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Show Widayjfepil, TheUtah Briefs • CONNECTIONS From page 7 student program coordinator for Connections, said. Noelle Call, director of the retention and first year experience department, said the research the university has done shows Connections students are "happier with the campus and more involved in campus life." Connections is a two-credit class that begins the Wednesday before school starts and gives students the opportunity to get to know people, the campus and prepare for life away from home. "This is a great tool," Thompson said. "This is the first time students don't have a mom or dad or guardian around, the first time they don't have someone waking them up and making them go to class. They're given a lot of freedom and we help them learn responsibility and manage their lives." More than half of incoming freshmen signed up for Connections, with the highest turnout in its 27-year history. The four-day program offered a variety of activities. Students went hiking to the Wind Caves up Logan Canyon, socialized with other freshmen, watched a hypnotist and played games to get them acquainted with campus. They also paid $5 for a tour of downtown Logan, where they wandered Main Street, received food from several local businesses and "moshed to '60s music" from a live band, Thompson said. Before they came to Connections, they were required to read the book "Warriors Don't Cry" by Carlotta Walls LaNier, complete an assignment and attend a lecture given by the author — known as one of the "Little Rock Nine." This was designed to help them adjust to the difference between high school and college coursework, Thompson said. The students also attended classes on how to deal with time, stress, money and college life. Steve Bachman, a freshman in mechanical engineering, said, "I felt like it was busy work. If you're at college, you should know how to make time for sleep." Marketing and finance junior Corinna Gross said she wished the classes would have focused more on "how to work the system." She said it would have been helpful to learn more about where she should go and what she should do to get the financial aid she needed. Mallory Hockin, a freshman in accounting and interior design, said, "The program wasn't completely what I was expecting. I thought it would show us things Photos courtesy of Connections staff like where to go if you want to change your major and things like CONNECTIONS STUDENTS UNE up to meet the author of "Warriors Don't Cry" and get their books signed by the author that. I'm still glad I did it, though. Carlotta Walls LaNier on Aug. 26. Nine hundred students toured Logan's Main Street and sampled food from local I got to know a lot of people and it businesses. was a helpful not a hurtful experience." Call said Connections is aimed at keeping students at USU. "Freshmen are the future of USU and we want them to get involved. We have such a great group of students and we want them to stick around," Call said. "We had a really good group this year," Thompson said. "They're going to go places." Computer engineering freshman Wes Boggs said overall, he was glad he came, although he thought the program would be different. Boggs said he liked getting to the campus before other people so he didn't "wander around like a moron on the first day." -dilewis@cc.usu.edu Bush takes friendly jab at Senator Hatch SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - President Bush ended his visit here with a $5OO-a-plate fundraiser for Sen. Orrin Hatch on Thursday, poking fun atythe l|tah Republican's passion for songwriting. ; . Bush told an audience of 1,100 Republican stalwarts in a hotel ballroom that he was speaking longer than Hatch advised, for a full 30 minutes. "He just told me if I didn't end, he'd make me listen to one of his songs," Bush said. Hatch seemed to enjoy the plug while sharing the stage at Salt Lake's premiere hotel, the Grand America, where Bush spent a night before addressing an American Legion convention. Hatch earned nearly $40,000 in songwriting royalties in the past year, writing mostly patriotic and religious songs for albums and films. Bush has had to listen at least once to a Hatch song _ "Heal Our Land" was performed at the president's January 2005 inaugural celebration. Hatch, 71, is running for a sixth term in the November election and raised more money Thursday for his $2.5 million campaign account. Bush also had a quip about his Health and Human Services secretary, Mike Leavitt - Utah's former governor - who was nowhere to be seen Thursday. Bush said Leavitt was doing a great job - when he wasn't taking time off at his southern Utah ranch. "Somebody said he was down there fishing," Bush told the Utah Republicans. "If you see him, tell him to get back to work." Christina Pearson, a spokeswoman for Leavitt at the Department of Health and Human Services, ducked calls Thursday on the chiefs whereabouts. But Leavitt's mother, Anne, told The Associated Press he was taking a vacation at the family's ranch in Loa, Utah. She said her son was in nearby Cedar City on Thursday afternoon to pick up his wife and children at an airport. Anne Leavitt said she had heard about Bush's remark and had a response. "Mike's work ethic is so strict, and he has worked so hard for so long, he really deserved a break," Anne Leavitt said. "He's not really fishing. He only fished about two hours, and that was last Saturday." The Leavitts raise beef cattle and milk cows at what she emphasized was a working ranch. ENGINEERS From page 7 provide a cleaner and more reliable water source for the people. Those who traveled in August were USU students Jonathan Bingham, Andy Hall and Crystal Viator, all seniors in environmental engineering. They were working in a desert area that experiences times of drought, but also receives some rain. "Their previous well ran dry every summer," Viator said, then pointed out she believes the water system they have Photo courtesy of Engineers Without Borders ENGINEERING STUDENTS HELP set up wells over the summer for the people of Peru. built will sustain the area through droughts. Aside from putting in wells, the students tested the current water systems in villages surrounding Chiclayo, Peru. The group found that the water was extremely unsanitary, even discovering a dead dog in the bottom of one well being surveyed. Despite less-than-ideal conditions at times, Hall said one of the most rewarding experiences he had while in Peru was interacting with the people, teaching them and seeing how appreciative they were. Bingham said, "The people were very humble. They lived in adobe houses with dirt floors. They were very caring and grateful." Hall agreed, saying, "After the first pump was in and we got it hooked up and running, it was amazing how happy they were to see running water." Bingham said he also enjoyed talking with the community and educating them about their new water system. "It was neat to teach the people and I think that is what we are really doing — teaching them." McNeill said Engineers Without Borders is always looking for more help. Students are welcome to become involved whether or not they are College of Engineering students, McNeill said. Those interested can contact the group through ewbusu@ cc.usu.edu. Tax scammer caught at light SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah accountant who failed to report to prison for tax crimes was arrested in Wyoming by a sharp-eyed federal marshal who spotted him at a traffic light. Chad Merica of Murray was stuck the stop light Wednesday when a deputy marshal recognized him and stopped him in Afton, Wyo., near the Idaho border, said Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. Merica was supposed to report to a federal prison in January, a month after being sentenced to 51 months for conspiring to defraud the government. He was among eight people convicted in an illegal tax shelter that cheated more than 75 people out of $15 million. Merica now faces a new charge of failing to report to prison, Rydalch said. The maximum sentence on the additional charge is 10 years. • W E S T NILE From page 7 develop severe illness and health problems, the Bear River Health Department site states. The USU researchers are also applying drugs used to treat other neurological diseases like Parkinson's and stroke to the infected hamsters to observe the results. "We hope to make a contribution," Morrey said. -mof(S}cc.usu.edu •Campus & Community Exhibit developer beingfeatured by local historical society On Sept. 6, the Historical Architectural Precedents for the Salt Lake Tabernacle will be held by the Cache Valley Historical Society. The event will be featuring Kirk Henrichsen, who is currently working for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is developing exhibits in the Salt Lake Tabernacle about its architectural history. He is also a senior exhibits developer at the Museum of Church History and Art. Henrichsen attended the Industrial Design School at BYU and has worked for the LDS Historical Department for more than 20 years. Henrichsen will be speaking at 7 p.m. at the Old Rock Church in Providence. ! ' • • , i I ; : I ] ! ' ' ; USV's financial planning group , gets grant money : USU's Financial Planning for Women program received a $25,000 grant from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. The grant money will be used to expand and improve the program's Web site, enhance content and increase advertising. The program was developed by professor Jean Lown. ' ; ; : Utah Governor agrees to stall new SEC security laws Salt Lake City Utah Governor Jon Huntsman agreed Friday to a temporary postponement of the implementation of recent amendments to Utah's securities laws in • order for federal regulators to construct and put into place a similar solution at the national level. If • the issue has not been addressed nationally by June 2007, Utah will implement the law. These amendments, adopted in a special session of the legislature earlier this year, were to take effect October 1 and would have required securities brokerage firms to report to the State Division of Securities information on all stock transactions for Utah-based companies that failed to settle their short stock positions on a timely basis. The Securities Industry Association filed a lawsuit on July 28, challenging the State's power to implement the law, arguing only the federal government has the authority to regulate such conduct. The SIA sought to prevent Utah from implementing the statute. Rather than engage in a protracted and expensive court battle about implementation, the State decided to delay the issues in the case and to prudently await the outcome of contemplated SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, action in the area. \ ~\ ; • ' ! ; ! ! i i i I \ I Envision Utah receives award for \ preservation efforts Envision Utah received the i first Utah Botanical Center '•• Environment Stewardship Award after guiding the development of communities through research, analysis and public involvement. Envision Utah works to unite local residents and key decisionmakers to create plans that guide the development of communities in Utah. While doing so, they preserve critical lands, promoting water conservation and environment friendly vehicles. The "Washington Post" recently named Envision Utah the most ' talked about success in accommodating growth while preserving natural resources and critical lands. USU's Utah Botanical Center is located in Kaysville. It studies on the use of plant water and energy resources. They also focus on conservation. • Compiled from staftj and media reports |
