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Show MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2011 N ursing continued from front ing schools across the nation, due, in part, to a limited pool of doctorally prepared faculty and a wave of faculty retirements, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Thornock said there has been a national movement recently to continue to prepare the nation's nurses for these advanced roles. Utah is one of the few states that has begun undertaking initiatives to tackle the shortage crisis. "The program has a great degree of flexibility for people in full-time employment," said Joyce Barra, MSN program director. The program is delivered in a hybrid format, combining face-to-face classes three times during a semester with online learning. "I think this flexibility is the major draw to this kind Di versity continued from front of program for peers who are working and living distantly," Barra said. "So we have forks in Wyoming and Idaho, too." Along with its flexibility, "our continuous program evaluations help us maintain cutting-edge technology in our teaching methodology" said interim chair Thornock, as a reason that the program works so well. The program takes two years to complete and admits around from 20 to 24 students each year. If there are more applicants, they are admitted. Barra said that is a good sign that tells people that the program is valued and there are a lot of interests in it." But she added, "entrance level in the program is very high." Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com . department division leaders. Maria Parrilla, professor of psychology, came up to introduce Mona. "Here at Weber State, we believe that difference is something that is important; something that does not need to defy us, but rather unify us, and that strengthens us as people," she said before the interview "That's why we have these Diversity Conferences, to be sure people are aware of each other and to see the strengths they bring in. "For years," Parilla continued, "persons with disabilities have had to fight to have others recognize that they perhaps have people with different abilities, to look beyond what we have socially identi- Washington Blvd. Ogden Ut (801) 621-7666 www.farrsjewelry.com 0% off on bridal settings purchase upon presentation of valid school I.D. fled for ourselves as we have socially constructed what they aren't able to do." Continuing the address, Mona advocated for sexual rights and sexual expressions of people with disabilities. In this keynote address, she advocated for rights of disabled persons, giving a brief message of what disability means and how people should address others who have disabilities. Her slideshow presentation, "Disability Identity and Culture: The Missing Discourse in Diversity Dialogues," focused on the definition of disability, multiculturalism and diversity, meaning stereotypes, independent versus dependent, ADA and disabilities being a cultured group. Mona is also disabled due to an artery condition. Despite this condition, she said she is a happy working mother for her sons and husband. "When I describe myself, I describe myself as a disabled woman," Mona said. Mona described how disabled people often get stereotyped. "The stereotypes we hear when it comes to disabilities are dependent on others, limits their lifestyles, lack intelligence, less capable and they don't have sex," Mona said. She also said people shouldn't stereotype, and when they do, they should take it back right away. According to Mona, when children ask why this disabled person looks the way they do, they should answer this way: "We look different. My body looks this way. Your body looks this way. Wouldn't it be boring if we all looked the same?" She encouraged this response, rather than saying "We don't talk about that!" She told members of the audience, if they are disabled, to not be afraid to say they don't understand something or need help opening the door. Those who aren't, she said, should avoid staring, insults, micro-aggressions and third-party interactions. er hand, is available for anyone to use, and students are only asked to show a Wildcard in order to keep track of the number of people who are using the food bank to monitor the need. In the two weeks that the bank has been open, volunteers have seen about five students a day, but they expect more as word gets out and advertising is set in place. "People come in and are nervous, and you try to make them comfortable and show them around," said Alexis Marquez, chair of the food pantry. "You get a piece of their background story, and it's very motivating." Marquez said a larger space will also allow Weber Cares to help more students. Mirra Valdez, the student volunteer coordinator for the food pantry, said she also enjoys her volunteer experience. "We made some guy's day by giving him two bags and telling him to 'go nuts," Valdez said. "Two girls came in together and were so excited. They cleaned out all the mac and cheese." According to the Utah Food Bank, 1 out of every 10 Utahns lives in poverty and makes only about $22,000 a year to cover food, clothing, health care and shelter. About 400,000 Utahns risk missing one meal every day, and the state is ranked fourth-highest in the nation for very low food security. Items that Marquez and the volunteers report students requesting are on-thego breakfast items, including cereals, breakfast bars, oatmeal and Pop-Tarts. Other items typically needed are grains, shelf-stable milk, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, canned stews and chili, tuna fish, canned fruits and vegetables, boxed juices, crackers, dried fruits and pastas. For more information, or to donate food items, students can contact the Community Involvement Center at 801-626-7737. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.corn. F ood continued from front scribed the program as an expansion of the Weber Cares food services voucher program. "We don't want to perpetuate the problem," Jones said. "The goal is to help them and direct them to other services that are available." The voucher program allows students to receive $10 to use in the union building's food services area, but the entire amount must be used at one time or the balance is forfeited. Students must also have a referral to get the vouchers. Departments that support other needs, like Psychological Services and the Women's Center, have referred students in the past. The food bank, on the oth- Farr Better Quali0)....Farr Better Price! 2466 5 THE SIGNPOST Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com . B reathe continued from front SPEAKER NEEDED For Fall 2011 Commencement Apply today! It could be you! One student will be selected to speak during commencement, Friday December 9, 2011. If you are a student receiving your Associate, Bachelor or Graduate Degree, you are eligible to audition for the opportunity. SIGN UP AT: Student Involvement & Leadership Office Room SU 301 or The Dean of Students Office Room SC 150 SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING: A copy of your 4-minute speech A copy of a short statement of future plans A copy of your resume Sign-up Ends Oct. 14 Auditions Oct. 17 - 21 PHOTO BY AMANDA LEWARK I THE SIGNPOS Not everyone ran the Ventilator 5K. Many students walked while pulling actual ventilators through the rain, decorated with various respiratory-related humor. lators. The advanced students decorated theirs as a burrito with the message "we give you gas" on it. "Respiratory therapy gives people therapeutic gases like oxygen," said one of the creators, Adam Taylor. "Burritos also give people gas." The entry-level students were going to do more than decorate their ventilator; they were going to bring in a donkey. "A girl in our class mentioned she has a little miniature donkey," said Laci Gorder, a participant at this year's 5K. They were going to have the donkey pull the ventilator which was dressed up as a person. The slogan underneath was "I can save your ass." The donkey plan fell through and they ended up using a picture of a donkey on their ventilator instead. While the advanced students said they believed they were going to beat the entry-level students in the race, the entry-level students said they were sure they were going to lose. "I only run if someone is chasing me," Gorder said. The advanced-level students finished running the race at 30 minutes and 33 seconds while the entry-level students finished walking the race at 50 minutes and 55 seconds. "It was a pain in the butt," Gorder said, "especially because it rained and [the ventilator] fell over and the brakes kept kicking in every time we hit a bump." The winner of the race was Albert Wint, one of the students who helped organize the event. He won with a time of 16 minutes and 41 seconds. Most people there said they expected Wint to be the first one across the finish line. "He's a very seasoned runner; he runs to school every day," Taylor said. Those waiting at the finish line were making bets on how quickly Wint would finish the race. "It feels great; it's always good to win," said Wint, who participated last year. He helped organize the event and helped design the tshirts each participant received. "Respiratory therapy is a fun, fulfilling career and this is just one of the things we do to help raise awareness," said Gardiner. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com . |