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USUSA passes Capital and Support funding bill
Autistic activist visits USU
By Ashley Stilson STAFF WRITER
The Utah State University Student Associa-
tion (USUSA) executive council unanimously
passed a bill on March 22 concerning the Capital and Support review and allocation.
The ECB 2016-06 bill creates a formal
committee to review and allocate all Capital
PHOTO BY Johnny Morris Temple Grandin, professor at Colorado State University, speaking at USU in the TSC Ballroom about autism and the different kinds of minds.
and Support requests. The legislation also updated outdated policies.
Previously, the USUSA executive council was
By Morgan Pratt STAFF WRITER
required to process and approve Capital and
Support requests. The process was time-con-
The TSC ballroom was packed on Thursday,
suming and confusing, the bill stated. Last
March 31, with a significantly high proportion
minute requests needing to be passed in one
of people with therapy dogs, canes and
reading require the suspension of house rules
wheelchairs. Many of them were there to snap
that states every legislation should be read
a picture with their hero and world-renowned
through twice. The bill makes the funding
animal scientist and autistic activist Temple
process simpler and clearer.
Grandin.
“I wrote the Capital and Support bill
“Temple Grandin is a good role model for a
because the process took a while and I felt like
lot of disabled people,” said Caroline Blair, a
it could be streamlined,” said USUSA President
freshman studying psychology.
Trevor Olsen. “It took upwards of three weeks
to approve funding when it could be done in a see “USUSA” PAGE 2
Grandin was diagnosed with autism in
PHOTO BY Mark Bell Members of the Executive Council, Luis Armenta, Brenton Hull, Trevor S. Olsen, Thomas Butters, and Leah Calder, meet last earlier in the semester.
Stolen art on campus
different parties. Grandin said she was forced to further her social skills and her hands-on
thinking by having several jobs as a teenager. “The biggest problem with autistic kids is
they don’t learn how to work,” she said. “It is
outside of the University Reserve building last
really important for those kids to get jobs and
week. USU Police are investigating the origins
to learn social skills.”
of the missing art project.
These days, Grandin dresses with a denim
Meili Stokes, Chelsey Patten and Melody
vest, a western dress shirt underneath and a
Burton spent three hours draping gray tulle
red country scarf tie to complete her country
around a tree and securing it in place with fish
girl persona. She was featured in an HBO
wire in the cold weather.
movie titled “Temple Grandin” and she has a
“The gray tulle was supposed to symbolize
TED talk called “The world needs all kinds of
smog that was choking the tree,” said Stokes,
minds.”
a senior studying art and English.
PHOTO BY Amy Reid Chelsey Patten shows where hers and her classmate’s art hung before it was stolen.
They were halfway done putting up their
Now all that’s left are the tell-tale signs that
an art project was there in the first place:
Grandin in their home. Grandin said her ‘50s her mom even pushed her to be the hostess at
Installation art was stolen from a pine tree
discovered it went missing overnight.
should be institutionalized, but they raised
upbringing helped cultivate her social skills;
By Morgan Pratt STAFF WRITER
installation art for a class project when they
1950. The doctors told her parents that she
Grandin said there are four different kinds
of thinkers; her autism pushed her to be a
“If you are ruining someone else’s art, you
from the tree and the other being a stolen
visual thinker. Grandin attributes that visual
The group didn’t get an extended deadline
Milne confirmed with facilities that they
ing ramps and handling chutes for livestock.
are ruining their line of work,” she said.
skateboard,” he said.
thinking to her ability to build innovative load“Kids are getting too far away from practical
remnants of tulle and fish wire waving in the
on their assignment but they still had to
didn’t tamper with the art project. He said
she was frustrated when they discovered the
to another, more visible, location. Burton said
campus, not that it’s rampant.
to get a job where they can use their hands.
compared to this year’s thefts,” he said.
playing video games today and they’re not
wind. Burton, a freshman studying art, said
rebuild, so they decided to relocate the project
art was missing.
she felt anxious about finishing the installation
we going to have time to fix this? What are we
were left over.
we have less material now, how are we going
again?” she said, “But by no means are we
“No, this is the worst,” she said. “When are
going to do next? We need to downsize and
art on time and with the few supplies that
“If we put it back again, will they take it
thefts are the number one problem here on
and hands-on thinking,” she said. “They need
“We have seen a drop in last year's thefts as
Kids are spending too much time inside
Milne said if anyone sees anything suspi-
getting out there and doing this stuff.”
cious or has information about the stolen
installation art, report it to the police as soon
The school system can be a huge issue for
those high-functioning kids with learning
as possible.
disabilities because they need a diagnosis to
would deter someone from stealing it.”
than a day or two later,” he said.
kids who end up using the diagnosis as a
she said. “Things were just taken down. In
ment said the Chase Fine Arts Center is not an
used to describe mixed-media constructions or
with their lives. Those kids end up in their
ly moved.”
of the school year, there were four reported
place and for a temporary period of time."
people should be saving social security for
to calculate that in?”
discouraged. We put up more defense, we
way the wind blew away the project.
Patten, a senior art major, said there was no “We had a sign there with our names on it,”
fact, we had a cinder block that was completeBurton said the stolen installation art was
“not cool,” especially after they put so much time, money and effort into the project.
figured with it being in a more open location it Capt. Steve Milne of the USU Police Depart-
area with a lot of crime. Since the beginning
crimes, two of them were involved with stolen installation art.
“One being the art project that was hanging
“It is much easier to report it right away
get treatment, Grandin said. There are a lot of
According to Tate.org, "installation art is
crutch, which hinders them from doing things
assemblages usually designed for a specific
— morgan.pratt.robinson@gmail.com
parent’s basement on social security. Those those who really need it, she said.
“I am concerned when high-end kids get see “Temple Grandin PAGE 10