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Show UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Wednesday, April 20,2005 Another day of rain showers and cooler temperatures. High: 43, low: 32 Juggling school, kids harder than it seems, some say BY A M Y STRANGER Sports Aggie Life Aggie tennis team beats Idaho State. USU students err on the side of comedy. Page 5 Page 13 Student leader of the year Working for grad students Staff Writer For students with children, the daily demands of school, work and family responsibilities can be daunting. Cindy Ollis, mother of three girls, ages 5, 3,and 2 says the most difficult thing about having a family and going to school is not having enough hours in the day. Ollis works as a graduate assistant at Utah State University as she pursues concurrent Master's and doctorate degrees in research and evaluation methodology. Her husband attends USU and works part time as well. A typical day for Ollis begins with walking her oldest daughter to kindergarten. Her daughter, if given the opportunity, would take 45 minutes to an hour to walk to school because she likes to play with the sticks, pinecones and squirrels along the way. In order to get to school by 8 a.m. herself, Ollis says she has to force her daughter to walk faster than she wants to. At school, Ollis generally has class or works until 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. then picks her daughter up from school. During the 10 or 15 minutes she is home after that, she makes lunch, feeds her children, eats, then goes back to school until 4 p.m., while her husband takes care of the girls. (Her husband's Saturday and night classes help balance the juggling act). Ollis said she emphasizes the need to be organized. She has a system for her girls where they can earn points for completing certain tasks and redeem them for privileges. "That helps them do what they need to do, which leaves more time for you," Ollis said. This doesn't mean that it's always smooth sailing. Ollis said she has her challenges. "I do get stressed out, but there's not a whole lot I can do about that," she said, adding she also misses being home with her girls more. Ollis' advice to students who do not yet See Page 4 University clubs will be held accountable for funding, ASUSU says BY HII^RY INCOLDSBY Senior Writer This years Associated Students of Utah State University Executive Council met for the last time Tuesday and after much debate passed a bill making clubs and organizations more accountable for the funding they receive. The bill, sponsored by Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Senator Brandon Halford, requests that any club or organization that receives money from the Capital and Support fund must report its spending one month after the event which the money was given for. Clubs and organizations would report to a committee set up by ASUSU. The bill also reads that any leftover money be given back to the fund and if not, the club or organization will be penalized. Penalties could include, but are not lirpited to, the club losing its CSCO (Council of Student Clubs and Organizations) membership. However, the bill was not met unopposed nor did it pass on the first vote. "I don't agree at all with this bill," Spencer Taylor, from the College Republicans, said. "People won't want to return extra money so they'll just waste it. " College Republican Tara Stephenson also expressed her concern asking if every penny spent from the Executive Council's budget is audited and said she feels the money would be better spent being given to the clubs rather than auditing the clubs. Danin Humphreys, Science senator, agreed. "I worry about us giving ASUSU a bad Asi JSI J See Page 3 John Zsiray//zs/ray@cc.usu.ec/L/ A.J. ROUNDS EXPLAINS some of the accomplishments of the Graduate Student Senate. Rounds has served as the senate's president as well as the graduate studies vice president on the ASUSU Executive Council. Recently, ASUSUEC allocated $15,000 in travel funds to GSS. BY BROOKE NELSON Assistant News Editor Graduate students don't always get the recognition they deserve, but making sure they have the funding and tools they need to be successful was A.J. Rounds' top priority this year. "There's nothing worse than telling a student we are out of funding for their research," Rounds said. "That kills me every time." Rounds, the Associated Students of Utah State University graduate studies vice president and Graduate Student Senate president, has been selected as the 2005 Utah Statesman student leader of the year. A key player in the restructuring of both the GSS and the ASUSU Executive Council, Rounds has initiated long-term change for USU students. "This is the beginning of real progress for our graduate students at Utah State University," said Tiffany Evans, student leadership and involvement center adviser. "His diligence, his commitment, hard work and his thoughtfulness really make him an extraordinary leader." Tackling difficult issues such as health insurance, travel funds and stipends, Rounds has helped reenergize the GSS, Evans said. "A.J. is one of the most natural leaders I've ever known," said School of Graduate Studies Interim Dean Larry Smith. "He has put forward a very large number of ideas and initiatives to improve the quality of graduate student life." Twice as many graduate students participated in the I FAOFR See Page 3 Connecting through silence USU students practice signing during Silent Weekend BY ANDREW BECK Staff Writer Photo courtesy Andrew Beck STUDENTS PRACTICE SIGNING through slow motion fist fighting. USU students, with the company of other students throughout Utah, spent the weekend at Camp Utaba developing their sign language skills. The only sound the staff of Camp Utaba heard last weekend was laughter, and lots of it. Friday and Saturday, the Deaf Education Student Association (DESA) sponsored its 13th annual Silent Weekend at Camp Utaba, near Ogden. Jan Kelley-King, a professor in Utah State University's deaf education department, said Silent Weekend began as a way to encourage sign language students' contact with Deaf Culture. More than 60 people from all across northern Utah gathered for this voiceless event to practice their sign language skills, associate with SIIFNITWFFKFND See Page 3 |