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Show Monday, April 11, 2011 Page 3 StatesmanCampus News Briefs USU ArtsBridge fuels K-12 creativity By KEATON REED Volunteering may improve mood staff writer "I would like to stand on the rooftops and scream the importance of the arts in schools," said Teresa Osborne, a USU ArtsBridge scholar. Osborne helped eighth graders from Bear River Middle School in Garland, Utah, add finishing touches to their murals prior to their debut in downtown Logan. Cache Valley youth and scholars from the USU ArtsBridge program presented several of their projects as part of Logan's springtime Downtown Gallery Walk, April 8. Three large murals from different Cache Valley schools were displayed at St. John's Episcopal Church, which Laurie Baefsky, USU ArtsBridge program director, said has hosted ArtsBridge student projects for the past several spring Gallery Walks. One of these murals, "U.S. History Mural" was designed and painted by Cade Bassett's eightth grade class at Bear River Charter School with guidance from Osborne, Baefsky said. "We made it clear to the students that this was going to be their project," Bassett said, "They chose the concepts democratically, divided into groups, did the research, learned art basics and created art." Bassett, a middle school teacher, said he has enjoyed the past few months, as his class has come together to create the five panels that represent different periods of U.S. History. "I couldn't have taught all this in the class," Bassett said. "Bear River Bird Refuge Mural," created by Debbie Lowry's fourth grade class of Mountainside Elementary School with ArtsBridge Scholar Sarah Ford and "Utah's 29 Counties," created by Linsey Clawson's fourth grade class of Millville Elementary School with the assistance of ArtsBridge scholar Brian Able, were also on display. Three more exhibits, which were Campus & Community MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS' SCULPTURES are one of many types of artwork created in the USU Arts Bridge program where USU scholars assist local youngsters in their creative pursuits. Some of this work was displayed at Friday's Gallery Walk. JON LARSEN photo created collaboratively by the arts ambassador program, comprised of Fast Forward High School students, USU ArtsBridge scholars and USU's Access and Diversity Center, were displayed at the Thatcher-Young Mansion and on the sidewalk outside the Ellen Eccles Theater. Holly Conger, USU ArtsBridge program assistant, said the arts ambassador program pairs up high school students with university student mentors, who form a "big brothers big sisters" relationship, and then create different forms of art together. "We wanted to do something that was arts-related that would increase retention and college attendance among high school students," Conger said. She said the program is making a huge difference. "This year there were exhibits from three disciplines: music, film and visual arts," Conger said. "This is such an effective way to learn subjects, it makes it a much more memorable experience than just learning from textbooks." Osborned said, "I'm a huge advocate of art in schools and ArtsBridge takes literature, arts, music and theater, and uses them to teach these students core subjects." Osborne said. Baefsky said combining arts with core subjects helps preserve art education in schools, in a time when many art and music programs are being cut. "It's a win-win partnership," she said. She said another benefit of the ArtsBridge program is the vocational training that arts majors can receive. "The integrated arts-based model of instruction that ArtsBridge so successfully uses seems to have a growing acceptance and reception in our schools, especially in Utah," she said. The program is open to students of any discipline who are dependable, reliable and creative, she said. "Ninety percent of arts majors end up teaching" Baefsky said, "But only 10 percent of those receive any formal teacher training, this pro- gram bridges that enormous gap." The USU ArtsBridge program - which is part of the nationwide organization "ArtsBridge America" - began in 2007, and since then has reached more than 1,000 students in 45 classrooms across Cache Valley, Baefsky said. "If you go around to many of the schools in the valley you'll see beautiful murals created through the ArtsBridge program," Baefsky said. Anne Desjardins, principal of Bear River Charter School, said she came in contact with ArtsBridge while trying to find a project that would allow her students to do service for others. She said she was also was looking for an alternative way to teach U.S. history to the students. "When you look at these murals, they're stunning, they'll be on display permanently at our school," she said. - keaton.reed@aggiemail.usu.edu Certificate: Switzerland program hub of innovation education 11 continued from page 1 enable them to be more innovative. Wilkins was one of several art students who attended the pilot program last year. Fawson said this year the roster is already full with 20 art and 20 business students waiting their turn to board a plane to Switzerland. He said last year all of the students who went gave positive feedback. "I was skeptical just because art students use one side of their brain, generally speaking, and business students use the other side," Wilkins said. "I was really interested to see how everybody was going to get along. We were all able to learn things that we wouldn't have otherwise, because each of us taught each other." Wilkins said he and his peers were aware that, if successful, the program could be approved for a 12-credit certificate in design thinking. He said it was exciting to see everything come together the way it did, especially with the two colleges working together well. The area of design thinking is very current and becoming mainstream, Terry said. He said there are only a few schools in North America with similar curricula, including the University of Toronto and Stanford University. "As the world flattens out," said Dean Doug Andersen of the business school, "and our competition takes over some of the key areas that have been sources of competitive edge for the United States, we have to look to new sources of competitive advantage." Terry said he believes the design thinking program will be a big draw for future prospective students, which will help to advance USU President Stan Albrecht's initiative to increase enrollment. He said another advantage is that it requires no additional university funding. All money comes from what students would already pay for a standard study abroad. This is just the beginning, Fawson said. In the future, there are several other ideas that could expand the amount of course options and opportunities for students both on-campus and abroad. The Switzerland study abroad program for design thinking is largely an undergraduate curriculum, he said. "I think we see our strategic niche in undergraduate education," Fawson said. "Certainly graduate students are involved. In the summer program this year, for example, out of the 20 business students going, six or seven of them are MBA students." PoliceBlotter Friday, April 1 • USU Police Department received an anonymous report of someone in Reeder Hall with drug paraphernalia. Police spoke with a resident who turned over the paraphernalia. Investigation is continuing. • USU Police received a call from complainant stating that they could smell the odor of burned marijuana coming from one of the student labs. USU Police are investigating. trouble alarm on the fire alarm panel. USU Police silenced the alarm and investigated a smell of smoke in a nearby hallway. Nothing was found. • USU Police filed a theft report that occurred in the West Stadium Villa. The complainant informed the police that someone had siphoned gas from two of their vehicles. Police are investigating at this time. Sunday, April 3 Saturday, April 2 • USU Police responded to a report of a vehicle parked in a disabled stall without a disabled permit. Police cited the vehicle, contacted the owner and advised him to move it immediately advising him that it would be towed if not. One other citation was issued to another car due to it not having an area permit. • USU Police responded to a noise problem at the USU Fine Art Center. The theater department was using a prop that broke a smoke detector beam during their presentation, thus setting off a • USU Police responded to the business building loading dock for a report of graffiti painted on the dock. Photographs were taken and the paint was removed by Facilities. • USU Police assisted LCPD in attempting to locate a black Honda Accord traveling on U.S. Highway 89, with two unrestrained children. The call was delayed and officers were unable to locate the vehicle. The other certification program approved by the Board of Trustees comes from USU's rehabilitation counseling program, which generates from the department of special education and rehabilitation. Coward said he wanted to brag that this program was recently designated No. 9 in the nation, according to "U.S. News and World Report." This certificate program is intended to increase the number of certified rehabilitation counselors, said dean of the education college, Beth Foley. People who have master's degrees or other advanced degrees in related fields, like social work and marriage counseling will be able to become certified as counselors for people with a range of disabilities. "That interdisciplinary aspect of this program is, I think, what makes it particularly strong," Foley said. "Many of these courses that will provide the basis of this program are available by distance. So we'll be able to offer these opportunities not just to people here in Utah, but people across the country." - dan.whitney.smith@aggiemail.usu.edu Contact USU Police at 797-1939 for non-emergencies. Anonymous reporting line: 797-5000 EMERGENCY NUMBER: 911 Monday, April 4 • USU Police responded to the Eccles Science Learning Center for a report of clothing hanging from a tree. A report was filed with USU Police and Facilities cleaned the items out of the tree. Wednesday, April 6 • Police responded to the Blue Terrace on a possible automobile theft. Police searched the Terrace with the owners and was able to locate their vehicle. There was no further action taken. • USU Police responded to a fire incident at the USU trailer court. Police found small flames in the trees above trailers 136 and 137. Police determined it was power lines which were causing the branches to spark and flame. The power department responded to remove branches away from the power lines. CI Compiled by Catherine Meidell Studies have shown people who volunteer are healthier, happier and more likely to feel a part of their community than people who don't volunteer. In a study titled "Helper's High: Volunteering Makes People Feel Good Physically & Emotionally," author Allan Luks found frequent helpers, or volunteers, described a physical experience similar to that had by people who exercise vigorously or meditate. Endorphins are released during positive social contact with others, creating the opposite of the body's agitated condition under stress. With the economy still in recovery, home prices low, and jobs scarce, among other things, who isn't stressed? "Volunteering is a great way to get outside yourself. When you're helping your community, you forget about your problems for a while and you can see the difference you make in yourself and others," said Blaire Nelson, a member of the AmeriCorps Volunteer In Service To America or VISTA program. Cache Valley residents can take advantage of the opportunity to volunteer by participating in the 37th annual National Volunteer Week, April 10 - 16. The Center for the School of the Future and the Cache Valley Volunteer Center are sponsoring a local program focused on educating the community about service opportunities and motivating them to pledge their time to local nonprofits. The time community members pledge during the drive will then be served during the remainder of 2011. The goal is to reach 5,000 total pledged hours to help local agencies get the extra help they need. Utah State named U.S. tree campus The Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota celebrate the tremendous growth of the Tree Campus USA program in a special event with Utah State University students, faculty and administrators. Utah State University is one of 115 colleges and universities named a Tree Campus school. Representatives from the Arbor Day Foundation join a USU team for a tree planting ceremony and related activities Tuesday, April 12. The activity acknowledges the Tree Campus USA program success, and USU has been named one of only four universities in the country for special tree planting ceremonies sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota. In the program's third year, a record number of colleges and universities received Tree Campus USA recognition for caring for their campus forest. The program began in 2008 with 29 colleges and universities being recognized for work on their campus forest. Last year, 74 schools were honored as a Tree Campus USA site. Film voting open through Tuesday Vote for your favorite short film for the Fringe Film Festival online at the Caine College of the Arts's website. The two films with the top votes will be shown at the festival. Voting continues through noon April 14. See the four top films - people's choice and judges' choice - Friday, April 15, 8 p.m., Logan Arthouse and Cinema. More than 20 short films entered in the 2011 Fringe Film Festival are available for public viewing and voting online. Eligible films entered in the annual short film festival were uploaded to the Caine College of the Arts (CCA) website at Utah State University April 4. While viewing is ongoing, voting ends at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 12. "The Caine College of the Arts is proud to host the Fringe Film Festival," said Denise Albiston, marketing director for the CCA. "The contest serves as both a hands-on education in filmmaking and a showcase for creative filmmakers. In addition, we are honored to partner with the Logan Arthouse and Cinema." Co mp ile d from staff and media reports ! |