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Show StatesmanCampus News Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 Page 3 Briefs From Page 2 Panel hosts open mic for student feedback provide valuable information in letting us know what the real concerns and issues are. He said a different committee officer will be in charge of Start Stop Continue, which invites students to write down what they want the university to start doing, stop doing and continue doing. The program was started last year by the ASUSU President's Cabinet, but will now be handled by the Student Voice Committee, Russel said. Neuhring said suggestions from last year's Start Stop Continue program ranged from resolving parking issues to requests concerning dances. Most of these programs will happen next semester, Campus & Community ASUSU legislative website restored Russell said, but Neuhring said they hope to have the committee running by Homecoming Week. Russell said he is also rebranding the entire program. Previously the program's brand was "Voice Your Concern." "It's always been 'Voice Your Concern," Russell said. "A fresh start, having a new theme — 'Speak Up' just seemed about perfect." Russell said the new brand will be all over posters and fliers for all the programs the student advocate organizes. He said he likes this brand because it "is exactly what he want students to do: 'Speak Up.' — chris.w.lee@aggiemail. usu.edu STUDENT ADVOCATE JASON RUSSEL is rebranding the Student Voice Committee with the theme "Speak Up." Russel is also bringing back old programs in an effort to enhance the committee. Russell is still seeking students to fill his committee. ANI MIRZAKHANYAN photo Utah cancels four-day work week SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah's experiment with a first-in-the-nation four-day workweek for state workers is over. Beginning Tuesday, they will be back on the job five days, but they won't be working a full week just yet. The Labor Day holiday will shorten the week to four days. Lawmakers scratched the experiment, saying it was not saving as much money as hoped and that residents were complaining about not having access to services on Fridays. The change won't be easy for many employees, said Todd Sutton of the Utah Public Employees Association. Some had arranged daycare schedules for the four-day week, while others were using their free Fridays to work second jobs or volunteer. "Employees struggled because they adapted their lives to one schedule," Sutton said. "And then it goes to a different schedule." Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman launched the "4/10" workweek - 10 hours a day, MondayThursday - for thousands of employees in 2008 to improve efficiency, reduce overhead costs and conserve energy at a time when budgets are tight and resources are dwindling. A 2010 legislative audit showed the savings never materialized, in part due to a drop in energy prices. The bill that stopped the experiment called on state offices to be open five days, but left it up to the executive branch to determine whether to still schedule workers on for the four-day weeks. The failure of Utah state government to see the savings, however, isn't reflective of what has been happening in other states and cities that have tried the alternative work week. In Provo, Utah, one of the state's largest cities with more than 100,000 people, the four-day workweek has been in place for years, with city offices open Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mayor John Curtis said the 4/10 system has improved employee morale and seems to save money. He said the four-day workweek may be more effective at a local level than with a state government. "Our residents see city employees working, and they know the city is responsive to them," Curtis said. "People don't have that same interaction with state employees ... and the state needs hundreds of offices, while we only need one," he said. In El Paso, Texas, Mayor John Cook is proposing a year-round four-day workweek after experimenting with it during the past two summers. "It has a positive impact on productivity and saved us a lot of money," he said. Cook said the projected savings for the city of about 800,000 people was more than $400,000 annually, primarily because of lowered utility and fuel costs. There haven't been many complaints about offices being closed on Fridays, Cook said. Where there are concerns, such as business licensing, the city is developing online solutions. Creative solutions are becoming more popular for governments facing tight budgets, said Rex Facer, a Brigham Young University associate professor who has studied the effectiveness of fourday workweeks. Facer worked with El Paso and Provo officials to develop their policies. Lawmakers in Oregon and Texas considered four-day workweek bills this year, but neither passed. While no other states have adopted the fourday workweek, Facer said his surveys show more than 200 cities have implemented it in some fashion. However, their approaches differ greatly. That proves that flexibility is a necessary ingredient for success, he said. "Local governments are more successful because they are leaner and don't have the bureaucracy" of states, Facer said. — Josh Loftin can be reached at http://twitter.com/ Playing in the Cache Valley mud ASUSU Executive Council Administrative Assistant Jordan Hunt has spent the summer updating the USU legislative website. Hunt said the website documents all bills and resolutions passed by the Academic Senate, the Executive Council, and the Graduate Student Senate. Hunt said the website hadn't been updated since 2006. He said, "it was not very user friendly. It was hard to search, it was hard to find documents." The website will be easier to search and will now contain the minutes from the ASUSU Executive Council meetings as well as all the bills and resolutions passed, Hunt said. "A bill is something that ASUSU has power over, or some sort of say in. A resolution is something that we kind of recommend, or that some students have mentioned, or some sort of student initiative," Hunt explained. He said the council doesn't have power over the resolutions, but they will pass it to the appropriate organizations to make the desired changes. With the website updated students will be able to view the text of the bills and resolutions, Hunt said, students will be able to see what is going on with ASUSU without attending every meeting. The legislative website is www. usu.edu/legislation. 'Cinema Series' to screen films The Student Traditions and Activities Board (STAB) will be starting a Cinema Series this fall. The series will show movies on campus for USU students, Arts & Lectures Director Marie Squyres said. "There are a lot of students who either lack transportation or lack money, and on the weekend they still definitely want something entertaining to do," Squyers said. Squyers said the series will show a movie to students twice this semester, and a few more movies will take place next semester. Squires said the series will start by showing movies just on Friday nights, but if demand grows they will expand and show movies on Friday and Saturday nights. Squyers said USU students can receive admission to the movie by donating a can of food, or they can pay one dollar. She said the cans of food will go to the Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC.) Squyers said the movies will be held in the TSC auditorium. The first movie will be "Limitless" staring Bradley Cooper and it will be shown on Friday October 14. Biologist wins research grant CACHE VALLEY'S FIRST EVER 5-kilometer mud race, Man vs. Mud, was co-sponsored by the American West Heritage Center. With a funding goal of $50,000, a portion of the proceeds will go to families in need throughout the valley. USU students mixed with participants from as far away as Missouri and North Carolina to see who could complete the course first. CARL R. WILSON photo From Page 1 Andersen: Keeton is special player UTAH STATE LINEBACKER Bobby Wagner (9) reacts during an NCAA college football game against Auburn in Auburn, Ala., Saturday, Sept. 3, 20 I I .Auburn won 42-38. AP Photo Wagner said. "I felt like we were stronger than them. I felt like we were faster than them, but I felt like they made plays when they needed to, and we did not." USU quarterback Chuckie Keeton was named the starter as the offense took the field for the first time. Keeton completed 21 of 30 passes, to 10 different receivers, for 213 yards to go along with two rushing touchdowns. The 6-foot-2 true freshman was named rivals.com National Freshman of the Week for his outstanding play. Andersen said Keeton is a special player. "I promise you no one is hurt more," Andersen said. "You saw exactly how he played as a true freshman. I think we are in very good hands at the quarterback position, just as we felt as we continued through camp. I love Chuckie Keeton. I have loved Chuckie Keeton since I walked into his living room." Uncharacteristic of USU teams in recent history, the veteran Aggie front line was able to push around the Auburn defensive front, allowing Utah State to dominate the defending BCS National Champions in several key statistics, including first downs 27-17, rushing yards 227-78, offensive yards 448-364 and time of possession 37:41-22:19. "We controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football in the run game," Andersen said. "Which is great to do against a quality opponent." Keeton said the Aggies took strides during the game, but need to make improvements. "It doesn't matter, we didn't win," Keeton said. "It doesn't matter how many yards we racked up or points we scored, if we don't win." Utah State will play Weber State next in the season home-opener on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. The Wildcats lost at Wyoming, 32-35, last weekend. —tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu Wildlife research is actually about 10 percent study of animals and 90 percent study of vegetation, says Utah State University graduate student Stephanie Graham. "Habitat is the focus of wildlife study," says the wildlife biology major in USU's Department of Wildland Resources. "How are animals adapting to changes and surviving in their environment?" Graham is one of three Utah recipients of this year's competitive $2,500 student grants from the Utah Chapter of The Wildlife Society. The award supports her continued study of Greater sage-grouse and the bird's habitat in Utah's remote northwest corner. "I've had six flat tires in last couple of months," says the master's student, whose research takes her over rough terrain in rural Box Elder County. "So the additional funding is very much appreciated." With faculty mentor Terry Messmer, principal investigator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service/USU Sagegrouse Restoration Initiative, Graham is studying the birds' response to Bureau of Land Management treatments. El Compiled from staff and media reports |