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Show I Festival begins Life B.f Primary caucus overkill » Opinions A6 THE COLLEGE TIMES MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2008 THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF UTAH VALLEY STATE VOLUME XXXVII. NO. 17 UVCOLLEGETIMES.COM Homestate renovation Students assist in dedication ceremonies for state capitol Harrison also places a lot of the event's success on these student volun-" UVSC students, along teers. "We had the largest with dignitaries from student turnout out of all across the state, were the schools that were inamong the prestigious vited. Interesting that out guests that attended the of all the colleges we had Utah state capitol rededi- the longest commute." cation celebrations during Harrison, along with the first week in January. U VSC student Caleb Love, Student volunteers were the student coordinafrom UVSC were present tors from UVSC. Their to serve as escorts and to duties included recruiting provide trivia facts about and organizing volunteers, the capitol building. Ap- publicizing the event, and proximately 40 UVSC stu- involving as many differdents were in attendance ent student groups as poson any given day during sible. Harrison attributes the week long celebration, networking skills to the accounting for the largest success he and Love had turnout from any school in in getting the biggest turnthe state. out. Matt Harrison, a student Some schools reportat UVSC involved in vari- edly declined attending ous leadership positions on this landmark event due to campus, spoke about the travel costs. significance of UVSC's Dignitaries at the event student involvement. "The included UVSC Presistudents of UVSC have re- dent Bill Sederburg and ally shown the caliber of well-known government the student body that we officials from around the have. They were willing to state, as well as religious give their time and I think leaders, including Gordon it reflects the high c a 1 i - B. Hinckley, president of ber of students the Church of Jesus Christ we have atSee CAPITOL • A4 tending this school," said Harrison. Jennie Nicholls to^ani Mark Johnston / College Tlmci Is danger lurking in the shadows of UVSC? Insufficient lighting in certain areas has created questions regarding the safety of students on campus after dark. Campus s After dark, UVSC becomes an entirely different environment Britnee Nguyen Campus safety issues have been on the minds of students across the county the past few months. One issue that is a main concern among UVSC students is feeling secure at night around campus. UVSC has a low crime rate compared to other schools. "There are some things to consider when looking at (safety at) our campus versus other institutions,'1 said Sgt. Justin Sprague, UV Fire Marshall. "The biggest being we do not have on-campus housing which helps keep our crime statistics lower than other institutions." While UVSC has a good safety record, there is still some room for improvement as UVSC transitions into a university. One safety concern is the lack of adequate lighting in certain parking lots and walkways around campus. "Lighting for night students has been a concern for the last couple of years," said Joe Marrott, UVSC Director of Risk Management/Health and Safety. Students walking in poorly-lit areas subject themselves to being easy targets of crime such as robbery or sexual assault. To avoid crime happening at night, UVSC has continually made improvements to the campus over the years. For example, the parking lots north of the campus used to be all gravel with no lighting whatsoever. Legitimate safety concerns were brought up by those on campus and a paved parking lot with sufficient lighting was put in. According to Marrott, over $100,000 has been provided by the administration to bring external lighting to a higher standard. Lisa Davis, a junior at UVSC, is taking a night class this semester and generally feels safe on campus after dark. However, she sees some areas that could still use some improvement. "There are places on campus that 1 definitely avoid after dark, such as the outside walkways around the Gunther Trades Building and some parts of the Computer Science Building. The lighting in these areas is lacking, but more especially, there seems to be significantly less (foot) traffic and thus, I don't feel safe walking alone after dark," said Davis. Davis uses the indoor hallways instead of the outdoor walkways if she has to walk in those areas at night, but Safety tips for night students -Always have another person walk with'you. V : -Try to slay in well-lit areas. • ;, ••••[ . • Be extremely careful while entering cross walks as it is very' difficultto see pedestrians at night. - Be aware of your surroundings and report anything suspicious immediately. Don't wait until you get home to report it. • Keep a cell phone close by with UVSC Dispatch 863-5555 programmed Into your contacts. ... .< . • - ' > s . . ^ . : . ' . ' : . '••; College Marketing Visitsalclakc.com Protecting mans best friend Henry visits UVSC campus to promote animal cruelty awareness College Marketing avoids it when she can by parking in the Institute parking lot where she feels safer with more people around and more lighting in that area. Todd Blake, Assistant to the Student Body President, feels that safety is a concern but should not be dramatized. "I totally feel safe on campus. But I'm a guy, so that may be different for girls. But I also think that a lot of girls on campus overreact to walking around on campus or in the parking lot at night." "Like, if I'm walking behind a girl while leaving the school at 9 or 10 p.m. I can just feel the tension coming from her because she thinks I may be a predator," DaveIba AsMjm Photo t^inor See SAFETY • A5 ^FINDOUT K / MORE '-mi ABOUT/7! CAMPUS f 1 C ATX TV \**rr IAM' IN \ Jnl LI Y 1 vlic. ' 1 m L ^ i -K:~T.. U . Nc-.v--, <xi>tor " ' Henry, along with owner Rhonda Kamper, visited UVSC's campus to help promote animal cruelty awareness and to help get a petition signed to show support for Henry's Law, also known as SB 102. On April 26, 2007 Henry was chased by Hamper's ex-husband, Marc Vincent, with a leaf blower-damaging his eye permanently-and then put into a 200-degree oven for five minutes, leaving him with severe scarring on his chest and fusing his front toes together. Vincent was later charged with intentional animal cruelty, which is presently a class A misdemeanor. The maximum sentence Utah currently has to offer is one year in jail and a $2500 fine. Kamper is now working to see Utah law upgrade animal cruelty to a first offence felony. In the U.S., 43 states have felony provisions for animal cruelty, and Kamper1 s pledge is to 5eeHENRY • A3 Dave iba / College Times Rhonda Kamper, along with her dog, Henry, were collecting signatures for a petition to pass a bill that would demand the necessities for pets in the state. |