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Show VOLUME LII ISSUE 2 JULY 18, 2011 WWW.UVUREVIEW.COM Why the Casey Anthony verdict is a good thing. Sophmore takes 2nd in State Amateur Tourney. Students and Sundance combine forces. SPORTS B1 LIFE B4 V 1111E-V I EW" THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE Going for gold Frimpong hopes to punch ticket to London Olympics at Dutch nationals By MATT PETERSON Sports Editor Photo Courtesy of UVU Spoils Information Department After honing his skills at UVU, Akwasi Frimpong looks to take his speed to the 2012 Olympics. From the time Akwasi Frimpong was a small child in Ghana, Africa, he knew what he wanted. "I remember thinking, 'I want a gold medal,"' he said. "I wanted to have something to show I was the best." Frimpong has come a long way since then. If the UVU sprinter has his way, it will end with him competing with the best in the 2012 Olympics in London. Earlier this summer, Frimpong earned the chance to punch his ticket when he qualified for the Dutch National Championships with a 100-meter time of 10.45 seconds at the USA Track and Field Championships in Utah. The time ranks him third on the Dutch national team. Frimpong needs to stay ranked in the top six after nationals to earn a trip to Lon- don and represent the Netherlands on the 4x100 meter relay team. "A lot of people were really surprised, including me," Frimpong said. "I really wasn't supposed to improve this much until next year." The 5-foot-8-inch sophomore hopes his unexpected improvement continues in the Netherlands, where nationals will run July 30-31. Should he stay relevant to the Dutch national team, he would not only qualify for the Olympics, but for this year's World Championships in South Korea as well. It shows that dreams can become real. -Akwasi Frimpong The Dutch nationals and the World Championships sandwich the World University Games, which will be held mid-August in China. Frimpong will represent both the Netherlands and Utah Valley University. "It shows that dreams can become real," Frimpong said. "If you work hard enough and dream hard enough, anything can happen." But even all the work and dreaming didn't seem enough for Frimpong, a Ghana native whose mother eventually afforded his transport to the Netherlands at the age of eight. While the years in Africa were hard, he and his nine siblings slept on the dirt floor of their grandmother's house. Frimpong's struggles to in the Netherlands were in many ways more disheartening. After dominating the junior track and field tournaments, complications with Frimpong's citizenship arose. denying him the ability to compete in senior tournaments after turning 18. After taking first previous year in the 200 meters in the Dutch Junior Championships, it was a mortal blow to Frimpong's goal. Devoid of competitive opportunity in his country. he came to the U.S. to run for Utah Valley. "The chance to keep run- GOLD B5 Fiji teaches students vaulable life lessons By TIFFANY THATCHER Asst. News Editor While singing Justin Bieber songs together, UVU students bonded with the children of Fiji while living with Fijian families during their stay from June 12 to 26. "We were taking cold showers and slept in village homes full of mosquitoes, we lived the real Fiji," said Samuel Hadlock, VP of student life and one of the 23 UVU students who spent two weeks living as Fijians. Elizabeth Jarema, a UVU student, went to school in Bua Uanua Levu, the poorest province of Fiji. After returning home a year ago, and seeing the needs, she decided to present the project to UVU. While on the trip, the students renovated an elementary/middle school shared by about eight villages. Jarema described the library before their project saying, "Looking around the library, I wouldn't want to pick up a book." This library was unused by students because of the poor condition and lacking variety available. Jarema, went to this school as a child and didn't know what a library was until she moved to the city and attended an LDS high school. She said after being introduced to a library she spent a lot of time there reading books and magazines. We were taking cold showers and slept in village homes full of mosquitoes. -Samuel Hadlock "Every lunch time you could find me there, I loved it, I would brush my hand along the isles." Jarema said. "Many still haven't had that opportunity." Jarema unlike other girls in UVU REVIEW ONLINE Up-to-date coverage r--wes- and inside reports of The Orem Owlz. WWW.UVUREVIEW.COM this school came from a strict home where education was emphasized. It is otherwise uncommon for a girl to finish high school. Along with renovating the library, the students built four septic tanks with trenches. These tanks were eight feet deep, two feet across and were lined with cement. The students dug trenches as well which can be joined to 100 homes. "To us it wasn't that big of a deal," Jarema said. "We had the mentality of a fun vacation, its brake its summer lets go have fun. But to these people it was huge, something they know they couldn't do on their own." In 2009 the school applied to the government for a project to be done there, but this was never to be a priority for this country, already struggling financially. "The school was still paying for the single computer shared between two schools," Jarema said. "Now they have FUJI A3 UVUSA VP of student life Sam Hadlock and Fiji children pose for a picture. WHAT'S INSIDE? NEWS OPINIONS SPORTS LIFE THE V MAGAZINE Al A6 B1 B6 V1 Photo Courtesy of Sam Hadlock/UVUSA THE V MAGAZINE Meet Drew. He's a barber and he cares. CHECK OUT V6 |