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Show 5 UTAH' " S T A T E S M A N MONDAY, FEB. 28,2005 USU organization helps reentry students BY HILARY INCOLDSBY Senior Writer Susan Redding started her journey at Utah State University 18 years ago. Now, this Wellsville mother of two is back and receiving some extra support from the Pinnacle Honor Society. The Pinnacle Honor Society was created in 1989 in Kentucky for non-traditional students, those who have had a hiatus in their college education. The first USU chapter was started in 1990, said Janet Osborne, Women's Center and Reentry Student Center director. The society is open to students who have been out of school for five or more years, are 26 years or older and have at least a 3.0 GPA. The society targets juniors and seniors and encourages leadership and volunteerism, Osborne said. More than 200 students have been inducted into the society since it's beginning in 1990. On Thursday, 20 new members were inducted into the society. Redding is one of these new members. She said she never intended on getting a college degree when she first started her college career in 1987- After a serious car accident left she unable to take some of her finals, she quit school. For years Redding made wedding cakes, but eventually decided that the trade took her awayfromher family too often on the weekends. "I was just getting burned out," Redding said. Soon after, Redding started to substitute at schools and was encouraged by her fellow teachers to finish her degree. Now she is a junior majoring in elementary education and balances a full class-load with a busy family life as well. "Individuals in the society are really very busy and many have said that being in the society is PlNNAPI F See Page 4 SHIRTS From Page 7 viduals and groups on campus submit their designs" she said. "We are planning on contacting all fraternities, sororities and clubs about the contest, as well as advertising on campus " she said. "We'll get the word out, people will know what is going on." Jorgenson said everyone on campus is encouraged to participate in the contest because the selection committee, made up of students and faculty, should have as many designs as possiblefromwhich to choose. He said he has sensed a little boredom regarding the same A-game shirts since earlier this year. "We want to create a new excitement for next year's athletics," he said. 1 think students really enjoy new T-shirts, and while it's hard work, it's worth it" Designing new game day shirts would be too difficult to do annually, he said, but two years is worth the wait. Strong and Jorgenson agreed that most criticism of the A-game shirts is directed toward the front of the shirt with the #1 symbol, while the back, which states "show them you're A-game," seems to be well liked. "We encourage students to design the front of the shirt," Jorgenson said. "We don't necessarily have to keep the back the way it is, but most complaints are about the front" If things go as planned, he said, the contest would begin soon after Spring Break and the winning shirt could be unveiled as early as finals week "As far as unveiling the winning design, we have a few ideas," he said. "We'd like for the basketball coaches to present it at our final game, or we could hold off until we come back in the fall." Ideally, he said, a certain percentage of the shirt sales' proceeds would also be awarded to the winning club or organization who designed the image. Jorgenson said he wants USU students to understand the real motivation behind new game day shirts. John Zsiray/jzsiray@cc.U5U.edu STUDENTS WEAR THEIR GAME-DAY T-SHIRTS at the men's basketball game Saturday against ,UC Irvine. This design was developed last year, under then-ASUSU Athletics Vice President Tyler Olsen. Other shirt designs will be considered during a contest to be held after Spring Break. "No one is making money on these shirts, that's not the idea," he said. "These are designed by students and that is why we came up with this whole project." He said he encourages all USU students to pay the $5 for a new shirt because the small price is well worth a little school spirit and unity. "If the seats are blue in the fans section, we've met our goal," Strong said. -lexiek@cc. usu. edu SPRING BREAK From Page 1 create a library for the children. "The big focus is literacy," said Lynae Gardner, vice president of the club. The club members also plan to build a baseball diamond in the back of the school during the four days they will be in Mexico. They will be bringing baseball equipment, jump ropes and other sports supplies for the students. "We are really going to help the school out," said group member Annette Johnson. Twenty-one USU students who are members of Volunteers Involved in Development Abroad (VIDA) will also be traveling abroad to Brazil over the break. They will be distributing school supplies and food to more than 1,000 students in two different cities. Each student will be allowed to bring two duffle bags, which will be stuffed with hygiene items, sports equipment and other necessities. The volunteers will bring dona- tions to buy 200 food packets. Two packets will feed one Brazilian family for one month. VIDA members will also be constructing a school pavilion for classes and looking for other ways to help those in need. If there is money left over, other projects could be completed. "It's a very intense five-day project," Robson Chaves, faculty adviser for the club, said. The students will also have the opportunity to play with the Brazilian kids and create sports tournaments for them to be involved in. Many of the students going are soccer, hockey, football or basketball players and will be able to hold sports workshops. Getting the kids to participate in tournaments and workshops may help them stay out of the street, Chaves said. The VIDA group will get to experience Brazil in a Blotter IRolice Jiews from the Campus & Dnmrnnnitv Friday, Feb. 11, 2005 • USU Police responded to a report of smoke in an apartment. It was determined that an individual had been . burning an incense stick. ;., . .-: •;•::.-, Monday, Feb. 13, 2005 ^ • USU Police responded to a vandalism report at the LTD bus stop shelters near the Veterinary Science Building. An unknown individual had shot out eight of the glass panes in two of the j bus stop shelters. > ; ; ^ r ;^ Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2005 / • USU Police responded to Valley View Tower on a delayed theft report of some clothing that was stolen out of a clothes dryer in the basement. Police are investigating at this time. Thursday, Feb. 16, 2005 V USU Police responded to the Parking Terrace on a report that a motorist attempted to enter when the gate was down and got stuck on ice and was unable to back out. Police successfully pushed the vehicle out and unlocked the gate. • USU Police responded to the Merrill Science on a delayed report of a television stolen from the Military Science building. After investigating, it was determined that the television was not stolen, but moved to a different location. , , Friday, Feb. 18, 2005 • USU Police responded to 1000 North and 950 East on a report of a group of snowboarders building a ramp on the stairs. Police contacted four individuals who were warned not to return. Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005 • USU Police responded to the vehicle storage garage at Facilities on a report of slashed tires on several vehicles. Three tires had been slashed while the service-oriented light, but will also explore the culture and get to spend some time interacting with the people there. "We travel and have fun but make a difference internationally and get to know a different culture," said Chaves. VIDA has service projects going on all around the world. This spring break, USU also has two students who will be joining a group from the University of Utah to serve in Panama. VIDA accepts cash donations, toys and school supplies for other projects conducted year round. While it is too late to join students for this Spring Break, volunteers are needed for upcoming service projects. For more information, call the Service Center at 435-797SERV or e-mail VIDA at www.vida4all.org or The Rotaract Club at apro@cc.usu.edu. -briannamo@cc.usu.edu Contact USU Police at 7971939 for non-emergencies. Anonymous reporting line: 797-5000 EMERGENCY NUMBER: 911 trucks were parked. Police are investigating. • USU Police responded to the Merrill Library on a report of a dog inside the Quad Side Cafe. The police contacted the owner who was given a warning and then release. Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005 • USU Police responded to a fire alarm at Reeder Hall that was caused by cooking fumes from a resident sauteing onions on his stovetop. The alarm was reset without further problems. Thursday, Feb. 24,2005 • USU Police responded to Mountain View Tower for a report of a suspicious person. The person was visiting the campus and was waiting for his girlfriend. Police took no further action. Compiled by Katie Ashton. ;; All police blotters can be found at -' • www.utah statesman.com Early registration is available for annual landscape conference Earl)' registration is underway for tbe 2005 Sustainable Landscapes Conference, which is April 5 at Utah State University. "Landscape Cycles: Connecting People to Place Through Agriculture" is the theme of the fifth annual gathering, which features lectures by nationally renowned speakers, along with workshops and discussions led by local experts. Early registrants for the day-long conference receive discounted tickets of $30 per person if purchased by March 15. Tickets are $40 after March 15. Cost for students with current ID is $10. Tickets include access to all conference sessions, a conference guide, continental breakfast and lunch. A complete conference schedule and registration forms are available online at www.sustainablelandscapes. org or by calling 435-797-0500. Political commentator Jim Hightower is keynote speaker for the gathering. Hightower is author of the New York Times Best-Seller "Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country and It's Time to Take it Back." He will present the conference's opening address, "Beyond the Kitchen Table: Connecting Local to Global." Competition to recycle continues The Recycle Mania Competition is in its fourth week. In comparison to Harvard and Brigham Young University, Utah State University is averaging 2.52 pounds per student per week. However, in comparison with USU, BYU is averaging .9 pounds per student per week and Harvard is 4.61 pounds. With the total campus recycling to total waste ratios, USU is averaging 20.34 percent, BYU is averaging 25.1 percent and Harvard is up to 25.36 t percent. For more information about the1 competition or recycling, contact Jay Price at usu_recycling@yahoo.com or call 770-6229- USU students receive award for robot technology A group of Utah State University engineering graduate students received second place in the 2005 Crossbow Smart Dust Challenge at the second international TinyOS Technology Exchange at the University of California-Berkeley in February. The team developed robot technology that could help protect against environmental hazards or even terrorist attacks. The team is comprised of doctoral students Zhen Song, Zhongmin Wang and master's students Pengyu Chen and Anisha Arora. Mentored by USU electrical and computer engineering faculty member YangQuan Chen, the team won $2,000 and a $500 travel allowance for work that merged Crossbow's wireless motes with ground mobile robot technology that can characterize or remove poisonous fog. A mote is a tiny, self-contained, battery-powered embedded computer that exchanges data with other motes via radio links. Motes are the building blocks of wireless sensor networks. "Our project is full of innovative ideas that include a low-cost platform," said Zhen Song, team leader for the project. "There are many research opportunities in distributed controls using mobile actuator sensor networks" . The annual competition represents ideas for wireless sensor networking that demonstrate how it is used, programmed and deployed to positively impact society. Entries in the contest were judged on impact to society, originality of concept, commercial value and benefit to the user, ingenuity and each team's demonstration of the entry. All entries were based on the TinyOS operating system. COMPILED BY STATESMAN STAFF |