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Show Auction rustles up funds for rodeo club Briefs Campus^Community" 'J BY MELISSA REIDHEAD \ Staff Writer Engineering prof earns fellowship The USU Rodeo Club's cowboy auction Thursday night at dub NVO attracted more than 600 people, and helped raise some much needed funds for the club. At midnight, a "Western Adventures with People" auction took place to raise moneyforthe fodeo team. Rodeo members Jeff Heady, Stephanie Nelson, Stephanie Crowther, and Colton Thacker were auctioned for the winners' choice of a movie date, house cleaning, or horseback riding. The bidding started at $5 and the total sales reached about $250, says CJ Moedl, a rodeo member. Overall, she said she considered the auction a success. In the Karaoke contest, many contestants flaunted their musical talent to a variety of country and pop tunes, imitating musicians ranging from Garth Brooks to Mariah Carey until midnight. In the country-dance room, a contest for the couple with the best dance moves brought almost everyone out onto the dance floor. Competition ran high as endless variations of flips and twirls were executed by many, making the dance floor tight for space. Jessica Alexander/jalexander@cc.usu.edu •AUCTION See page 4 MEMBERS OF THE USU RODEO CLUB hosted a cowboy auction Thursday night at Club NVO to raise money for the team. • GROWING U P From page 7 Aruma said he had done so well that the school paid for him to continue his education. Aruma studied as much as he could, arriving at school at 5 a.m. for a personal preparation hour. After the principal was promoted, financial help from the school was nQ longer available because the new principal didn't understand Aruma's situation, he said. Aruma said he began spending his days selling bread to pay his way through high school. "I would go and sell bread so that I could study when I wasn't in classes," Aruma said. Aruma said he was was eventually sponsored by a woman in the United Kingdom who heard about hfs situation through her granddaughter who was observing the schools in Kenya. "That was such a blessing that I feel I need to extend that blessing tq others," Aruma said. Aruma said one of his goals is to try to help other people in his country. "To live a different life would be so many ingredients that will make you someone better in life," Aruma said. "Even though you help a country by giving money in donations, you can't help a people who can't help themselves. That is my personal victory in life. "I must make sure I have sponsored a little girl or boy who can't get their main education. Seeing as how it was so hard for me to get my education, the only thing I can do to make a difference is to help at least one other." Varuna Ponnamperuma, a sophomore in business from Sri Lanka, said although education is completely free in Sri Lanka, it is far from easy to succeed. In Sri Lanka, when you get out of junior high, she said you select the stream of what you want to study. "The senior high school is like the basic level of the college," said Ponnamperuma. "At the end of the senior high school exam, they give you a rank ... depending on your rank, out of the 600,000 student in the country, less than 50,000 get selected to go to college." This test can be taken three times, but Ponnamperuma said the kids who don't get into college start taking foreign exams to go to school outside of the country, or can get into, college through athletics. "College is paid for by the government and you have to buy your books, that's why that exam is so hard," Ponnamperuma said. Ponnamperuma said high school is much harder and is taken much more seriously in Sri Lanka than it is in the United States. "If you have three A's in high school, you can get up to 40 transfer credits ... and you can never use a calculator," Ponnamperuma said. Because of the heavy focus on school, Ponnamperuma said the youth have restrictions on dating, mostly enforced by the parents. "In our culture, you have to tell your parents if you are dating someone. Here, you can get married at 20 and you can take care of your own life, but you can't do that there," Ponnamperuma said. "You are dependent on your parents until you enter the real world, [and] you can support yourself after college." She said because of the strength of family relationships, there are few cases of singleparent homes or divorces in Sri Lanka. "We are so close to our parents; we tell them everything everyday they are right behind us... It's not a big problem, officially no one walks out on the family, if there are problems they try to solve them. Family is very strong. Knowing what your kid will do, making sure they are in a good place," said Pommanperuma. "They stand behind you from kindergarten to senior high." - Durga Kafle, a Ph.D. student in physics, is a member of the married population at Utah State Univeristy, although he may be the only one who had an arranged marriage. Kafle is from Nepal, where his parents and the parents of his wife arranged their marriage. Many students in Nepal also have a very close relationship with their parents, Kafle said. Of course, that may be because it is their parents who will be choosing their spouse. "We don't have dating customs," Kafle said. "Dating is not permitted at all. Some young people will still do it, but very few. We don't date, we don't digest dating. It's not against the law, it's not Legally in the legislation, but it's the cultural norm that dating is not permitted. Society doesn't see it as a good thing." Arranged marriages are still practiced by most of the families Contact USU Police at 797-1939 for non-emergencies. Anonymous reporting line: 797-5000 EMERGENCY NUMBER: 911 Blotter tice News fn Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005 • USU Police responded to the Widstoe Maser building on a water leak. A valve had started leaking in Room 11. Plumbing was called, the water was shut off and the valve was repaired. in Nepal, but forced marriage is not, he said. "The girl's parents and the boy's parents get together and compromise an arrangement for proposal, then the boy and the girl get together and if they don't agree, they will not get married. There is no forcing; the boy and the girl must accept, but the bride and groom are not freely left to their own choices." Kafle said today his own marriage is successful, although he was a little nervous at first. "My parents let me know I was going to marry that girl and I thought, 'Oh, how will I like her? And 'What would I do if I didn't like he?' But once I saw her and I talked to her, it worked out." With the highest paying job providing only $300 per month in Nepal, supporting a family in the United States might be a little easier, however Kafle said the education in Nepal is much cheaper than it is here. "The public universities are between $15 and $20 per semester," Kafle said, "Private schools are more like $30 to $40 per month." Kafle said the schools are the same quality as they are in the United States, but given the family income in Nepal, the education is much cheaper. Students from all over the world come to Utah State to further their education, each with a different story from a different land. Please read Wednesday's Utah Statesman for the second part othe series. -etippets@cc.usu.edu & Community • USU Police responded to 900 North and 800 East on a report of a traffic accident. This accident was a result of a northbound vehicle sliding on the ice and colliding with another vehiclewaiting to go west on 900 North. Logan City Police also responded and conducted the investigation. Police found that a class was being held and they had accidentally activated the alarm. • Police found two individuals in the steam tunnels. The individuals were warned for trespassing and released. Tuesday, Nov. 29; 2005 Thursday, Nov. 24, 2005 • Police responded to a fire alarm at the Valley View Towers. The alarm was activated by a resident who left a bagel unattended in a toaster. The alarm was silenced and reset without any further problems. • While doing traffic patrol, USU Police witnessed an Aggie Shuttle bus traveling westbound, slide on 900 North and 800 East, colliding into the stop sign and road sign north of the intersection. There were no injuries to report. • Police responded to Mountain View Tower on a 911 hang-up call. This call was accidently made when the resident misdialed a long distance number, • USU Police responded to a traffic accident where the vehicle slid down 800 East, heading northbound, hitting the curb on the west side of the street. There was minimal damage to report and no injuries, Friday, Nov. 25, 2005 Monday, Nov. 28, 2005 • Police responded to the Space Dynamics Lab for a suspicious smell of natural gas. The odor was not detected by police upon arriving at the area. • Police arrested an individual for a warrant out of Logan City. The individual was transported to the Cache County Jail for failure to appear. Saturday, Nov. 26,2005 • USU Police responded to an intrusion alarm at the USU Observatory. Upon arrival • Police responded to the Merrill Cazier Library for a report of a missing envelope with money. This investigation is continuing. • USU Police responded to the south side of the Taggart Student Center on a complaint of a bicycle that had been locked to the railing of the handicap ramp. This bicycle had been there for several weeks so it was placed in the USU Police bicycle impound. Thursday, Dec. 1, 2005 • Police responded to Wasatch Hall on a report of snow balls thrown at the building. The subjects were gone when police arrived. Compiled by Aaron Falk. All police blotters can be found at www.utah statesman.com Utah State University professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering Alma P. Moser has been elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The Fellow grade is the highest elected grade of membership within ASME. It recognizes exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession. Moser has enjoyed a 44-year career as a teacher, researcher, administrator and author, said Byard Wood, department head of USU's department of mechanical and aerospace engineering. "His research and book, 'Buried Pipe Design' (published in 1990 and revised in 2001), have strongly influenced the structural designs for buried drainage pipe used throughout the world," said Wood. For 29 years Moser has served in key roles in USU's department of the mechanical and aerospace engineering, including serving time as its department head. He also served as associate dean for USU's College of Engineering and as an elected official in his community as both councilman and mayor. "I enjoy teaching and researching at USU, and my job gives me great satisfaction," said Moser. "I have had students come back over the years and thank me for helping them achieve their dreams, and there is nothing better. Working with the young students keeps me young and involved, and there are wonderful people at USU." Founded in 1880, today's ASME is a 120,000-member professional organization focused on technical, educational and research issues of the engineering and technology community. The society conducts one of the worlds' largest technical publishing operations, holds numerous technical conferences worldwide and offers hundreds of professional development courses each year. ASME sets internationally recognized industrial and manufacturing codes and standards that enhance public safety Professor honored with service award The American Speech Language and Hearing Association recently awarded Utah State University Professor Karl White with its prestigious distinguished service award for his long-time work with the screening of infants for hearing loss. As director of the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Measurement, White has been responsible for many contributions to the ASHA and to the public. The award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to the field of speech-language pathology and audiol°gyWhite's work has resulted in earlier identification of children with hearing loss in all states, along with 29 countries throughout the world. More than 95 percent of the nation's newborns now receive newborn hearing screening. "His contributions are immense," said ASHA Fellow Jean Johnson. "With these advancements, the average age for the identification of hearing loss in infants and young children dropped from two-and-one-half years in 1988 to three months in 2004." Extension agent gets Air Force award Joanne Roueche, Utah State University Extension youth/4-H agent, Davis County, is the recipient of the first National Association of Extension 4- H Agents 4-H/Air Force Aim High Award. She is recognized for outstanding effort and support of Air Force 4-H programs and her work in the Davis County community. Roueche has fostered a partnership with the staff at the Hill Air Force Base Youth Center that has led to new opportunities for military youth and families. She helped begin and maintain 4-H clubs, implemented the Wonderful Outdoor World (WOW) camp, conducted staff training, secured grant funds to support 4-H interns and built a 4-H program for Air Force youth. As a military mother herself, Roueche understands the stress and hardships many military families and youth experience and has planned 4-H programs accordingly. She integrated the military and community 4-H programs and provided many 4-H opportunities for youth and families in Davis County. • Compiled from staff and media reports |