Transgender RA sparks debate
By Aubrey Holdaway STATESMAN REPORTER
Utah State University is back in the news spotlight amidst controversy involving an alleged transgender woman serving as a Resident Assistant in Merrill Hall, a co-ed dormitory on its Logan campus.
On Jan. 3, Cheryl Saltzman posted on Facebook, expressing concern about her daughter’s housing arrangement at the beginning of the semester.
The Utah Statesman reached out to USU Housing and received a statement from University Marketing & Communications Associate Vice President Amanda DeRito.
“To meet the needs of students living on campus, USU provides a range of housing options, including gender-neutral housing,” DeRito wrote. “We are also sensitive to residents’ concerns about potential room assignments and routinely adjust housing assignments to provide welcoming and comfortable housing for all student living on campus.”
A separate statement was given to Fox 13 News aiming
“A biological male (trans with she/her pronouns) just moved into my daughter’s dorm (Merrill hall) on Utah State university’s campus….. it is a girls only dorm,” Saltzman wrote.
Saltzman claimed the university had not provided prior notice about the RA’s gender identity and criticized USU’s response.
Her daughter was later moved to a different dorm without issue.
The post caught the attention of outlets and spread to X and Reddit, sparking a heated debate about safety and non-discrimination on college campuses.
Elise Carter, a sophomore sociology student who lives in Merrill Hall, said many of the girls living in the dorms are frustrated with the current coverage.
“I heard about what was happening on social media at the beginning of last week, and I was frustrated because I think it was handled badly, and it’s putting a student in danger,” Carter said.
RAs are students who act as peer advisors for those living in their dorms. RAs have access to their own living space but do not access the living spaces of other individuals. Access cards for all spaces are only used in emergencies and are trackable.
“That’s true of every RA in the entire building, including cisgender male ones, so that’s not really a unique concern,” Carter said. “It feels like it’s more about discomfort than genuine safety.”
to correct what it described as “misinformation” circulating online.
In the statement, DeRito clarified Merrill Hall is a co-ed facility where students are assigned apartments based on the gender they report in their housing applications.
“USU Student Housing strives to create a welcoming environment for all students, regardless of their background or viewpoints,” DeRito wrote.
Utah’s legal framework includes protections against discrimination based on gender identity. In 2015, the state passed legislation prohibiting such discrimination in employment and housing, with certain exemptions for religious organizations.
USU’s policies align with these legal standards, aiming to ensure all students have equal access to university housing and employment opportunities without fear of discrimination.
In another statement for Cache Valley Daily, DeRito emphasized that USU complies with these federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination.
“Because of that, we do not ask if a student is transgender,” DeRito wrote. “Likewise, we do not ask potential employees if they are transgender when applying for employment.”
The controversy has elicited a wide range of reactions online. Some individuals argue assigning a transgender woman as an RA in a female-designated space raises con-
cerns about privacy and safety.
Utah author Eric Moutsos has posted extensively about the controversy on X.
One post reads, “This setup raises significant privacy and safety concerns for the female residents who must not only live with a man pretending to be a woman, but navigate through this small shared living space to reach their private rooms, potentially exposing themselves after showering and not being able to get fully dressed in the tiny bathroom.”
Conversely, supporters contend the RA’s gender identity should not disqualify her from her role and such inclusivity reflects progress toward equal rights for transgender individuals.
“I don’t see how it’s more of a safety concern than it is with any other RA,” Carter said. “You’re never going to be 100% safe unless you barricade yourself in your house. That’s just part of living with roommates.”
In a thread posted to the subreddit r/usu, users expressed concern for the RA and distaste for the way Saltzman handled the situation.
“The mom and Eric Moutsos already Doxed this poor girl,” u/SapoDeArvore wrote. “If you read the comments on his Instagram post I definitely think she’s in Potential Danger.”
“Investigating the mom for endangering the RA, I hope,” u/Smart_Question2551 wrote.
Doxxing is the practice of collecting and leaking someone’s personal info — such as their home address — online in an attempt to shame or embarrass the user.
“A lot of us feel that it’s hypocritical for people to be taking to Twitter on behalf of the female resident safety while also saying our address online to a bunch of people who feel strongly about the issue,” Carter said. “I think we feel much less safe now that that’s happening than we ever did regarding the original situation.”
Aubrey Holdaway is a print journalism major braving her last semester at USU. When she’s not cooking up new lifestyles coverage, she enjoys writing, photography and anything that puts her outdoors.
— a.holdaway@usu.edu
PHOTO BY Aubrey Holdaway
Merril Hall, as seen Jan. 14, located outside the Richard and Moonyeen Anderson Engineering Building.
Aggies rally for Pacific Palisades
By Malory Rau STATESMAN REPORTER
The Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, has been on fire since Jan 7. It has rapidly become one of the most devastating wildfires in Los Angeles history, burning nearly 30,000 acres, destroying over 12,000 structures and resulting in at least 25 fatalities.
The cause of this fire is unknown but speculated to be due to a small bushfire from New Year’s celebrations on Jan. 1, according to NBC and ABC7 Los Angeles. Reports suggest it began near Skull Rock on the Temescal Ridge Trail, a popular hiking trail similar to those surrounding Logan Canyon.
Utah State University’s student body hails from 43 states of the U.S., with California being the third most popular home state for an Aggie after Idaho and Utah.
Audrey Gass, an aviation major from Orange County wrote in a text to The Utah Statesman about having to watch the fires so far from home.
“Luckily, my family is safe from immediate danger but I do have a few friends that have had to evacuate,” Gass wrote. Similarly, broadcast journalism student Aliyah Walker has also had to watch from afar as the fires sweep through her home.
“The LA fires have taken my high school, the community I grew up in, the
Walker also reported she is grateful to have not lost her home in Brentwood to the fires but mourns the community around it.
“What are you really going back to when most people have fled and many houses are just piles of ash. It’s scary. I genuinely can’t believe the streets I grew up on aren’t even there anymore,” Walker wrote.
As of Jan. 15, containment efforts continue, with firefighters working to control the blaze. The community’s resilience and the support from neighboring regions, including Utah, play a crucial role in recovery and rebuilding efforts.
Utah has had a large influx of California residents in recent years.
According to the Deseret News, 18,669 of Utah’s new residents in 2022 were from California.
for Utah State University since 1902. Reporting online 24/7. Printed weekly during the school year.
homes of so many friends. It’s heartbreaking to see the streets I grew up on become unrecognizable as they burn to the ground. All I can think about is the memories I have in the Palisades village after school, the countless track meets I ran on our field, and the homes I made so many memories with. I can’t hardly believe that many of my closest friends are now homeless due to this natural disaster,” Walker wrote in a text to the Statesman.
Thus, Utah foundations and organizations are organizing relief efforts such as the BW Bastian Foundation from Orem, which has pledged to price-match donations made to the Red Cross in fire relief efforts.
“This initiative has the potential to double the impact of community contributions, providing essential aid to families displaced by the fires. From emergency shelter to meals and recovery services, these funds will directly support those in need during this critical time,” wrote Keith Paul, r egional communications director for The American Red Cross Utah/Nevada Region in a press release sent to the Statesman.
For more information on The Pacific Palisades fire visit cafirefoundation.org/ or fire.ca.gov/.
Malory Rau is a journalsim major, coffee lover and reality TV enthusiast. You can often find her in the office discussing the latest “Real Housewives” episode with student media’s big sister Shelby Black.
— m.rau@usu.edu
PHOTOS VIA CAL FIRE
Swetha Bharet: The new Aggie Voice
By Sariah Maez STATESMAN REPORTER
This year, 60 people auditioned to compete in Utah State University’s annual Aggie Voice singing competition on Dec. 13. Ultimately, Swetha Bharat came out on top as The Aggie Voice.
“The hardest part of this whole event is finding the people that you want because there wasn’t a single person that had a bad audition, so that made it very difficult for the choosing process,” said Ashlynn Smith, USUSA Student Events executive director.
The final contestants consisted of Anna Small, Gracie Young, Landon Cook, Nathan Ahlstrom, Presley May Whitesides, Robbie Allen, Stockton Glover and Swetha Bharat.
Smith says she hopes Aggie Voice leaves the audience with good memories.
Over 1,200 students gathered in the TSC Ballroom to hear USU’s greatest voices compete for the title. Eight contestants put on performances that had the student body cheering.
A judges panel consisted of TJ Davis, Kenzie Davis Kremlin and last year’s Aggie Voice winner Libby Prusso, who voted on the contestants alongside the audience. The competition began with a group performance from all the contestants. After the first round of individual performances, judges and audience members voted to decide
who the top three finalists would be.
The final finalist and USU’s new Aggie Voice Swetha Bharat sang her original song “Lifetimes.”
“If the music that I performed was somewhat relatable, I hope that it touched people in that way. I feel like music speaks volumes, and I don’t know what the people in the audience have gone through, but if any of the lyrics I sang were relatable, I hope they felt that,” Bharat said.
The first finalist, Presley May Whitesides, sang an original song she called “Golden Retriever.”
“I just wanted to show people that there’s so much beau-
ty in songwriting, and there’s so much beauty in loving people, and just getting to share that with everyone was such a cool experience,” Whitesides said.
The other finalist Stockton Glover performed “He Used to be Mine” from the hit musical “Waitress.”
“Finding out that I was a finalist was a very sweet feeling. It made me feel like I was noticed, and it made me feel like I did something — that I touched people,” Glover said.
Bharat received a $200 cash prize along with an opportunity new to the competition this year: She will have her original song recorded with Aggie Radio. According to Bharat, the best part of participating was being able to sing with the other contestants.
“I got to see everybody backstage singing their hearts out, and I feel like I learned a lot from them,” Bharat said.
Bharat described the experience as a “step forward” in her musical aspirations and even had one of the other contestants offer her the opportunity to open for two bands later this month.
“Just knowing that you were able to help someone feel something is the best feeling ever. I hope that I did that in some way, shape or form, at least to one person,” Bharat said.
— sariah.maez@usu.edu
Jan. 2
-A bag suspected to contain marijuana was found in a refrigerator at the LLC by a USU custodian. The item has been booked into evidence for destruction.
Jan. 7
- Officers responded to a call for a threat at the TSC. USU police officers are investigating messages sent through a “chatbot” of a threatening nature.
Jan. 12
- An individual reported losing a black wallet containing three debit cards, a health insurance card, a California driver’s license and a Beaver Mountain season pass. The reporting party later found the missing items and udaed USUPD.
PHOTO BY Aubrey Holdaway
Swetha Bharet preforming at the Aggie Voice competiton on Jan. 8
Post-election panel held on campus
By Isabella Erwin STATESMAN REPORTER
Following another unprecedented election season, the Utah State University Institute of Government and Politics hosted a post-election panel in the David B. Haight Alumni Center on Jan. 13. Two founders of prominent Utah campaign firms spoke at the event.
The panel was moderated by Damon Cann, head of the USU Political Science Department.
One speaker was Gabi Finlayson, who founded Elevate Strategies, a progressive general consulting firm.
In 2020, she worked on the campaigns of Pete Buttigieg and former President Joe Biden. She then managed several campaigns in Boston before returning to Utah in 2022 to found her firm, which has represented various state and local candidates, including Brian King in the gubernatorial election.
wrote in a text to the Statesman.
Both speakers discussed the significance of Phil Lyman’s write-in campaign and the strategies the other candidates developed around it.
“Two years ago, you would look at what was happening in Utah and say, ‘Yeah, it’s a pretty direct course for this governor’s race,’” Lusty said. “And it was anything but direct.”
Because the Spencer Cox campaign had to “fight this weird, on-our-right opponent that changed how we thought about things, what kind of ads we ran,” Lusty said.
Finlayson’s firm decided to call Lyman, who had said he’d rather see Brian Smith King than Cox as governor, to ask him to appear in an ad alongside King.
“We wrote in a little line in that ad as a joke initially but hoping it would catch on that, you know, you can either vote for Brian King or you can write in Phil Lyman,” Finlayson said. “By the end of the ad shoot, he was like, ‘I’m going to run a write-in campaign.’”
Finlayson continued. “We see younger voters, especially younger [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] voters, voting for Democrats in higher numbers than we’ve ever seen.”
Lusty said there was some truth to shifting demographics playing a role in Utah’s politics but said Finlayson’s statement “was a very optimistic view for Democrats in Utah.” He continued, offering a warning to Republicans who might feel emboldened by the party’s wins in 2024.
“If you do not fix what’s going on and if Americans do not feel like we’re in a better place, you will lose seats in 2028,” Lusty said. “If we don’t fix issues, I’m telling you, Republicans in 2028 are going to be out like you wouldn’t believe.”
Finlayson and Lusty agreed on the importance of creative campaigning, describing themselves as “professional problem-solvers.”
“There is a lot that you can do to prepare to do this type of work, you know: doing internships, making sure
The other speaker was Matt Lusty. He is a founding partner of Election Hive, which has managed the campaigns of Republican candidates for local, state and national office. In 2024, his clients included Rep. Blake Moore, Sen. Mike Lee and Gov. Spencer Cox.
According to IOGP director Jennifer Seelig in an email to The Utah Statesman, the panelists were chosen “based on their professional involvement in the Utah Governor’s Race as well as other political races throughout Utah.”
The event was inspired by “curiosities expressed by students, faculty, staff and the public at-large about their perceptions and questions concerning political campaigns.”
Emma Blanscett, sophomore studying political science, attended the panel after hearing about it from the IOGP and a former professor.
“What stood out to me was how both panel participants offered unique perspectives and advice, each shaped by the different political parties they support. They made it very clear where they agreed and disagreed.,” Blanscett
According to Lusty, when the ad featuring King and Lyman was released, his campaign “had a really interesting decision.”
“In order for Brian King to be successful, he needs Phil Lyman to be strong with Republicans, and if he’s doing ads with them, we can kind of leverage that and just say, ‘This guy doesn’t want Republicans to be successful. He doesn’t want Republicans to win.’ And so, fewer Republicans are going along with it,” Lusty said.
“I found it interesting how there’s so much more to political campaigning than meets the eye,” Blanscett wrote. “I always just think of the ads and candidates that are promoted, not the people behind the scenes.”
The panelists had different outlooks on Utah’s political future.
“We really believe Utah will become a battleground state in the next 10 to 15 years,” Finlayson said. “We’re the fastest growing state in the country. We’re the youngest state in the country.
“And the demographics are shifting in our direction,”
you have a full understanding of how campaigns work,” Finlayson said. “But part of it is just working with a lot of different types of candidates.”
Blanscett said she enjoyed the event. “I was truly intrigued and left the event wanting to learn more about campaigning,” she wrote.
“We were thrilled with the interest in the event and are planning future events around Utah’s campaign cycles,” Seeling wrote.
The IOGP is currently planning its 2025 event series. Seelig said the organization “would be excited to hear from students, faculty and staff if people have interest areas they would like to see covered.”
If students are interested in working on campaigns, the IOGP offers various internship opportunities at local, state and national levels. Interested students can find more information about the IOGP by visiting usu.edu/iogp/, emailing iogp@usu.edu or calling 435-797-9618.
PHOTO BY Claire Ott
Gabi Finlayson, senior partner at Elevate Strategies, speaks at the Post Election Panel hosted by the Institute of Government and Politics at Utah State on Jan. 13.
USU trains the next generation of firefighters
By Lacey Cintron STATESMAN REPORTER
Rising temperatures, drying climates and extreme droughts — these conditions have plagued much of the Western U.S. in recent years, creating the ideal environment for fire to thrive. As wildfire risk rises, so too has the need for dedicated firefighters.
Utah State University has recently approved a new firefighting training program for university credit, titled WILD 2450: Wildland Fire Operations. Sponsored by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, the course launched on Jan. 9 and will continue until early April, when students will finish with all the knowledge necessary to begin fighting fires.
The program is led by Brad Washa, an assistant professor of wildland fire science and partly by the USU Wildland Fire Club.
“There’s three courses,” Washa said. “The first one is an introduction to wildland fire behavior.”
This introductory course explores the anatomy of a wildfire and teaches students terminology used in the field. Students will hear from a meteorologist who will explain the Fire Behavior Triangle, made up of fuels, weather and topography.
“You learn fire orders to watch out for and situations you should be keying into,” Washa said. “Like if the fire behavior is getting worse or if the relative humidity is going down, you’re going to start seeing fire behavior increase and you might have to adjust your tactics.”
According to the National Park Service, fuels low in moisture and made up of oils such as dead trees and shrubs, weather conditions like strong winds and low humidity and steeply sloped topography can create the perfect condition for uncontrollable fires.
The next course is the S130 Wildland Firefighter Training course. “This is basically how you fight a fire and do it safely,“ Washa said.
It includes a 22-hour online portion, made up of 12 modules that explain all of the skills students will need to perform on the eight-hour field exercise at the end of the course. Topics include lookouts, escape routes and safety zones, as well as skills like constructing a fireline and extinguishing a fire with or without water. The program concludes in its final course L180: Human Factors in The Wildland Fire Service, which focuses on quick thinking, decision-making, hazard identification and team cohesion. Students will embody a fire crew member through a variety of scenarios in an online, interactive simulation to test their skills.
Washa recommended this program for any student interested in learning about wildland fires or working in fire management.
“You don’t necessarily have to have an interest in natural resources,” Washa said. “A number of the kids taking the class are not QCNR students. There’s a psychology major and an IT student. You don’t need that natural resources background to be a firefighter.”
Washa, whose fire experience spans more than 400 wildfires and 33 years both on the ground and in management, did not initially plan on going into fire management.
“I had actually planned on going to law school and into environmental law,” Washa said. “Between my junior and senior year of college, I got a job with the Helitack crew at Mesa Verde National Park, and I really liked it. I decided I wanted to pursue that for a graduate degree.”
Washa spent two summers as part of Mesa Verde’s Helitack crew, a team of firefighters transported via helicopter. He would go on to serve in roles such as incident commander and chair of Utah’s Prescribed Fire Council.
“I did a semester of graduate school at University of Wisconsin, but then I also knew I wanted to go west,” Washa said. “Fire in the east is a lot different than in the west — it’s not as large and exciting.” Firefighting can be as fulfilling as it is frightening, Washa said. He described it as an inherently dangerous career in which homes and lives can be lost or saved.
“I was on a fire where I had to call the Colorado Springs Fire Department and tell them we weren’t going to hold the fire, and we lost over 360 homes and had two fatalities,” Washa said. “The next fire I was on we were able to hold at the edge of the town because of a bunch of work we put in. There’s great memories like that to just the camaraderie you form.”
Firefighting can take a serious toll on mental health. According to a 2022 National Intitutions of Health review, conditions such as PTSD and anxiety are ongoing issues affecting firefighters.
“You do need to detach yourself from some of the emotional aspects of fire, otherwise it’s going to eat you alive,” Washa said. “You go out there, try and do your best and not get anybody injured and realize that fire is a very dynamic environment.”
Students near the Logan campus can get further experience with the operations of actual fire departments via USU’s Wildland Fire Club.
“Fire, in some ways, resembles the military and in other ways, it doesn’t, but it is very structured,” Washa said. “From the firefighter on the ground to the incident commander, we’ve actually adopted that within the Fire Club. Instead of a president, we have an incident commander. Instead of a secretary, we have a plan section chief — things like that to mimic what the fire organization looks like.”
Kyle Hamilton is a fourth-year forest ecology and management student and the presidentof the club. The club connects students with firefighting opportunities and events while also learning about fire ecology in partnership with USU’s Fire Ecology Lab.
“The idea of our course and club is to provide access and let people know the courses are out there,” Hamilton said. “We run it as a facilitation so it’s more selfled, but it’s also a group where you can come together, ask questions and meet other people.”
Lacey Cintron is majoring in psychology. She loves learning about the human mind, sharing stories and naps.
PHOTO BY Brad Washa Wildland Fire Operations students participate in a field exercise in April.
PHOTO BY Jack Burton
Brad Washa presents at the Wildland Fire Operations Training on Jan. 9 in the Natural Resources building.
Speaker series empowers women in business
By Samantha Isaacson STATESMAN REPORTER
The highly anticipated Utah Women and Leadership Project hosted its first webinar in their Women in Leadership Executive Speaker Series on Jan. 8. This series is linked to the MSLE 3840: Women in Business Executive Speaker Series class offered at Utah State University.
The first webinar hosted two female speakers Dr. Sydnee Dickson and Michelle Love-Day. Dickson is the superintendent of public instruction for the Utah State Board of Education, and Love-Day is the director of the Language & Culture Services department for the Jordan School District. Their discussion focused on a variety of critical elements that can propel women’s careers forward.
Melinda Colton, communications manager for the Utah Women and Leadership Project, said that this series was put together for MSLE 3840.
“This class is taught online by Dr. Susan Madsen, and it features this ten-part webinar series,” Colton said. “The students listen to the Zoom call that features different female leaders throughout Utah each week for the first half of the class, and then there is a discussion during the second half.”
Brianna Brown is a student in the class and is a senior in data analytics at USU.
Brown said this first seminar was very impactful to her.
“Hearing from women who have done incredible things was really inspiring. They really think that it is
possible for more women to accomplish the things they have done and more,” Brown said.
Colton said one of the main points of the seminar was that where you start your career isn’t necessarily where you end your career.
“They talked about how important it is to be well-rounded when it comes to experience in your career path,” Colton said. “Syd Dickson, who is now the state superintendent of public instruction, started out as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. I think that’s valuable information for students to understand.”
Brown said they talked about how women deserve to be in positions of leadership.
“We talked a lot about the importance of the words that we use,” Brown said. “For example, it’s really common for women in leadership to say, ‘I am blessed to be here’ or, ‘I am lucky to be here.’ But in reality, every woman in leadership positions deserves to be there. It is a typical thing for women in leadership to say that’s different from how men often speak in the same situation.”
Brown also said they talked about the unspoken pressure put on women to go above and beyond to earn their positions.
“One of the speakers mentioned her experience with this idea of having to work extra hard for society to view her well and to believe that she deserved her position,” Brown said. “It was a really powerful comment.”
Colton said the series was originally just meant to be seen by students in the class, but then they decided it was something that should be available to the public.
“Originally, students in the class would spend the first hour of the class watching it, and then the curriculum would come into the last half of the class,” Colton said. “After discussing it, we decided that since we were already hosting these Zoom webinars, why not invite the public to join for the first hour?”
Those who wish to attend future Zoom calls in this series can RSVP and receive access through usu.edu/ uwlp/events/upcoming-events.
sam.isaacson@usu.edu
Aubrey Holdaway is an avid lover of stories, especially music. She enjoys romanticism, beverages and roasting Max Murray. This is her humble offering of cool stuff she’s been into lately.
named
Black Oak Slaughter Beach, Dog
DESIGN BY Kaylee Robinson
TikTok’s fate hangs in the balance
By Essence Barnes STATESMAN REPORTER
One of the most popular social media apps in the world TikTok is rumored to be banned in the U.S. on Jan. 19. News of the possible banning has shocked mainstream media, sparking national conversation among TikTok loyalists, casual users and curious netizens alike, many of them wondering the same things: Will TikTok be banned and, if so what does that mean, especially for the app’s users? Students and staff on campus at USU are asking similar questions.
Last spring, President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act into law, declaring online applications and platforms run by a U.S. “foreign adversary” would be banned in the country.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, falls under this category. TikTok sued the government in response to the PAFACA Act passing, arguing the ban is an unconstitutional violation of the first amendment right to free speech.
The question presented to the judges during the official Supreme Court hearing for the case asked whether the PAFACA Act violates the First Amendment. Though a decision has yet to be finalized, the ban is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 19, resulting in increased public discourse as the decision for the case continues to hang in the air.
at USU. “But as we’re getting closer to that potential date, it really did just hit me that this will more likely than not happen within a matter of days, which is really weird to think about.”
TikTok has become especially popular among young adults, many of whom have used the app for years as a source of global communication and connection.
“I really do believe that you can find a platform or community for anything on TikTok,” Watts said. “You’ll be able to find people you maybe couldn’t find in your everyday life.”
Videos from countries and cultures around the world can make their way to TikTok, exposing users to content curated to their specific interests and to content they wouldn’t have otherwise interacted with.
“It feels kind of like censoring almost,” Watts said. “Like saying, ‘Oh, we can only have U.S.-based media in the United States,’ and that almost cuts certain people off from other parts of the world that they may be interacting with and seeing on TikTok.”
Younger generations have found a sense of community and kinship among the subgroups and subcultures on TikTok, from LGBTQ+ communities to mental health groups.
“It could take away that community and safety of these people who might not be able to freely express themselves all the time,” Watts said.
According to a 2024 study done by Pew Research, at least four in 10 American young adults are regularly interacting with news on TikTok.
“It’s not necessarily a freedom of speech question, it’s a freedom of access to information question,” Monson said.
According to Monson, the first amendment doesn’t necessarily guarantee access to a platform. It simply guarantees the government isn’t allowed to arrest someone for saying something they don’t agree with.
“I think what banning TikTok does is it creates a hostile news and information environment,” Monson said. “It means that our levels of distrust across national boundaries are now moving into social media territories.”
Concerns over Chinese government access to user data on TikTok have been highly debated throughout this case. The government has kept the evidence for this claim classified from public review.
“I think a ban is going to make it much easier for other countries to look at us with skepticism when we make arguments of speech, access to information, human rights conversations,” Monson said. “It’s going to make us seem less dependable as a source when we ourselves engage in information banning and shutting down of access.”
“My first reaction was, ‘Are we really trying to do this again?’” said Alyssa Watts, political science student
According to Watts, the banning will most likely turn younger generations towards a new platform to take TikTok’s place.
“With or without a certain media app, those communities will still find each other, and connection will always still happen between human beings,” Watts said. “But I believe those communities are much stronger than just an app on the internet.”
Debra Monson, journalism and communications professor at USU, has seen the rise and fall of many popular social media platforms over the years.
“If it’s where you get your information, it’s where you get your understanding of what the culture is in much the same way that TV was for me and my generation,” Monson said.
For many young users, TikTok is the place to learn about what is happening in the world socially and politically, with a lot of its content being news-related.
“Getting your news on social media is not the problem. The problem is getting your news from unverified sources on social media,” Monson said. “TikTok being gone might create a vacuum in news delivery for college students.”
One last hope remains for the social media app. If ByteDance agrees to sell TikTok to an American company by Jan. 19, the platform could be saved in the United States. At the time of publication, the app is still on track to be banned, pending the Supreme Court’s official decision.
On Jan. 16, a U.S. official shared Biden would not enforce the ban, leaving the next administration to put the ban in action if it passes, according to the AP. As of publishing, no information is available on what the next administration will do. Updates will be made online at usustatesman.com.
Barnes is a second-year student majoring in journalism and minoring in environmental studies. She enjoys reading, writing and caffeine. — essence.barnes@usu.edu
Students set their sights at Vision Board Night
By Essence Barnes STATESMAN REPORTER
For students feeling overwhelmed with the beginning of a new semester, Vision Board Night gave them a chance to catch a break and visualize their goals.
The event was hosted in the TSC Ballroom by the USUSA Series Committee as part of Welcome Back Week. Zach Bone serves as director of the committee. With a team of 14 members, they plan around 20 events throughout the school year. Last spring semester, the committee hosted a collage-making night. Keeping with a creative, hands-on idea, they decided to change things up a bit.
“We saw how successful that was, so we wanted to frame it and make it our own,” Bone said. “So, with vision boards being a very trendy thing right now and people setting goals, it was a very fitting thing.”
Students were provided with a variety of paper, stickers, paint and other creative materials to bring their vision boards to life.
Payton Richins is a freshman who attended Vision Board Night with her friend.
“I think it’s fun because you’re not necessarily planning out your year, but you just kind of put down on a piece of paper what you want your year to look like,” Richins said. “I think it’s inspiring because it helps you want to reach those goals.” Richins said her goal for the new semester is to really focus on her classes.
The Series Committee began planning the Vision Board Night in November of last year. Bone credits the committee members as being the brains of the operation.
“With any event that we plan, there’s a couple of key components that we want to make sure we’re hitting,” Bone said. “One: is it an activity that really any student on campus could come and participate in?”
Second, the committee makes an effort to plan events that differ from the large, high-energy events some students may not enjoy.
“We get the opportunity to plan events that are different from the Howl or the End of Year Bash,” Bone said. “So we look at something like that. What’s different? What have we not done before on campus?”
Bone said there were many different events the committee could have chosen to welcome students back with but hopes students found value from creating their vision boards.
“I hope they take them home and hang them up somewhere, and six months from now, they can say ‘Oh, I’ve done that,’ and it all started here,” Bone said. “And they can take away that tangible thing with them that reminds them of this fun memory they’ve had tonight.”
Bone said having the opportunity to put forth the visions of the committee members and guiding their community is what he loves and has a heart for all of the students.
“I truly believe that the events we’re putting on really do have an impact on the student body here,” Bone said. “To be able to give students a break from their homework — their studies — to just come and enjoy a couple of hours away from their books — I think it goes a long way in terms of mental health.”
It’s not uncommon for students to experience a sense of burnout during the winter months. USU participates in a biennial
Q: What is your role within the Christensen Office of Service and Sustainability?
Healthy Minds Study where students have the opportunity to take an online survey that helps the university understand what mental-health-related issues students are experiencing. According to the data from the 2023-2024 report, 38% of participants experienced moderate or severe depressive symptoms and 34% experienced moderate or severe anxiety symptoms.
Bone said he enjoys seeing students who may be struggling to find an outlet in the events they host, giving them the opportunity to meet new people.
“The college-life experience, it’s so much more than just studying for an exam,” Bone said.
Brinley Burgon, senior majoring in psychology and criminal justice, was another student who attended Vision Board Night, and she found it to be helpful to her beginning of the semester stress.
“It’s such a fun environment,” Burgon said. “Especially with classes starting up, everyone’s already feeling the stress, and so I feel like it’s a good way to kind of unwind.”
Esther Owens is a sophomore studying journalism. When she’s not busy working on a story, she’s probably at the climbing wall.
— esther.owens@usu.edu
A: I’m the student lead for the True Blue Reuse and Repair.
Q: Which ATCA principles align with the work you do?
A: In our office, the main goal is to promote community and sustainability in the community. That aligns with Aggies Think, Care, Act in that we’re building a community of sustainably-minded students, getting people involved with causes that matter to them, connecting people with resources and reducing waste.
Q: How do you think your work impacts the Aggie community?
A: The primary way that I see is just that it makes students think about the waste they’re producing and kind of creates an easy avenue for them to reduce that waste. I think it is impactful if we can divert those items and keep them from getting to the landfill and then find a new home for them, whether that’s a student who needs new clothes or community organizations like Cache Valley Refugee Immigrant Connections or the warming center.
Q: Can you provide a specific example when you or someone on your team demonstrated ATCA principles?
A: Our offices in the TSC have an open door. People can come in with whatever questions they have. It’s super cool for me to be able to interact with those students and just be a friend to them. If we’re not interacting with and being kind to individual people, then the overall work is not as important.
Q&A by Brook Wood Quinn Balser
PHOTO BY Malory Rau
A table in the ballroom adorned with crafts and snacks for Vision Board Night on Jan. 9.
Writing some Bull Sheet
By Ashley Dorius STATESMAN REPORTER
Entering the student section of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, fans find a staple of Utah State University Men’s Basketball home games. Filled with dirt on the other team and cheers for the Aggies, the Bull Sheet is a satirical newsletter that encompasses the spirit of USU’s HURD.
A long-running tradition that has had several teams of volunteers composing its editions, the current “Anonymous Writers of the Bull Sheet” allowed The Utah Statesman to interview one of its authors. The author has been provided anonymity to protect their ability to continue creating their sometimes controversial content and home court advantage. The Statesman has independently verified their identity as an author of the Bull Sheet.
Even though it is run by Aggie fans and students, the Bull Sheet is unaffiliated with the university or the HURD. The author shared it was intentionally not professional but is instead for fun. The author began writing the Bull Sheet because of their love for Aggie basketball, and they have enjoyed the role.
“I’m a big basketball fan, believe it or not, and I love the Mountain West basketball — the conference,” the author said.
They said this passion makes them a better writer.
“I watch a lot of games, and I read a lot about these games, and I interact with a lot of other fans, and they tell interesting things,” the author said. “I write a lot about the basketball side of things. Obviously there are some
times where I do talk about their personality and personal life, but it’s a lot about basketball and what’s happening on the court.”
When it comes to writing the sheet, they say it takes about five to seven hours to curate. They’ve also said they had a few standouts in their tenure.
“I’m pretty proud of Boise because, as we all know, we all don’t like Boise,” the author said.
They added that Boise’s proximity often allows people to have friends who attend and even USU players could be former teammates with their Bronco opponents. In addition, they said they were proud of the Wyoming Bull Sheet.
“I really liked calling head coach Sundance Wicks ‘the high school coach who looked like he would give you Kendrick Lamar lyrics to dissect in class’ or something like that,” the author said. “I do really respect coach Sundance Wicks. He’s a really great guy, and I hope that he’s successful, but it is just a little funny.”
The author said the next paper they are excited to write is for the game against New Mexico.
“I’m personally really licking my chops at New Mexico,” the author said. “There’s a lot of stuff about there.”
The author shared how they determine what goes into the sheets. They said there are lines they will not cross.
“I don’t want to be in the news — or the university in the news — for the wrong reasons,” the author said. “There’s a lot of stuff that we’ve written that we can’t use because it’s too dark. We want it to be fun, creative and hilarious.”
The Statesman then asked the author to break down USU’s players and create a “Pro-USU Bull Sheet.”
“For Mason, he embodies the Utah State kind of player where he’s from Cache Valley, and he works hard, and just every single play does the small things right,” the author said. “It’s so fun to watch him play and succeed for Utah State.”
Ian Martinez was next on the list.
“I don’t think we’ve seen a more athletic person at Utah State University than Ian Martinez,” the author said. “He has done things that I didn’t think the human body was possible of doing. I mean, we love him. It’s so fun to watch him take over games.”
Isaac “Fish” Johnson then got a second in the spotlight. “We love Fish. He’s so fun,” the author said. “I mean, he’s come here, and he’s found a home. I mean, he was the deciding reason why we beat TCU in March Madness to give us our first NCAA Tournament win in over 20 years. And so he’s going down in Aggie history for that.”
The author then sang the praises of Karson Templin.
“Karson Templin is the greatest player ever. He’s a future All-American,” the author said. “A lot of people might not remember Justin Bean. He’s Justin Bean if he had 20 pounds of more muscle. His stat lines from this year — they don’t look super impressive in a vacuum, but if you watch the game, you realize he’s always there. He’s always helping. He’s always doing everything.”
USU’s true freshman Jordy Barnes also got a moment to shine.
“Jordy Barnes is such an incredible story,” the author said. “In the state of Utah, he has done amazing things. I cannot wait to see him grow. And he’s also really crafty.”
Finally, the author spoke on Dexter Akanno.
“It’s also really fun to watch Dexter Akanno,” the author said. “Just for him to be here and just be a blur on the field and still be humble and so passionate. It makes me so grateful that he’s in a Utah State uniform.”
The author shared one of their favorite aspects of writing for the paper.
“One of my favorite things about this is I have a lot of thoughts and a lot of opinions, and I really get to sit down and write it out and broadcast my thoughts and my opinions to a ton of people,” the author said. “I’m not saying that my opinions are better, but it is also fun just to hear that a lot of people care.”
Kolton Freeman, a member of the HURD committee, shared what he loved about the Bull Sheet.
“Honestly, the Bull Sheet is kind of just like a representation of what we’re about as a student section,” Freeman said. “It’s kind of a fun way that we can do a little bit of research on other teams and make each game more personal. It gives us ideas on what we can cheer on and what we can do. I think it’s something creative that is a tradition at this point. It’s been going on for years, like over 10 years, and it’s just something that sets us apart from the rest.”
Jaylen Porras, another HURD committee member, added to Freeman’s statement.
“The Bull Sheet is something that students look forward to every single game, something exciting, and it’s something super unique that no one else does in the country, and it’s very much so a bragging right that we have earned and has given us credibility,” Porras said.
As much as the “Anonymous Writers of the Bull Sheet” love their work and its impact, they recognize that it is a part of a much bigger machine that creates Spectrum Magic.
Ashley Dorius is a sophomore studying journalism. She’s locally famous for her cake pops and her dream of having a puppy.
PHOTO BY Jack Burton
One of the “Anonymous Writers of the Bull Sheet” poses for a photo on Jan. 15.
A timeline of the Jerry Bovee lawsuit
By Carson Frost STATESMAN REPORTER
Six months ago, Utah State’s athletic department put out a press release announcing the simultaneous firing of head football coach Blake Anderson, deputy athletic director Jerry Bovee and football director of player development Austin Albrecht.
All three of those fired in early July were accused in an official school news release of committing “violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures of professional responsibilities.” The accusations stemmed from an incident in April 2023 involving one of Anderson’s players and a female victim.
In the days and weeks following the reports, the responses from the fired employees were notably distinct. Albrecht quietly stepped away from his position, while Anderson filed a lawsuit against the school, accusing USU of defamation and breach of contract and seeking $15 million in damages.
On Jan. 3, after months of public dissent surrounding his departure, Bovee filed a lawsuit of his own, introducing new accusations that raise questions about the school’s adherence to public record laws. Below is a timeline of the events leading up to Bovee’s recent litigation.
December 2024
Dec. 20: The Utah State grievance committee did not agree about Bovee’s termination, but USU Executive Vice President Larry Smith sided with the majority and upheld the decision, according to the Cache Valley Daily. “I have thoroughly read the Committee’s written summary, and I have given it the most serious consideration,” Smith wrote in the final decision. “I agree with the Committee’s ultimate findings and conclusions related to Mr. Bovee’s grievance. Where the Committee members were not in agreement, I side with the majority.”
January 2025
Jan. 3: According to the Cache Valley Daily, Bovee officially sued USU, alleging his termination violated state law. This came a little over a month after Anderson’s suit, and Bovee sued for $300,000 in damages. Bovee said in his suit that his former superior Vice President and Director of Athletics Diana Sabau removed a num-
ber of job duties and undermined him, which led him to believe “she was trying to minimize his role and move him out of his position.” The suit also elaborated on Sabau’s toxic behavior that led Bovee and others to complain to Human Resources on multiple occasions. According to the complaint, Sabau once yelled at former executive associate athletics director for internal affairs Amy Crosbie and Bovee for hiring an assistant coach without asking for her approval. “Sabau’s conduct during this meeting was so abusive that Crosbie began to cry, which Sabau mocked,” the lawsuit states. Bovee also reasserted his claim that he was not given the option to resign in lieu of termination, a provision in USU Policy 311. After “abusive conduct, mistreatment, insults, and veiled threats to his employment” and recognizing the tense relationship between him and Sabau, Bovee offered to resign and allow her to hire her own staff, to which Sabau replied, “You will leave when I tell you to leave,” according to the lawsuit. The school once again defended their decision in a statement issued to Cache Valley Daily. Jan. 8: A new development arose in the Bovee suit battle, with Bovee alleging that top administration use private messaging apps. He stated in the lawsuit that administrators used the messaging app Signal frequently for conversations, which is said to be in violation of Utah’s Government Records Access & Management Act. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the lawsuit states, “In March 2024, Ms. Sabau asked Mr. Bovee and other employees to download a messaging app called ‘Signal,’ which deletes communications at the end of each day, so that she could ‘have more candid conversations’ that could not be discovered in an open records request. Ms. Sabau also mentioned that she and the President of USU used it often.” Bovee also requested transcripts of Zoom meetings related to his grievance hearing in October, but USU denied his request, telling him the Zoom call recordings were only accessible by a computer controlled or owned by USU and it couldn’t separate the part of the file it considered private or protected.
In a written statement addressed to The Utah Statesman on Jan. 13, the university said, “Utah State University stands by its employment decisions and disputes Mr. Bovee’s presentation of events. We look forward to resolving this case in
litigation and continuing to focus on our student-athletes and the success of our athletics programs.”
It seems the legal battles between USU’s athletic department and its former employees will continue for many months to come. Coupled with other recent controversies, such as the volleyball team’s lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference and the legal challenges following the school’s move to the Pac-12, the department has several lawsuits on its hands.
Carson Frost is a transfer student from Denver studying journalism. His family originally hails from Los Angeles, and he is a passionate fan of the Lakers, Dodgers and Philadelphia Eagles. He loves writing, making music, hitting the gym and taking road trips.
PHOTO VIA Utah State Today
Jerry Bovee poses for a photo.
Building bridges with unified sports
By Rain Schenck STATESMAN REPORTER
Inclusion for athletes with disabilities begins in the community level. Right here in Logan, over 30 athletes compete on Unified Sports teams under the Special Olympics program.
The athletes’s coach McKell Esser advocates for their right to inclusion, competition and space for them to feel a community connection within the sports world.
“They just have so much fun,” Esser said. “It’s really important to them in their lives. They look forward to each season.”
The joy and excitement in these competitors’s lives don’t come from simply playing a sport with a ball — they come from competing alongside volunteers known as Unified partners.
“We have the partners come to really develop relationships with the athletes,” said Liv Schneider, head of the Unified Sports program at Utah State University. “It’s a way for them to be with other college students.”
Without Unified partners, these athletes can’t be placed on Unified teams eligible for competition. It’s not an easy ask on their fellow peers, according to Schneider. Typical volunteers are college students donating an hour and a half of their time per week to coach these athletes and play alongside them.
Although some college students are committed to playing with these athletes, Esser said they “always need more.” Specifically, they need more volunteers to support these Unified athletes as they gear up for their upcoming basketball season.
Beginning Jan. 29, the teams will begin weekly practice until the end of March. They’ll kick it off with a competition held at Weber State University and face off against other northern Utah teams.
Shortly after, the athletes will face teams all over the state for a two-day tournament held in Salt Lake City.
The Unified athletes represent a wide array of abilities, ages and demographics. Athletes can start the program as young as eight and play until they’re 40 years old. Filling the gaps of meeting their needs while challenging their skills is a difficult task that relies on understanding the diversity of the athletes, according to Esser. Difficult, yet something she would consider worth it in order to see these athletes “learn and create.”
To better identify their needs, athletes are assessed based on their individual abilities. They are then organized into teams that match their skill level. When competition time comes, these athletes play teams with similar assessment scores, offering an opportunity to stretch their skills.
Utah State offers Unified athletes a space to practice, equipment and volunteers to meet the community responsibility of including these athletes.
Offering space is the first step to including athletes with disabilities in the community, but the shared responsibility to show up for these individuals and be their partners is what Esser deems as most valuable.
“That’s been my hardest thing,” Esser said. “We need more partners.”
With over 20,000 students at the Logan campus, the struggle to find committed volunteers underscores a gap in awareness and involvement from the community.
“You know, a lot of them have a harder time being able to get out into the commu nity,” Esser said, speaking of the Unified athletes. “This is one way that they can do it.”
The difference volunteers make doesn’t go unnoticed by Esser, the athletes or the support system behind these individuals.
Students and community members can sign up to volunteer as a partner who plays with these athletes or as a coach, both of which Esser said are always needed and welcomed.
Schenck
HELP US GROW, TAKE OUR SURVEY
Letter to theEditor
For 23 years our family funded an annual scholarship for an undergraduate student at the Quinney College of Natural Resources (QCNR) at USU. Sadly, we are suspending it due to recent transphobic actions taken by the University.
My brothers and I attended QCNR from 1990-1998 and following graduation wanted to express our gratitude for all of the support the College had offered us. In the beginning we didn’t have permanent jobs, but even putting up $100 each, and joined by our parents, allowed us to give $400 to a student in 2001. As we settled into our careers, we grew that to $2000 and we have proudly contributed that annually ever since.
However, USU choosing to join a lawsuit targeting one transgender young woman on San Jose State’s volleyball team was hard news for us. We know Utah is a conservative state and we have been dismayed by recent transphobic bills passed by the legislature. We worry about trans people, who deserve respect and equal treatment when accessing state services their tax dollars pay for, like every citizen. We can imagine university administrators feeling they have no choice but to comply with new anti-diversity legislation. However, this lawsuit by USU was not that.
Beginning with the pitiful display of sportsmanship by forfeiting a game against San Jose State in October, the deliberate choice to join the suit the day before a tournament, doubled down on USU targeting one transgender young person. This attack joins a current torrent of hate the trans community is receiving nationally–a community where 56% of youth have attempted suicide and 86% report suicidality. Despite the lawsuit being thrown out last month,University Leadership (who would not meet with us on this issue) has already caused real and harmful effects to trans young people who see and deeply internalize these types of actions by their public institutions.
It’s painful to witness our alma mater (which literally means: nourishing
mother) deliberately choose to target such a vulnerable group of young Americans. To counter this in at least one way we can, we are shifting our modest giving to the Logan Pride Foundation who stand as a resource to the LGBTQ community in Cache Valley. If you are a USU student in need of support, please reach out to them. If like us, you want to show your support and lift up the trans community–subscribe to their newsletter, join the great events they host for the Valley, and otherwise reach out to learn how you can help!
Finally, we realize this change directly impacts QCNR students, who are likely some of the most queer-friendly students on campus. Or, at least that was our experience in the 1990s when QCNR was a rare, safe haven for LGBTQ students at USU–often drawing in queer students from other colleges. To QCNR students, faculty, and staff we hope you understand our need to act in this way and it’s easy to imagine you all doing the same if you were in our place.
Aaron, Kevin and Mark Poe are three brothers who attended the Quinney College of Natural Resources from 1990-1998. Collectively, they graduated with five majors and eight minors while attending Utah State University as Quinney Scholars. After living in Moab and Fruita, their parents Noel and Mary have been retired in Kanab for almost 20 years.
— aaronpoe@gmail.com
Sudoku
By
Kelly Winter