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Show Monday, Sept. 12, 2011 Page 4 AggieLif• Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com Losing faith Students question beliefs after leaving the comforts of home BY RHETT WILKINSON features senior writer MANY STUDENTS LEAVE HOME and begin to question the religion they grew up with. Many different religious organizations exist at USU in efforts to provide students with the opportunity to explore their beliefs. BRANDEN FONDA photo A half-hour spent speaking with Ryan Toth seemed to indicate that he adores Jesus Christ. The religious studies major said he strives to serve Him in every way. Toth is currently a leader in the Campus Crusade for Christ organization at USU. But Toth, who was raised Baptist, hasn't always borne fruits of such convictions. "I just didn't want anything to do with God," he said of his viewpoint just more than three years ago. "I still believed a lot of what I'd grown up with, but I had used evil as my scapegoat, saying 'How could you allow evil to occur?'" Toth said he remembers walking toward the Living and Learning Center as a freshman, when he saw a mass of students leaving the Logan Institute Building. Small experiences of that nature were critical to a shift in Toth's religious perspective, he said. "With the system I was raised with, Mormons are not saved because they are not born again. I see all these people coming out of the building, and I'm saying, 'Serious, do I care more about these people than (God) does?"' So goes thought-provoking questions found not only in the minds of those who are considering where they fit in the perspective of their creator, but also as found in the classrooms throughout USU, and its fellow institutions of higher education throughout the country. As students, professors and religious instructors attest, such a forum can give its participants a lot to chew on, intellectually and spiritually. To what extent is spirituality a priority? A seven-year University of California-Los Angeles-based study began in 2003, entitled "The Spiritual Life of College Students: A National Study of College Students' Search for Meaning and Purpose" surveyed 112,232 first-year students attending 236 unique colleges and universities across the country. Three-fourths polled said they are "searching for the meaning and purpose in life," or they have discussions about the meaning of life with friends. Similar numbers indicated high expectations that college will help them develop emotionally and spiritually. Nearly half reported they consider it "essential" to seek opportunities to help them grow spiritually. Eight students out of 10 said they attended religious services during the past year. Similar numbers discussed religion with both friends and family. More than two-thirds said they pray. But the proportion of those same students who said they experienced high levels of religious or spiritual growth during college did not quite reflect the data behind the students' religious practices. At the top of the list was education majors, where 46 percent said they had such an experience. Fine arts followed at 40 percent, while physical science stood at 19 See THIRTY, Page 8 New leadership brings goals to music department BY KATE MARSHALL staff writer Professor Mike Bankhead comes from a musical background, which may be the reason why he was chosen as the new music department head. Craig Jessop, dean of The Caine College of the Arts, said, "The students of Utah State University deserve the finest the world has to offer, so I picked up the phone and called this fine man and said 'Mike I need you. We're doing a search, and I need you to put your hat in the ring.'" Before Bankhead was chosen as the new music head, he led a musical life. He attended Utah State as an undergraduate, but he played drums for his first dance gig in Ephraim, Utah, at 12 years old. He played in a country band at a place called The Bloody Bucket, in Preston, Idaho. He began playing the piano and oboe at a young age — and later taught Michael Ballam, director of the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, in high school — then learned to play the drums, bass and saxophone. "I played in the Scotsman Jazz Band and in the pit orchestra for the opera," Bankhead said. "Really, anything I've managed to do in my career started here at USU. It laid such a strong foundation for me." After his undergraduate education was complete, Bankhead said he was sent a draft notice to fight in the Vietnam War. His friend suggested that he instead apply for the Air Force, because then he could participate in the band. "I've been shot at many times by critics and the media, but I have an aversion to lead bullets," he said. During that time, there was a job opening for director of the Singing Sergeants. He said he called his friend Craig Jessop, who was getting his doctorate of musical arts at Stanford, and offered him the job. When Bankhead accepted the position at USU, the role of boss was reversed. After 22 years of serving his country, Bankhead retired as Lt. Col. and continued his music leadership career. He was the conductor of the Green Bay Symphony, the chairman of the music department at California State University, has been an invited guest conductor all over the world, and the director of the Sam Houston State University's School of Music. "You can't forget that this man is not only a world class musician and conductor, but he also has an MBA," Jessop said. "He knows the business side of music, too. He knows that just having great art won't get the hay in the barn." Bankhead then said of Jessop, "This is the only guy who can use 'great art' and 'hay in *See BANKHEAD, Page 7 r Commute without the fuss take the bus. MIKE BANKHEAD IS the newly hired department head of music. Craig Jessop, dean of the Caine College of the Arts personally picked him, and he hopes to expand options for music degrees. KYLE PETT photo |