HIGH SCHOOL SEX ED?
REQUIRED: PROHIBITED:
The promotion and/or encouragement of the use of contraceptives . The details of sex , sexual excitement and sexual behavior.
The promotion of sexual activity .
THE LACK OF SEX EDUCATION IN UTAH AND ITS EFFECTS
By GRACIE STEPHENSON Contributor
A Fremont High School health teacher, Jared Romero, knows the shortcomings of sex education in Utah, which he’s been teaching for 11 years. Even though his daughter is only 2 years old, he decided it would be dangerous to leave her sex education in the hands of a school alone.
“I definitely will be teaching her,” Romero said. “That kind of communication needs to be open in the home, and I don’t think a child should be afraid to ask.”
Sex education isn’t taught to Utah students until they are sophomores in high school.
Utah is one of 10 states to approach sex education with an abstinence-only curriculum. Although safe sex and risk avoidance practices are mentioned, teachers are not allowed to get into specifics, such as how contraceptives work. This can cause serious implications for the students who aren’t being extensively educated, according to a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health.
is more extensive. Utah state law prohibits sex education from including:
- The complexity of intercourse.
- The intricacies of sexual stimulation.
- The mention of erotic behavior.
- Advocacy of premarital or extramarital sex.
- Encouragement of the use of contraceptives.
Lawmakers think that anything beyond this should be taught at home. According to the Utah Constitution, it is a parent’s “fundamental right” to be the primary educators of their children.
This comes up the most with sex education, according to one of the state’s independent newspapers, The Salt Lake Tribune, with many insisting that the topic is private and sensitive and best left for at-home discussions.
This is reiterated by an FAQ on the Utah State School Board’s website, saying, “Parents should be the primary source of sex education instruction and values relating to this subject.”
Why is the curriculum so strict?
The import ance of abstinence from any premari tal sexual activity and fidelity within marriage.
The restrictions to Utah’s sex education can, in part, be attributed to the culture, being that almost half of the state’s population are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Latter-day Saints (LDS) or Mormons, though the church does not accept the name Mormon anymore. The limited allowance of education that is given to students can be dangerous, increasing teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, spreading misinformation and affecting individuals’ lack of knowledge into adulthood, according to studies and professionals who work in the field.
What is taught in sex ed?
Utah’s sex education is determined by the state board and must follow a set of legislative rules when deciding the curriculum. Utah state law requires sex education to:
- Stress the importance of abstinence from all premarital sexual activity.
- Stress the importance of fidelity within marriage.
- Stress personal skills that facilitate these choices.
While the list of can-talk-about is short, the list of restrictions the curriculum must avoid teaching
Utah’s abstinence-based curriculum is in part due to the culture of the state, the culture being predominantly religious. A 2024 survey by the University of Utah found that 76% of Utahns were affiliated with a religious institution; three-quarters of that population, about 42% of Utah residents, are members of the Church of Jesus Christ.
While the curriculum may not be catered to members of the church specifically, there are undeniable similarities between Utah sex education laws and the beliefs of the Latter-day Saints.
“Obeying the law of chastity includes abstaining from all sexual relations before marriage and remaining completely faithful and loyal after marriage,” said Dale Renlund, an apostle for the church, in an article on the international church’s website.
The Church of Jesus Christ speaks about premarital sex and infidelity in a profoundly negative manner, even going so far as to say that it is one of the worst sins one can commit, second only to murder, according to the book of Alma in The Book of Mormon. These opinions influence the heavily conservative culture and seep into comprehensiveness of Utah’s sex education, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
What does this mean for the students?
The church strives to achieve purity and chastity by implementing their rules about sex, something that is vital within the religion. However, the abstinence-only culture, coupled with the abstinence-only based curriculum, deprives students of the education needed to safely engage in sex when they’re ready, claims Heather Garcia, a Utah mom who received her sex education in Northern Utah, which provides a comprehensive curriculum.
The negative impacts of an abstinenceonly sex education are ongoing. By limiting the breadth of what is taught to students, they become at risk for pregnancies, STIs and misinformation. Garcia also believes that Utah’s limited sex education can linger into adulthood.
Teen pregnancy and STI rates
According to Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services most recent available numbers, in 2022, 9.2 of every 1,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth to a child. These numbers are down significantly from their most recent peak in 2018, when 13.1 females of the 15-19 age range gave birth to a child.
While the numbers don’t top the nation’s charts, they don’t sit at the bottom either.
Congress reported the state with the lowest teen pregnancy rate to be New Hampshire, with 4.6 females ages 1519 bearing children in 2022. While New Hampshire does emphasize the importance of abstinence within their curriculum, there is one major difference between what is taught there as opposed to Utah: sexual behavior.
Utah’s laws prohibit speaking on sexual behavior when teaching sex education. However, New Hampshire’s lower teen pregnancy rate may suggest that there are benefits in expanding the breadth of the curriculum, even if it’s only so far as to speak on sexual behavior.
Sexually transmitted infections in Utah tell a similar story; while the state does not make the nation’s top five, it also does not make the bottom five.
In the most recent available numbers, Utah had 14,861 reported cases of STIs in 2022. Chlamydia and gonorrhea have been on the decline from years past, but syphilis numbers continue to rise.
Although Utah succeeds in remaining out of the highest teen pregnancy rates and STI rates in the nation, the fact that they don’t
hold up the back of the line on the bottom of the chart indicates that individuals are having premarital and extramarital sex, despite the sex education they have received.
Misinformation
Because of the minimal information that gets shared about sex education within the classroom, it becomes easier for misinformation surrounding intercourse to spread. A prime example of this is soaking.
Soaking is what the Urban Dictionary describes as teenagers’ way of getting around the strict sex rules of their religion, predominantly the Church of Jesus Christ. It happens by inserting a penis into a vagina and simply lying still rather than thrusting, sometimes recruiting a third person to jump or kick on the mattress, simulating the motions of sex.
As social media has spotlighted this practice, more and more teenagers believe that soaking does not carry the same risks that intercourse does, according to social media posts. They are not taking measures to protect themselves against pregnancy and STIs, as they don’t believe the implications of sex can apply to soaking.
This misconception has crept from teenagers to college students, as social media has shown that some students at Brigham Young University have taken it upon themselves to soak as a way to get around the strict honor code at the college.
BYU, a private university funded by the church, prohibits premarital sexual relations, saying students should “live a chaste and virtuous life.”
Garcia believes this is just one example of the misinformation that spreads through word of mouth among teenagers and adults who aren’t extensively educated on the topic of sex.
Uneducated adults
The sex education provided in Utah high schools lacks depth and breadth, but the effects of the undetailed education can bleed into adulthood for some.
The issue of Utah’s sex education stretches beyond the teenage years of making uneducated guesses of how to evade pregnancy and STIs. It reaches the corners of adulthood when making the intentional decision of starting a family.
“I know a friend of a friend that had a good, traditional LDS upbringing [and] a
TEEN PREGNANCY
temple marriage, and they couldn’t figure out why they weren’t getting pregnant. They were doing some things not the right way, we’ll just put it that way,” Garcia said.
“Even those who intentionally wait still have issues because they’re not even being taught. So, that when they are ready finally, even in adulthood, they still don’t know what they’re doing. They either don’t get pregnant or do get pregnant, not knowing what the issue is, and it’s just mindblowing.”
A better education
Many parents, teachers and students agree that by stressing the importance of abstinence as the main form of birth control, individuals are done a disservice.
“Abstinence only … I don’t know if that’s always effective because we’re not able to provide them with all of the information that we can for a young person to make an informed decision,” Romero said. “By making some topics taboo or sensitive to talk about, then it doesn’t get brought up, and they’re left to figure it out.”
Garcia fears for the well-being of students who receive the sum of their education from school.
“Abstinence-only sex education is pointless because it’s not education — it’s more ideology,” Garcia said.
Garcia’s 15-year-old son, Rayne, echoes this statement by saying that the way that sex education is set up fails to teach him anything. Garcia is grateful to have built a relationship that fosters these conversations.
Romero, encourages all parents to be as open with their children as Garcia is with hers.
“If we’re more open with talking about everything, then they’ve probably already thought about it, and they’re more likely to make an informed and responsible decision,” Romero said. “As a male, I wasn’t asking those kinds of questions to anyone, but I would hope that I could have that relationship with my daughter.”
APR. 22 a t 11:30 a. m.
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OGDEN CLINIC PROVIDES HEALTHCARE TO WSU STUDENTS
By SKY MUNDELL Contributor
Weber State University students now have access to more medical services at a lower cost to the university, according to university records of student fees.
Weber has saved over $100,000 in student fee money spent on student healthcare services each year since the school entered its partnership with the Professional Center North Ogden Clinic (PCN), located at 4650 Harrison Blvd, in 2023.
Student healthcare services cover WSU students’ basic healthcare needs regardless of whether they have insurance.
Last year, Mariela Henderson, a Weber student, discovered that her student fees entitled her to free services through PCN Ogden Clinic.
“At first it was a really stressful situation because I wasn’t feeling well and I thought I’d have to spend a lot of money,” Henderson said. “The staff told me that I have insurance as a student, so that was a huge relief to hear.”
Henderson explained that PCN Ogden
Students
Clinic was the most convenient and natural choice, as there is a clinic a block away from University Village.
She visited PCN twice for the same issue and was only billed for the medications prescribed to her. Henderson added that despite both of her visits being walk-ins, she spent minimal time waiting to see a provider.
Student healthcare: More for less
In 2023, Weber closed the Student Health Center due to a lack of use. In its place, PCN took over as WSU’s primary student healthcare provider.
While the transition was initially met with skepticism from the student body, the administration insisted that the partnership would save the school money and expand the suite of services made available to students through their student fees.
“When we changed to a different model of delivering healthcare, we knew that there would be bumps in the road,” said Rochelle Bronson, WSU’s student health and wellness program administrator. “A lot of the first year was troubleshooting those concerns.”
Bronson reflected on how PCN Ogden
Clinic worked together with the university to expand the services available to students. The contract was updated to specify the lab tests and medical services that were available to students under their student health insurance, including STD, blood and urine tests.
“We went from 12 tests that we could offer on campus to about 135 tests that we can do at Ogden Clinic,” Bronson said.
Additionally, the amendment clarified that PCN must provide ambulatory care to students without cost. This means student insurance covers visits for health concerns that don’t require hospitalization or an overnight stay.
“When we outsourced, it was just hard to know what to ask for,” Bronson said. “We wanted to be able to give students their basic healthcare needs and roughly approximate what we had done on campus so that students weren’t getting anything less and were hopefully getting more out of it.”
In addition to being able to offer a broader range of services to students through the partnership, Bronson explained that eliminating the brick-and-mortar costs of operating the Student Health Center drastically
reduced the cost of providing student healthcare.
“Through the Ogden Clinic, we’re providing students with more value with less student fee money going out the door,” Bronson said.
Outsourcing is saving money
Joe Elggren, practice manager at the Ogden Clinic located on Harrison Boulevard, helps manage the partnership between Weber State and PCN.
Elggren explained that WSU used to pay to maintain the whole Student Health Center, but now, the university only pays for PCN Ogden Clinic’s staff and facility through a flat rate per visit outlined in the medical service agreement.
The medical service agreement between WSU and PCN states that the school pays a $170 flat rate per eligible student visit, which has proven to be a more cost-effective model for the university than sustaining an on-campus student clinic.
“Our passion is making sure that people are taken care of,” Elggren said. “The fact that we can partner with an incredible institution
The sign outside the Professional Center North Ogden Clinic.”
like Weber State University is extremely exciting to us and we feel like it’s a win-win for both sides.”
According to a cumulative year-over-year report on student healthcare usage provided by the university, the number of unique patients being serviced has demonstrated an upward trend in the two years since the school partnered with PCN Ogden Clinic.
Tracking these trends has been tricky. The Student Health Center counted individual labs ordered and procedures done as individual visits instead of counting the visits themselves, according to Bronson. She suggests that these may have led to an inflation of the reported number of visits during the years that the Student Health Center operated.
A potential lack of awareness
With a wider assortment of medical services available to students and an overall positive impression of the care that students receive at the clinic, one weak point is a general lack of awareness among the student body regarding their student healthcare benefits.
The results of a survey measuring student feedback on their experiences at PCN Ogden Clinic done in 2024 by WSU Student Health and Wellness suggested that students had positive experiences with the providers they’ve seen at the clinic.
However, on a question concerning whether or not the provider explained to the student which services were covered and which weren’t, just under half of the respondents indicated that they disagreed to some degree that the provider had fulfilled that function.
According to the results of a survey of Weber students done for this article through the school’s community Snapchat page, only 20% of respondents out of the 125 who responded said that they were aware of their student healthcare benefits.
“I think that students should take advantage of this benefit because health insurance can get pretty expensive,” Henderson said. “It’s cool that the school provides student health insurance because I didn’t even know that was something I had.”
Student fee money spent on Student Healthcare services
Source: Weber State University
The Professional Center North Ogden Clinic located on 4650 South.
NURTURING GROWTH: THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY CHILDCARE IN UTAH
By ARIANNA SALAS Contributor
As Utah’s population continues to expand, so does the demand for high-quality, affordable childcare. However, parents often find themselves questioning the safety of childcare facilities.
For Izzy London, a single mother of a 1-year-old boy, the search for the right daycare provider went beyond practical concern. It was an emotional decision for her to make because of how young her son was when he started daycare.
London decided to put her baby in daycare when he was 2 months old.
London works full-time as a construction estimator, so finding a childcare provider was essential for her. She reached out to her family to ask if anyone could care for her son while she worked, but they were unwilling to watch him.
“It was very hard to trust someone else to take care of my son,” London said. “He was a difficult baby, and I was afraid of what would happen if he cried too much.”
Parents often fear putting their children in childcare facilities because of headlines they see on the news of children getting seriously injured in childcare facilities, but state research suggests that the chances of that happening are low.
According to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, the number of children injured per 1,000 in childcare was four last year.
London chose an in-home daycare because the thought of leaving her son at a large facility was too stressful.
“I wanted him to be at an in-home daycare because of how young he was when he started. That way he could stay healthy,” London said. “I also wanted to find someone who I had some sort of connection to. The first daycare he went to was an in-home daycare run by one of my high school friend’s wives. She was great. He has switched daycares twice since then. All of his daycares have been inhome.”
London had toured a large daycare center before and said it was too messy and chaotic. Having her son in a smaller daycare just
seemed like the right choice for her and her son.
As for many parents, safety was a concern for London when placing her son in a daycare. She said she informed her current daycare provider of the food sensitivities her son has, yet they continue to feed him those foods. Still, she stays even though it causes her some stress because she feels comfortable enough leaving her son there.
London also said her son has come home with injuries a few times. They have only been small bumps and nothing of major concern.
London said her son seems to like the daycare and he is happy and in a good mood when she goes to pick him up.
Making learning fun
According to a study done in 2009 on 104 children in Vienna, Austria, over the first four months after settling into daycare, all the children showed a decrease in negative mood as dynamic interactions with their peers increased.
It’s only natural for infants and toddlers to show distress the first few weeks they are
placed in childcare because it’s a new environment for them to adapt to the study said.
However, after adapting to the new environment, they can gain new interpersonal skills and learn to socialize with one another.
Many childcare facilities offer learning opportunities that allow children to develop cognitive skills through play and literacy development through storytelling.
Anna Robbins-Ek, founder and director of Mom Pod Co, a daycare facility with multiple locations in Utah, strives to ensure that her daycares are nurturing environments for children.
“We provide what we can and really try to help make learning a part of play,” Robbins-Ek said.
The costs of care
Robbins-Ek said one of her missions is to make childcare affordable. Childcare can be expensive, which often drives parents away from seeking childcare.
According to a study done by Bankrate, the cost of having one infant in childcare is 10.3% of a family’s yearly income in Utah.
“Families need to be able to pay for care, but they are so limited on what they can pay,” Robbins-Ek said. “My mission really is to help as many families as I can and put the community back in childcare. From there, I know that we will be profitable and sustainable, but it takes a village, transparency and a lot of patience.”
Finding the right staff is also a challenge a lot of childcare facilities face. Ensuring that children have good properly trained childcare providers is important.
Robbins-Ek said this is one of the challenges she faces in her daycares because finding people who are passionate about childcare is hard, especially because of the low pay rates childcare teachers receive. According to Indeed, the average base salary for a childcare provider in Utah is $14.24 per hour.
However, many parents may be relieved to hear that all employees hired to be childcare providers have to pass a background check and go through in-depth training.
According to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, all individuals working for a licensed childcare program must complete a background check through
the Office of Background Processing. This includes not only caregivers but also volunteers and other staff not directly working with children.
Robbins-Ek said she offers additional training for her staff, on top of the 20 hours required by the state.
Supporting the providers
Zoie Evans, a Weber State University student studying early childhood education and minoring in child development, is learning about the impacts of early childhood education and the importance of providing support for new teachers. Evans said finding the right facility that provides support for daycare teachers has also been a challenge she’s personally experienced.
“I have seen for myself and have talked to many daycare and preschool teachers that are not receiving the level of support that they need in executing the curriculum and behavior management in the classroom,” Evans said. “I’ve noticed that when these teachers are not getting support, the students are affected as well, and it’s apparent through behavior issues and such.”
Evans said that since moving to a newer facility, she has received more support as a daycare teacher and that this has reflected on the children and their ability to learn.
“I am lucky that I was able to transition to a school that gave support and encouraged learning. Not every early childhood teacher or child is lucky enough to get that,” Evans said.
Evans acknowledged that learning is an ongoing process. She said childcare providers and teachers should always be open to learning new things and gaining new skills.
“I’m never going to stop being a learner, and I hope to pass that on to my students as well because there is so much to learn from in everyday life,” Evans said.
Supporting parents with work-life balance
London said that as her son grows, she will continue to keep him in daycare, but she is concerned about him starting preschool since the hours for those programs are shorter. She feels that this is the best decision for her to live a more balanced life between having to care for her son and working full time.
Number of Children Injured Per 1,000 in Childcare
Childcare facilities play a vital role in providing care for children all across Utah. According to a Workforce Services report in 2020, 54% of Utah children under 6 years old require childcare providers other than their parents.
There are a total of 2,407 licensed childcare facilities in Utah currently according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Weber State offers childcare services on campus for active students. Childcare is available at a rate of $3.50 an hour per child for any students who wish to enroll children in the program.
THE EFFECTS OF INVERSION ON UTAH RESIDENTS
By TENAYA HYDE Contributor
Mykla Bair shouts and giggles with the other kids as they play tag, but a mask muffles her laughter. She’s the only child wearing one. Mykla Bair, 9, steps away every few minutes to cough and catch her breath. She and her brother, Easton Bair, have cystic fibrosis, a chronic, organ-damaging disease.
Cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs, digestive system and other organs, is characterized by a thick mucus buildup that causes difficulty breathing and impaired digestion. Mykla Bair was diagnosed with this debilitating disease at 6 years old. Her condition has put her in the hospital over 15 times since June 2022.
People of all ages suffer from respiratory problems in Utah. Some people can live a relatively normal life with or without treatment, while others are held captive by their extreme health conditions.
Utah meets air quality regulations most of the year. Then winter comes, and winter in Utah means inversion. Inversion occurs when cold air traps hot air beneath higher atmospheric pressure, trapping pollution.
“It feels like a death sentence,” Mykla Bair’s
mother, Amanda Bair, said about living with Utah’s pollution.
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality is the primary force working to solve Utah’s pollution issues. The agency implements environmental laws and works with individuals, groups, and businesses to protect air quality.
Health impact
Trapped pollution finds its way into the lungs of vulnerable populations. According to the 2022 Utah Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, around 10.9% of Utah’s 18-and-older population and 7.2% of Utah children aged 0-17 suffer from asthma. One of the leading causes of asthma in Utah is its pollution, which is exacerbated by inversion, according to the University of Utah Health.
Amanda Bair said Mykla Bair stays inside on anything but green air days, or she winds up in the hospital, facing invasive treatments which may last 8 to 12 hours each. She can go to school but must stay inside for recess and lunch. The school has provided a special room for Mykla Bair to play, color and read. Still, she hates missing outside play time with her peers and hates her cystic fibrosis.
The American Lung Association’s 2023
Data Source- 2022 Utah Behavioral Risk factor Surveillance System
report shows Salt Lake City’s pollution problem worsening. Dr. Chuck Iverson, a Utah pulmonologist — a lung specialist — said that “one of the biggest contributors to the shortening of lifespan is air pollution.”
This air pollution is a growing health concern among Utahns. A 2020 study by Brigham Young University found that Utah residents lose an average of 1.1 to 3.5 years off their lifespan due to poor air quality. The same survey showed that between 2,500 and 8,000 premature deaths occur each year because of pollution. Exposure to tiny particles and other toxic pollutants can increase the risk of heart and lung diseases like congestive heart failure, heart attacks, pneumonia, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and asthma.
These conditions account for 62% of the impact of pollution on health in Utah. The remaining 38% of health effects are stroke, cancer, reproductive damage to mothers and their children, mental illness, behavioral dysfunction, autoimmune disease, autism and other conditions — all made worse by exposure to dirty air. Most importantly, the study found cleaning the air could have immense health and economic benefits for Utah.
Utah is the second-highest state in the U.S. for the lifetime prevalence of asthma among adults, at 16.3% as of 2020. West Virginia has the highest prevalence, at 16.9%, which is partly attributed to that state’s coal mining.
The costs of pollution
The cost of Utah’s air pollution isn’t just physical. A study by 23 environmental scientists and economists found that Utah’s air pollution costs totaled $175 million to $3.3 billion annually, accounting for up to 1.7% of the state’s gross domestic product. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air’s website states that the “increased risk of diseases such as asthma, diabetes, stroke and chronic respiratory diseases causes a reduced ability to work, lowers labor participation and increases healthcare costs.”
A 2019 study from the University of Utah evaluated 1,398 women who had suffered a sudden loss of pregnancy from 2007-2015 and found that the risk for spontaneous loss of pregnancy increased 16% in women along the Wasatch Front from even short-term exposure to some pollutants.
According to the University of Utah’s Bureau of Epidemiology, babies who are exposed to pollution in utero are more likely to be born premature or underweight, putting them at an increased risk for longterm health complications and death.
Particulate matter is a term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. These can be anything from car emissions to exterior paint. Particulate matter is about 3% of the diameter of human hair. Due to its small size, particulate matter can be easily inhaled, “particularly from particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and
ozone, as well as occupational exposures such as mine dust and respiratory illnesses like the flu, RSV, and COVID-19,” the Utah Department of Environmental Quality said.
The DEQ also states, “Utah, especially the Wasatch Front, struggles with high levels of PM2.5 and PM10, which can cause respiratory problems such as coughing, wheezing, and asthma attacks.”
According to Mykla Bair, she feels sad when she cannot breathe and even worse when she cannot do the everyday things that a 9-year-old should be able to do. She’s used to taking two breathing treatments and her medications daily. Utah air pollution makes it difficult for Mykla Bair to enjoy a full, engaging life.
Amanda Bair chose to quit her job as a surgical technician and become a stay-athome mother because her two children with cystic fibrosis were frequently sick and she couldn’t take time off work for multiple weeks at a time. She said their illnesses sometimes last for months.
The teachers of Mykla and Easton Bair have learned how to best support their health problems and sensitivity to the Utah air. If the air outside is polluted beyond safe levels, their teachers keep them inside. Amanda Bair said it’s hard for her kids to understand that just because the air is dirty, they cannot do what they want, but it’s a necessary part of staying healthy.
“It’s a sacrifice we have to make for where we live,” Amanda Bair said. Staying inside is difficult for Amanda Bair’s other five children, but it’s how they keep the two children with cystic fibrosis safe and healthy.
Sources of particulate matter
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Magnesium, the largest magnesium producer in North America, extracts the metal from the Great Salt Lake brine at a plant upwind of Salt Lake City.
“Modeling demonstrated that the chlorine and bromine emitted by the refinery were responsible for 10%-25% of regional particulate matter 2.5 during winter pollution episodes.” The DEQ also states that PM2.5 emissions and the chemicals contributing to these emissions are the primary cause of winter inversions in Utah.
“Air pollution affects the lungs and certainly people with asthma or other obstructive lung diseases like COPD. We even think that it’s tied into some of the cases of scarring in the lungs, which is something called pulmonary fibrosis, and certainly in lung cancer as well,”
Iverson said. “It affects a lot of potential diseases within the lungs. There’s a lot of overlap between the lungs and allergy as well. So, people who have allergies are quite often triggered by the poor air quality too.”
Contributing approximately 6.35 tons of volatile organic compounds daily, personal care products, including perfumes, soaps and hairsprays, are the number one contributor to pollution in Utah. If it’s in a bottle or can and has a smell, it contains volatile organic compounds. These personal care products account for more emissions per day than cars. They are a significant contributor to pollution, Demetrios Pagonis, a chemical and physical scientist of Weber State, said.
“Every time someone pumps a bit of hand
soap and you can smell it, you’re smelling volatile organics in the air, and you add that up across millions of people and you get a couple of tons per day,” Pagonis said. “Household products, cleaners, sprays, you name it. Everything in that cabinet under the kitchen sink that you use to clean the house has volatile organics in it.”
There are many ways of releasing chemicals into the air besides burning them inside an engine. Coatings, paints, lacquers and polishing your car puts organics in the air. The strong smell from products such as adhesives, sealants and glues used in construction is the organic compounds in the air.
Where do we go from here?
Utah actively addresses the pollution problem with various initiatives, including state incentives. Examples include The Renewable Energy Systems Tax Credit and Alternative Energy Development Incentive.
However, Utahns can do a great deal to help alleviate pollution ourselves. DEQ recommends several actions, including reducing thermostat usage, using energyefficient light bulbs, and opting for electric or hand-powered lawn tools. Simple measures such as running the clothes washer and dishwasher only when full can also help reduce energy consumption.
“If we can all do our part, limit our travel on bad air quality days, and think about ways within our own power, with our own production of pollution, to minimize those things — if we do have cars, make sure the tire pressure is adequate, the engines are tuned, so you’re reducing your CO2 production, and limit burning. If you can avoid burning with fireplaces, outdoor burns, anything like that, that can be eliminated. It does help the community,” Iverson said.
Mykla Bair and her brother, Easton Bair hug in front of a window.
TITLE IX: A LOOK INTO WOMEN’S ATHLETIC EQUALITY
By CORY MATER Contributor
Caitlin Clark sinks the basket to break the all-time NCAA scoring record. The USA women’s basketball and soccer teams won the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. These are special moments in the history of women’s sports, but none of them would be possible without Title IX and the women who have pushed for equality and grown women’s athletics.
Women’s sports at Weber State University has been gaining funding over the past decade compared to men’s sports. This has given more opportunities for women to play through college. With the percentage of women athletes on campus growing, it provides more inclusion and opportunities for these female athletes and the ability to gain more funding, which is getting them closer to the men’s sports.
Title IX was introduced by Congress in 1972 as a part of the Education Amendments program. The reason behind Title IX is that it set a precedent to prohibit discrimination based on sex when it comes to school based education, sports and program funds. Although the numbers have heavily favored men over the years, it has made a positive difference in the opportunities for women in collegiate sports and remains important to this day.
“Title IX has really just created a sense of equality in the sports world for women,” Mia Rushton, former Weber State University softball outfielder, said. “More women’s sports in college means more opportunity and growth.”
For years, men’s sports dominated the college scene
as much of the funding and revenues was focused on the men’s programs. However, in recent years, due to Title IX, women’s sports have gained more funding to help provide them with more equity. This growth of women’s sports has been led by volleyball, soccer, basketball and softball.
“Title IX has been very successful in expanding opportunities in women’s sports,” Will Pridemore, associate athletics director for student-athlete support services at WSU, said.
During the 2015-16 season there were a total of 218 male athletes and a total of 233 women athletes on campus. However the money for men’s sports was significantly higher at $5.5 million while the money put into women’s sports was only $3.5 million. The women’s programs received about 65% of what is provided to the men’s sports.
For three consecutive seasons, the percentage of student athletes that were rostered on Weber teams favored the women’s teams, while the funds for these teams heavily favored the men’s teams. In 2020, the number was an even number of athletes for both mens and womens sports. Recently, the number of female student athletes at Weber have started decreasing, while the number of male athletes have increased.
When it comes to Weber spending money on the different sports, football is the leader and receives around 27% of the athletic department expenses for funding of the athletes each year. In 2015-16 the average amount of money spent per male athlete was $25,334 while athletes in the women’s sports received $15,397 per athlete. This meant women received only 60% of what the men received.
Fast forward to today, 10 years later the numbers have jumped on both sides. The average male athlete is receiving $33,493 per athlete while females are now receiving $28,268. That percentage has increased significantly to where women athletes now receive 84% compared to what male athletes receive.
When it comes to the 13 NCAA sports teams on campus there are a total of five men’s teams and eight women’s teams. Although the women’s sports are more prevalent, the men are still favored in funding.These teams have changed over the years but Weber is an important part of the Big Sky Conference.
Although the money for women’s sports has increased over the past several years, there continues to be a discrepancy in the funds available.
Back in the 2015-16 season, the average salary per head coach for male teams was $100,105 compared to the average female head coaches, who were making $56,982 on average per head coach. Coaches of women’s teams only made 58% of the salary spent on coaches of men’s teams. Currently, with the 2024-25 season the numbers have increased, especially for the women head coaches. The male head coaches are receiving $111,717 on average, while
Weber State University women’s soccer midfield positions, Ella Sanders (12) and Alaina Wildenradt (15), go after the ball as opposing team members close in.
the average female head coach is making $83,126. The difference between salaries has shrunk, with women now making around 75% of what their male counterparts earn. With the ongoing improvement for financial support on the women’s programs for coaches and players, it shows that Weber follows the guidelines of Title IX but still has a way to go to continue to close the gap in compensation.
Pridemore added, “The university and the Department of Athletics proactively review Title IX issues and work to ensure equitable opportunities for women’s sports.”
With the funding of athletes increasing, the funding for the women’s basketball team has provided them with better quality equipment.
“We get all the travel gear that we will need to wear on our trips or to athletic events and workouts,” sophomore guard for the women’s basketball team Amanda Edwards said.
Each of the players on the women’s team receives workout shirts, shorts and socks. Additionally, they are provided with travel apparel which includes jackets, sweats and a parka. They also receive shoes and a backpack which are sponsored by Adidas.
The women’s basketball team also has access to the Dee Events Center and gym for practices and workouts. According to Edwards, the team trains regularly, “We can
go in the Dee Events Center anytime from around 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., we just can’t go when the men have their practice, which is from 1-3 p.m. Other than that we usually have at least half the court and the guys get the other half.”
This allows them plenty of time during the week to work together as a team in preparation for each and every game they will be playing in. It adds friendly but competitive competition with one another to help everyone grow and mature as an athlete.
Athletes need to get the proper rest and nutrition throughout the season to perform at their best. With all the funding and being able to provide each athlete and teams with the best training and nutrition programs possible, today’s athletes have more opportunities than in the past. This is why travel accommodations and hotel room assignments are so important.
Communications Law professor, Stephen Salmon, was previously involved in the Athletic Department at Weber for seven years. He discussed the growth of Title IX and how it has positively impacted the growth of women sports.
“Title IX means to me having equal and equitable access for underrepresented athletes, specifically women. Documents like this are living and breathing and change with the era that they are in. Do I think Title IX is working? Yes and no, but I do think it’s working the way it was planned,”
Salmon said.
When comparing Weber to some of the other larger universities throughout Utah, including the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, it can be a challenge for smaller schools to have the same impact and ability to draw student athletes into the program.
“We as an institution are a low resource institution, meaning we have to do more with less. So, I think the athletic department in general has done a great job with Title IX and helping our women’s sports teams,” Salmon said. “I mean, you can look and see numerous Big Sky championships from our women’s teams.”
With other schools in the state having bigger athletic programs than Weber, it can affect how much money is being brought in.
“I’m not sure it hurts us from getting our fair share of funds from the state, but where it does hurt us is in getting donations and people in the stands. When you have three bigger D1 schools within reasonable driving distance, it hurts us because the market gets saturated,” Salmon said.
“The biggest thing is making the collegiate dream more achievable and fair for everyone,” Rushton said.
Information in this article was sourced from Weber State University.
FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE: ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES ON
By MEGAN SWANN Editor
Weber State University being virtually built into the side of a mountain is a selling point for outdoorsy students, where the rocky slopes serve as a backdrop for campus. The walk between Lindquist Hall and Marriott Allied Health is often jokingly referred to as a hike – an uphill walk with some steep stairways.
For Weber State University Student Association Disability Liaison Miriam Greene, it’s a little bit more than just “a hike”. Greene demonstrated what a typical route across campus for wheelchair users is like, pushing herself up the hill. The route starts by going around Miller Administration, taking a steep ramp up to the Student Services Center, an elevator ride to take the bridge across to Shepherd Union and another elevator ride to the third floor, where she takes several ramps to end up by Stewart Library.
Greene has to plan exactly when to leave her classes to attempt to make it on time and to avoid the crowds, who often do not move out of her way.
“If you are curious about what it’s like
living on campus with a disability, borrow a wheelchair. Try commuting your route on campus in a chair. See how you feel by the end of it,” Greene said.
During her time at Weber State, Greene has noticed many cracks in the university’s support system for students with disabilities. Snow and plant overgrowth on ramps, unreliable elevators and accessibility doors and transportation around campus are important issues to her. Above all, she is concerned about communication issues between students and Disability Services.
Weber State’s Disability Services serves anywhere between 1,000-2,000 students a year, according to Director Angela McLean. They work with providing accommodations to students on a case-by-case basis, reviewing all Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requests and deciding what’s feasible and reasonable based on each student’s situation. Some of their services include testing accommodations, sign language interpreters and adaptive technology.
“We have to respond in a timely way to student requests. Students do have to prove they’re disabled. That’s under the law, and so they have to submit confidential medical
CAMPUS
information and meet with us and disclose certain things and so instead of having to disclose that to every faculty member or everywhere on campus, they come here and we talk,” McLean said.
However, this timely manner mentioned is not always experienced by the students that the center serves.
For example, Echo Oliver, president of Weber State’s disabilities club, said while they’ve had positive experiences with individual professors and students regarding their disability, they’ve had issues with administration.
“I have some accommodations from Disability Services, but I don’t have all of the ones I’m looking for, and I don’t have the really important ones I’m looking for,” Oliver said.
Oliver said that they have been asked by Disability Services to provide a doctor’s note, but when they provided this, the center told them it was not enough to receive all the accommodations they asked for. Oliver said they felt like the process was vague and difficult to navigate, especially when their questions were met with further uncertainty from the counselors and advisers in the center.
“I’m working on getting a diagnosis, but this is the thing that takes a lot of time. I need accommodations before then so I can do school,” Oliver said.
Oliver said that they felt like they were not asking for too much as individual professors will give them the accommodations; they just want official accommodations so that they don’t have to ask each time.
Another complaint against Disability Services is a lack of response to certain situations. Greene has fallen on campus due to ice and snow several times, even fracturing a vertebrae once because of it. While Facilities Management takes care to scrape off ice and accessible pathways, Greene said that on heavy snow days, these are usually slippery again once students start showing up for classes.
Greene said Disability Services’ response to this issue was advising her to stay home on those days.
McLean said she is not aware of any
kind of statement of this nature from her office. She said that they work closely with Facilities Management, who is aware of the spots needing extra maintenance to provide accessibility.
Issues like these motivated Greene to start a campus-wide survey about overall satisfaction with Disability Services. This has proved more difficult than previously imagined.
Greene started working on the survey during the summer of 2024. She partnered with Robert Reynolds, associate professor of sociology, to create this survey and was working with the Office of Student Access and Success to distribute the survey. During fall semester 2024, she worked on getting approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), a board that examines research projects involving human participants to ensure ethical standards and regulations. However, the IRB made some suggestions and edits to the survey that Greene found problematic. One of the questions Greene and Reynolds wanted to ask was whether students had been asked to complete cognitive testing to receive accommodations, which would be a violation of ADA laws. The edits changed the question to read if students were asked to complete testing in general.
“It’s a very confusing question because to be diagnosed with a disability, that requires testing, and you have to submit proof of that to receive accommodations,” Greene said.
Another edit Greene disliked was the removal of the words “discrimination” and “harassment” from the survey. Greene wrote a Likert scale question gauging how strongly students agreed or disagreed that they experience discrimination at Weber State.
“Every time that you’re replacing discrimination with bullying, you’re really not acknowledging that this is a continuum,” Greene said. “Bullying makes me feel uncomfortable. It’s frustrating. It’s irritating, I can largely ignore it. Harassment is concerning. It makes me feel unsafe. Discrimination is largely institutional and makes my life incredibly challenging.”
Greene and Reynolds were left with two choices: either keep the edits to get
AJ HANDLEY | The Signpost
Krystal Orantes and Echo Oliver look at the steep hill in the center of Weber State campus. (AJ Handley)
Stewart Library
Shepherd Union
Student
sociology department, which would have a more widespread sample and not apply directly to students who use Disability Services.
“It is a double-edged sword to the truest extent, knowing how to handle this. We need to preserve the integrity of the research study. We need to actually help people. I’m not sure if there’s a perfect way to do that either way,” Greene said.
As of April 2025, the survey remains unfinished. Greene has plans to work on it during the summer and return to working on sending it out during the fall 2025 semester.
McLean, who has worked with Disability Services for 26 years, said that her office already has a survey which regularly
“If they report anything else out, then we try to meet with them and figure out what’s happening,” McLean said.
McLean said that she is always open to talk to students about their frustrations and see if they can meet in the middle any way they can. She said that oftentimes, they are not aware of these issues because students are not communicating them.
“If you hit a barrier, call us. Set up an appointment. Meet with your adviser, have a phone call with your adviser. We take walk-ins. Let’s figure out what’s going on,” McLean said.
If students have issues with these services, they can report to their adviser, herself or even the Office of Equal Opportunity if their needs are still not being met.
Greene said that she felt that the university needed to talk to students and hold focus groups with people with all types of disabilities to get a better understanding of how they can improve.
“I wish we lived in a world that everybody’s needs could be met in the ideal circumstances, and it is challenging, but we definitely want to try it where we can,” McLean said.
In the meantime, pursuing this survey is helping Greene feel like she is making a difference.
“As a disabled student on campus, yes, there’s Title IX who can help when discrimination happens, when there’s issues, but it doesn’t really feel like anyone’s fighting for us,” Greene said. “A lot
a disabled student and advocate for other disabled students and try to improve things on campus is meaningful and it makes it feel like I’m less alone.”
Oliver remains hopeful that things will get better for students with disabilities.
“A lot of times when I’m talking to people about the accessibility issues on campus with the university, it comes across as feeling a little bit hopeless. They’re like ‘Oh, this is just how the university is, and it’s going to suck for the rest of time.’ But I don’t think that’s true,” Oliver said. “I think that we can build a community that is accessible to everyone with the university. I don’t think it’s that far away either.”
Services
Goddard School of Business
Miller Admin.
Lampros
Tracy Hall
A map with locations identified by Miriam Green as difficult to traverse due to steep inclines.
UNA LUCHA CUESTA ARRIBA: PROBLEMAS DE ACCESIBILIDAD EN EL CAMPUS
Por NELLY HERNANDEZ TEJADA Traductor
Por MEGAN SWANN Editor
La Universidad de Weber State, prácticamente construida al pie de una montaña, es un punto de interés para los estudiantes que disfrutan del aire libre, ya que sus inclinadas montañas sirven como escenario del campus. El camino desde Lindquist Hall hasta Marriott Allied Health es conocido en broma como una caminata, un paseo cuesta arriba con algunas escaleras inclinadas.
Para Miriam Greene, enlace de la Asociación de Estudiantes con Discapacidad de la Universidad de Weber State (Weber State University Student Association Disability), es algo más que una simple “caminata”. Greene demostró cómo es una ruta típica por el campus para usuarios de sillas de ruedas, empujándose ella para subir la colina. La ruta comienza alrededor
de Miller Administration, pasando por una empinada rampa hasta el Student Services Center, un trayecto subiendo y bajando en el puente que cruza hasta Shepherd Union y otro trayecto subiendo hasta al tercer piso, donde tiene que subir varias rampas hasta llegar a la Stewart Library.
Greene tiene que planear exactamente cuándo salir de sus clases para intentar llegar a tiempo y evitar a la gente, que normalmente no se apartan de su camino.
Durante su tiempo en Weber State, Greene ha observado muchas fallas en el sistema de apoyo de la universidad a los estudiantes con discapacidad. La nieve y el crecimiento excesivo de las plantas en las rampas, los elevadores y puertas que no se pueden utilizar y la accesibilidad y el transporte por el campus son temas importantes para ella. Sobre todo, le preocupan los problemas de comunicación entre los estudiantes y los Servicios de Discapacidad (Disability Services).
Los Servicios para Discapacitados de Weber State atienden entre 1.000 y 2.000
estudiantes cada año, según su directora, Angela McLean. Trabajan para proporcionar adaptaciones a los estudiantes caso por caso, revisando todas las solicitudes de la Ley de Estadounidenses con Discapacidades (Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA) y decidiendo qué es lo posible y razonable en cada situación. Algunos de sus servicios incluyen modificaciones en los exámenes, intérpretes de lengua de signos y tecnología adaptativa.
“Tenemos que responder a tiempo a las peticiones de los estudiantes. Los estudiantes tienen que demostrar que son discapacitados. Eso está bajo la ley, y por lo que tienen que presentar información médica confidencial y reunirse con nosotros y revelar ciertas cosas y así, en lugar de tener que revelar que a cada miembro de la facultad o en todas partes en el campus, vienen aquí y hablamos “, dijo McLean.
Sin embargo, esta manera oportuna mencionada no siempre es experimentada por los estudiantes que el centro sirve.
Por ejemplo, Echo Oliver, presidente del
club de discapacitados de Weber State, dijo que aunque ha tenido experiencias positivas con profesores y estudiantes individuales en relación con su discapacidad, ha tenido problemas con la administración.
“Tengo algunas modificaciones de los Servicios de Discapacidad, pero no tengo todas las que estoy buscando, y no tengo las realmente importantes que estoy buscando”, dijo Oliver.
Oliver dijo que los Servicios de Discapacidad le habían solicitado una nota del médico, pero cuando la presentó, el centro le dijo que no era suficiente para recibir todas las modificaciones que pedía. Oliver dijo que sintieron que el proceso era vago y difícil de navegar, especialmente cuando sus preguntas se encontraron con más incertezas por parte de los consejeros y asesores del centro.
“Estoy trabajando para conseguir un diagnóstico, pero esto es algo que lleva mucho tiempo. Necesito modificaciones antes para poder ir a la escuela”, dijo Oliver. Oliver dijo que sentían que no estaban
All-Time Grilling Faves
Kystal Orantes y Echo Oliver utilizan la rampa para sillas de ruedas cerca de Stewart Library.
pidiendo demasiado ya que los profesores individuales les darán las modificaciones; sólo quieren modificaciones oficiales para no tener que pedirlas cada vez.
Otra queja contra los Servicios para Discapacitados es la falta de respuesta ante ciertas situaciones. Greene se ha caído varias veces en el campus a causa del hielo y la nieve, e incluso se fracturó una vértebra una vez por esta causa. Aunque la Gestión de Instalaciones se encarga de raspar el hielo y los caminos accesibles, Greene dijo que en los días de mucha nieve, éstos suelen volver a estar resbaladizos en cuanto los estudiantes empiezan a llegar a clase.
Greene dijo que la respuesta de los Servicios de Discapacidad a este problema fue aconsejarle que se quedara en casa esos días.
McLean dijo que no sabe de ningún tipo de reacción de este tipo por parte de su oficina. Dijo que trabajan en estrecha colaboración con la Gestión de Instalaciones, que es consciente de los puntos que necesitan un mantenimiento adicional para proporcionar accesibilidad.
Cuestiones como éstas motivaron a Greene a iniciar una encuesta en todo el campus sobre la satisfacción general con los Servicios para discapacitados. Esto ha resultado ser más difícil de lo que se había imaginado.
Greene empezó a trabajar en el sondeo durante el verano de 2024. Se asoció con Robert Reynolds, profesor asociado de sociología, para crear esta encuesta y estuvo trabajando con la Oficina de Acceso y Éxito del Estudiante para distribuir la encuesta. Durante el semestre de otoño de 2024, trabajó para obtener la aprobación de la Junta de Revisión Institucional (IRB, por sus
THE SIGNPOST TEAM
Editor-in-Chief
Brisa Odenthal brisaodenthal@mail.weber.edu
Managing Editor
Emilie Hart emiliehart@mail.weber.edu
Design & Graphics Editor Star Neil starneil@mail.weber.edu
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Chief Copy Editor Justin Steed justinsteed@mail.weber.edu
siglas en inglés), una junta que examina los proyectos de investigación con participantes humanos para garantizar las normas y reglamentos éticos.
Sin embargo, el IRB hizo algunos cambios en el sondeo que Greene consideró problemáticos. Una de las preguntas que Greene y Reynolds querían preguntar era si se había pedido a los estudiantes que completaran pruebas cognitivas para recibir adaptaciones, lo que sería una violación de las leyes de la ADA. Las modificaciones cambiaron la pregunta para que dijera si se había pedido a los estudiantes que realizaran pruebas en general.
“Es una pregunta que confunde mucho, porque para que te diagnostiquen una discapacidad tienes que someterte a pruebas, y tienes que presentar pruebas de que tienes una discapacidad para recibir adaptaciones”, dijo Greene.
Otra edición que no le gustó a Greene fue la eliminación de las palabras “discriminación” y “acoso” del sondeo. Greene escribió una pregunta en escala de Likert para medir en qué medida los estudiantes estaban de acuerdo o en desacuerdo en que experimentaban discriminación en Weber State.
“Cada vez que reemplazas discriminación por acoso, realmente no estás reconociendo que esto es un continuo”, dijo Greene. “El acoso me hace sentir incómodo. Es frustrante. Es irritante, puedo ignorarla en gran medida. El acoso es preocupante. Me hace sentir inseguro. La discriminación es en gran medida institucional y hace que mi vida sea increíblemente difícil”.
A Greene y Reynolds les quedaron dos opciones: mantener las ediciones para
Asst. Copy Chief Mindy Brown mindybrown1@mail.weber.edu
News Editor Gracie Stephenson graciestephenson@mail.weber.edu
Asst. News Editor Alfonso Rubio alfonsorubio@mail.weber.edu
Sports Editor Collyn Cowles collyncowles@mail.weber.edu
Asst. Sports Editor Brayson Brown braysonbrown@mail.weber.edu
Culture Editor Megan Swann meganswann@mail.weber.edu
obtener la aprobación del IRB o distribuirlo a través del departamento de sociología, que tendría una muestra más amplia y no se aplicaría directamente a los estudiantes que utilizan los Servicios para discapacitados.
“Saber cómo manejar esto es un arma de doble filo. Tenemos que preservar la integridad del estudio de investigación. Tenemos que ayudar realmente a la gente. No estoy seguro de que haya una manera perfecta de hacerlo de cualquier manera”, dijo Greene.
En abril de 2025, el sondeo sigue incompleto. Greene tiene previsto trabajar en ella durante el verano y volver a trabajar en su envío durante el semestre de otoño de 2025.
McLean, que ha trabajado con los Servicios de Discapacidad durante 26 años, dijo que su oficina ya tiene una sondeo que regularmente recibe comentarios positivos.
“Si reportan algo más fuera, entonces tratamos de encontrarnos con ellos y averiguar qué está pasando”, dijo McLean.
McLean dijo que ella siempre está dispuesta a hablar con los estudiantes acerca de sus frustraciones y ver si pueden resolverlas de alguna manera. Dijo que frecuentemente no son conscientes de estos problemas porque los estudiantes no los comunican.
“Si te encuentras con un obstáculo, llámanos. Organiza una cita. Reúnete con tu asesor, llama por teléfono a un consejero. Aceptamos visitas sin cita previa. Vamos a averiguar lo que está pasando”, dijo McLean.
Si los estudiantes tienen problemas con estos servicios, pueden comunicarlo a su consejero, a ella misma o incluso a la Oficina de Igualdad de Oportunidades si sus
Culture Editor Cooper Hatsis cooperhatsis@mail.weber.edu
Translation Editor
Nelly Hernandez Tejada nhernandeztejada@mail.weber.edu
Asst. Translation Editor Nathanael Stout nathanaelstout@mail.weber.edu
Collaboration Editor Marianna Lopez Luritta mlopezluritta@mail.weber.edu
Adviser
Jean Norman jeannorman@weber.edu
Business Manager Rob Steedley robertsteedley@weber.edu
necesidades siguen sin ser atendidas.
Greene dijo que, en su opinión, la universidad necesita hablar con los estudiantes y organizar grupos de discusión con personas con todo tipo de discapacidades para comprender mejor cómo pueden mejorar.
“Ojalá viviéramos en un mundo en el que las necesidades de todo el mundo pudieran satisfacerse en las circunstancias ideales, y es un reto, pero definitivamente queremos intentarlo donde podamos”, dijo McLean. Mientras, este sondeo está ayudando a Greene a sentir que está marcando la diferencia.
“Como estudiante discapacitada en el campus, sí, existe el Título IX que puede ayudar cuando hay discriminación, cuando hay problemas, pero realmente no parece que nadie esté luchando por nosotros”, dijo Greene. “Muchas veces parece que no le importamos a nadie. Por eso, ser un estudiante discapacitado y defender a otros estudiantes discapacitados e intentar mejorar las cosas en el campus es significativo y hace que me sienta menos solo”.
Oliver tiene la esperanza de que las cosas mejoren para los estudiantes discapacitados.
“Muchas veces, cuando hablo con la gente sobre los problemas de accesibilidad en el campus con la universidad, parece que no hay esperanza. Dicen que la universidad es así y que va a ser malísima para siempre. Pero no creo que eso sea cierto”, dijo Oliver. “Creo que podemos construir una comunidad accesible para todos con la universidad. Tampoco creo que esté tan lejos”.
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.
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