Opinion: USUSA Elections
The USUSA candidate declaration forms open on Jan. 13. The elections are set to occur on Feb 2425 with The Utah Statesman hosting a debate open to the student body and community on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
We as The Utah Statesman Editorial Board acknowledge the commitment and leadership skill it takes to not only run for USUSA office but also to fill that position for a full academic year. These leaders commit to being recognized as representatives of the university on top of being full-time students. We as the university publication also rely on them to be transparent with us as we work to be the student voice.
USUSA officers hold ample amounts of power within the university. Notably, Dallin Wilson, executive director of athletics and campus recreation, successfully ad-
vocated for 1,000 student seats to be returned to the student body this past fall. Furthermore, Executive VP Brooklyn Ward chairs the Facilities Enhancement Committee, a committee that dictates where the $200,000 fund for facility enhancement on campus goes.
USUSA officers also have a close relationship with higher-ups that remains unique to Utah State University. President Richey was able to meet with President Cantwell in the fall semester to discuss concerns over the crowding at the testing center, which VP Ward is still working to resolve.
These are only a few examples of the power these elected officers hold. These roles are also not filled without compensation. All USUSA officers receive scholarships in varying amounts based on position. Those who run unopposed, both in Logan and statewide, are inheriting
a substantial scholarship automatically. Vacant seats are often filled without a reelection but instead by appointment. Other USUSA officers work to fill vacant seats such as the 2024-25 Grad Studies Senator, who was appointed by the 2023-24 Academic Senate.
We as the board implore the student body to take note in this upcoming election and take action to vote for those they want to represent them or run for office to prevent unopposed races. More information on running for office can be found in the USUSA Elections packet.
— The Editorial Board
*Editor’s note: The Utah Statesman encourages feedback on all editions, including elections coverage.
editor@usustatesman.com
Data, AI center coming to campus
By Sariah Maez STATESMAN REPORTER
The new Utah State Univeristy Data Science and Artifical Intelligence Center is set to open on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
According to the DSAI proposal, the need for a center of this nature is becoming increasingly important as the use of AI and data science rises across the country.
“Data science is a growing, interdisciplinary field that includes the management, analysis, and visualization of data to make evidence-based decisions. With so much of today’s STEM innovation being data-driven, the ability to collect, analyze, and operationalize data is critical to industry and academic success. Additionally, recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are playing an increasingly crucial role in this process. Thus, high wage jobs in data science and AI are increasing rapidly in the state of Utah and across the country,” the proposal stated.
The opening kick-off will begin at 3 p.m. at the Huntsman Hall Perry Pavilion. Opening remarks will be given by USU President Elizabeth Cantwell, followed by AI founding fellow at Recursion Pharmaceuticals and the scientific director of Valence Labs Berton Earnshaw as the keynote speaker. Refreshments will be served, and the kick-off is open to anyone who would like to attend.
The center’s director Kevin Moon shared the university hopes the center will facilitate collaboration within the data science and AI community on campus as well as bring in new people who might be interested.
According to Moon, plans for the center began a few years ago when they noticed there was a lack of collaboration between members working in the DSAI field on campus.
“There are a lot of people, specifically faculty at Utah State, who work in the area of data science and AI, but they’re spread across campus in multiple different departments and don’t really talk to each other or even know who each other are,” Moon said.
Several different colleges across campus pledged money to account for the $28,000-$38,000 required annually for the center’s events. The proposal
for the center states while additional funding may sometimes be required, they have plans to obtain funds through other outlets such as grants, sponsorships, state funding, university central funding and future Facilities and Administration Rate revenue.
The center is just as much for students as it is for faculty. It aims for better student cohesion, course and degree integration and industry engagement.
“We’d like for faculty and students to have stronger connections to businesses, to industry, whether that takes the place of a form of internships or industry talks or research collaborations. Either way, I think, build a good strength, having those connections,” Moon said.
Moon also stated the research will help students at both graduate and undergraduate levels as many of the students will participate in the center’s research efforts and apply those experiences to their future careers.
“There are a few things that we’re hoping will happen from this. One is that we really are able to accelerate research productivity at the universi-
ty by building better collaboration or methods for collaboration in various disciplines here at Utah State, so that we’re able to leverage the great power that’s available in data science and AI tools in their specific applications,” Moon said.
More information can be found on the center’s website usu.edu/dsai/.
“The demand for data-driven insight and solutions continues to surge across all academic disciplines, and we are confident that the proposed Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Center will help Utah State meet the challenge of tackling the data problems of the future,” the proposal stated.
—
sariah.maez@usu.edu
Design by Annie Zaug
Repairs for refugees at Aggie Blue Bikes
By Malory Rau STATESMAN REPORTER
At the USU Logan Campus, students may be surprised to hear a small portion of their USU tuition that goes to Aggie Blue Bikes may find its way off campus.
Since 2022, ABB has been working with Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection, or CRIC, to repair bikes and donate them to refugees lacking transportation.
In 2024, ABB donated roughly 140 bikes to CRIC. “We’ve kind of always had some bikes that we’ve donated to the community every now and then. It wasn’t like a super regular thing, I connected with CRIC back in 2021— really solidified that as a place that we could donate bikes to,” said Avery Cronyn, Aggie Blue Bikes and sustainable transportation program coordinator.
The bikes, after being repaired and donated, are often adorned with a large ABB sticker with the intention of seeing their impact on the community.
Cronyn, as well as Sydney Knight, CRIC’s client services manager, both discussed the impact they have seen on those who have received bikes through CRIC.
“This partnership has made a huge difference in the lives of our clients. Having a bike can make it so much easier for someone to be able to get around the community, especially since many of the refugees and immigrants we work with don’t have the ability to purchase a vehicle for quite a while after they arrive to the US. This partnership has allowed many of our clients to be able to reach a greater level of self-sufficiency by giving them a means of transportation around the valley,” Knight wrote in an email to The Utah Statesman.
The donated bikes are mostly adult bikes, but a few children’s bikes also tend to make their way to the shop. Cronyn explained further the impact he has seen on families who have been affected by donations.
“A lot of people with visa status means that they’re not allowed to get a driver’s license, or it makes it really difficult to get a driver’s license, and then a lot of people can’t afford to buy a car, or can only have one car — there’s a parent who is working somewhere 60 hours a week, and that vehicle is kind of occupied, and so if anybody else wants to get places and not rely on the bus or walking, the bike is the next best,” Cronyn said.
ABB closes its doors on Fridays to only work on bikes to give to CRIC with volunteers alongside the eight mechanics who regularly work at the shop. Volunteers are not required to be USU students, and many volunteers are high school students in the summer.
With this deal being only about five years old, Knight expressed a desire for growth over time with CRIC.
“We hope to be able to continue our partnership with Aggie Blue Bikes and together continue to connect people to greater access to transportation for a long time to come,” Knight wrote.
Cronyn discussed a future of ABB, both on campus and off, with CRIC.
“My dream would be having more space for blue bikes, and then that would allow us to expand our fleet, and then we could kind of also be getting more bikes to CRIC,” Cronyn said.
Malory Rau is a junior studyng journalism and communication. She’s excited to be back on campus for the semester, but she fears that attitude will change during the next snow storm.
— m.rau@usu.edu
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY AGGIE BLUE BIKES
Social media advocacy with Miss USU
By Bailey Daniels STATESMAN REPORTER
Before she passes on her crown in April, Alexis Lyman, 2024-25 Miss USU, is looking back at her time in this position and her impact.
Miss USU is an annual pageant held by the Utah State University Student Alumni Association. Women from different colleges and organizations compete and create a platform for causes that are important to them.
Lyman is a junior at USU majoring in communication studies and minoring in yoga studies while working towards a certificate in conflict management and facilitation. Lyman hadn’t previously been in a pageant but felt inspired by the 2023-24 Miss USU Regan Tracy.
“I really wanted to put myself in an uncomfortable situation. All of 2024 was the ‘year of yes’ for me,” Lyman said. “I’m the kind of person where if I just at least try for something and give it my 100% and then the answer is no, then I’m okay with it. I have to at least try anything and everything and just know that it wasn’t meant for me.”
Lyman’s platform is called “Seen, Heard, Known” and emphasizes creating awareness for wellness resources on campus. She uses the Instagram account @missusulogan to spread awareness.
“It’s kind of transitioned to more of a physical, mental, spiritual, emotional health kind of deal — just all forms of health,” Lyman said. “It can be really scary and tough to even ask for help and to choose yourself.”
One of the programs Lyman has been working the most closely with is the Heravi Peace Institute. According to their webpage, HPI “aims to empower students with the temperament and tools needed to bring about social change.”
The program focuses attention on conflict management, peacebuilding and nonprofit work. Within the program, there are people called conversational space-makers.
“This last semester, I trained to be a space-maker,” Lyman said. “Conversational space-makers are just trained to help talk through challenges in a really confidential and safe space. They don’t give advice, and it’s really encouraging the person to learn how to trust themselves more.”
Lyman explained mental health facilities at USU such as the Counseling and Prevention Services can have long wait times and don’t always meet the needs of stu -
dents. She has been working with the director of the space making Program Clair Canfield to bring more awareness to it.
“It’s not like trained professionals who, you know, can diagnose you, but I have seen firsthand so many beautiful transformations and experiences of people who have been able to receive space,” Lyman said.
Throughout her advocacy for reaching out and getting the help you need, Lyman ended up helping herself too. She described the fall semester of her junior year as the most difficult she’s gone through.
“I would post things, or I would have so many conversations with people weekly, talking to them about maybe my platform or different resources. Giving them feedback, or just listening to them when they’re maybe having a difficult time,” Lyman said.
— Alexis Lyman
While journaling, something she has consistently done for 12 years, she realized she too needed the help she was encouraging others to get.
“I had to take my own advice and kind of humble myself in a way. I really had to experience what it was like to seriously ask for help and humility. Looking at someone and saying, ‘I am not doing okay and I need help,’ are some of the hardest words that I think you can say, at least for me,” Lyman said.
Brooklyn Ward is the current USUSA executive vice president and the previous 2022-23 Miss USU Eastern. She is also a close friend of Lyman’s. They met while serving on the USUSA Traditions Committee last year. With her previous experience with the Miss USU pageant, she helped Lyman earn her title.
“I think she has a natural gift. A lot of things play into becoming Miss USU or winning any pageant. I think that for her, it was a combination of a lot of things, and in my experience, it’s usually people who feel passionate and have a deep connection with what they’re trying to promote and spread through their platform and through the position,” Ward said.
Throughout their friendship, Lyman has shown Ward the compassion that she aims to spread through her time with the crown.
“She’ll talk with you about anything. She’ll laugh with you about anything. If you love it, she’ll find a way to love it, or she’ll love it right back for you,” Ward said.
Bailey Daniels is a junior studying technology systems. She loves Lana Del Rey, sweet treats and all things whimsical. — bailey.daniels@usu.edu
PHOTO BY Kate Petersen
Miss USU poses for a photo on Jan. 7.
Art, business collide at The Alley
By Samantha Isaacson STATESMAN REPORTER
Nestled between Prodigy Brewing and Bloom Cafe on Logan’s Center Street is The Alley. It is a creative and business space offering multiple different services along with an art gallery and live music performances.
The Alley opened its doors officially in February 2024 and is co-owned and operated by Chelsea Funk and her daughter Kaylee Funk.
Kayla Derito, manager at The Alley, said Kaylee Funk was the one who first had the idea.
“Kaylee has always had a passion for the arts and community. She moved to Salt Lake when she was pretty young and got invested in all the different creative hubs down there,” Derito said. “All of those things are super community-based, so when she decided to move back to Logan, she came up with this idea of a general space for creatives and community to come together.”
Kaylee Funk is the co-owner and director of The Alley. She is also a hairstylist and has a studio inside of the space.
Kaylee Funk said opening a space like this had been a dream of hers since she was a child.
“I always wanted to do hair in a studio and have my clientele, while also collecting all of my favorite things like art and music,” Kaylee Funk said.
Her dream was able to become a reality with the help of her mother Chelsea Funk, who said that her real estate company was looking for a building space.
“I am the branch manager of Realtypath Real Estate, and the building came available for us to purchase to host
my real estate company. It was a much larger building than we needed,” Chelsea Funk said. “So me and Kaylee thought we could combine all of our businesses.”
Derito said they are accepting of everyone and want to bring the community together.
“I think The Alley is a really cool place to be — it’s a cool place to work,” Derito said. “We’re accepting of all people, and we just want to provide a place of love, community and support for everybody.”
Derito said they have multiple business owners that offer a myriad of services.
“We have a tattoo artist, a barber, a barbershop, a piercer and a hair stylist who is Kaylee,” Derito said. “We also have a Somebody’s Attic boutique. This is their third location, and it has some of their higher-end items and such.”
Kaylee Funk also said they have an art gallery that puts up local art.
“All of our wall space is for local talent, so local artists can sell their stuff on consignment,” Kaylee Funk said. “We basically just throw out Instagram calls and have local artists submit their portfolios. Me and my team go over everything, and then we have their pieces up for three to six month stints.”
Chelsea Funk said they don’t charge a hanging fee unless the artist’s pieces sell.
“The artists make a large percentage if the piece is sold, but they do not need to pay us for showing the pieces unless they sell,” Chelsea said.
They also host live music performances with local bands.
“During the summer, we would do live music on Thursdays from 7 p.m. to sunset,” Derito said. “We would have different local bands and artists come and play in front of The Alley, and people would gather around and set up chairs.”
Derito said once it got cold, they decid-
ed to try and find a way to continue to host live music inside.
“Eventually, we decided that we will do a concert once a month up in the loft, which is our upstairs space,” Derito said. “We will be collaborating with The Little Jamm, which is a traveling venue for concerts. They have a bunch of different local artists who go around and play in different venues and spaces.”
Derito said they will release more information on their Instagram and social media soon once they figure out the details and specifics.
Derito continued that they will be hosting Center Street Art-Beat this year, a music and arts festival they started last year.
“We have all local bands, and we have tons of artists and tons of vendors,” Derito said. “We are hoping to make it even better and bigger this year.”
Chelsea Funk said they will be hosting this event sometime during the second week of September.
Samantha
is a junior majoring in journalism with a double minor in art and psychology. She loves to read and spend time outdoors.
— sam.isaacson@usu.edu
Isaacson
PHOTOS BY Kelly Winter
The entryway of the The Alley on Center Street, as seen on Jan. 8.
“Brain rot” takes 2024 crown
By Brook
STATESMAN REPORTER
Social media, online content, Gen Z and Gen Alpha all had a part to play in determining the Oxford Word of the Year 2024: brain rot.
Brain rot is described as mental deterioration as a consequence of consuming too much online content and media that is seen as superficial or simplistic.
The Oxford University Press uses lexicographers — people who author dictionaries — to track which words or phrases were most used and that most reflect the last 12 months. Brain rot’s usage increased by 230% from 2023 to 2024, largely due to social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram.
Sarah Gordon is a French professor within the linguistics department at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She has degrees in comparative and European literature, a PhD in French language and literature and several publications related to food, medicine and culture.
“In medieval England, ‘rot’ could refer to really unpleasant things like spoiled or moldy food and decomposing wood, or could be a medical diagnosis for diseases like wasting disease or infected wounds,” Gordon said. “In early modern times, it came to also mean morally corrupt in addition to bad smells or rotting flesh.”
The word brain rot was first recorded by Henry David Thoreau in his book “Walden,” which was published in 1854. Thoreau used the word to describe how society was repelling complex ideas and purposefully nulling intellectual and mental activity. The word has new meaning due to the modern online reality, but the idea remains similar.
“The image of the rotting brain has been popularized through pop culture like zombie movies. Because the word rot can refer to physical or moral things, it makes it ideal for today’s phenomenon of brain rot, in which we might feel like our minds are slowly decaying from lack of exercising our minds,” Gordon said.
Gordon advised students to battle brain rot by engaging in intellectual activity, such as reading or talking about literature, attending class frequently and reading news publications.
“We might feel like our minds are slowly decaying from lack of exercising our minds — which we can do by reading newspaper articles like this one,” Gordon said.
Jordan Forest is a recent adjunct instructor within the USU Department of English and specializes in creative writing. She is familiar with the term brain rot from being a recent college student herself and having witnessed it being used around her and online.
“I think I use it to poke fun at myself or at others, sometimes making fun of being online. But also, like I was saying, I don’t have social media, so I’ve had people make fun of me being like ‘You have negative brain rot’ or ‘You don’t have brain rot like us,’” Forest said. Forest said brain rot’s selection as the word of the year was not all that surprising, as there are two realities: the physical and the online.
“I also think being chronically online and the way that we interact with the internet these days, especially in a post-COVID world where more is online, it makes a lot of sense,” Forest said.
Brain rot influences the college experience as well. Forest said brain rot relates to burnout in several ways, as burnout is the reduction of activity or complete mental and physical collapse due to overworking and intense amounts of stress.
“I think there’s a lot of burnout right now in a lot of different forms,” Forest said. “I just think generally, the feeling of last semester especially was just a lot of burnout, and so that captures the essence of our feeling on campus. So for college students, I think it resonates because that’s pretty much how everyone’s been feeling.”
Casper Grathwohl is the president of Oxford Languages and spoke about the influence and impact that online content has had on Gen Z, a generation that influences the college community.
“These communities have amplified the expression through social media channels, the very place said to cause brain rot,” Grathwohl said. “It demonstrates a somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of social media that they’ve inherited.”
Over 37,000 votes and data analysis led to the chosen word of the year — a word that reflects the cultural significance and impact that online content had on mental health in 2024.
Brook Wood is working towards receiving a bachelor’s degree in literature. When they aren’t writing or reading, they enjoy playing the violin in the USU Symphony Orchestra and the occasional sweet treat.
Eva Uribe dabbles in everything and nothing all at once, always pining to understand life’s many nuances. When the stars align, she finds herself on the airwaves of Aggie Radio, where she plays an eclectic mix of whatever is speaking to her that day. She makes no promises you will like it, but she does, and that’s all that matters.
Tommi
AnnenMayKantereit
Afraid To Feel LF SYSTEM
Space Cowboy -Remastered 2006 Jamiroquai
Agrim Agadez
Etran de L’Aïr
Nisyan Ahmed Fakroun
Wood
PHOTO BY Aubrey Holdaway
Copies of various Oxford dictionaries in the Merrill-Cazier Library as seen on Jan. 9.
A fallen star honored: Wayne Estes
By Gabriella Kozic STATESMAN REPORTER
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame honors the most significant figures in the history of the sport. Since its establishment, it has celebrated players, coaches and contributors who have shaped the game. Inductees are selected for their extraordinary achievements and their lasting
Estes inducted into Hall of Fame
continued to shine. In 1965, he was posthumously awarded All-American honors by the Associated Press and was named a consensus Second Team All-American. His contributions to college basketball were further recognized in 1967 when he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a rare honor for a player whose career was tragically cut short. In 2015, he was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.
Estes’s legacy also lives on at USU. The Wayne Estes Center, a state of the art basketball practice facility and volleyball venue, stands as a testament to his impact on the university and sport. The center is adorned with memorabilia commemorating his career, ensuring that future generations of athletes and fans remember his contributions to the game.
Estes’s induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is the latest recognition of his extraordinary career. The Class of 2024 includes other legendary players and contributors to the game: Dave Meyers, UCLA; Sihugo Green, Duquesne; Lennie Rosenbluth, North Carolina; Same Lacey, New Mex ico State; John Rudometkin, USC; Tom Stith, St. Bonaventure and coach Jack Hartman, Coffeyville CC, Southern Illinois and Kansas State. Estes’s untimely death left basketball fans wondering what could have been. At the time of his passing, he was widely regarded as one of the top prospects for the 1965 NBA Draft. Many believed he would have been a high first-round pick, with a career destined for greatness in professional basketball. His skill set, work ethic and leadership qualities suggested he could have been a transformative player in the NBA.
Teammates, coaches and fans often reflect on the profound impact Estes had during his brief life and career. Utah State head coach from 19621971 LaDell Andersen, who coached Estes during his college years, once said, “Not only was he an incredible player, but he was a better person and friend.”
Nearly six decades after his passing, Es-
tes’s influence continues to resonate. His story is one of talent, determination and tragic loss, reminding us of the fleeting nature of life and the enduring power of legacy. His induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame not only honors his achievements but also ensures that his contributions to the sport will be remembered for generations to come.
The induction ceremony, which will formally honor Estes and his fellow Class of 2024 inductees, is expected to be a poignant moment of celebration and reflection. Details about the event will be announced in the coming months, but for fans of college basketball, it promises to be a fitting tribute to one game’s all-time greats.
As Utah State fans and the broader basketball com
Gabriella Kozic is a first-year student from Easton, Pennslyvania studying journalism and communications. She is a die-hard New York sports fan. She loves to read, write and play guitar and sports. Most of all, she loves her friends, family and her dog DJ.
— gabriella.kozic@usu.ed
Game on for USU esports
By Ashley Dorius STATESMAN REPORTER
Gone are the days when sports meant just balls and fields — at Utah State University, the Esports Club is proving that competitive gaming deserves its chance in the spotlight. Composed of teams playing games like “Super Smash Bros,” “League of Legends,” “Rocket League” and more, esports is an organized group that has passion for gaming and friendship.
Finance major and senior Matthew Thomas is also the general administrator for the “Counter-Strike” team. He said the role involves handling scheduling, tryouts and helping coach the team. He loves helping out his teammates and said his senior year felt like a great time to step into a leadership position.
He originally played a similar game called “Valorant,” as there wasn’t a “Counter-Strike” team. After interest was expressed in the game, they held tryouts. Thomas said he planned on focusing on his studies in his last semesters but saw the tryouts and decided to join the team.
Thomas shared his favorite part of esports was the connections he made there.
“The best part is making friends for sure,” Thomas said. “Some of the guys I met this semester, they’re pretty funny and great to hang out with. We just love talking about the game and playing the game and playing against other colleges too.”
He shared a few of his favorite experiences this year, including a watch party with all his teammates for a major “Counter-Strike” competition that took place in Shanghai. The competition occurred after fall finals finished, and the watch party became an end-of-semester party as well. “It was in Shanghai, so it started at 2 a.m.,” Thomas said. “We all stayed up and watched it and finished up at
like 6 a.m. It was insane. It was so fun to watch with like 10 people in my house. It was awesome.”
Odin Kazmer, a member of the club’s executive council and captain of the “Overwatch” team, agreed the bonds formed at esports is one of his favorite aspects.
“We all have super similar interests, and they all have a great sense of humor too,” Kazmer said.
He said friendships with his teammates are not the only ones he’s formed.
“I’ve gotten super close to my teammates and other club members too just by going to activities that everyone’s invited to,” Kazmer said. “Also, I like meeting people at other esports programs. Recently, we had a tournament in Orem where we went down to Utah Valley University and played in a huge ‘Overwatch’ tournament down there with all the other Utah schools. I met a ton of other people.”
According to Kazmer, the activities, such as socials and in-house tournaments, are free for anyone with an interest in gaming to attend. They are also holding tryouts starting Jan. 13, which anyone can participate in.
“It is really open to anyone. You don’t have to have any experience playing games or anything like that before. You can still be involved,” Kazmer said. “All of our activities we do are open to all students. Really, just being a club member is just like having the connection to other people playing games. That’s our main thing — we’re not just competitive teams. We also are like the gaming club as well.”
Along with that, Kazmer hopes esports spreads across campus and more students will be aware of this group. He says gaming is a great and flexible way to compete, make new friends and have fun.
“I would really just want to see it get more widespread across campus,” Kazmer said. “Like, if I went to someone randomly in one of my classes and asked, ‘Do you know we have an esports club?’ They’re more likely to say, ‘No, I didn’t.’ It’s really just getting it more out there.”
Thomas also hopes that esports is more recognized by the USU community.
“We’re just like any other sport, you know. We want to win really bad, and we practice hard to try to achieve
that,” Thomas said. “It’s not just a game, you know, it’s esports now. It’s like a billion dollar industry at this point, and I think it’s still kind of in its infancy, but I think it’s going to be the new trend going on, absolutely in 50 years.” He also shared he hopes it will someday be a sanctioned sport at the university.
“The players have to actually have to pay into being a part of the club,” Thomas said. “It would be awesome if it was a sanctioned sport that the school can offer scholarships for because right now, it’s a club activity.”
To learn more about esports, visit usu.edu/campusrec/ competitive-sports/esports.
is a sophomore studying journalism. As an oldest child, she was always player one in
— ashley.dorius@usu.edu
PHOTOS BY Dane Johnson
Students in an esports class listen to an instructor before a class at the USU Esports Arena on Jan. 9.
Ashley Dorius
Mario Kart.
USU creates a path to professional audio technology
By Lacey Cintron STATESMAN REPORTER
From recording and mixing to post-production, Utah State University’s new certificate of proficiency in audio technology prepares students for sound engineering careers.
The Music Department will award its first round of certificates at the end of the 2025 spring semester.
“We started offering the intro course about four years ago,” said Ryan Conger, adjunct professor over the audio technology courses. “We’ve just been slowly rolling out the courses, and this calendar year is the first year that all of the courses are going to be available.”
Over the course of 16 credits and seven classes, students begin with the fundamentals of audio technology and end with an individual capstone project and internship.
“This certificate has just been approved this year,” Conger said. “These new programs always take a while to get through, especially when we’re designing all of the courses from scratch, rolling them out and then getting them approved for a certificate program.”
The program begins with MUSC 1360: Intro to Audio Technology, where students learn the basics of signal flow and processing, audio file handling, microphone applications, live sound and audio mixing.
“The goal of that class is to get you introduced to all of the main topics that we cover in depth in some of the later courses,” Conger said. “The two main things we focus on with music technology at USU are the live sound aspects and studio recording and mixing.”
Aspects of live sound include sound reinforcement, running mixing boards and proper set up and take down of equipment, laying the groundwork for high fidelity production.
The course provides experiences utilizing different audio equipment to create a variety of projects.
“We do a lot of hands-on practicum experiences. We’ll do several multi-track recording sessions and even a live
recording session with the class, and then they get to do some real mixing as well,” Conger said.
Next in the certificate path is MUSC 2360: Live Music Production, which dives further into live recording, microphone and mixing board operations.
“In this course, we partner up with USU Student Media and Aggie Radio to put on the Logan City Limits show at the end of the year,” Conger said.
Logan City Limits is an annual music festival hosted by Aggie Radio in early April meant to spotlight local musicians.
MUSC 2370: Music Recording and Post-Production is the last general course in the program to provide a broader overview of audio technology skills. The course tasks students with recording and mixing projects and proper use of recording software.
“In this class, we do get into a lot of recording software — MIDI, mixing and mastering — and publishing audio in that class,” Conger said. “The other classes are more like wrap up classes, but these are the really important ones.”
The final courses to obtain the certificate include a private instruction, capstone and an internship.
“There’s a practicum class which students are required to take two credits of,” Conger said. “The students all get a few hours of one-on-one instruction with me, working through specific music projects that they’re working on with their portfolios. It’s a real portfolio and specific skill-building course.”
The capstone course builds further on a student’s resume and curriculum vitae, tailoring portfolios for specific careers in audio technology a student might want to explore.
The last step to obtaining the certificate is a 60-hour minimum internship working with an audio technology company, which the program helps place students with.
“We’ve placed students all the way to Provo to locally here in Logan with different jobs,” Conger said. “It’s just a good resume and experience-building opportunity through that.”
This new certificate pathway is meant to fit with any degree plan regardless of major.
“Any student could come and take these 16 credits and walk away with a certificate,” Conger said. “They could also complete this alongside another four-year degree in another area. Most of my students so far have been ones pursuing other four-year degrees, but I also have students in the program who are just pursuing this.”
Many students within the program pursue degrees outside of the music or arts department.
“I would say a majority of my students come into the intro class with little or no experience in audio technology, and they do just fine,” Conger
said. “We really do start from ground zero on everything.”
Nate Jefferies is a second-year exploratory student pursuing the audio technology certificate.
“I have always enjoyed music and have been playing music since high school,” Jefferies said. “When I came to Utah State, I had it in my mind that I would try a lot of different things. I wasn’t set on doing anything related to music or audio tech, but I was hoping there would be something.”
Historically, USU has been known for agriculture and engineering. According to the Office of Data and Analytics, some of the most popular undergraduate degrees include economics, mechanical engineering, computer science and psychology.
“USU is definitely more geared towards agriculture and different sciences, and it was just kind of lacking in the music department when I first came here,” Jefferies said. “It was good timing when I had finished all my generals and wasn’t sure what to do, so I started taking classes for this.”
Jefferies hopes to become proficient in skills such as mixing and mastering.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time on my own trying to learn studio mixing, so that way if I write and play a song for myself or with friends, I want to be able to record, mix and master it properly,” Jefferies said. “I’m excited for the class because we can really dig into that and learn how to do that up to professional standards.”
According to Conger, the university intends to roll out more short, career-oriented certificate programs in the coming years to offer students more ways to fulfill their specific goals, with 10 certificate programs approved during the 2024-25 school year.
“The idea behind these certificates is to offer some different size packages for different students,” Conger said. “The four-year degree isn’t always the best fit for every student, and it isn’t always the best fit for certain fields.”
is majoring in psychology. She loves learning about the human mind, sharing stories and naps.
— lacey.cintron@usu.edu
Lacey Cintron
PHOTOS BY Claire Ott
Ryan Conger lectures the sound design class on Jan. 9.
By Landri LaJeunesse STATESMAN REPORTER
If you are looking for your next winter read, nothing encapsulates the chill in the air quite like Jack London’s “The Call of the Wild.”
A devastating tale told from the perspective of a dog named Buck, this novel outlines the hardships of the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s when sled dogs were the only means of transportation through the brutal Yukon territory. Stolen from his warm, countryside home in California, Buck is forced into the dog-eat-dog world of mushing where he has to fight to survive or succumb to the brutality of his new world.
Buck’s journey is anything but easy. A stark contrast to his previous life in the sun, the Canadian frontier is brutal. From being beaten by greedy gold seekers to being attacked by his own team, Buck has to learn the difference between friend and enemy to even stay alive.
In addition, he has to battle nature. From sleepless nights below zero to the treachery of the sled dog paths, he is battered and worn in his many travels across the Yukon territory. Buck completely changes as he is hardened by the difficult life he is forced to lead unwillingly.
He is beckoned by a deep, primordial call to disappear into the unknown.
As Buck struggles to persevere in this world divided between the civilized and the primitive, only one thing makes him stay: John Thornton.
He is beckoned by a deep, primordial call to disappear into the unknown.
— Landri LaJeunesse
On one of Buck’s many trips along the Yukon trail, he is near death when outdoorsman Thornton takes him in and nurses him back to health. Buck grows to love and respect this man who is one of the only humans who has shown him kindness throughout his difficult journey. Reminiscent of his old life, he finds peace within the company of Thornton.
But Buck’s story doesn’t end there.
As he travels and lives along Thornton, Buck is still bombarded by the desire to be completely untethered from humanity and civilization. He battles with his own nature as it calls to him from the primitive world.
Will Buck stay with John Thornton and live the easy life he was born into, or will he answer the call of the wild that has grown in him as he has struggled to survive?
This book is not a light read. There are many scenes and descriptions of brutality and animal abuse. However, if you can stomach Buck’s experiences, his story will not disappoint. With underlying criticisms of the real world, there is much to unpack in this short novel.
In addition, this book perfectly fits the winter weather and contains beautiful prose that will keep you turning pages chapter after chapter. Reading this novel is like settling down in front of the fire as it snows outside, and you are the only one in your house.
For anyone craving a bit of the unknown, “The Call of the Wild” can satisfy the need to disappear. Buck’s story can transport you to a foreboding world where you can forget about the real world momentarily. In a society where so much of life is based within the confines of civilization, this book is an important read for anyone willing to confront the question: Will you stay within the boundaries of your comfortable life, or will you answer the call of the wild?
Landri LaJeunesse is a junior studying journalism and communications with a minor in yoga studies. Catch her radio show “RADIO ESPRESSO” Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
- landri.lajeunesse@usu.edu
On Campus
Panoramics
Jack Burton likes to listen to music unless he doesn’t like it, in which case he does not listen to music. He celebrates every day with quesadillas and chocolate when such items are available. He is really bad at the Garden Gnomes game — until he isn’t.
www.sudokuoftheday.com.
By Kate Peterson