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Show Thursday, March 18, 2010 TH E DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE www.dailyutahchronicle.com The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice Since 1890 Vol. 119 No. 98 I ©2010 9.5% hike in tuition OK'd Sign of the Times Michael McFall NEWS EDITOR The U is proposing to raise tuition almost 10% for the second year in a row. Administrators announced the decision to raise tuition by 9.5% Wednesday at the annual Truth in Tuition meeting. The administration is raising tuition 8 percent on top of the Board of Regents' mandated statewide tuition hike of 1.5 percent. Graduate students have about the same increase-9.23 percent—once all increases are added together. "The U administration understands it's hard for students," said David Pershing, senior vice president for aca- demic affairs. Most are working to pay for school if they aren't on scholarships, he said. But he said that the U is still a relatively affordable school when compared to at least 3o of its peer research institutions, which are charging $1,000 to $11,000 more than the U in tuition and See TUITION Page 3 UPC brings a wee bit o' Ireland to campus Mohammad Allam STAFF WRITER Irish celebrations crossed the pond and hit the U campus hard, with Irish music blaring. O'Lucky U, the Union Programming Council's take on St. Patrick's Day, aimed to draw students outside and get them more involved on campus. UPC set up tables for the different offices such as the Office of Sustainability, the community service board and the arts and special events board. Prizes were given out, along with free Irish food, including shepherd's pie and spinach salad. But the biggest draw was the Irish rock band, The Wailing O'Sheas, which covered Irish-influenced rock bands such as Flogging Molly, The Dropkick Murphys and The Pogues. LENNIE MAHLER/The Daily Utah Chronicle Andrew Revkin, blogger and former environmental reporter for The New York Times, displays photos from the North Pole, which he took while reporting on climate change. Revkin spoke in the Sutherland Moot Courtroom in the College of Law on Thursday about the future of the Earth in his lecture,"9 Billion People + 1 Planet," which covered topics such as extinctions and climate change. He said media coverage of climate change usually leads to endless arguments. He also said the story is not about climate change itself, but climate change as a symptom of Earth's surging human population. His blog, Dot Earth, can be found on The New York Times website. Charges filed for student identity theft at U housing Michael McFall NEWS EDITOR A Salt Lake City resident has a warrant out for his arrest after police say he tried to impersonate two U students so he could live on campus. Jung Hoon Oh, 37, applied to live in university housing Nov. 6, 2009. His application was rejected. But he wasn't going to take no for an answer, according to the affidavit filed against him Monday. What ensued led the University Police Department to charge Oh with two counts of forgery and two counts of identity fraud, all of which are third-degree felonies, as well as a single count of providing false personal information to create another actual person, a class A misdemeanor. Rebecca Dowdell, associate director of University Student Apartments, received a new application from "Julian David Chan," a graduate teaching assistant in mathematics. She was suspicious and requested more information from "Chan," with no response. In December, Dowdell received a third application, this time from "Michael Purcell," a mathematics graduate research assistant and Chan's co-worker. Dowdell decided to go ahead and ask "Purcell" to come in for an interview for the housing spot—but with U Police officers waiting for him, according to the charging papers. Oh showed up to Dowdell's office Dec. 3o and falsely identified himself as Purcell, U police officer Gabe Jacquez wrote in his official statement. Oh even gave Purcell's birth date and Social Security number, Jacquez wrote. Both Chan and Purcell never gave Oh their information, Jacquez concluded at the end of his investigation. Oh admitted they didn't give him permission to use the information. Third-degree felonies are punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Oh could not be reached for comment. m.mcfall@ chronicle.utah.edu See CELEBRATION Page 3 JULIAN GOMEZ/The Daily Utah Chronicle Students gathered at the Union Patio to take eat free food and listen to the band The Wailin'O'Sheas to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. RESEARCH AT THE U Protein could protect body from itself Deborah Rafferty mune system, so the host is more resistant to its own defenses, allowing it to live," Li said. The best way to describe what is happening is to picture a war zone, Li said. When a virus or bacteria enters a person's system, it acts like an army swarming a high-density city, he said. The body's immune system then comes in and bombs everything, killing both the invading army— the virus—and the civilians, or blood vessels, he said. Killing the blood vessels can STAFF WRITER Researchers at the U and Utah State University have found a protein that could strengthen blood vessels that are weakened by infections. This study could provide new therapies for infections that are resistant to antibiotics, said Dean Li, professor of internal medicine and head of the Molecular Medicine Program. "We're making a medication to help the body against its own im- . Every:police _clog , , has its day ,(' r- -. . 411IP ; 3. 1 ' l',:., . - . "g. .0A 41;t: — 0 A r; A • II% ..: `1, k °,1. ikail MI 11 MI - e . .., Ap....- .,..,,• .. ...4 . • ;,,,,, , ,--- , .. ... MIKE MANGUM/The Daily Utah Chronicle Officer Jon Richey of the Unified Police Department explains to observers how the unique physiology of Oliver, a bloodhound, makes him excellent for tracking people. The event was held by the communication department's Freedom of Expression class to raise money for bulletproof vests for police K9s. lead to tissue swelling, leakage and death. Essentially, the body is damaging itself, he said. Without the immune system, the body would have no defense against the viruses or bacteria, which could lead to death, he said. "With bad infections like the swine flu, most patients don't die from the virus," Li said. "It's the inflammation response that kills them. It's the body's own response that kills them." Researchers found a protein that makes the blood vessels more resilient to the body's immune system, which works like building a personal bomb shelter for each civilian in the city, Li said. It strengthens the blood vessels so inflammation doesn't weaken them. When a new epidemic arises, such as MN' and avian flu, it takes a long time to determine what the virus is and create a medication that works, Li said. See PROTEIN Page 2 Tanpooling' service starts at U Katie Harrington STAFF WRITER Faculty and staff who have long commutes to work have a new van carpooling service to use, thanks to a partnership between the U's Commuter Services and the Utah Transit Authority. Alma Allred, director of Cornmuter Services, said employees can register for free online and will be matched with people who live in the same area and work at similar times. Once at least two members of the group designate themselves as the official drivers, UTA rents out a van to the group to use. "It's designed to reduce traffic on campus and save people who are using it some money," Allred said. Gerry Carpenter, spokesman for UTA, said there are about 400 vanpools before the service gets extended to U staff and faculty. The vans seat 12 to 15 riders, and each pool needs at least seven people. UTA covers the cost of maintenance, insurance and fuel, Carpenter said. The only thing the members of the vanpool have to pay for is the operational costs. For example, a rider in a van of 12 people that travels 600 miles monthly will pay less than sso per month, Allred said. To qualify for registration, one must drive more than 400 miles per month to and from the U, Allred said. To become a driver, one must prove clean driving and health records and go through a monthly reporting process. "There are some rules that each vanpool has to follow," Carpenter said. "But for the most part, the group can choose how they want to run the vanpool. They can choose their own locations for pick-up and drop-off that is convenient for everyone in the group, and so on." UTA used to have a shortage of vans for carpooling, which is why the U hasn't set the program up until now, Allred said. UTA recently purchased more vans and wants to get the U involved. Allred said Commuter Services is marketing the vanpools toward staff only because their schedule doesn't change every semester. "If no one signs up, we are not out of any money or anything," Allred said. "But I hope people will choose to use it because it will help minimize traffic on campus." To sign up, visit www.uta commuter.com. k.harrington@chronicle.utah.edu |