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Show Why students come to WSU page 4 Basketball plays UVU tonight page 6 AT A GLANCE 2 EDITORIAL 3 FEATURES 4 SPORTS 6 HELP WANTED 11 Submissions open for Day at the Capitol By Laurie Reiner asst. news editor I The Signpost The Weber State University Office of Undergraduate Research and the Community Involvement Center are now taking submissions for the annual Day at the Capitol. Students can submit posters about their undergraduate research and show them to the legislatures at the capitol in Salt Lake City. All students can enter their undergraduate research or projects relating to their community involvement. The community projects can be anything from volunteer work, community-based research projects or service learning. "It's a good experience," said Erin Daniels, Office of Undergraduate Research manager. "It's kind of a different world there, and it's good to see how it works." To apply for the event, students submit posters that describe their projects and the impact they had on the community. Brenda Kowalewski, the Community Involvement Center director, said it does not matter how big or small the project. For instance, students have submitted posters about Make a Difference Day, an annual day of volunteering. Last year, the project involved putting in a sprinkler system for Habitat for Humanity. Another group of students submitted their capstone project that they worked on for two semesters. "It's really a day where Weber gets to showcase some of their best and brightest students and projects," Kowalewski said. "It is with the intent that we are demonstrating to the legislature that the type of learning opportunities and experiences that students are getting at Weber State University can only happen with their support." The students gather in the rotunda at the capitol and showcase their posters. They can request to talk with a specific legislature about their individual project, though Daniels said the legislatures do not necessarily respond to the request. Before the event, the students are given an orientation on the right and wrong way to talk to the senators. "When you are really passionate about creating change, you're really passionate about getting engaged in the community," Kowalewski said. "You get out there and get engaged, but that changes that small slice of community when you are feeding the hungry right there. When you go to the capitol, you have the opportunity to change food distribution, if that's your issue, for a lot more people." See Capitol page 5 Fifth-graders K ize WSU ballrooms PHOTO BY KENNY HAEFFELE | THE SIGNPOST Fifth-grade students, accompanied by Weber State University representatives and active-military volunteers, create a mock Mars colony on Tuesday in the ballrooms of the Shepherd Union Building. Students simulate Mars colony on campus By Tyler Saal news reporter I The Signpost A group of fifth-graders had an out-of-this- world experience at Weber State University on Tuesday with Link Up Day, the culminating event for Mission to Mars, a Mars colonization simulation sponsored by the United States Air Force. Around 170 fifth- grade students from three different elementary schools met in the Shepherd Union Ballrooms to create a mock Mars colony. The fifth-graders, with the help of volunteers - including WSU students and staff, and active-duty military volunteers - created 10 different Martian "habitats" using box fans, plastic sheets and other materials. The habitats were then linked up with an "air-locked" passageway, thus linking the separate habitats into one colony. "What they do is they use Air Force concepts and technologies, and they simulate an entire mission to Mars, from the beginning of uniforms and telecommunications and building life-support systems," said Hollen Partington, Hill Air Force Base's STEM coordinator. "And what these kids do is, for 10-12 weeks, they learn everything that there is to know about Mars and how it falls into their regular curriculum." Partington said this is the second annual Mission to Mars. As an example of how the program continues with regular fifth-grade curriculum, Partington said, "If you're already going to talk about plant life, you may want to incorporate how plants would grow on Mars and why it's different on Mars. We teach them how to do that." The program emphasized many different areas relating to science, technology, engineering and math. For example, the students, being at different schools, had to use various telecommunications in order to coordinate and work together to prepare materials beforehand. Students also had to weigh the lunches they ate in their habitats, as well as the waste and refuse resulting from lunch. See Mars page 5 Last Sessions of semester is 'extravaganza' By Raychel Johnson news editor I The Signpost The final Sessions on the Ledge of the fall semester was held yesterday in the Shepherd Union Atrium. "Holiday extravaganza" was the theme of the once-a-week talent performance. Sessions on the Ledge is put on by the Center for Diversity and Unity every Tuesday afternoon from 12-1 p.m. Lola Moli, the Sessions on the Ledge chair, organized the event and played holiday songs on the piano as different students sang and accompanied her. Kelsey Capoferri and Min- dy Chamberlin sang along to Moli playing the piano. Capoferri encouraged students in the Atrium to join in and sing along. Dylan Kim an international economics senior from South Korea, sang a love song to the applause of students passing by the ledge. Kim also plays the piano in the Wildcat Room See Sessions page 5 PHOTO BY RAYCHEL JOHNSON | THE SIGNPOST Dylan Kim, an international student from South Korea, sang as part of the Holiday Extravaganza edition of Sessions on the Ledge. The weekly talent showcase is put on by the Center for Diversity and Unity. WSU History Department receives new scholarship By RaychelJohnson news editor I The Signpost The memory of world traveler, chief master sergeant and alumnus Thomas Connors will live on in the history department of Weber State University. Connors, who also served 20 years on the Board of Directors at America First Credit Union, now has a scholarship dedicated to his name. The Tom Connors/America First Credit Union scholarship will be awarded to a full-time Weber State University student with a 3.0 or better and a major in history in spring 2013. Connors graduated from WSU in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in history. Connors, who passed away in lune of 2012, also taught at Canyon View Elementary School. He was a world traveler who visited more than 70 countries. "He loved history, he loved traveling. He went all over the place," said Stephen Francis, a medieval Renaissance history professor and honors adviser. Francis, a classmate of Connors', attended a semester abroad at Cambridge University with him. "He was a great guy," Francis said. "He was always interested in education and, I think, appreciated the education he got at Weber State and in history. I think that's why, being on the board of American First Credit Union, he got us pretty early that first scholarship." The first America First Credit Union scholarship was given to the history department at WSU in 1996. According to Lee Sather, a retired history professor and previous history depart ment chair, Connors was involved in securing the funding for this scholarship. Sather said it was because of Connors' position on the credit union's board of directors. "Tom was absolutely, completely instrumental in really encouraging the other board members to designate one of those scholarships to be given to a major in history," Sather said. "Without his help, we wouldn't have received that scholarship." Sather, who retired from WSU in 2008, said he knew Connors not only from a professor's and student's perspective, but that their wives worked together as nurses at McKay-Dee Hospital. "Tom, to me, was sort of the quintessential, ultimate nontraditional See History page 9 |