OCR Text |
Show Friday, Feb. 19, 2010 StatesmanCampus News Students suggest improvements in Providence By RACHEL A. CHRISTENSEN news editor Representatives from 13 teams presented their plans to better Providence, during the department of landscape architecture and environmental planning (LAEP) charrette reception Wednesday evening. The students were asked to look at mixed-use land, old downtown and possibly a new downtown for Providence and come up with a plan for the city, said David Bell, associate professor in the department of LAEP. They took principles from Envision Cache Valley, which collects feedback from community members and decides how the valley will handle future development, and then applied the principles to create plans to handle projected growth in Providence, Bell said. The 13 participating teams were made up of about 100 students in the LAEP department — from freshman to graduate students — and each team was made up of about eight students. This project was required, Bell said. Each year, the students focus on a different area, which can be a city, such as Providence, or an area, such as Sanpete County. The LAEP department has been running the project for seven years, Bell said, and has been considering the possibility of looking at the Bear Lake area for an upcoming project. Participants of the charrette were given five days to complete the project. Bell said these students were excused from their LAEP studio classes, during this week, so they might devote more time to the project. Students started their project Monday, Feb. 1, and turned in their final work by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5. Each team had to make at least one poster and prepare a five-minute PowerPoint presentation, Bell said; however, most teams made at least two partially blocks the welcome sign's visibility. posters. Robinson's team suggested either a more visible Bell said the LAEP project is similar to situsign or an arch that would act as a physical gateations graduates in the landscape program will way into the city. experience in the real world after graduation. Robinson said the welcome sign is impor"It's hard work and it's scary, but I think you tant because it lets "you know you're entering can see the payoff. I can," Bell said. Providence, somewhere that's significant and Students came up with suggestions such as significant to the people that live there." bettering sidewalks, vegetating medians that Robinson said his team decided to focus on line main streets and realigning 450 West Providence's historic buildings, new developbehind Macey's in order to ease land development, incredible views, Providence Canyon and ment and traffic flow. Students tree-line street. His team proalso want to find ways to posed the creation of a historic "It's hard work quench need for a new city hall town center, as well as a hisand it's scary, but and library. torical visitor's center. I think you can see A few groups suggested addSean Michael, LAEP departthe payoff. I can." ing loft apartments above retail ment head, said this year's space, in a manner similar David Bell, groups tried to define the to the Gateway in Salt Lake image Providence residents LAEP associate professor wanted, which meant going to City. According to team four's PowerPoint presentation, loft the city and mingling with the apartments would increase people. A city's image includes residential tax revenue in Providence by approxi- its aesthetic and commercial anchors. However, mately $133,000. Michael said the most important part of a city's Clustering buildings, such as grocery stores image is the way it incorporates the values of and housing, close together would make community members. Providence more pedestrian-friendly, save The highway leading into Providence is the energy and possibly cut back pollution that concity's "front yard," Michael said. This front yard tributes to Cache Valley's winter inversions, Bell has been taken over by the motorists that use the said. road, and he said teams tried to create plans that The gateway into Providence at 100 North would allow Providence to reclaim their ownerand Highway 165 was also discussed by several ship of this front yard. People accentuate the teams. front doors to their houses, Michael said, and Luke Robinson, senior in LAEP, said he has Providence should also accentuate its gateway. worked at Macey's for the past three years and Michael said the richness of the LAEP project the "available" sign at the gateway intersection was the process of helping communities such as into Providence is bigger than the sign that Providence. Next month the presentations will welcomes visitors to the city. The welcome sign be given to Providence, Bell said. is "one of those things you could just miss," he — rac.ch@aggiemail.usu.edu said, adding that an electrical box on the corner — Hovering through engineering week activities Page 3 Briefs Campus & Community KSA to host New Year celebration Come and experience Chinese and Korean culture at the Chinese and Korean New Year Banquet. The celebration will be hosted Saturday, Feb. 20, in the Taggart Student Center Ballroom. The celebration will last from 6-9 p.m., and dinner will be served at 6 p.m. Each guest will experience eight dishes, one entree, two main dishes and one dessert each of Korean and Chinese food. Guests will also experience several performances. The Korean Student Association (KSA) has invited a traveling group of Korean dancers to perform traditional Korean dances. Several Chinese students from USU will also perform. This year is the year of the tiger. To celebrate, someone dressed in a tiger costume from China will be around for the banquet and will be giving small gifts, also from China, to the children. Tickets will be sold before the event in the Office of International Student Scholars, TSC Room 313. Kids under 10 years old get in for $8, and adult tickets cost $14. Tickets will also be sold Saturday at the door, at $15 for adults. One dollar from every ticket purchase will be donated to Hope for Haiti. The event is put on by the KSA and the Chinese Student and Scholars Association. This will be the first time the two associations co-organize an event. — rac.ch@aggiemail.usu.edu Professor publishes book about language MIKE LAU, junior, and JC Hardy, sophomore, test the hovercraft built by engineering students at USU during engineering week.The hover craft was constructed from a leaf blowerCARL WILSON photo Covey: Hired for business ethics Enginerd: Students contend for title I continuedfrom page 1 I continuedfrom page 1 make, whether consciously or subconsciously. He wants to help students in a community learn to value principles. In a speech Thursday, Covey outlined five specific principles of integrity, humility, courage, wisdom and having an abundance mentality. Covey said people need to care for others and not get too caught up in image and identity. He said, "When man found the mirror, he lost his soul." His goal for the business school is to work together as a team and build the principles into a community. Covey said his overall philosophy is that with "kind control," people can unleash talent. Huntsman said, "These principles he's spoken of are universal and apply to all people at all times." Along with Covey's appointment to presidential chair, an announcement was made Thursday to create the Stephen R. Covey Center for Leadership at the USU campus. The center will house all of Covey's lifetime works, Oldham said, and will "bring together the best minds from academics and business and leadership." It will house "great thought and great application," Oldham said. The center is being envisioned as part of the new business building, which is in its early stages of planning. Though it is not yet known what the center will look like, Oldham called the center a "foundational piece" of the new building. Covey has already met with Anderson, Albrecht, people from the Shingo Prize at USU and people from the Huntsman School of Business, in preparation for taking his new chair- manship. "Today, we're ready to take the next step," Albrecht said Thursday. Covey said he will continue to live in Provo and will travel to Logan to complete his work with USU. Covey's first scheduled appearance will be a closed faculty and staff meeting Feb. 24. Covey will also give the dean's convocation. Last year in Nashville, Covey was the keynote speaker for the Shingo Prize Conference, Oldham said. He said a lot of principles Covey teaches "dovetail" into principles taught in the Shingo Prize at USU. This year's Shingo Prize Conference will take place in Utah, and Covey will, again, be speaking. Major government names are expected to attend this year's conference, Oldham said. Covey received an honorary doctorate degree from USU in 2001. "I feel very identified with Utah State," he said. "I am very honored and humbled and appreciative for this appointment and opportunity to serve at this university." According to Covey's Web site, he has sold more than 20 million books in 38 languages. His book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" was named the No. 1 most influential business book of the 20th century. He said he is also working on releasing 10 more books, three of which he has already completed writing. — peter.brown@aggiemail.usu.edu — rac.ch@aggiemail.usu.edu categories. The first was the Engi-nerd section, where the girls were required to stand in front of the judges and explain the nerdy ensembles they were dressed in. Many of the girls wore brightly colored socks, glasses, and stowed pens and a calculator in one of their many pockets. While describing her outfit, Sanchez said: "My shoes are 3 inches because they make me closer to the stars. I even have planets on my socks." Engineering student and contestant Alyssa Calder said it is important for her to carry her calculator with her at all times as well as her iClicker. The second part of the pageant was titled "New Intern," and the 12 women presented themselves to the judges in their best business attire, and the judges asked questions about their engineering aspirations. "I would want to help people get clean water, because it's a precious commodity that not a lot of people have," Mustoe said. Lastly, the girls walked across the stage in the TSC International Lounge in evening gowns, as pageant hosts Val and Nancy Potter gave a short biography of each of them. When the three portions of the competitions were complete, the 12 girls lined up on stage and were each given a rose for their efforts in the pageant. The Geeky Guy Competition was intertwined throughout the pageant. Six engineering men displayed their talents to the judges and audience in nerd costume. One contestant performed his talent with an atomic wedgie. "My true nerd came out and shined above the rest," said Riley McCleary, engineering student and winner of the Geeky Guy Competition. After strutting down the runway and winking at the judges while dressed in suspenders and high-water pants, McCleary completed his performance on stage with a skit about how male engineers attract girls. For winning the Geeky Guy Competition, McCleary was awarded $25 and an engineering T-shirt. The other contestants performed talents such as an animal-noises act and a musical performance of a song from the credits of a video game. Each male contestant was awarded a pocket protector. Val Potter jokingly said to the audience that the pocket protectors would undoubtedly be quickly worn out by the Geeky Guy Competition contestants. The Miss Engineering Pageant, held in conjunction with the Geeky Guy Competition, was one of the many events that are part of Engineering Week. — catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu Assistant professor of English Christine Cooper-Rompato has just published The Gift of Tongues: Women's Xenoglossia in the Later Middle Ages" with Penn State University Press. Tales of xenoglossia, the instantaneous ability to read, to write, to speak,or to understand a foreign language, have long captivated audiences. Perhaps most popular in Christian religious literature, these stories celebrate the erasing of all linguistic differences and the creation of wider spiritual communities. The accounts of miraculous language acquisition that appeared in the Bible inspired similar accounts in the Middle Ages. Though medieval xenoglossic miracles have their origins in those biblical stories, the medieval narratives have more complex implications. In "The Gift of Tongues," Christine Cooper-Rompato examines a wide range of sources to show that claims of miraculous language are much more important to medieval religious culture than previously recognized and are crucial to understanding late medieval English writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Margery Kempe. Tickets availabk for Brazilian music night At this time of the winter season, a little sunshine and warmth is appreciated. And while he can't do much about the actual temperature, USU music professor Michael Christiansen has plans to turn up the heat in entertainment opportunities. Christiansen and a group of colleagues are featured in "An Evening in Brazil," a concert that features music by Brazilian composers with an emphasis on music from Rio. The event is now in its second year, returning after an extremely popular launch last winter. "An Evening in Brazil" is Friday, Feb. 26, and begins at 7:30 p.m. at USU's Performance Hall. General admission tickets are $15 and student tickets are $5. Tickets are available at the Caine School of the Arts Box Office in the Chase Fine Arts Center, FAC 139B, 797-8022, online or at the door prior to the performance. lCompiled from staff and media reports |