The Utah Statesman- September 25, 2023

University commits to reducing carbon emissions by 10% yearly

By Savannah Burnard NEWS REPORTER

With an ever-changing society, environment and economy, some people might be wondering how Utah State University is implementing procedures to maintain a sustainable campus.

Patrick Belmont, a professor and head of the Department of Watershed Sciences, proposed a sustainability plan that was endorsed in February 2020 by former USU president Noelle Cockett. Belmont said the university committed to a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per year for the following 20 years.

Even though the university struggled with COVID19 related issues that year, Belmont said it still made progress with the commitment.

“We got about a 20% reduction between 2020 and 2021. It was a big deal because that's 20,000 tons every year now of carbon pollution that is not being put in the atmosphere from USU,” he said.

However, Belmont said last year the university’s emission rates increased 4%, instead of going down 8%. He said one reason is because of negotiations the university was working on that didn’t come together.

“We really feel like, especially with the new leadership in the university, it’s just important to recommit ourselves to that goal and to make sure that we're providing the resources to facilities and others around campus to get done what needs to get done,” Belmont said. “We need to have the right conversations and have this be an integral part of decision-making at the university.”

Caitlin McLennan, USU’s sustainability coordinator, said the university is committed to carbon neutrality by 2040 and is hopeful about this commitment.

“That means zero waste by 2040. None of our operations will create any waste, and if it does, we can divert up to 90%,” McLennan said.

According to the USU sustainability website, in order to accomplish this goal, the university has finalized the Central Energy Plant Decarbonization Plan, which was published in November 2022. This plan identifies the most practical and cost-effective decarbonization pathways the Logan campus can begin to implement for its Central Energy Plant, or CEP.

McLennan said one of these pathways is to implement a geothermal well field.

“This will be able to heat and cool our buildings with hot water instead of steam,” McLennan said. “An electrified system that we can then power utilizing renewable energy.”

She said the university is going to be developing renewable energy sources, including solar power, on campus for all USU-owned lands.

However, McLennan said sustainability is not just about carbon emissions.

“I think sustainability is this overarching, allencompassing concept that is essential for every part of our lives,” McLennan said. “It's also about the way that we buy and sell material and how we treat people.”

McLennan said she likes to look at the nested interdependencies model to describe sustainability. In this model, there are three pillars to sustainability: the environment, society and the economy.

“Our environment holds us. It's what allows us to have a society, and so society therefore sits inside and this society creates economy,” McLennan said. “We make the rules, and it's up to us to continue making and remaking those rules.”

She said it’s important to try and understand how to better educate students on waste management and reduction and to get students interested in uplifting and advertising core research that's happening.

USU’s sustainability website says while obtaining carbon neutrality and engaging the public on sustainability issues are important, the small acts of fellow Aggies keep everything going.

“I like to tell students all the time that no matter what field you're going into, you can be a climate worker,” McLennan said. “If you're an engineer, you can think about efficient electric processes, renewable energy technician training and that sort of thing. If you're interested in aviation, start getting involved with some of the cool biogas research that's happening. If you're a business major, think about corporate social responsibility and environmental social government frameworks that you can put towards your work every day.”

For students wanting to learn more about how they can connect every job with a climate job, Belmont suggested looking at Project Drawdown.

According to their website, Project Drawdown is a nonprofit organization that encourages everyone to learn about climate solutions. They give suggestions on how individuals can advocate for change, engage with others and alter their own activities to reduce personal contribution to climate change.

Belmont said students’ voices are important and that it comes down to talking and voting. He said students at USU could exert the dominant voice in who represents them at the state legislature level, and possibly at the national level.

McLennan said this model looks at promoting healthy places for people and systems in society that allow people to succeed at USU through community governance structures that can engage with and ask communities what they need.

She said the model also looks at economic justice, which includes equitable pay scales and ensuring that the university is promoting a sustainable work culture.

Looking at the social pillar, McLennan said she works closely with the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion to try and intertwine frameworks associated with environmental justice so marginalized populations can be respected and be at the forefront of solutions.

According to McLennan, another goal is to revitalize the Sustainability Council.

“I really want people to feel like they can and are empowered to work on sustainability at USU,” McLennan said.

“You want to see that USU is looking out for your best interests,” Belmont said. “You guys should be talking about it among yourselves, and you're going to find ways that you can maybe cut your own carbon footprints, but more importantly, work together to get USU and other businesses around Logan to be taking this issue more seriously.”

PHOTO BY Wyatt Merchant

Students on their way to class at Utah State, Sept. 9

Savannah is a student in the journalism program. She loves meeting new people and trying new things.

USU scientists create jet fuel from juniper tree sawdust

By Alivia Hadfield NEWS REPORTER

Researchers at Utah State University have been working tirelessly on creating what they believe is a clean-burning jet fuel created from juniper trees.

Foster Agblevor has been leading the research in biofuels ever since he moved to Utah and became a Utah Science Technology and Research, or USTAR, professor at USU.

“When I first moved to Utah, I asked myself, what kind of tree stock does Utah have?” Agblevor said. “I looked around and finally found out that Utah has a problem with pinyon-juniper, in that they are considered invasive species that have been taken over the grazing lands.”

The process of creating this fuel includes grinding the wood from the trees into a fine sawdust-like substance. After the wood is particle size, researchers at USU will put the sawdust into another machine, turning it into bio-crude. From there, this bio-crude is eventually converted to usable fuel.

“It looks like any other type of petroleum crude,” Agblevor said. “The only difference is that it comes from wood and smells nicer.”

After creating the fuel, the team at the Innovation campus, USU’s research park,

tested the fuel.

“ We test it on a small stack of twostroke engines, like weed whackers,” Agblevor said. “On a larger scale, we are looking for companies that are willing to invest.”

Agblevor wants companies to invest so the team can test the new fuel in airplanes.

“We don’t see any difference between our fuel from the juniper and fuel from petroleum,” Agblevor said. “So we think you can fly in a plane, and it will work effectively. But we have to get some of the plane guys to come and actually test it on some twin engines.”

Agblevor hopes to see his juniper fuel on the market in two to three years.

“We just need investors. If we get an investor today who says, ‘OK, I think within a year we should be able to design an operating system,’” Agblevor said.

Besides being innovative, juniper fuel is also better for the environment.

“What you have is almost a perpetual cycle,” Agblevor said. “The plant captures the CO2, regenerates it, and then uses it to store it as a tree until you convert it to fuel. Whereas if you go to petroleum, it’s a one-way street. It releases the CO2 into the atmosphere. There is no way of getting it back into the form it used to be. A tree you can have a complete cycle. Petroleum, you don’t have a complete cycle, so that

petroleum is doing more harm to the environment.”

Agblevor claims making juniper trees into fuel is better because it burns cleanly compared to petroleum.

“Petroleum has sulfur,” Agblevor said. “When you burn it, it releases a lot of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. When water makes it through sulfur dioxide, it gives us sulfuric acid, and that’s doing a lot of damage. It gets into our water sources and all that.”

Agblevor said burning biomass doesn’t harm the environment.

“Biomass is better than sulfur,” he said. “If you produce your jet fuels, aviation fuels from biomass, you will never lose in any way.”

— alivia.hadfield@usu.edu

PHOTO BY Claire Ott

Hamza Abdellaoui explains how the reactor produces the biocrude oil in one of the labs at USU Innovation Campus on Tuesday, Sept. 5.

PHOTO BY Claire Ott

Professor Foster A. Agblevor shows what he says is the final product following refining.

Alivia is a sophomore at Utah State University and loves everything journalism. When she’s not reading or writing, Alivia enjoys food, family and playing the guitar.

Court of Appeals hears cases at USU

inform our decision.”

“One of the questions that we deal with a lot is, ‘What is reasonable?’” Mortensen said. “You can’t help but bring in your worldview.”

One attendee asked how long it takes for the court’s ruling to be published.

“I’ve seen opinions go out in a matter of a couple of weeks, to nearly a year,” Luthy said.

According to Mortensen, there must be two judges who agree on the ruling, but at any point, they can change their mind. The majority, dissenting and concurring opinions that are published are not always the original stances of the judges.

The first case regarded Mark Koller, who was sued by his siblings for being an inadequate trustee for their father’s trust. He lost in the trial court due to testimony that said he planned to wait until his siblings died so he could be the sole heir.

Koller and his lawyers appealed the case due to never receiving a complete summary of witness testimonies prior to the case.

The second case discussed a boundary line separating property both B.G.T.S Properties, LLC and Balls Brothers Farm, LLC claimed ownership of.

By Andie Allen NEWS REPORTER

Utah State University’s Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall was full the morning of Sept. 20 as the Utah Court of Appeals heard cases regarding trusts and property disputes.

Presiding Judge Michele M. Christiansen Forster, alongside Judge John D. Luthy and Judge David N. Mortensen, heard two cases and held an open Q&A session.

In the audience were USU students, high school students and community members.

Audience questions included some about court proceedings, as well as personal questions to judges regarding their education and career paths.

One member of the audience said, “I’m curious to know why the mission to make court proceedings more accessible is important for the Utah Court of Appeals.” “The confidence in our public institutions has waned

recently,” Luthy said. “Empirical research has been done on this, and we find that when members of the public have opportunities to see the courts at work, that favorable opinion of the courts’ work increases.”

Christiansen Forster said, “If we only hear arguments in Salt Lake City, not only does that burden the attorneys in other parts of the state, it sort of suggests that we only care about Salt Lake City, and that is not true.”

The Court of Appeals will also be held at Southern Utah University, Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, according to Mortensen.

Another audience member asked the court if their personal backgrounds affect their rulings.

“We all take an oath that we will uphold the Constitution, we will uphold the law, so we all strive to make legal and correct decisions in everything that we do,” Christiansen Forster said. “But we all come to this bench from different backgrounds, different genders, different minority status, and that cannot help but

THE USUSA UPDATE

• Ellis Bruch, the executive director of public safety, spoke to the council about cameras that anyone can use to view inside locations such as the library and the security risks that that poses.

• Alex Garces, VP of Diversity and organizations, announced there are now 100 approved USUSA clubs.

• First-Year students have officially been added to commitees.

The trial court ruled in favor of B.G.T.S, who argued a fence built in 1963 did not accurately show the correct boundaries. Balls Brothers appealed and argued that their evidence was enough to prove to the court the fence was a boundary line under the “boundary by acquiescence” doctrine in Utah law.

Andie is a senior studying English and journalism. She loves the sun, music and reading.

— andie.allen@usu.edu

• The coucil passed the motion for the bill to dissolve the First Year Director position.

• USUSA officers and leadership are going through all 800 pieces of legislation since 1989 to see what is relevant and what needs amending. This will also include getting every relevant piece of legislation on the website.

• A TSC conference room will be renamed after Sawyer Hemsley, the founder of Crumbl Cookies.

• USU Hunger Solutions will be holding a think tank competition to find ideas to help solve hunger issues.

PHOTO BY Andie Allen

Judges David N. Mortensen, John D. Luthy, and Michele M. Christiansen Forster hold a Q&A session at Utah State University on Sept. 20.

First-year student involvement opportunities

By Malory Rau

Utah State University Student Association’s Executive Council met on Sept. 4 for their weekly meeting. It consisted of talks about Weeks of Welcome and Campout on the Quad, as well as a decision to dissolve a first-year director position.

Very little is known about what the position entailed. The proposal was left from the spring semester. It was reviewed by Vice President Emily Smilanich and public relations director Carter Ottley, who who would have appointed the position had it not been dissolved.

“The idea is that there was a first year director; it was just a singular freshman who would basically be the voice for the freshman class,” Smilanich said.

This directorial position meant there would be first-year positions from sub-committees such as the HURD. They would all meet under the first-year director, thus making an entirely brand new committee in itself.

According to the council’s meeting minutes, the purpose of the committee was to improve the experience of first-year students, as well as provide more opportunities for first-year students who wanted to get involved.

The decision to dissolve the position was ultimately made for a multitude of reasons.

“When we came into office, we looked at the charter and legislation,” Ottley said. “It wasn’t very clear what they are actually supposed to do.”

Ottley and Smilanich explained the position was not given any legislative responsibilities or budgeting. This means the first-year director would have no money to host events with and would have very little power in meetings.

If first-year students are looking to get involved, USUSA hosts lots of events they can attend. The most notable is Weeks of Welcome, which is two weeks worth of events such as the Big Agg Show and Day on the Quad.

First-year students can also join student events committees, including series, traditions and events. Each committee hosts events such as PoBev, The Howl and Homecoming.

USU sees a lot of non-traditional first-year students, including those who are older, first generation or working on graduate degrees.

Even without the proposed first-year director position, these students still have representative leadership. Sarah Pope is the graduate studies senator, and the director of diversity and organizations, Alex Garces, oversees Diversity Week and all the USU organizations that are diverse-specific.

“A lot of our non-traditional students are at our regional or statewide campuses,” Ottley said.

Each campus has regional leadership that represents them.

Students who want to have their voice heard specifically by the executive council can refer to MyVoice.

MyVoice, started in 2015, is a platform for submitting feedback to student leadership. It can be accessed through the USU website, or there is a MyVoice widget on each student’s MyUSU portal.

“People can submit concerns, questions or comments they have about the university, and then those MyVoices are directly sent to us officers,” Smilanich said.

Each MyVoice submission goes directly to a student officer depending on their role. Student Advocate Vice President Tyson Packer is directly over MyVoice and is in charge of making sure each committee member reads their MyVoices.

“There are still many students who don’t know about it or how to use it,” Packer wrote in an email.

Each submission includes a student’s name, A-number, email and which campus they attend. Statewide campuses have their own committees that MyVoices go to.

“MyVoice does a great job in building a connection between students and their elected student representatives. It can help any student, traditional or non-traditional, to find their voice and speak up about things that concern them,” Packer wrote.

Malory Rau is a sophomore studying social media, public relations and marketing. When not skateboarding with friends she is usually thrifting, reading or seeing the latest movie.

— m.rau@usu.edu

PHOTO BY Katie Merdes

A group of students playing Spikeball on the Quad on Monday, Sept. 18.

To scan, or not to scan? Students share opinions on dining hall changes

By Asher Schroader LIFESTYLES REPORTER

With each fall semester at USU, there will be changes made from the year before. The senior class moves on to their future, leaving space for the incoming first-year students to begin their journey. Perhaps a new club appears at Day on the Quad, or maybe there’s a change in leadership.

This year, however, one change in particular has divided students and employees alike, and it has to do with one of the most important resources on campus, food.

Over the summer, Dining Services took the initiative to replace their traditional face-to-face ordering with a new system. Because of this change, anyone that comes into either the Marketplace or the Junction must now scan a QR code that leads to an ordering website.

Now, at peak mealtimes, students are met with a scene that’s quickly becoming familiar; a loose band of people cluttering around the restaurants. They scan the codes with their phones, tap at their screens to order, and then put them away or scroll social media as they wander in search of somewhere to sit.

While incredibly simple, the process has had a mixed response amongst the student body. Some see no issue with the changes, but many, including sophomore Kyron Nell, are frustrated.

“It used to be super convenient,” Nell said. “You could just pop into the Marketplace or the Junction whenever. This year, I have to go in and the ordering is atrocious. I almost never go to the Marketplace anymore.”

Nell claims that some of his friends have had to wait for over an hour for their food.

This sudden skyrocket in wait times has caused many students to neglect their meal plans. In the past week alone, multiple posts have been made on social media stories, where students, such as @ella_bardin23 on Snapchat, offer up their orders to anyone who wants them, as delays force them to abandon their food so they can head to their next class.

More than a few students have stopped using the dining halls altogether, eating off-campus or stocking their dorms with store-bought food.

Sophomore Carlos Diaz didn’t hide the way that he felt about the changes. He was open about his opinion, saying that he thinks the high-volume cutoffs are unfair in a busy university setting.

“I hate the QR code system,” said Diaz. “I feel like it makes the ordering process much slower than it was last year, and the option to stop us from ordering because there’s a high volume of orders is really backwards. I think the original ordering system was faster and more convenient for the students.”

Diaz has said that he rarely eats at USU anymore, instead preferring to search for alternative locations in the valley.

“Don’t fix what’s not broken,” Diaz said.

While students with mandatory meal plans continue to eat on-campus, lest they waste their money spent, the halls seem to feel emptier than previous years.

Despite the complaints, the adjustment looks like it has a fairly positive response among first-year students.

Aidan Wimmer reported a good experience, stating, “I think the QR codes work really well. I go between 2-3 o’clock, where there’s not a ton of people there, and the wait time is just a few minutes. It’s super easy to use.”

“Some of my friends are a little on the fence about it and don’t like it too much,” Wimmer said. “But another part of my friend group thinks it’s totally fine.”

Benson said. “I live at the LLC, so the Marketplace isn’t too far of a walk. That’s where it’s a little funny. As a student, as an eater, it’s great. But when I talk to the chefs who work at the World Market, they say that it’s a lot more of an overload.”

Benson said that the update and the ensuing wait times have caused not only students stress, but his coworkers as well.

“The chefs don’t like it because it’s more work for them,” Benson said. “It’s the same amount of orders, but getting them all at once like that is just more overwhelming.”

Bridge Warth, a first-year student, also commented on the change’s effect.

“I have a friend that works at the Junction, and she says that she absolutely hates it,” Warth said. “She doesn’t like dealing with the customers that get aggravated with the system and then blame it on the workers. When the system malfunctions, it’s the employees that get the brunt of the anger.”

With students and staff complaining, many are wondering what the long-term future of the QR codes will be. Some students say that no action should be taken, while others have a bevy of suggestions, ranging from mild tweaks and updating to the abolishment of the system in its entirety.

Warth was torn.

“I feel like we could return to the original face-to-face system, but I also think that we could have some kind of tweak instead of having a QR code,” Warth said. “I think it could go either way with improving, but it needs to improve.”

Where to go from here? It would likely be both difficult and costly for Dining to recall the system, and updating the website could be similarly challenging.

But the easiest option of doing nothing leaves the door open for further stress and complaints, plus the danger of long-term losses as students may choose to opt out of meal plans next semester. At this point, only one question remains: to scan, or not to scan?

Stockton Benson, a first-year student and a Dining Services employee, initially shared the sentiment, stating that he enjoys the new system. But when asked about the effect on his work environment, his outlook changed.

“As a student eating, it’s been great. It’s convenient,”

PHOTO BY Katie Merdes Student Brittany Scott scans the QR code to oder food in the Marketplace, Monday, Sept. 18th.

Asher Schroader is an exploratory student at USU. He enjoys public transit, graphic design and of course, writing.

The hidden medieval kingdom in Logan

By Jacob Casper LIFESTYLES REPORTER

The USU Medieval Club is a college version of a much larger world-wide organization called The Society for Creative Anachronism. This organization splits the world into kingdoms. Utah is part of the Kingdom of Artemisia. Within the kingdom the land is split into smaller shires. Logan’s shire is The Shire of Cote du Ciel.

Both students in the medieval club and shire members gather together for weekly activities and events on campus. Such activities include classes on metal working, sewing, dressmaking and even armored combat.

“Basically any hobby you enjoy there’s a medieval equivalent to it. So if you enjoy football, we have fighting.” said Lydia Selmer, the club adviser.

“Or if you appreciate any artisanal versions of things that are handmade, rather than mass produced.” said Jana Hill, a local shire member.

The club gathers as often as they can, whether it’s for a weekly workshop or their annual movie night.

“Every Wednesday at 7:30 at the Whittier Center, we gather and we have a fighter practice which includes heavy and rapier fighting,” said Selmer. “And then we also have workshops and just socializing that we do there as well at the same time. and then we have events sometimes on the weekends with our bigger parent group.”

The social aspect appeals to many of the shire members and USU club members. Weekly events become opportunities to speak with friends.

“The best part is making friends with people who share similar interests and socializing with them,” said

Hill. “USU has been a wonderful host to our organization on many occasions, and we appreciate their cooperation.”

When all the members gather, a medieval village can spring out of nowhere like it was there all along. Members dress up in costume, acting as if they popped out of a history book.

“Going to events is pretty cool. Seeing a medieval town that can just pop up is pretty cool. Everybody’s on period and everything,” said Josh Butler, a member of USU’s chapter.

Butler has been a member since April after joining in at a SCA torment at USU where the organization was demonstrating what they do at their community gatherings.

The club is fairly simple to participate in, and the community is very accepting.

“Reach out to me,” said Selmer. “I teach costume design in the theater department. They can get a hold of me through my USU email, lydia. semler@usu.edu, and I can help them get set up with meetings and if they want to wear costumes. I can put them in the right direction where they need to go.”

“If they want to hit their friend with swords, we can help with that too,” said Hill.

The community will come together to provide a unique experience and to make sure everyone feels welcomed into the hidden world of medieval Logan.

“Come, you’re in,” said Butler. “You show up and you’re in. If you’re interested, come show up. We’ll get you squared away.”

Rad Radio is what classic MTV was like, but back to where music was most rad: on the radio! Every Tuesday from 1-3 will be a themed show full of “gnarly” music and pop culture chat of mostly 60s-2000s pop, rock, and metal, with a very heavy emphasis on the 80s!

Rock of Ages

Jacob Casper is majoring in English with an emphasis in creative writing. When he’s not working, he hangs out with his wife. Jacob is an avid hoodie, card and board game collector. All of which are slowly draining him of all funds.

Def Leppard

Highway Tune Greta van Fleet

(You Drive Me) Crazy Britney Spears

Don’t Stop Me Now Queen

MMMBop Hanson

PHOTO COURTESY OF Lydia Semler

COURTESY OF Members of the USU Medieval Club gather while dressed in costume.

Rush Week on Old Main: Fraternities in full swing for recruitment

By Ashley Dorius LIFESTYLES REPORTER

From Sept. 11-15, men from all over Utah State University gathered to learn about and possibly join one of the five on-campus fraternities. Within Rush Week, various Greek life groups hosted activities and bondings to help students find out if these organizations will be a place where they find a second family.

Often, people don’t fully understand what a fraternity is. Mason Alder, the vice president of recruitment for the Interfraternity Council, shared some basic explanations of what these groups are and what they do for their members.

“At its very base, I would say a fraternity is an organization that helps students with their academics, their social life, their health…body and mental,” Alder said. “It’s basically just a group of guys in a brotherhood that try and help each other out in any way they can.”

Greek life organizations also provide their members with a sense of home and a support system. Po Yamakoshi, who attended Rush Week and received a bid from Sigma Phi Epsilon, shared his reasons for looking into fraternities on campus.

“They explained in Sig Ep that one big thing is brotherly love,” Yamakoshi said. “That’s kind of what I connected with. It’s being there for your brothers and holding yourself accountable to what you believe and representing them. It’s about having fun, being studious and being driven.”

Rush Week consists of activities such as barbecues, games and socials so possible new members get to know

each house and get a feel for what being a member of that fraternity would be like.

This also allows the fraternity to get to know the people who want to pledge so they can begin considering who to extend bids to. Extending bids was described by Alder as each fraternity inviting possible new members to pledge.

“We put on an event for Rush Week, we tell our chapter members to invite as many Potential New Members as they can, or PNMs,” Alder said. “All the brothers can talk to the PNMs at the events, see if they like them, see how they function, stuff like that, and then if we think they’d be a good fit for our chapter, we give them a bid at the end of the week.”

“The process was just putting myself out there, being authentic and being myself was important,” Yamakoshi said.

Utah State generally has a smaller scale Greek life compared to other universities, with Alder estimating about 350 total participants. However, the smaller size is not a hindrance in the opinions of those involved.

“I feel like the bigger they get, the more likely they are to turn into a stereotypical frat,” Alder said. “Definitely USU in my experience and from when I talk to the members of different fraternities says that first and foremost basically every fraternity has academics as their first thing. After that,

I know mental health and physical health is a big one. Social life comes after that.”

Different fraternities can be lumped into a group as just “frats,” but each frat is different from each other. Alder said each fraternity has different bylaws and cultures, and different people gravitate towards each one.

Fraternities and Greek life in general can face multiple stereotypes, but the chapters on Old Main Hill focus on being their members’ safe place, pushing each other to improve each day.

“They’re dope guys,” Yamakoshi said. “They’re definitely not what you’d expect from a typical movie fraternity. They’re there for each other, even through thick and thin.”

When asked what he’d like people to think about when considering fraternities, Alder shared one piece of advice.

“Let your curiosity drive you.”

Ashley Dorius is a first-year student studying English with a teaching emphasis. A Nebraska native, she loves exploring old bookstores, quoting New Girl, eating soft pretzels and being a Swiftie.

PHOTO BY Wyatt Merchant Pi Kappa Alpha house at USU on Sept. 21.

PHOTO BY Wyatt Merchant Sigma Chi house at USU on Sept. 21.

Column: Tips for True Aggie Night

How to get the most out of your experience

much at the last True Aggie Night with their double-decker stunt, people are still talking about it.

“I think a lot of times when it comes to participating in True Aggie Night, people feel like they have to find a stranger to kiss or be dating/talking to someone,” said Chloe Richmond, a business major at USU. “But I feel like if they’re OK with it, kissing a friend is fun. Like, when you’re with a big group of friends, it’s just something to participate in. Then you can do things like a double-decker kiss or funny things like that.”

place at midnight, but if you want a good view, it’s recommended to get there earlier. True Aggie Night isn’t just about who takes their spot on the stage, it’s also about the people that are connecting all around you. Friends. Future partners. Enemies. It’s all happening at once.

It’s also important to remember that True Aggie Night often happens after other events.

“It’s definitely more fun to go in a big group,” said Avery Sadler, a sophomore at USU.

Following Sadler’s advice, attend the events beforehand to find people to go with. The more people, the more chaos and excitement.

When asking students what tips and tricks they had in mind, one student had an idea that could be added to the tradition.

By Cameron Carnes LIFESTYLES REPORTER

PSA: Before reading this article; make sure you have a pen, paper and lots of chapstick. Picture this: a moonlit courtyard, and an audience surrounding the Block A, patiently awaiting for the clock to strike midnight. It’s 1916, and the people are buzzing with anticipation. The moonbeams are connecting curious eyes and wanting lips.

Hidden in this crowd, connected by an invisible string, a boy and a girl lock eyes for the very first time. They don’t know it yet, but they’ll be locking lips at midnight, and starting a lasting tradition for students, staff and alumni alike.

True Aggie Night is associated with many different meanings, for many different students. A night to be bold. A night to be reckless. A night to meet the love of your life. A night to break up with the love of your life. A night to celebrate milestones with the one you love. A night to laugh until 3 a.m. A night to remember.

How can you make your experience hold up to these statements? It doesn’t matter if you plan on watching or participating, there is always a way to enrich your experience, and the students at USU have a lot to say.

“If you just met them, I feel like you should make it funny, because otherwise it’s so awkward,” said Kaylee Shelton, a junior at USU. “I did the double-decker shoulders kiss. I’ve seen people do fun suits. The coolest one I saw was this guy Jake who’s on the stunt squad- he did a handstand and pushed up to kiss her. So, I feel like making it fun with costumes or a stunt.”

Shelton and three of her friends wowed the crowd so

It’s ideas like Shelton’s double decker stunt that don’t just make it more fun for the people up on the A, but it also gives the crowd a better show.

When going up on the A, especially with someone you just met, you need a move. Something quick enough to move things along, but bold enough to give the crowd a lasting impression, because that bell won’t wait for anyone’s big debut performance. The classic twirl in is cute, but according to most students, overdone. Instead, follow Shelton and Richmond’s advice and dress up or do a flip if you can. Maybe dance your way up there. Use your imagination. Kiss a friend, it’s tradition. As for the audience, don’t forget your popcorn, and remember there is so much more happening than you think. Keep your eyes peeled for the drama unfolding.

“Something that I really liked last time was that a few people brought whiteboards, and they would rate the kisses,” said Lauren Lind, “And I think it’s also fun to sometimes see which couple just barely met, or people that are actually together.”

This night gives everyone else an insight into that relationship, whether it be one that just started five minutes ago or a couple that has been waiting to do this since they first met.

As an audience member, True Aggie Night is really only fun for the first hour, but to make it even more exciting, you could add a game.

“My friends and I would see how many people went left or right and have a debate because we all have a preference, so it was fun to see who would win,” said Shelton, “I’ve seen the ratings and people guessing how long they know each other.”

Now, all of these tips are great, but how can you properly execute these?

First things first, get there on time. The first kiss takes

“I was thinking it would be fun if someone could set up a table with a get to know you questionnaire that is scored,” said Jonah Feigleson. “And then, if someone doesn’t have anyone to kiss they can go up to the table and fill out the questionnaire to see who they scored closest to.” Fiegleson may have just invented the first ever True Aggie matchmaking app. But seriously, there are many students who would love to be set up via True Aggie Match. Many students have their friends set them up with someone else, but Fiegleson’s idea may just make this much easier.

Don’t forget that each True Aggie Night is on every full moon. So, pack your chapstick, breath mints and check your calendar’s for events before. Start planning your next move, buy your costume or make a bet with your friends because the next True Aggie Night is on Homecoming.

Pucker up, and make sure to get down to the A before midnight on Friday Oct. 6.

PHOTO BY Bailey Rigby

True Aggie Night has been a tradition at USU for decades, claiming that only those who kiss on the “A” under a full moon can become “True Aggies.”

Cameron Carnes is a journalism and English major. She’s most known for her love for Taylor Swift, Percy Jackson and the beach!

Women’s soccer club carves their own path

By Henry Wright SPORTS REPORTER

Cheering on your favorite college sports teams stings a little when you wish it was you on the field.

For many young athletes, organized athletics ends after they graduate high school. As students pack their bags and move into their dorms for the first time, those who did not receive an athletic scholarship may be wondering how they can keep playing the sport they love.

Soccer-loving students joined together in 2019 to create a women’s club soccer team, providing an opportunity for Aggies who were not a part of the university team to continue playing the sport they loved.

The club almost immediately ran into challenges.

“We started in 2019, and then COVID came in and basically tore us to nothing,” said head coach Xander Hayden. “We had a big section of time where we weren't active at all, and now we are starting our third full year this year, so we're pretty new.”

Hayden, who is also a current student at Utah State, was not the original head coach when the club was formed, but jumped at the chance to become involved with the program.

“My friend Haley said, ‘We just fired our old coach because he wasn't working for us. You should coach,’ and I thought it was a joke,” Hayden said. “She was like, ‘No, I'm for real.’ I was like, ‘Oh, if you think I would do a good job, tell me what to do and I'll figure it out.’”

Unlike other scholarship sports at USU, club teams are student-run and individually funded. Each team buys their own jerseys and equipment, schedule, their own games and pays for their own travel. With so many logistics and a relatively young club, making sure every necessary action is taken can be difficult to manage.

“One of the struggles we’ve seen is just having access to information and resources we had previously,” Hayden said. “Trying to regain information from the past generation, if you will, of those that ordered jerseys that knew who to talk to for refs and how to schedule games was a little bit lost in that process. It's been difficult to find out

for ourselves, so we had to just essentially start over.”

Despite the high level of turnover the team has seen since its inception in 2019, Hayden and the players are excited to continue to build a club team that can be competitive.

“We’ve made significant progress skill-wise and commitment-wise,” Hayden said. “In the past few years, we’ve gone from losing games 8-0 to being fully competitive and tying, and hopefully beating teams this season.”

Senior Ashton Snarr joined the club during the 2022 spring semester and is beginning her first year serving as club president. During her involvement with the program, she’s already seen a lot of growth occur.

“I came to the second day of tryouts and there were like 11 girls there — like nobody was there, so that season we played maybe one game,” Snarr recalled. “This year, we had like 50 girls come tryout, which was really awesome. So it's growing, which is good.”

After seeing the internal club infrastructure decimated after the start of the pandemic, ensuring the club has the proper pieces in place to remain strong has shaped how club leadership has approached trying to rebuild the club.

“My vision for our club has just been growth and creating a club that will last and isn't going to go away if COVID happens again,” Snarr said. “I want this to be an opportunity for years to come for girls who want to play soccer.”

Having an opportunity to play in an organized and competitive league is something all club sports, including women’s soccer, provide Utah State students. Despite sacrificing money and time to participate on the team, for Snarr, the cost is well worth it.

“I choose to keep playing because I'm not ready to be done with soccer yet, and it's honestly just a great way to meet people and to make friends in college,” Snarr said. “Our club is $150 and you get to travel to Salt Lake, Orem and Boise. We get to go all over and still play soccer. It's just — it's incredible.”

A key difference between the women’s soccer club team and other scholarship teams at the university is the time commitment. Making sure players have a healthy balance in their lives is a priority for Hayden.

“We have the empathy and understanding that we're all students, we have other commitments and to be lenient enough to provide you a normal life outside of soccer,” Hayden said. “But when you're at soccer, you're taking this as seriously as anyone else could. Having that balance while having fun and having a very positive environment is something we very much value.”

USU fell to the University of Utah 3-0 but bounced back to beat Montana State University 2-1 in their second match of the season. Regardless of the win-loss record the team has at the end of the season, both Snarr and Hayden hope this year serves as a building block to continue to create a sustainable club while growing their recognition around campus.

“We want our team to be successful because that boosts morale and that gets people out to games. We want to get those wins and we want to just grow our club name,” Snarr said,. “We want people to come support us. We want it to be like lacrosse and rugby, which it's not right now, but that's okay. There is room for improvement for sure.”

“We haven't been around long enough for people to know who we are,” Hayden said. “People know the hockey team, they know the men's club team — so among the other clubs, we're definitely lower on the radar compared to our peers.”

The Aggies will look to sweep the season series against Montana State on Sept. 29 at Legacy Fields. For more information about the women’s club soccer team visit usu.edu/campusrec/competitive-sports/club-sports/ womens-soccer.

Henry Wright is a junior studying political science, American studies and anticipatory intelligence. He loves to travel, watch sports and spend time outdoors.

—henry.wright@usu.edu

PHOTO BY Jack Burton Megan Carter takes a free kick toward the goal on Friday, Sept. 15.

PHOTO BY Jack Burton

Coach Xander Hayden talks to the team during a short break after a injury on the field, Friday Sept. 15.

Campus Rec ends partnership with Plyo Points

By Madison Weber SPORTS EDITOR

Plyo Points make fitness fun, or at least, it did. As of Sept. 15, Campus Recreation has terminated its partnership with Plyo after just three years.

The Plyo fitness app allows students to earn points by spending time exercising. Users were then able to use their points in exchange for offers and gift cards.

Campus Recreation partnered with Dining Services, offering rewards on campus such as free meals, buy-one-get-one deals and more. Dining Services ended the partnership nearly a year ago.

USU students were left confused and disappointed by the announcement. But in an email with The Utah Statesman, Tyrell Crane, assistant director of facility operations & risk management, says it was necessary.

“The reality is that use of the platform has become all too problematic and unnecessarily combative. These factors have prompted our dropping of the platform,” he wrote.

Students were able to register on the app through USU and earn bonus points for extra exercise such as 8,000 daily steps or maintaining an elevated heart rate for at least 30 minutes. They were also able to request local gyms or parks as workout areas and could earn points for spending time there.

Campus Recreation pushed for the program’s implementation to encourage more physical activity and reward students

for what they were already doing.

A favorite reward for participants was free admittance into the ARC. Not only were students able to use the app, but those living in the area could earn points and use them as well.

“Now that they are getting rid of it, I’m just going to delete the app,” USU student Joseph Myers wrote in a message to the Statesman. “If they don’t accept Plyo points, then there’s no other reason to have it.”

USU’s student fees, paid with tuition, cover a membership to the ARC gym. If not a full-time student, admission costs range from $8 per entry to $30 a month for alumni.

“I used it to get people into the ARC climbing wall for free,” Myers wrote. “There are other things you can use Plyo points for, but they include purchasing items. I liked using it at Campus Rec because it didn’t require me to make any purchases.”

Crane said Campus Recreation has ceased its use of Plyo for three core reasons, the first being a lack of platform support.

“Our professional staff have made several attempts to contact Plyo support on a matter of issues, including simply granting administration access to our new team members. We’ve received no replies to these queries, and no support in our needs on the platform,” Crane wrote.

Crane also said other USU entities have stopped using Plyo, including Dining Services, “With no platform support, and no affiliate ties to campus, the platform has proven increasingly non-viable for our purposes,” he wrote.

Crane said the third reason is due to misuse among participants.

“We’ve encountered several instances where individuals have taken screenshots of guest pass redemptions for the ARC and other buildings and have been reusing and distributing them to others for illegitimate redemptions,” he said. “Attempts have led to some unnecessarily tense interactions between our student staff and user parties.”

Instead of encouraging more physical activity through a reward system, Campus Recreation is working to put on student events, provide group fitness classes and continually improve its facilities.

—madison.weber@usu.edu

Madison Weber loves writing, petting dogs and eating pizza.

Blue A Collective supports USU Athletics

By Madison Weber SPORTS EDITOR

When the NCAA permitted student-athletes to engage in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) activities in 2021, it was no longer just about the sport or the school. Many athletes left dedicated fans to chase fiscal opportunities.

NIL deals may include traditional endorsement opportunities, event appearances, social media promotions, memorabilia signings and more. It provides student-athletes an opportunity to make money while still in school.

Athletes left starting positions and successful smalltown schools to chase a paycheck, while others felt they were missing out on something more.

Some schools made it a priority to help student-athletes find deals and make money, but Utah State University has not assisted its athletes in NIL deals until now.

The Blue A Collective was co-founded in May 2023 by Eric Laub and former Utah State head football coach Gary Andersen. According to its website, the organization’s goal is to “Empower student-athletes to capitalize on their Name, Image, and Likeness by providing opportunities to promote worthy charitable causes and make positive contributions to the Cache Valley community.”

“When it first came out, I was kind of the mindset that it's just going to be something that happens at the big schools and it's never really going to impact the Utah States of the world,” Laub said. “We sat and watched from a distance and over time it became apparent that it was going to be extremely relevant at this level.”

Laub said it’s important to stay relevant in athletes and to provide those opportunities for student-athletes.

“At the end of the day, all your good players are going to leave. I love Utah State, but if I was an 18-year-old kid and a really good football player, and I could go to Utah State and make no money or go to Boise State and make $50,000, it’s tough. It’s tough to justify that, no matter how much you love the school,” Laub said.

The collective takes donations and pays participating student-athletes for working with local charities.

One hundred percent of donations go towards Utah State student-athletes. In exchange for compensation, the student-athletes help promote and raise awareness for charitable causes.

and video messages from student-athletes.

Blue A has selected various charities in Cache Valley and beyond, including RODS Heroes, Common Ground, CAPSA, Pure Living Family and Sunshine Terrace Foundation.

The collective isn’t the only of its kind in Cache Valley. The Light It Blue collective has a similar mission statement but instead of working with charities, Laub says they manage deals between businesses and athletes while taking a percentage of the earnings.

The Laub family contributed financially to Light It Blue before launching the Blue A Collective. Laub says they changed their minds after feeling not enough of the proceeds were going to the athletes.

“More money went to fees than went to a lot of the players, and that was frustrating,” Laub said. “Earlier this spring, I was just talking with my dad and said, ‘If we're going to give the majority of the money to this thing, why don't we just start one ourselves and run it?’ He said, ‘Well, I'm talking to Gary Andersen tomorrow about potentially doing it,’ and the rest is history.”

Board members include former Aggies, long-time supporters and professional athletes.

All board members volunteer their time and do not receive compensation.

Blue A Collective

Co-founders

"I am excited to be a part of the Blue A Collective and to help in any way that I can to support its growth and reach,” Jordan Love said in a statement to the Blue A Collective.

Eric Laub and Gary Andersen

Board Members

Jim Laub, Steve Mothersell and Blake Kirby

Athlete Advisory Board

Jordan Love,

The collective has applied with the IRS to become a public charity. If approved, donations to the collective would be tax deductible.

The organization has three different membership levels. Fighting White ($27.20 per month) commemorates

Utah State football's 27-20 win over Utah in 2012. Aggie Blue ($59.56 per month) commemorates Sam Merrill's game-winning 3-pointer to beat San Diego State 59-56 in the championship game of the 2020 Mountain West Tournament. Ultimate Aggie membership includes all donations over $1,000.

Each monthly membership level gives donors access to exclusive benefits including memorabilia, newsletters

“I am thrilled to be able to combine my passion for Utah State with my professional knowledge and experience to make an impact."

Blue A was named in honor of the tradition of Old Main's "A" being lit blue after athletic victories.

The collective s a separate entity and has no affiliation with Utah State University. The university announced a partnership with the collective after it signed a corporate sponsorship with LEARFIELD, Utah State's exclusive multimedia rights holder.

They are the first collective to sign with LEARFIELD, a partnership that affords branding opportunities, trademark rights and advertising across USU’s platforms.

In a press release on Sept. 9, USU Athletics spoke of their support.

"We are excited for our new partnership with the Blue A Collective," Diana Sabau said. "The Blue A Collective will be the collective for Utah State University Athletics and the primary source of NIL opportunities for our student-athletes. The landscape of college athletics continues to evolve and the Blue A Collective gives our student-athletes another important resource to help them

reach their full potential."

While the university supports the collective, it does not provide any funding. The Blue A Collective, and others, are asking for money from the same donors as the athletic department does for their needs.

“It creates an interesting dynamic, but I think everybody agrees we need it, and we're just going to keep adapting. At the end of the day, everyone that's involved just loves Utah State, and we're going to do right by Utah State,” Laub said.

Currently, the collective supports student-athletes in football, men’s basketball and volleyball.

“I'd love to expand into more sports if people were interested in supporting,” Laub said. “It's really been fun to support volleyball. They've had so much success and that one feels the most satisfying to be able to give back and help them out a little bit.”

Andersen believes students not only deserve more, but need more to continue being students and athletes.

“Things have changed, rules have changed, time commitments of athletes in the summer have changed,” Andersen said. “They don't have the opportunities in the summertime like they used to have to have summer jobs, and it goes all year long.”

Andersen says his top priority is allowing students to have what they need and to be able to achieve academic, social and athletic success.

“If we don't have a quality collective that's in the top third in this league of the Mountain West, for the sports that we decided to sponsor, we're putting our student-athletes at risk of failing, and I don't want them to fail in any of those three areas,” he said.

Laub and Andersen are hopeful for the future of the Blue A Collective.

“We have fantastic kids at Utah State, and they want to be involved,” Andersen said. “We just need to make sure we give them that avenue and through our charities and through our efforts with the collective, we're able to do that and give back to the community but yet help grow and develop these young men and women.”

PHOTO BY Jack Burton

The sunset lights up clouds above Maverick Stadium on Sept. 9.

Robert Turbin, Sam Merrill, Kanyan Merrill, Tyler Larsen and Samantha Larsen

Paws & Breathe

Heidi Bingham is a senior studying journalism with an emphasis in social media and two minors in marketing and ASL. In her freetime, she enjoys cuddling with her dog Milo.

— heidi.bingham@usu.edu

Women’s soccer upsets No. 1 BYU, 1-0

By Henry Wright SPORTS REPORTER

For the first time in program history, the USU women’s soccer team faced off against a No. 1 overall-ranked team.

The Aggies made sure not to disappoint the record-setting crowd of 2,013 fans with a 1-0 win over previously undefeated BYU to improve to 3-5-1 on the season.

Despite both teams having chances to score in the first half, they entered halftime tied 0-0. Coming out of halftime, the Aggies played with a burst of energy and freshman midfielder Summer Diamond found the back of the net in the 51st minute on an assist from sophomore midfielder Kaylie Chambers.

“Kaylie Chambers made an awesome layoff to me,” Diamond said. “I just saw an opening that they were shifting one way, pushed it the other way and just hit it. So I mean, all credit to our movement off the ball.”

Following the go-ahead goal from Diamond, BYU continued to put pressure on the Aggie's defense but were unable to score on graduate goalkeeper Diera Walton. Walton registered six saves in the game, four of which came in the second half.

“There's a reason why she holds almost every record in the book for goalkeeping at Utah State,” head coach Manny Martins said. “She always comes up in the big games. Today, I don't think she was as busy as she's been before. But when she was called upon, she took care of business.”

Earlier in the year, Walton became Utah State’s alltime saves leader, and following her shutout against the

Cougars, she became Utah State’s all-time leader in clean sheets.

Despite the attention that facing a highly-ranked team brought to the game, the Aggies remained focused during their preparation.

“The preparation coming into this week was the same as any other week,” Martins said. “We continue to work on being us. The only difference is that I probably felt a little more excitement from the girls because obviously,

it's an in-state rival, it's a No. 1 team, but aside from that we didn't change anything. We just did what we've been doing.”

“We don't really listen to the hype,” Diamond said. “I mean, they were No. 1, but we come in thinking we can beat every team. So that's what we came in with the mindset of.”

Utah State’s win was the first since they defeated South Dakota State on Sept. 1 and ended a three-game streak in which the Aggies did not score. Despite the cold stretch, Martins remained confident in his players.

“The funny thing is outcomes dictate perception. We've been playing this well for a number of games,” Martins said. “We just haven't been clinical in front of the goal, and we've made some mistakes. Today, we put it all together.”

Moving forward, Martins hopes this game serves as a building block for success throughout the rest of the season.

“It's exciting. I'm proud but I'm also humbled by it because it's teams like this that help us prepare to achieve our goals,” Martins said. “We want to win, we want to win championships. We want to we want to get to the highest levels. We want to be able to compete with teams like this on a regular basis. Today we did and the goal is to continue to do it.”

—henry.wright@usu.edu

PHOTO BY Jack Burton Summer Diamond walks to the huddle on Saturday, Sept. 16.

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CARTOON BY Keith Wilson

PHOTO BY Jack Burton