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Show AUGLANCE Football team looks to tackle issues EDITORIAL _ ^ . _ _ BUSINESS CLASSIFIEDS. see page 6 1 ' 3.. 4,. 5 SPORTS VOL 80 ISSUE 04 WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY 6. WWW.WSUSIGNP0ST.COM TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2009 A personal protest Student ethics committee created By Samantha Neri asst. news editor I The Signpost SOURCE: ASSOCIATFD 1'KESS Peaceful protesters meet a Honduran military blockade as they protest the military takeover Sunday in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. WSU grad leaves states to join Hondurans in political demonstration Nancy Haanstad, the political science chair, keeps in touch with Brandvoid and remembers him as a student Responding to the recent mili- in her classes. When Haanstad heard tary coup, Weber State University about Brandvold traveling to Hondugraduate Neil Brandvold flew into ras, she understood his motives. a volatile Honduras Friday, ready to "This very much fits with Neil. He's protest with the thousands of Hon- very much an activist. He is more than durans gathering in the nation's cap- willing to jump in head first without a ital. Brandvold graduated from WSU splash in any sort of political context. with a bachelor's degree in Political However he's always thoughtful, very Science in 2006, and since WSU he well read, very responsible. I do worry has gone on to work with a non- about his safety a little bit." profit organizaP r o tion in Washvoked by ington D.C. the miliBefore he tary coup, ever attended Brandvold Honduran President Manuel Zelaya WSU or settled left for upset citizens of Honduras by working in D.C, he travHonduras to unlawfully change the nation's coneled abroad to join the stitution to allow presidents to seek rethrough South protests election beyond a single four-year term. America and against the On June 28, a military coup ousted spent two years unconstiZelaya by breaking into his house leadliving in Hont u t i o n al ing Zelaya by gunpoint to the airport on duras. It was his military a plane bound for Costa Rica. Protesters connection to ousting of are demonstrating against the illegal Honduras and ousting of Zelaya by the military, insistPresident the people there ing on the principles of the democratic Manuel that prompted processes. ^ v ^ A ^ ;;^ Zelaya. On Brandvold to The coup has become the biggest June 28th, rush into the political crisis in Central America since Zelaya was country and join the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. In forced at the protestors. the early 1980s Honduras found stabilgunpoint A fellow WSU ity after the end of military rule, but now out of his graduate and the future of democracy for the nation home and Political Science is in limbo. to Tonconmajor, Dani tin Airport Grigsby, joined where he him. She met up with Brandvold the was flown to Costa Rica. Since day he arrived in Honduras's capital then Zelaya gained support in city, Tegucigalpa. By Gina Barker managing editor I The Signpost An unidentified man directs enforcement as the Honduran military plans a retreat from peaceful protesters on Sunday outside the Tegucigalpa airport. HOW IT ALL BEGAN SOUKCF: N'FII. BRANDVOLD See Protest page 5 In January, around the time the 2009 Utah Legislature session was about to start, Weber State University junior Adam Gardiner was approached about starting a project.. "I was approached by the head of the Richard Richards Institute/1 Gardiner said. "He asked me if students would be interested in doing a little project he had in mind which was to take a look at current ethic violations and ethic codes at the Utah Legislature and reform their codes to make them more ethically acceptable." That conversation led to the creation of the Weber State University Student Ethics Committee (WSUSEC). The committee consists of eight students, four democrats and four republicans. "What they did was look at the issues before the legislature, the 2009 session, some of the bills that passed and did some research on other states and their ethic reforms" Nancy Haanstad, the Department Chair of Political Science said. "And then they made their own recommendations for ethic reforms." The group of students put their findings from the research and their recommendations into a 26page paper. "The recommendations they have in here are to benefit the credibility to the public if they have in [the report] are to benefit to the credibility to the public if they have that kind of transparency," Haanstad said. "I think that it will help a lot with the apathy that makes a lot of people feel like there is no point in voting or participating that it is just dirty politics." Since the research and interviewing had to go with the 2009 legislative session, the students had to get as much done as they could within the 45 days the legislature meets. Interviews included contacting the 16 legislatures, 10 of them agreed to interviews and a group of 5 students interviewed the members that were split evenly among the republicans and democrats. "I interviewed quite a few law makers and that was very neat to get their personal insights that you don't get from the media," Gardiner said. The report gives recommendations for four issues: Independent Ethics Commission; campaign See Committee page 4 New academic calendar showing success Summer semester enrollment grows to all-time high during the first semester of schedule change By Spencer Garn sr. news reporter I The Signpost With the second block of its new academic calendar beginning just last week, Weber State University's summer and fall enrollment numbers have already increased substantially. If this increase is maintained and added to in years to come, the WSU President's Council will have met one of its chief goals of higher enrollment when it approved the new academic calendar last October. Higher enrollment would mean that students will graduate quicker and campus facilities will be used more efficiently. The new calendar aims to I increase enrollment, especially during the summer months. The change includes three semesters a year with two blocks embedded in each, which was the result of a two-year study and discussion conducted by university officials and the student senate. The biggest changes came to the summer semester, which now consists of two seven-week blocks in place of the multiple block schedules of previous summers. Michael Vaughn, Provost/VP of academic affairs explained that two blocks instead of several overlapping ones minimize the likelihood of a student finding that they must choose be- tween classes. "It should make it easier for students to get the classes they need because it minimizes scheduling conflicts," Vaughn said. As a result of fewer scheduling conflicts and a poor economy, the number of enrolled students increased by 13.9% to 7,844 students, which is "the most it's ever been up" according to Vaughan. Vaughan also said that the total number of students enrolled for the summer is the largest the university has ever had. The number of full time students, whose eligibility is higher for financial aid, has also increased. See Success page 4 PHOTO BY BRYAN BUTTERFIELD I THl SIGNPOST |