the utah
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 • www.usustatesman.com • (435)-797-1742 • Free single copy
Cash and gown
Kelsie Lott photo
Price of graduation apparel unsettling for some students 4By Melanie Fenstermaker staff writer
When graduating seniors walk up to receive their diplomas on May 1, they will do so decked out in the typical gear. When some students discovered how much they would have to pay for the apparel required to walk, however, they were more reluctant to participate in the traditional ceremony. “I was just pissed off, to be frank,” said Rohan Shah, a student who is graduating this semester with his master’s degree in computer science. “Eighty-three dollars for a piece of cloth and a gown and cap that I am only going to wear once? That’s uncalled for.” The Campus Store advertises its most basic graduation apparel, which includes a cap, gown and tassel, for $49.99. Master’s students must purchase an additional master’s hood for $15 and PhD students must purchase an
additional PhD hood for $25. Though it’s not required, students who want a graduation Stoll – a long cloth that has the university logo and graduation year on it – must pay an additional $20. Other optional items, such as souvenir tassels, frames and class rings present extra expenses for students who decide to purchase them. Shah said it seems necessary to purchase many of these items, else the graduation experience seems “incomplete.” “It’s my graduation ceremony and I want to make it perfect,” Shah said. “What if I give you a cake without icing? What if I say it’s $50 for the cake and $10 for the icing? Would you pay $50 or $60? Obviously $60.” Risa Smith, the clothing and gifts manager of the Campus Store, said the expense is worth paying because graduation is such an important event. “I think that’s the crown jewel that you put on top of your college degree,” Smith said. “I think, you
know, you’re going to spend that $50 for your cap and gown, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. It’s something you’re not going to do again and if you want to make it special, that’s the way to do it.” Shah, however, said encouraging students to spend extra money on the premise that it’s a one-time event is a marketing ploy. “The Campus Store is taking advantage of the emotions tied to people’s graduation ceremonies,” Shah said. “They know that you are going to pay because it is very important in your life. Why not charge double?” Shah said the ideal price for the materials would be at least 50 percent less. He suggested the campus store adopt a rental system that gives students 30-40 percent back when they return the robes. The university used to have a rental system, Smith said, but it was abandoned about 10 years ago when control of graduation apparel was handed from the President’s Office to the Campus Store.
Smith explained that it was too much of a hassle for the President’s Office to clean the robes and replace those that were never returned. “It was a big headache, and I think that’s why they asked us to take over,” she said. It is unlikely that the Campus Store would ever reinstitute the rental system, Smith said, but students can find other ways to reduce the cost of the apparel, such as purchasing or borrowing robes from friends who have already graduated. Finding a correctly-sized robe from one’s group of friends can be difficult, Shah said. He suggested creating a website similar to texts. com that allows students to buy and sell a variety of robe sizes for a more reasonable price among the larger student population. Doug Fiefia, President of the USUSA Executive Council, said via email that the idea is “worth looking into,” but it might be challenging because students who have graduated may have left
Utah and would be unable to give their robes to current students. Because Fiefia is a senior who had to purchase graduation materials for himself this semester, he agreed that “there has to be a better, more cost-effective way to provide these services to our students at USU.” If the apparel proves to be too expensive, students may choose not to walk. Smith said the Campus Store has allowed students to borrow the apparel for pictures if they can’t afford to purchase it for graduation. The graduation apparel at the Campus Store is supplied by Jostens, a company that supplies similar materials for universities and High Schools across the country. Comparatively, most universities in Utah charge similar prices for their graduation packages, according to their respective school websites.
— melmo12@gmail.com
Duryea hired as head coach Campus provides support for students contemplating suicide 4By Mariah Noble editor-in-chief
Editor’s note: This is the third story in a threepart series on suicide. Previous articles discussed statistics and potential causes of suicide and coping with suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Annie Hall photo TIM DURYEA WAS ANNOUNCED as Utah State University’s new head basketball coach on Monday in the Wayne Estes Center.
4By Logan Jones asst. sports editor
Longtime Aggie assistant coach Tim Duryea now holds the keys to Utah State basketball’s future, as his promotion to head coach was made official Monday. “I am looking forward to putting my own footprint on this program,” Duryea said. “I think that is something
that Coach Morrill would encourage. I’ve heard him talk about other assistants that he’s had that have gone on and have done different things and see them play. I think he takes pride in going out and taking what you’ve learned but also doing your own thing and establishing yourself in college basketball.” Duryea has patrolled the
sidelines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum alongside former head coach Stew Morrill for the past 14 seasons, longer than any assistant coach in the program’s 110-year history. After conducting a thorough national search, Utah State Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott
jSee DURYEA, Page 6
A dilemma for people struggling with thoughts of suicide and depression is that “sometimes it feels like you don’t have any place to turn,” said David Bush, director for Counseling and Psychological Services. But Bush said students at Utah State University need not feel that way because of the many people on campus who want to listen. Krystin Deschamps, the student conduct coordinator in the Student Services Office, is one of those people. “The one thing I can say with absolute certainty is that the university cares very, very much and takes its responsibility to help students be successful academically and personally very seriously,” she said. “There is a lot of support, and there is a lot of help, and there are a lot of caring people here who will do whatever they can to make things better.” One resource for support on campus is the CAPS office. Bush said CAPS has taken measures to accommodate the rising trend of students seeking help by increasing the number of priority consultations. “We have somebody that’s on crisis call every day so that students can come in without an appointment and be seen, but those have been filling up at a much faster rate than ever before,” Bush said. Because of this, CAPS has added more of what they call “priority consuls.” “When a student indicates a sense of
being at risk for hurting themselves, then we get them in within 24 hours so they can have someone to talk to and sort out what it is that’s feeling helpless or hopeless at this point, trying to foster a sense of hope,” he said. He also said when people seek help from CAPS, it’s confidential. Murray Cote, who plans to work on a criminal justice degree at USU this summer, said counseling is usually the first thing his friends suggest when they hear he is feeling depressed or suicidal, but he said he’s not the biggest fan of the idea because “no one knows your life better than you.” “I shouldn’t say it’s the worst thing to do. ... You definitely shouldn’t have it be something you try to get over yourself,” he said. “But ... you can share your entire life history with a person — they’re never going to be able to know what you were feeling in that specific stage in time. “ Cote said, for him, loneliness is a driving factor behind suicide. He said it would help those who are depressed feel like they belong if college students are more accepting of one another and judge each other less. Taylor Dunigan, a senior who helped plan a memorial service for a friend and fellow Aggie who committed suicide this year, said being welcome to support and less withdrawn is something that would help those suffering from depression or suicidal tendencies. She said talking to friends and seeking counseling helps. Bush said the most important thing for someone who is worried about a friend contemplating self-harm is to listen and “let them know that you aren’t afraid to talk.” jSee SUICIDE, Page 2