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Show WWW.WSUSIGNPOST.COM THE SIGNPOST VOTE continued from front Now the bill has passed, and potential candidates can use either system in running their campaign. McKeown talked about the origins of the Count My Vote initiative, originally conceived as a way to boost voter participation. “It’s important to have a process where the people can speak,” McKeown said. “When 65 or 70 percent of the people say this, isn’t it important for those who can afford it to step up and change a system to be inclusive as opposed to exclusive? That’s the bottom line of Count My Vote.” Rep. McCay, Utah House sponsor of SB54, spoke of his involvement in the compromise. “I’m maturing as a lawmaker,” said McCay. “You realize when you’re elected that you need to solve tough problems, even if they’re inconvenient for you and your personal view on the way things ought to be and shouldn’t be.” 3 EBOLA continued from front McCay saw the bill as a way to solve one such tough issue. Acumen largely stood against Count My Vote and the compromise SB54, especially since it proposed opening party caucuses to unaffiliated voters when Republican caucuses were restricted to registered Republicans only. “On the one hand, speaking from the party perspective, this is infuriating,” said Acumen. “The state legislature is telling us (the Republican party), a private organization, who we’re going to elect to represent ourselves, which intellectually is absurd to us.” On the other hand, Acumen conceded one point, recognizing the two major political parties in Utah politics. “It’s not the Republicans and the Democrats,” Acumen said. “It’s the Republicans and the unaffiliated party. And that’s an issue.” Acumen said SB54 gives unaffiliated voters a voice in local primaries, a situation he allowed due to Utah’s unique political landscape, though his feelings are mixed on the issue. The panelists participated in a question and answer session after the moderated discussion, fielding questions from local representatives, officials and community members. Carol McNamara, director of the Walker Institute, welcomed the discussion. “Our mission at the Walker Institute is to create opportunities like this panel discussion to invite students and community members from the area to discuss the important issues,” McNamara said. “Understanding how we select our candidates for election is an essential, important part of our civic and political education.” day of her event. “I actually thought it was a lot of fun. The inside of the pumpkin was weird,” she said. At the end of the twohour event, attendees voted on pumpkins to choose their favorite. As a way to thank their hostess, a few NUAMES students stayed to help clean up by folding tables and wiping messes. According to the Davis Programming Board, almost 50 10-pound pumpkins were bought in preparation for the event. “We have quite a lot left over, but we’ll be able to use them for other events,” Natalie Barcelo, the Davis campus vice president, said. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com PUMPKINS continued from front man,” he said. Steven Child heard about the event through a friend. “I thought ‘It’s Halloween!’ I wanted to get out and do something,” he said. Child confessed it had been a while since he carved a pumpkin, so he went with a simple, classic design. Castellanos had a similar case – she had never carved a pumpkin until the WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2014 Many asked how she could have contracted the virus. According to recent news reports, detectives who have interviewed the nurse think there were inconsistencies in the type of protection used. Here at WSU, many students and faculty have had questions and conversations about the virus and how it could affect others in the U.S. “We have taken precautions in the Health Center,” said Shawn McQuilkin, a clinic physician at the Weber State Health Center. “We now obtain a travel history on any patient that presents to the clinic with an illness that includes fever, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness or nausea. If they haven’t traveled outside of the U.S. in three weeks, we can rule out Ebola.” “People have been concerned about Ebola becoming airborne.” ASHLEE HENRY Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com NOW OPEN NOW OPEN OGDEN HARRISON 4315 S. Harrison Blvd. • Ogden, UT 84403 • cornerbakerycafe.com WSU Microbiology Major Students studying in both medical and science fields have also taken a special interest in recent Ebola news. “People have been concerned about Ebola becoming airborne,” said WSU SOURCE: TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE microbiology major Ashlee Henry. “Ebola doesn’t really have the machinery required to infect the tissues it would need to in order to become an airborne virus. That being said, the longer this epidemic continues, the more virus particle replications and chances for mutation occur, which could be worrisome.” When asked about the virus, most seemed very concerned about the possibilities of it spreading further in the U.S. “We need to have a healthy respect for this illness and yet not be overwhelmed by unreasonable fear,” McQuilkin said. “Thankfully, it is not easily contagious like the common cold or influenza. We need to encourage our government and leaders to pursue a rational, aggressive and compassionate response to countries that are affected. Such an effort will prevent thousands of deaths worldwide.” Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com ENGINEERING continued from front Snowball said that without the event, the girls may not have had the opportunity to get involved in engineering. The event is something Snowball feels proud of. “It shows that Weber State cares about all students. And we are one of the STEM leaders in the state,” she said. Dana Dellinger, the outreach and recruiting coordinator for the College of Applied Science and Technology, is running the event this year. Dellinger says it is a great community event that especially reaches out to parents. “As much as it is to encourage the girls, it is supposed to encourage the parents in opening up their minds to engineering,” Dellinger said. Weber State University students who are a part of the Society for Women Engineers will be volunteering for the event, but Dellinger says more volunteers are al- SOURCE: RAINIE INGRAM A group of girls watch as catapults are tested during the Parent-Daughter Engineering Day last year at Weber State University. ways welcome to promote the science programs at Weber State. “We really emphasize women to volunteer, so that these junior high girls can see themselves here at We- ber,” she said. To register for the event, go to the Parent-Daughter Engineering Day page. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com I save lives. You can too! Donate blood-plasma. Biomat USA Earn up to $220 every month! 3073 Harrison Blvd, Ogden . (801) 392-2296 www.BiomatUSA.Grifols.com |