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Show Chaffetz: The Nayonator SCIENCE AND HEALTH COMPLIX PROPOSAL.! DAVE IBA ;'.; Editor-at-Large : ; * When you think about Rep. Jason Chaffetz (RUtah District 3) what comes : to mind? Perhaps his embar'. rassing outburst toward 'TSA officials. Maybe it's his leg wresting match with "Steven Colbert on "The Colbert Report." If these events . are all that you know about >Gh~affetz, you're not alone. isn't known •tfop pushing hard to get his passed because he really hasn't pushed hard for anything. If he is might known, it's seeking as well for attention from have a the media. Chafrobot Mr. fetz, that's Courtesy of UVU.edu Artist rendition of the proposed Science Building. Big checks for big building -TO prGSS not what we want from you. We want you to write bills that will benefit us in Utah. I'd rather have Rep. Rob Bishop over District 3, a congressman who looks out for his district and isn't obviously in the House just so he can run for the Senate later. Most people in Utah »{iave never seen Chaffetz at work in D.C. As an intern in JD.C. this past summer, I iw^ahJe to accompany the jEJeputy Chief of Mission for "Afghanistan to the hill to watch ongoing debates on Afghanistan. Chaffetz sat on that particular sub-committee and demonstrated his incontrovertible incompetence, stating absurdly that ' 95 percent of Afghanis are alliterate. The Deputy Chief leaned over and asked me who this guy was and where was he getting his information. Ashamedly, I told him that he was my congressman and was getting his information from nowhere. Illustration JAY ARCANSALIN/ UVU Review Rep. Jason Chaffetz brings nothing new to the table for Utah, and invariably votes along party lines. ers back to Washington He never challenges any D.C. and shows them a other Republican ideas. good time, gives them the According to smartvote.org, tour of the Capitol and then Chaffetz*s voting record they come home and tell the consists of 13 Yea votes and newspapers and T.V. report- 111 Nay votes. He votes the This is one among many ers what a grand job he is way his party officials ask examples which demondoing. him to and seems to have no strate that Chaffetz too often In ail honesty, Chafdecisionmaking skills of his speaks up and has no idea fetz brings nothing new own. We might as well have what he is talking about. But to the table. If you look at a robot to press the "Nay" the general public doesn't his voting record you will button. see this. Why? Because see for yourself that he Mr. Chaffetz, please stop Chaffetz invites local leadvotes straight party lines. appearing on Fox News's pseudo-journalistic punditry programs where you only get praised. If you get another chance to ask the president a question, make sure you have your facts straight, and next time please make it a good one. No one cares that you sleep on a cot. Do your homework, or for that matter, some actual work. Most of all, please, please, don't run for the Senate. English majors. It would certainly be hypocritical for Asst. Opinions editor me to whine about having I've heard there are some to take an Early American Lit survey next to the Sparks pretty big checks hanging Automotive body shop while on the wall of President not saying the same about Holland's office, and now a bio major having to take having seen the checks with Biological Anthropology in my own two eyes, let me tell the Liberal Arts building. you: they're pretty awesome. Another concern Prior to discussing the is the thought put into proposed new science the administration and building (and the big checks, legislature's priorities for donated from local hospitals UVU. If a new science among other organizations building is first priority, for that building), I was what's next? Holland's skeptical. As an English off-the-cuff list: new major, my classmates and I science building, a fine arts are often shuttled up to the GT/Sparks Automotive area center, a business building, of campus, which is literally a classroom building, and expansion to the new MBA just about as far as you can program. get from home base in the Liberal Arts building. We However, despite the definitely need some new massive checks and the space. contributions that they represent, there's still a long I hold an obvious bias way to go. So far, $1 million toward my own major, of has been raised for the new I course - since most of us building, and the minimum are asthmatic nerds not target for the building is predisposed to physical between $2 and $3 million. activity of any kind, let Holland is optimistic alone extended bouts of about the remainder of the walking. So the idea of an funds arriving hopefully additional science building within the next month. He seemed like an arbitrary recognizes that the goal is an grab at some educational "ambitious" one, and cites legitimacy founded on the "vexing political dynamics" frequent misunderstanding as one of the contributing : that so-called "soft sciences" hold-ups, but even so, it's *aren't as important as prehard to deny that the sheer \•• dental or marine biology or willpower being dedicated to what have you. this cause will be a big help.*; So why a new science All in all, I'd rather haver building? a new liberal arts building, .Holland cited the need for additional labs. The Pope or more funding pushed toward research resources Science Building was built at our fancy-pants new several decades ago, when library, or any number of our school boasted a meager other things more suited to 8,000 students, as opposed my narrow idea of what we to our current 28,000-plus need. But that's probably enrollmentfigures,and one of the several handfuls the vast majority of those of reasons I'm not the students need to take at least president of an exponentially one science class, including expanding state university. my fellow wheezy-lunged his year's big decision DAVID SELF NEWUN ^-...Opinions editor £*~ Probably the most ^Important decision that this ar's student council will is whether or not to to funding a new ^-Student center. * 'As the proposal stands right now, student fees will be raised $45 over the next five years and eventually will bond with the for some $40 ion dollars for this new acture on campus. This commitment on e'part of every student >Ue"would eventually come to about $90 per student, per semester, and remain , in force (depending on the " .terms of the agreement) ' for the next 20 to 30 years. That's quite a fee. There are some, though not many, seemingly compelling reasons to build a new student center. The But that dog won't hunt. current center is getting providing a place entirely about as full as it can get, belonging You don't need the and accommodating an full university expanding student population will be difficult. Also, there is also not a whole lot to actually do in the current student center: you can eat and play pool, but not much else. The new center could have many fun things, bowling, exercise areas, maybe even a rock wall, Jacuzzi, or pool - a veritable carnival of entertainment. This relates to some Illuatatlon JAY ARCANSALIN/ UVU Review of the less concrete reasoning behind the by the students experience proposal - it is supposed Having this to get an to. create a sense of place to build excellent community and socialization solidarity and school spirit university education as among the student body, is supposed to help students our reputation as a largely to create Wolverines succeed by giving them the commuter school without rather than just students by full university experience. distinct university "feel" shows. A new student center will offer no direct help in making education more effective. Having a place to bowl just won't improve your understanding of Kant or genetics, no matter how you split it.We also don't need any new features on our campus to attract and retain students - we have plenty of enrollment problems already. In other words, the overwhelming number of people already wanting to attend this school clearly aren't coming for the experience of being at a typical university, because we have never offered that, and we certainly shouldn't start now. $40 million for a place to call our own isn't nearly enough bang for the buck, not at a place whose role is and always should be to ; make a quality education available to as many people as possible. Frankly, anything on ; campus that adds another distraction to the litany of : distractions already keeping •; the average student from what matters most - learning - is not priority number one,; especially at such a high 'i price. Fortunately, the decision has not yet been carved into stone, and what you think about the proposal matters. You can voice your opinion by contacting your student council representative. Visit http://www.uvu.edu/ studentgovernment/ I academicsenate/ : contactus.html and toilet them know what i you really think. i |