University of Utah Student Newspapers--The Chronicle | 2006-09-08 | Page 3

Friday, September 8, 2006 THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Chronicle news editor terminated for conflict of interest mous tip led The Salt Lake Tribune, where Muir also worked as a Close-Up freeMorgan Ratcliffe, The lancer, to conduct an inDaily Utah Chronicle's as- vestigation on Muir's past sistant news editor, was articles, Terry Orme, manpromoted to news editor aging editor for news at Wednesday after Patrick The Tribune, said. "His involvement with Muir, the former news edithe company, Published PR, tor, was terminated. Dustin Gardiner, lead which would write profiles news writer,filledRat-about businesses and sell them to the The Salt Lake cliffe's position. Last May, Muir and sever- Tribune, was a conflict al associates created www. with our conflict-of-interpublishedpr.com, a pub- est rules," Orme said. "I think it's a basic jourlic relations Web site that represented businesses. nalism concept that reThe company's job, Muir porters should not be resaid, was to pitch stories in warded by their sources or the form of a press release influenced by them in that "so they get printed in the way." newspaper." In addition, Orme said According to the Code Muir had written a story, of Ethics of the Society of which was published in' Professional Journalists, The Tribune in June, about journalists should ,,'shun strillogy, a video-making secondary employment if company. it compromises journalistic "(Strillogy) referred to integrity. Patrick as their person Another conflict of inter- over sales and advertising," est arose when Muir ap- Orme said. "So basically, he proached several Chronicle was writing about a comstaff members who are pany that he was involved associated with The Salt in." Lake Tribune and The DeThe Tribune terminated seret Morning News and Muir on Aug. 31, Orme attempted to get them in- said. volved with his company. Chronicle opinion columChronicle Editor in Chief nist Matt Patton was given Danyelle White felt Muir a two-week suspension "attempted to use (his) po- due to his association with sition and influence to re- www.publishedpr.com. cruit other student staffers His biography was feato commit unethical acts tured on the company Web on (his) behalf," she said in site, which was taken down a written statement. over Labor Day weekend. "Basically, I helped es"I felt like he abused his authority and my trust," tablished the company legally as a public-relations White said. "I don't find him to be a company and to send out trustworthy leader because press releases, and that was he participated in unethical it," Patton said. activities." Despite the incident, students Muir said he agreed that White hopes it was a conflict of interest. will continue to trust The "I agree that...I should Chronicle. not have been doing that "The people at The at the same time," Muir Chronicle do their best to said in regard to working produce an accurate prodat both The Chronicle and uct," she said. "If we are Published PR. made aware of an error, we "I guess it's just a lack of will seek to rectify it immecaring about journalistic diately." ethics." a.breton@ In addition, an anonychronicle.utah.edu Ana Breton Vw Daily Utah Chronicle EXPERT SAYS MYTHOLOGY ; MOTIVATES INSURGENTS tacks taking place in the country are being carried out against Iraqi security forces, not Americans, Hafez said. Kristian Alexander, a graduate student in political science, said he agreed with most of Hafez's points, but ; continued from Page I thinks Iraq is a tricky situation. said. Hafez said the mythology "I don't know if it is worth American . is aimed to enrage young endangering male Muslims and convince lives," he said. "Either case is them that the war in Iraq is a problematic." war on Islam as a whole. Hafez said the best way to While Hafez said he dis- counter the insurgency in agreed with the Iraq war in Iraq is to confront the "marthe first place, he also said tyrdom mythology" itself. the United States should re"We have to become culmain in Iraq for several more turally astute, learn the lanyears to prevent civil war guage, culture and start creand genocide among groups ating counter-mythologies." in the country. d.gardiner@ chronicle.utah.edu Most of the terrorist at- U EMPLOYEE FIRED AFTER HAVING BRAIN SURGERY entire premium themselves, plus administrative fees— 102 percent. Randee Willard's condition requires her to see doctors monthly, in addition to frequent therapy appointments. continued from Page I Money to cover the prethree weeks after her brain miums is thin and assistance surgery. from outside sources has The news was a tremen- been insufficient. dous blow to her and her Casey Willard said in a family, which depended on written statement that he her and her husband's in- feels this is an important comes to get by. moral issue that the U needs As a former U employee, to deal with. Randee Willard was offered "We believe that there is a continuation of health cov- something the university erage known as the Consoli- could have done so that we dated Omnibus Budget Rec- would not be left without onciliation Act (COBRA). Randee's income and family The supplementary insur- insurance," Casey Willard ance provides former em- said. ployees and their families The U issued a statement with coverage at group rates. that said if Randee Willard She and her family are cur- would like to return to work rently using COBRA to help for the U, she is welcome to cover costs. reapply. The drawback, though, is n.hale@ that users typically pay the chronicle.utah.edu Osher Institute caters to non-traditional students Alex Stcele Vie Daily Utah Chronicle expected to reach 300 this fall and 500 by April 2008. Rather than paying per credit, members pay a flatrate fee. An annual membership costs $400. Students with this membership can take up to three courses in each of the three terms offered each year for a maximum of nine courses per calendar year. Term memberships are available for $150 per member, and three classes can be taken per term. "It's like going to a gym, you use it as often as you want," House said. "Most students average about two classes per term." Bill Nelsen, who graduated from the U with a degree in sociology in the '60s, has taken a variety of classes at the Osher Institute, from Tai Chi to Utah History. "I've always been interest- Non-traditional students are becoming more common on campus, and the two-year-old Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is devoted to their continued learning. Established in September 2004, the Osher Institute seeks people ages 50 and older for its classes. Cathy House, director of the Osher Institute, said she wants people who take classes from the Osher Institute to develop a learning community. • "It's a nice experience to learn with your peer group," she said. "An important aspect of the Osher Institute is building a learning community to network and get to know new people." One of the benefits at the Osher Institute is the opportunity for students to get to know new people outside their religious or work circles. The teaching is different from traditional university department classes, House said. "There are no tests and no grades. The classes are either lectures or lecture-discussions, and the emphasis is more about the concepts," she said. Brent Vawdrey, administrative assistant for the Osher Institute, said members enjoy the structure of classes. "One of the best aspects of the Osher Institute is that it's learning for the sake of learning," he said. When it opened, the Osher Institute had fewer, than 50 members. Membership is ed in learning," Nelson said, "so now I can take classes on topics I'm interested in but didn't have time to take before." The U's Osher Institute is one of 93 located on college campuses nationwide. House said this program should help the U maintain its visibility in Salt Lake City. "This is very positive for the community. When a child or teen sees his parent or grandparent going to school, it will help bring younger kids to the U," she said. In its first semester, the Osher Institute offered just 12 courses. This fail, however, it's offering 25 courses. "Some of the more popular courses deal with other cultures, history and current events," House said. "Some of the offerings we'll repeat, but there will be fresh new offerings. It's just ongoing learning." "The input of members has a very large impact on the Osher Institute in terms of the courses offered. Our curriculum is completely member-driven," Vawdrey said. House said she hopes people in the community will respond positively to the Osher Institute and get involved in learning or help get others involved. "It shouldn't be a secret. We want to get as many people involved as we can," she said. Most classes are held at the Commander's House in Fort Douglas. Class sessions run for six weeks, three times a year. The Osher Institute's fall session runs through Oct. 31. Winter session will begin Jan. 22. 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