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Show Today is Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 wwwMtahstatesman.com Logan, Utah Utah State University Ags net 2008-2009 WAC Championship Breaking News President Barack Obama told lawmakers Thursday he plans to withdraw most American troops from Iraq by August 2010. Campus News THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM CELEBRATES AFTER THE AGGIES BEAT HAWAII 82-62 Thursday to win their second regular season WAC Championship. Fans rush the court and the coaches and members of the basketball team take turns cutting down the net. TYLER LARSON photo Student campaigns for ASU5U offices are in full swing. Page 3 ,-*.;•"'•". V " ASUSU candidates Presidential hopefuls discuss their visions for USU's future Features By SETH BRACKEN staff writer Testing local legends a popular pastime. Page 4 Sports Women's basketball continues to win as their coach reaches a milestone of her own. -^Yri^: Weather High: 32° Low: 10° Skies: 30 percent chance of snow. Budget cuts and the proposed fee increase to support the athletics department and Aggie Blue Bikes topped the list of subjects debated Thursday afternoon at the Student Body Presidential Debate. Of the seven candidates running in the presidential primaries, only one, Josh Nagao, senior, does not support the fee increase for athletics of $65. Tyler Tolson, sophomore in graphic design and English, said, "Athletics is the face of a university. I'm in support of the fee increase. I don't want to become like a Snow College." In four years, the average student would have to pay $962 for the athletic department, Tolson said. Nathan Niebergall, junior in international business, said the athletic fee increase has nothing to do with a student's interest or lack thereof in sports. "I know that there are a lot of people out there that could care less about sports, that's beside the fact. We could all donate plasma and about pay for that," Niebergall said. The athletic department can bring in revenue and recogni- tion for the entire university and benefits even those that aren't interested in sports, said Nils Nelson, sophomore in mathematics. Nagao said the athletic department is facing serious budget problems. Utah State didn't have enough money to support being involved in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), he said. Also, while facing widespread budget cuts and impending large cutbacks throughout the university, it sends the wrong message to the Utah Legislature and unfairly burdens the students, Nagao said. "It wouldn't be fair to say 'You can't graduate in your degree, but we can afford to pay for basketball,'" Nagao said. Tuition costs will already increase 6.7 percent in the coming academic year, or about $430 for Utah residents and about $1,000 for non-Utah residents, Nagao said. Despite nearly all of the candidates agreeing with the athletics fee increase, every candidate said they would strive to keep tuition costs down and student fees minimal. The panel of potential presi- STUDENTS GATHER IN THE TSC HUB Thursday to hear their presidential candidates talk money. Above, current student body President Grady Brimley mediate as candidates, from left to right, Jake Cook, Josh Nagao, Nils Nelson, Lance Brown, Nathan Niebergall, Tyler Tolson and Chris Barney debate. Below, Nelson listens while Nagao makes his case. CAMERON PETERSON photos •I See DEBATE, page 3 Partying twice as much as before Researcher discusses cattle embryos ByJAClEFASSELIN staff writer Fusion HD3 will be Interviewing Pres. Albrecht live Friday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. concerning budget cuts and what it means for USU students. Listen by tuning In at wwwf.radlo.usu.edur by visiting the radio station located on the third floor of the TSC, or by using the iPhone/ iTune application. archives and breaking news always ready for you at www.utahstatesifian.com LOVE Y O U LONG TIME played to a crowd of fans wearing bright handkerchiefs and colored pants Thursday in the TSC Sunburst Lounge. Fusion HD3, USU's student radio, and the Student Tradition Arts and Activities Board hosted the concert. TYLER LARSON photo , . T University of Florida professor Peter M. Hansen gave USU students the opportunity to learn about different research methods in a field that is becoming increasingly complex; dairy cattle and embryo transfer. Hansen spoke to students, faculty and alumni about his own research during a lecture in the Merrill-Cazier Library Thursday. Embryo transfer is a method where eggs are taken from the donor cow, fertilized and placed in recipient cattle that carry the fertilized eggs to term. This allows for genetics of superior dam cattle to be better utilized, Hansen said. "My real interest in embryo transfer relates to... developing practical on-farm procedures for in vitro fertilization of cattle," Hansen said. During the course of his lecture "Growth Factors and Cytokines that Function in Maternal Regulation of Pre-implantation Embryonic Development in Cattle," Hansen explained that cattle under heat stress establish pregnancy at lower rates. "We are interested in embryo transfer specifically as a way to bypass infertility in dairy cows," he said. He said he and his team have produced evidence to suggest using some cytokines during in vitro fertilization allows for higher rates of pregnancy by enabling embryos to resist certain kinds of stress. This particular research focuses on cattle in heat- [M See COWS, page 3 |