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Show A4 NEWS Photo Courtesy of Christopher Loumeau Dear Incoming UVU Student, Welcome to day one of your Utah Valley University experience ! More than likely there are a number of questions running through your head right now. I remember being a little apprehensive when I walked through our campus doors for the first time and having so many questions about everything at UVU. This being my fourth and final year here at school, I wanted to leave you with a few things I've learned in my experience. I came here trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with my life and with only a few people I knew well enough to consider friends. I was anxious to figure out my major, and to find some way of getting involved in school outside the classroom. I was searching for balance in my life and for something to really get me excited to come to school every day. I met some people on campus and decided to get involved in Student Government. I remember feeling very out of place at first and wondering how I was going to fit in to this whole new group of people. I pushed myself to work though the social discomfort and just try to make new friends. Slowly but surely I figured out where I could contribute within Student Government and I started to make some close friends. I was networking Dear Readers, at a rapid pace, and at the end of my first year, I applied for another position that was more challenging for me. This pattern continued until last March when I was elected as the new Student Body President for 2011-2012. The reason I share this with you is because I know what it feels like to feel overwhelmed at college. I understand someone who isn't sure what they want to study in school. I get it when students explain to me that they want to get more involved or make more friends on campus but they aren't sure where to start. I've been there. The best advice I can give to you, regardless of who you are or where you've come from, is to find your place on campus. I promise that there is a place at UVU that fits your interests and personality. It doesn't have to be Student Government. It can be one of the 150 clubs we have on campus, the school newspaper, UVU honors, the Center for the Advancement of Leadership or International Center. Get out of college more than the education leading to an eventual diploma. I promise that if you find a way to learn and grow in extra-curricular activities outside of the classroom, your stay at UVU will be one the greatest times of your life. In the preface to a history of the New York Times, Henry Steel Commager said, "Here is the living disproof of the old adage that nothing is as dead as yesterday's newspaper... This is what really happened, reported by a free press to a free people. It is the raw material of history; it is the story of our own times." Though our audience is not as massive as the esteemed New York Times, the stories, and in essence the history, we write of our beloved school and its students is a humble privilege and burden we take upon ourselves as the UVU Review. I once had a journalism professor say journalism is a public service. Just as a fireman fights the blazes of a burning building, to protect and rescue, a journalist seeks the truth and acts as a voice for the people, to speak their concern and injustice. It is also a journalist's responsibility to inform, enlighten and even at times, entertain the audience they serve. Though no man-made product is perfect, since their beginning on this continent, newspapers have been warriors on the side of the people. In true dramatic style, newspapers made their debut in America in 1690. The short lived publication was called "Publick Occurrences," but upon first distribution, the publisher was immediately arrested and every copy found was destroyed, as it was printed without authority. Fourteen years later, John Campell, a postmaster created the first successful newspaper, the "Boston News-Letter." During the Revolutionary War, newspapers were a major force in influencing public opinion, which ultimately led to political independence from England. And in 1791, when the Bill of Rights was ratified and freedom of the press was granted, American newspapers took their central role in national affairs, became a platform to express the voice to the people and took their place as watchdog over the government, to prevent it from gaining too much power. George Washington once said, "For my part I entertain a high idea of the utility of periodical publications...I consider such vehicles of knowledge more happily calculated than any other to preserve the liberty, stimulate the industry and ameliorate the morals of a free and enlightened people." It has been several hundred years since George Washington made that statement, but in my opinion, it still holds true. And as the staff of the UVU Review we are pleased to provide such "periodical publications." We as a staff have worked tirelessly, long hours over the course of the summer to create a newspaper and magazine for the UVU campus, and we are eager to continue to provide the students and faculty of UVU a quality publication throughout the 2011-2012 school year. For many of us, creating the UVU Review and the V Magazine is a labor of love. And though we are all still students, learning as we go, we work hard to publish the best articles, the most compelling photos, all in a crisp design. We work hard because we love what we do, and we want to give you, our audience, the best. We look forward to sharing this year with you, telling your stories, hearing your concerns, enjoying your activities, and, together, writing the history of UVU. Sincerely yours, Andrea Whatcott Editor-in-Chief of the UVU Review UVU BOOKSTO Your Campus. Your Needs. Your Store. WEA YOUR UVU COLORS TEMBER 2, 2011 SE COLORS DAY WEAR YOUR COLORS Store Hours Mon. - Thur Friday Saturday Sunday 7:45 am - 7:00 pm 7:45 am - 5:00 pm 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Closed f Find us on Facebook *Join the UVU Bookstore on Facehook for secret deals and/or prizes. |