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Show FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017 7 Singer resigns Mormon Tabernacle Choir before Inauguration Day performance Source: Tribune News Service A Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal at the Mormon Tabernacle in Temple Square, Salt Lake City. The group performed at President Donald Trump’s inauguration. By JEWELIETTE CORDERO A&E Reporter The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has become a house divided after being asked to perform at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Jan Chamberlain, a member of the choir for four years, posted her resignation letter on Facebook in late December 2016. Despite the performance being voluntary, she said, “For me, this is a hugely moral issue.” Chamberlain went on to explain why she left, writing, “Looking from the outside in, it will appear that Choir is endorsing tyranny and fascism by singing for this man.” While receiving some backlash for her bold decision to leave the choir, she also gained wide support from both LDS and non-LDS members. An opinion piece was even written about the choir member’s decision and its representation of the religion by Mary Campbell, a contributor to news website “The Hill,” in her piece, “Why choir member quitting due to Trump is following Mormon tradition.” Campbell continued to back Chamberlain by exploring the history of LDS women and theorized why Chamberlain stepped down from the choir. She explained that during the late 19th century, Brigham Young’s wives participated in the women’s rights movements along with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Campbell wrote, “As difficult as it is to reconcile this proto-feminist stance with the intensely patriarchal nature of LDS polygamy itself, Mormon women joined organizations like the National Woman’s Suffrage Association, participated in events like the seminal World’s Congress of Representative Women and published one of the country’s first female suffrage newspapers, the Women’s Exponent.” Campbell also mentioned that in December 2016, Randall Thacker, a church member, decided to create a Change. org petition, encouraging the choir singers to withdraw from the inauguration. Defending the moral basics of his religion, Thacker announced in a public statement, “The thought of this choir and Mormonism being forever associated with a man who disparages minorities, brags about his sexual control of women, encourages intolerance and traffics in hate speech and bullying was unacceptable.” Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com Seeds planted for spring’s biggest events By RACHEL STORM News Correspondent Davis Campus Programming Board held its first meeting of the spring semester on Jan. 11 to finalize the budget and dates of Davis Campus’ larger events for this upcoming semester. “Spring is when we put on our biggest, most expensive events,” said Hayley Tomney, vice president of Davis Campus. “This semester, students can look forward to the Color Festival, laser tag, Paint Night, a drag show and more.” When asked to describe the purpose of the Programming Board, McKaylee Brooks, service director and board member, said, “We plan a lot of events at the Davis Campus. We use student fees to coordinate events and create a positive experience at the college.” The board has tentatively scheduled 12 events for the upcoming spring. “We organize diversi- RACHEL STORM | The Signpost Jefferson Cairo and Hayley Tomney of the WSU Davis Programming Board. ty events, service events, events for families of the non-traditional students, as well as events for traditional students,” Brooks said. “We each have our own events we’re in charge of, but we meet every week to collaborate and plan them as a team.” “Typically, we try to have about one event every ATHLETES ››continued from front However, with his recent support of President Trump it seems the decision may have been politically motivated. Should the Cavaliers or Golden State Warriors win the champion- week,” McKell Costley, traditional student director and board member, said. Costley is particularly looking forward to the Paint Night on Feb. 3. During this event, students will receive step-by-step instruction on how to paint a particular picture, regardless of artistic skill. Due to the limited seating and high demand, ship this season there is a chance that James or his star counterpart Stephen Curry could sit out the meeting with the new president. This thought has been moved to the forefront with President Obama meeting with the Chicago Cubs championship team only four days before his time in it is one of the only events on Davis Campus students must pay for in order to attend. Because the Davis Campus is a smaller campus than WSU’s main campus, the Davis Campus Programming Board has a limited budget when planning these events. Despite that budget, most events hosted office ends. The team does have special significance as the President is from Chicago, but this makes it likely that the first team to visit President Trump will be whichever team wins the Super Bowl in February. The odds makers currently by the Davis Campus Programing Board are free. Tomney and the Programming Board often find low-cost service projects, creative DIY events or community partners to offset the price of hosting these events. “Since we are such a small campus, we try to reach out to our community as much as we can,” Tomney said. “Especially Davis County — whether it’s reading with elementary school kids for a service project or inviting the local high schools to join in on Science Night — we try to reach out to our community.” Davis Campus’ biggest event, the Annual Color Festival, costs approximately $4,000. Last year, this event attracted over 300 students. “I think I’m most excited for Color Fest,” Tomney said. “It’s the event that everybody talks about.” Tomney will graduate this spring and hopes to leave a legacy in this year’s Annual Color Festival. have the Patriots as the favorites to win the championship. If that were to happen then the first team to visit the new President will feature two of his most vocal supporters in the world of athletics. Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com “I want to make it even bigger and better than ever. It will be a challenge for my team, but I am looking forward to it,” Tomney said. Students interested in becoming involved in the Davis Campus Programming Board are invited to visit the Davis Student Involvement and Leadership offices in D3 221. Their meetings are open to the public and meet at 3 p.m. every Wednesday in the Davis SIL offices. Students interested in more information about upcoming events on the WSU Davis Campus can find it at https://www.facebook.com/ pg/wsudavis/events. Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com |