OCR Text |
Show 1995 Crystal Crest still on schedule Brian Nicholson 77e Signpost The palace in the trees The new Bountiful temple is located about nine miles north of Salt Lake City in the foothills of Bountiful. The temple opened Jan. 17. The Bountiful temple is the LDS Church's 47th temple in operation, and Utah's eighth. Residence halls' programming assistant contributes to dorm life R rii ni I l-VLf UFi. 0: I r -"7 1 1 S C I i.l "anC s : ' la -X ....mill 11 Smiling Bente Kerr, is the first programming assistant for the residence halls. ByJennifer Duraisingam Signpost senior reporter Whenever you see a smiling face at the residence halls, for most of the residents Bente is what comes to mind. She's a person who is always smiling and always around when anyone needs her. Bente Kerr a junior at Weber State University, has lived in the resident halls from the time she was a freshman and has loved every minute of it, she said. "It's just so much fun meeting so many people and it's nice living with all your friends around you," Kerr said. "I love it so much that I managed to convince two of my sisters to come up here next year," she said. Kerr became a Resident Assistant (R.A.) in her second year at WSU. This year she became the Programming Assistant (P.A.). The Programming Assistants' job is the first of i ts kind at the residence halls. The job was created because the management at the residence halls are always looking for ways to make sure the residents are having fun and that living in the residence halls is "not as bad as some people think," Kerr said. "The job was created to give residents something fun to do," Kerr said. "The activities bring the residents together, to bond and just have a good time," she said. The P.A. usually has to plan one "mega" event a quarter. This event is done with the help of the 16 R.A.s and the residence themselves."Most of the ideas come from the residents and we just expound on them," Kerr said. For example, the county fair that we had at the residence halls this quarter, was given as a suggestion from one of the residents, she said. The P.A. also writes a newsletter that is distributed to the residents, twice a month. The newsletter usually has things that will keep the residents informed of what is happening around the residence halls. "I usually have things that will inform the residents of what is going on as well as spotlights on residents, campus recreation information, cabin fever column, poets corner, stories and others," Kerr said. "The newsletter has anything that is exciting," she said. Kerr is also required to do desk hours at either the Wasatch or Promontory Towers front desk, so that she can answer any questions the residents have. Kerr gets to come up with fun projects and she has her own office hours as well. "Once we rented the whole Ice Sheet for the residents alone," Kerr said. "We also had doughnuts and juice just so we could wish the residents luck for their final exams," she said. Kerr said there are some advantages to being a P.A. She said that like R.A.s, she too gets to have her own room and a meal plan from Marriot food services. The room comes with amicro-fridge, which is a microwave attached to a refrigerator.Kerr also receives a tuition waiver. Kerr said, her job is not the only thing that is new at the residence halls. She said there have been new picnic tables that have been built behind LaSal residence hall. Both Stansbury and LaSal have had new self-cleaning ovens and refrigerators put in. Promontory Towers (PT) have had new bunkable beds, new carpet, new heaters and air conditioning units and larger closet space. The other change, will be See Residence page 5 By Jena Voris Signpost staff writer Though the Crystal Crest Awards Ceremony budget may change, the tradition lives on at Weber State University. Each year the budget for Crystal Crest is determined during the prior year. Modifying the budget to meet their needs requires the Studentbody Executive Vice-President and the Director of Student Activities to get approval from the student senate. Diana Dillingham, ASWSU Executive Vice President, and Judy Hurst, Director of Student Activities, used the suggestions from the Student Fee Recommendation Committee to cut costs for this year's Crystal Crest scheduled for June 3. The trophies this year are a little different but will be one-half the cost of last year's trophies. The other major change is reducing the size of the programs. Nate Nielsen, graphic artist for Student Activities, had the idea to cut the program in half , which has been the same for 13 years. "These are the biggest cost modifications for this year and will be more likely to carry over to next year," Dillingham said. To increase student a wa reness, the Crystal Crest committee is hitting publicity really hard this year. "We hope that the added publicity will encourage students to attend and see what a quality program we have," Dillingham said. The Crystal Crest Awards are Weber State University's "Academy Awards." This is a chance for the students, faculty, staff and community to see the caliber of students attending WSU and the quality of programs we have, she said. "Crystal Crest is a real bridge between the community and the university," Dillingham said. The Crystal Crest budget has been set at $25,000 for next year. Audrey Davidson, ASWSU Executive Vice President elect, feels that is an excessive amount from student fees. Davidson and Hurst are considering possible modifications to cut costs for next year's program. One possibility is to eliminate the reception before the award ceremony. Davidson would also like to eliminate paying for tuxedos for the committee members. "Student fees should not pay for them to wear a tux," Davidson said. Bringing in local entertainment or Master of Ceremonies instead of outside entertainers is also being considered. Other ideas are in the works, Davidson said, such as trying things that have never been tried before. Ideas include getting feedback from the students via e-mail and getting the count of how many students attended Crystal Crest this year. "This is a great program, recognizing the outstanding quality and talents students have," Davidson said. "We should carry on with this fine tradition, but find ways to be moreresourceful." WSU's diversity grade ranks high, compared to other universities By Wynne Rasmussen Signpost staff writer The Weber State University administration is making gains in academic excellence through broadening its efforts in its faculty selection process. In 1989, the administration at WSU began a movement to increase the diversity of the faculty on campus. In October 1994, the administration released the WSU Diversity Initiative. It gave an outline of the goals of WSU, to diversify its campus. "Basically what we've been trying to do is get the best candidate and broaden the pool of potential candidates by looking in unusual places and being open to new possibilities," said Robert Smith, WSU provost. "The WSU Diversity Initiative is an insti titution-wide effort to improve educational quality through creation of an inclusive environment that assists everyone associated with the university to reach their full potential and contribute their best to the achievement of the university mission," the Diversity Statement of Purpose said. On average, WSU ranks high on the scale of female faculty members according to studies done by academic affairs officer Lou Jean Flint. Flint has conducted the Utah System of Higher Education study since 1983, from which WSU has consistently stayed on top. In 1994, WSU had a female faculty ratio of 35.29 percent. This was a slight increase from 1993. The statewide average was 29 percent. The University of Utah ranked 22 percent, Utah State University had ratio of 22 percent and Southern Utah University had 24 percent. Despite the high number of female faculty there is still a demand for growth in the area of minority faculty. The WSU faculty has a minority ratio of 9 percent. WSU has been advertising available positions nationwide to bring in better people. "We've been hiring some really good people in the last three years." Smith said. |