Friday, April 29, 2011
The
Utah Campus Voice since 1902
Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com
USU Equestrian team on their way to national competition By KEVIN MITCHELL staff writer
MEMBERS OF THE EQUESTRIAN TEAM (ABOVE) are headed to the national competition May 5-8 for the second time in their team’s history. Members are now trying to raise money to pay for trip including transportation and living expenses. photo courtesy JASON ROMNEY
For the second time in history, the USU Western Horsemanship Equestrian team qualified for the national competition to be held May 5-8 and will likely fund their own way to Lexington, Ky. The team will be paying for the trip primarily out of their own pockets due to a lack of funding and the expense of the semifinal tournament. Lauren Doyle, a qualifier in the event, said this will include plane tickets and living expenses, but the team is still dedicated to going. “It’s not up in the air at all. We’re still going for sure,” Doyle said. Efforts are being made to raise money, but because of short notice
New music department head hired
“With such short timing, finals week approaching and preparations being made for the trip, there is a lot of stress put on us. As far as fundraising goes with the economy the way it is, there has been a lot of work for very little return.” – Colette Floyd, Head coach of USU’s Equestrian Club
- See HORSE, page 4
Bus congratulates 1 millionth rider By CATHERINE MEIDELL news editor
By MEGAN BAINUM assistant news editor
After sifting through a pool of applicants that came from all over the United States and Europe, James Bankhead, with his extensive and impressive resume, has been appointed head of the music department. John Neely, chair of the search committee, said Bankhead’s “stellar background and a very long list of diverse accomplishments” is what set him above the rest. “He brings the strengths of a performing artist and strengths of a seasoned academic,” Neely said. The process of picking a new department head began as soon as the new college was created, Neely said. The position was advertised nationally, said Craig Jessop, dean of the Cain College of the Arts. He said the field was narrowed from 40 applicants to 4. Those four went through “extensive interviews” with faculty, students and Jessop himself. After the interviews, the selection committee put together a list of strengths and weaknesses about those four applicants and presented that list to Jessop. “The selection committee can not rank them (the four applicants) but he clearly had many many positive and extensive experiences with a music department,” Jessop said. Bankhead has been the chair for the music department at California State University, the executive director of The Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, a commander and conductor of The United States Air Force Band in Washington and conductor of the Opera Workshop Orchestra. It is because of these accomplishments, among many others, that Jessop said he is confident in the choice to hire Bankhead. Having USU become a school of music is what Jessop said he sees for the future, and hopes Bankhead will help in that goal. “It is time for us to examine ourselves and aspire to become a school of music and I have asked him to lead that discussion,” Jessop said. Jessop said Bankhead’s experience and contacts with those in the music business will be an important asset to the college. “He is a very talented man both as a musician, playing the oboe and an extraordinary leader,” Jessop said. – megan.b@aggiemail.usu.edu
Inside This Issue
and a slow economy, the club has limited options, said Colette Floyd, head coach of the USU Equestrian Club. “With such short timing, finals week approaching and preparations being made for the trip, there is a lot of stress put on us,” Floyd said. “As far as fundraising goes with the economy the way it is, there has been a lot of work for very little return.” The team, as well as many individual USU performers, qualified for the national IHSA tournament by placing second among a group of highly accredited Equine programs in the Western Semifinals in Findlay, Ohio, in March. The tournament was one of three regional competitions held nationwide, each
Julia Stock was running late for class Tuesday morning and took the Stadium Express shuttle to campus, but wasn’t expecting what came next, she said. Around 11:30 a.m. the bus pulled into the loop near the TSC where Big Blue and the USU Transportation staff told Stock she was the one-millionth rider of the USU Shuttle System since July 1, 2010. “I’ve been with the Aggie shuttle since ’94,” said Alden JULIA STOCK WAS THE MILLIONTH rider on the Aggie Shuttle Erickson, Aggie Shuttle superviBuses Tuesday morning. She won a certificate and a $15 gift card to the bookstore. The shuttle buses keep track of how many riders they have daily sor, “and we have done random and have been recording that number since July 2010. ALISON OSTLER photo counts over the years, but we
have never been able to document the millionth rider until this year.” During the summertime, campus shuttle ridership is low, he said, so there have been approximately one million riders within the recent fall and spring semesters alone. One of the bus drivers’ responsibilities is to record how many people board the bus on each round, Erickson said. The count information is then stored in a smart phone application. One reason Erickson believes the ridership increased was because during peak hours all 10 shuttles were running.
- See MILLION, page 4
‘Islamophobia’ largely absent at USU By RHETT WILKINSON staff writer
This is the second of the two part story about the impact of the Quran burning and the Muslum community here in Logan, Utah. In the fall of 2007, engineering major Allia Abu-Ramaileh left her two Muslim parents. one, a father with an Islam tradition that dates back centuries; the other, an American of 32 years , and her hometown of Bountiful, Utah, for USU. Her first semester here, after receiving the highest quiz score in a calculus class that included just one other female, the negative remarks began to be directed her way. “Because I got a higher score than anyone else among those who thought I was ditzy and not so serious, they were surprised,” she said. “I was a bit offended by that.” But she said she may have had an idea about where at least some of those snickers were coming from. Horrific events related to radical, fundamentalist Islam terrorist organizations have occurred since the turn of the century. Yet despite the reported putrefaction at a
4/29/11 Professors discuss their plans for the summer break. Page 5
national level, Abu-Ramaileh and several others of the faith said they have not sensed the sentiment as strongly at USU. Logan Islamic Center council member and graduate assistant Adel Abdallah is among that group. “As a Muslim student, living in Logan and attending USU, even though I grew up my entire life in a Muslim country, I still feel really comfortable with the kind and respectful people here in Logan,” wrote the engineering major. “I am amazed at the similarities between Islam and the LDS faith. The conservative environment here in Utah makes me feel close to home. I can say that I (have) never (been) treated badly here because of my religion.” Abdallah said conflicts and tension between his and other faiths arise in the defense of a gift that all seek. “Freedom is not limitless,” he said. “There must be some limits for our freedom when it comes to the others’ rights, such as the rights to live and to worship God. Can I kill my neighbor just because I have freedom?’” Abdallah said peace is afforded as individuals openly discuss their beliefs with one another. “Some would hesitate to talk about other religions or even historical events,” he said, “so
The Statesman sports staff hands out awards to coaches and athletes for 2010-11 school year. Page 10
why would freedom be limitless when it comes to Islam? In this case, the freedom would be discussing any topic in Islam or the Quran in a respectful way, but not through burning the Quran as a way to disrespect and intentionally offend others.” Bedri Cetiner, a USU electrical and computer engineering associate professor, also said he has felt the welcoming arms of the valley. “USU is presenting a wonderful environment for me as a Muslim,” Cetiner said. “I have never encountered any prejudice whatsoever.” Cetiner said he participates in an interfaith group consisting of faculty with various religious backgrounds. It’s a group that the man of Turkish descent, who can trace his Islamic roots on both parents’ side back to 10th century, said he is grateful to be involved with. “Some of my best friends are among these guys, who are not Muslims,” he said. “We meet every other week and have great discussions on various topics, which are enlightening, fruitful and fun.” Among those friends is Nick Eastmond, a department faculty member of instructional
- See QURAN, page 4
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