OCR Text |
Show Monday, March 18, 2013 DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice Since 1890 www.dailyutahchronicle.com Vol. 122 No. 121 ©2013 ALSO INSIDE: Election of new pope evokes questions about future direction of the Roman Catholic Church and religion in the modern world » 5 Runnin' Utes sink to new season lows against Oregon at the tournament semifinal game » 6 HOUSE Party wins ASUU election Topher Webb ASST. NEWS WRITER Chatting clusters of students squeezed together between the front desk and women selling Girl Scout cookies in the Union lobby when ASUU elections registrar Maria Mooers-Putzer began to announce the results of the ASUU student body election Friday. After the final announcement declaring the HOUSE Party winner of the presidential election, some students cheered and clapped, while oth- ers hugged and cried. HOUSE Party presidential candidate Nick Ferre, a master's student in education, leadership and policy, and vice presidential candiadate Sam Ortiz, a senior in social work, won with 2,742 votes. They beat Peak Party candidates Cheston Newhall, a senior in political science, and Bridger Harris a junior in marketing, with 2,501 votes — a difference of 241. "We knew it was going to be very close," Ferre said. The HOUSE party was projecting that a high voter turnout would give the party a better chance of winning the election. Ferre said the HOUSE Party engaged student groups that are normally not involved with student elections such as the Veteran's Student Association and student advisory committees. He said this helped increase voter turnout. "We really energized those groups to help them realize the value of their voice as much as anyone else's," he said. See ELECTIONS BRENT UBERTY The Daily Utah Chronicle New ASUU President Nick Ferre thanks supporters after the election results were announced March 8. page 3 Utes mourn final loss D OPPORTUNITY SQUELCHED Utes earn a season low in tournament semifinals against Oregon Ducks Ryan McDonald ASST. SPORTS EDITOR SPENCER SANDSTROM/The Daily Utah Chronicle SB42 co-sponsor Rep. Michael Kennedy during the legislative general session March 5. Med school to receive increase in funding The School of Medicine will have to start preparing to support an additional 16o students. SB42, a bill that allocates $io million from the Utah Education Fund to the medical school in order to allow the school to admit 4o more students per year, was passed by the House last week. A draft of the finished bill has been completed and will head to the governor for signing sometime in the next 6o days. U President David Pershing said that the bill benefits more than just the U. "I believe this is the right thing for the state of Utah," Pershing said. "I think this is a state initiative." Although some of the allocated money will go toward paying the additional faculty that will be hired to teach the medical students, some of it will allow the school to construct new lab space. All of the other infrastructure is in place to support the additional 4o students because the school was supporting about 400 students before the Legislature cut funding a few years ago, limiting the school to 328 students, or 82 per class. The cost is steep, but it will help the U provide the experiences and training that medical students need. The bill stipulates that 82percent of the students admitted to the U School of Medicine each year have graduated from a Utah high school or institution of higher learning. Filling those spots will be short work for the medical school, which received 1,600 applications for its allotment of spots this year. Rep. Michael Kennedy, R-Alpine, is cosponsor of the bill and hopes that this requirement will help increase the number of primary care physicians in Utah where See MED SCHOOL page 4 CHAD ZAVALA/The Daily Utah Chronicle Jason Washburn reacts to the loss against Oregon in the Pac-12 Semifinal game Friday. Utah lost 45-64. LAS VEGAS — The magic ran out on the Runnin' Utes in a big way Friday night. After becoming the talk of the Pac12 following unexpected wins in the first two rounds of the conference tournament, Utah struggled from the outset against the Oregon Ducks in the tournament semifinals and fell 64-45. The 45 Utah points were a season low. "They played a hell of a game," Jarred DuBois said. "I just think they outplayed us. They played a good game. They were well prepared and they executed their game plan." The Utes' struggle on both ends of the floor began early, as Utah quickly fell behind by eight midway through the first half. A Ducks team that allowed the Utes to get easy buckets last weekend in the teams' contest at the Huntsman Center was allowing nothing and Utah couldn't adjust. By the end of the first half, Utah had produced just 15 points, by far its season low for a first frame, and trailed by 14. Its previous season low in that category was 22. Only Brandon Taylor, Dakarai Tucker and Jordan Loveridge scored for the Utes in the first 20 minutes, as Utah shot just 6-of-19 from the field. DuBois, who had become the Utes' go-to guy during the team's surprise run, was o-for-3 in that span. He finished the night scoreless as the Utes posted a season-low 45 points. "They brought ball pressure, they played really hard, played the passing lanes and got out and denied, pressured a little bit," DuBois said. "For 4o minutes, they played really well." Additionally, Oregon capitalized on the Utes' mistakes, establishing its offense in the paint and supplementing that with good shooting from the perimeter. Ducks freshman Damyean Dotson led the firsthalf charge with io points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. But it wasn't just the scoring department that Utah struggled in during Friday's first half, as it got beat in every statistical category. Among the lowlights was getting outrebounded 18-10 and allowing Oregon 27 shot attempts compared to its 19. For the night, the Ducks outrebounded the Utes 38-32. "I feel like through the whole game, they prided themselves on getting up and they really sped us up the whole game," said Loveridge, who finished with eight points. See RUNNIN' UTES page 7 Thatcher Building ignites excitement Carolyn Webber STAFF WRITER As the sciences expand at the U, the facilities need to keep up. On May 13, the new Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry was dedicated. The building has several new laboratories, seminar rooms and gathering spaces, and many people are excited to start working. "I remember starting school as an ACCESS student and we went to some event where they discussed the new building. I thought it was going to be really cool and was excited to get into the labs," said Natascha Knowlton, a senior in chemistry and physics and recipient of the Thatcher Company Scholarship. "Now that it's here, I love just walking through the halls." Knowlton said she is envious of current students because as a senior, she has already done the labs in the old building with dated equipment, some decades old. Still, she is happy to imagine the generations of students who will benefit from the Thatcher Building. The new equipment will hopefully make the difference to improve chemistry education at the university, she said. U President David Pershing said the facility is much needed, especially as hands-on teaching becomes See THATCHER page 4 MICHAEL SYGNATOWICZ/The Daily Utah Chronicle A ribbon-cutting concluded the dedication service for the Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry on March 13. |