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Show Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009 StatesmanCampus News Not to be confused with musical chairs Page 3 Briefs Campus & Community Dept. of English series continues The USU department of English Speakers Series continues this fall with two faculty members and the winner of this year’s May Swenson Poetry Award winner. First up is associate professor Shane Graham, author of the recent book, “South African Literature after the Truth Commission: Mapping Loss.” Graham will speak at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in the Family Life Building, Room 206. The event is sponsored by the British and Commonwealth Studies Program. Christopher Cokinos, also an associate professor of English, and author of “Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars,” will speak at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, in the USU Haight Alumni Center. Finally, Jason Whitmarsh, recipient of the 2009 May Swenson Poetry Award, will give a reading during the week of Oct. 19 (date, time and venue to be announced). The event is in conjunction with the Utah Humanities Council’s Great Salt Lake Book Festival. THE BAND Musical charis from Sacramento, Calif., play to a full house at the Old Main ampitheater Tuesday. Musical Charis played with local band Battle School for the Moonlight and Music Concert as part of Homecoming Week. Musical Charis has seven band members. KRISTY JORDAN photo Pres. Albrecht reintroduces Aggie Passport By MIKAYLA RICH staff writer This year the Aggie Passport Experience is back for its second year. The program rewards students for participating in select events on campus. Eligibility for prizes is determined by the number of events students attend. According to the passport booklet, attending six events qualifies a student for a drawing of a textbook scholarship, gift cards and other prizes from the sponsors. Eight events is a drawing for a student-fee waiver for one semester, gift cards and other prizes. Ten events is the highest tier and each student who reaches this goal is invited for dinner at USU President Stan Albrecht’s home. Following dinner there will be a drawing for a $500tuition waiver, gift cards and more prizes. Noelle Call, director of Retention and First Year Experience, said, “We really believe that a college experience continues on outside the classroom. We want students to be engaged. We offer so many events to broaden your thinking.” Call said the events fall under one of four categories: academic, social, community and cultural. Call also said, “We try to keep it free or low cost. People will call and want their activities to be part of the program, and they want to charge a lot of money, and we don’t include those programs.” Freshman Taylor Hunt said, “I think the passport program is a good idea, because it gets people going to the events by including things we can get out of it, like prizes.” Albrecht’s wife, Joyce Albrecht, said, “We are concerned that all the students have the best experience possible. Becoming engaged and involved not only helps us reach that goal but opens up opportunities for the students. College degrees are common these days, but university experience sets them apart.” The dinner at the Albrecht home is the top award for the passport program. “The dinner was my idea,” Joyce said. “We love having the students over to our home; it helps us get to know them so much better. They come all dressed up and we treat them just like we would any donors or dignitaries that we host at our home.” Call confirmed 62 students qualified for the dinner at the Albrecht’s home last year and 1,075 passports were stamped at 31 events. Taylor Hunt, USU student, said, “Tuition waiver? I need all the help I can get. Going to a few activities, getting free dinner and free tuition seem like a pretty good deal to me.” –mikayla.rich@aggiemail.usu.edu ISV looking for student volunteers By USU Media Relations International Student Volunteers (ISV) is looking for students from Utah State University to travel overseas this summer on its exciting volunteer and adventure programs. Information meetings for interested students are being hosted Sept. 24 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.. Selected participants will have the opportunity to travel with a group of students from all over the world – 18 years and over – on volunteer projects and adventure tours to either Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Thailand and Eastern Europe. Most students will travel for one month but some students elect to travel from two weeks up to three months. Traveling alongside professionally trained project and tour leaders, students will spend the first two weeks volunteering in real hands-on projects, in either social community development – improving the quality of impoverished villages, building houses for refugees, teaching children English, etc. – or conservation – working with endangered sea turtles, elephants and dolphins, ecosystem rehabilitation, environmental education, etc. The second two weeks will launch participants into an adrenaline-filled cultural and adventure tour of their chosen country, involving such activities as white water rafting, glacier climbing, waterfall rappelling, scuba diving and jungle kayaking. ISV’s campus representatives, Ameer Ali and Emma Wilson, said the organization is looking for fun, outgoing students to partake in the highly sort after programs. Jenessa Talbot, who from Utah State University participated on the Dominican Republic program, said, “Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw and experienced in the Dominican Republic. Definitely a life changing event and motivating experience that I will never forget. Greatest experience in my life so far. It opens your eyes in ways you never thought possible. I am truly going home being a better person.” ISV is a nonprofit organization that annually takes more than 4,000 students on its life-changing programs every year. Its mission statement is “to combine education, conservation and recreation into the most incredible experience of a lifetime, while giving back to the local communities in the countries in which we are traveling.” Because ISV is a not-for-profit organization, students can offset the cost of the program through tax-deductible sponsorship donations from the community. Some students may also apply to receive academic credit for their participation in the ISV program as there is a strong educational element throughout the entire trip. ISV will be hosting information meetings Thursday, Sept. 24, every hour on the hour from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the University Inn, Room 510, for those students interested in the program. More information on the program can be found at www.isvonline.org. Albrecht opens doors to students policy changes as a result of the meetings. Business marketing senior Jana Rogers said she hadn’t yet heard about Albrecht’s open-door policy. She thinks it is a good idea, depending on whether USU President Stan Albrecht is opening his door Albrecht would make any changes or follow up on the this semester to students who would like to meet him feedback from students. for a one-on-one discussion about issues important to “I’m interested to see what his intention is with the them. Students may arrange to meet with the president policy,” Rogers said. “I think it’s a good way for stufor 15 minutes at a time, said his executive secretary, dents to give their opinion and to actually have their Diane Barnett. Times will vary depending on the opinion get heard, maybe even have something evolvpresident’s schedule, she said. ing from that.” “I want the students to know that I am accessible “Of course he can always and here to listen to any suggescancel it if he doesn’t like doing it,” tions, ideas or concerns – or to just she said. “This gives me say ‘hello,’” Albrecht said. Physics graduate student Albrecht first enacted the another way to Nathan Carruth said he’d heard open-door policy in fall semester check the pulse of about Albrecht’s policy already but ’08, but discontinued it during the students.” isn’t sure he would take advantage spring semester ’09 because of of the president’s offer. As a master’s his busy schedule as he worked to degree student he isn’t as invested keep USU’s budget intact during – USU President Stan in campus life issues as he was as the Utah Legislative session, he Albrecht an undergraduate student a couple said. years ago, he said. During the interviews held last “There’s 20,000 college year, Albrecht said he discussed students and only one college president,” Carruth said. a broad range of things with students, including their “I think it’s a good idea to try and open up, depending lives, their classes, their careers and their futures. “This gives me another way to check the pulse of the if something would actually come of it. It’s not just saystudents ... what’s working for them, what isn’t working ing one thing and going and doing whatever it was he was going to do in the first place.” for them,” Albrecht said. “I probably get more out of Students who wish to arrange an appointment to those conversations than they do.” There were very few instances where a student came speak with Albrecht can contact Diane Barnett at 7977172. to complain or air grievances, Albrecht said. He also –butler.brendon@gmail.com said he couldn’t recall whether there were any direct By BRENDON BUTLER staff writer Blue light honors 2009 Homecoming The Utah State University blue light atop Old Main will light the night sky Friday, Sept. 25, to honor Homecoming weekend. No Homecoming Week would be complete without a Friday night Homecoming dance or a chance to become a True Aggie under the blue A atop Old Main. The dance begins at 8 p.m. in the Taggart Student Center on the university campus. At midnight, students may gather with a partner on USU’s Quad to become a True Aggie. The Homecoming Parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, on Logan’s Main Street, at 100 South where it will continue to 700 North. The Ag Barbeque/Aggie Weekend Tailgate will be held in the practice field east of Romney Stadium near the Stan Laub Training Center from 3-5 p.m. The Homecoming game against Southern Utah University starts at 6:05 p.m. For more information about Homecoming and a complete schedule of activities, visit www.usu.edu/ homecoming/schedule/. The Aggie Blue Pride Light atop Old Main lights the Cache Valley night sky as a symbol of Aggie tradition, heritage and pride. Homecoming is a part of this heritage, contributing to the quality of Utah State. Utah Student Conference to be hosted in Salt Lake The Utah Student Association, whose governing board is comprised of all post-secondary student body presidents in the state, will hold its second annual Utah Student Conference on Political and Civic Engagement. The conference features such notable speakers as Lt. Gov. Gregory Bell, Mayor Peter Corroon, Commissioner of Higher Education William Sederburg, and several State Legislators. The conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sept. 25 at the University of Utah Heritage Center. The purpose of the conference is to educate and train student leaders across the state of Utah to develop advocacy campaigns for the 2009 legislative session, increase student civic involvement through engaging state government and business leaders, conduct valuable service programs on their campuses and understand the political dynamics of higher education in Utah. The conference will promote idea sharing and unite higher-education institutions around the above goals. It will also bestow upon students the knowledge and opportunity to create long-term changes on their campuses in regards to civic involvement. This institutional knowledge will be of great use to student leaders and organizations from year to year. More information can be found at www.eventbrite.com/ event/402617239. -Compiled from staff and media reports |