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Show Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 Page 8 AggieLife Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com On the rocks,: Varying marriage beliefs The evolving marriage culture InDepth BY EVAN MILLSAP staff writer USU students have varied views on what exactly the definition of marriage means, and, according to Kay Bradford, Utah has one of the most unique marriage cultures in the nation. "Utah is an interesting state," said Bradford, a professor of family consumer and human development. "The length of marriages in Utah is the highest in the nation. Ours is a marrying culture." Utah's marriage culture is changing, said Cynthia Robison, employee of Utah's Office of Vital Statistics. For example, Utahns have always gotten married at an earlier age than the rest of the nation, Robison said, but the A closer look at issues affecting USU Marriage, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is "the state of being united to a person as a contractual relationship according to law or custom." Yet there are some who view Utah's marriage culture as annoying at best, or even oppressive. Undeclared freshman Bruce Flatebo said he is gay and hates everything about Utah's marriage culture. D. WHITNEY SMITH photo United States as a whole has had decreasing marriage rates and later marrying ages on average. She said in 1976, the median age for a bride in Utah was 20; in 2008 it was 24. She said divorce rates have leveled off, but not because people are not living happier marriages. "People simply aren't getting married," Robison said. "I never want to get married," said Amber Olson, a USU horticulture major. "I love my independence. I love my space." Other young Utahns choose to marry later because of the high rate of divorce they see around them, Bradford said. Fear of divorce makes a lot of people cautious, he said. "I really don't want to get a divorce," said Anastasia Gibbons, an English major. "My sister is going through a custody battle, and it is awful." Gibbons said she has decided to get engaged, but she has been dating her boyfriend for more than two years. She and her fiance decided to have a year-long engagement, she said. "I wanted to have a clear idea of who I was before I rushed into things," Gibbons said. "My older sister only dated for three months, and look how that turned out." Early marriages are strongly correlated with high rates of divorce, Bradford said. "You have to know who you are before you commit to something so large," he said. "Statistically speaking, in your mid-to-late 20s, you get in the safe zone from divorce." Fear of divorce still doesn't stop some people from rushing into things, said Cassie Payne, a senior majoring in elementary education. "I know of five people that went to high school with me that got married and are already divorced," she said. "And I graduated three years ago." People's longer lifespan may also be part of the reason for later marriages, said Shawn Clybor, a history professor. "Seven hundred years ago the average lifespan was about 30, so we're talking about a marriage that will last 10 to 20 years, tops," he said. "Now, when you get married, you are committing to spend 60 years of your life with someone." Members of the LDS church believe marriage should last longer than 60 years — rather for eternity — said Logan Brown, an undeclared sophomore. Ironically though, they seem to rush into marriages more than other people, he said. Destiny Miller, a Logan resident, said she was dating someone, seriously for a while, who she thought might be the right guy. After he got into debt, however, he turned into a different person under the stress, she said. It's crucial to know what someone is like during stressful experiences as well as easy ones, she added. "I didn't marry my college girlfriend, and thank God I didn't," Clybor said. "People grow up. People change." Traditional marriages remain dominant Despite the decreasing number of married couples, U.S. residents are still largely interested in marriage, Bradford said. "Yes, people are becoming cautious," he said. "Yes, cohabitation (without marriage) is on the rise, but the U.S. still has a larger percentage of married couples than any other developed nation." And not all of the rushed marriages end in divorce, either, he added. Jaden Miller, an electrical OSee DIVORCE, Page 10 A walking sculpture tour with an open schedule BY KARLEE ULRICH staff writer Cache Valley residents looking for something to do for free that is potentially enjoyable and close to home can consider taking the self-guided sculpture tour at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art. Casey Allen, registrar and webmaster for the museum, said taking the tour is similar to going on a miniature adventure. "It takes you places on campus where you've never been before," he said. "And you see so many different styles of art through these sculptors." Caine College of the Arts former employee Sally Stocker said the sculpture tour highlights the outdoor and indoor sculptures not housed within the museum itself, with the exception of the sculpture "Klompen." Allen said Klompen is made of wooden shoes and is a popular attraction at the museum. He said he was surprised at the amount students who don't know about "Klompen" or who have never even been inside the museum. Stocker said both the museum staff and the USU Student Wellness Center staff worked together to create the four different walking routes for the tour. "Each route is a different distance and begins and ends at the museum in the Fine Arts Center," she said. Allen said each of the four tour routes vary in length and get progressively longer. "The longer you walk, the more sculptors you will be able to see," he said. Allen said the versatility is something he really likes about this tour. "Those interested in taking one of these tours can go online to the (museum) website and download any or all of the routes as well as a guide, which describes each sculpture, including history, artist and any other inter- esting tidbits about that particular piece," Stocker said. Allen said information about the tour is available on smartphones, so patrons can read information about the sculptures as they take the tour. He said for those who would like a hard copy of the material, there are resources available at the museum. There was a tour similar to this one, Allen said, but it's been dormant for about 10 years. He said Stocker had the idea to revive the tour. With so many new sculptures and existing ones being moved around campus, Allen said the tour needed an update. Stocker said the idea to improve the sculpture tour came to her during the summer as she was thinking about all the things USU has to offer. "I had seen the previous sculpture tours, which were all hard copy and needed updating," she said. "I wanted to do it in a different way, utilizing the web, and working on reaching a greater audience." She said she thought it would be fun and interesting to highlight the various sculptures on campus. Allen said some sculptures are not included in the tour at the moment because they are being relocated. "I plan to revise the tour in April or May of next year and include those sculptures that were not included this time," he said. Stocker said she believes the tour benefits the community and USU students, by giving them an opportunity to tour what she thinks is a beautiful campus, and become acquainted with all the artwork the museum has to offer. "I believe that art is an expression of the human soul," Stocker said. "The arts, in all shapes — music, art, theater — feeds the soul and helps the world to be a better place." — karlee.ulrich@aggiemail.usu.edu STUDENTS WHO ARE CURIOUS about the various sculptures around campus can now take a self-guided tour to learn more about them. Hard copies of the guide can be obtained at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art or the information can be found on smartphones. KATRINA PERKINS photo |