The Utah Statesman, march 28, 2011

Page 1

Monday, March 28, 2011

Utah Statesman The

Campus Voice since 1902

Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com

Scheduled budget cuts reduce to 2 percent By ROB JEPSON web editor

The end of the 2011 Utah general legislative session brought good news for Utah State students and faculty. Significantly lowered budget cuts, ongoing funding for USU’s new veterinary medicine Ph.D. program and a pending grant for a new business building were all included in the session’s final outcome. USU president Stan Albrecht said, “While the session was a difficult one in many ways, it ended with some important good news for Utah State University.” 2 Percent Budget Cut When the session began, legislators approved a plan that would have cut USU’s budget an additional 7 percent from past years’ cuts. “An additional 7 percent cut would have been devastating to USU,” said

USU’s government relations director Neil Abercrombie. He said two factors significantly contributed to the legislature’s decision to lower the cuts. First, in February, updated revenue numbers indicated that the State would have enough revenue to fund more programs without dipping into one-time revenue sources or the “rainy day fund.” Second, the Legislature emphasized restoring the proposed cuts in areas that would provide a return on investment for the state of Utah. “USU emphasized the great return on investment USU provides for the state, for example job creation with research, producing well-educated students who are competitive in the job market, increasing innovation, helping strengthen an educated workforce critical for economic development,” he said. Albrecht said he had hoped the 7 percent cut would be eliminated entirely. He said he is currently working with vice presidents, deans, depart-

ment heads, and other campus leaders on strategies for addressing the additional budget reduction. Veterinary Medicine Program Utah State’s original request for the veterinary medicine program was a one-time $3.2 million grant. While this grant was not awarded, the legislature decided instead to give a $1.7 million ongoing grant to both start the program and continue to fund it in coming years. “The success of HB57, including the funding, really is a result of the hard work of Rep. Mathis and USU building a coalition of support before the 2011 Session even began,” Abercrombie said. Abercrombie said the approval of the program is a great accomplishment, especially in a year when Utah’s state revenue is still low coming out of THE STATE CAPITOL was the site of the legislative session that ended March 10 which gave USU funding for the veterinary program and new business buildling. BRECK BYINGTON photo

- See SESSION, page 4

Be Well aims to make Quadside customers aware of nutrition By STEVE KENT staff writer

TWO CALIFORNIA MALES paint over graffiti on a building in their city. Louise Speth of the Logan City Police Department said when graffiti is found anywhere in Cache Valley it is promptly removed. She said this is the gang-related crime most commonly seen in this area. AP photo

Gang activity present in Logan By BENJAMIN WOOD editor in chief

last year, there were concerns from neighboring cities that gang members would relocate to nearby areas. For now, Speth said, Cache Valley has not seen a spike in gang acitivity and she suspects the scenario is unlikely. “They’re tied to the Ogden community,” she said. “That is their home.”

Throughout the country, cities are dealing with the effects of gang activity. Last year, Ogden passed an ordinance taking a hard line on the city’s oldest gang, the Ogden Trece, and while Cache Valley has neither Ogden’s size nor crime rate, Criminal Mischief gang-related crime is not unheard of. “There’s a gang presence here,” said Louise Speth said the businesses of Logan city have Speth of the Logan City Police Department helped minimize the visibility of Cache Valley “I don’t think (LCPD). “I don’t think there’s a city or county gangs by responding quickly to instances of grafthere is a city or fiti. in Utah that doesn’t have a gang presence.” Over time, she said, gang-related crime has “There’s an assertive approach to getting it county in Utah increased in correlation with the expansion of that doesn’t have cleared off,” Speth said. “Our stuff gets cleared Cache County. off so quickly it doesn’t get the re-tag.” “As the valley grows, those issues grow also,” a gang presGraffiti, she said, is the most common form ence.” she said. of gang-related criminal activity. If the “tags” – Louise Speth, are allowed to remain, typically the area will be Violent Crime with other tags as rival gangs respond Logan City Police swarmed to, or “re-tag,” each others’ markings. The efforts Department of Logan businesses, she said, have played a large Paul Todd, of the Cache County Sherriff ’s Office (CCSO) gang division, said while they part in preserving the aesthetics of the city and are few in number, there have been incidents of keeping gangs and their traces out of the spotgang-related violence in the past. light. “Ogden, we are not yet. Salt Lake, we are not yet,” Todd said. Speth said last year there were slightly more than 100 inci“We’re hoping to keep it that way.” dents coded by LCPD as gang-related. That number, she said, Cache Valley is geographically isolated, a feature Speth said is typical for Cache Valley. While graffiti is the most common likely contributes to fewer gangs entering the valley. When crime, Speth said Logan is not free of the drug and violence violent acts occur, they usually do not result in third-parties issues that often follow gang activity. She estimated there are being effected. “It tends to be gang on gang,” Speth said. - See OGDEN, page 4 When Ogden passed its injunction against the Ogden Trece

Inside This Issue

3/28/11 Women’s soccer begins spring play with back-toback shutout victories over Utah Valley and Southern Utah. Page 8

Getting away with no health insurance will not be as easy come 2014. Page 5

USU’s Be Well program wants to help busy patrons of the Quadside Cafe make healthy choices by displaying nutritional information on flip charts, inspired by dessert or featureditem charts placed on tables at restaurants. While the project is still in its beginning stages, Amber Schoenfeld, manager of the Quadside Cafe, said she is excited about being able to offer nutritional information to customers. “It will be a great resource to have for our customers. We have a lot of questions about what is the better option, and it will be great to have the actual data on hand,” Schoenfeld said. “It would be great to know just how many calories are in the food items we serve at USU,” said Caroline Shugart, director of the Be Well program and creator of the flip-chart project. “Other campuses around the nation are highlighting nutrition information for students so they can make wise eating choices.” Allie Burnham, Katie Burk and Mckinsey Wilson, students in the dietetics program, are currently planning the project as volunteers. Before the flip charts can be made, the project needs to be approved by Alan Andersen, the director of Dining Services. Burk said most people would like to eat healthily but they aren’t aware of the nutritional content of the food they eat. “People genuinely don’t know. When you go to a restaurant – a fast food restaurant, a sit-down restaurant – you don’t know how many calories and how much fat is really in something,” Burk said. Most restaurant diners underestimate the amount of sodium, fat and energy in calories contained in meals, according to a 2006 study in the American Journal of Public Health. Researchers said that, on average, participants estimated unhealthy restaurant meals to be 600 calories less than they really were, and that one meal of 600 extra calories a week could result in about nine extra pounds of body weight per year. Considering that diners also underestimate fat and sodium levels, ignorance of nutritional facts might contribute to significant health problems over time, the study states. Burnham said making healthy eating choices can be easy, but customers often don’t realize healthier options are available, or how much of an improvement a healthier option is. The aim of the project is to make nutritional information more available and easy to understand, Burnham said. “We want to promote (healthy eating) in a positive light,”Wilson said, “because we don’t want people to feel guilty about what they’re eating, but we’d like them to make those little changes in their diet, because it will make them feel so much better and it will improve their health.”

- See CAFE, page 4

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