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Show liege lime/ Ihe Jtnh Vnllp.v State The independent voice of students at Utah Valley State ^^^ MONDAY*DECEMBER 5*2005 WWW.NETXNEWS.NET VOLUME X X X I V N O . XV Why is she smiling? 525,600 reasons to watch Being Norm Nielsen Is the movie version of Rent worth seeing? Decide for yourself, by reading Michelle Walker's review in Life on A9. Coach Cathy Nixon and her squad, won the most important game in the programs history last week. Read the story on A12. Get inside the head of community member Norm Nielsen andfindout what changes he hopes to see on campus. Read it on A5 Working for change in Uganda John Ditzler Exeutive Editor Chairperson of the Ugandan Democratic Party, Kiwanuka Lawrence Nserekol and the party's Publicity Secretary Emmanuel Ssensulike, visited UVSC in an effort to raise American awareness about the current socio-political challenges facing the people of Uganda. Nserekol is a political refugee in this country, living in New York since 1995, where he has been working to further peace and democratic reform in his home country of Uganda. He works from NY because he feels it is still unsafe for him to return home, and tells the story of how his father was killed in Uganda in retaliation for the son's political activism. Nserekol is asking UVSC students to educate themselves about the challenges Africans, and particularly Ugandans, currently face as the country is torn apart by warfare, and a thousand people a week die from starvation. "The difference between Uganda and North Korea and Red China is just a matter of International exposure, the evils in Uganda have just not been as exposed as the evils in North Korea and ties registered. "These, we in China," Nserekol said. Nserekol described Ugandas Internal- think, are red herring politly Displaced Persons Camps, "where ical organizations that the the government, under the guise of government has registered fighting the so-called rebels, has re- for the sole purpose of conmoved citizens from their communities fusing the general populaand placed them in what I personally tion," Nserekol said. call concentration camps." "Years ago, the govern"Uganda has been a one party state ment formed two red herfor the last twenty years up to a couple ring political parties to run Courtesy Photo/DPUSA of months ago when through court ac- in the elections," Nserekol said. "By doABOVE: Ugandan children in Internally Displaced-Pertion, brought about largely by the Dem- ing so, they assured that whoever won, son Camps, where according to a UN report released ocratic Party of Uganda, the political the current government would still be in August, 1000 people are dying of starvation each space was opened for other parties," in power. By doing this they also gave week. DPUSA Chair Nserkel calls these relocation Nserekol said. "But the environment is their reign a false air of legitimacy." camps "concentration camps", saying children are still hostile." recruited against their will by soldiers and women and Nserekol is urging the international young girls are systematically raped. "The United States is the biggest foreign government. funding regimes See UGANDA* A3 in Africa, we think it's important — that people in this country get to know what is going on over there "The difference between Uganda and North Korea and Red and around the world and talk to China is just a matter of international exposure, the evils in their representatives, because at the end of the day it's a very small Uganda havejust not been as exposed as the evils in North world," Nserekol said. "Whatever Korea and in China/' happens to us, affects you, and vice versa." Nserekol estimates that there are Kiwanuka Lawrence Nserekol currently about five legitimate political parties in Uganda although he says there are 24 political parUganda Democratic Party UVSC adds four new degrees Is The War Justified? Jon Long rise in the number of enrollment to both departments. The increased enrollment will A billboard outside of north bring more tuition to help pay Orem advertises Utah Valley for the extra cost of the deState as having 44 degrees grees addition would require. and rising. This is an ad pitch Although many of the coursfor the current number of es the degrees would require bachelor's degrees offered; are already offered here at they might have to repaint it. UVSC, but as of now only as The school that is on a mis- electives. sion to modernize the existThe current degrees offered ing campus, and marching at Utah Valley State have towards university status, has been comprehensive and just approved proposals for have attracted a lot of wouldfour more degrees to be add- be students to the school, ed to the schools curriculum. such as the nursing and aviaThe addition of bachelor's tion programs already offered degrees in Information Sys- to students. Degrees and optems, Theatrical Arts for the portunities that have attracted Stage and Screen, Theatrical a significant number of stuArts Education and Forensic dents from other parts of Utah Science would bring the total as well as a number of out of number of degrees offered to state and foreign exchange 48. students to the campus. With the administration's With the addition of the plan to add the proposed Digfour new degrees faculty in both theater and information ital Learning Center and resystems departments expect a vamp the look of Utah Valley News Writer Justified Unjustified o a. SophofToro Sartors Class War support survey Jon Long News Writer In 2003, America sent armed forces into Iraq. When the war began initial support was largely in favor of war, but today support has dropped and a call to return troops home has been high across the nation. Douglas L. Thompson, a math instructor at UVSC, had his students survey 930 day time undergraduate students from both BYU campus in Provo and UVSC's campus in Orem on their opinions of the War in Iraq today and what direction it should follow in the future. The survey showed that about 15 percent of the students polled believe that the United States was justified initially to send armed forces into Iraq. Thompson said he expects this figure to be much higher than the national average, though he has not seen any national figures that would allow an "apples to apples comparison". When asked whether the U.S. should immediately withdraw its troops only 16 percent of students polled believed that the U.S. should immediately withdraw all troops, in comparison with a national survey that show 53 percent of the American people believe that the U.S. should bring home the troops as soon as possible, the survey was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on October 25, 2005. This is the first time that a majority of Americans have held this view since the wars start in 2003, reported Rasmussen. The trend in opinion nation wide has changed since the initial start of the war, but here in Utah Valley student support for the war remains high, overall only 19 percent of surveyed students have changed their mind about the justification of the war. An interesting comparison is that 38 percent have changed their mind in favor of the war and staying the course, which is in opposite view of the national opinion. Thompson wondered if a high percent of out-ofstate students came to school with opinions closer to the norm and had their opinions affected by the conservative nature of Utah County. There is how ever a varying significance in those undergraduates surveyed. Thompson's students broke down the survey's question pertaining to the sentiment towards the war and its justification into student classes. The graph showed that freshmen held a higher percentage of approval for the war then seniors, the graph illustrates that sentiment declines in students with the rise of each grade. Although nationally the sentiment is to return the troops home as soon as possible the feeling to stay the course and true to the goal of democracy that was shown to the Iraq people resides high at both the UVSC campus and the BYU campus here in Utah County. The survey conducted was part of a class assignment by students currently attending UVSC. The survey margin sampling error of +3% and a margin of error for changed opinions is +1-1%, State campus, including new buildings and adding to existing ones, the administration is setting its sights on university status. When compared to 15 other schools, Utah Valley State has been doing homework on what it will take to achieve its goal of university status, which would require the school to offer beginning graduate programs. The new degrees under proposal to be offered in the future would broaden the choices offered in the fields of theater and information systems. Current students attending the school would have more incentive to stay and future students looking to study in the new fields would be more attracted to the school. As the school moves forward in these efforts, Utah See DEGREES-A2 Former UVSC instructor admits sexually abusing SLCC student Vegor Pedersen torney Donna Kelly said that a trial would no longer be News Writer needed because Wilkins was After nearly two years of de- willing to plead guilty to lesslays, a former UVSC instruc- er charges. "It's a very good tor finally pleaded guilty to resolution," Kelly said to recharges of attempted forcible porters last week. sex abuse in a case involving Last year Wilkins' arrest a Salt lake Community Col- prompted many on campus to lege student. question why a convicted sex Roger Wilkins, who at the offender was allowed to work time of his arrest in February at UVSC. Twelve years ago 2004 was splitting his time Wilkins had been convicted between SLCC and working of a misdemeanor involving as an adjunct faculty member a young boy, and at the time in UVSC's American Sign of his hire his history was Language program, was fac- available on the Utah Sex Ofing charges of attempted rape fender Registry. and forcible sodomy in a trial Now that Wilkins has adthat was supposed to begin mitted to these amended this week. charges there is a possibilDeputy Utah County At- ity that he will .not serve any Visit us wWne at www.netKrtews.net Courtesy Photo/Dept of Corrections Former UVSC instructor Roger Wilkins. time in prison for his crimes. Kelly plans to recommend 60 days of jail time. Wilkins is scheduled to be sentenced in February. |