Huntsman Card Competition Winner Announced Today

The top three winners in the Jon. M. Huntsman Holiday Card contest will be announced today.

The school of business will not judge entries, but the number of Facebook votes will solely determine the winner of the contest. The card with the most Facebook “likes” will receive $500; second place will earn $200 and third place will receive $100. 

Students who submitted holiday cards were given strict guidelines in order to participate.  

Entrants had to be enrolled as a student at Utah State University and at least 18 years old. Submitted cards could be graphically created, with color or black and white. The card also had to be an original creation.

One holiday card submitted was a violation of copyright and was disqualified from the completion.

Trent Morrison, an entrant in the card competition, created his card differently from the usual holiday theme.

“My card had a silhouette of a mustache on a Christmas tree with a plaid background,” said Morrison. “I went trendy with my design and also put hash tag hipster holiday at the bottom of it.”

For each “like”, The Huntsman School of Business will donate 50 cents to the Cache Valley Food Pantry. Donations will be capped after 300 votes per card.

“I think this friendly competition serves a great purpose in helping out our local food bank,” said Sloan Bailey, a student in the Huntsman School of Business. “During the holidays students are always looking for ways to help those in need.”

In the beginning Matt Witcher, manager of the Cache Valley Food Bank, did not know about this donation.

“Sometimes we find out about donations once they deliver the money to us,” Witcher said. “They bring the money to us once the event is over usually and only know about donations like these 50 percent of the time.”

Kingsford’s Promise to Utah State University if Elected

Abby Kingsford sees a problem.

There’s not enough student involvement on campus.

“If elected, I promise to make sure that students living on campus are more involved,” said Kingsford, a candidate for executive vice president.

This position of the Associated Students of Utah State University board works with the state of Utah, dealing with government relations.

“This position could also be called the government relations liaison,” said Hannah Blackburn, who is currently in charge of USU elections. “This position works very closely with the state of Utah when we go into a legislation session.”

Kingsford currently does a lot of work for the student government council and feels as though she is very qualified.

“I am on the College of Humanities, Social Student Council, Government Council and the student fee board,” Kingsford said. “I know how ASUSU works because of my current involvement.”

This week she is focusing on educating the school of agriculture and bringing in several speakers who work for the state of Utah to address agriculture students and teachers.

“Abby is very qualified for this position and is very familiar with ASUSU,” Blackburn said.

If elected, Kingsford wants to “bridge the gap between housing and ASUSU. I have talked to several housing officials and I feel as though there could be a better reach in getting them more involved,” Kingsford said.

Kyldie Heywood, a classmate of Kingsford, also believes she is qualified for this position.

“She is a great role model and student,” Heywood said. “She is very personable and works hard.”

Watson Improves College of Science.

The college of science building will soon have display cases in the building featuring a student of the week, showing who the current science council is and the legislation that is currently being written.

These are just a few ways that Joe Watson has contributed to changes at Utah State University since becoming science senator eight months ago.

Elected in 2011 to a one-year term, Watson said his job is hard work but definitely worth his while.

 “I sit on several committees as well as boards and dedicate several hours a week to meet with students and address their concerns and problems in the science college,” Watson said.

Watson ran unopposed in the 2011 election and has accomplished several of his goals he had planned while preparing for his position on the Associated Students of Utah State University board.

Watson’s biggest focus was on the classroom improvement fund. This fund provides classrooms with new technology, tables, desks, chairs, white boards and projectors. Watson made sure that the college of science received its share of $75,000 dollars.

“The fund provides anything that improves learning. This was my biggest focus as I entered into this position,” Watson said.

Since Watson has been in office he has requested for $25,000 dollars in classroom resources.

“In the last four years, the science senators have not sent in a single request for new class room materials and I wanted to make sure that the college of science got the money that we needed,” Watson said.

Watson has also taken focus off of programming and centered it more on academics.

“Programming is definitely important but academics always come first. Everything I do is natured around academics,” Watson said.

Sarah Blakely, an elections volunteer who audited Watson, said he improved the college in several ways.

 

“This semester he has done a really great job with his science council and he has involved his college in a lot of campus activities,” said Blakely. “His council has volunteered in several service projects and has really improved our school.”

Restore the Roar

Something was different.

Even those sitting in the upper seats of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum could hear the sound of sneakers squeaking on the court and coaches calling plays during the Nov. 28 game against the University of Denver.

The arena was packed. And silent.

The Spectrum at Utah State University holds 10,270 spectators and is known to have one of the rowdiest crowds in NCAA basketball. The student section, which is seated near the opposing team’s bench, is known for heckling the opposition throughout the game.

But Denver wasn’t given the treatment that other teams usually receive that night.

“I have never seen the Spectrum as quiet as it was,” said Elizabeth Tracy, an employee with the USU athletic department. “You could hear the sound of a pin drop and no one but the student section knew what was going on.”

Earlier this month Utah State University president Stan Albrecht, issued a personal letter of apology to Brigham Young University in response to the USU student section’s behavior during the Aggie versus Cougar game on the Nov. 11 match up.

Students were not happy about this apology letter and did not think their behavior was offensive.

“I think an apology was unnecessary because that kind of behavior is to be expected at college sporting events and is all part of the fun,” said Jenna Black, a member of the HURD, USU’s student section.

According to students in attendance at last Wednesday’s game, students were told that if they harassed the other team, leaned over the railing or pointed, they would be escorted out of the game and their student ID would be revoked, thereby making them ineligible to attend anymore Aggie basketball games this season. A security guard took it upon himself to issue these instructions.

Students were already angered with the recent apology letter and these instructions from the security guard enraged the crowd.

A silent protest began and lasted for the first few minutes of the game that ended in a loss of 67-54. This defeat broke the Aggies’ 33-game home-court winning streak.

According to USU Athletic Director, Scott Barnes, it was a miscommunication with the security guard and no policies had been changed in regard to cheering.

The Aggies’ next home game is Dec. 6 where they will face Utah Valley University.

Ryan Baylis, Athletics Vice President, said this week “everything should be back to normal for the next game. The athletic department said they would let us go back to the way things were.”

Students are prepared for this week’s game and “the athletic department does not have any new rules,” Baylis said. 

Dead Week Activities

In order to provide a break from Dead Week — the last week before finals — the Associated Students of Utah State University are offering several activities for students throughout the week. 

On Monday, ASUSU is offering free apple cider and holiday music in the Taggart Student Center at 11:30 a.m.

Holiday sugar cookies and a showing of the movie “Elf” will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. 

Starting at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, students can warm up with a cup of complimentary hot chocolate. 

Thursday two events will be provided. Starting at 12:30 p.m. churros will be available and The Eclipse Holiday Concert, a cappella group from Northern Utah, will perform at 7 p.m.

Cupcakes and a benefit concert, beginning at 7 p.m., will finalize the festivities Friday evening.

All Dead Week activities are free to students and will be held in the TSC Sunburst Lounge. 

“Dead Week gives me a solid week to focus on my studies and helps me prioritize my time,” said Heidi Smith, a junior at USU. “Dead Week activities are always fun to attend. It provides students with a much-needed study break and a second to breathe.”

In order for students to study late hours in a quiet place, the Merrill-Cazier Library will be extending hours during Dead Week and finals from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Sloan Bailey, a junior majoring in business, studies at the library until it closes everyday during Dead Week and finals. 

“I am one of the last people at the library during those two weeks. I have several business tests and I have to study in a quiet place. It is great that the library hours are extended this week and it will be very helpful,” said Bailey.

“These activities will provide students with a small break in their studying,” Bailey said.

Students will attend these events “because it is a great study break tool. The location may be better if it was in the library,” said Danica Moran, a USU student. 

Festival of Wreaths Benefit Cache Valley

In the mist of the holiday season the Utah State University’s Bookstore prepares for the second annual Festival of Wreaths. This event will benefit Cache Valley families who are in need of food during the holiday season. It will be held on Dec. 1^st from 5-7 p.m. in the Taggart Student Center.

A silent auction will take place on all wreaths that have been donated by departments on campus, colleges, clubs, organizations and members of the Cache Valley community.

This is a nonprofit event and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Cache Valley Food Bank where the money will be used to purchase food for families.

If one would like to donate a wreath he or she must sign up with the Marketing Department at the USU Bookstore to pick up his or her wreath. Wreaths may be decorated in any way and then are to be turned in at the customer service desk in order to be displayed.

“People have been bidding on the wreaths throughout the whole month of November,” said Amy Jepsen, a manager at the USU Bookstore. “We have over 41 wreaths total.”

Anyone who wishes to place a bid on a holiday wreath can go to the customer service desk located in the bookstore until 7 p.m.

“If you are the winning bidder we will call you and give you a time to pick up your holiday wreath,” said Jepsen.

“Bids start at fifteen dollars and go up to about seventy five. We have several different wreaths and it all goes to a great cause,” said Whitney Jones, cashier at the USU Bookstore.

Mat Wittier, manager of the Cache Valley Food Bank, enjoys helping local families in need, especially during the holiday season.

“With all of this donated money that we get from the event we are able to use it to operate the cost for food purchase,” said Wittier. “We also are in the process of building a new building for our food bank and this is completely based off of donations.”

Edited by:

M. Menzdorf

BlueSquare- The New Place to be for Students

Opening in August 2012 at Utah State University, the BlueSquare project will provide luxury-housing complexes that will be available to students.

The BlueSquare project will provide a total of 220 beds in units of 1, 2 or 4 bedroom suites and have luxury amenities such as: hot tubs, flat screen TVs and granite countertops. Several restaurants, a shopping center and a pub will also be built.

1987, Utah State University graduate David Miller knew that giving back to his alma mater was something that he would always do. Miller attributes much of his success today to the education that he gained at USU so giving back to his roots was the least he could do he said.

And in August he did just that.

Miller cut a several million-dollar check to USU to get his BlueSquare project started.

His niece, Alejandra Manjares, who currently attends USU, has made his alumni involvement more prevalent in order to provide her and other students with the best college experience possible.

“I have always had a dream of raising the standard of living for the students at Utah State University,” Miller said. “We are working hard to fulfill every single student need and want.”

The projected $15 million development will be located near Romney Stadium.

Some students who live near the BlueSquare sight find this project unnecessary and a waste of money. Candice Weller, who lives in Old Farm student housing, thinks that luxury amenities aren’t necessary for the average college student. 

“I don’t see anything wrong with Old Farm housing. I think it is a waste of money spending all of it on this project,” said Weller.

Manjares’ uncle, who currently lives in Florida but travels to Utah frequently, has large BlueSquare staffs that are currently developing plans. Manjares, who is part of this staff, attends contracting meetings, brings consultants to the site and is the voice for her uncle when he is unable to make it to Utah.

“He knew I have always desired to be a part of something big at Utah State and that is the biggest reason why he is putting so much effort into this and giving me so much responsibility,” said Manjares. “He knew that I had great potential even though I am only a sophomore.”

Her uncle has always been a large donor to Utah State mainly because of his want to give back to Cache Valley. Though Miller funds several buildings, athletic facilities and projects, BlueSquare is what he looks forward to the most.

Edited By:

K. Haywood

Poetry and a Beverage Provides Fun For Students

Eli Wilson stepped slowly, cautiously, toe by toe, toward the mic.

“I would like to perform a song,” he said.

Wilson was one of 25 students who participated in Utah State University’s Poetry and a Beverage last week. The event has been around for five years and is becoming more crowded every week.

Students interested in reciting poetry or performing music are given the opportunity to do so in a large setting at the Taggart Student Center.

Starting out as a poetry club, it was not attended by many members and soon became an open-mic-night event for all students.

Although most students read poetry, they are welcome to perform whatever they would like. In the past there have been several interesting performances such as interpretative dancing and reading of the alphabet.

Poetry and a Beverage offer free beverages for performers and anyone in attendance at the event. Drinks are usually sodas, juices or hot beverages.

Students who choose to perform are limited to either two songs or two poems in order to give those who would like time to do so.

Kyle Heywood, an audience member, said he had never attended anything like Poetry and a Beverage.

“I was expecting people to read poetry but the majority of people played the guitar,” said Heywood. “I thought it was interesting because if you liked what you heard you were able to go up and talk to the performer after.”

Poetry and a Beverage is provided by the Associated Students of Utah State University arts and lectures chair, Marie Squires. She makes sure that everyone is given the opportunity to perform and publicizes the events several weeks in advance so that students are aware. She also makes sure that beverages are provided for everyone.

Eli Wilson, band member of “Wood” enjoys performing at Poetry and a Beverage regularly. Wilson said he is able to get his music to all types of people by performing at these events.

“We caught a lot of people’s attention with our new sound,” said Wilson. “Sometimes from a music sound point it can be risky because you are at the mercy of the guy behind the mix board, and you might not be able to hear your music.”

Poetry and a Beverage audience member, Ali Davis said she found the event very interesting

 “My friends that are in a band actually performed. It was extremely crowded and it was a lot of fun,” Davis said. “I was able to see people at the performance that I usually do not get to see on campus so that was fun.”

The next event will be Jan. 21, 2012, 9-11 p.m. Performance time is a first come first served policy. In past events, not all students were able to perform due to lack of time. For the next Poetry and a Beverage, Squires is allowing students to come at 8:30 p.m. to put their name on the list so they are guaranteed a chance to perform and a hot chocolate bar will be provided at the next event. Students will be able to choose from a variety of different flavors and toppings

Edited by:

D. Nicholas

Aggie Recreation Center and Legacy Fields Will Benefit Students

As the 2011-year comes to an end, so do the current student government officials at Utah State University. Along with elections come candidates, campaigning and the elections process. 

During the election process last year, candidates approached students on campus, in classrooms and on buses with candy, hot cocoa, coupons and a computer asking for their votes. 

Current ASUSU public relations director, Hannah Blackburn, distributed a survey to all Utah State Students in regard to last years’ voting process to provide improvements while in office. 

Blackburn wanted to ensure that students had a better voting experience this year by making sure that the candidates were abiding by the new voting rules that were passed by legislation this year.

“I got awful feedback from students relating to the voting process. Students said it was a disruption to schedules, unorganized, and should be more esteemed,” Blackburn said.

With the feedback, Blackburn wanted to make sure voters felr that student government was helpful and especially wanted to ensure that the election process was not skewed and was ethically done. 

Legislation was recently passed that candidates may only have one laptop at their booth and they are not allowed to distribute smart devices to other students to vote. 

“In the past elections has been about candidates gaining votes rather than students gaining information and that will definitely change this year,” Blackburn said. 

Lucy Wachtor, a student at Utah State University, participated in the election process last year. Wachtor found that voting in the student center was more convenient rather than voting at a candidate’s booth. Watchor felt pressured to vote for a particular candidate at booths.

Wachtor was one of many students who thought elections week as a hassle and an annoyance due to all of the begging candidates. 

“I voted on a computer that was provided by ASUSU and thought this way of voting was much more fair,” Wachtor said. 

Elections volunteer, Brooke Lawley, saw lots of students being pressured to vote for a particular candidate. 

“I can see the problem with pressuring people into voting but at the same time I think it is important that the students do get a say in it,” Lawley said. 

Lawly said she was never one to pressure a student into voting for a certain candidate, but encouraged voters to make their own decision. 

“I do think this year will be better because it will be more regulated and it will be more fair all-around to candidates and voters,” Lawley said. “It will be more structured which is important in an election where every vote counts and it will be a more consistent process.”

A. Davis

Aggie Recreation Center and Legacy Fields Will Benefit Students

Aggie Recreation Center and Legacy Fields Will Benefit Students

Utah State’s 2009 ASUSU President, Tyler Tolson had a vision of expanding the current recreation center and HPER Field that students were using. Some campus officials and students thought this would never take place, but with new Vice President of student services, Dr. James Morales, Tolson and Morales gained the support of the not only Utah State but Cache Valley and the facility plans were passes through legislation. 

This $35 million dollar project will include several different facility space including: open recreation use, intramural sports, club sports, non-credit bearing fitness and wellness classes, campus organizations, university special events and general student use. Students will also have access to several full size basketball and volleyball courts and study lounges. 

 The Legacy Fields will also a part of this project. It includes covering the the HPER Fields with synthetic turf field and adding park-like lighting. These fields will be easier to maintain because of the turf and students will have access to them year-round.

The Legacy Fields project will cost an estimated $1.985 million dollars and will be located adjacent to the new Aggie Recreation Center.  

With Utah State’s student population continually growing and more students participating in outdoor activities, the field space is in high demand. USU currently uses the HPER field for many things such as: non-credit bearing activity classes, intramurals, special events, camps, practices, club sports and dances. With this amount of usage, the HPER Fields can not meet the campus needs. 

Matt Welch, a member of an intramural football team, said that practicing on the HPER Field has always been a challenge.

“You never know what the field conditions will be like or when there will be space for you to practice,” Welch said. “It is difficult when you are practicing for an intramural game and then a club team comes outside and takes over the field.”

“Having new fields will benefit several club teams as well as students,” Welch said.

Garret Wallace, a member of the Utah State club baseball team uses the HPER Field often. Wallace has scheduled practices on the field several times a week during baseball season. 

Wallace said the biggest challenge for him is not having the appropriate field conditions for practice. 

“I am very excited for the Legacy Fields project. I know that having a turf field to practice on will benefit us and be easier during practice,” Wallace said.

Intramural referee, Kierstin Parker, also thinks that the Aggie Recreation Center and Legacy Fields project will benefit students as well as provide safer fields to play on. 

“It is difficult to referee games when conditions are poor. You see more injuries and people are less likely to participate when they don’t have a good field to play on. The turf will be better for intarmurals and I think that more people will be involved,” Parker said.

A. Davis

Sports Writing

Hawaii Win Defines Utah State Football

This season the Aggie football team has struggled in the last quarter of several games. The team has had five possible victories stolen from them by the ‘fourth quarter blues', losing in the final seconds of the game.

Recently the Aggies traveled to Hawaii to play the Rainbow Warriors. The Aggies had a slow start and trailed the Warriors by 21 points at halftime. The Utah State Aggies had to turn things around in order to win.

Freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton was carted off the field with a neck injury, and senior strong safety Walter McClenton suffered a broken foot. With two starters out of the game, a victory seemed doubtful. Keeton was taken to the hospital and rumors of him being paralyzed began to circulate; hopes of a successful season seemed out of reach for Aggie fans.

“It looked like a pretty bad hit," said linebacker Bobby Wagner, "I got to see it up close and personal, so I was pretty scared for him."

Having never played one game the entire season, junior quarterback, Adam Kennedy, entered the game in Keeton’s absence.

“We felt confident with Adam and knew that he would make the right play calls,” Wagner said.

Junior wide receiver Matt Austin said he was worried with two starters out, but remained hopeful throughout the game. Austin encouraged his teammates not to give up or let the injuries affect the rest of the game.

Kennedy was able to rally his team and threw the winning touchdown in the last 14 seconds, beating the Warriors 35-31.  The win in Hawaii is the first since 1966.

"Coach talked to us and told us to put those losses in the fourth quarter behind us and move on," Kennedy said. "Make this second half of the season memorable. I think the guys really bought into that, believed in it and believed we were going to win."

“It feels great to get the win and our main focus was the fourth quarter as you can tell,” Austin said.

 Wagner said that he knew his teammates were tired of the close games and losing in the fourth quarter.

"We came out second half with the mindset of playing as hard as we could and seeing what would happen,” Wagner said.

Since the Aggies’ win in Hawaii, the team beat San Jose State and seems to have turned the season around. The Aggies still have to face Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico State. Players remain confident and believe that the Hawaii defeat was a defining moment in the season.

“If we continue winning and go to a bowl game," Wagner said, "I truly believe the Hawaii game was the game that turned the season around. We got fed up with losing in the last seconds and now we are winning in the last seconds.”


D. Van Dyke

Keep on Blogging

True Aggie Night Attracts All

Students at Utah State University take great pride in tradition. Whether attending sporting events, participating in annual homecoming festivities or the famous tradition, becoming a True Aggie, Utah State would not be the school it is today without tradition.

The Associated Students of Utah State University are proud to be keepers of the most famous True Aggie tradition.  

According to the ASUSU website, in 1917, several students would stand on top of the traditional ‘A’ monument that is now placed outside of the Old Main Building on the Quad and kiss someone. Soon, this kissing tradition became known as True Aggie Night.    

Whenever the full moon arrives, so do the True Aggies. Today, ASUSU holds several True Aggie Nights throughout the year. One can become a True Aggie by receiving a kiss on the ‘A’ under a full moon at midnight by someone who is currently a True Aggie. A-Day and homecoming are the only other nights that one can kiss a non True Aggie and become one.

Megan Allen, director of True Aggie Night, said you never know what to expect on top of the ‘A’.

“When you become a True Aggie, you get a card that makes it official. Each person in the pair signs the cards,” Allen said. “Some come as serious couples, we even have had a few proposals, but most of them are just casual occurrences.

Music, giveaways, prizes and entertainment always attract a group. The majority of the crowds that attend usually are freshman. They are excited to be part of the tradition and most upperclassmen already are True Aggie members, so they do not come as often according to Allen. 

Tara Derber, a True Aggie member who is now a senior, participated in this tradition her freshman year. “It is exciting for me to watch this tradition as it continually grows. It is something that makes our school unique and it makes me proud to be an Aggie,” Derber said. “Most people become a member their freshman year and then go for fun to watch others take part in the tradition.”

Not all students take part in this tradition freshman year. Brooke Lawley, a junior at Utah State, said that she is looking forward to becoming a member.

“I want to become a member with someone I am really good friends with and not with someone I don’t know,” Lawlay said. “Then again it would be spontaneous and exciting if it was with someone I did not know. It is definitely on this list of things to do before I graduate though.”

The next True Aggie night is Dec. 10^th at 11:45 p.m. to 1 a.m. Students who wear a ‘Student Alumni Association’ shirt will receive a fast pass to the front of the line.

D. Nicholas

Heads Up

Students Share Service To Give Back

For many students at Utah State University, as the holiday season approaches, service becomes a priority that often takes precedence over schoolwork and other personal endeavors. Students can serve others through various programs provided by the Val R. Christensen Service Center.

Danica Moran, a student at Utah State University, volunteers every year during the holiday season by helping local families and children that are in need.

“By serving other families who are in need I am able to show thanks and appreciation for everything I have,” Moran said. “Volunteering provides me with a better sense of appreciation. It is a humbling experience.”

The Val R. Christensen Service Center, located on the third floor of the Taggart Student Center, is a division of the Associated Students of Utah State University. The purpose of the service center is to organize students into committees and projects that will improve the Cache Valley environment, including issues at the University.

“Money is tight during the holidays and there is no better time to help others when they are struggling to provide for their family,” Moran said.

Megan Darrington, a full-time employee at the service center, said that the center's busiest time is during the holiday months.

“There are so many people in need during the holidays and we have so many students who want to help out in any way," Darrington said. “It is nice to know that citizens in Cache Valley are concerned for the community and continually want to make it better.”

During the holiday season, the Val R. Christensen Service Center puts on a program called ‘stuff-a-bus’. Volunteers go out into the community, knocking door-to-door collecting non-perishable cans of food for the Cache Valley Food Pantry. 

This annual event takes place every Monday night in Nov. Volunteers meet in the Romney stadium paring lot at 7p.m, and several buses transport the volunteers throughout the valley to designated areas where they collect food.

Trent Morrison, a member of ASUSU student government, participates in the stuff-a-bus program every year. Morrison looks forward to this event because it allows him to give to those in need in the Cache Valley community.

“I have been so involved in this event because it provides me with a well rounded college experience and I am able to serve others,” Morrison said. “I have had a different perspective after seeing these local families that are in need.”

Another upcoming event at Utah State University is the annual 'sub-for-Santa’ program. This program works closely with ‘stuff-a-bus’ and provides gifts for children between 18 months and 14 years old throughout the Ut. county area.

The sub-for-Santa event is a Christmas assistance program providing local families who are in need with gifts and money for children. Families also are provided with learning opportunities to help better budget their money and time.

This annual event starts the day after Thanksgiving and volunteers meet outside of local department and grocery stores asking for monetary donations. All donations go to the Cache Valley Family Support Center to purchase gifts for the children at the center.

K. Wells

S. Stack

USU USES FAVORITISM TO GET POSITIONS

Favoritism Possibly Plays A Role In Appointed Offices at Utah State

Marie Squires, the Associated Students of Utah State University's current arts and lectures chair, said that attending events was just not enough involvement for her. Squires decided to run for an appointed position on ASUSU student government, and were elected last spring.

Favoritism is one corruption that Squires has seen while working with ASUSU.

“The problem exists of offering opportunities only to the people that you know and see the most in the office rather than searching for the best candidates,” Squires said.

Some students running for a position may have the proper criteria—and a better work ethic than others—but a person who has served on several committees, volunteered numerous hours and is well known by others would have a better chance at being elected.

“Whoever is willing to suck up gets a good recommendation for another job or position,” Squires said.

Although this may at first sound entirely corrupt, Squires said that sometimes this could be a good thing. While these people are "sucking up”, they are also putting in hours of hard work in order to obtain a particular position.

However, some people may come into the ASUSU office already knowing several people and get a position on a council over someone who may have better qualifications, simply because they are already known. This is where favoritism takes place. 

Nichole Taylor, who serves on the president’s cabinet, agrees that favoritism plays a role in obtaining some positions within ASUSU.

“I definitely think it is political, if you are known by a lot of people and are more popular in that way you will defiantly be able to get a position over someone who is not know as well even if their qualifications are better,” Taylor said.

The Howl is one of the biggest Halloween events in the state of Utah, and people come from all over to attend. Being on the howl committee is a privilege, because not everyone is able to help at this event.

Sarah Blakely, a volunteer on The Howl committee said that she has not been to a single volunteer meeting but she is able to volunteer at whatever station she chooses to this weekend.

Blakely is well known with the ASUSU council and says that this is the reason for her being able to help out while not attending any meetings.

“It is easier when you give a job to someone you know personally rather than someone you don’t know," Blakely said. "The people you know that will work hard, that’s who you appoint and assign positions to, not the people that you don’t know.”

Edited by:

K. Wells

D. Van Dyke

S. Stack

Welcome to ASUSU Student Activities page!

Welcome to USU's Student Activities Blog! This blog is dedicated to informing students, faculty and community members of current and upcoming events that will be taking place at USU. 


With USU's population constantly growing, students are looking for ways to get involved on campus whether it be leadership positions, on a board of a club or even information about an upcoming football game.