a tradition at WSU; they occur every year — pandemics permitting — and students can document their moments and become tradition keepers as well.

It doesn’t have to be homecoming for you to become a WSU traditions keeper, but it may help you win prizes faster.

The Weber State Alumni Association has created a program to keep Weber State traditions alive. Using a mobile app, students, alumni, faculty and staff are able to upload photos and share experiences of the 50 different university traditions and claim prizes for different incentive levels.

There are eight incentive levels. The prize for completing your first tradition is a pop socket for your phone; if a student completes all 50 traditions, they receive a silver “WSU Traditions Keeper” stole to wear at graduation.

The program highlights little-known facts and legends about Weber State history and encourages activities, from locating campus time capsules, to eating purple pancakes, to capturing a selfie with Waldo.

Also, according to campus lore, only sharing a midnight kiss beneath the bell tower with your beloved will make you a “true” Wildcat.

“The WSU Traditions Keeper program links students — past, present and future — through shared involvement in Wildcat Traditions and activities,” the alumni section of the Weber website said.

Don’t forget: pics or it didn’t happen.

The free app is called “WSU Traditions Keeper,” available on Google Play and the App Store.

Run WSU, run!

The Homecoming Recycle Run, held by WSU’s Campus Recreation Department, took place during Homecoming Week. Students, faculty, staff, alumni or anyone who wanted to participate in the community were encouraged to join the “Virtual Edition” of a 5K run, where runners could run anywhere they chose, during Oct. 2–10.

Runners registered for the event online. Rebecca Mabile, the Aquatics, Safety and Special Events coordinator, came up with this innova-

tive concept this year. She wanted to provide a cost-effective events for students/alumni and to promote sustainability.

“We have a bunch of medals from old races that we can’t reuse for those races, so we decided to “recycle” them for this race,” Mabile said. “And then also further promote sustainability by encouraging people to pick up trash while they do their run.”

Campus Recreation holds many races each academic year for the Weber State University Race Series. The first ever Recycle Run registration fees were $10 for students, $15 for alumni, $20 for WSU faculty and staff and $25 for community members.

All Campus Recreation’s races are on for this academic year, which, according to Mabile, is important to be able to offer the community.

“This is my third virtual race this year,” Mabile said. “The most uplifting aspect of all three is that people appreciate that we aren’t just canceling events.”

The 16th Annual Turkey-Tri and 5K trot — one of the most popular races each year — will be held on Nov. 1–6; registration is currently open for that race.

Flaming W Light the W continued into its 9th decade via Zoom and Facebook Live Oct. 5. Since the 1930s, during Homecoming week, students from WSU have hiked up to Malan’s Peak and celebrated the beginning of the academic year.

According to tradition and documented in the book, “Hillside Letters A – Z, A Guide to Hometown Landmarks,” by Evelyn Corning, “In 1991 the school changed its name to Weber State University, and the W’s Shape changed to the Flaming W, which is presently used.”

Jim Maughan, WSU’s coordinator of student affairs maintenance and facilities, said the W is lit during homecoming week, from 7 p.m. through 11 p.m. weekdays or 7 p.m. and through midnight on Friday and Saturday.

“If the football game is held at night, we try to get it lit as soon as the game starts,” Maughan said. “But it can’t really be seen until the sun goes down.”

This year, the lighting of the W was not celebrated like it had been traditionally due to the current social restrictions. WSUSA held the event on their social media channels and through Zoom. Hannah Olsen, student body legislative vice president, hosted the Zoom session.

“One of the things we hope for in the future is a permanent W that can be celebrated for more than one event during the year,” Maughan said. “But the students, alumni and community are really what will drive the ability of a permanent W coming to fruition.”

Casino and Trivia night The WSUSA C&O Team organized the Casino

Night event. There were four rounds of casino games and trivia, and the magician hosting the show performed 15 minutes of magic before each match.

Four lucky winners won Amazon gift cards.

There were also drawings for Weber gear and club funding.

Heather Cimino, the coordinator of clubs and organizations for Student Involvement and Leadership, said that there was a decline in the number of attendees. She said last year around 100 people attended, while this year, only 50 did. She said WSUSA sent a survey to the attendees to get feedback and know if they liked the virtual experience.

This information will be used to decide how the event will be hosted in 2021.

Virtual Service day Teresa Martinez, the coordinator of the Student Engagement Coordinator Center for Community Engaged Learning, explained that the service event hopes to honor those who embody service in the community or those who have passed away.

This year, the two benefited organizations were OWCAP and the American Red Cross.

The center held both service activities virtually. Martinez noted that there was a higher number of attendees because the projects were more accessible. Last year 145 people volunteered; this year the number of volunteers went up to 218.

Map-a-thon with the American Red Cross and the Virtual Storybook Kit Drive were the service projects students participated in during the virtual service day.

Swimming in purple On Oct. 7, WSU’s Swenson pool was dyed purple for the first time as part of Homecoming week festivities.

In previous years during homecoming, the pool would host a “dive-in” movie night, with plenty of inflatables and a movie projected on the wall.

“One reason we did the dive-in movie is so people know where the pool is,” Clara Clark, a student aquatic manager, said. “And so they can see how nice the facility is. This is a really nice pool.”

Mabile was disappointed when she realized that the dive-in movie, a five-year tradition, would be canceled.

“I think that homecoming is one of the most important things a university can do for their students and for their alumni, faculty and staff,” Mabile said. “Having those traditions, having those events and things to make people more connected is so important. I think that it just makes life more meaningful.”

This year, Mabile decided to try something new. She had heard of a pool that was dyed pink for Easter.

“I did a poll with my students,” she said “Should we dye the pool purple? Everyone

MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020 | 05

said yes.”

Bright clouds of dye were poured into the pool around 5:15 a.m. The pool was a deep purple for about six hours, before slowly turning to a light blue and fading due to the filtration system. Next time, Rebecca plans to buy twice as much dye and re-dye the water at midday, meaning this could be the start of a new homecoming tradition at Weber.

Most of all, Mabile wants students to feel welcome and comfortable at the pool.

“We have a basketball hoop; they can work out, there are group exercise classes, there are paddleboard classes,” Mabile said. We have so much to offer students, and it is all free to them.”

Open swim is Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., Fridays from 4:20 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from noon until 4 p.m. Students can learn more about events and classes at the pool on the Weber State website.

Purple pancakes at home To top off homecoming week traditions, WSUSA posted a video on their social media of President Brad Mortensen making purple pancakes and passing them to Benjamin Ferney, WSU’s Student Body President, who just happened to show up at President Mortensen’s front door right on time for a presidential purple pancake breakfast.

The purple pancakes started as an annual event where WSU’s president and other top administrators would gather together, make purple pancakes and hand them out at the Steward Bell Tower Plaza. According to WSU’s Alumni Association, the event attracted many students, faculty, staff and community members, estimating around 1,500 students gathered a year.

The breakfast became a homecoming tradition in 1999, according to the Alumni Association; however, the breakfast assimilated into the Block Party celebration in 2002.

This year, one element in keeping with the Purple Pancake tradition is that just like in the early 2000s, the Purple Pancake mix was available for students who wanted to make their own at home, like Mortensen did on video the morning of Oct. 10.

One student, Alexandria Favela, who is earning a Bachelor of Business Administration with an Associates in Health Sciences, made her own pancakes with the help of WSU. “I think that giving the students the mix and spatulas and aprons and letting us go home and make them really was a touching way to bring us the homecoming spirit even if we were home this year,” Favela said.

Another student, Shaylee Stevens, a senior at WSU who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Communication with an emphasis in PR and Advertising, has attended the annual purple pancakes breakfast each year she has been

06 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020

JUMP

››continued from page 5

at WSU. “I know it might be challenging to approach this school year with an upbeat attitude,” Stevens said. “But so many fun and innovative things are happening on campus, and the pancake breakfast was definitely one of those things.”

Homecoming royalty

Homecoming royalty honors students who excel in leadership, service and academics.

Announcing royalty has been a tradition for over half a century, according to Becca Gibson, Engagement Coordinator for the WSU Alumni Association and advisor for the Student Alumni Association.

This year’s homecoming royalty were Kam-

ryn Eden, Ben Ferney, Nathan Hole, Rylie Howard, Tyler Jewell and Whitney Olson. All royalty received a sash that reads “Homecoming Royalty 2020,” a declaration from the Alumni Association President Clint Costley and Alumni Association Executive Director Nancy Collinwood. The women also receive crowns.

Although there have been innovations and

new ideas to keep old traditions going, who knows what impact this year, 2020, will have on homecoming traditions in the years to come.

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PAIGE MCKINNON | The Signpost

Popular food from the 1920s is available for those who purchased a ticket for the movie on the football field.

MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020 | 07

By EMILY MILLER Reporter

Despite the rollercoaster of the past six months, the Weber State men’s basketball team head coach Randy Rahe has been able to rebuild the program throughout the pandemic, adding eight transfers to the ‘Cats 2020–21 roster, who will take the paint alongside four returning Wildcats.

After the abrupt end to the 2019–20 season, the Wildcats walked away with a record of 8–12. Rahe saw this as an opportunity to review what worked for the team and what didn’t. There was plenty of young talent but, according to Rahe, that wasn’t what WSU needed.

“We needed to bring in more experienced guys,” Rahe said. “We were able to get them together pretty quickly. These are great kids.”

While the new faces blended with the previous team members, Rahe also wanted to make sure he addressed what was happening

outside of the Dee Events Center.

With protests marching across the nation alongside a pandemic, students were faced with front-and-center discussions about social injustices.

“We’ve let our kids open up and discuss their thoughts and feelings,” Rahe said. “We let them know we support them in every which way.”

The newly-dubbed Wildcats gathered together for the first time on July 1. One of the new faces is Seattle-raised Isiah Brown. Brown is a senior guard who started his collegiate career at Northwestern before transferring out West to Grand Canyon University for his junior year.

Growing up in Seattle, Brown acknowledged what this transfer did for his game. ”The guys that come out of this city all play a certain type of way,” Brown said. “We have a flowing, creative style that you learn growing up.”

Entering his senior season, Brown knew transferring for his final year was the right move.

“It’s all about the right fit,” Brown said.

“Sometimes to put yourself in a better position you have to find the school that supports your playstyle. I found that trust in Coach Rahe and Weber State.”

Alongside Brown, there are two other senior transfers. Dontay Bassett joined the roster from the University of Florida. Cody Carlson traveled from Concordia University St. Paul.

There are also three junior transfers. Zahir Porter is a guard/forward coming from New York Institute of Technology, David Nzekwesi is a forward from the University of Denver and Tavian Percy is a guard/forward from the University of New Mexico.

Two sophomore transfers will complete the list of Wildcat transfers. Darweshi Hunter is a guard coming from Central State in Ohio and Seikou Sisoho Jawara is a guard from Loyola

Marymount University.

Along with the new transfers, there will be new freshman joining the team as well. Forward Dillon Jones is a true freshman coming from Sunrise Christian Prep Academy out of KA. Mitch Brizee is a redshirt forward/center out of Twin Falls, ID. The returning ‘Cats for the 2020-21 season include seniors guard/center Kham Davis and forward Michal Kozak. Sophomores include guard KJ Cunningham and forward Donatas Kupsas.

“We’re a whole new team, and our past season is incomparable,” Rahe said. “We’re quite a ways ahead of where we were back in March with the other team we had.”

The Wildcats schedule is yet to be announced for the upcoming season.

Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com MARISSA WOLFORD | The Signpost

Cody John attempting a shot over MSU player Sam Neumann (4).

LDS Church members in India tune in for General Conference on Oct. 2 and 3.

By CAITLYN NICHOLS Section Editor

The Conference Center in Salt Lake City sat devoid of attendees as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the state, country and world tuned in to watch the 190th semiannual General Conference remotely on Oct. 2 and 3.

The church’s General Conference includes five two-hour sessions of talks, as well as some news and announcements, delivered by President and Prophet Russell M. Nelson, the 12 Apostles and other leaders in the church. The sessions are spaced out over the two days of the conference and held in the conference center located near church headquarters in Salt Lake City.

Usually, the conference center is surrounded by people wishing to attend in-person, and even some protesters, on conference weekends. However, due to COVID-19, the conference in April was the first to be held completely remote — only the speakers were allowed in

the building, socially-distanced, and members watched live-streams and recordings of the sessions from their own homes.

Instead of live music from the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, recordings from previous years and sessions of conference were reused. The recent October sessions were held the same way.

In reality though, this wasn’t much different from normal. For years, General Conference has been available on TV, radio and online, so when the pandemic came, the church was prepared. Most members, like WSU Institute student Zoe Plowman, from Canada, are used to watching it from their own homes.

Richard Stuart, associate director of the WSU Ogden Institute of Religion, joked that the only real difference was that one couldn’t hear much laughter when a speaker made a joke — maybe just some quiet chuckles from the other leaders spaced out around the room.

The church has over 30,000 congregations in 196 countries and territories, making the remote broadcast a necessity — with or without

The Church of Jesus Christ Latter- Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ Latter- Day Saints

08 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020

LDS Church members in California tune in for General Conference on Oct. 2 and 3.

the pandemic.

“I just love that the church is able to still broadcast general conference, and have a global conference around the world, in the midst of a pandemic,” Stuart said.

Though the conference didn’t change much, the church did have to make many changes to regular Sunday church services, temple service and other meetings.

In March, churches were closed and members were advised to continue Sunday worship in their homes.

Stuart, who had the virus himself at one point, said that it was hard to not have the in-person meetings like members were used to, and that going to church was missed.

However, he said that in a way there was more positive than negative — they were still able to continue worship at home and the quarantine meant that they spent more time together as family.

Of course, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the only religion affected by the pandemic. All religions have had to

change the way they worship to keep members of their congregations safe.

When the quarantine started in March, Ellen Keene, administrative assistant at the Trinity Presbyterian Church, said her church was able to continue posting weekly Sunday services on Facebook and enjoy a social coffee hour over Zoom. They did whatever they could to keep in contact.

On Oct. 3, they were able to meet for Sunday service in the parking lot of the church.

Everyone stayed in their cars and wore masks, the pastor stood on the hill in front of the parking lot and broadcasted the sermon over the radio; attendees honked amens.

Keene said they had to cancel some of their service activities and programs that required money and people to run, like volunteering wthse the Lantern House and Salvation Army.

“My biggest fear is the longer this goes on the more we will lose,” Keene said.

The experience has been similar for many other churches and religions in the Ogden

MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020 | 09

Minister of Word and Sacrament Jon Draskovic and the St. Paul Lutheran church with the Rev. Mark Christ.

Christ said they were able to reopen Sunday services in June by maintaining social distancing, taking temperatures and contact tracing, though they still continue to live stream the services and Bible studies for those who wish to stay home.

The Rev. Bruce Kolasch, pastor of the Elim Lutheran Church, said they were able to return to church at the beginning of September by maintaining social distancing, using pre-packaged communion, requiring face masks and taking temperatures. He shared a message of looking to the positive and remembering to be thankful.

“When many are struggling with depression and an overarching social anxiety of what lies ahead it is important to remember that there is always hope,” Kolasch said.

Some churches have not been able to return to their worship services at all. Geoffrey Russell, minister’s assistant at the Buddhist Church of Ogden, said all of their services and meetings have been suspended since March, though they hope to return in January if the COVID-19 situation improves.

“Buddhists believe in the interdependence

of all sentient beings. As such, when anyone is suffering, we suffer as well,” Russell said. “This also makes us aware of our responsibility to do everything we can to avoid causing harm to others.”

On the other hand, the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, with Parish Priest Father Mario Giannopoulos, continued their in-person worship services, though they still provide a live stream for those who wish to stay home.

Imām Mohammed Al-Tigar, president and chair of the Islamic Center of Kuwait in Utah, said the only activity they have been able to do since July is their Friday sermon and prayer, attendance requirements to which are very strict to CDC guidelines. However, they have to limit the number of attendees to 50 on a first come first serve basis.

Al-Tigar said it’s unfortunate that the pandemic continues and that people fight over it. He said he is still hopeful that one day the community will come together, put differences aside and work together toward a common goal of saving lives.

Heide Cottam, communications and leadership facilitator and chair of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ogden, said they have been fully online for all of their services and

activities since March, but it hasn’t stopped them from being fairly active and continuing their fundraisers and service.

She said that bringing church online actually helped them to become more inclusive – before, they were missing those people who couldn’t come to church for reasons such as distance and health issues.

Cottam said that the leadership of her church is now committed to continuing a hybrid in-person/online approach to worship.

“Being together in person is a beautiful thing, and I know we all are yearning for the time when we can meet again safely,” Cottam said. “This time has also shown us, though, that going back to ‘normal’ isn’t an option.

There will always be — and always were — those who cannot be with us in person, and they will be a focus for us from this point forward.”

Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com The Church of Jesus Christ Latter- Day Saints

area. The Rev. Vanessa Cato, rector of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, said they also had to close down at the beginning of the pandemic and post Sunday services online, which they continue to do.

Beginning in late summer they were able to hold some restricted Sunday services in the courtyard outside of their building. They can’t do anything inside the church building yet, but are starting to discuss and plan for the return to indoor worship, especially for Christmas.

Cato said they also had to scale back, adjust and even cancel some of their outreach ministry and service programs. For example, they had to cancel the Shepherd’s Bowl Community Lunch, but still prepare sack lunches for Youth Futures to pick up and distribute. Even so, Cato said she still feels sad that she can’t do more to help and serve.

“This has been, and will continue to be, a particularly stressful time in my ministry as a priest,” Cato said. “Indeed, to be honest, I feel overwhelmed and guilty at the same time because I am not able to be the pastor I want to be.”

Virtual worship and a slow return to in-person services is the theme for most churches, such as the First Presbyterian Church, with

General Conference held all over the world on Oct. 4.

10 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020

DARYN STEED Columnist

In a rare occurrence for American politics, all eyes were on the vice presidential debate on Oct. 7.

Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence took the stage at the University of Utah.

Fifty-seven million people tuned in to watch the two candidates discuss COVID-19, healthcare, racial inequality and the upcoming election.

The stakes were higher than a typical vice presidential debate.

Since the presidential debate on Sept. 30, more than a dozen members of Trump’s inner circle tested positive for the coronavirus,

including Melania Trump, Hope Hicks, Kellyanne Conway, Chris Christie and Mike Lee. Trump spent days in Walter Reed Medical Center, and Trump and his medical team have downplayed or altogether avoided questions about his health for the past week.

Trump’s positive test put a spotlight on the failure of our administration to control this pandemic. As the head of the Coronavirus Task Force, Pence’s failures were front and center.

Harris focused on the administration’s inability to enforce mask mandates and social distancing.

“The American people have had to sacrifice far too much because of the incompetence of this administration,” Harris said.

The past week has illuminated the hypocrisy from Republican politicians regarding COVID-19. On Oct. 12, Mike Lee attended the Supreme Court hearing for nominee Amy Coney Barrett. It had only been 10 days since he’d tested positive. He did not wear a mask.

Pence and Harris went back and forth about the Supreme Court hearing regarding Coney’s

nomination. Pence accused Harris and Biden of preparing to stack the courts, and Harris dodged the question.

“Stop playing politics with people’s lives,” Pence said.

That’s an ironic choice of words from an administration that has ignored most guidelines from the World Health Organization, choosing to instead blame the pandemic on the Radical Left.

Trump has labeled it a Democratic hoax, a Chinese hoax and the China Virus. While Trump and his cohorts ignored reality, 200,000 Americans died. Now Pence accuses Kamala of playing politics with people’s lives?

Pence technically attended the debate, but he drafted his own questions.

When asked if voters had the right to the president’s health records, Pence thanked the American people for their prayers after Trump’s diagnosis.

When asked if he and Trump had discussed the plan should Trump become too sick to serve, Pence said Harris was undermining a

vaccine.

When confronted with Trump only paying $750 in taxes over the last 15 years, Pence claimed Trump paid more than $10 million.

When asked about our country’s relationship with China, Pence said Obama’s presidency cost us manufacturing jobs.

The affair was altogether dramatically more civil than the presidential debate on Sept. 30.

Pence interrupted Harris several times, but by the end of the debate, the two had nearly equal speaking time.

FACT CHECK * Pence said that 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during Biden’s VP tenure and the recession. This is correct. 203,000 jobs were lost. * Harris claimed that the Trump administration got rid of Obama’s Pandemic Response Team. This is correct. The entire team was fired in 2018. * Harris said Pew Research reported that world leaders had more confidence in the Communist Party leader Xi Jinping than in

Trump. This is correct. 19 percent had confidence in Jinping and 16 percent had confidence in Trump. * Pence claimed Trump paid over ten million dollars in taxes. This is incorrect. His tax records prove he only paid $750 from 2000-2016. * Pence claimed Biden would ban all fracking. This is incorrect. Biden would only ban fracking on federal lands and eliminate new fracking permits. * Pence claimed universal mail-in ballots would cause massive voter fraud. This is incorrect. In the 2016 election, 25 percent of

voters voted by mail, and only .00004 percent of ballots were found to be fraudulent. * Harris claimed that Trump said John McCain did not deserve to be called a hero. This is correct. In 2015, Trump said, “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” * Harris said that four million people have voted so far in the 2020 election. This is correct, as reported by Reuters and others. * Pence claimed that there was no bias in police’s treatment of minorities. This is incorrect. Black men are 2.5 times more likely than white men to be killed by police.

* Harris claimed that Trump did not condemn white supremacy during his presidential debate. This is correct. Trump said, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.” The Proud Boys are a far-right, neo-fascist group that promotes political violence. * Pence claimed that when Harris was DA, black men were 19 times more likely to be prosecuted for petty crimes. This is correct, as far as we can tell. Black and Latino populations were incarcerated at a much higher rate than white men while she was DA. Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com

WOMEN’S

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· Community-building events · Scholarships · Resource Pantry

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The University of Utah

· Confidential advocacy for victim/survivors

Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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Appointments are encouraged.

The University of Utah displays signs for the VP Debate on Oct. 7.

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12 | MyWeberMedia.com| October13, 2020

There’s no “I” in change: collective problems need

collective action

By CATIE WEIMER

Coorespondent

Leah Murray, a professor of political science and the academic director for Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics and Public Service, led a conversation on collective action problems, climate change and democracy in the United States with students, community members and faculty and staff during Voter Education Week.

Murray was the guest speaker at Alice Mulder’s Climate Change and Culture Shift weekly course on Oct. 6 and discussed the Tragedy of the Commons to explain why we have a collective action problem in the U.S. “The Tragedy of the Commons, basically, is the idea that it is rational for an individual to exploit the shared resources,” Murray said. “If we think about our kind of instinct, if you will, in our nature, our goal is to survive; our goal is to protect ourselves, our goal is to last, our goal is to reproduce so our DNA lasts.”

Murray said this is the kind of thinking that led to people hoarding toilet paper, Lysol wipes and other supplies at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The tragedy is that what’s going to happen is, we exploit so much in our individual drive to protect ourselves that we don’t think about the collective good,” Murray said. “Individually, we misbehave, and it’s hard for us to rationally see that group effect.”

Murray said this is part of the collective action problem; it may be hard for an individual to focus on complicated issues such as climate change when the individual worries solely about him or herself.

“We’ve got built-in ‘individual rights really

matter,’” Murray said. “We do not finely tune our sense of collective self, which makes dealing with the collective problems an issue.”

Adding to that, Murray said, many of our collective issues — such as climate change — are complicated problems.

“If you are figuring out why California is burning, and your answer is just forest management, you’ve missed completely what is going on there,” Murray said. “Forest management is probably a part of it, but there’s a whole list of issues that are there, so this is a collective, complicated issue.”

One of the ways a person can get information on complicated issues is through media, Murray said. However, the way that people are viewing media has changed because of the internet and social media.

According to the Pew Research Center, almost 90 percent of Americans get a portion of their news online, a trend that has grown across the center’s surveys over the last few years.

Pew Research Center also found that about two-thirds of Americans get at least some of their news from social media. Murray said that this doesn’t help with the collective action problem.

“So, I can’t think of things collectively, and now, I’m not getting any information that helps me figure these things out,” Murray said. “The places to go to get information are actually print media.”

Print media, Murray said, have the column space to address complicated issues and problems. However, Pew Research Center found that only around 15 percent of Americans are getting news from print newspapers.

Additionally, people who read the paper

may not be getting all of the information they need to learn about climate change, one collective action problem.

Media and Climate Change Observatory found, when looking at the number of articles that appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal from month to month, that the five newspapers featured the most articles on the subject in September 2019. However, that total was only 800 articles.

However, that number is rising. According to Media and Climate Change Observatory, media coverage in the U.S. of global warming or climate change is showing up in papers more frequently each year.

Another part of the issue, according to Murray, is that since media has to compete with each other and for the attention of social media users, these outlets tend to focus on the stories that involve tragedy and not a conversation about climate change that everyone has heard before.

“If I haven’t spent the time in the media telling the stories about climate change, then all of us citizens in this democracy do not have the tools or the information to make us ready for that,” Murray said. “We are not capable of having that conversation.”

Despite all of this, there are still things we can do about climate change to fix the problem, Murray said.

One way is to join a political party, Murray said. Another is by engaging young voters.

According to Pew Research Center, almost 80 percent of Millennial and Gen Z Republicans prioritize developing alternative energy sources.

“This is a valence issue,” Murray said.

“There’s not a partisan split on it; young voters really want to fix this.”

Murray said that young voters who are interested in getting leaders to prioritize climate change issues should attend a caucus. Another way is to donate money to interest groups.

“You have to do that,” Murray said. “Lobbyists influence how elected officials make decisions.”

Another method Murray recommended to address the collective action problem when it comes to climate change issues was protesting.

“Protests become successful when they seek broad goals that affect the entire society,” Murray said. “Climate change is an obvious one.”

Protests turn bystanders into people who take action, according to Murray. Protests also create pressure on the political system that forces the system to respond.

Murray said that people will need to do multiple things, including voting, to effect real change when it comes to climate issues.

“You’re registered to vote, and you make sure you vote, that’s the least you can do,” Murray said. “We have got to do all of this stuff.”

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election is Oct. 23 at 5 p.m. More information on registering to vote, checking your voter registration and learning about candidates and issues can be found at vote.utah.gov.

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CATIE WEIMER | The Signpost

MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020 | 13

Dr. Leah Murray presented “Can Democracy Solve Collective Problems?” for Voter Education Week as part of the Climate Change and Culture Shift series.

14 | MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020

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MyWeberMedia.com| October 13, 2020 | 15

DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEWS? QUIZ ANSWERS FROM PAGE 2

1. The correct answer is D, Brooklyn. ABC reported that Harold “Heshy” Tischler from Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on charges of inciting to riot.

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About 1,000 cases of rape have been reported this year in Bangladesh alone.

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