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Show A fast trac for ge oral ed- catio (Th BY SPENCER EASTWOOD /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY PRESTON ZUBAL I BY JULIANNE SKRIVAN /STAFF WRITER PHOTOS BY KIFFER CREVELING T hanksgiving Break has students gobbling more about the idea of sleep and refreshment than the highly anticipated turkey dinners. The two-day break is this Thursday and Friday. While Makayla Estill, a sophomore in environmental studies and geography, said she'll enjoy a good meal, her head will also be in the books. "I'm going to be studying," she said. "It's so beneficial to have another break before the end of the semester with finals and the stress." For some, Thanksgiving Break means a chance to be with family they haven't seen since the beginning of the semester. Will Howard, a junior in atmospheric sciences from Colorado, is looking forward to just that. "I'm getting to go home. It's not too far away, so it's easy with time and money," he said. "It's so nice to spend time with family, especially during a time that has so many different traditions. Thanksgiving is about being thankful, and I think a lot of thankfulness can be derived from spending time with loved ones and family-oriented affairs." For students unable to go home for Thanksgiving, some have found a place to celebrate here in Utah. "Growing up, Thanksgiving was already not celebrated a ton, but my family always found [someway] to celebrate, and it felt just as special as Thanksgiving on the mainland would," Estill, who is from Hawaii, said. "This year, I'm not going home, but my roommate's dad is cooking us Thanksgiving dinner this year, so I'm grateful." Estill thinks of Thanksgiving as a time to reflect on American history. "It's important to remember why we celebrate Thanksgiving and how we came to America in the first place," she said. "Even though the United States' history is gruesome and does contain a lot of massacres, it's our heritage and we should celebrate our ancestors." Howard, on the other hand, looks forward more to the hearty meal. "I've been eating like a college student for a semester," he said. "I'm ready for my mom's cooking and her love ... I also like to mix everything together on my plate for the ultimate Thanksgiving bite of food." j.skrivan@chronicle.utah.edu @JulianneSkrivan 4 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2014 } here's one thing every college student must do but often procrastinates until the very last minute: general education requirements. In order to graduate, students must complete a series of required general education courses, earning credits from various disciplines, including fine arts, humanities, life sciences and American institutions. Some students put these courses off until their senior year while others get them done in their freshman year. Emma Martin, a freshman in international relations and French, said she would like to finish her required classes before she becomes an upperclassman. "I am trying to get my gen eds done before the second semester of my sophomore year," Martin said. Katherine Harris, a senior in business, said she also tried to get most of these classes done early. "I fulfilled my gen ed requirements my first two years of college, but I left one class off until my senior year," Harris said. The U offers a way to help students get their general education requirements completed as quickly as possible, encouraging them to graduate sooner. Twice a year — once in the fall and once in the spring — the U offers a way to fast-track your general education requirements at the U's Murray Campus. This Spring Semester, three intensive classes will provide three credit hours each and will meet January 5 through 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a onehour break provided for lunch each day. Students may choose from POLS 1100 (U.S. National Government), LING 3600 (Cross-Cultural Communication) and MUSC 3600 (World Music), all of which fulfill one of the required general education classes. Lauren Doxey, a sophomore in political science, said she would choose World Music out of the classes offered. "[World Music] seems the most interesting," Doxey said. "I wouldn't need a full semester for a music class." The general appeal among students is the fact that they can finish their general education classes faster, rather than having to drag them out over an entire semester. Harris said she thinks the fast-track method is a good idea. "It allows students to concentrate on getting done with school faster and jump into their career sooner," she said. s.eastwood@chronicle.utah.edu @spenceast ESCAPING PERSECUTION:THE MODERN REFUGEE STORY BY CYNTHIA LUU /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY CHRIS SAMUELS A s Alex Ngendakuriyo, a Burundi refugee community leader, put it, "No one wants to be called a refugee, but sometimes you don't have a choice:' Ngendakuriyo and two others sat as panelists for the Hinckley Institute of Politics' Pizza and Politics forum called "Understanding the Local Refugee Community." The panelists spoke about the definitions, trials and circumstances that encompass the refugee community in Salt Lake City. Raul Yumul, a member of Catholic Community Services, gave an official definition of what a refugee is according to the United Nations. "It used to be a refugee was someone seeking refuge:'Yunnul said. "Now, refugees are known as people who are persecuted in their own country.The majority of the reason is religion and the color of their skin": Beth Garstka, a member of the English Skills Learning Center, said there were more than 15 million refugees in the world, with the United States resettling the most refugees on a yearly basis. From that, two percent — roughly 50,000 people — are resettled in Utah. Garstka said the majority of these refugees come from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Bhutan and Burma. Yumul said the most difficult part of the resettlement process starts in the refugee camps with identification. Additionally, the panelists noted how timely and expensive the resettlement process can be. "It's not a perfect system,"Yumul said. "We can only resettle about three quarters of individuals in Utah. If numbers stopped growing, it would [still] take up to 60 years to resettle everyone." When resettlement can be initiated, Garstka said the next part of the process would be integration by means of learning English and finding employment. "It's not a process of telling refugees you have to be this type of American, but more of an idea that we'll meet them halfway' Garstka said. Ngendakuriyo, a refugee himself, is an advocate of bridging the gap between the communities. "I wanted to become a leader because I figured out we were the change:' he said. "We had the power, the language and the culture to help us solve problems that might not be clear to either side Satin Tashnizi, a junior in political science, said the forum was refreshing. "We're college students — we go on Facebook, then we go to sleep.That's the end of it','Tashnizi said. `There's a lot in our own community that goes unseen, and it's important to know there are resources taking care of the things that aren't being addressed:' c.luu@chronicle.utah.edu @cynthia luu 5 |