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Show UVU REV IEW LIII.V I 0 22 2 The Independent Student Voice //uvureview.com No service, no safety Students worry about the implications of not having cell service around campus By Nicole Shepard with Camilla Stimpson News Writers @NicoleEShepard With the closure of many of the school's emergency exists because of construction on the new Student Life and Wellness Building, worry over limited cell phone service around major traf- fic areas of campus is increasing. "We understand that this is an issue," said Jim Michaelis, associate vice president of facilities and planning. "Especially in the event of an emergency, and we're working on rectifying the issue." This issue goes beyond the inconvenience of dropped calls and inconsistent Internet access as noted by many students. Compacted with the construction site closing up many of the entrances and exits around campus, questions of safety in the event of an emergency have arised. "I'm not really concerned," said student Celeste Weyandt about potential emergencies on campus. Students lose cell service and internet in newer buildings on campus. "Some are not likely and others are rare. I'm not going to live my life in fear." Many students admit they are not terribly worried about an armed intruder on campus. When asked what they would do in other dangerous situations, many admitted that being trapped after a natural disaster or an unexpected medical emergency of a classmate does worry them. "In an emergency, I honestly have no clue what I would end up doing," said student Tori Cromer. "In the event that I was injured, I'd probably just end up dying. That's just my luck." But many students and fac- ulty question our reliance on cell phones. "[I would] use my instincts. Do what we did before the marvelous dawn of cell phones," Weyandt said of the possible dangers. There are other options the university plans to implement. "The other thing that we are looking at doing is that we are working to change out all the fire alarms to have annunciators on them," Michaelis said. "That way they would act as a PA system, so if we were to have a situation where we needed to contact people immediately we could." See CELL SERVICE, A4 CONNOR ALLEN/UVU REVIEW Religious absence of students New LDS mission age may affect enrollment By Josh Wartena Assistant News Editor @jwa rty Twenty-five percent of students may have felt a seismic shift to their life plans Saturday, Oct. 6 upon hearing the change made by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to lower the eligible age for missionary service. Thomas S. Monson, President of the LDS Church, announced Saturday morning in its 182nd Semiannual General Conference that, "All worthy and able young men .. . will have the option of being recommended for missionary service beginning at the age of 18, instead of age 19. Worthy young women who have the desire to serve may be recommended for missionary service beginning at age 19, instead of age 21." Michelle Taylor, associate vice president of Student Services and dean of Enrollment Management, said this decision will have a significant impact at UVU, where more than 70 percent of males have served or will serve missions. "First of all, it's going to change the way we recruit. We have to really reach out [to people serving a mission] before they leave," Taylor said. "We want them to apply and accept any scholarships. We'll be deferring all scholarships for those that choose to do so." Taylor said they anticipate smaller freshman classes for the next two years and are moving to ensure that those potential students will be able to return and attend. UVU recently changed how students submit leave-of-absence forms and scholarship deferrals, and Taylor explained how this change will help accommodate those who leave on LDS missions. "The program is built into the Banner system," Taylor said. "We'll be tweaking it so we also have deferred admissions. Students tell us the semester they will be returning . . . it's all much better." While an initial decrease in enrollment is expected, Kimberly Lender focuses on the positive changes that will result. "I know a lot of guys who look at their first year of college and don't really take it seriously. This way they can come back and really work at it," Lender said. Taylor agrees that the returning young men and women will be a positive boost to the university. "The returned missionaries have learned good study habits, UVU administration anticipate smaller freshman class sizes now with lowered missionary ages for men and women. dedication and are prepared to be students," Taylor said. Paul Monson, an instructor at the Orem LDS Institute of Religion, said the Institute also anticipates smaller freshman classes. "For the next few years, we'll just be waiting until everything stabilizes," Monson said. "We may not replace retiring teachers and just have a smaller faculty until those students get back. We're already seeing an increase in attendance in the mission preparation courses." Freshman Chelsey Hicken said she already knew what she wanted to do, so the age change for females has not changed her plans, but understands why many students may choose to leave earlier now. ILLUSTRATION BY WILL KING So you want to be a special agent? Special agents visit UVU to inform students about careers in the federal government By Natalie Sullivan News Writer 10656971@uvlink.uvu.edu On Wednesday, Oct. 10, UVU Internship Services invited three special agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Inverstigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to speak at a seminar designed to inform students about careers within their respective federal agencies. Sixty-two students attended to find out what it takes to become a special agent in one of the agencies. The special agents introduced themselves, their respective agencies and gave a brief employment background before taking turns answering prepared questions by a UVU Internship Services representative. Starting with special agent Cruz from ICE, Cruz stated his background as a police officer who then decided to go federal. "I kinda hit as high as I could go without going into management," Cruz said. From that point forward, he became an investigator of foreign nationals. Under the U.S Department of Homeland Security, Cruz's agency also deals with the regulation of anything that crosses the U.S border, including money, an idea of drugs or people. The representative from the FBI said they work in a variety of areas such as white-collar crime, drugs, counter-intelligence and terrorism. After working in Los Angeles for 12 years, the FBI special agent stated that after the 9/11 attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the FBI has placed greater emphasis on counter-intelligence tactics to combat threats of terrorism. The FBI official website also lists cyber crime, public corruption, civil rights, organized crime, violent crime and major theft as additional issues they investigate. Each of the three special agents emphasized that choosing which federal agency to join is very personal The ATF calls itself "The Violent Crime Bureau," on its website and is a regulatory and law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Justice. ATF's size is about 5,000 employees nationwide, of which half are special agents. A special agent from ATF described that when he was looking at an agency to join, this was the small to medium-sized agency he was looking for. All three special agents emphasized that the choice about which agency to join is very personal. Each special agent said that their agencies have officers across the country with some international liaisons, but that most of the work remains within the U.S. As far as what students can do to prepare for work in a special agency, the agents said foreign language skills are useful in distinguishing oneself from the competition. Given that most of the federal government work is within the U.S., Special Agent Cruz, a Spanish speaker himself, noted that foreign languages of bordering countries, such as Spanish or French, are the most useful, especially in his work as an investigator of foreign nationals. For the opportunity to apply for government agencies, the special agents recommended that students visit www.usajobs.gov . Vacancies posted by agencies are typically only open for 24 hours. * Full names of agents not provided out of confidentiality. FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, STUDENTS CAN VISIT WWW.USAJOBS.GOV |