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Show StatesmanCampus News Page 4 Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2010 Council: Street agreement accommodates all non-motorized traffic continued from page 1 ensuring that students are able to get to where they need to go, Simper said. Utah State and Logan City negotiated an agreement for almost a year before the final proposal went to a vote. Simper said the university was willing to take responsibility for safety, but it was important that maintenance and upkeep remained a city duty. The street has always been an area of coordinated efforts, between USU and Logan City, and maintenance items caused a delay in finalizing the official language of the agreement, Nielsen said. The city agreed to continue painting, sweeping and removing snow from the street. The four-block section of 700 North is the site of several utility lines. The City of Logan has a "utility easement" in the final agreement, which allows maintenance for things like water and power lines, Nielsen said. "I don't believe there is a good solution, but because it's so heavily university-oriented, I believe this compromise is the best we could come up with," • Nielsen said. Utah State was not actively pursuing control of the street, said Simper. In past years, plans of converting the street into a walking mall were discussed, but these plans have since been abandoned. "There would be some serious impediments ... it wouldn't make any sense at all to cut off all of Seventh North," Simper said. Closing the street to traffic would hinder access to parking lots and restrict emergency vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances and police cars, he said. Utah State Fire Marshal Steve Bell said safety is always a concern, and closing off the street would cause logistical complications. "The rule is, you can lose a structure within five minutes of a fire starting," Bell said. "After that, the students wouldn't have a school to go to ... until that structure was rebuilt." USU Police are also prepared to adapt to any changes, Chief Steve Mecham said. In the event the road is closed, police are ready to cross sidewalks and use shortcuts to respond to an emergency. For activities such as the recent concert or block party, the university police have meetings to discuss the event and how many officers will be on location, he said. "We expect things to happen. We gear up and have more officers on duty," Mecham said. During special events that exceed 3,000 attendees, the fire department will have emergency vehicles on standby, Bell said. If the street is barricaded, fire code requires an unobstructed area at least 20 feet wide. "I know the students want to have fun, but we need to worry about their safety," Bell said. In the past, the university would have to ask permission to close 700 North for events, Simper said. Under the new agreement, Utah State would still notify the city so police and fire personnel would be aware. Any closings for events would be temporary, he said. 700 NORTH will be more easily accessible to USU because USU no longer needs to ask permission from Logan City to block it off. CARL R.WILSON photo "We want to help the city out and be good citizens," Simper said. "We didn't want to sacrifice safety, so we said we'd assume the safety responsibility." USU Police agreed, several years ago, to handle all accidents on the fourblock section of street, Mecham said. Injuries are rare and are usually caused by collisions between cyclists and motor vehicles. • • Mecham said a woman was severely injured a couple of years ago at 700 North and 1100 East, but no injuries have been reported this year. "When you consider the number of people who use that street, you'd expect more," Mecham said. — dan.smith@aggiemagusu.edu • • Polls: Majority of students show disinterest in becoming Greek continued from page 1 hol," "drinking" or "partying." Also, 59 percent said those words are what first came into their minds when they think about the fraternities and sororities, and only 23 percent said they had previously considered "becoming Greek" themselves, though 50 percent had been invited. "There are a lot of social advantages to Greek life. It's like a family away from home," Froughton said. She said, however, that some recruitment and philanthropic efforts have increased this semester. Much of that can be attributed to the death of Sigma Nu pledge Michael Starks in November 2008, due to alcohol poisoning. Forty-one percent of those surveyed said apart from drinking or partying, Starks was their knee-jerk association with Greek life. "Obviously a lot of people know about the Mike Starks incident," Froughton said. "That changed things. It brought us together and made us realize we needed to really define what we are all about," Fraughton said. She said she thinks if Greeks decide to drink, they have their brothers to look after them. "But it's not endorsed by the house. It's all a personal decision," she said. Froughton referred to a system in many fraternities where each younger member is assigned a mentor, or "older brother" to watch and protect them. There is a similar sisterhood within sororities. "I think the (increase in service hours) has (relation to Starks) and probably motivated us a lot," she said, adding that at the time, individual houses set up "exchanges," or activities amongst each other, and personal visits, to cope with the tragedy. Other Greeks, including new Alpha Chi member Jessica Lewis, said the recent intensity of Greek recruitment and events has other plans as well. Lewis said that they had a great opportunity to show their support against violence during Rush Week. "We want to be known on campus for service. We really want to show the campus what Greek life is about. It's all about service to the community," said senior and Kappa Delta member Corinna Gross. "We really want to brag about those things. We want to be noticed by the campus, by the community, and by various organizations nationwide." Of those surveyed, 73 percent said they had been invited to participate in a social activity through the Greek system, but only 16 percent of the same students said they had been invited to participate in community service. Forty-one percent accept the social invitation, while only five percent took an offer to partake in service activities. "I think the main reason for the reputation is the media. You've got 'Animal House' and other media since the 1970s," said graduate student Cory Larsen, of Sigma Phi Epsilon. "I mean, this is a social environment and so we do have our share of fun, but the idea is to balance it out." Larsen said in his own chapter of SigEp, only "three or four" of more than two dozen members take part in social drinking. "As far as philanthropy goes, it's just a part of the system. I don't think it's to reverse a certain stereotype," he said. "I think Greeks naturally are very outgoing people. A lot of people who want to be Greek are those who want to be exposed, and they want to be involved and be where the people are. I don't think everybody is like that," said SigEp junior Travis Chambers. He said that character lends itself to enthusiasm and an openness to different lifestyles. "Sometimes when there's not values taught or certain values or laws, taught, then that can lead to partying, because they don't have as many barriers as most people do," Chambers said. Chambers said despite that sort of personality, the members of the chapter still maintain their own standards. "It's an individual decision. We still party it up, but in a different way. We're still very outgoing, but that doesn't have to involve drinking a lot," he said. "Sometimes some of the LDS community will be very introverted and not very involved in the public, but very strong in the faith, or, they are really involved in school and sports, and struggle in the faith. But I feel like the guys here (at SigEp) are very involved, but maintain their standards." The student survey was split between men and women. Six percent of those questioned were seniors, 14 percent were juniors, 41 percent were sophomores, and 39 percent were freshmen. SO MUCH MORE THAN A HAUNTED HOUSE! FRIGHTIVIARE$ HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: • LAGOON'S FUN & THRILLING RIDES!* • 3 HAUNTED HOUSES FOR THE BRAVE AT HEART! Ile wasn't looking when he made that left turn. • SPOOK-A-BOO WALK-THRU AND SCARY & CROW'S STRAW MAZE FOR CHILDREN! • MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT! FRICHTARES 201 201a FRICHTMARE$ SUN MON SUN MON TUES TUES WED WED THURS THURS FRI FRI Open 5-10 pm Open 11-10 pm SEPT 26 SEPT 26 SEPT SEPT27 27 SEPT SEPT28 28 SEPT SEPT 29 29 SEPT SEPT 30 30 OCT OCT 11 2 Nen Open Nen Open 11-8 pm 3 5-10 pm 4 5 6 7 Open 11-8 pm 8 Open 11-10 pm 9 Open 5-10 pm Open 11-10 pm 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Open 11-8 pm Open 11-8 pm Open 11-8 pm 31 LAGOON IS CLOSED FOR ENE 2010 SEASON *Weather and other factors permitting. X-Venture Zone attractions are not included with your Single Day Passport. SAT SEPT19 SEPT 19 SEPT SEPT20 20 SEPT SEPT21 21 SEPT SEPT 22 22 SEPT SEPT 23 23 SEPT SEPT 24 24 SSEPT 25 UEA-Open UEA-Open 11-10 pm 11-10 pm Open 5-10 pm Open 5-10 pm Open 11-10 pm Open 11-10 pm Open 11-10 pm DATES AND TIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE DUE TO WEATHER AND OTHER FACTORS. |