OCR Text |
Show CampusNews Page 2 Tuesday, April 2, 2013 Climbing film will benefit scholarship BY CLAYTON LEUBA Hard News Cafe Rock climbs protected with metal bolts — called sport climbs — were established in Europe as early as the 1930s. But when Utah locals began the fledgling practice of uncovering and bolting steep limestone routes in American Fork Canyon, the sport of rock climbing was changed forever, according to filmmaker Bruce Wilson. The Outdoor Recreation Program at Utah State University will host a showing of Wilson's film, "Project American Fork," on Thursday. Proceeds from the showing will go toward funding a scholarship program giving supplemental aid to students who wish to enroll in outdoor leadership courses. In its film, "Project American Fork," George Bruce Media set out to share the historic account of climbing route development in American Fork Canyon, known by locals as AF, and the impact it had on the world climbing scene. Wilson, the film's director, wanted to capture and share the challenges faced by those responsible — including Boone Speed, a renowned professional photographer who has climbed some of the country's hardest routes — for spurring the development that, he said, revolutionized the sport as it is known today. "Most climbing films are about exotic, world-class areas," he said. "They focus, mostly, on the best climbers doing the world's hardest routes. This film focuses on climbing history rather than new accomplishments, which I think is important for the new generation to understand and appreciate?' When Speed, Jeff Pederson and Bill Boyle began establishing climbing routes in AF in 1988, they drew inspiration from the well-established sport climbing areas in Smith Rock State Park, Ore., Pederson said. Some of the country's most difficult climbs, at that time, could be found on Smith Rock's vertical walls of tuff and basalt. But the transition to the steep, powerful style of climbing that is commonplace today can be largely attributed to the early days of development in AF, Wilson said. Written off for years as unclimbable "choss," AF's loose, crumbly cliffs posed a difficult challenge for developers who hoped to unlock the rock's hidden potential. "The rock in AF was not the pristine, bulletproof rock found in other places that AVID ROCK CLIMBER Cheehoi Leong scales Cannibals Direct, a formation in American Fork Canyon. Photo courtesy of George Bruce Media had obvious potential to be climbed," Pederson said. "AF climbing was not a nobrainer. We had to clean away chunks of rock — ranging from football sized to as big as a refrigerator — to prevent them breaking off and killing somebody." Implementing bolting techniques developed in Europe — in many cases rappelling from above to place bolts on walls that were otherwise inaccessible from the ground without permanent protection — AF developers were able to place protection on the steep, virgin walls lining either side of the canyon. "AF was a huge project to take on," Pederson said. "It took some vision, a strong desire and definitely a lot of work to make it happen." It is the dedication and hard work of these pioneers that Wilson hopes to share with climbers today. Wilson has witnessed his hometown climbing areas in AF mistreated by a younger generation of climbers, he said. He hopes they will have a greater appreciation for climbing areas everywhere once informed of the difficulties that were faced, enabling them to climb in the places they do today. "I think it is important for today's climbers to be grounded with the past," Wilson said. "The people who developed these areas deserve a lot of respect for the time and energy they put into them." The Utah State showing of "Project American Fork" will be at 8:30 p.m. in room 114 of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation building at USU. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door or in advance on Utah State's campus recreation website. DOMA: USU Students reflect on changing American values OFrom page 1 couples, we have marriage on the mind." Josh Gambrell, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering, said most of his friends have an opinion on the topic of samesex marriage. "I never realized so many of my friends here at school were so passionate about marriage equality," Gambrell said. Public opinion in support of same-sex marriage has grown in the past decade. The Pew Research Center reported the growth in support is among the largest changes in public opinion on any policy issue of the time period. Ten years ago, 47 percent of Americans said homosexuality should be accepted by society. Today, the number has jumped to 57 percent. Among women, it's even higher at 61 percent. For the young, born between 1980 and 1995, it holds at 74 percent. Every generation polled by the Pew Research Center has seen an increase in support of marriage equality by at least six points.The research percentage of supportive individuals between the ages of 67 and 84 has increased 10 points. Along partisan lines, the shift has been most noticeable among Democrats and self-described moderate-liberal Republicans. By a ratio of nearly two-to-one, Democrats today disagree samesex marriage undermines the traditional family. On the other side of the argument, conservative Republicans are slightly less inclined to believe same-sex marriage is harmful to traditional values — the present-day 78 percent down from 81 percent in 2003. The U.S. Supreme Court cases are sensitive and emotions can run high on both sides of the argument. The polls reporting growing acceptance show 44 percent of Americans still oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage. "Although people are changing their opinions on same sex marriage, there are still many people who believe it is a moral issue, and the government has no right to be involved," said Sarah Jacobson, a sophomore here at USU. Social media sites like Facebook have become an arena for the public debate where those who support marriage equality have changed their profile pictures to a red equal sign. Some students at USU refer to it as the "red miracle." "I haven't been on Facebook all week because I am tired of seeing my friends and family argue over the issue," Gambrell said. Other students just want to get back their normal, everyday lives without the tension of the public debate. "I hope that once the U.S. Supreme Court has made its decision, we can all just work together as a country, as a community and as a school to support each other, no matter which side of the issue we fell on," Jacobson said. – andypierucci@gmail.corn BOWEN: Expo provides opportunity to showcase young students' work OFrom page 1 When the back of the cannon is struck, it makes a drum-like sound and propels a ring of smoke into the air. "They have had an absolute blast with it," Wallin said. "What we're really wanting to do is for kids to be able to see sound." Wallin explained the cannon as a "whoosh" of air blown through a hole. "When it gets outside the hole it all of a sudden expands, it causes the air to roll back on itself," Wallin said. The hollow air travels faster than the air that peeled off the back, creating a ring behind it. "The kids wrote music to go with it so when you pound on it you actually see the music that's being played," Wallin said. "They're really a lot of fun and they're so simple." Inside the school were various stations and displays, like an art wall where students IV, PARENTS AND STUDENTS participate in the Edith Bowen STEAM Expo on Friday. DELAYNE LOCKE photo had drawn pictures of ways to reduce air pollution. "We were having bad air, so red air days," said second grader Jeremy Giddings. "So we were coming up with answers." Giddings said his solution was planting more trees and walking instead of driving. "I was super excited to see all the stuff and I'm glad that my parents were able to come," Giddings said. The Edith Bowen School recently got a new greenhouse where students will be able to plant and care for their own crops. In addition to learning how to grow plants, the children will be able to eat the vegetables they produce. Wallin said two USU students who are alumni from Edith Bowen decided the school needed a greenhouse. He said there were a lot of roadblocks throughout the process, but they stuck to it. "Finally they were able to hook up with the Student Sustainability Council and they really helped push it along," Wallin said. "They got it pushed through and this winter, they put it together." Wallin said when they plant the crops, they'll have the students on a rotating schedule so a different class gets to go out to water the greenhouse plants. The children will be able to measure the height and growth rate of the plants, along with experimenting with different CLARKSBURG . BRESLAW ' STONELEIGH Lo s,an is Premier Student Apartments Accepting Applications for Summer and Next School Year dui BREBLILW trOWELIIIIKE fertilizers, plastic coverings and growing techniques. Though the greenhouse will include scientific experiments, Wallin said the school places its focus on engineering. "The difference of science and engineering is that science looks at the natural world," Wallin said. "Engineering takes what scientists know and creates some sort of a product, so it's a continual process of design, test, redesign, until they find a product that they're satisfied with." Wallin said the school runs tests rather than experiments.. "I know that they're the same things in a lot of ways, but science is experimentation and engineering is really design and testing," Wallin said. "So you're looking for a specific thing, as opposed to what it looks like when you're done." – tmera.bradley@aggiemail. usu.edu Twitter: @tmerabradley • Single Student Apartments ▪ ACP3 55 the Street from Campus • Folly Furnished • Private Redr00019 and Bathrooms • Desk Bed. Bookshelves in Bedrooms • Large Closets - Vacuum • Living ROOM with 117, DVD, and VCR • Modern Fully Equipped Kitchens • Digital Cable TV with Outlets in Bedroom 9 • Washer and Dryer in each Apartment . Central Heating and Air Coo &liming ▪ VIlireless Internet Service Private Parking - No Hasties * Fire Places |