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Show UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY THE Relaxation sensation Page 9 Logan, Utah • Campus Voice Since 1902 www.utahstatesman.com Monday, Dec. 5,2005 New school will give students a head start GROWING U P AROUND THE GLOBE: FIRST OF THREE PARTS BY KATIE ASHTON Senior Writer BY ARIE KIRK StaH Writer The Early College High School, on USU's Innovation Campus, is set to open in the fall of 2006, will give students the opportunity to complete high school and at least two years of college in a challenging learning environment, said Steve Zsiray, CEO and principal of the school. Zsiray said he plans to enhance college readiness through high standards, a demand for excellence, accountability, open communication, strong partnerships and fairness. "We want to create success for every child. That is our mission," Zsiray said. "My goal is to get these kids ready for college." The school will be highly intensive and any child willing to work and dedicate their time to school is welcome, Zsiray said. Those admitted to the school will be chosen through a blind lottery on Jan. 31. Zsiray said by law, students have to be selected through a lottery. "Having a blind lottery gives everyone an equal chance. I believe in fairness," Zsiray said. He expects to service approximately 75 students from each grade, ninth through twelfth. "We believe in small learning communities with only 300 students," Zsiray said. "There will be 20-25 students in each class." Diversity is encouraged and Zsiray said he hopes the school will be a fair representation of the community. He said 20 percent of the student body will come from groups who are underrepresented in college. All of the state requirements for high school graduation will be met. The school's curriculum will focus mainly on science, technology, engineering and math. Zsiray said engineering and technology will be fundamental components of the curriculum. Math and science requirements will be extended to four years. "The way we teach math in this country is a mile wide and an inch deep. It should be an inch wide and a mile deep," Zsiray said. By focusing on these four subjects, Zsiray said, "A talent base will be added to our existing base of quality high school graduates that will found new companies, create and develop new technologies and increase human knowledge." Preparing for state tests will also be a main part of the curriculum. Zsiray said, "I have been to schools in Germany and the Netherlands and they treat testing like an athletic event. It should be like that here. Testing is important." The school will offer extracurricular activities like chess, debate and a small ensemble in music, Zsiray said. "We are not going to have sports. We are not going to have a marching band," Zsiray said. The mission of the school is to help students pursue a career, but also to produce wellrounded citizens, Zsiray said. Students need to know how to collaborate and cooperate with others. These important social skills will be taught at the school, Zsiray said. Quoting John Dewey, Zsiray said, "What the best and wisest Remember Saturday morning cartoons? See page 4 Revamping their meeting frequency, the Board of Trustees decided they would assemble on Utah State University's campus quarterly, rather than every other month. During Friday's meeting, members of the board decided meeting every other month is less effective than meeting quarterly and using teleconference to meet in between sessions. In addition, the committees will have a stronger role, Richard Shipley, chairman of the board, said, adding, "[It would be] beefing up committee meetings so they're more impactful." "Right now, we're spending an enormous amount of time [planning each meeting]," Stan Albrecht, president of USU, said. In a unanimous vote, the meeting frequency of the board changed to the proposed quarterly sessions. Although the board decided to change its meeting times, they will still keep the first • Editor's note: VUs is the first of a three part series on growing up in countries other than the United States. Part two will run in Wednesday's Utah Statesman. Growing Up Around the Globe features accounts from more than a dozen USU students from countries around the world. Here are some of the students in today's story: BY EMMA TIPPI-.TTS Assistant Features Editor John Aruma, a junior in electrical engineering at Utah State University, isn't used to turning the lights on or turning on the coffee machine when he wakes up in the morning, much less using the Internet on a regular basis. Aruma is from a community in Kenya, Africa, where his family does not have electricity or a plumbing system. "The plumbing is used from tanks that gather water from the rain," Aruma said. "Because you are here, you have the opportunity, you have the time you to do your best. Don't take it lightly and, if possible, travel the other places in the world where things are not taken for granted; support people in the other countries and learn something that will change your life forever." USU accepts more than 1,200 international students from more than 85 countries each year, according to the Office of International Students and Scholars Web site. International students have many of the same incentives to attend Utah State as the locals do, including family ties, scholarships, the variety of programs, research opportunities, and the like. But while American students are dating as usual, eating the same foods and listening to the same music, foreign students are living a completely different life in a new country. Aruma said it is important for college students to be very determined in taking advantage of the education that is available to student in the United States. "People should know — as much as people joke around with education — somewhere there is somebody who wants to get it and doesn't have that chance," Aruma said. Growing up as a child on a cattle farm in Kenya, Aruma said he desperately wanted an education that, at the time, was out of reach. "Most people go to elementary level, but high school is tough for disadvantaged communities. Especially those who raise animals, who rely on natural things, subject to drought or [cattle rustler] raids," Aruma said. When he was accepted into the national high school, Aruma said his family did not have the money to support him. They saved all they could for two months and were raided by cattle rustlers who stole all of the family cows, he said. The family had to start their farm all over again and start saving again. Eventually, he said the family was able to sell two cows to send Aruma to school. Although at the time they only had enough money for the uniforms, after the exam scores came out, • GROWING UP See page 3 • SCHOOL Board to meet less frequently BOARD See page 4 Second-annual Commencement will be 'more intimate9 event BY D I LEWIS Staff Writer Name: John Aruma Major: Electrical Engineering Home: Kenya tfrincomalee SRI (CEYLON) Name: Varuna Ponnamperuma Major: Business Home: Sri Lanka Name: Durga Kafle Major: Physics Home: Nepal The second-annual December Commencement will offer a more intimate, studentcentered gathering for students graduating this semester, officials say. Tim Vitale, assistant director of public relations and marketing at USU and a member of the commencement council, said this year's commencement offers a variety of activities for the approximately 550 graduate and undergraduate students celebrating their graduation. There will be no practice for the ceremony; students will gather at the Fieldhouse at 9:30 a.m. and the processional will begin at 10 a.m., Vitale said. "It's fun to walk, it's part of the tradition," Vitale said, "but we do live in Utah and we are just hoping for good weather. It worked out well last year, but if there are any problems with the weather, we will put out announcements about where to meet." The ceremony itself begins at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 17 in the Spectrum, Vitale said. Guests do not have to buy advance tickets, Vitale said, and seating will be done on a first-come, first-served basis, with the doors opening at 9:30 a.m. There will be two speakers for this year's ceremony, Sonia Manuel-Dupont and a valedictory address; the second speaker has not yet been finalized, Vitale said, but will be chosen on Tuesday. "We felt that since it's such a smaller gathering in the fall, that instead of choosing a speaker that nobody knows, it would be better to get people that students are familiar with," Vitale said. "It went well a year ago, so we decided to continue the tradition." Manuel-Dupont, a professor with appointments in three departments, "is a great speak• COMMENCEMENT See page 4 |