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Show W E B E R Identity theft strikes former WSU student S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y Signpost see page 5 MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2006 Tennis ends season with victory see page 6 wsusignpost.com VOLUME 68 ISSUE 89 Walking in another's shoes Student presents on Relay raises funds for Capitol Hill By Cory Duclos news editor | The Signpost A required project in a general education course is giving one Weber State University student the chance to showcase her research at a national level. General education sophomore Kalista Francom was chosen to present her findings about the Indian Child Welfare Act at the Posters on the Hill event in Washington, D.C. tomorrow. Francom was chosen as one of only 60 students out of more than 3,000 applicants from across the nation. Francom began her research to fulfill a research paper requirement in her English 2010 class, taught by adjunct English professor and director of the WSU Office of Sponsored Projects Chris Millard. Millard said she was impressed with Francom's initial paper and classroom presentation and urged her to participate in the Undergraduate Research Symposium in spring 2005. Francom later applied for and received a grant from the WSU Office of Undergraduate Research to do further research. "She went to Indian reservations and interviewed moms who had relinquished babies for adoption into white families," Millard said. "And then she talked to adults who had been adopted." Millard then urged Francom to apply for Poster on the Hill, although Millard said she knew Francom would be up against tough competition. "I never dreamed she would be accepted," Millard said, "because most of them are juniors and seniors anal they are. really very focused on their research area. But her project was so good that they accepted her." Francom said she was equally skeptical about her chances. "I applied, thinking the chances were not that great," Francom said, "so I was very surprised." Francom said her research involved looking at the effects of Native American children being placed in the homes of white families by social workers. Before 1978, according to documentation, 25 to 35 percent of Native American children were placed with white families, although the real numbers may be even greater. "In some situations, the parents died and other odd reasons," Francom said. "But a lot of it was just Indians being taken ... they were taking a lot of children and the Indians protested enough that they finally passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978." Francom said she found a big problem before the legislation was passed in 1978 was that many social workers didn't understand the Native American way of life. She said they felt it would be better to put Native American children in white families than to let relatives raise the children. cancer research, awareness By Andrea Bean asst. news editor The Signpost Cancer survivors and people affected by cancer gathered at Weber State University's Ada Lindquist Plaza Friday and Saturday for WSU's first Relay for Life. The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life is an overnight event during which people organize into teams. One member of the team walks or runs around the track at all times throughout the evening, according to the ACS Web site. The relay is symbolic of a cancer patient's journey through treatment, said Brittany Bailey, WSU sophomore and a member of the organizing committee, during the opening ceremony. The event begins in the evening as the sun starts to set, representing a cancer patient being diagnosed with cancer, she said. "The day is getting darker, and this represents the cancer patient's state of mind as they feel that light is coming to an end," Bailey said. "As the evening goes on, it gets colder and darker, just as the emotions of the cancer patient does." The early morning hours symbolize the beginning of treatment for a cancer patient. "They become exhausted, some sick, not wanting to go on, possibly wanting to give up," Bailey said. The participants of the relay might also want to quit at this point of the evening, but, just like cancer patients, they can't give up. The hours right before sunrise and the sunrise itself represent the patient Crista Casper and Anna Packer, both cancer survivors, carry the Relay for Life banner during the Survivor Lap Friday. This was the first American Cancer Society Relay for reaching the end of treatment. See Relay page 3 Life organized for the WSU community. The relay is an all-night fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Last stand for big band (Above) Clif Oram plays "Green Eyes" on his trumpet Saturday night during the Junction City Big Band's last concert in the Shepherd Union Ballrooms until the building is renovated. Oram has played with the band for eight years. (Right) Charline Doerr (left) dances with Shirl Barney (right) to a number played by the 16-piece band. Doerr and Barney have danced together for four years and said they enjoy coming to Weber State University to dance and listen to the group. See Capttol page 3 "The big band sound will be around forever/' Barney said. Barney and Doerr danced from the first song to the last number of the evening. More than 100 people danced to music ranging from the slow-tempo "Moon River" to the up-beat "American Patrol/' The Junction City Big Band occasionally plays around Ogden, but the WSU performances were a monthly event. The band won't likely return on campus until after October 2007 when the west side of the SUB is renovated. Graduates reflect, plan their future Mecham works at Eaglegate College as an assistant controller in their accounting department. "Education is very important, With spring semester quickly coming to an end, but so is the experience," Mecham graduating seniors have the said. "If you can go to school and opportunity to reflect on their work at the same time, you'll be accomplishments and look that much further ahead." ahead to what awaits them in This semester won't be the their post-college lives. end of Mecham's pursuit of "Finally, graduating is great," an education. After a break said Brody Mecham, 27-year-old this summer, he plans to WSU accounting major. "I finally begin the master's of business get to start my career and enjoy administration program in the life a little bit more, rather than fall. spend all of my time studying." "When I graduate, I plan to find Mecham started working a job where I can obviously start toward his accounting degree at my career, build upon that with WSU in spring 2003. He married experience and take my education his wife, Katie, that summer and to a higher level by doing a the two have a daughter. He said graduate program and seeing his greatest challenge has been where life takes me," Mecham trying to balance school, work and said. "I hope that I can eventually family life. own my own business, developing "I think more than anything, some product or service that I can school has helped me to learn do on my own and being, basically, to multitask, as well as problem my own boss." solve," he said. "I've learned when Spanish major Heber Beddes, funds come before me, how to who started at WSU in 2001, said analyze and decide what's best for he is excited for the opportunities those involved." that await him when he graduates By Brad Fidler sr. news reporter | The Signpost SOURl'l.; UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS Graduates march during the 2005 fall commencement ceremony at Weber State University. this spring. "I definitely believe it to be an investment that, over time, will pay off," Beddes said. "In my opinion and from what I've seen, I don't think it matters as much what the degree is in. To spend the time, money, sweat and tears behind a computer and in classrooms is an educating experience. It's impressive." Beddes, 26, said he believes employers perceive someone who has earned a college degree as a person who pushed himself or herself more than a person without a college degree. "Employers look at a person with a degree as a person who is willing to sacrifice and work hard to accomplish an ultimate goal," Beddes said. Beddes said he has learned a lot during his college experience, lessons that he plans to carry throughout his life. "You get out of, things what you put into them," he said. "That's probably one of the most important things that I've learned." As for his future, Beddes it is remains unclear. He is currently working as a claims adjuster with Allstate Insurance Company. "Progressing and advancing with Allstate is a genuine possibility," Beddes said. "I'm not going to leave that out. I think my fluency in Spanish is definitely what got me a job there. I feel I have a lot of options and possibilities. I think that now that I'm going to have a degree, it will help me progress within the company. Whether or not I'll be there in five years, I really don't know." Beddes said in five years he hopes to be working in the professional h'eld, providing for a family. "I plan to better assess where I am after I graduate this semester," Beddes said. "To be honest, I really don't know where I'm heading next, but that doesn't bother me or worry me because I have a degree and I feel *I have marketable attributes." See Graduates page 3 |