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Show Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2007 StatesmanCsanpus News Page 3 Briefs Campus & Community Jury duty scam is still a problem The Utah State Courts is advising residents not to be fooled by a jury duty scam that continues to persist throughout the nation. The scam involves an individual who claims to be a court employee calling a member of the public alleging they failed to report for jury service and indicating a warrant has been issued for their arrest. The caller requests personal identifying information—such as birthday, social security number, and sometimes credit card numbers—from the individual in order to cancel the arrest warrant. "The state courts rarely if ever call a potential juror," said Utah State Court Administrator Dan Becker. "If a potential juror is contacted, the courts would never request personal identifying information." Becker encouraged any resident who receives such a call not to release identifying information and to report the incident to their local law enforcement agency. For more information on jury duty, go to the Utah State Courts' Web site at www.utcourtsgov/juryroom. SIDDA THE DOG, LARRY THE CABLE GUY AND VANILLA ICE were judges for the Aggie Star competitors such as Amber Schooley, who sang a Faith Hill song. The event was co-sponsored by the College of Agriculture and the College of Education. CAMERON PETERSON photos Aggie Star: Brings out talent 01 continued from page 1 on to participate. The Aggie Star winner was decided by the audience placing washers, which were given to them at the door, in buckets for the contestant they liked the most, and the contestant with the most washers won. Aggie Star was sponsored by the college of Agriculture and the college of Education. "This is the second year Aggie Star has been going on and the first year we were able to sponsor it," said Amy Kite, Ag Council PR chair. The money earned at the competition will be used for scholarships in our individual colleges Kite said. This is the last big fling until the end of the year when the new senators will take office, Kite said. "This was a good idea and a really fun event for USU students to see and participate in," Kite said. -monica.swapp@aggiemail.usu. edu Nutrition and Health expo Friday M A T T H E W T H A M P H Y A plays his bass quitar and sings in the Aggie Star competition. Thamphya was accompanied by Brady Martin. Mike Reese, left, sings Michael Buble's "Home" in hopes of becoming the Aggie Star. CAMERON PETERSON photos. Program: Students can now working with actual clients U continuedfrompage 1 son happy, you won't have to worry about your resume and you won't have to worry about your job/ We as Americans haven't figured that out yet, that getting a good job, impressing people about how wonderful we are, it's figuring out what someone else's problem is and solving it." While Thomas says he tells his students to forget about their resumes, he said this learning experience will do more for their future careers than a good resume or interviewing skills. "You go out and do something for somebody and they know you intimately in a way that they could not find out in any other way," Thomas said. "They'll give you the edge over any interviewee that comes in, over any resume, because they're going to know you in a way that they can't find any other way. So this is a terrific way, even though the students are supposed to forget about this, for a company to figure out who they want to hire. It's a great exposure and it's a great way for the students to show off." Troy Oldham, who teaches the capstone public relations agency course - a program similar in format to the field studies program - said, "I think it's fantastic to see other progressive institutions do field study work at the end of the academic curriculum. The experience gained by working with Microsoft and ABC TV and even some local startups has been the difference of getting great jobs rather than good jobs." While the experience may be invaluable, there is a considerable amount of work involved in a field studies project, Thomas said. "This is a grand adventure because it involves deception, it involves suspicion, it involves mystery, it involves intrigue and above all, heroism, because you are making a difference in peoples' lives," Thomas said. "It's hard work and it takes concentration, and you have no clue because you have no map, you have to make up the map as you go. That's the first thing we do, we sit down and say, 'OK, what's the problem here?' It's not in the back of the book, it's not in the sponge, it's inside. It's kind of a rebirth about what you think about business, that nothing but the best will do, and you'll do it in this class." Thomas said former clients have been impressed with the quality of the work of the students, with one Black and Decker executive saying, "We were blown away. This was as good or better than the professionals do." Because of the high level of performance by the students, Thomas said he charges clients somewhere between $10,000 to $15,000 so they will take the project seriously. He said while that may be a high initial investment, the amount of work and the results returned would cost a company in the vicinity of $50,000 to $100,000 if they were to do the work themselves. "If they were to hire these same students a year from now when they graduate, they could pay a small fortune," Thomas said. "This is a great deal for the company. They get a chance to see firsthand people they may want to hire. This is a long-term relationship for the school." Building these relationships with major companies is a primary goal for the School of Business, Thomas said. "We want them to say, 'We cannot do without Utah State. The success of our organization is depending on our partnership with Utah State.' So we are building partnerships right now, and we're already getting return business," he said. This semester, Thomas said stu- dents are working on a variety of projects, from a marketing research project with Icon Health and Fitness, to a micro-finance program in Africa, to improving organizational design for the American Heritage group. He said one student has become so involved in the Africa project that she is planning on moving to Africa upon graduation to assist people in refugee camps. "Does this make a difference? You bet it makes a difference. This is life or death for some of these people," Thomas said. Currently the field studies course is a graduate level course, but in the fall semester it will be available to undergraduates as well, Thomas said. Students from all colleges are invited to join the program, as long as they are dedicated and want to get out and work, Thomas said. In the short time he has worked with USU students, Thomas said he has been impressed with the work ethic of the students, calling it a "blue collar hustle." "Give me any problem in this world and a set of USU students, and we'll solve it in an extraordinary way. I'm serious about that," Thomas said. -seth.h@aggiemaiLusu.edu Funds: ASUSU determines who receives tuition money 9 continuedfrompage 1 daily declare the scholarships available for retention purposes was shot down by council members and removed from the amendment. Council members said they did not want the possibility of the Retention Office in the future asking for the ability to choose the awards themselves. "I don't have a problem creating a scholarship, but we are creating a scholarship that has to be divided between two entities," West said. "I don't think we should have two entities who have conflicting interests fighting over the same money. Retention could overstep and take more." One of the amendments the council did pass was an added $5,000 dol- lars to the already allotted $38-,062- -; to help with the operation cost of the GLBTA office, as the original amount only paid for one salaried office worker. The office provides information to students about sexual orientation. "Currently our operation budget comes from Gary Chamber's magic pot 'O' money," Maure Smith, program coordinator of GLBTA services, said. "If it is not funded here, I am not sure where the operating budget will come from." Smith said the center provides a safe place for everybody and she provides advocacy for students and professors who feel discriminated against, and the money would help. Although many members of the council seemed in approval of -<• " providing the extra $5,000 to the organization, it did not pass unanimously. • "I wouldn't feel like (the amendment) was supporting the student body," Academic President Kevin v Abernethy said. "If we have 5,000 , more dollars, let's give that to scholarships. If you had the student body here you would see that not all of them want this." One of the final initiatives which passed the Executive Council, was adding of an extra advisor to the HASS Advising Office. "There is not one student that can graduate without experiencing a class in the college of HASS," West said. "One HASS adviser has 400 stu- 'dents to field. We hope to be able to fund other advisers in other offices within the coming years." • As a result of of this legislation, the writing center will receive $6,000 to expand their services to the entire campus, allowing students in any major, not just,the-English depart-^/, ment, to get feedback on papers. All of the legislation passed by the Executive Council has to be approved by the administration before going into effect. "(The administration) have always made a real big effort to fund the student initiatives " Tiffany Evans, ASUSU adviser, said. "If you pass something, it is a high priority to fund those." •debrajoy.h@aggiemail.usu.eclu The Dietetics Program will host its eighth annual Health and Nutrition Expo on Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Sunburst Lounge in the Taggart Student Center. The theme of the event is "What is the Magic Bullet?'* "If you don't know what the Magic Bullet it, you should come and find out," said Nicole Buhler, one of the nine Dietetics seniors in charge of organizing the event. Senior and junior dietetics students, along with community member and a few other groups on campus will present booths centered on health and nutrition. Kitchen Kneads, Great Harvest and Lees will have booths there as well. It won't just be information Buhler said, there are going to be demos, samples and how-to's on eating healthier, cooking better and a lot more. Scholarships are available for soph. Students who will have 24 to 45 USU credits after spring semester 2008 are encouraged to apply for the ASUSU Sophomore Scholarship, due Mar. 7, 2008. This scholarship is funded from a 2005-2006 Tier II Tuition initiative, intended to increase funding for second year students who often have less opportunities for financial help than their class-rank counterparts. The ASUSU Academic Senate receives $20,000 each year to award 10 students $1,000 for two semesters. "For sophomore students, this scholarship is an excellent source of funding," said Kevin Abernethy, ASUSU Academic Senate President. "It also provides a way for them to get involved with ASUSU and see first hand what student government does to help." Abernethy said the ASUSU Academic Senate reviews and votes on the applicants based on grade point average, financial need and extracurricular activities. Students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 to apply. Concurrent enrollment classes do not count when tallying credits, but credits earned at junior colleges and from other transfers do. Applications are available in the Taggart Student Center Room 326 and are due Mar. 7 by 5 p.m. [•Compiled from staff and media reports |