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Show •ALCOHOL From page 7 hoi infractions, Milligan said. Mike McPharlin, University of Utah campus police detective said he has seen an increase in illegal alcohol consumption as well, but attributes that to better enforcement and better record-keeping. "I believe in the past some of the numbers have been underreported," McPharlin said. "The issue has become one that has garnered more interest, especially among those who are not of legal age." However, both universities han- die violators in a similar manner by mandating them to participate in an alcohol awareness program. "The majority of people that come into us don't want help but they are being sanctioned," said Jana Carling, Student Health and Wellness Center prevention specialist. "We've had quite a few people referred to us." If a student is abusing alcohol, he or she can participate in an education program that has an overall high success rate, Carling said. For those who arc dependent or addicted to alcohol, they may also be referred to a counselor for more one-on-onc help. "I don't see that it changes every single person every time because sometimes some aren't ready to change yet, but I do see it change a lot of people," Carling said. In any case, the Wellness Center recommends that students, if they choose to drink, do it responsibly at the right age and to never drink more than one drink per hour, with a maximum of three drinks in a day or in a sitting. McPharlin cautioned that many students do not realize the consequences they may experience from drinking. He recently saw a case where a man became so intoxicated that he ended up getting robbed and he doesn't remember any of it. "He was awakened by the police because he was lying near the edge of the street," he said. Students with questions or comments about alcohol consumption on USU's campus can contact the Wellness Center at 797-1660. -mmackay@cc.usu.edu TRICKY SITUATION Briefs Board ofRegents to meet in Salt Lake The Utah State Board of Regents will meet Dec. 9 in the Olpin Building at the • University of Utah from 9:30 a.m. to noon to discuss year-end reports. The Utah Systems of Higher Education (USHE) will present its annual report on student financial aid. State funding for student financial aid has not increased in several years despite tuition cost increases over the past five years. Since 2001, the number of student borrowers has increased 55 percent, and the average debt burden for four years of higher education has increased 14 percent to $14,049. USHE will also present its annual report on salary retention funds. The State Legislature appropriated approximately $2.5 million in salary retention funds to USHE. This funding has allowed Utah's public higher education institutions to retain their "best and brightest" faculty and staff, who might otherwise be lured away for increased salaries. Researcher finds stepfamily success A Utah State University researcher found that one of the main factors in the success of remarriages is blending stepchildren and stepparents into a cohesive family unit. The key to building a successful step family starts with building individual relationships, said Researcher Brian Higginbotham. Approximately half of all U.S. marriages are remarriages for one or both partners, and one third of all children in the United States will live in a stepfamily household before they reach adulthood. "Increasingly, remarriage is becoming a familiar and frequent phenomenon in our society," said Higginbotham. "It is important that we move beyond a negative conceptualization of stepfamilies and focus on the strengths and opportunities afforded to children and adults in this increasingly normative family formation." USU bands present festival concert The Utah State University Wind Orchestra Symphonic Band will present its annual seasonal festival concert Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Concert Hall in the Chase Fine Arts Center on the USU campus. This year's concert, which includes numerous seasonal tunes, is headlined by Symphony No. 1, "Lord of the Rings" by Johan de Meij. The work, completed in 1988, predates the movies and other publicity of the J.R.R. Tolkien literary work by more than 10 years. Under the direction of Thomas P. Rohrer, the symphony in five movements is extremely graphic in musically depicting major people and places developed by Tolkien including, "Gandalf," "Lothelorien," "Gollum," "The Journey in the Dark" and "The Hobbits." "It is a rare occurrence that the entire symphony is played because of its difficulty and epic nature," Rohrer said. The USU Symphonic Band, Flute Choir, Trombone Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble will also perform. The annual event is always a bright combination of holiday cheer and accessible music for all to enjoy, Rohrer said. Admission is $5 for adults and $10 for families. USU and school music students are admitted without charge. Jessica Alexander/jalexander@ccusu.edu A LARGE CRANE sits completey enclosed by the parking terrace that is being built as part of the Student Living/Learning Center on campus. When the parking terrace is completed construction workers will use a second crane to take out the first crane piece by piece. The parking structure will hold 612 parking stalls to serve students living in the Living/Learning Community, commuter students, faculty, staff and visitors. The terrace is scheduled to be completed for fall semester 2006. ' ' • MASCOT From page 7 would have been known for its intelligence, the Wolverine for its toughness and the Mummycat for its uniqueness. This is the first school year the Cache Valley Learning Center kids have spent in the building at 75 S. 400 West. The building had been used for about 15 years by Bear River Head Start, and was used as a church before that. Sometime after school started this fall, school handyman Chris Weber was doing maintenance work in the building's basement and crawl spaces when he found the cat. "I was almost afraid to touch it," he said, although he ended up dragging it out on a little sled. "I kind of thought, 'This would be cool for something.'" The conditions within the crawl space must have been perfect to preserve the cat, Masslich said. Natural mummifications require colder, arid environments, much like the snowy peaks decadesold mountain men and women have been discovered on in South America. There's no telling how old the Learning Center mummycat is, he said, unless a professional examined it. "The kids have been urging us to preserve it," he said, which is something he'd been hesitant to do before election results came in. The cat has already helped in some lessons, he said. It was discovered while students were learning about Egyptians, so it was neat for them to see a "real natural mummy," Masslich said. All students in fourth- through eighth-grade have been invited to trek downstairs and see the cat, while the younger students have been kept away because they might get scared, he said. For now, the school will continue developing a design to use as the mascot, possibly voting on that once ideas materialize. Masslich said he'll look into getting a glass case for their not-so-furry friend downstairs, too. "One thing is that we've been trying to teach with this building - there's a lot of history here," he said. "A lot of things have happened in here." First Lady leads reading celebration First Lady Mary Kaye Huntsman, this year's Scholastic Read For 2006 Ambassador of Reading for Utah, will read with students at Backman Elementary in Salt Lake City to celebrate the excitement and magic of books as part of Scholastic Read For 2006, the seventh annual children's read-a-thon. The event will be held at Backman Elementary, 601 N. 1500 West, today at 1:30 p.m. Utah's students will join millions of children, parents and teachers from around the world to read a book together for 2,006 seconds (approximately 33 Vi minutes) as part of this global celebration of reading. ^Compiled from staff and media reports |