The Utah Statesman - October 30, 2023

Joe Ne

edham

Katie Lee-koven

Mark An

derson

Erin Bennett

Jeannie

Simmon

ds

Mike Johnson

Utah State University, Logan, Utah

Week of October 30, 2023

Six in the running for Logan Municipal Council Joe Needham

In any of our cities we live in, your local city councils really are the ones who make the biggest difference and impact our lives the most, and so having someone there who can represent you, also someone who’s willing to work hard and listen, and to do the things that will matter most — and when it comes to Utah State, I’m a big supporter of it. But our trail systems are lacking, and we need more trail systems that link up here to Utah State and into the residents around this area, and so that’s one thing with Utah State.

But back on the council, we were actually the council that approved all the housing units you’ve watched go up and that was a long time ago, we made those approvals happen.

Katie Lee-Koven

It actually is something students should really care about, and I hope that students register to vote because they can if they have residence here, and they can play a role in our local elections. There’s 18,000 students here in Logan, and I would say the most important issue — I’d say the two probably most important issues are growth and housing. We have, I think, about somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000 on-campus housing options for students. Another 3,000 students already live in the valley. So we still have about 11,000 that students have to figure things out every year, and that number grows every year and compounds the issue. Logan City Council approves requests for new development, planning and growth, working with the Planning Commission.

Mark Anderson

There’s a lot of issues that really directly affect students, and a couple that come to mind would be student housing, which is a major concern for a lot of students right now, and whether you’re in student housing or whether you’re renting a place that’s off-campus, utilities affect students and how much money they have to spend. If their utilities are really high, it makes it very difficult for students to have an affordable place to live. So, as a member of city council, we determine what those rates are for the public utilities in Logan, so that directly affects students and their pocketbooks as well too.

Erin Bennett

Why should students care about who is on city council?

Well, first of all, you guys have to be here longer than anyone else, longer than me.

Another part of my platform is I feel like we should design a decision matrix and, for example, identify all the stakeholders, and then each data point on that matrix can carry weight. So people in your age group should carry more weight than people in my age group or definitely boomers because you’re going to live here longer. I feel like city councilors should be making decisions in the best interest of you and even your children as opposed to them and their friends.

Jeannie Simmonds

*Candidate interviews are printed in the order they will appear on the ballot as determined by Utah Code.

Some of the regulations that are put forward by the city council and the city directly affect students. Residency requirements, in terms of how many people can be in a particular residence — let me think of some other things. The bus, for example, directly affects students. Although the CVTD is run separately from the city, we have a great deal of influence over what happens on CVTD with respect to the students. Parking on the streets, there are all kinds of regulations that directly affect students as well as residents, and we want you to spend your time here being a part of our community. And in order to be a part of the community, it’s nice to know what’s going on.

Mike Johnson

Page 2 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 202

Meet the Candidates

I was knocking doors on a bunch of student housing last Saturday before the homecoming game. I was talking to a lot of students, and I think a lot of students don’t understand exactly what city council even is. But in a nutshell, your city council is your legislative body for the city. So it’s comparable to the House of Representatives and the Senate. But locally, your city council, especially in Logan, kind of has final say over all your utility pricing, so power, water and sewer, which you see directly reflected in your rent and your bills. The city council is kind of your final say on your roads, infrastructure, bike lanes and parks.

What advice do you have for college students?

Graduate, get your degree is the key that unlocks the door to success. But I guess in a city aspect, I think if you’re here to stay, if Logan’s your home, the advice I have is enjoy it. If you’re here just visiting for a couple years, that we welcome you and we feel you’re part of our house and, you know, we want it to be a great experience. I was once the president of Downtown Alliance, and we have been improving downtown to be a place that’s hip and fun. And you know, some advice I have is to have a great time while you’re here.

Follow your passion. I think when you follow what you enjoy doing, you’ll be able to figure out what to make of it. I was an art history major. I had no idea what I was doing with that, but I just loved art history. So I pursued that and was not a museum director for many years, but somehow that worked out. But I love what I do, and when I meet with museum studies students here on campus, I always just say that you’re out what you enjoy, and you’ll be willing to put in the time and effort to be successful in that.

I look back fondly on the days that I spent at Utah State. I got two degrees from Utah State. It was a great time to learn, a great time to explore, a wonderful opportunity to be able to broaden my horizons and do things I never would have done before. I was fortunate enough to work with some amazing professors that are still friends today. I built some relationships that lasted much longer than just a class or two, but lasted a lifetime for me so far. And those people made very, very important impacts on me and on the decisions that I made and it kind of helped shape the person that I am.

I’m middle-aged now, and if I had one thing that I was going to say to 20-something-year-old me, I would say, “Don’t worry so much. Everything’s going to work out. Everything’s going to be fine.”

I would ask students to relish in what you have surrounding you. The mountains, the parks, the trails, are all so important to the life that you can have here. We have access to tremendous recreation, and you’re at a worldclass university. And I hope that you enjoy every minute that you’re here.

The biggest advice I can give college students is if we’re looking at elections, to get out and vote, you know. Eighteen to 30-year-olds is the largest demographic in America right now, in terms of population, but they’re also one of the worst at voting. Just two to four years ago, at our last local elections in northern Utah, we saw about 28% of our registered 18 to 30-year-olds actually voting, which is some of the lowest turnout that we get in populations. And when you look at the fact that 18 to 30-yearolds have the numbers to really make a change and have a voice in local elections. Making sure that you get out and vote is just a huge part of that.

Andie Allen Savannah Burnard Leah Call

Sydney Lyman Kris Carpenter Malory Rau

Candidates’ answers exceeded the space given. To read the rest of the interviews or view their responses, scan the QR code.

What will you do for students as a member of the city council?

What is one of the most important political topics students should be engaged with?

Our trail systems need to be enhanced. They do lack — if you actually are familiar with the trail directory or by the country club, you can actually go up there, but it does not connect to the Lundstrom Park Trail. That connection needs to happen. It’s been quite a few years that has been done, and it’s amazing they haven’t able to make that connection. But there’s some trails just below that need to be — just below campus — that need to be enhanced and improved.

First off, vote! I mean, the most — the greatest right we all have as American citizens is we have the right to vote. And it’s unfortunate that some people don’t take that as an opportunity or realize that their vote matters, and so I think that’s one of the greatest engagements one can have.

But their service in the community, just recently on the Day of Service, I was involved in a group where we organized a bunch of service projects throughout Logan, and we had over 300 students, mostly married students, but we had 300 students paint the fence around the cemetery. .

I already mentioned this before, but I do feel that working at Utah State University, I had a really great relationship with our previous president. I’ve met with our current president, I report to senior leadership here at the university and have great relationships with people here. I can call the director of parking and have a conversation with him if I need to about something.

So in terms of solutions that impact students and the city of Logan, I think I am uniquely positioned to navigate sometimes contentious conversations and improve those communications.

Relative to this campaign, I would say growth — growth and affordability.

There’s something that I’ve discussed, actually with some of our senior leadership here, that I think is really interesting is the Utah Board of Higher Education, called USHE. One of their metrics for success for all universities is their percentage of growth, as well as completion rate, and in a city of Logan, where most students live here and we’re not part of the greater Wasatch Front, every year if a metric for the university success is student enrollment growth, we are compounding our student housing affordability and availability every single year.

I talked about that a little bit with what’s important to the students. I would love to see Logan City partner with Utah State and work on some more student housing. I think that’s critical for our students. One thing we are focusing on as a city council and have done for the last four years is making sure that our environment is as clean as possible. We just built a new water treatment facility, which makes all the water that comes through our sewer system cleaner than it was when it came in. It’s an amazing and very, very advanced and technological piece of equipment that we have that cleans our water, and it’s a great starting point for us in the city.

There’s a lot happening right now in our community, and when it comes to politics, there’s a lot of noise that’s going on too, so it’s kind of hard to filter through all of that. The best advice that was given to me when I was younger about politics was that it’s very difficult for any individual to influence national politics. We’re one vote in millions, and it’s very difficult to make an impact there. But on the local level, one vote can really make a difference, and so it’s critical that our student population recognizes how important their votes are, that they really do have an opportunity to vote and for them to get out and vote for the people they think will represent them the best.

I think the first step is to identify their needs. I’m not certain that the city council is aware that you guys even exist, let alone are they even aware of your needs. So, the first step would be to reach out to students and student organizations and ask you, “What I can do to help you?” Of course, I don’t know, you guys are probably well organized and doing a fine job governing yourself, so I don’t need to come in and try to overstep my bounds.

Connecting with community groups, I think, is a really important step, including students.

I think the equality. I really do think equality, especially in our community, equality is the most important factor, and it’s the most at risk right now.

Some pretty terrible things are happening. The Constitution of the United States, I don’t think a lot of people understand that it’s law. I think people think that it’s like some kind of religious document or something, and so they think that if they’re violating our civil rights and violating the Constitution, they’re sinning, but they’re committing crime against residents, and we’re paying them.

I would like to encourage students to become more involved, to be more a part of what we do every day. And that way, we as a city council can better address the issues that are brought before us, and we are more aware of the concerns that the students have with respect to what’s going on in the city. What I would like to do is be able to engage more often with them. I worked on campus for 37 years, and so it’s kind of hard for me now because I retired, and I miss that interaction that you have on a day-to-day basis because I think students bring a vibrancy to a community that is unparalleled anywhere else.

I think probably the political topic that is the most important revolves around affordability and housing accessibility. I think we’ve had many years now — it ebbs and flows. I remember a time when it wasn’t as difficult to find a place to live as it is now. And I think that is a critical component that students can be engaged in, and I want them to feel like Logan City cares enough that they should be able to have safe and affordable housing, and that’s one thing that we have to all work together to achieve.

Let’s make some campaign promises. What do students want? More Aggie Ice Cream? I mentioned this before, but the biggest thing that I want to focus on the council is making sure that Logan is affordable to live in: there’s places for people to live, and that we have good jobs. We do a good job at trying to encourage a lot of businesses to come to the valley, but I think we could do better to make sure that there’s good high paying jobs, good high tech jobs here in the valley. There’s a lot of students who are well educated out of Utah State. Being able to keep them here to keep their, you know, their education, their time here, I think would be great.

I think the biggest thing we really need is for our students to be engaged with is just voting. Voter turnout is not great, and it’s especially not great with young students and young families. I think making sure that they’re engaged and they vote is the biggest thing. Being educated and making that decision. I love that, locally, we mail out our ballots, so you can get that ballot and you have it for three weeks. It comes with prepaid return postage, and you can sit down, and you can look at the city website, and you compare candidates, and you can make an informed decision.

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Page 3 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 2023

Interviews conducted by:

Page 4 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 202

Learning about the Israel-Hamas conflict were affected, Knuppe said — personal connections both Hirschfeld and Caplan spoke to.

Hirschfeld, a professor of environmental planning, had glassy eyes as she recounted her memories of visiting her grandparents in Israel and Tel Aviv, going to the beach, getting ice cream cones and rollerblading.

Her loved ones, Hirschfeld said, have been telling her about the hours they were spending in bunkers.

“There are several friends who have said, ‘Oh, we were in the in the safe rooms for four hours last night or, ‘We were in the safe room twice in the middle of the night,’ or, ‘We had to take our five year old into the safe

By Kris Carpenter NEWS REPORTER

Q

uiet filled the room as Austin Knuppe, a Utah State University political science professor specializing in Middle Eastern studies, called for a moment of silence to honor the thousands who have been killed in the last weeks.

After a few minutes, discussion resumed as experts in history, politics and Middle Eastern studies unpacked the conflicts that have unfolded since Israel declared war on Hamas.

On Oct. 16, the Heravi Peace Institute and Middle East studies minor at USU sponsored a conference that hosted guest speaker Matthew Buehler, a professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, alongside USU professors Knuppe, Mustafa Banister, Daniella Hirschfeld and Arthur Caplan, all to speak on the recent events between Hamas and Israel and to answer students’ questions.

To provide as safe an atmosphere as possible during the conference, the panelists did not go on record for their statements during the panel; rather, they spoke individually with The Utah Statesman before or after the event.

One of the most essential parts to understand the issue, Knuppe said, is to recognize the context for the PHOTO BY Heidi Bingham tension between the Hamas political party and its Attendees listen to Matthew Buehler during the discussion about conflict between armed supporters, the Palestinian’s request for self-de- Hamas and Israel on Oct. 16. termination and the Israeli government’s decisions.

“This is a conflict that goes back 75 years, perhaps room,” Hirschfeld said. “All these experiences create a 100 years — it does not go back 5,000 years,” Knuppe feeling of terror, and so that’s been really sad.” said.

To provide further context to the bombing, Knuppe In the past 100 years, there have been several disdescribed the scale of the Gaza Strip, a narrow strip putes about territory and drawing lines on the map, of land between Israel and Egypt occupied by mostly Knuppe said. However, the conflict has especially escaPalestinians. lated in the past 16-17 years since the Israeli military Knuppe said it is about the size of Cache Valley. But left the Gaza Strip in 2005, creating a blockade limiting instead of a few hundred thousand people occupying food and water supplies, and then Hamas, a political the space, the Gaza Strip is home to over two million. party with an armed wing, getting elected the followExtended conflict in such a small space with such a ing year. dense population, he said, would create devastating Besides just learning the history, another way to impacts. ground oneself in the gravity of the conflict was seeing “I have empathy for both sides of the conflict; it others’ personal connections and learning how they sickens me to think of the invasion in Gaza. I’m thinkTE UTAH STA

POLICE

BLOTTER

10/9/23 - Officers responded to the report of an injury in central campus housing. Police and paramedics attended to the individual who was transported for medical evaluation.

ing about 1.1 million people trying to evacuate with nowhere to go. It’s a humanitarian crisis,” Hirschfeld said.

Knuppe added that one of the most complicated parts to discussing the conflict was seeing the ways two facts could be true simultaneously: that each side is suffering devastation at the hands of the other.

“What makes this extraordinarily difficult for a number of reasons is the ability of our minds to engage in lots of cognitive dissonance,” Knuppe said. “It is immoral; it’s illegal, according international humanitarian law; and it’s ineffective for armed groups to target civilians … It’s illegal when Hamas targets Israeli civilians. It’s illegal when the Israeli Defense Forces target Palestinian civilians in the West Bank in Gaza.”

To read the rest of this story online, scan here:

Kris Carpenter is a senior studying English and journalism. When they’re not reporting and writing, they’re spending time with their spouse, reading or playing Dungeons and Dragons.

— kris.carpenter@usu.edu

10/10/23 -An individual reported to police that their personal information may have been stolen after a suspicious call.

10/14/23 - Officers receive a report of theft at Central Suites of personal property. Due to lack of evidence, the incident was cleared.

10/12/23 - A natural gas odor was reported to police. An officer responded to the call and was joined by a USU fire marshal, who contacted and waited for Dominion Energy to assess the suspected leak.

10/20/23 - USU Officers removed items from the drug box in the lobby of the police department.

Items were inventoried and will be destroyed.

10/13/23 - A drone was reported being flown over Maverik Stadium. Officers were able to locate the owner and resolved the issue.

10/21/23 - A report of threats being made to an individual was made to police. An officer advised the complainant on ways USUPD could assist and informed them of USU’s SAAVI resources..

As an American-Palestinian, this issue is personal to her.

“I have a friend…26 members of her family were n Oct. 19, Utah State University students killed in Gaza last week,” Ali said. “I feel so, so sad participated in two demonstrations from supabout this situation, especially regarding children and porting different sides of the Israel-Palestine women in this situation…I just want children to live conflict in the Gaza Strip. their regular lives.

USU students received an email on Thursday from She shared in her speech that her people have been President Elizabeth Cantwell discussing recent events living through this war since 1978. She also highlighted in Gaza. recent events, including the bombing of hospitals and “In the face of recent events, where a devastatcutting supply chains to civilians. ing terrorist act against Israel on the part of Hamas “I extend my heartfelt condolences to the victims has prompted responses resulting in grave harm to and their families. No word can accurately capture the Palestinians in Gaza, we find ourselves confronted with depth of their pain and loss,” Ali said in her speech. profound ethical challenges,” Cantwell wrote.

“The numbers speak for themselves, but behind every Cantwell continued, discussing USU’s official stance number is a human being, a story, a life. The death toll on the conflict. in Gaza has risen to over 4,000.”

“I want to be clear, that as a higher education instituBadriea Manassra, a concerned citizen, also particition, we condemn terrorism and mourn the escalating pated in the demonstration. She agreed with the sentiviolence against innocent individuals and families,” ment that words cannot describe the pain of Palestine.

Cantwell wrote.

“I can’t find the words in any dictionary — English, That afternoon on the Quad, people made their voices Arabic, French, Spanish — any dictionary to describe heard. what’s going on in Palestine,” Manassra said.

By the Block A, people gathered in support of Ali continued her speech, sharing her pain at the murPalestine. As participants arrived, Palestinian music der of children and innocent lives, along with the worsplayed from a speaker, and a Palestinian flag was ening humanitarian crisis. hanging from the Block A. The “Stand for Palestine” “We, as a global community, must rise above political event was organized by several people and attended by affiliation and see the human cause of this conflict. We students and community members from many walks of must come together to demand an end to the violence life. and to ensure that those responsible are held accountAs the gathering began, Elizabeth Wong from the able,” Ali said in her speech.

Graduate Students of Color Association addressed the As Ali closed her speech, she shared a call for people group, sharing a statement of solidarity with people livto search for the truth in the many reports coming from ing in occupied lands. both sides.

“We demand that our governments do everything in “It’s time for us to stand up, speak out, and ensure their power to stop the ongoing genocide. We dream of that tragedies like this never occur again. Let us strive a free Palestine,” Wong said in her speech. for a world where every child, every individual, regardAfter Wong’s remarks, Lamis Ali spoke to the group. less of their faith, ethnicity, and/or nationality, can live in peace and security,” Ali said as she closed.

A young girl sang a song about the history of Palestine, and then electric candles were passed out to participants. They walked in silence around the Quad, carrying Palestinian flags.

Another demonstration began on the Animal Science building corner of the Quad where participants held Israeli flags and signs. Ryan Smith, chair for the Utah State Federation of College Republicans, organized the “Stand for Israel” event.

“We’re definitely here to stand with Israel, stand for those that were slain and sadly those that were killed by the Palestinian people. We’re here to show that support,” Smith said.

Smith also shared his perspective on the conflict.

PHOTO BY Zachary Guercio “With this issue, you have an aggresAttendees of Stand for Palestine walk around the Quad on Oct. 19. sor that’s chosen to attack innocent

By Ashley Dorius LIFESTYLES REPORTER

O

babies, civilians, women, and obviously any murder of innocent lives is sad on either side, but we definitely stand with Israel,” Smith said.

He continued, citing a lack of human rights as a reason for not supporting Palestine.

“We definitely don’t support standing with Hamas or the Palestinian government,” Smith said. “We don’t stand with a country that chooses to have many civil rights, human rights issues.”

Scott Wilbur, a law and constitutional studies junior, also participated in the demonstration.

“We’re out here to show our support for Israel and show our disdain for terrorists and terrorist organizations that kill innocents,” Wilbur said.

Wilbur shared his belief that people hoping to support innocent Palestinians should not support Hamas.

“Hamas has no regard for their own citizens, and they have even less for the Jews,” Wilbur said.

Even though this issue has multiple sides, people from many perspectives agreed it’s essential to stay informed and advocate for their beliefs.

“It’s about understanding what’s happening, and I think when you’re more involved, you understand the policies and what’s going on,” Smith said.

Stand for Palestine participants also shared the importance of being educated.

“Please, clear your eyes. Get rid of the blindness. See the truth. Seek the truth,” Manassra said.

Arin Doyle, a senior psychology major, attended Stand for Israel and added their perspective.

“Elevating Palestinian voices is incredibly important, especially during this time, and making sure that the information that we receive about what is happening is accurate and to respect the experiences of individuals who have been affected,” Doyle said.

Doyle said being informed is empowering.

“Part of being educated is being involved and being informed about what is happening,” Doyle said. “It’s an incredibly empowering situation to be aware of what is happening, even though it’s incredibly frustrating at times.”

Cantwell also share this belief in her statement to the university.

“We all have personal beliefs and opinions. However, our moral imperative as an institution is to create the environment where we encourage all members of our community to seek a sense of their individual ethics while promoting a culture of open, informed, and compassionate dialogue,” Cantwell wrote.

As people in the community form opinions, Cantwell has hope for Utah State.

“As we engage as a community in discussions, debates, and self-reflection, use this moment to further define your own personal values, ethics, and principles and, in doing so, contribute to a more just world,” Cantwell wrote.

-ashley.dorius@usu.edu

Page 5 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 2023

Community stands for Israel and Palestine

Page 6 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 202

Haunted halls of USU buildings The ghosts of Old Main and Ray B. West

By Ashley Dorius LIFESTYLES REPORTER

U

tah State University students got a taste of haunted history on Oct. 18. Sponsored by the Museum of Anthropology housed in Old Main, students were able to go on ghost tours and learn the stories of a few phantom inhabitants of some of USU’s oldest buildings.

Tessa Goodsell, a tour guide, is an employee at the museum. As an avid ghost seeker, she shared how the tours began.

“Our former employee Katie Snow came up with the idea and planned last year’s tour. She researched campus ghost stories primarily using the archives at USU’s library,” Goodsell wrote in an email to The Utah Statesman. “This year, the tours will be led by myself, a fellow museum employee named Becca Ashby, and a couple student volunteers.”

That night, Aggies gathered in the museum, feeling excited at the prospect of hearing spooky stories.

Kevin Pan, a first-year student studying aviation technology, had a few expectations.

“I’m hoping for some good stories,” Pan said. “Maybe we’ll see something haunted, something unexpected.”

Harley Thomas, a sophomore studying psychology and social work, was more interested in the stories than the specters themselves.

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” Thomas said. “But I find the stories surrounding them and the cultural impacts really cool.”

PHOTOS BY Heidi Bingham An app called “Ghost Hunting Tools” displays the word “jump” during a ghost tour on Oct. 18.

ter she practiced the night before, she was never seen again. People now say the night before graduation, organ music can be heard from the bell tower.

Goodsell said many people claim to hear children playing in the Ray B. West building, and some report seeing a blue ball roll down the hallway. However, no one ever sees the children.

Many more stories were told, and people whipped out their phones to check an app called Ghost Hunting Tools throughout the tour. The app claims to sense electromagnetic field disturbances and allows spirits to talk by choosing words to display on the screen. After hearing stories, students would shout out what words appeared on their phones. Some words were names, while others were actions or random adjectives.

After the tour, the participants gathered again in Old Main to discuss folklore and ghost stories. The discussion was led by two experts.

Ehsan Estiri is a temporary assistant professor specializing in cultural anthropology and religious studies, while Afsane Rezaei is an assistant English professor who researches the intersections of folklife, gender, religion and politics.

In the discussion, Estiri and Rezaei explained the importance of recording folklore experiences and shared how ghost stories can change as they get passed down, along with how folklorists study stories like these.

One of the three groups during the ghost tour listen to a story told by tour guide The ghost tours were certainly a spine-tingling experiTess Goodsell in the Ray B. West building. ence, though no one reported seeing a ghost, much to Some people were there for a good supernatural time, Thomas’s delight. like Korbin Kane, a sophomore in the aviation program.

“If we found any ghosts, I‘d owe my roommate $5,” “I’m just looking for a good time to hang out with peo- Thomas said. ple, get to know one another,” Kane said. “Maybe we’ll find out some haunted things that happened here.”

As the tours commenced, Goodsell told ominous tales, one after another.

One of those stories was the tale of the Woman in Blue, who haunts Old Main. Goodsell said she is a woman often described as wearing a blue or black flowing dress.

She left a large sum of money to USU and sticks around to see how the money is spent.

Goodsell loves all the ghostly stories; however, the Woman in Blue has special meaning for her.

“I have a great-great aunt who loved USU and often wore a blue skirt suit. She left money to USU, too,” Goodsell said.

Ashley Dorius is a freshman studyGoodsell said last year, a professional ghost hunter ing English with a teaching emphabrought a spirit box to the tour, so she decided to consis. A Nebraska native, she loves sult it. exploring old bookstores, quoting “I said, ‘Is this Aunt Amy?’ and [the box] said ‘Yes,’ so I New Girl, eating soft pretzels and said, ‘Well, I’m your great-great niece,’ and the box said being a Swiftie.

‘I know,’” Goodsell said.

Another story Goodsell told was the tale of the bell -ashley.dorius@usu.edu tower organist. As the legend goes, a student majoring in music was asked to play the organ for graduation.

She practiced in the bell tower every day. However, af-

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or three nights only, students can attend the Hyde Park Haunted Hollows Spook Alley put on by the Hyde Park City Youth Council.

The spook alley, which is a fundraiser for the council, contains seven rooms with different themes. These rooms, orchestrated by council participants and overseen by advisers, are plotted with the intention of giving a fright.

Stephanie Allred, who has been running the council for 12 years, came up with the fundraiser idea, but the kids have made it their own.

“They’re all really excited about it. Their favorite part is trying to scare people,” Allred said.

Marci Case is an adviser for the council. She gave insight into how the rooms are planned.

“We start out by throwing around room themes and ideas. After narrowing that down, we pick a leader for each room. They ultimately pick the theme they want,” Case wrote in a text to The Utah Statesman. “After that, we divide up the rest of the council and get to work.

We figure out the story we want to tell…then the hunt starts for finding props and building anything needed. We are really resourceful in finding the things we need.”

The spook alley was put together with contingent emergency plans. Madeleine Hoopes, a member of the council, shared how planning and setup is going.

“In our group specifically, we’ve got the theme and walls planned out, props all thought out, actors/friends of ours that have volunteered for parts in the room, and route planned,” Hoopes wrote in a text. “In the whole Spook Alley, we have an idea of where we want our walls and the route to go, a plan in case a fire happens, all the rules set out, and all the groups getting things ready for set up!”

Julie Argyle is an adviser for the alley. She had an inside scoop as to what a room might look like.

“My daughter and her friends came up with a ‘sleepover gone wrong’ theme, complete with everything you’d expect at a sleepover... pajamas, snacks, friends, sleeping bags, and stuffed animals, but with a creepy twist,” Argyle wrote.

Kadence Lamb loves participating in the council and spook alley as its youth mayor. She shared a sneak peek at what to expect at the alley.

“Stephanie’s getting a huge, 15-foot skeleton to put at the front and a real hearse…I don’t think Stephanie gets enough credit,” Lamb said.

The council is a group of about 20 service-minded future leaders in middle and high school. They run service projects throughout the year for their community.

Looking forward to the year, Lamb had some hopes in mind.

“I’m most excited for getting to know our community.

I love that the Spook Alley is something for the whole

What’s up! I’m Jack Brady, I’m a junior at Utah State, and I love listening to, writing and sharing music. I host my own show on Aggie Radio from 2-3 every Thursday where I aim to choose a specific genre for that show and share various artists’ work.

STATESMAN ILLUSTRATION

community to do,” Lamb said.

Hoopes also loves the ties the council makes.

“I get to see some of my really good friends there every time we meet up, and we’ve made so many good memories, even just this year! And all of Youth Council has fun together doing helpful events together, like the car show,” Hoopes wrote. “I know that the things we’ve done have definitely helped people too, which is a good feeling.”

The spook alley takes a lot of work, but Hoopes said it’s worth it to the kids and attendants, and they urge everyone to go.

“People should come to the Spook Alley because it is amazing to see what middle school and high school kids can put together on limited time and a limited budget. They do a fantastic job,” Case wrote. “Plus, this is how we fund our service projects for the community.

It is our main fundraiser, it’s for a really good cause.”

Argyle agreed, saying even college students will love the alley.

“Maybe it’s not the scariest spook alley you’ve ever attended, but it’s filled with a lot of creativity from just a handful of dedicated kids. I’ve even convinced my college-age son to come and bring his friends. If they’re up for it, you should be too,” Argyle wrote.

On Oct. 27-28, the hours are 7-10 p.m., and on Oct. 30, hours will be 7-9:30 p.m. Admission is $4, and it is located at the Hyde Park City Building.

China Cat Sunflower Grateful Dead

Introvert Blue Wednesday

Fuzz Bus Love Theo

Yellow Ledbetter Pearl Jam

Yellow Eyes Rayland Baxter -ashley.dorius@usu.edu

Page 7 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 2023

Scaring to Serve: A spook alley fundraiser for the community

Page 8 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 202

North Logan Pumpkin Walk L celebrates its 40th anniversary t

“It continues to be free,” Marie said. “We just love the vision of volunteerism and connecting with our community with our volunteers.”

Sandy Ballard has been doing displays for the event for 30 years. She originally got involved as a volunteer and has been doing displays with her family and friends ever since.

“It’s fun to just have something that the community can come and enjoy,” Ballard said. “There’s just no pretense because it’s free.”

Ballard said she enjoys seeing the different crowds that come to see the displays.

“You see people smile there,” Ballard said. “You don’t see anybody going around who’s sad or angry or doesn’t like something. It’s all smiles.”

Ron said the influence of the event has extended beyond the city.

“People come from Salt Lake to see it,” Ron said. “It’s just extrapolated into something very beautiful.”

USU had a display at the event, created by 18 members of the human resources team.

“The theme of the Pumpkin Walk is ‘There is no place like Pumpkin Walk,’ so we were thinking about movies PHOTOS BY Heidi Bingham that have a theme of ‘Home,’” Danielle Anderson, an HR A display of professionally carved pumpkins sit inside a building located at employment specialist, wrote in an email to The Utah Elk Ridge Park on Oct. 20.

Statesman.

By Ella Stott Anderson said the HR office voted and decided to do a LIFESTYLES REPORTER display from the movie “Up.” “Our team really enjoys doing the Pumpkin Walk; this is he North Logan Pumpkin Walk, an event with displays made from pumpkins, celebrated its 40th our third year participating,” Anderson wrote. “We find the scene creation to be a great team building exercise.” anniversary this year.

Anderson said she went to the pumpkin walk as a child, The event was created by Ida Beutler in 1983 as a way and she is happy that she now gets to make a scene as to revive the magic of Halloween for kids.

Marie Godfrey, Beutler’s daughter and volunteer at the walk, said her mom wanted to avoid the scary, dark elements of Halloween.

“The vision was just to make it a happy place,” Marie Godfrey said. “It was open to all people. It was very inclusive.”

Marie’s husband, Ron Godfrey, said people really saw Beutler’s vision.

“There were 10,000 people that came the first year,” Ron said. “The second year, I think 10 or 15, and the third year close to 20,000.”

The event started on Beutler’s family farm, where it stayed for about ten years.

“They could walk them through the field, or little nooks and crannies in the hay barn or the horse shed,” Marie said. “One year they took that hay grain elevator building and turned it into Old Main.”

In 1989, as the popularity of the pumpkin walk increased, North Logan city began sponsorship of the event.

The traffic began increasing as well, so the city moved it from the family farm to Elk Ridge Park, where it has A “Bluey” themed pumpkin display as seen on Oct. 20 at Elk Ridge Park. stayed for over 30 years.

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an adult.

“I am always so proud of the scenes we put together,” Anderson wrote. “It’s always fun to see the love we get from the community on our scene.”

The pumpkin walk focuses on accessibility and engagement with the Logan community.

“I love that this event is free and is so accessible to the community,” Anderson wrote. “I think it’s such a great way for members of the community to come together and bring some extra magic to the season!”

Ballard said the community engagement was her favorite part of doing displays for the event.

“I think it’s just something that gives back,” Ballard said. “It’s just a feeling of happiness that we can give the community without expecting anything in return.”

Ron and Marie agreed that continuing the event was continuing the magic of Halloween in the North Logan area.

“The word community means unity,” Ron said. “Everyone comes together — hundreds of volunteers — to help make it a magnificent experience.”

“I think what we’re trying to do is keep the magic of childhood,” Marie said. “We just like to make it a safe, happy place to keep that magic going.”

The pumpkin walk runs every year in Elk Ridge Park.

For more information, visit pumpkinwalk.org.

“If the world had more pumpkin walks, we’d be in a lot better shape,” Ron Godfrey said.

“We think that the magic of childhood is worth preserving,” Marie Godfrey said. “And really, aren’t we all just young at heart?”

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Ella Stott is a first year student studying English and journalism because she hates money. When she’s not writing, she’s watching sitcoms, eating Greek yogurt and admiring Nebraska corn.

-ella.stott@usu.du

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By Lacey Cintron LIFESTYLES REPORTER

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n Oct. 18, Utah State University hosted its annual Moonlight & Music event, in which students enjoyed s’mores around a fire and listened to local performances beneath the moon.

Duo Devyn Harding and Braken Whitehead opened this year’s events, followed by the Highway 89 band. The Last Wild Buffalo rounded out the evening.

Harding is a junior majoring in accounting, and Whitehead is a first-year student who is exploratory. Harding first found a passion for performance during high school.

Whitehead has loved music since he was 7; playing piano and guitar.

“I played with a band in Bryce Canyon called the Bryce Canyon Wranglers and caught the bug for performing,” Harding said.

While Harding has been professionally performing since 2019 — taking vocal inspiration from artists like Kacey Musgraves and writers like Nicole Galyon — Whitehead just got his start a month ago. The two soon formed a duo after meeting, taking influence from genres like folk, country and indie.

“Braken and I met through a mutual friend group and he played for me at a pop-up show I did on our friends front porch,” Harding said.

The two have individually performed in many different places across Utah, and will soon be playing at Little Jam on Nov. 11.

“My favorite place to play was on the rim of Bryce Canyon, opening for the piano guys. Braken has played in so many cool places he can’t decide on a favorite,” Harding said.

Six USU students and USU alumni make up Highway 89. Graduate Heather Bodine and James Ackley, a senior studying marketing, are the lead singers. Senior and data analytics major Ty Tolman plays the guitar, while sophomore and fellow data analytics major Nolan Copada is on the drums. Senior and pre-med student Zach Elmer completes the band with the bass.

Highway 89 is a relatively new band to arrive on the scene of local Logan music. Bodine and Ackley were a singing duo long before Highway 89, but just recently decided to expand the band.

“I was signed up for PoBev, but I didn’t really want to do it alone,” Ackley said. “So I asked her if she wanted to do it with me. Then she’s like ‘Yeah, that would be really cool — we should have Ty play the guitar for us.’”

PoBev, or Poetry & A Beverage, is another hallmark event at USU oriented towards musical talent and the spoken word.

“Then Ty was like ‘Dude, we should get Nolan to play the drums,’” Ackley said.

The group of friends have known each other for a while, all sharing a love for music. The band laughed at how

quickly they were all able to come together for this performance, sharing that Tolman and Copada were only brought on the day before PoBev. “That day we pretty much put it together and performed at PoBev,” Ackley said. “Then Ty reached out to Zack and said, ‘Hey, do you want to play the bass for this new band we just created?’ and since then we’ve done, like, four or five performances.”

The band is currently working together to create their own music. Some of the members have experience writing original songs and are excited to bring that to Highway 89.

“We got a new original coming out today. Individually we have a few, like I have three, but the band has one,” Tolman said.

“Me and Luke met at the swing dancing club one fateful day,” Woodruff said. “Luke was the president of the group. It was my first time and only time swing dancing ever.”

Woodruff and Celaya took their first attempt at forming a band in high school.

“Me and Issac tried to start a punk band where he played the electric guitar and I played the bass,” Celaya said. “We had no drummers.”

A few years later, Woodruff and Diamond tried a second time as Through The Weekends, where Celaya was introduced. Eventually the two would officially pick up Celaya ,and the trio became The Last Wild Buffalo.

“We’re coming up on a year in December,” Woodruff said. “Christmas break was when we started writing our first song last year — Christmas 2022.”

The band has been busy since their formation last Christmas writing songs, building a name and booking performances.

“We have 15 songs that are finished and polished, and then a lot more past stuff that we have in the works, some that will stay in the works forever, and some that will be beautiful songs in the future,” Woodruff said. “Our No. 1 priority right now is getting stuff recorded. Our goal is to have things recorded and put on streaming platforms for sure by next summer.”

The band shared that their music is a creative fusion between folk and punk, and has taken inspiration from artists such as The Avett Brothers, Caamp and Bob Dylan.

“The Avett Brothers are like our core influence,” Celaya said.

Read the rest of this story at usustatesman.com.

PHOTO BY Zachary Guercio Devin Harding and Braken Whitehead perform at Moonlight and Music on the TSC patio.

Highway 89 went on to perform four covers and their new original song at the event.

The closing act of the night was The Last Wild Buffalo. Issac Woodruff, Jonathan Celaya and Luke Diamond are the heart and soul of the band they started only a year ago. Diamond is a fourth-year student majoring in accounting, Woodruff is a fourth-year student majoring in kinesiology and Celaya is a second-year student majoring in data analytics. However, these three have known each other for much longer than a year.

“When I was a freshman in highschool, he started driving me to swim practice. He was old enough to drive and I wasn’t — that’s how me and Isaac met. We became best friends and have been best friends ever since.” Celaya said.

Lacey Cintron is majoring in psychology. She loves learning about the human mind, sharing stories and naps.

- a02388032@usu.edu

Page 9 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 2023

Local bands perform beneath the stars at Moonlight & Music

Page 10 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 202

Speed-faithing event builds bridges of understanding between students

By Jacob Casper LIFESTYLES REPORTER

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n Oct. 19 in the TSC Ballroom, the Interfaith Student Association held a speed-faithing event for students interested in others’ personal belief systems. This isn’t the first speed faithing event to be held at Utah State University, but it was the biggest the IFSA has done so far.

Students gathered together around tables to share their own personal experiences and to gain a greater understanding of faiths around the world.

August Groesbeck, an IFSA officer, has been a member of the club since 2019.

“It’s not our belief tradition that we came from,” Groesbeck said. “It’s not an overall thing. It’s very personally based, and then just try to create understanding.”

Speed faithing isn’t about sharing the deep doctrine about a belief system. It’s about how the individual is able to grow and accept who they are, and how faith helped the individual reach this deeper understanding of self.

After participating in IFSA last year, Andrew Hunting was asked by the former president to take over his position.

“There is a lot of prejudice in the world,” Hunting said.

“There’s a lot of misconceptions, and we want to give the students at USU as part of their education an opportunity to be able to really cut past the prejudice and actually see people for who they are and what they actually believe.”

Students at the IFSA speed-faithing event pair off and discuss questions.

Speed faithing isn’t the only activity IFSA does, but it is the way the club reaches out for new members or people just beginning their interfaith journey. The club is very active with service projects, and are constantly working towards their goal to promote personal belief and discovery. “​​You know, we want to build bridges, cut paths, prejudice and help people live their full religious selves without feeling afraid or are shy about it to be open about it,” Hunting said.

Speed faithing is one example of how the club is able to help students breach their shells to discover the culturally rich community a college campus provides.

“I guess the reason why we’ve been focusing on personal thing is due to what we were talking about earlier, when we are introducing the activity, is something called the I statements, and that is mainly due to not like taking the thing of pushing a belief or anything to an entire group of people because they can be very personalized,” Groesbeck said.

IFSA isn’t exclusive to people that are not a part of an organized religion. They welcome anybody regardless of their situation.

“I’d say that you don’t have to be religious,” Groesbeck said. “You can pick up anywhere in your interfaith journey, whether it’s just beginning or very much surveillance practice. It’s a place for anybody to come.”

The club is able to continue reaching towards their goal of increasing understanding, inclusion and self discovery by meeting every other week.

“We meet every other Thursday at seven o’clock in the

MSS, the multicultural student space,” Hunting said.

USU is a place to learn and gain experience for the outside world. IFSA adds to this by helping its members discover themselves.

“You’re on campus to grow,” Hunting said. “You’re on campus to become a better person and if you want to do that, this is a place to do it. This is a place to experience the world a little bit.”

Jacob Casper is majoring in English with an emphasis in creative writing.

When he’s not working, he hangs out with his wife. Jacob is an avid hoodie, card and board game collector, all of which are slowly draining him of all funds.

- a02357545@usu.edu

PHOTO BY Hailey Cullumber

By Jacob Hutchison SPORTS REPORTER

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urrent and past USU lacrosse players came together for a friendly match on Friday, Oct. 6. The annual tournament is a longstanding tradition for the club, and this year’s event was nothing short of exciting for fans.

Each participant had only positive things to say about the tradition. Standout attackman Cooper Williams enjoyed sharing the field with older competitors.

“We have the alumni come out from all over the place.

We get together and have dinner after. It’s a great time seeing them and playing with them,” Williams said.

He uses this opportunity to reconnect with his old teammates as well as make new friends.

“This is my junior year, so a lot of those people over there I’ve played with,” Williams said. “They’re great friends to me, and I love the team. They’re always supporting me.”

Assistant coach Steve Gawrys has always looked forward to the alumni game, having been a part of it for years.

“It’s one of the best traditions ever. I’m very biased because I’ve been able to participate as an alumni for the past couple of years, and it’s always fun to see the team. The fact that I’ve been able to hop back on the coaching staff this year has been a blast,” Gawrys said.

“The current team is a really good group of guys: hard working, really talented, and led by Coach Bingham, who’s steering the ship in the right direction.”

Gawrys sees the game as an opportunity for students to meet and compete against older and more experienced players.

“For an alumni night like tonight, being able to share the field with the guys and enjoy an evening of connecting the generations of players is just the best thing ever,” Gawrys said.

Utah State junior Preston Honey chases Boise State’s Garret Gosnel during gameplay on Sunday, Oct. 22.

Utah State Mens Lacrosse huddles during a timeout at their game vs. Boise State on Sunday, Oct. 22.

The alumni game tradition has a long and storied history, stretching back to the program’s origins.

“My freshman year was 10 years ago, and even then it was a long-standing tradition. I assume it started with the program back in the ‘70s,” Gawrys said.

The current players use the game as an opportunity to hone their skills for the spring season.

“The fall is our off-season, so this is all in prep for spring. This is a good chance for guys to walk through a lot of good plays and fine-tune a lot of things in preparation,” Gawrys said.

Nate Nelson, an alumni watching the game from the crowd, loves seeing new teams take on the old guard.

“It’s nice seeing how much the program has grown over the past 20 years. It was so small back then, we had little funding. But seeing how far the team has come and seeing a full alumni team to play against is pretty cool,” Nelson said.

Nelson’s time with the lacrosse team shaped his experience on campus.

“It made my Utah State experience. It’s the No. 1 best thing I did. Made lifelong friends, had awesome experiences, got to travel around the Western U.S. It was really neat,” Nelson said.

As for the game itself, neither team would disappoint.

The Aggies came out of the gate swinging, forcing the alumni into a defensive position. It wouldn’t be that easy though, as the alumnus goalie made four crucial saves within just a few minutes before finally surrendering two goals to freshman Ben Booth and junior Preston Honey.

Not to be outdone, the alumni squad roared back with two quick goals of their own, finding the back of the net to bring them within one.

The Aggies continued to hold possession for much of the quarter, but a heroic effort from the alumni defense kept the dam from breaking wide open, only allowing a single goal right before the end of the first quarter. Even that effort wasn’t enough to stop them, though, as an

Page 11 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 2023

USU Lacrosse squares off against alumni

PHOTOS BY Phil Weber

unmarked Aggie led them to yet another 2-point lead.

Seemingly rejuvenated, the alumni launched an allout attack, finishing off a long offensive sequence with a devastating strike.

Both teams settled in, playing solid defense and holding the score. Eventually, a slew of Aggies found 3 straight goals to extend their lead to 4.

Just as the half ended, the alumni rallied one last time to bring the game to 4-7 before the buzzer. They would struggle to score again after that.

After the break, the Aggies once again went on the offense but struggled to find pay dirt. Booth would be the first to break through, sneaking past the alumni goalkeeper.

At this point, the Aggies began to pile it on, putting the game out of reach with a backbreaking shot from Booth. A late goal from the alumni couldn’t stop the USU freight train, and the game would end 14-5.

Gawrys hopes the team can carry this momentum into their spring season.

“We want to win the national championship. That’s the ultimate goal,” Gawrys said. “We have the talent to do it, we have the coaching to do it. The school’s been good to us, and we’re itching to get the job done this year.”

Jacob Hutchison is a first-year student studying history. He loves going on walks, playing video games and reading.

— jacob.hutchison@usu.edu

Page 12 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 202

Western Equestrian club puts on a show

By Madison Weber SPORTS EDITOR

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“They want to level the playing field as much as possible. It’s about how good of a rider you are because we’re going to put you on whatever horse,” Carlson said. “It’s testing how well you handle a horse and how good you look doing it. It should look effortless, but you’re doing so much.”

Similar practices are held at tryouts for the club team where each contestant is assigned a random horse. For the past few years, more than 40 people have tried out.

“We put them in the arena on a ride and then they decide who comes on. There are different levels, so as far as how many people make it, it just depends on how many people we need per level,” Savage said.

Ray Steele is a first-year member who, unlike most other members, didn’t grow up with horses. Hailing from

f you like horses, new friends and the smell of ranches, the Western Equestrian Club may be the perfect place for you.

The club hosted its first Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association show in over three years at the Sam Skaggs Family Equine Education Center on Saturday, Oct. 14.

Utah State, Montana State, Rocky Mountain College, and University of Montana Western participated in the show. Riders were judged on horsemanship, ranch riding and reining.

“It was a big deal hosting the event for the club as a whole, for the university and also for our equine science program. It was a big step for us,” head coach Gary Bayles said. “A lot of work went into it and a ton of help from not only students who are members of the club but also those who are in our equine science management program. Overall, it was a huge success.”

Throughout the two-day show, skill levels increased.

Reining is the highest skill level, followed by ranch riding for intermediate riders and horsemanship for participants of every level.

Junior Courtney Carlson, a third-year team member who has been riding horses since she was six years old, participated in horsemanship and ranch riding.

“Horsemanship is riding on the rail, and they’re looking at how well you ride your horse in your position,” Carlson said. “Ranch riding is about a pattern and how fluid your horse can be throughout a pattern, and reining is about all the above combined.”

The team went through a period of growing pains as shows shut down during the pandemic. They were left without a coach or resources to help the club grow. Now, the club has 33 members, the biggest team they’ve had.

After a few hard years, Carlson says the team is “all sold in.”

“We’re just like a really close-knit group. It’s just fun to have such a good environment and even the shows are fun to come and watch,” she said. “It’s a fun environment, and we are actually a good, strong, competitive team.”

Piper Savage, another a third-year member, has been riding for 20 years. She joined for the horses but stayed for the team.

“We’re all best friends and we hang out outside of it PHOTOS BY Phil Weber too, which is really fun,” she said.

Courtney Carlson competes in the Utah State-hosted IHSA show on Saturday, Oct. Savage placed first in her group, riding cool and calm 14. around the pen on her assigned horse.

“It’s kind of hard because you just randomly draw a Arizona, she joined FFA, Future Farmers of America, in horse, and you can’t touch them before you go in to high school, a decision that led to a part-time job at a show. Your mindset is you’re trying to figure out the local ranch and a love for equines. horse but you’re also trying to keep your posture good “A lot of people think if you’re not born into it or if and trying to get the right leads,” she said. “My brain is you’re not super experienced, you don’t have a shot. But all over the place just trying to do all the things.”

I think that’s the wonderful thing about this club,” she A major challenge when hosting IHSA shows is finding said. “It’s something where we can all find that common enough horses for all the participants. Utah State worked ground of being passionate about equine. We just learn with families, community members and local horse ownwith each other. I mean, nobody’s ever an expert on ers in preparation for the show. anything.”

Before competing, riders are randomly assigned a horse Steele’s mom flew in from Arizona for the show, feeling they are unfamiliar with to maintain fairness. nervous for Ray and the horse.

“It’s always a little nervous when you have a kid competing. But she loves it; this is her thing. I’m just really glad that she gets to do it,” Tara Steele said. “I mean, I didn’t honestly even know this existed. So when she said she wanted to try out, we were of course supportive. Just thought this was a perfect fit for her. I still don’t know what they’re judging, but you know, all these participants and riders look great.”

Ray was happy with how her first show went and even happier when the first show nerves were out. She said having a random horse was a challenge, but her coaches prepared her for it.

“She was a little hot at the gate, and so obviously that made me a little nervous, but she was good after that.

The biggest thing is just to breathe and just to be chilled.

These horses never mean anything bad. I decided to just take it slow work with her, and we did fine the rest of the time,” she said.

Bayles tries to prepare the team so they don’t have to worry about every detail when it’s time to show. He expressed the importance of being mentally ready before entering the arena.

“When it’s their turn to actually show, I take a moment and talk to each of them as they’re getting ready to go in the ring. It’s one of those things that happens really fast,” Bayles said. “I want to be available for them to kind of ease their nerves a little bit because some of the students have never shown before. This might be their first experience in the pen, where others have probably been showing that all their lives.”

Unlike other sports competitions with screaming fans and screeching whistles, horsemanship requires strength, poise and calmness for the athlete and the horse.

“The atmosphere of being around horses is something that I really love. It’s just calming and feels like I’m out of the real world for a little bit,” Carlson said.

Last season, Carlson qualified to represent USU at the IHSA Nationals. She placed tenth in a competitive level 1 horsemanship class.

“I really like competing because it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. It’s fun just to ride but competing, my work is actually paying off and doing something,” she said.

Ray said a big part of the mental aspect is being connected with the horses.

“Horses are just super understanding and very emotional, and they really help you control your own emotions. People say horses are therapy, and it really is true because you have to be very in tune with your own emotions,” she said.

Above all, team members want USU to know the club exists. They are a family where veterans and newcomers can bond together through a love for horses.

Madison Weber is a senior studying journalism and international studies. When she’s not writing or watching sports, she enjoys animals, good food and time with family.

— madison.weber@usu.edu

Keeper Diera Walton fields the ball against Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 12.

By Hayden Gardner SPORTS REPORTER

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he Utah State women’s soccer team celebrated their seniors with a 2-1 senior day win over the University of Nevada on Sunday, Oct. 12.

The game was a fitting showcase of the team’s two fifth-year seniors, with graduate forward Nicole Hadlock-Hardy scoring the eventual game-winning goal, and graduate keeper Diera Walton recording two saves and only one goal allowed en route to the win.

The game win marked the eighth Mountain West conference win of the season for the Aggies, which is a new record for the most season conference wins in Utah State’s history. The lone goal conceded was the first goal Walton had allowed in 344 minutes of gameplay, having held a zero on the visiting side of the scoreboard in three straight contests as the Aggies swept a four-game homestand.

“We have a group of individuals … that I think are peaking at the right time in their career,” head coach Manny Martins said. “The combination of the maturity and experience in our backline and our midfield, with Diera’s quality, has really put us in a position to be able to compete with some of the best teams in the country.”

Walton has held opponents scoreless in seven contests this year, including a 1-0 home win over No. 1-ranked

Brigham Young University earlier this year. But posting shutouts is nothing new for Walton. Her 28 career clean sheets are the best in Utah State’s program history.

In her five years as the starting keeper at Utah State, Walton has broken just about every goalkeeper record in the books. She ranks fourth in the nation in goalie minutes played, having played 1,643 of 1,710 possible minutes. She is also fifth amongst active keepers in career minutes played with 7,324.

Some teams will look to make a change in the net at halftime as part of a strategic move, but Martins trusts Walton with all 90 minutes. “(Walton) is playing really, really well. She’s confident and she provides leadership on the field,” Martins said.

“We typically don’t make a lot of changes in the backline and the goalkeeper.”

This year, Walton has benefitted from a stifling Aggie defense that has kept opposing attacks from getting good shots off. While Utah State’s 67 saves are the least in the Mountain West, it’s because the Aggies have allowed fewer shots than any other team in the conference.

So far, they are allowing less than one goal a game (0.84). The next best in that category is a tie between Boise State and San Diego State with 1.11 goals allowed per game.

Walton is from Draper and went to Jordan High School, where she notably did not play soccer.

A multi-sport athlete, Walton instead competed in basketball and volleyball, also competing in track and field “just a little bit” during her senior year.

“Soccer recruiting for girls, it’s kind of through club soccer,” Walton said. “Usually when high school was going on, I would just play volleyball. And then right after, we would have soccer and I would also do basketball. So, I kind of did two sports at the same time.”

Walton, who also had an offer to play basketball at Utah State, says soccer was not even her favorite sport in high school.

“I mean, I was pretty good at all of them, to be honest.

But basketball is my favorite,” she said.

Martins believes Walton’s multi-sport background is part of what makes her such a great goalkeeper.

“I like athletes to have a background in multiple sports.

I do think that crossover actually helps. I think that’s part of why eye-hand coordination and ability to catch most everything correlates a little bit from (Walton’s) background in basketball,” Martins said. “I see that a little bit with people who played softball, again reading the flight of the ball and footwork and things that correlate.”

That hand-eye coordination from a young age is how Walton originally became a goalkeeper.

“Funny story,” she said. “I was at tryouts, and we’re playing a game called Lightning and I was in the goal.

Someone shot a hard shot and I just reached up and caught it. And so my coach is like, ‘Hey, I’ll give you a candy bar if you play goalkeeper’ — ever since then I just stuck with goalkeeper.”

Walton believes the arrival of Martins and his experience has helped the program take a step forward.

“Manny, he’s very loving. He wants us to do better, and so he’s willing to help us in any part of our journey,” she said. “I think that’s something that I have really loved

about him. He wanted to build a culture that was just very loving and very supportive. I think that’s why he’s so successful because we’re learning every single day.

We feel like we are challenged every single day and like resilience is a big part of our culture.”

Martins was named head coach in 2021 and had an immediate impact on the program. The Aggies won more games in 2021 than any Aggie team had won in the Mountain West era, and they qualified for the Mountain West Conference tournament for the first time since 2016.

Perhaps the players’ favorite trait of Martins is his undefeated record against in-state rival BYU. In his three seasons as head coach, the Aggies are 2-0-1 against the Cougars. The Cougars have been ranked in the top 25 in all three matchups, most notably No. 1 earlier this year. When asked about her favorite USU soccer memory, Walton’s answer was easy: “I would have to say beating BYU. That’s just like a classic.”

Walton and the Aggies have already clinched their spot in the Mountain West tournament with one game to play.

They sit third in the conference and could finish second or even first with a win over Boise State in their final contest.

Page 13 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 2023

Diera Walton: Unbeatable in the box

PHOTOS BY Wyatt Merchant Diera Walton reaches for the ball against Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 12.

Hayden Gardner is a civil engineering student from Kennewick, WA. He loves boats, shoes and Seattle Mariners baseball. ­— hayden.gardner@usu.edu

Page 14 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 202

C O M P E T I N’ C O W P O K E S

Phil Weber is a senior studying journalism and minoring in marketing and multimedia development. He loves going to the farmers market, walks and eating good food.

— phil.weber@usu.edu

Page 15 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 2023

Last week’s solution:

Sudoku puzzles are provided by www.sudokuoftheday.com.

PHOTO BY Heidi Bingham

Page 16 - The Utah Statesman, October 30, 202