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Show Golf places 15th in tournament ...page 6 Upcoming benefit concert for tropical disease awareness ...page 6 AT A GLANCE EDITORIAL A&E SPORTS CLASSIFIEDS 2 3 4 6 7 VOL 81 ISSUE 69 FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011 WWW.WSUSIGNPOST.COM WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Commuter Crisis By Thomas Alberts sr. news reporter I The Signpost Will gas prices threaten WSU's commuter culture? Professor honored with ed. award By Corie Holmes asst. news editor I 77?e Signpost Weber State University professor and chair of the Dental Hygiene Department Stephanie Bossenberger received the John A. lindquist Award and spoke about the community projects she has brought to the Dental ^Hygiene program at WSU. The John A lindquist Award is an award for professors who provide outstanding community service opportunities for students. These professors go out of their way to create service for their students. The award was created in honor of John A. Lindquist, a huge advocate of WSU as well as the Ogden area. "I know that the faculty creates service opportunities for their students," said Kathryn Lindquist, the daughter of John* A. Lindquist and established the award. "They put so much more energy in their lesson plans and try to find community partners for the best possible hands on experiences for their students. This is the perfect combination of skills and devotion in a faculty to honor my father in the areas he loves the most." Bossenberger received the award because she has enhanced community service learning in the required curriculum for the students. She said she wants her students to gain a commitment for See Award page 5 Cultural clashes in the Middle East may change the culture of Weber State University's commuter campus. Rising gas prices have been a perennial issue brought up in the United States since World War II; however, most recently, protests in many Arabic countries and a civil war in Libya have brought gas prices skyrocketing again. WSU students are already coping with the cost of gas on top of their other expenses. Among their options is public transportation provided by the Utah Transit Authority, but there are problems cited by both UTA and students. Another option would be on-campus housing; however, many - including a WSU Professor - say they believe near-campus housing would be a more likely solution and that the commuter culture of campus will not likely change in the future. Over the past 40 years, gas prices in the United States have steadily risen from 36 cents per gallon in 1970 to $2.35 per gallon in 2009. During this same period, the arhount of imported oil from foreign countries, particularly countries in the Middle East and North Africa, has risen from 24 percent to 65 percent within the same time frame. In the past month, gas prices in Utah haverisen35 cents. The reasons for this rise are usually cited by experts as having mostly to do with the current turmoil occurring in many North African and Middle Eastern nations as a result of mass protests against decades-old regimes in those countries. Most recently, the nation of Libya has been torn apart in a civil war between the current Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and rebel forces. Since the gas price increases, Gerry Carpenter of UTA Media Relations said there has been a 4.4 percent rise or about 10,000 more people using bus lines that service WSU in previous two months as compared to January and February of2010. Alex Gerrish is a sophomore who takes the bus from Fruit Heights to WSU. Gerrish said he has to live with his family as a result of only recently returning from his service mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He plans to move closer to WSU's campus, but until then, will use public transportation because it is cheaper than driving. He said he also sees more and more of his fellow students using public transportation to get to campus. "Whether or not they ought to (take public transportation)," he said, "I think their hand is going to be forced because they just aren't going to be able to afford it anymore." Jennifer Summy is a WSU freshman who lives in Clearfield with her two children. Slje chooses to live in See Gas page 5 From general to specialized General education credits gain integrated, global focus By ShayLynne Clark & Kirstin Rolstad news editor, sr. news reporter 177?e Signpost Earlier in the legislative session, Utah's legislatorsthreatenedtostop"degreestonowhere" by putting the kibosh on state subsidization for students who have more than 120 credit hours. In an economic situation as seemingly hostile to students as this one, various organizations as well as students are raising questions about the validity of general /e:' ^,-f education/ classes. K ^Its what W a l k i n g distinguishes through the halls of Weber universities and State University, colleges from one is bound to hear complaints trade schools about general and other forms education classes. These of vocational sentiments are education." echoed when google-ing "hate general - Justin Owen education WSU Student courses," there , •are over 3 million" -,. j \ hits, in addition ^ -to the sentiment having its own Facebook page. Harvard University set the standard for general education in secondary schooling, called1 the distribution model, approximately a century ago. This model combined the student's chosen major, called "depth," and the distribution requirements, called "breadth." Now, however, secondary schools have started to move past that model, opting for updated requirements for undergraduate students. "I think that the idea of breadth education is a good thing," said Justin Owen, a WSU student majoring in Geography with an enviroftmental studies emphasis. "It's what distinguishes universities and colleges from trade schools and other forms of vocational education. I also think that Weber State could do a better job in the quality of education classes." In 2009, a survey conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that many undergraduate institutions are now adding an "integrative" feature to the Harvard-originated breadth requirements. These integrative requirements are things like specific programs for freshman and seniors, as well as crossdisciplinary programs and courses in addition to the , typical introductory general ,. class. "It used to be that people SOURCE: SIGNPOST FILE PHOTO held only one or two jobs Weber State University students get advised by their general educain their lifetimes, but now tion advisor. we know ifs in the teens, at least," said Dr. Krantz, WSU English professor. "If they're going to hold all of these different kinds adopted integrative features to the original of jobs, what kind of education are they going to distribution model. This survey found that, nationwide, there need in order to transition from onefieldof work to are many inconsistencies with requirements another? A very narrow focus on the undergraduate for general education credits. Only 11 percent level is not going to prepare them to do that kind of of schools reported that they were not making transitioning." revisions to the distribution model of general In bachelor's programs across the nation, only education requirernents, 30 percent are assessing 14 percent are still on the distribution model for general education, whereas 68 percent have See Gen Ed. page 5 |