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Show rE.E.L. UPSEM/ BM for conservatives marriage equality)) 4 Underground music venue features local artists 11 5 ed Rocks prep for a new season, redemption )) 6 E Tuesday, January 7, 2014 DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE www.dailyutahchronicle.com The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice Since 1890 Vol. 123 I I No. 67 ©2014 Students, politicos, LGBT Center react to same-sex marriage stay CONOR BARRY/The Daily Utah Chronicle The "Ute Brave" statue outside the Union building. Utes: logo, mascot debate 'misguided' Anna Drysdale NEWS EDITOR amm H IU 1 1 11 1111 umm mum !mu =In m11111 UMW 11111111 11 111111 11111111 1111 11111 1111 111 1 i11 111 11 11111111 tt1 11 11 11 1111 11 CONOR BARRY/The Daily Utah Chronicle Ivy Smith STAFF WRITER After over two weeks of legalization, the United States Supreme Court has stopped Utah clerks from giving marriage licenses to same-sex couples temporarily. "I wasn't terribly surprised," said Matt Halverson, a senior in linguistics. "I didn't celebrate when Amendment 3 was appealed, because I had a feeling that this would be one of those battle things, like a Prop 8 situation, where we had marriage equality in California and then we didn't and then we did again." Halverson feels hopeful that equality will eventually be permanent in Utah, but he believes it will not come without a fight. Supporters of same-sex marriage honor Justice Sonia Sotomayor for refraining from making the decision herself when she received the emergency ap- peal from the state of Utah, and remain hopeful. Kai Martinez, executive director of the LGBT Resource Center was equally unsurprised by the news. "I think it will end up with us having marriage equality here in Utah, but it's going to be a little bit of a battleground. It's hard for me to be angry, because I'm not surprised. But I'm hoping that it doesn't stay this way. I'm proud of Sotomayor for going up to the court instead of making the decision herself. But I also kind of wish she hadn't, because I don't think the stay would've been granted. We'll keep plugging along, and hopefully things will progress," martinez said The hold will last until the loth Circuit Court of Appeals reaches a decision. "It's going to be in place until there's time for an appeal, and I hope it doesn't stay," Martinez said. "I think we're heading toward marriage equality. It's going to be nationwide at some point — I think it's just a matter of prolonging the process. It's a stay, it doesn't mean that [marriage equality has] gone away. It's in a temporary holding space." Maxwell Mcleod, an undeclared sophomore, understands why some people were upset by the initial legalization. "I'm not happy about inequality," he said, "But I guess the only thing would be that a lot of people [were unhappy about it] because they feel like it happened behind their backs. And since they weren't able to vote, and since we have voted on it before and it didn't exactly happen, people are upset about that. Whether or not I agree with that is one thing, but people are definitely upset." Bryce Christensen, chairman of the College Republicans and a junior in political science said the stay represents a proper use of judicial authority. "This is not about whether you're for See MARRIAGE page 3 Despite recent suggestions that the U should retire the use of the Ute name and logo, Utes say leaving the drum and feather behind is not the answer. Forrest Cuch, former director of the State Office of Indian Affairs and member of the Ute tribe, said he feels a "great sense of pride" that the flagship university of the state bears the name of his tribe. Two of Cuch's sons graduated from the U, and he is an avid fan of the Runnin' Utes. "We have a very strong connection [to the U]," Cuch said. But recent pressure from a student group, the Indigenous Students and Allies for Change, is bringing the Ute name and logo back into the controversy it faced decades ago. Cuch said changing the mascot and logo would be a mistake. "This is troubling to us," Cuch said. He sees the U's use of the Ute name as an appropriate and important nod to the past. It is one of the only marks in the Salt Lake Valley that indicates that the land is Ute territory. Angela Brown, a graduate student at the U and member of the Ute tribe, is used to the name. She attended Uintah High School, which also uses the Ute name as a mascot, represented by a feather logo similar to the university's. "I've kind of grown up with it, so it doesn't bother me," she said. While both Cuch and Brown are uncomfortable and disappointed when they see students dressed as American Indians at sporting events, they agree that this problem, central to arguments to retire the logo, is not a big issue at the U. "It's just a few misguided students that are doing that," Brown said. The U is preparing to launch a social marketing campaign to educate students about respecting the Ute name at games, in addition to reminding them of other common courtesies to observe at sporting events, such as not littering. Brown said this is not enough. "If they want to stop fans from dressing up like Indians, just don't let them in the See MASCOT page 3 U student's custom ski poles headed to the Olympics Morgan McKenna STAFF WRITER Photo Courtesy of Thad Kelling Alex Carr demonstrates his ski poles. The idea came to Alex Carr in 2011 when he was hiking down a mountain ridge from a backcountry skiing trip. He recalled questioning the purpose of the poles in his hands. "[I] just thought to myself, 'Why are ski poles so useless?'" Carr said. "There could easily be a screwdriver on here." Carr, a junior in entrepreneurship at the U, has combined his passion for skiing with his interest in business to create CHAR Poles in 2012. The poles are a ski industry trailblazer aimed at transforming ski poles into more than just sticks. "Carrying sticks is a tad pre- historic," Carr said, referring to the first ski poles, which have not evolved much since the mid-18°os. The main features of Carr's ski pole design differ from the current industry standard to include topper handles equipped with universal camera mounts, a built-in toolkit that fits down into the shaft, a bottle opener as part of the basket and a strap design. The service of customizing color combinations, length and basket type is an added feature. Carr's company recently won five industry awards at the 2013 SnowSports Industries America Trade Show. He attributes this to making a versatile pole focused on functionality. The company's first pre-sale was held through an online campaign website called Rocket Hub on Dec. 22, and Carr plans to jump into the larger retail market soon. Although Carr is still debating selling the product overseas, he has already received orders from Norway and Sweden. "A lot of times businesses fail by making things that people really don't want or need," Carr said. His experiences on the mountain cultivated some pragmatic ideas, which led him to the sketchbook. He then took those sketches to the U's incubators to learn how to start a business. Carr attributes his progress and much of his success to U professors and librarians who provided him with resources and reSee POLES page 3 |