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Show W E B E R S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y Cell .phone usage impairs driving see page 6 MONDAY, MARCH 21,2005 wsusignpost.com VOLUME 67 ISSUE 73 Parking ticket appeal process under review Committee to investigate ticket fee reductions By MARIA VILLASENOR managing editor | The Signpost During a Student Senate meeting Feb. 28, Josh Borges described a situation in which some students who received but don't deserve a parking ticket pay S3, and others who earned one pay the same price. "One of the-ideas that we want to address is if it's an appealable fine and it was given in error, why is there even any fine being paid, for whatever reason. Or if it's, 'You got a fine, you were parked illegally,' why is it being reduced?" said the business and economics senator days after the senate meeting. "Kind of the idea we want to look at is, 'Why are we reducing fines, and are they legitimate reasons?' If someone parked illegal in A Chevy Astro van sits in the A-9 parking lot with a parking citation. The WSU parking committee will meet Wednesday to review the student parking appeals process. error, just appealing to the appellate judge shouldn't be a reason to have it reduced. And if the appellate judge has a reason to reduce it, then the question is, "Does he reduce it or does he just throw it out altogether?" Borges sits on a 12-member parking committee that has explored other issues at Weber State University; mainly, shuttle buses and free parking at the Dee Events Center. This Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the fourth floor of the Stewart Stadium Skybox, Borges and other members of the committee will meet to discuss the citation appeals and other parking matters. Lisa Allen-Martinez, Parking Services manager and committee member, said that some flexibility is needed on campus, but to make an appeal, not out of innocence but just to reduce the fine amount, "that doesn't make sense; it doesn't seem right to me,"she said. Doug Richards was appointed as WSU's parking appeals hearings officer by the Utah attorney general's office. "It's kind of a tough deal," Richards said, "to try and be sensitive, and do, again, what's right. There's a balance there for Parking Services and the recipient of that ticket. So we'll hear what they've got to say about it." Richards said the $3 fee arose from a past situation in which a fine was dropped if a student had a pass but either See Parking page 3 International student 'Not So Extreme Makeover' enrollment declines Students transform ByCORYDUCLOS sr. news reporter | The Signpost State and federal laws are hitting home for several international students at Weber State University. These laws are making it harder to come to WSU and harder to live in Utah. Some international students at WSU feel there are several obstacles blocking their efforts to gain a quality education. Since 9-11, homeland security has tightened, its control on international students. "At times we've had 400 (international) students at Weber; now we only have about 200," said Morteza Emami, WSU International Students Services coordinator. The problem is not isolated to WSU. Visas are harder obtain, and international students are finding better opportunities in countries other than the United States. "A lot of students end up going to alternative countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and England," Emami said. Along with the difficulty of entering the country, students are finding it increasingly difficult to pay for enrollment at WSU. See International page 5 Concealed weapons permit class to be held on campus ByKRISTEN HEBESTREET special assign, editor | The Signpost Guns are not new to the Weber State University campus, according to Students for the Second Amendment Club staff adviser Nickie Wagner. "There are more people carrying guns on campus than you are aware of," Wagner said. "I know personally 15 people." Students for the Second Amendment is offering, a class at WSU for the Utah concealed carry weapon permit. Craig Ball from Impact Guns will teach the three-hour class in the Shepherd Union Building Lair on Monday from 7 to 10 p.m. The class costs $25 for students who belong to the Second Amendment Club and $65 fornonmembers. Wagner cited an entire WSU faculty committee in which each member applied a few years ago for a concealed weapons permit after a threatening incident with a student. She declined to share what details she knew and said the story might See Weapons page 5 classmate's home over spring break By NATALIE CLEMENS edilor in chief | The Signpost Even though it wasn't part of ABC's hit show "Extreme Home Makeover," the remodel of a Roy family's home by Weber State University students during spring break may have meant just as much. More than a dozen students associated with the Weber State University-Davis Campus Student Council and the WSU Student Association of Parson Construction Management Technology program met in Roy to participate in the "Not So Extreme Makeover" project sponsored by the Davis Campus. "I think that we've been given a lot, and we wanted to give back a little bit of what we've been given," said Sandy Oliva, WSU construction management technology student. During the Davis Campus Student Council's December retreat, the idea for a home makeover was introduced, "It just seemed to fit," said Rob Smith, WSU senior and member of the Davis Campus Student Council and the Student Association of Construction Management Technology. He said the council was Weber State University African-American Student Senator Xerona Raines helps WSU student Lorin Bishop makeover his home and yard during spring break. brainstorming ideas for spring break, and the Not So Extreme Makeover idea caught fire. Beginning the first week of spring semester, students attending the Davis Campus were asked to submit applications to have their home receive a makeover. Lorin Bishop decided to submit an application as a birthday present for his wife. "It was my wife's birthday," Bishop said. "... I had just started school and I had been out of work for a couple of months. I didn't have anything I could do for her." Smith said out of all the applications, the Bishops' See Home page 3 |