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Show Logan, Utah Utah State University Today is Monday, Jan. 28, 2008 Breaking News USU gymnastics wins its first meet of the year at Cal State Fullerton. Campus News The Asian American Student Council holds their annual Tiptoe into Asia event. f Page 3 Features Hockey players explain how race plays a factor on the ice. www.utahstatesman.com Gordon B. Hinckley dead at 97 SALT LAKE CITY (AP)Gordon B. Hinckley, the longestserving president of the Mormon church who presided over one of the greatest periods of expansion in its history, died Sunday, a church spokesman said. He was 97. Hinckley, the 15th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died because of complications from age and was surrounded by his family. "His life was a true testament of service, and he had an abiding love for others," said U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and fellow Mormon. "His wit, wisdom, and exemplary leadership will be missed by not only members of our faith, but by people of all faiths throughout the world." Hinckley had been diagnosed with diabetes and was hospitalized in January 2006 for the removal of a cancerous growth in his large intestine. In April 2006, he told a church conference he was in the "sunset of my life" and "totally in the hands of the Lord.'" By unfailing tradition, at a church president's death, the church's most senior apostle is ordained within days on a unanimous vote of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. The most longserving apostle now is Thomas S. Monson. The church presidency is a lifetime position. Before Hinckley, the oldest church president was David O. McKay who was 96 when he died in 1970. Hinckley, a grandson of Mormon pioneers, was president for nearly 13 years. He took over as president and prophet on March 12,1995 and oversaw one PRESIDENT G O R D O N B. H I N C K L E Y greets Church members in Tarawa, Kiribati, during an 11-day. 22,670-mile tour of the Pacific Rim in January 2000. Hinckley died Sunday at 97. Hinckley was the longest-serving president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, photos courtesy ofLDS MEDIA of the greatest periods of expansion in church history. The number of temples worldwide more than doubled, from 49 to more than 120 and church membership grew from about 9 million to more than 12 million. Like his contemporary, Pope John Paul II, he became by far his church's most traveled leader in history. And the number of Mormons outside the United States surpassed that of American Mormons for the first time since the church, the most successful faith born in the United States, was founded in 1830. Hinckley began his leadership role in 1995 by holding a rare news conference, citing growth and spreading the Mormon message as the church's main challenge heading into the 21st century. "We are dedicated ... to teaching the gospel of peace, to the promotion of civility and mutual respect among people everywhere, to bearing witness to the living reality of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the practice of his teachings in our daily lives," Hinckley said. Over the years, Hinckley labored long to burnish the faith's image as a world religion far removed from its peculiar and polygamous roots. Still, during his tenure the Roman Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention and United Methodist Church — the three largest U.S. denominations — each declared that Mormon doctrines depart from mainstream Christianity. "We are not a weird people," Di See HINCKLEY, page 4 Grant funds new scholar program Sports BySETH R. HAWKINS editor in chief USU women's basketball player Taylor Richards breaks the 3point record. , Page 13 Funded by a grant from one of the nation's largest industrial companies, the first-ever scholar program in the nation dedicated to exploring economic principles has been created at USU. Thirteen USU students and three faculty advisers from a variety of different backgrounds and majors are part of the newly created Koch Student Scholar program that started this semester, said Chris Fawson, Koch Student Scholar program adviser . • • i - •; Opinion "If gun owners were able to carry arms in most public places, including school campuses, how much sooner could a shooter be stopped and more lives be saved?''•.:.;^v ; v .,;-!^;.-,j.,i-rv- ,;, • •••• v paged Almanac Today in History: In 1986, only 73 seconds into liftoff, the space shuttle Challenger explodes, killing all seven crew members, including high school social studies teacher Christa McAuIiffe. and senior associate dean for academic and international affairs in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. "The whole idea of the project is just to stimulate creative thought, to help students be exposed to different ideas, to be exposed to a literature that they may not have picked up otherwise, and benefit from a civil dialogue with their peers and a couple professors," Fawson said. The Koch Student Scholars meet together every Wednesday in the political science conference room to eat dinner and discuss assigned readings on economic principles, Fawson said. The readings come from a variety of backgrounds, from . theoretical books to science fiction to romance novels, Fawson said, and the point of the readings is to encourage ideas of economic freedom and how those principles apply to society at large. "There's some kind of fun exchange that takes place as we struggle with these ideas," Fawson said. "We have some fun books in there as well that kind of lightens the mood and stimulates thought. It really, for me, it opens up economics and ways to talk about economics that's way outside the bounds of your conventional textbook or your conventional class. We kind of mix it up a bit so it's not just hardcore economic principles and a debate about the fate of the world, and poverty. It's about what does it really mean when you strip off all the language and the formality, how does it apply to us and help our thinking about the world." Fawson said the program was the result of an idea he and [M See KOCH, page 4 Sacrifing two yearsfor America's youth By DEBRA HAWKINS sen/or writer Graduating USU students are being offered the opportunity to apply to teach a subject of their choice to grades K-12 in cities, such as Phoenix and New York City, and the Bay Area as part of the Teach for America program. According to an informational brochure produced by Teach For America, about 50 percent of students growing up in poverty will not graduate from school by the time they are 18 years old, and most who do graduate will function only on an eighth grade level. The goal for Teach for America is to end what it calls the "educational inequity." Rosemary Rogers, a representative of Teach for America who has personally been through the program, said the program is looking for graduating seniors of any major to commit two years to teach in the schools of low income communities. High: 30a Low: 9° Skies: Breezy with 30 percent chance "We need education and noneducation majors to join the fight together," Rogers said. "Students aren't hitting their potential just because of where they were born. It has nothing to with their intellectual abilities." Rogers said Teach for America is a good place for people to start who want to make something of their lives in the business world because it gives them experience in leadership positions, so much that Business Week Magazine named Teach for America one of the top 10 places to launch a career. "Teach for America is known for making leaders," Rogers said. "The amount of management experience you receive is unparalleled. You get to be a part of a network that can help candidates find jobs. One of my friends is now a corporate trainer, and she says there is no way she could have gotten that job without Teach for America." Rogers said she thinks it is important for people to launch their career using Teach for America because it will change what things happen in the future. "We need leaders who know about the problems first-hand so and breaking news yoii at ;. U S U S T U D E N T S have the opportunity to teach a subject of their choice In low-income areas around the United States. Teachers are given benefits for participating, photo courtesy ofTEACH FOR AMERICA [M See TEACH, page 3 |