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Show StatesmanCampus News Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 Page 3 Stuff A Bus collects food for Cache panBy LIS STEWART VOLUNTEERS PILE INTO AN AGGIE SHUTTLE to collect cans of food for the Cache Valley Food Pantry. This volunteer effort is called Stuff A Bus and is hosted by the Associated Students of USU. PETE P. SMITHSUTH photo and nonstudents sign in with their name, address and phone number. Once volunteers have been given instructions by Ingalls on how to introduce themselves as ASUSU representatives and being respectful to the homes they visit, they get on the buses and head to the neighborhoods. Kristina Morrey, junior in communicative disorders, said, "We went to this one family, and they had these three little kids. You could tell that they didn't have a lot of money, and they went into their kitchen and brought out like five bags of food. It's amazing to me that people may have nothing at all and they are still willing to give." Ingalls said, "There are some people that turn us away. I think the people that turn us away honestly can't help us out. And even people that you can tell really don't have much to give, typically they give us whatever they can. It's a really neat experience to see." In addition to the Monday trips during Novomber, Stuff A Bus representatives will be on the Taggart Student Center Patio Nov. 23, with stations from the Cache Valley Radio Group to solicit donations of food, money and unwrapped toys. Volunteers will be handing out hot chocolate and candy canes, Ingalls said. Black Friday, Nov. 27, will be the transition point for Stuff A Bus, Ingalls said. The Aggie Shuttles will be parked outside of ShopKo and the Wal-Mart in Providence to collect donations for Sub for Santa, a program that provides gifts for children and individuals in need. Last year, Sub for Santa provided 1,496 children in Cache County with presents, Ingalls said. Erickson said Stuff A Bus has turned into one of the biggest private donors to Cache Community Food Pantry and Sub for Santa. "(Cache County Sub for Santa) doesn't just give (the children) one gift," Erickson said. "They spend anywhere from $45 to $75 per child. It's not just one present. They give them their whole Christmas. We obviously collect as much as we can, but we raised $10,000 last year for Sub for Santa. And our goal this year is $15,000." The volunteers with the shuttles will be out collecting donations all day Dec. 5 in front of Fresh Market — formerly Albertson's — Macey's, Sam's Club, Shopko and both Wal-Mart locations, Ingalls said. As people go about their Christmas shopping, Ingalls asks that maybe they pick up another toy or donate their spare change to the Sub for Santa fund. "There's nothing sadder to see than a kid who goes a Christmas without presents," Erickson said. — la.stewart@aggiemaiLusu.edu Write legislators to save higher ed, says ASUSU VP By BENJAMIN WOOD news senior writer Council updates made up the bulk of the Associated Students of USU's Executive Council meeting Tuesday. During his council update, Executive Vice President Spencer Lee announced that an e-mail, savehighered@gmail.com, has been launched to facilitate students in writing state legislators about upcoming budget cuts. Students are encouraged, Lee said, to send a one- to two-paragraph e-mail containing their name, county where family lives, parents' names, major, year in school and a personal experience of how budget cuts at USU have negatively affected their education. The letters will be presented either personally or electronically elected officials in Salt Lake City. "This e-mail can take you five minutes," Lee said after the council meeting. Lee has commented frequently, in meetings and at activities, on the importance of students being aware of the university's financial concerns and again in an interview with The Utah Statesman, Lee detailed some of the concerns surrounding budget cuts. "If we are not cut additionally, to deal only with that $13 million (of existing reductions) we will have to cut 50-60 faculty," Lee said. Lee said he hopes to accomplish more with the student testimonials than the petitions that were given to state officials during last year's budgetary season. In sending the students' letters, Lee said that instead of saying "fix it," he wants to give legislators clear, coherent options, namely utilizing some of the roughly $300 million in the Rainy Day Fund and reinstating the grocery tax that was reduced last year. "We are saying 'It is raining,"' Lee said of the Rainy Day Funds. Lee spoke with noticeable urgency about the campaign he is undergoing to lobby for lower cuts. He said the state, through taxpayers, pays for twothirds of students' higher education, which comes out to $8,000 to $9,000 a year for each full-time USU student. Students who do not graduate on time, as a result of class decreases due to cuts, stand to cost the state more than it saves through budgeting. "We will literally have thousands of students, statewide, who will not graduate on time," Lee said. Lee said he hopes every student will take the time to send their experience to the Save Higher Ed e-mail. He is planning to meet personally with as many state legislators as possible, and in those meetings he plans to present letters from students that live in the official's particular county. Those legislators that Lee and his associates are unable to visit personally will be forwarded their constituents' e-mails, as well as those exceeding what is personally presented. "We are going to strategically forward on these e-mails little by little, a couple a day," Lee said. Lee said he hopes to present the hard copies in person to each legislator. "Am I, Spencer Lee, going to able to talk to every one of them? No, but I'm sure going to try," Lee said. In other council business, Service Vice President David Knighton said the Val R. Christensen Service Center is looking for contestants for the USU's Biggest Loser competition. Students will learn about healthy liv- ing habits and receive points for shedding pounds. A $30 participation fee is required and prizes, like a one-year membership at the Sports Academy, will be awarded. Knighton also reported on Stuff A Bus, saying that around 20,000 pounds of food have been collected so far. An extra effort will be required in the remaining weeks to reach the 40,000-pound goal. Athletics Vice President Jeremy Winn reminded council members that Friday's football game against Boise State University will run on ESPN2. A tailgate party is planned from 5-7 p.m. before the game, where USU dancing group Velocity will perform and a dance-off may be held between USU and BSU students. In a light-hearted moment during the meeting, Winn commented on his hopes for the football team's performance. "Hopefully we can hang in there during the game. If we win we're tearing down the goal posts," Winn said. Lee replied, "If we beat them, we're tearing down the north end zone complex." — b.c.wood@aggiemaiLusu.edu Childhood obesity causes health problems, says nutritionist to an obese nation," Shugart said. "You could say we it is "basically a done deal," Shugart said. are de-evolving." One reason for obesity is that an environment staff writer Thirty percent of children are obese and another of inactivity has been created and people are more 30 percent are overweight and on their way to dependent on cars and spend their time in front of Making small changes in daily diet such as becoming obese, Shugart said. a computer or television, Shugart said. eliminating soda and junk food and watching por"An obese and overweight kid becomes an obese Portion sizes have increased and the marketing tion sizes can stop the growing rate of obesity in and overweight adult," Shugart campaigns to "eat more" are everywhere, Shugart children, said USU's Wellness coorsaid. said, everything has become super-sized. The probdinator. Excess body fat causes irreverslem is that people don't understand that "when Caroline Shugart spoke to jour"Junk food is ible damage such as hip fractures you increase portion size, you increase calories," nalism students Thursday morning psychologically and knee and joint issues in young Shugart said. about the Be Well program at USU people, Shugart said. It also comAdults should be consuming between 2,000 and physically and stopping childhood obesity. presses and damages the heart and and 2,500 calories a day, and children should be addicting." Shugart majored in biology and lungs. Obese children are more consuming a lot less, Shugart said. Web sites such then got a master's degree in sports likely to develop brain lesions like as CalorieKing and SparkPeople can help determine nutrition and certified as a dietiCaroline Shugart, those seen in Alzheimer patients a more precise amount that a person needs based cian. She also went back to school and children that are obese have a on height, weight and level of activity each day, she USU's Wellness to become a nurse and now works shorter lifespan than their parents, added. with dialysis patients. coordinator Shugart said. High-calorie foods and inactivity are a "deadly Shugart said her main concern "It is unethical that we should combo," Shugart said. For example, a double as a nurse is to "keep people out of raise kids to have a shorter lifesWhopper combo at Burger King has about 1,680 the dialysis chair" and "keep them pan than us," Shugart said. calories and would take a 17-mile walk to burn off, healthy." Nearly one-third of dialysis patients have Thirty percent of Caucasian children, 40 percent Shugart said. diabetes with high blood sugar and another third of African-American children and 50 percent of "It's impossible to exercise this stuff off," have high-blood pressure, she said. Hispanic children will develop obesity-induced dia"In the last 15 years, we've come from a lean U.S. I See KIDS, page 4 betes, Shugart said. For Native American children, By SHANA SANDERS - Campus & Community Science Unwrapped explores physics staff writer Volunteers for Associated Students of USU's Stuff A Bus described the weather as chilly but hearts were warm as volunteers ventured on foot, with temperatures in the 20s, through Logan neighborhoods on the evening of Nov. 16. Volunteers went door-to-door asking for donations of nonperishable food items for the Cache Community Food Pantry. Every Monday night during November, the volunteers collect food from residential areas of North Logan, Logan, River Heights and Providence. The collected food is needed by many Cache Valley residents. The pantry's needs have increased by 40 percent this year, said Brittany Ingalls, Stuff A Bus chair on ASUSU's Val R. Christensen Service Council. The increase in need, Ingalls said, is largely because families that used to stay with the pantry for three to five months now require assistance for up to eight. The pantry serves about 140 families a week. "Last year we collected 22,000 pounds of food for the pantry, and this year our goal is to collect 40,000 pounds of food. And we are actually well on our way with that," Ingalls said. Other campus groups are helping reach the goal of 40,000 cans by holding their own fundraising events, such as requiring a can of food be donated in place of an entrance fee. Some groups schedule a night to volunteer to go around a part of Logan assigned to them. Ingalls said it is neat to see how many people are willing to help out. One of the goals for Stuff A Bus this year is to involve more groups from around campus than in the past. Alden Erickson, Aggie Shuttle supervisor for the Department of Parking and Transportation Services, started the Stuff A Bus program about 10 years ago. He said he is impressed with the turnout from the student body. Each Monday the Department of Parking and Transportation Services sends four Aggie Shuttles to Romney Stadium's parking lot on 800 East. Additional bus drivers remain on call, Ingalls said, in case more people show up than the event organizers planned for. "I might say, 'We need more of the buses than you've given us.' (Erickson) just makes it happen," Ingalls said. "He is really good to work with." Large groups of USU students, sometimes as many as 200, volunteer each week. One shuttle driver said he holds the record for the most people on his bus, 113. When volunteers arrive, they are required to sign in with their name and A number Briefs Is it true that a high-pitched tone like an opera singer's voice can shatter glass? Inquiring minds of all ages are invited to learn the answer to this question and more at USU's second annual Physics Demonstration Show on campus Friday, Nov. 20. The gathering begins at 7 p.m. in the Emert Auditorium, Room 130, of the Eccles Science Learning Center. Admission is free and open to all. "We had so much fun last year that, again, we're kicking off Thanksgiving week with an evening of fanfare, fascination and family fun," says James Coburn, Teaching Laboratory supervisor in USU's physics department. "This is a great opportunity for scientists young and old to learn together." This year's event focuses on waves and sound and features the exciting "Physics Fire Dance." For directions and more information, visit www.usu.edu/science/unwrapped or contact the USU physics department at 7972857. Prof named to housing organization by gov Lucy Delgadillo, an associate professor in the family, consumer and human development department, was appointed by Utah's governor as one of eight members of the board of trustees of Utah Housing Corporation. She is on the board representing the public at large. The board of trustees of Utah Housing is comprised of nine members representing several counties of the state and many occupations. The six appointed members of the board represent various business and industry groups and six different counties of the state. They are appointed by the governor and require the consent of the Utah Senate. The Utah Housing Corporation was created as a public corporation by Utah to raise funds to assist in the creation of affordable housing opportunities for lower-income Utah households across the state. Delgadillo said the trustees basically authorize administrators of the organization to conduct all activities on behalf of the Utah Housing Corporation for its home buyer programs and multifamily programs. Prof awarded Lady Davis Fellowship Department of English professor Steve Siporin will soon be leaving for Hebrew University as a visiting Lady Davis Fellow. There Siporin will teach American folklore and continue his research on Italian Jews, specifically Augusto Segre, whose memoir Siporin translated. The translation was published in 2008 by University of Nebraska Press. The Lady Davis Fellowship Trust was established 33 years ago to provide the opportunity for leading scientists and scholars, post-doctoral researchers and doctoral students from abroad, regardless of nationality, gender or field of scholarship to teach, study and participate in research in Israel at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa. To date, 623 visiting professors, 946 post-doctoral and doctoral students and 175 Israelis studying abroad have served as Lady Davis Fellows. The international impact makes it one of the most distinguished and sought after fellowship programs in the world. In addition, over these 33 years the Lady Davis Fellowship Trust has greatly enriched the Hebrew University and the Technion by constantly introducing talent into their academic environment and by linking these two institutions. 11 Compiled from staff and media reports |