Utah State University Student Newspapers | 2012-11-01 | Page 2

Campus News Page 2 Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012 Safety engineers give professor national award KATELIN CHRISTENSEN staff writer A USU professor has been given an award by a national organization for his work mitigating hazards in the workplace. David Wallace was named Safety Professional of the Year by the Utah chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). Wallace, a principal lecturer in the department of biology, received the award at an annual Utah Conference on Safety and Industrial Hygiene early this month. "It was a complete surprise," Wallace said. "They sprang it on me at the conference." Wallace said while it was a shock, receiving the award was exciting. "It's quite an honor," Wallace said. "It's a recognition of my influence and contributions to the profession as a whole and also a recognition of my long service. I'm proud of it, and I'm pleased." Wallace said he has focused on recognizing, evaluating and controlling hazards in workplaces since the 1980s. "My whole career is safety and industrialized hygiene," Wallace said. "It's a good profession. It helps people." The award, which is given AGGIE ALUMNUS NATHAN SPENCER presents USU industrial hygienist Dave Wallace with the Safety Professional of the Year award from the Utah chapter of the American Society of Engineers on Oct. I I. Photo courtesy of Mary-Ann Muffoletto/USU College of Science. to recognize a safety professional who has had a major impact on the profession, was presented to Wallace by ASSE's Utah chapter president Nathan Spencer, senior safety, health and environmental manager for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Spencer, a USU alumnus and former student of Wallace, said presenting the award to a former teacher was a great experience for him. "It was an honor for me to present the award to Dave," Spencer said. "He was one of the guys who kind of coached and mentored me in the profession. Dave has been a good friend for me as I've gone through the profes- sion." Spencer said the SPY award is not easy to receive. "We take nominations from over 300 safety professionals in the Utah and Wyoming area, and the officers of the Utah chapter vote on it and make a decision on who to give that award to," Spencer said. He said there are no specific qualifications to be nominated for the award. "We look at all safety professionals who have made an impact on the profession," Spencer said. "Wallace has made quite the impact." Spencer said Wallace was selected for the award because of his contribution to, and impact he's had, in the the safety, health and environmental profession. "Dave has had a great impact on many of us through his teaching and professional roles," Spencer said. "He's mentored many, many students through the profession. That's why he was chosen." Alan Savitzky, professor and head of the department of biology said Wallace was an excellent choice for the award. "My immediate reaction was that he was an ideal choice for this," Savitzky said. "He's a highly respected member of his profession and a very highly regarded member of our faculty." Savitzky said Wallace has had a major impact on the Environmental Health and Safety program. "Our public health program is a signature program for this department," Savitzky said. "It's a nationally parliament program in public health, and he's one of the major contributors to that. His role as the advisor for all of our public health students is really central to the program itself. We're simply fortunate to have him on our faculty." Savitzky said the award has a positive impact on the department. "It's recognition that our program is identified statewide for the high quality of instruction and mentorship that we provide the students," Savitzky said. "It's a really stellar program and I think the award itself, by recognizing his individual achievements and qualities and contributions, it also reflects more broadly on the program as a whole." Savitzky said the award is well-deserved recognition of Wallace's work in the profession. "I think it's the recognition of Dave's individual qualities as a leader in that program and as a faculty member," Savitzky said. "It was a very good choice." — [e-mail] POLICE: Howl attendance drops by 400 OFrom page 1 the night. For Stevens and other Howl volunteers, the night did not end when 5,600 attendees were ushered out of the building. At 12:30 a.m., 30 minutes before the party was over, lights were turned on in the International Lounge of the Taggart Student Center and decorations of ripped fabric and cobwebs were pulled down. The fake tattoo booth finished its clients and closed up, people walked around looking for trash and the cleanup of months of planning and days of decorating com- menced. ASUSU Activities Director Hannah Blackburn said she felt like the night was a success. She said from her observations, there was more space to walk around and more activities to keep people moving throughout the TSC compared to previous years. "The two biggest complaints we got last year was there were too long of lines and there wasn't enough to do," Blackburn said. Stevens said the complaints she heard about crowding were from the dance in the Fieldhouse, where people were let in only as others left to keep numbers in line with fire code regulations. Blackburn said she chose to operate the Howl on a smaller budget this year to be more efficient, providing students with three times as many activities that were smaller and operating throughout the night instead of one big concert. She said she wanted to focus on two things: atmosphere and a better environment. — [e-mail]. edu Afi•ighteningfrat HOWL ATTENDEES ARE checked before they enter the event. Items confiscated included masks and props. DELAYNE LOCKE photo Students can't restructure debt RENEE SCHOOF M CT STUDENTS GO THROUGH THE DELTA SIG PHI haunted house.This year all proceeds from the event are going to the American Red Cross.The project took more than 300 ser vice hours and included brothers from every fraternity on campus. SAMANTHA BEI-IL photo WASHINGTON — College students who took out private student loans before the recession hit are telling the government they're getting a runaround from lenders as they struggle to pay them back. In a report to be released Tuesday, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that student borrowers, like homeowners with troubled mortgages, are upset about how hard it can be to get help with their payment problems, and how long it can take for lenders to fix their own errors. "Student loan borrower stories of detours and dead ends with their servicers bear an uncanny resemblance to problematic practices uncovered in the mortgage servicing business," said Rohit Chopra, the bureau's ombudsman for student loans. His report was based on nearly 2,900 complaints to his office since March, when it set up a website to inquire about problems that borrowers were having with the private student loan market. The consumer protection agency, established under a Wall Street regulation law, worked with the Department of Education on the project. The federal government took over the student loan business under President Barack Obama. The administration said doing so saved billions of dollars in middleman costs. Unlike federal student loans, private loans don't have a system of income-based repayment. Outstanding student loan debt is more than $1 trillion. Private loans account for more than $150 billion of that total, the report said. About $8 billion of those loans are in default. Chopra said the report was not an attempt to measure how common the problems were, but an early warning" of further concerns that could surface in the future. Sallie Mae, a major private student lender, said in a written statement that it helps customers who run into financial trouble. "We have modified $1.1 billion in private education loans with interest rate reductions or extended repayment since 2009," the company said. Many of the borrowers who cornplained took out their loans before the economy tanked in 2008, and then graduated at a time when jobs have been hard to find, according to the report. They said they can't take advantage of lower interest rates or modify their repayment plans when they don't earn enough money to make large monthly payments. Many of the complainants had obtained loans to attend for-profit colleges and said school representatives had assured them they'd find jobs and be able to pay the loans back. But that didn't happen. Others said they were caught by surprise with unexpected fees and often have been unable to reach loan officials to help them reschedule payments to avoid default. Chopra said borrowers also complained about how their payments were handled. He said some with more than one loan reported that extra payments they meant to apply to high-interest loans were mistakenly applied to loans with lower rates. The report suggested that lenders implement "creative efforts" to help borrowers restructure their debt when necessary. Modifying such loans would not only help borrowers, but also could lead to higher overall collections for lenders, it said. Congress should look into ways to make it easier to get the loans modified, the agency said.