the utah
Tuesday, April 14, 2015 • www.usustatesman.com • (435)-797-1742 • Free single copy
‘Maverik Stadium’ plans unveiled 4By Kalen Taylor sports editor
Illustration courtesy of Media Relations MAVERIK STADIUM, formerly known as Romney Stadium, will undergo several renovations including a new press box and suites.
Student researchers demonstrate findings 4By Brenna Kelly staff writer
Eight student researchers presented their discoveries in front of 150 people Friday as part of Research Week 2015. Hosted by the USU Office of Research and Graduate Studies, Ignite USU is an event reminiscent of TEDxUSU. This was the thirdyear USU experienced the national speaking program. Researchers had five minutes to present on their respective topics, which ranged from pollination to immigration to Kirshna. According to student Joseph Firth, who helped organize the event, more than 50 presenters auditioned to participate in Ignite USU.
this is an image “The format for the talks is that each speaker has five minutes to speak,” Firth said. “It’s exact because they have to keep up with their slides.” Each speaker had 20 slides that displayed for 15 seconds each. Junior Grant Holyoak has been studying Utah immigration policies and has presented at several conferences in and out of the state. “The deepest thing that I’ve discovered is the impact that anti-immigration laws are having on the immigrants,” he said. Much of the students’ research was made possible through funding from various depart
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Thakary Minson photo REN GIBBONS (L) and Jacob Butterfield (R) work on their bridges at Ignite USU.
The renaming of Romney Stadium to Maverik Stadium became official Saturday afternoon at Utah State University. Under a tent in the north end of the stadium parking lot, university president Stan Albrecht and Maverik Inc. CEO Tom Welch spoke and shook hands to make the partnership official. The specifics of the contract cannot be released due to business confidentiality. “What an incredible day,” Albrecht said. “We’ve had a lot of really exciting things going on at Utah State over the last few years and this has to be one of the most exciting. As I have thought a lot about this, what we are celebrating today is the culmination of what could probably be described as a whirlwind romance.” The event marked the beginning of a long-term naming rights partnership to its football stadium. “We’re all in blue. We’re just one big family now,” Welch said. “There are those events in life that you want to capture and in my life, today is one of them. Maybe most special, at least when it comes to what I’ve been
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April planting brings May flowers
Thakary Minson photos
4By Deonna Edgar staff writer
Utah State University Landscape Operations and Maintenance, or LOAM, have their hands full this spring creating and maintaining the campus landscape. Landscapers are working during this season to make the campus beautiful for graduation, with commencement only two weeks away. Plant Specialist Gilbert Young, a masters student studying horticulture, and his crew are making graduation a priority. “This time of year we are getting ready for commencement,” Young said. “We are getting the tree rings cut and mulched, help plant annual flowers for graduation and getting this things ready to
go for commencement.” There is a lot of landscaping to be finish up, Young said. “It’s really about prioritizing tasks,” he said. “There is always all the finesse, all the fine details that take up the most time, so it is mostly about getting the bulk of it done and then trying to get as much of the finer details taken care of as possible.” LOAM crews do more than work toward graduation.The landscape crews are split up by the different area coordinators in charge of a certain part of campus based on different projects that need done. There can be upwards of 75 workers on staff during the summer. The Director of Landscape Operations and Maintenance Rob Reeder coordinates all the different area coordinators. “We have construction
projects. We have a guy who does all the annual gardens, someone who sprays and fertilizes and a mechanic,” Reeder said. “We have an arborist who focuses on the trees along with an athletic fields specialist and two irrigation specialists.” Different gardens on campus are watered with a water conversation system. Bret Leckie installs new valves that control the sprinklers and the amount of water. There are about 3,000 valves that are controlled by 97 irrigation clocks, which are then controlled by a weather program. It tracks temperature, humidity and other weather conditions to calculate how much water to use. “We try to conserve water. We use an irrigation program that works with the weather stations,” said Leckie, a USU graduate. “It uses regional data from
three different weather stations around the valley. It’s very accurate.” Leckie said he tries his best to make campus look the best it can. “It’s like an art,” he said. “I take care of campus like I would my house. I do my best to make it presentable.” Reeder stressed the importance of his job: making campus appealing for the community, students and all who visit. He’s found that, when evaluating universities, potential students tend to choose the campus with a more manicured look. “We incorporate different types of gardens and provide variety of species of plants on campus that you won’t find anywhere else in the area,” he said.
— deonna.edgar@ aggiemail.usu.edu
Utah State students weigh vacation vs class time in the summer 4By Mandy Morgan senior writer
Summer semester undertakes changes to benefit students Many Utah State University students plan to take on college a few semesters at a time. Then there are those who continue on into the balmy months of “vacation” during the upcoming summer semester. Why? “I think I can just focus better on my one class, and I have a lab,” said Rachel Hulse, a junior majoring in elementary education. “I’ll be in a stats class and an FCHD (Family Consumer and Human Development) lab.”
Hulse is in the kindergarten through sixth grade program, and because she needs to teach in a preschool at some point for her training, she will be in a preschool lab on campus for seven weeks of the summer. “The difference in registering was that instead of registering at night, we could just do it on April 1...there’s no separation based on class,” Hulse said. “There were a few less summer classes you could take, but it’s basically the same as any other time.” Though it’s been something she has had work into her budget, since she’s never taken summer courses before, summer semester is overall
cheaper, Hulse said. Many students are not accustomed to the pattern of going to school during the summer, which may be one reason not as many students register for the summer classes, said Jay Wright, marketing director for Regional Campuses and Distance Education. “When I was in college, I was either doing internships or working two jobs to make as much money as possible,” Wright said. “It’s just not easy for some students to fit it in.” Summer 2015 marks the implementation of a number of changes made to summer semester to hopefully encourage more registration, said Robert Wagner, executive vice
provost and dean of USU’s Academic and Instructional Services. “As we looked at how to redesign summer semester, our main goal was to really understand what would be most beneficial to students,” Wagner said. There were four specific things focused on in making changes to summer semester—putting together a good schedule, offering courses students want and need, making it financially beneficial and making sure to clearly advertise and share why summer semester is good for students. There has been difficulty in the past getting students to register for summer semester, which is one of
the reasons for change, to make it more appealing and convenient for students, he said. “We tried to design a schedule where we’d offer classes both in the morning as well as the afternoon, in case students need to work,” Wagner said. “We also provided online courses that were more flexible to students who have to work full-time, as well as evening courses for students who needed to work during the day.” The semester has been cut up into seven and fourteen-week schedules to make the timetable less confusing for students.
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