Thursday, September 29, 2016 www.usustatesman.com (435)-797-1742 Free single copy
STUDENT LIFE | Meet your Senator Representing the college from which it all began, CAAS Senator Heather Lieber see PAGE 3
NEWS | Speech Beach Ball
Students passed a giant beach ball around campus, all in the name of free speech.
SPORTS | Utah State Hockey Aggies’ club hockey team one of Cache Valley’s hidden gems.
see PAGE 2
see PAGE 2
A NATION WITHIN A STATE
By Miranda Lorenc STUDENT LIFE CONTENT EDITOR
In a not-so-far-off land, surrounded by mountains, sagebrush and local wildlife, lies the isolated Republic of Zaqistan. Largely unknown and rarely visited, this uninhabited independent nation is located in the northwestern desert of Utah, four hours away from Salt Lake City and miles from any source of water or human civilization. Zaqistan was formed 11 years ago when Zaq Landsberg bought two acres of land from eBay and created a conceptual art piece designed to challenge views of what makes a government and a border. He did this by declaring Zaqistan an independent republic, complete with a border port of entry and a tourism office exhibited at Central Utah Art Center (CUAC)
PHOTO BY Mikey Kettinger Forrest Schoessow walks near the border of Zaquistan, a micro-nation in the West Utah desert.
in Salt Lake City. As part of the art exhibit, CUAC shows tourism videos, shares Zaqistani history and sells fake Zaqistani passports and citizenship documents along with a variety of Zaqistani souvenirs. Last Sunday featured a first-ever tour that brought visitors to the micro-nation. “What drew me in was this fabled land of Zaqistan nestled in the hinterlands of Box Elder County,” said Forrest Schoessow, a master’s student in geography. “This journey out there had all the trappings of high adventure, as far as I’m concerned. Like arduous trek out there, shrouded in mystery.” Schoessow and several other students from Utah State University traveled three hours from Cache Valley last Sunday afternoon for a
rare opportunity to tour the Republic of Zaqistan. “It’s literally in the middle of nowhere,” said Mikey Kettinger, a graduate student studying the intersection of art and science, technology, engineering and math (ArtSTEM). “It’s surrounded by millions of sagebrushes, and rattlesnakes, and beetles, and fire ants and sand. No humans anywhere close, at all.” After a long and bumpy car ride on paths that were not often traveled, the USU students were greeted by a giant metal robot sculpture and the bright red Zaqistani flag. Shortly after their arrival, they were joined by a second group who had driven up from Salt Lake, led by the founder of the small micro-nation, Zaq Landsberg, who was hosting
this expedition for the first time. Organized as a tourist experience, Landsberg introduced his 20 guests to the history of Zaqistan along with the various art sculptures located within the nation, including the Decennial Monument, the Victory Arch, a plastic wildflower garden, the Guardians of Zaqistan and more. “The point of Zaqistan is to make us question what constitutes a nation, what counts as a country,” Landsberg said. “What is the difference between the United States and Taiwan, which is not a [United Nations] member state, and the Vatican which is, and how these lines, these property lines in my case or borders between countries and these abstract concepts see “Zaqistan” PAGE 7
Herbert and Weinholtz debate at USU By Alyssa Roberts NEWS STAFF WRITER
It’s a typical debate. Candidates stand at podiums. One wears a red tie, one wears a blue tie. They accuse each other of incompetence and expound on their own personal virtues and accomplishments. And voters are left to decide who did a better job of making himself look better than his opponent. It’s typical, and so it’s easy to tune out -that’s what Ian Nemelka, president of Aggies for Liberty, said he’s concerned about for students at Utah State University. “This [local election] is not seen as nearly as important as it needs to be,” Nemelka said. “Governors do so many things and representatives do so many things that go right over our heads.” They go right over students’ heads, even when they’re discussed on our campus. Monday night, Utah gubernatorial hopeful Mike Weinholtz and incumbent governor Gary Herbert faced off in a debate held at USU’s Caine Performance Hall. The candidates discussed a range of issues,
including medical marijuana legislation, the proper use and distribution of public lands and Utah’s clean air issue. While these topics were discussed, it seemed that all roads led health care. Weinholtz called Herbert and the Utah legislature’s combined decision not to fully expand Medicaid in conjunction with the Affordable Care Act “one of the worst examples of putting politics before people” he’d ever seen. Herbert pointed out that he had proposed a plan which he thought was better than Medicaid expansion called Healthy Utah. But he hadn’t been able to get that plan past the legislature. “Maybe you should take a hand at being in the legislature and see if you can help get it past the house,” he said. Herbert also accused Weinholtz of not fully understanding the politics behind the issue. “You just don’t understand how the system works,” he said. Weinholtz’s political inexperience is also a concern for Adam Hunt, president of the USU College Democrats. That won’t stop Hunt from supporting the Democratic candidate,
though. He said choosing not to expand Medicaid was “one of the worst things” Herbert has done. Herbert expressed concern with the flexibility, or lack thereof, he thought the Affordable Care Act provided. He said he didn’t think Utah needed the same kind of health care program as other states with different demographics. Herbert also insisted that his unsuccessful Healthy Utah proposal “covered everybody.” The fact remains, though, that the health care
legislation passed under his administration covered only nine thousand Utahns. Weinholtz called this a “moral outrage.” “What our legislature did and what our governor signed into law last semester was picking winners and losers,” he said. Weinholtz vowed to fully expand Medicaid if elected governor. Herbert said he thought the legislature would need some convincing. “I think there’s opportunities to get out there see “Debate” PAGE 7
PHOTO BY John Zsiray Gary Herbert (left) and Mike Weinholtz (right) debate in the Performance Hall on Monday, Sept. 26.