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Show Page 3 StatesmanCampus News Friday, March 7, 2008 * • - • Two Big Blues beheaded at recent gamesBriefs Campus & Community "Underneath your pants is Under Armour that soaks the sweat away from your body. The mask is a hockey helmet covered in furry fabric. It's a beautiful suit. It looks nice and has been built well." The suit does have its limitations, both Davis and Kyriopoulos said, and the biggest problem is the lack of visibility. "One of the toughest things to learn is to see two-feet tall kids without running them over," Davis said. "I have two one-inch nose holes six inches from my eyes to see through. It's awkward." Big Blue has several different outfits, Davis said, such as his basketball jersey, black tuxedo for dress-up occasions, pink shirt for cancer awareness and army uniform. By RACHEL A. CHR1STENSEN staff writer Big Blue was unmasked last week to reveal Ted Kyriopoulos and Tom Davis as the men behind this year's magic. Davis, senior graduating with a double major in aviation technology and German, said he has been Big Blue for three years. He said he sometimes feels intimidated when he wears Big Blue's suit because of what Big Blue symbolizes. "I feel a lot of respect for the university," Davis said. "I feel respect for the name of Big Blue because of the people who have gone before me and worked to build his character. It's a great honor, and it's very intimidating." Kyriopoulos, senior graduating in marketing, said he has been Big Blue for one year. Although it's a good feeling to work as a college icon, he said, a big reason he took the job is because he gets to work with kids. "Big Blue is a hero to little kids," Kyriopoulos said. "College kids are fun too. It's fun seeing friends and classmates who don't know who you are and you can act crazy." Big Blue's alter ego is kept a secret from almost everyone until the beheading ceremony, Davis said. "My wife knows and my employers know because I'd have to get out of work sometimes," Davis said. "Most close friends didn't know but they'd try to guess." Big Blue doesn't only lead cheers, Davis said, but he gets to do some service too. "Every year that we play the University of Utah we go to Shriners Hospital and I get to be Big Blue with the kids down there," Davis said. "We get to see their smiling faces and how much joy it brings them. That's what I'll remember most about this job." T O M DAVIS, top, and Ted Kyriopoulos, right, were Davis said Big Blue's suit is comfortable to wear, this year's Big Blues. The two were revealed in the despite weighing ten pounds. Spectrum March 3 and Feb. 28, respectively. TYLER "It's pretty much a big jacket," Davis said. LARSON and PATRICK ODEN photos "He can wear anything as long as it s a XXL or ger," Davis said. Kyriopoulos, who said he was active in high school with wrestling and football, said he plans to join the Navy after graduation. He said physical fitness is an important part of being Big Blue. "You have to be in pretty good physical shape because you can't really breath well in the suit," Kyriopoulos said. "If you walk brusquely you begin breathing hard. It's the nature of the mask. It gets you in shape because otherwise you're going to pass out. [1 See BIG BLUES, page 4 Speaker encourages networking, exposure By ALISON BAUGH assistant news editor Having a bachelors in horticulture from USU and a doctorate in economics from Cornell, John Wilkerson said he has found that this rare combination has given him an advantage in his job. Wilkerson spoke Wednesday at the David B. Haight Alumni Center, sponsored by the College of Business WILKERSON a s pa rt o f , n Founders Day r week. Ross Peterson, vice president for University Advancement, met with Wilkerson during the public roll out of the University's Comprehensive Campaign, and Peterson invited Wilkerson and his wife Barbara to come back to USU, Wilkerson said. After being involved with numerous other companies, Wilkerson said he decided to start his own with a partner. The company, Galen, is named after Galen, a physician to the gladiators, which Wilkerson said captures the spirit of his company. Using his combination of degrees in horticulture and economics, Wilkerson said he invests in pharmaceutical companies in the areas of prevention, diagnosis, technology and treatment. "Collaborative capital," is the slogan for Galen, and Wilkerson said this lets those companies they invest in know they will be there through the good and the bad times. Wilkerson said he has hit some rough spots in his career, but they will stick with a company, even if it takes 10-pIus years to get it running on its own. In the last six months, Wilkerson said the company has been investing in Election Results • ASUSU President Grady Bart Brimley Nick West 1,480 1,114 Agriculture Senator Braden Jensen companies who are a little farther along, and Wilkerson compared them to puppies. "We're investing in puppies so we can get them to leave the kennel," Wilkerson said. This is a warm and fuzzy way to think about what we do, Wilkerson said. He also said the main thing his company does is try to buy dollars for quarters. When they do this, the company has a little more leeway if everything doesn't do exactly as they planned it, as opposed to'the Galen buying dollars for dollars, Wilkerson said. This can be the hard part of his job, Wilkerson said, as they are basically trying to predict the future and look around corners. "When was the last time you saw in the morning paper's headline 'Psychic wins lottery'?" Wilkerson said. The company has to find products and ideas they believe will be successful and then invest money into them, Wilkerson said. Often the companies they invest in have test backing to show their companies will be successful, but even times may still get hard or the product might not be as successful as planned. Wilkerson also said Galen likes to invest in companies that have proven CEO's, as they usually have a lower risk level. "Over the period of time I've been doing this, it's become a different place," Wilkerson said. There is more competition for the companies and a different level of investing, Wilkerson said. Yet he has taken the advice he would give students and applied it in his life. Never give up, Wilkerson said. A lot of doors may be closed and you may hit rough spots, but you have to keep going, Wilkerson said. He also encouraged students to network as much as possible because you can never get all the exposure you need on your own. -alison.baugh@aggiemail.usu.edu USU and the Utah Department of Transportation's Zero Fatalities team are urging student's to drive responsibly this Spring Break. With more student road trips over the holiday, and perhaps an increase in social drinking and late night parties, state and school officials are making a plea for zero fatalities. "For the vast majority of students, Spring Break is a fun, positive, healthy break in the school year; and a time to rest, relax and enjoy time with friends and family," said USU President Stan L. Albrecht. "During this muchdeserved time away from studies, please travel with care to ensure your safe return to campus." The state adopted the "Zero Fatalities" philosophy in 2006 as it approached drivers and asked them 'how many traffic deaths are acceptable in your family this year,' the answer was of course zero. Since 2000, fatalities dropped from 373 to 285 fatalities in 2007, a 24 percent reduction. However, in recent years, that number has remained relatively steady. UDOT, the Department of Public Safety and Zero Fatalities representatives say that the top five behaviors killing people on Utah's roads are drowsy driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving, impaired driving and not buckling up. Of the 285 traffic fatalities last year, nearly half of them died by either not buckling up, or not buckling properly. Drowsy driving also turned out to be just as deadly as drunk driving in 2007, with 37 fatalities attributed to each behavior. "The good news is that fewer people are dying on our roads," said Robert Hull, UDOT's director of traffic and safety. "While 285 fatalities on our roads isn't something to celebrate; it does show great progress, especially if you consider how many more people are on our roads and how many more miles they are driving every day." Hull said that Utah has added 52 percent more drivers to its roads since 2000 and that people in the state are driving more. "Utahns drove 4 billion miles more in 2007 than they did in 2000," said Hull. "Naturally, you'd think that an equation of more people driving more miles would equal more fatalities. Fortunately, that isn't the case." To view the complete 2007 traffic fatalities report, visit www. ZeroFatalities.com. Elections: New members of Nominee awaiting student government named confirmation Wednesday O continued from page 1 The race for HASS was very tight, 319-298, and Lee Cannon was first declared HASS senator, but after some • Executive Vice President 255 clarification, Ben Pollock took his place on stage among the Jackson Oisen 1,478 119 new ASUSU elected officials. After the confusion, Cannon said, "I was prepared to win Chris Barney 1,012 and I was prepared to lose but I wasn't prepared to do both." • Education Senator He said there are at least two people who double check the • Service Vice President Jonathan Kidd 404 results and the names placed in envelopes. However, he said, that obviously didn't work. Brett Heaiy 2,194 ASUSU adviser Nellene Stevens issued a formal apology • Engineering Senator and said, "As a staff adviser for the ASUSU elections I would • Academic Senate President Victoria Kmetzsch 220 like to apologize to Lee Cannon and his supporters for the mistake in announcing the winner of the College of HASS Jeremy K. Jennings 1,272 senatorial race. It was my responsibility to double check all Steven Jeppsen 976 • HASS Senator of the envelopes before they were sealed. The mistake was Ben Pollock 319 mine and I take full responsibility. Thank you to Lee for the way he graciously handled the situation and I give me deep• Student Advocate Lee Cannon 298 est apologies." Steven Russell 1,225 Other positions named Wednesday were the new graduate studies senators who are Prabuddha Ghosh for business, Casey Snider 1,114 • Natural Resources Senator Ranjitha Dhanasekaran for international studies, Bobbe Shannon Moore 35 Allen for education, Muyiwa Ogunlaja for engineering, • Programming Vice President Rebecca Smith for HASS, and Nora Burfcank for Natural Resources. Jon Parrish 1,511 • Science Senator Students also had the opportunity to vote for the refMegan Darrington 1,009 Lance Pflleger 199 erendum for Aggie Blue Bikes, which would have allotted Ethan Lindstrom 47 , 120 bikes from Aggie Blue Bikes to be borrowed during the semester by students for a one dollar rise in student fees, but • Athletics Vice President failed by 16 votes. Lance Brown 1,697 • Graduate Student Senate After the rest of the student body positions were Jeramy Johnson 537 President announced and seated on stage, Brimley was announced Adam Fowles not available president. During his acceptance speech, he said he was not going to change, that he was going to stay in touch with stu• Diversity and Organization dents by going to activities, hanging out in the Hub, and he Vice President Aggie Blue Bike fee (.^wouldn't just "hang out on the third floor." f "I am way excited to helpUtah State artd represent the Chase Skldmore 1,463 Yes students," Brimley said, "ASUSU is for the students, so if you BillSproat 1,011 No 1,257 have any ideas, or there is anything you would like to do with ASUSU, let's do it, let's make it happen." -Hndsay.anderson@a0emaiLusu.edu c: Information compiledpom staff reports • Business Senator Adam Croshaw Ruth Benson Zerofatalities the Spring Break goal Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman announced today the appointment of Kevin K. Allen to serve as a judge on the Utah First District Court. Upon confirmation by the Utah State Senate, Allen will replace Judge Gordon J. Low. "It is an honor for me to nominate Kevin to the bench. He is well qualified for this position and will be an excellent addition to our . judiciary," Governor Huntsman said. "Kevin has a genuine desire to serve the people of our great State and his distinguished previous experience proves he will carry on the admirable service of Judge Gordon Low." Allen is currently the senior partner with Allen and Ericson, P.C. in Logan, Utah. Previously >#•„,.• Allen was a partner with Barrett * •? and Daines, P.C. in Logan and a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University and his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. "It is an honor to be selected to serve the citizens of the First District Court in this capacity," said Allen. "I appreciate Gov. Huntsman's confidence and look forward to working with the great attorneys and judges of the First District." [MCompiled from staff •ft.ancf media reports II I' - I.I I |