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Show SiTignpos AT A GLANCE EDITORIAL BUSINESS & SCIENCE SPORTS WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY 2 3 4 7 VOL 82 ISSUE 50 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011 WWW.WSUSIGNPOST.COM Blown over PHOTOS BY BRYAN BUTTERFIELD I THE SIGNPOST Workers cut down broken trees and cleared blocked sidewalks after strong winds tore through campus. As well as broken foliage, windows were broken in the Shepherd Union Building, and classes were canceled. Wind storm wreaks havoc By Spencer Garn editor in chief I The Signpost - - Wind gusts as high as 65 mph that swept across campus throughout the morning and early afternoon yesterday caused widespread damage to buildings, cars and trees and prompted Weber State University administrators to cancel afternoon classes. The winds - which were clocked by a National Weather Service station at 92 mph on Mt. Ogden and reached recorded speeds of 102 mph in Centerville - began early See Blown page B5 Response too slow, student says Radio personality coming to Weber By Laurie Reiner news reporter I The Signpost PHOTO BY SPENCER GARN I THE SIGNPOST Riley Bergseng describes how he reacted when a piece of debris struck his car when he was traveling North on 1-15. Bergseng said WSU should have canceled classes before he started traveling to the university so he could give a presentation in one of his classes. University administrator says forecasts didn't call for class cancellations at first By Spencer Garn editor in chief I The Signpost - - As winds raged outside, Riley Bergseng waited in his Salt Lake City apartment to see if Weber State University officials would cancel Thursday-morning classes. They didn't. An hour later - at about 7:30 a.m. - Bergseng said he was traveling north on 1-15 in Centerville toward WSU, when the passenger side of his vehicle was struck by a large piece of debris he thought was a sign. It ripped off the passenger side door handle of his 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee and shattered his windshield. "It sounded like a grenade went off. Just boom! It scared the living crap out of me," Bergseng said. "They should have canceled school. Ugh." He pulled over to the shoulder of the interstate and collected himself before taking the next exit and parkine at a Chevron as station. "I almost died because they didn't cancel school," Bergseng said. "I almost lost my life by getting hit by a big, stupid sign." WSU administrators did tell students via Code Purple to stay inside shortly after 9 a.m. and canceled classes a little more than an hour later. Norm Tarbox, vice president of administrative services, said administrators didn't cancel classes at 6 a.m. - the latest hour they usually will cancel classes - because forecasts didn't predict winds would be so intense and sustained. See Code page B5 On Dec. 10 at 8 p.m., Weber State University is hosting Sister Dottie S. Dixon's Hilarious Holiday Hullabaloo. The event is a fundraiser to raise money for the OUTreach Resource Center in Ogden. At the fundraiser, Sister Dottie S. Dixon will perform a standup routine. Sister Dottie is played by an actor named Charles Frost. This will be the only time she performs this holiday season. Frost portrays Sister Dottie as an active Mormon from Spanish Fork with a gay son named Donnie. She does standup about being a Mormon with a gay son and the trials she faces with that. She addresses topics about the LDS religion and the gay community with humor. She said she is an advocate for all minorities, including the gay community. "The gay and lesbian discussion is everywhere," said Caril Jennings, marketing director for the performing arts at WSU. "It's from the point of view of living in Utah. . . . It's another way of looking at the topic." A board member for OUTreach, Jackson Carter, said Sister Dottie's routines are generally respectful of both the LDS and the gay community. "Her character plays a LDS Relief Society mom," Carter said. "It's like how LDS moms see the gay community. A lot of my friends were concerned about Sister Dottie's material. . . . They were afraid it would be nothing but bashing the LDS religion, but it's all really inclusive. It's clean and fun. There are no bad feelings one way or the other, for either community." Carter has been a board member for the OUTreach program for two years. OUTreach is a program that gives the children of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and questioning commuSee Dottie page B5 |