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Show wwwMtahstatesman.com Logan, Utah Utah State University Today is Monday, Evaluations could become Feb. 25, 2008 Breaking News shorter and be online By RACHEL A. CHRISTENSEN staff writer The USU women's basketball team beat the No. 1 team in the WAC, Fresno State, 44-40. Page 9 Campus News USU graduate Brandon Schrand wins Barnes and Noble writing award. Page 3 •'& .'. .". - * ; ( , ; \zt-i; Features Blues and Revival - ^ : 4 provides tunes and laughs for Sports The men's basketball team snaps its three-game losing skid by beating UCSB in ESPNU's Bracket Buster. Page 9 Opinion "If it's not required and not done in class, most students will either forget about filling it out or decide it's not worth their time to do so." • Page 12 Almanac Today in History: In 1870, Hiram Rhoads Revels became the first African American to be elected a member of Congress. Revels was elected by the Mississippi legislature to fill Jefferson Davis' seat. A shortened version of the teacher evaluation form will be proposed by the Faculty Evaluation Committee to the Faculty Senate before its meeting in April, committee chairman Michael Lyons said. Lyons, a political science professor, said most professors are in favor of the shorter evaluation forms. He said the majority of professors find the current evaluations too long and redundant. Lyons said the proposed evaluation will have fewer questions. "You don't need that many questions," Lyons said. "You just don't. You're not getting any new information by asking new questions." Lyons said although there would be fewer questions, no important information would be left out of the evaluation. "What the shorter evaluation does, it consolidates the form down to a total of 10 questions," Lyons said. "Eight are close-ended questions where the students pick a response. They say 'I agree or disagree' or 'I'm somewhere in the middle.' Two questions will be where students get to write whatever they want about the course and can go into detail. The committee feels strongly that we need to give students that open opportunity." Shane Krebs, an adjunct professor in the department of journalism and communications, said he thinks shortening the form could be a good thing as long as the questions on the evaluation are worded right and continue to elicit helpful information. "As long as there is improvement, change is good," he said. The shortened evaluation hasn't yet been approved, Lyons said, but the majority of USU professors like the idea, and he said he hopes the new form will be adopted soon. There has also been some interest in putting the evaluation online, Lyons said. He said the University of Utah has already implemented an online evaluation, and USU will research the success of the school's program before seriously considering putting their own evaluations online. Nathan Christensen, a junior in Asian studies and a transfer student from the University of H See EVALUATIONS, page 4 U S U RECEIVES B E T W E E N $8 and $9 million each year for maintenance. Older buildings on campus are waiting to get funds to make much needed improvements like making heaters and air conditioners work. TYLER LARSON photo Buildings wait for funds Older campus facilities in long linefor sparse money By BRITTNY GOODSELL JONES features editor Students who have classes in the Animal Science building can rest assured that the heater and air conditioner will one day work: They're just waiting for $12 million in funding. Remodeling or providing upkeep to buildings around campus is a job that is never-ending. Not only do building projects take time, like the Merrill-Cazier Library, which took about three years to build, but the waiting list is long and the money is sparse. It's time to get in line. Stanley Kane, director of facilities planning, said the Animal Science priority for replacement. Kane said the building has open stairways and is not easily accessible for wheelchairs. The building also contains laboratories, so it would be difficult to temporarily relocate the occupants to accommodate a remodeling process, Kane said. The university has applied to the state for the past four years for funding to construct a replacement building, he said. But they are still waiting. Another building on campus [1 See BUILDINGS, page 3 //Depth A closer look at issues affecting USU building is constructed of unreinforced masonry and the roof needs to be strengthened. Although the building lacks decent heating and air conditioning, Kane said adding the duct work requires cutting through those masonry walls. And, a window replacement job wasjust completed in Animal Science, so the list is long, ^nd expensive. Replacing the windows cost $464,727. "This (building) has been a high priority for a number of years," Kane said. But the Ag Science building, located on the east end of the Quad, is currently the university's highest O L D M A I N , the oldest building on campus, has been fully renovated since a 1984 fire. It took almost 20 years. Statesman file photo Aggies celebrate African cuture By MELISSA MCROBERTS staff writer African cuisine, clothing, dances, music and native songs were presented throughout the evening Friday during the African Student Association's annual African Night Banquet in the Taggart Student Center Ballroom. African Night is designed to better educate the commu- Weather High: 39° Low: 22° Skies: 70 percent chance of snow, accumulation of 1-3 inches. Archives and breaking news DANCERS PERFORM a ritual dance Friday during a drama portraying how an African king chooses a wife. BRITNEY BRENT photo 0 •i. nity about the real Africa, said Olalekan Olorunsola, president of the African Student Association. "Africa is not a country. It's a continent with many different countries within it," Olorunsola said. Olorunsola, who is from Nigeria, said the proceeds from the event will be donated to Engineers without Borders, which is building an orphanage for homeless children in Uganda. The USU West African Dance Group performed local stylistic dances along with native music using traditional African drums. A fashion show showing attire from different parts of Africa was also presented. The clothes varied from bright colored dresses for women to intricately designed Maasais for men. Deogratius Msuya, junior H See BANQUET, page 4 Sheep and Goat Day marked by Ag students By M . RUSSELL staff writer College of Agriculture students had the opportunity to participate in Utah's annual Sheep and Goat Day, hosted by the Utah Wool Growers Association and USU Extension in Provo Saturday. The all-day field trip for students included presentations by experts in the sheep, goat and wool areas and the chance to meet and talk with producers in the industry. Tami Spackman, animal, dairy and veterinarian sciences adviser, said the students who attended are either in a sheep production or an introduction to animal science class and were able to earn college credit for attending Saturday's workshops. "Some students are also small farm or flock operators and are interested in learning more from successful operations and producers," Spackman said. ee SHEEP, page 4 |