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Show P3 U L E 2 Not sure about how to expand your business and get students' attention? AggieLife Page 6 D2 9 Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 DOGS: Owners stopped using dogs due to travel The Utah Statesman We'll help you unscramble your advertising ideas Call 797-1743 or visit www.utahstatesman.com ►► From Single and Pregnant? page 4 their dogs, albeit on separate campuses. The company has two places where seeingeye dogs are trained, one in Oregon and another in California. When Barstow and Pavithran met, Pavithran traveled to California and spent a month learning and growing with his dog. The first three days were spent with people pretending to be dogs so Pavithran could learn the commands. Afterwards he met his dog Barstow, and the training continued. "His role is to avoid obstacles and dodge me around obstacles," Pavithran said. "They're trained to watch out for certain obstacles and sort of take directional commands. A lot of the dog's job is to make sure I don't run into people, or while I'm crossing the street to make sure he veers me away from a car if it's corning." Burdette traveled to Oregon for his training and took his yellow lab Darcelle home after two weeks. He Call Us. •Explore your options: Marriage, single parenting, adoption •Free, confidential, caring services LDS SE 752-5302 175 W 1400 N., Suite A, Logan LC Vise- Cache I/alley's orynal cost me 56°16 •Costumes • Theatrical Makeup •Hats, Wigs, Accessories *Mon-Sat 11-7 *753-2724 wwwfantasylanddesign.com • 2530 North 300 East, Logan Getting Engaged? -%■ Surprise her with a solitaire... let her choose the ring. Starting at $500. S.E. Needham Quality at Internet Pricing. S.E. Needham jewelers since 1896 141 North Main • www.seneedharri.com • 435-752-7149 AR LY VOTING GET OUT AND VOTE 1- SACHIN PAVITHRAN'S DAUGHTER plays with Barstow, his now-retired guide dog. Pavithran said he retired Barstow partly because of the dog's age and also because he was travelling often. Photo courtesy of Sachin Pavithran said the training was more condensed than what the company used to offer. "They were testing a more condensed program," Burdette said. "It was a much smaller program, a smaller student-to-teacher ratio, so they could train us quicker." Burdette said he loved Darcelle, and having a seeing-eye dog to help him get around campus was very helpful because he was able to move quicker and with more confidence. "When we would travel on campus, having a dog was great because she'd cruise you through the people and the crowds," Burdette said. "I would absolutely get another dog when my life isn't so crazy. Burdette sent Darcelle back to the trainers after eight months because he was traveling frequently for sports. Burdette plays GoalBall, a team sport specifically designed for blind and visually impaired athletes, and travels for games and tournaments on a monthly basis. "I was traveling once a month, sometimes for a week at a time, and it was difficult to find someone to watch her when I was playing or training and take her out between games," Burdette said. Burdette said sending Darcelle back was difficult because they'd become attached. "I love that dog," Burdette said. "I was with her 24/7 for eight months, but she's better off in a situation that will use her for what she was trained to do." Pavithran said when he retired Barstow, it was partly because of the dog's age and also because he was traveling more and it was difficult for him to care for Barstow on the trips. "It wasn't that packing the food was difficult, but I travel to Washington, D.C. a lot for my job, and at the capitol there are a lot of security protocols," he said. "You can't just walk out of one meeting to take the dog outside. I also travel internationally, and you can't take a dog outside the country because each country has different rules." Pavithran took Barstow to retire with the couple who raised him as a puppy and took care of him when the family went on vacations. Barstow now lives on a beach in California, where he gets to run around as he chooses each day. Both Pavithran and Burdette now use canes to navigate campus and the community, and Pavithran said it's a very different skill set. "A guide dog is an obstacle avoider — a cane is an obstacle finder," Pavithran said. "When you have a dog, you don't have to worry aboul what you're dodging. The disadvantage is the obstacles you're dodging could be cues as to where to go." He said guide dogs don't work like robots and don't make decisions about where to go. "You can't just hold onto the harness and say, 'Go to the TSC'" Pavithran said. "You need to know where you are and where you're going." - apriLashland@aggiemail usu.edi, @AprilAsh20L MANDALA: Holds spiritual signignificance ► From page 4 tectural lines," Bandara said. "It represents the cosmic view of Tibetan culture blended with Buddhist philosophy and rituals that aim to confer physical, psychological and environmental healing and blessings." Wosnik said he is excited to see the mandala in every stage of progression. "I'm excited to see how tedious and intricate the designs are," he said. The BBC website said once the mandala is complete, the monks ask for the deities' healing blessings during a ceremony. As the monks chant, one monk begins the destruction of the mandala by scraping a knuckle through the sand, creating a cross of grey sand. The cross is created in the sand, at which point another monk takes a paintbrush and slowly, carefully sweeps the sand from the perimeter to the center of the mandala. The destruction of the mandala serves as a reminder of the impermanence of life, according to the BBC. The BBC site said once the sand is swept to the center of the mandala, it is then placed into an urn and subsequently poured into flowing water, which is meant to represent an extension of healing powers to the whole world. "The coloured sand is swept up into an urn and dispersed into flowing water, a way of extending the healing powers to the whole world. It is seen as a gift to the mother earth to reenergize the environment and universe," according to the BBC. Khenpo-la said the destruction of the mandala is a very interesting. "The part is a benefit for other beings," he said. "The mandala brings real benefit to the oceans, animals and goes to the whole world. So it brings peace — our prayer goes everywhere." "I think that holds deep spiritual significance for them," he said in regards to the destruction of the mandala. "They don't try to hold on to it. They let it go when it has fmished its significance." Dr. Philip Barlow, the director of the religious studies program at USU, said they brought the creation and destruction of this mandala to USU due to the importance of the study of religion. "The study of religion is important, whether or not one construes oneself as religious, because we need to understand the cultures we encounter," he said. "It helps to think about what a full-blown and disciplined religion is. The construction and dissolution of the beautiful sand mandala can help us witness and understand something of the Tibetan way of symbolizing the cosmos and our relation to it. It is an unusual opportunity to be able to host this week-long event." The mandala is to be constructed throughout the week. It began on Sunday with an introduction about the creation of the mandala. On Monday, the grid used to complete the mandala was laid down. From Tuesday to Thursday, the mandala will continue to be constructed, and it will be destroyed on Friday at Second Dam. A film, "Himalaya," will be shown on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Hub, at which time Lye will give a lecture entitled "Mandalas - Circles of Awakening: The Meanings, Uses, and History of Mandalas in Buddhism." - carli@jdsco.com Twitter: @Carli sue Tsc -O 1 2 JUNIPER LOUNGE UtahStateUn ive rsity ASSOCIATED STUDENTS THE SAND MANDALAS REPRESENT sacred cosmologies, divine energies and spiritual principles. The religious studies program brought the creation and destruction of the mandala to USU. SAMANTHA BEHL photo |