K-9 officer Sage, who is now seven months old, has gone through additional training. News
President Cantwell will hold an investiture on April 12.
The Aggie pep band brings music and momentum to games.
When Sage arrived at Utah State University, she was 10 weeks old and weighed 13 pounds. She is now seven months old and weighs around 50 pounds.
Sage, a labrador retriever, has been working as a Critical Incident and Crisis Response K-9 for the university’s police department since shortly after she arrived at Utah State on Oct. 29. She spends her days at work with her handler Lt. Shane Nebeker, and she lives with him and his family.
As Sage has grown up over the past few months, she has been going through different training sessions to help her do her job more effectively both in large groups and in one-on-one situations. Sage recently went away to an intensive training for two weeks. “You know, I can’t tell her that certain things are not acceptable and certain things are,” Nebeker said. “But she’s responded very, very well to training as a whole, so she’s progressing really, really fast.”
Police chief Jason Brei had the idea to bring a dog in Sage’s role to the department and the university as a whole. Brei said since bringing Sage to Utah State, they have received very positive feedback about her from employees, students and the community outside of the university.
Brei said the department has received requests from different groups around the university to have Sage at different events and functions. Some of those requests come with a specific purpose for Sage to serve, but other times, people just want to have her around in general.
Sometimes Sage is requested when there are heavy discussions about hard topics or traumatic events and experiences. This is the critical incident part of her role.
“She’s been brought in to be part of those, and very well received,” Brei said. “She was able to deal with that climate and that different interaction very well.”
One situation where Sage was utilized was at the memorial for a highway patrolman who lost their life on duty. Brei said she handled the emotion of that experience well, and she was able to be a supportive and calming presence.
Sage has also been taken to more light-hearted university events such as Casino Night in February.
Nebeker said Sage has been great at working in large group situations, but now they are starting to focus on training her for more one-on-one situations.
“This is so that when we start to use her in crisis situations or in therapy interview situations that she’s focused on the individual and not on the reward — that her reward is actually that interaction,” Nebeker said.
Because Sage is still a puppy, Nebeker said she still gets distracted easily. They are working to take away some of those distractions and teach her to focus on the person or people she is working with.
One thing Sage has been working on in her training is being able to calmly offer affection to people.
“Getting to the point where she can read the emotions that are going on inside the room and sense who really needs it,” Brei said. “Dogs in these situations can be in a room and with whatever senses that they are keying off of, can find out who’s really in a very dark place and be able to go sit by them and offer them the affection without running and jumping on them.”
Nebeker said Sage gets to be a carefree puppy at home, and she runs around with his other dog. He said her demeanor changes when they get in the car to go to work — she gets a little more serious.
“I think she’s figuring out that this is a job,” Nebeker said. “It’s been fun to watch her do that.”
As the department goes forward with Sage’s training, they are working on getting her a few certifications. First will be her Canine Good Citizen certification, which is usually received around a year old. They also want her to receive a first responder therapy certification.
Sage has grown since arriving in Logan, and Brei said she is now more like a “teenage dog” than a puppy. Nebeker said physically she has grown, but her social, happy attitude has not changed.
Nebeker said coming into the project of training Sage, he didn’t have a lot of expectations because the idea of this type of K-9 is so new.
“I really wanted her to have a positive influence,” Nebeker said. “And she has. If that’s the expectation, she’s far exceeding that.”
— c.keith@usu.edu
The Government Relations Council hosted the first-ever Agree to Disagree event at Utah State University this past Monday, April 1 in the TSC Big Blue Room.
Inspired by Jubilee Magazine’s popular spectrum videos on YouTube, students were invited to come to share their opinions on controversial topics. The floor was taped with lines representing categories — disagree and agree on opposite ends and neutral in the middle, just like they are in the spectrum videos.
There were about 50 students in attendance at the event.
“Those videos are so entertaining because they talk about things that everybody is too afraid to ask in real life,” Ronan Spencer, GRC member and co-host of the event, wrote in a text message to The Utah Statesman. “[W]e wanted to do that with USU.”
A statement would be read aloud by the event’s hosts and also displayed on a screen, and then students would physically move to stand upon the line they thought best represented their opinion on the matter. Chairs also lined around the event for those who wanted to spectate. Spencer, alongside co-host and fellow GRC member Beau Jenson, would then bring mics to students who were willing to share their thoughts.
“The GRC wanted to have an event that invoked political discussion and respectful debate,” Jenson wrote in a text message to the Statesman.
The evening contained four rounds. Each round would have three statements, each falling into one of three categories: pop culture, Utah State and politics.
Students would move after each statement was read. After a participant spoke, a rebuttal would be offered from the other side. A debate would bounce back and forth for a few minutes before moving on to the next topic.
When not debating, students could enjoy treats and socialize with others about their opinions.
Pop culture topics included Taylor Swift, Marvel movies and whether “Oppenheimer” deserved to win Best Picture at the most recent Oscars.
“I thought it was really interesting to see how a majority of our generation now thinks that Marvel is overrated,” said Maggie Eguko, GRC member. “That was really depressing.”
USU-based topics included whether or not the Merrill-Cazier Library should have a west entrance, if Big Blue is the best Utah mascot and if the TSC should be torn down and completely rebuilt.
Current student advocate vice president Tyson Packer had a strong opinion on the TSC topic.
“I would love to have a building that’s for
the students — like it’s not an office for all these other people, it’s our building. I just don’t feel like the TSC is our building,” Packer said.
The political topics of the evening included the banning of TikTok, climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion. Two DEI-related bills passed during the most recent Utah legislative season and directly impacted USU.
“I feel like some of our political questions were really controversial. We had one about DEI that got some really disgusted expressions from certain people,” Eguko said. “I also think it’s really interesting to see how unanimous some of the student body really does feel about political issues.”
Participants, including Eguko, were almost all completely standing on the agree side when discussing if there needs to be more action by the U.S. government to combat climate change.
In between rounds, there were drawings for prizes. All students received a prize ticket upon entry, and if a student shared an opinion, they got another ticket. Prizes included a mini fridge, a TV and a Polaroid camera.
Sydney Lyman, GRC member and 202425 student advocate vice president-elect, also participated in organizing the event. “It’s a way to facilitate a conversation between people who disagree in a respectful way,” Lyman said.
Malory Rau is a sophomore studying social media, public relations and marketing. When not skateboarding with friends, she is usually thrifting, reading or seeing the latest movie.
— m.rau@usu.edu
For the first time in 11 years, Utah State University’s civil and environmental engineering department will host the American Society of Civil Engineers’ regional symposium from April 11-13.
According to the ASCE website, several events are open to the public, including a concrete canoe race, concrete bowling, a steel bridge building contest — a surveying challenge where teams complete a topographic mapping project and solve other problems in the industry — and Timber Strong, an event where students design and construct a two-story wooden building.
According to ASCE student chapter president Katie Andersen, there will be several student presentations
during the symposium, but these will be closed to the public because of lack of space.
Most of the events are about civil engineering, but two events are focused on environmental sustainability. The first is Sustainable Solutions, where students redesign a city block, and the second is Environmental Design, where students build water filters or other environmentally friendly designs, according to Andersen.
Students from 12 to 15 universities in Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Arizona will be competing in the events.
“I’m excited to see the competition and camaraderie amongst the universities. It will be exciting to see so many people’s hard work and ingenuity in engineering,” wrote Kyle Miller, a civil and environmental engineering major, in a text message.
The competition is completely student-run, Andersen said. All of the volunteers are also students. The judges of the competitions are professional engineers or recent engineering graduates.
Andersen said events like these are important because they give students a way to practice skills in a low stakes environment. She mentioned an event for environmental engineers where students focus on building a bioretention cell as one example. “Students get to learn about how to build those things that they don’t necessarily learn in their classes but they would learn in the field,” she said. “They could learn it now and
use that for the future.”
Austin Ball, associate professor of practice in the civil engineering department, agreed. “It’s practicing those technical skills,” he said. “It’s also practicing working in a team environment. It’s practicing communicating.”
Ball said events such as the steel bridge building competition and concrete boat races are “no small feat.”
“There’s the personal sense of achievement of having gone and done something that’s really quite a bit above and beyond in many cases,” Ball said. “It’s kind of exciting to be able to do that and say, ‘Yeah, I did this.’”
Andersen enjoys these types of competitions.
“It gave me a community of students who were all working towards a similar goal. And then when we won at these competitions there’s the pride that comes with it knowing that my education has prepared me to do well,” she said.
Approximately 20% of civil and environmental engineering students are members of the ASCE, according to its website. This is one of the biggest member bases in the region. There are 42 civil and environmental engineering majors competing in this year’s symposium from USU, according to Andersen.
Events will take place at USU and throughout Cache Valley. Andersen said people can come watch as long as they check in and sign a liability waiver. The canoe race and concrete bowling will be held at Hyrum Reservoir on Saturday, April 13.
Reagan Thomas is an avid news junkie studying journalism and political science. When not perusing the latest stories of the day, she enjoys running, hiking, and stargazing.
— reagan.thomas@usu.edu
• The new student events directors for 2024-25 were chosen. Activities director is Josie Packer, series director is Zach Bone and traditions director is Easton Martin.
• USUSA held its first club showcase on March 21.
• The HURD is holding a homerun derby on April 13 after the softball game at 12 p.m.
• End of Year Bash is on April 12 starting at 5 p.m. 3/26 4/2
• The academic senate approved the appointment of Jamie Parry as the new School of Graduate Studies Senator for 2024-25. The position was left unfilled after the elections this semester.
• PR director Ottley made a few changes to his position description, changing the way PR director is selected and their role in elections. He also announced that the Aggie Digest will expand to the library.
• The USUSA application fair for committees and councils will be on Monday, April 8 from 2-4 p.m. in the TSC International Lounge.
• The GRC held its first Agree to Disagree event on Monday, April 1. The plan is to continue doing this event in the future.
When first hearing about President Elizabeth Cantwell’s upcoming investiture, the descriptions of flowing robes, floppy hats, and a sparkling ceremonial mace may conjure up pictures of “Harry-Potter” level wizardry. However, this event is not about Old Main becoming Aggie Hogwarts, but rather the roots of Utah State University and where it is going.
The investiture, which will take place on April 12 from 5-6:30 p.m., is a ceremony designed to usher in a new university president. Rooted in a long history spanning from medieval times, investitures occur in most schools of higher learning.
“It’s not meant to be a celebration as much as an introduction of the new president, with all of the constituencies, all the stakeholders,” Cantwell said. “It’s very pomp and circumstance.”
Kerri R. Davidson, vice president of institutional affairs and chief of staff, and Janet Anderson, senior vice provost & senior associate vice president, worked together to plan the event.
Davidson compared the event to a president’s inauguration or queen’s coronation.
“It’s the way for us to have a formal recognition of the opportunity, the authority and the vestiture of an individual in becoming the president of a university,” Davidson said.
The investiture will include speeches from Cantwell and Gov. Spencer Cox, along with formal ceremonial traditions, such as the procession of faculty and the presentation of Cantwell with a medallion and mace. The medallion is a medal emblazoned with the seal of Utah State on one side and Cantwell’s name on the other. The mace is a 4-foot staff, with a model of the “A” tower on top.
“This will feel similar to commencement in that faculty will be dressed in regalia,” Davidson said. “We’ll have the governor there to speak. We’ll actually have a formal kind of investiture charge where that’s provided to President Cantwell. And she’ll actually also give a keynote address sharing her vision for Utah State which will really, really be exciting.”
Cantwell said her speech will answer some questions regarding where Utah State will go under her leadership. “What does it mean to be who we are? And what’s it mean to be a modern land grant university? What’s that future mean?” Cantwell said. “It’s not so much who we are today, but what are we going to be. Sometimes presidents give speeches that are really about their vision for the institution. I’m going to lead the way, but I tend to give the entire community a place in defining that future.”
Even though Cantwell’s speech will be future-focused, she said it’s important to acknowledge history and tra-
dition, especially during an event that has occurred for thousands of years.
“It’s always really useful to remember that our institution goes back around 130 years, but these traditions literally go back to medieval times when colleges were part of religious institutions, and they were really about training people,” Cantwell said. “The only people who were scholars were people in religious organizations, so some of that is just like ancient. And while I don’t think we need to pay extraordinary fealty to that, I do think it’s useful to remember that’s a piece of how we got to this place where we seek to educate anyone that wants to be educated, which was definitely not how it was in medieval times.”
There are many symbols associated with the investiture, including robes, caps, medallions and a new mace, which Cantwell joked would be like having an Aggie-themed lightsaber.
There will also be many cultural factors to the event. The day will begin with a blessing from a medicine man on the Blanding campus, which will be streamed on AggieCast. The Red Spirit Singers will also perform on drums, and a local junior named Grace Olson will sing the national anthem. There will even be a world premiere of a composition created for this event.
“It’s really going to be a really eclectic, diverse way to celebrate with a lot of symbolism, a nod to the past and some kind of historical symbols and also with a vision to the future,” Davidson said. “That’s what we’re excited about with President Cantwell and her leadership. We’re just excited to come together and celebrate that as a community.”
Many ecclesiastical leaders, dignitaries and other community leaders will attend, and staff and students are welcome to join in-person. There will also be many options for viewing the ceremony from campuses across Utah. Viewing parties will be located at many locations, and the event will also be broadcast live.
“For this particular event, we have been sure to include and have people participate from across the state of Utah,” Davidson said. “This isn’t just a celebration at the Logan campus. We have multiple watch parties and celebrations across the state.”
For students specifically, west campus will have activities going on during the ceremony with a watch party. There will be stickers designed by students and a photo booth.
“We hope we’ll have a lot of students to come and attend, because this isn’t just for community leaders and dignitaries and legislators. Utah State exists for its students,” Davidson said. “We hope that a lot of students will come and attend and celebrate with us and whether they’re across campus, or they’re in a statewide location celebrating.”
“The mace has got some cool aspects to it,” Cantwell said. “It’s 3D-printed in titanium, so it’s light because it’ll be hollow. It’s got that representation of the tower of Old Main at one end and that lights up. We brought in people from the Caine College and ended up in the theater design group. There was a remarkable, thoughtful process about what should this be to represent USU, so we’ve got sagebrush and we’ve got bulls and the emblems of the university.”
— ashley.dorius@usu.edu
By Ella Stott LIFESTYLES REPORTER
David Roskelley, the first American to climb the seven volcanic summits, recently visited USU’s Covey Leadership Center on March 28 for the Principles-in-Practice Workshop Series.
The seven volcanic summits are the highest volcanoes on each continent. Prior to this feat, Roskelley completed the seven summits: the highest mountain on each continent.
“My wife jokes I was born in the wrong century,” Roskelley said. “I just love exploring and doing new things, finding new places that speak to me.”
In December, Roskelley also skied the last degree of the South Pole.
“The last degree is from the 89th parallel to the 90th,” Roskelley said. “90 south is the South Pole, and 90 north is North Pole, and a degree is about 67 miles.”
The weather averaged -15 degrees, and Roskelley said he was outside the entire time.
“I won the genetic lottery as far as the cold is concerned,” Roskelley said. “I don’t usually get cold.”
People interested in skiing the last degree are put into international groups of about 15 or 16 people.
“It’s just a melting pot of skiers, so it was a really fascinating experience,” Roskelley said. “We kind of had to get to know everybody, working with different personalities and teamwork.”
Roskelley said he intends to ski the last degree of the North Pole too. When people complete both of the last degrees and the seven summits, they achieve the Explorer’s Grand Slam.
“I’ve also done the volcanoes, so I guess that now you say it would be the Explorer’s Volcanic Grand Slam,” Roskelley said. “I would be the first American to get it.”
This is Roskelley’s current goal. When he came to talk to USU students, he spoke about setting and maintaining goals.
“I’m big on setting goals; I’m always trying to work toward something,” Roskelley said. “If you don’t, you’re just kind of floating. You’re just letting the world take you in different directions.”
Roskelley said his wife is an important person in helping him achieve his goals, and he said having a support system behind personal goals can be helpful.
“If you’re going to set some goals, put them out there. Share them with somebody significant in your life, because you’re much more likely to accomplish them,” Roskelley said. “Once you throw it out into the universe, now you’ve got to do it.”
Tyler Roberts, a sophomore studying finance and a Covey Leadership Fellow, helped set up the event with Roskelley.
According to Roberts, they asked Roskelley to speak because he had done it before, and his example of goal-setting and entrepreneurship was very helpful for students.
“It was really good for me and for all of us students to listen to him talk about his mountain climbing, his business and his family life,” Roberts said. “It was so inspiring, and we’d love to have him back again.”
Roberts said his biggest takeaway from the event was how important it is to be genuine.
“He’s a very successful world renowned speaker, and here he is at Utah State,” Roberts said. “He and his wife both took the time to connect with individual students.”
According to Roberts, being authentic is a good quality in a person, especially in the business world where this may be hard to come by.
“We get a lot of very successful people that come and speak, and they’re busy,” Roberts said. “Roskelley and his wife, they were so present and they let us ask them a million questions about their life and what they’ve learned.”
Roskelley said his affiliation with the Covey Leadership Center and the Huntsman School of Business inspired him to take a “Dare Mighty Things” banner with him to the South Pole.
“One of the themes at the Huntsman is ‘Dare Mighty Things,’” Roskelley said. “In the South Pole, you have to
pull everything you take in a sled, but the banner was luckily lightweight.”
Although the leadership center is physically located in the Huntsman, Roberts said the organization is not just for business students.
“This is a resource and a community that’s for everyone campus-wide,” Roberts said. “It’s for anyone from another school who wants to be a better version of themselves and become a principled-centered leader.”
For more information on David Roskelley, visit davidroskelley.com.
For more information on the Covey Leadership Center, visit huntsman.usu.edu/leadership.
“Anyone who’s interested in improving themselves and becoming a leader in their own lives, come and participate in our events,” Roberts said. “All are welcome.”
Ella Stott is a first-year student studying English and journalism because she hates money. When she’s not writing, she’s watching sitcoms, eating Greek yogurt and admiring Nebraska corn.
The American West Heritage Center is a museum focused on bringing to life the history of American life in the 19th century. This non-profit attraction hosts summer camps, museum exhibits, festivals and other events on a 300-acre property located in Wellsville.
This spring, the center is hosting Baby Animal Days, an event where visitors have the opportunity to see and interact with a variety of young animals.
Wendy King, an employee of nine years at the museum, has been involved in 10 Baby Animal Days.
“It’s been over 15 years, but it started out as one afternoon, and then it grew to a full day, and then multiple days and then we started doing it two different weekends,” King said.
The event attracts thousands of visitors over the two weekends, which takes a lot of hands-on work to keep things running smoothly.
Mckenna Holmes experienced this firsthand in her first spring working at the event.
“I’m an animal lead, so that means I’m over an area of animals,” Holmes said. “ I make sure that people are being nice to the animals and take care of them, I also give people information on the animals.”
With the variety of animals coming to the center, a lot of sponsors and donors are involved with the event.
“A lot of the animals are ours,” King said. “The chicks, dogs and goats are here year-round. Some farmers bring the other ones in and let us borrow them for the weekend, then take them back afterward. Some we buy and sell, so it’s kind of a variety.”
In addition to the center’s own animals and local farmers, the event received help from Utah’s Petting Zoo Gone Wild, Yellowstone’s Bear World and Cache Valley Mountain Man Rendezvous.
The center makes certain the animals are taken care of and the staff is passionate about what they do.
“The cows live here, and we bottle feed them every couple of hours. They will grow up here to be milking cows, so we do that as well,” Holmes said.
The center encourages interaction with the animals with a goat kid holding station and a place for visitors to pet cows.
“People enjoy how cute they are,” Holmes said. “I mean they’re so little and they will try to eat literally anything, so we have to watch for that, but they are so soft and cute. I love the variety. There are so many different animals and so many different things to do.”
This year will have more events from the center, with the Mountain Man rendezvous event, Pioneer Days festival, fall festival, sleigh rides and more.
“This is our busiest time, we have the most staff this time of year,” King said. “Fifty per day probably. I just love that people are excited to be here. I used to work at the ticket trailer where it got super busy, and I loved it because everybody’s just so excited to be here and it’s just a really happy, positive thing.”
This year, the event took place March 28-30, and then the following weekend, April 3-6. The event has many different parties involved with bringing the animals to the farm and taking care of both visitors and attractions.
“We have chicks, ducklings, goat kids, calves, turtles and bunnies,” King said. “We also have the exotic animals so we bring in a camel, wallabies, kangaroos, capybara and a bunch of different things.”
Hi my name is Rosalind and I host Fixation Feature! Every show I pick a different theme or vibe that I build from my own music taste. Tune into Fixation Feature every Friday at 5 p.m. on Aggie Radio 92.3!
Enter
Sandman Alessia Cara, The Warning
the perfect pair beabadoobee
The Moss Cosmo Sheldrake
Are You Gonna Be My Girl Jet Lovesick Laufey
Sam Goodman is a junior studying journalism with an emphasis in print.
Associate head coach Chloe Hirst and middle blocker Kelsey Watson of Utah State volleyball will be attending the Global Challenge volleyball tournament in Europe this summer.
Watson is part of a team made up of 12 nominated athletes from the Mountain West conference. Hirst will be coaching alongside Ted Kopacz, assistant coach at Colorado State. Every coach who participated in the Mountain West Tournament got the chance to nominate two or three players.
After holding Zoom calls with each coach, Hirst was able to put together a complete roster.
“I know the head coaches all sat down and they were in agreeance — ‘Hey, if we’re going to do this, let’s do this and let’s send kind of our top players and write some standout candidates that can make an impact and help us in this tournament,’” Hirst said.
Hirst and Watson have gone up against many of teams and have seen familiar names on the roster.
“I almost feel like I know this team,” Hirst said. Hirst and Watson have played against each of these opponents throughout the years and know the other teams’ strengths and weaknesses.
“I don’t know any of them personally, but I’ve recognized all their names, having played against them,” Watson said. Hirst and Kopacz will need to figure out a way to coach together.
“Everyone has their own different styles of volleyball and their own system that they play in each of their gyms,” Hirst said.
Watson will need to get comfortable with different coaching styles, which she said she has experienced before. “I’ve played under a lot of different coaches and so I’m always open to new styles,” Watson said. “I think that can be a good thing.”
how to practice and communicate with each other.
“It’s more of just figuring one of each other out and learning to play together in a short amount of time,” Hirst said.
Watson said playing with girls she has competed with over the years will be a unique experience.
“I’m excited to see how we can foster some teamwork be-
them are filled with anticipation to be heading out of the country.
“I’m thrilled, honestly,” Hirst said.
Watson hopes the team wins, but the outcome will not change her excitement about being abroad.
“I’ve definitely talked to Chloe about packing some sunscreen and then getting some cute outfits,” Watson said. “I’m very excited for this trip.”
The team will meet in Slovenia for the first days, where they will get a chance to meet one another.
Hirst wants the team to take away a few things from the trip.
“A passion that a lot of European countries have for volleyball is really unique,” Hirst said. “It’s so cool to be a part of a sport so popular and so loved in Europe, and of course, it’s grown so much here in the States, and it’s continuing to grow and it’s so cool to get that traction.”
Hirst also mentioned a sense of gratitude to be able to experience the different cultures they will be surrounded by and to appreciate the chance to get an education and play volleyball.
“Hopefully, they can appreciate their opportunity that they have to play collegiately at an incredible high level in an incredible competitive conference, while also getting an incredible education by each of their universities,” Hirst said.
Julie
julie.carlton@usu.edu
Utah State basketball games overload the five senses. There’s the smell of sweat from the players and jumping fans, the sights of nets and Aggie blue and white, the feeling of clapping your hands together and even the taste of stadium food on your tongue. However, the sound may be the most overwhelming. There are echoes of announcer voices, referee whistles, dribbles, swishes, cheers and taunts from the HURD. One sound might be overlooked, but it is a key piece to the soundtrack of Aggie games. This is the music of the USU Pep Band.
The band, with director of athletic bands Lane Weaver at the helm, brings energy and music to the Spectrum and beyond. They play a variety of songs, with chart-toppers of today, classic hits of days gone by and Aggie favorites, such as “The Scotsman.”
Weaver said he doesn’t have a favorite song to play and he doesn’t normally pick a favorite of anything, except his favorite color, Aggie blue. However, his students do have favorite songs. Trumpet player Emmi Morgan said her song wasn’t the most popular. “I love ‘I’m Gonna Be.’ A lot of people don’t like it be-
cause it can be tiring,” Morgan said. “It is so fun, though, and we do a dance with it. I just love it so much.”
The band doesn’t just bring music. It is a guaranteed HURD section for the basketball teams, as the band travels with the team for tournaments and championships. Sometimes, they are the few Aggies in the stadium, in charge of boosting morale and cheering on the players. They even come up with their own cheers when the HURD isn’t all there. Mikey Johnson, a mellophone player, said they’ve collected random chants over the years.
“Our drummer has a collection that we have curated carefully over many years of research, study and absolute mischief,” Johnson said. “We have just figured out what is the dumbest, funniest thing we can do when it’s just us. It is art.”
Morgan said their favorite cheer was saying, ‘Your mother/father is an Aggies fan,’ when an opposing player shoots a free throw. If the player makes it, the band calls out, ‘They’re so disappointed,’ while if they miss, calls of ‘They’re so proud’ meet the opponent’s ears.
“We just sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ sometimes for free throws regardless if they make it or miss it, and we’ll sing the whole song regardless of if the play starts again,” Johnson said. “Nothing cracks me up like that.” It’s not all laughs, as it can be hard to keep the energy
up for the whole game.
“That’s our job. It’s what we do,” Weaver said. “These students are part of what represents USU. It’s an important thing. These aren’t kids that are going to get their names and box scores or any headlines in newspapers or anything. They’re doing it out of pure love for the university.”
While the band website says members receive a stipend and one credit for their participation, members shared they truly just love the experience.
“Honestly, I have grown to love basketball so much,” Morgan said. “It’s so fun and also just the friendships and the people you meet. I’ve been doing pep band for four years now. I love it. It has given me so many opportunities.”
Johnson agreed, saying he loves playing mellophone and watching the Aggies play basketball.
“My favorite part of being in the pep band is to be this close to the players, absolutely rip on the mellophone and play louder and better than the other pep band while our team plays louder and better than theirs,” Johnson said.
Weaver said getting to represent Utah State is one of his favorite aspects of the job.
“I love everything we get to do together,” Weaver said. “You get to kind of be the cultural sound of the university and feel like you’re a big part of the fabric of what goes on. We’ve always had great support and great recognition.”
Weaver also said working with students who love music and Utah State is incredible.
“If you’re going to ask about favorite musicians, I get to work with mine every day,” Weaver said. “I just love these students that I get to work with.”
For those interested in adding to the soundscape of a basketball game, the Aggie Pep Band information can be found at cca.usu.edu/music/ensembles/bands/get-involved#pep-band.
By Heidi Bingham SPORTS REPORTER
The Utah State University athletics department held a press conference on Tuesday to introduce the new head coaches for men’s and women’s basketball.
The new head coach for the women’s basketball team is Wesley Brooks, who served as an assistant coach at Ohio State University. Before that, he worked as an assistant at Michigan, Utah, North Texas, Texas Southern and Robert Morris.
On Saturday, Jerrod Calhoun was named the 22nd head coach for the men’s basketball team. He previously led Youngstown State to consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in their program’s history.
Calhoun was asked about the transfer portal and how he plans to foster retention and handle high school recruiting.
“My sole focus is our current players. I think so many coaches come in and talk about the next recruit. The best recruit are those guys sitting right over there,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun mentioned the current players, who were in attendance at the press conference, multiple times and
said how talented and connected they are as a team. Calhoun was also asked about his staff. He said he likes to see that potential staff “have a motor. I want guys who want to be head coaches.”
Following Calhoun, Brooks was asked about things he wants to work on with the women’s team.
Brooks said that he “hasn’t met with the team yet” but has been watching film. He also said they “got some work to do to play the style of play that we want to play.”
He followed up by saying he has worked in a coaching role his whole life and has a plan for the team going forward.
“Our conditioning has to be better; if we want to play, we have to be in shape. The other thing is the turnovers; we can’t turn the ball over.”
He said these are his priorities as the team begins to go into summer workouts and pre-season practice. He also emphasized the team’s mindset, and how he wants to change their mindset of “we can’t win.”
Calhoun was asked whether he plans to stay in Logan for the long run, with the previous head coach Danny Sprinkle leaving after just one season with the Aggies.
“I knew this question would come up. I’ve read quite a bit about this place and in the number of changes, but I
can tell you this: my girls are at an age where we don’t want to move,” Calhoun said.
He said he hoped for a “big raise if that happens” when talking about staying in Logan.
Diana Sabau, vice president & athletics director, shared more about the process of finding the two coaches. She said the searches were “deliberate” and there were a lot of “tremendous” candidates, especially in the women’s pool.
Sabau said both she and the coaches used to wear a lot of red, since they all have a sporting background from Ohio. She then said that her hires were “not by coincidence at all” and wants to bring more familiarity of their traditions and programs to Utah State.
Brooks ended the conference saying that he wants to work with the team one step at a time, saying, “Rome wasn’t built in one day.”
He said he plans to shoot for getting 1% better every day, so by 200 days, the team will be 200% better.
— heidi.bingham@usu.edu
Path of Deceit” is a book by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland. This “Star Wars” story is set before the Battle of Yavin. A Jedi named Zallah Macri and her Padawan, Kevmo Zink, travel to the Outer Rim to investigate force relics being stolen. They stumble across a farm planet called Dalna. On this planet, there’s a missionary group called the Path of the Open Hand and someone named “The Mother” is their leader. They believe using the Force causes an imbalance in the universe and balance will only be restored if something else is taken away. This means they’re not a huge fan of Jedi because they use the Force without giving anything back. During Kevmo’s time on the planet, he meets a member of the Path of the Open Hand named Marda Ro. Marda is a firm believer in the Path’s teachings and dreams of someday being sent off-world to become a mission-
ary. Kevmo and Marda begin developing a friendship that conflicts with both of them because of their differing views on the force. Kevmo also has an internal struggle with the fact a Jedi is not supposed to have attachments. As Kevmo and Marda’s relationship grows, so does the tension between The Mother and the Jedi. The investigation is leading Zallah to believe that the Path is the one stealing the Force artifacts. In the end, it all comes down to Marda. She must decide between her new friend and her beliefs.
Something to keep in mind with this book is that nothing is what it seems.
nized religion can do to people and how these groups can get people to blindly follow and believe. We are often quick to call these types of organizations cults. And while not all religious groups are negative, this story demonstrates how heavily people rely on them for important or life-changing decisions.
This book has a little bit of everything. Drama, romance, action, anything you can think of. You get to enjoy watching the relationship between Kevmo and Marda grow while also being involved with all the actions involved in the investigation the Jedi are doing into the Path of the Open Hand. You as the reader begin to feel conflicted as you read more about the members of this organization and see more about why they believe what they do. The Mother is one of the characters that you’re trying to figure out her motives for the whole book. There’s also a huge twist at the end that I didn’t see coming at all. The authors do a great job at giving you just enough information to keep you engaged but also keeping you in the dark so you get surprised by the ending.
Something to keep in mind with this book is that nothing is what it seems. You may think you know what’s happening, but you’re probably wrong. You automatically assume that the members of the Path are bad people because they’re stealing the Force artifacts. But the more you read, the more you relate to and empathize with the members. This story also makes you reflect on the structure of religion. Even though this is a fun sci-fi book with lots of fun twists and turns, it also takes a look at what orga-
I’ve read quite a few books produced by Disney for “Star Wars”, and none of them have been this good. The new High Republic series that they’ve been putting out has been a big success within the Star Wars community because the quality of writing has increased significantly. It keeps it fun and sci-fi while also entertaining an older audience. And these books don’t mess with any canon events from the original movies because The High Republic timeline is before any of the movies. Out of all the Star Wars books that I’ve read, I have to say this one is my favorite. Even if you’re not a huge Star Wars fan like myself, this is a book you could pick up and enjoy. You don’t even have to understand the plot of the original movies or shows.
Monique is a recent graduate. She loves Star Wars and recently got her first post-grad big girl job.
— monique.black@usu.edu
Personal-vehicle idling wastes about 3 billion gallons of fuel— generating around 30 million tons of CO2 annually in the U.S. Idling has become an increased social norm in the Cache Valley area and USU’s Idling Campaign is committed to make an impact with the community by encouraging greener habits through music. On the 10th of April, we will be participating with our community to listen to music and spread awareness about the impacts of idling.
Throughout our idling campaign, we will be incorporating commitment through a change in self-perception. In Fostering Sustainable Behaviors, two groups of people were asked to put up a large sign on their lawns saying, “Drive Carefully.” The people in the first group were not previously asked to display a smaller sign. The second group was previously asked to display a small, three-inch sign saying, “Be A Safe Driver” in the windows of their cars or homes. In the second group, 76% of them agreed to put the obtrusive sign on their lawns. This demonstrates how doing a small, innocuous action can change our self-perception, make us feel like good people, and encourage bigger future actions.
In our idling campaign, we will be modeling this with our booths. If we ask people to do something so small as signing a pledge to not idle, then when they are directly asked to not idle in the future in an idling hot spot, they would be more committed to this change. Self perception theory provides that if we can put people in situations where they are able to engage in convenient, sustainable behaviors, then the act of engaging in these behaviors will shape their attitudes. Also, in the textbook, it states that we as humans are under “strong internal pressure to behave consistently.” Consistency with these behaviors is a key component in commitment within our project.
On April 10th at 8am, join us this morning for food, fun, and socializing with the Aggie Blue Bikes at the fieldhouse. It’s free to turn your key but it may be worth the air you breathe. Meet us again later at ABC night to sign our pledge to stop idling on campus and choose the next song in the queue! On April 10th at 5:30pm we will be listening to music and tabling at the same location so please stop in and say hi!
4700.
If you are interested in writing a guest column, please contact the Statesman at editor@usustatesman.com with your idea.
For more information about Letters to the Editor, visit usustatesman.com/opinionpolicyoutdoors.
Wake up! Get paid 100% vs 55%. Trade a dollar for 8% and become wealthy TAX FREE in insurance, with the extra 45%. All I need is a copy of your license in order to pay you. Most important let me show you how you can have a salary plus commission, instead of commission only. You don’t sell a single policy with my program you are investing in Life Insurance. Call Herb (435) 799-1504!
Sudoku puzzles are provided by www.sudokuoftheday.com.
Last week’s solution:
