University of Utah Student Newspapers | 2012-04-19 | Page 5

5 OPINION U shouldn't hide poteTt Thursday April 19, 2012 www.dailyutahchronicle.com MARK PITTMAN quake stats i,4 ru:r EskikorvA upotc krrtekv‘'S ''-'- StaffWriter T ext messages and the blare of sirens in a few buildings alerted us to evacuate Tuesday morning, in keeping with the Great Utah Shakeout earthquake drill. The event was facilitated by the State Division of Emergency Management. It's estimated that every 35o years we experience a major earthquake, and our time is up. It has been about that long since our last big one. With more than 28,000 full-time students across 285 buildings with an additional 2,500 faculty and well over 14,000 full-time employees, our campus is jam-packed with people. More than 750,000 people are estimated to have participated in the Great Utah Shakeout across the state. It is hoped that the preparation will help save lives. About 2,300 people are estimated to die in the next earthquake. As students of the university, we have the right to know how many are expected to perish because of the seismic instability of our buildings on campus. For more than three weeks I have attempted to obtain information on the number of buildings on our campus that are at risk for collapse. Yet the U seems hellbent on not letting anyone find that information. Vivian Lee, senior vice president for health sciences, sent out the April 8 notice of the U's participation in the Shakeout event. It appears that after more than a week of attempts to obtain information for me, even her office was unable to get it. The decentralization of our campus is often touted for its cost-cutting abilities; however, vital information is lost in the process. You might remember a similar scenario when the Department of Homeland Security was organized for similar reasons following 9-11. Each security agency appeared to be hoarding its own intelligence from the other in attempt to avoid another agency oq b ei /zo l z. WILLUS BRANHAM/The Daily Utah Chronicle getting credit. The cost was close to 3,000 lives in one day and a war across parts of the Middle East, which continues today by not releasing any statistics about the costs of the quake. Similarly, Utah has touted the need for preparation yet it has placed the lives of every individual who attends and works at the U at risk. The lack of transparency calls into question the stewardship that we have placed in university administrators. Students have a right to know the condition of our Participate to make up for tuition costs TANNER EBORN StaffWriter T his spring was my second semester at the U. During the first month, I found myself frantically trying to afford tuition, and when I finally paid it off I thought, "Is there not an easier way of doing this?" and "Why am I paying so much money?" Taking advantage of what our money pays for makes the college experience stronger. The U provides many supplemental programs to help lessen the burden of your budget and provide more bang for all the bucks you just spent. Our exercise and recreation facilities are an excellent example of these supplemental programs. I can personally testify that these facilities are not forsaken. The rarely vacant Field House proves that plenty of students take advantage of it. My concerns revolve around programs and resources I am oblivious to. What exactly am I missing out on? Well, after a bit of digging, I stumbled across a few things that are underutilized, mostly because few people understand what they are and what they do. My U Signature Experience, or the MUSE project, is one such thing. Former U President Michael Young launched the initiative in the fall of 2010. It seeks to reach out to students from every college and provide experiences that are unique to each student. The MUSE project provides a link between students and opportunities, including opportunities to study abroad or paid internships in many different careers. The main goal is to provide each student with "at least one exceptional learning experience while they are here," said MUSE project's Associate Director Mimi Locher. However, I knew little about the MUSE project before now, and it got me thinking about who else was in the dark. I took a survey of about 20 students walking around campus, and only four students knew what the MUSE project was. Locher said she would like to see more students use MUSE. "We want to build on this each year — we want every student to have an awesome academic experience," she said. "There is no reason that they shouldn't." Apparently there is some miscommunication, but I am not convinced that it is one-sided. Students need to take a more active role in their education. If we aren't fully enjoying our time here, then we need to do something about it. We need to take advantage of all the U has to offer. [e-mail] Ag infrastructure, and we have a right to petition our Legislature to fix the problem we face. Without this vital information, it is not possible. Transparency was one of the central tenets of the ASUU elections this spring. Our administra- tion needs to learn a lesson from our student leaders and follow suit. More than 2,000 deaths are expected throughout the valley — how many of those fatalities is the U willing to have here on campus? [e-mail] etlill!MpElqWklskims ■low - vrA Cast your vote online at www.dailyutahchronicle.com What are you doing this summer? • Working, working, working. • Absolutely nothing... • Traveling around the world. • Taking classes and enjoying the sun. AkiN 44,571mvi, olt AmAlititori 111 Can You Vt5 - r1111111WItk GE Better than me? The Daily Utah Chronicle is hiring page designers. Contact Tyler Pratt at [e-mail] and apply today!