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Show ^tatesman^aggiemail.usu^edLL editor(5).statesman.usu.edu ! ij 20, 2009 Page-9 About\3s OurView Editor in Chief Technology furthering student relationships Arie Kirk IKNEW WTWEEI5 WOP GET News Editor Rachel A. Christensen Assistant News Editor Greg Boyles T he world is definitely not as big as it use to be. With technology advancing each day, those living across the world are getting closer and easier to communicate with. We live in our tight-knit home of Cache Valley which seems to center around USU. Members of our small community tend to keep in touch most with the news happening under the "A" on the hill. However, Utah State is doing more than just reaching out to Cache Valley. They have extended to individuals across the globe. The invention of Skype, for example, has not only allowed us to see individuals in other countries and cultures, but has enabled students to speak and learn from students in other countries. A group of USU students who have all lived in Ukraine or Russia for two years use Skype to communicate with students studying Ukrainian business and economics at Priasovski University in Mariupol, Ukraine. Aggie students discuss with these international students topics such as the economic crisis, education, government and even topics on a more personal level. And that's just the beginning. More than 800 students are working toward a degree from USU in economics without stepping foot on campus, actually not even stepping foot in the U.S. These students are studying in Hong Kong and China and are part of USU's International Cooperative Education and Initiatives which began in 2000. These Aggies take the same general education as those students studying economics on campus and the Chinese instructors are led by professors here, using the same textbooks, course context and exams. We may live here in tiny Cache Valley, but we are doing all we can to branch out. Thank you to those individuals who are working to bring culture and using technology to bring a little bit more to our great school. Features Editor Courtnie Packer Assistant Features Editor Amanda Mears Sports Editor Tim Olsen Assistant Sports Editor Paul Kelley Copy Editor Lisa Christensen No way to build a railroad H igh-speed rail networks might very well be the "smart transportation system" of the 21st century, as President Obama declared Thursday. The trouble is, we're using a very 20th century method to pay for them. Obama envisions a nationwide system of highspeed lines. The $787-billion economic stimulus package included $8 billion to pay for them, and Obama's proposed budget would dole out another $1 billion a year for five years for passenger rail. On Thursday, the White House identified 10 corridors throughout the country that would be eligible for funding, including a tine in California that would run from San Diego to San Francisco and Sacramento. "Now, all of you know this is not some fanciful, pie-in-the-sky vision of the future.... It's been happening for decades. The problem is, it's been happening elsewhere, not here," Obama said, referring to countries such as France, Japan, Spain and China that have impressive bullet-train networks. But there was something he failed to mention: With the exception of China, whose government can spend any way it likes, all of these countries impose steep taxes on gasoline. The taxes have the dual purpose of providing the funding to build public transit and encouraging people to ride it because they make driving prohibitively expensive. Gas taxes in the United States are minuscule in comparison. Instead of raising the money to pay for his vision, Obama proposes to fund it with debt. So does the state of California, where voters last November approved nearly $10 billion in bonds for the San Diego-to-Sacramento train Obama aims to support. That's all well and good, except that the California train alone is expected to cost in excess of $40 billion. Obama's $13 billion over five years won't go far in building a national network that would cost hundreds of billions. So where's the rest of the money going to come from? Moreover, making rail travel attractive will take a lot more than buildingbullet trains. U.S. passenger train lines are notoriously unreliable, in part because so many of them share tracks with freight trains, which cause constant delays and the occasional devastating accident. Solving that problem will require new tracks, improved signaling, GPS technologies and other expensive systems. Obama is dead right that a 21st century rail network would improve mobility and productivity while reducing emissions and reliance on foreign oil. But the current gas tax can't maintain our existing infrastructure of highways and bridges, let alone fund the president's vision. As Congress negotiates a transportation bill that will determine federal taxing and spending for the next five years, it must keep that in mind. I professionally to network with other freelancers in my field. So I plunged into the abyss. It became clear almost immediately that "social networking" was really a euphemism for goofing off with work friends (or neighbors) who are also just goofing off. Kristen is now friends with Lisa P. and Jon A. via the People You May Know tool. I began sending and receiving invitations at breakneck pace. Unexpected queries filled me with glee - "I didn't know Laura considered us friends." But unanswered ones induced anguish: "I sent an invitation to Jim three days ago and I've heard nothing. All those long talks we used to have in the edit bay...." Before long, my circle of work friends wasn't enough. I needed more. I began to search for people from high school. I was confused, though, by some photos of my supposed classmates. Who were all these old people with unfamiliar names? I reconsidered. Did I really want to suffer the rejection of high school over again? Kristen is headed to the grocery store for milk and bread. I started to check my friends' status updates a few times a day. Then a few more times. Soon, I was keenly interested in the hourly updates of their infinitely more fascinating lives. Wow, Leslie and Michele worked on the inauguration. Eric took his family to Disneyland. Jeremy had a great time at the Super Bowl. Braggarts. Kristen is trying to get her husband to join Facebook. "Come on honey, you should just join. There's no harm in it. EDINBURGH & HIGHLANDER B e s t of t h e B e s t • Single Student Apartments • Private Bedroom und Bathroom • . Desk Bed & Bookcase in caJi Bedroom 710 NOKTH 700 EAST • Fully I urnKhed HIGHLANDER I aunilry in each Apartment • C a b l e T V '.viih l u c k s in t j v h B u l r n n m A c c e p t i n g Appliiittifliis fin- S u m m e r a n d S e x t School Editorial Board Arie Kirk Rachel A. Christensen Courtnie Packer Tim Olsen Amanda Mears Lisa Christensen About letters • Letters should be limited to 350 words. • All letters may be shortened, edited or rejected for reasons of good taste, redundancy or volume of similar letters. • Letters must be topic oriented. They may not be directed toward individuals. Any letter directed to a specific individual may be edited or not printed. • No anonymous letters will be published. This editorial was pubWriters must sign all lished in the Los Angeles letters and include Times. a phone number or e-mail address as well as a student identification number (none of which is And if you don't like it you can published). Letters always quit. All the kids are doing will not be printed it." without this verificaApparently I was a crack dealtion. er in a past life. Resistance was futile. Soon he • Letters representing groups — or more was boasting of finding long-lost than one individual friends from childhood, recon— must have a sinnecting with work buddies and making lunch dates with college gular representative chums. After only a week, he had clearly stated, with all 78 Facebook friends. Ten more necessary identificathan I had. tion information. For some reason, I found that • Writers must wait 21 annoying. days before submitKristen is at work, wishing her ting successive letters company served better coffee. — no exceptions. I began to neglect my duties at • Letters can be hand the office, so busy was I uploaddelivered or mailed ing photos and posting links to to The Statesman in hilarious videos. I learned to hide theTSC, Room 105, my omnipresent Facebook page or e-mailed to statesman@cc.usu.edu. [MSee DONE, page 10 Finished with Facebook, at least for today don't know how Facebook took over my life. For a long time I had resisted its lure. I mocked Facebook users, mentally placing the site's truly rabid fans in the same category as scrapbookers. Meanwhile, I hid the fact that I had an account, which I had set up only to view pictures my niece posted online. Kristen is... For a long time my "wall" was pleasingly empty, no profile information or photo attached. Then, a few months ago, the invitations began to arrive. What started as a trickle, the occasional message to link up with other Facebook friends, grew into a flood. It was as if someone had signed up my e-mail address for an online contest. After a brief internal debate, I rationalized that it could help me Photo Editor Cameron Peterson Assistant Photo Editor Tyler Larson Year (435) 770-2326 i (435) 755-8525 720 NOKTH 700 EA*T |