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Show VOL 85 . ISSUE 52 THE FRIDAY JANUARY 16, 2015 WWW.WSUSIGNPOST.COM WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Ahora en español The Signpost presenta páginas en español CHEAP WEEKLY: GOSPEL MUSIC FEST IS FREE page 7 CCEL reaches million-hour milestone By MATT KUNES news editor | @stacksandreels PHOTO BY LICHELLE JENKINS | THE SIGNPOST Ahora The Signpost traduce articulos para las personas que hablan español cada Viernes. Encuentra el articulo de la fotografia y otras historias es la página cuatro. Read The Signpost in Spanish on pages 4-5. Look for it this and every Friday. Weber State University has been recognized for a second time by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as one of a few universities in the nation that is engaged in its community. The Carnegie Foundation recently renewed WSU’s Community Engagement Classification for 2015, showing that Weber State continues to represent an “excellent alignment among mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices that support significant commitment to and demonstration of community engagement,” in the words of Carnegie President Anthony Bryk. Weber State first received that designation in 2008. The Carnegie Foundation classifies all colleges according to their focus, whether on teaching or research, Brenda Kowalewski, director of Flu hits hard this winter, especially among children By LIZ RUTTENBUR s&t editor | @LizRuttenbur Concern is rising about the flu epidemic that has claimed the lives of children across the United States. As of Jan. 3, 26 children have died from flu this season, which began in September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The number of hospitalizations in Utah from the flu are the highest they have been in the last four seasons. With three to four months remaining in this year’s flu season, the CDC is unsure whether or not the season has peaked yet. SOURCE: TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICES 2014 Jennifer Baxter, a computer science major at Weber State A map of influenza (flu) in the United States. Utah is experiencing a University and mother of three, high volume of flu cases this season. voiced her concern about the rise in child deaths. Baxter has national baseline of 2 percent. she takes them to the hospital. visited the doctor’s office more The baseline is created by Levels of flu are high in Utah, often this year for her two el- calculating the average per- according to the CDC, with dest children than she has in centage of patient visits for flu- some counties higher than previous years, she said. like illnesses during the non- others. The baseline in Region “As a mother of a special flu weeks for the previous three 8, which includes Utah, is 1.3 needs child who tends to get seasons. percent and the percent of flurespiratory problems when she Although her family gets like illness is 4.4 percent this gets sick, it’s very concerning,” yearly vaccinations, Baxter season, well above the baseBaxter said. said this year they seemed to line. This puts Utah in the red In January, the CDC report- have missed the mark. for flu activity. ed a decline in the number of “They’ve all been sicker Davis, Weber and Morgan people seeing their healthcare than is typical this year,” she counties report low-to-modproviders for flu-type sickness- said. Baxter tests the children’s erate levels of influenza comes to 5.6 percent. However, this blood oxygen level when they See FLU page 3 still remained well above the get sick and if it goes below 90, SOURCE: WEBER STATE OFFICE OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS The Carnegie Foundation aims to advance teaching and learning. Their Community Engagement classification distinguishes institutions of higher education that are committed to community engagement. WSU’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, said. The Community Engagement classification is different from others because it is an elective. Schools have to apply for the distinction. Currently, only 361 out of about 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States share the classification, according to an official statement from WSU. Five other institutions in Utah have the designation: Salt Lake Community College, Southern Utah University, The University of Utah, Utah Valley University and Westminster College, according to the foundation’s website. Since the classification is elective, Weber State had to show the Carnegie Foundation evidence of significant community engagement. “We had to present the case that we are a community-engaged institution of higher education,” said Kowalewski. “(We said) here’s our data, take a look at us, this is how we’ve woven (community engagement) into our campus culture and infrastructure.” See CCEL page 3 Tuition: Always rising By EMILEE ATKINSON news reporter | @CaptainShadow45 Films from the ‘80s are full of teens and their struggles in deciding to go to college. Notably, you never hear them wondering whether or not they could pay for it. Today those who want to attend college have to ask themselves this every day. Sure there are options available to help pay for college, but there was a time when a student could work one minimum-wage job and make it through on their own. According to CollegeBoard. com, tuition and fees for a private, nonprofit four-year college cost $10,273 in 197475. They also state that for 2014-15, the same type of college will cost students about $31,231. There are efforts in place to try to make college affordable to all. For example, after World War II the GI Bill was put into place so veterans could go to school. There are programs like Dream Weber, which supplements students who have an income of $40,000 a year or less. There is also the option of financial aid, grants and scholarships. With all of these programs however, many still have a hard time paying for school. One problem according to npr.org is that too many people started going to school at once. The GI Bill got the veterans going to school while the Higher Education Act of 1965 pushed for greater college success for women and minorities. This time was great for students because they could work a steady part-time job while having the government help them out. Around 1970 things started to change because of inflation, a shaky economy and an oil embargo. College tuition began to climb, and loans replaced grants for middle-class college students. See TUITION page 3 In honor of Martin Luther King Day The Signpost will not publish Monday. IN THE SIGNPOST CALENDAR ....................... 2 SPANISH ...................... 4-5 FASHION FRIDAY .................. 7 UTAH'S GREAT SNOW page 6 |