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4By Melanie Fenstermaker
dog,” said Shandrea Hickok, a psychology and environmental science major. “I’ve experienced Holding signs that read, “You’re feedback from a lot of staff and too pretty to be gay,” “You’re not students on campus with my serMormon? But you’re such a nice vice dog, viewing her as a choice, person” and “You’re smart, for a not understanding why I need Mexican,” USU students marched her.” through the TSC on Wednesday Others said they were discrimto raise awareness about microag- inated against based on age and gression. physical appearance. “We are all capable of saying “Some people discriminate these types of statements and against me because of my age not knowing how they affect because I’m an older student,” people,” said Lacey Haggan, a said Shauntae Draper, a history marriage and education major. family grad“They assume uate student things about who helped my appearance. plan the event. Have you experienced Because I’m white “These microand I’m married, microaggressions? aggressions are they assume that Tell us your story at very harmful. I don’t want to utahstatesman.com People who are be friends with saying it and them because people who are we’re different.” receiving it don’t really recognize It was difficult for students to it. We are all the victims, but we share their stories about microare all the culprits.” aggression, said Sheree Haggan, Before the march, the students intern for the Access and Diversity gathered in the TSC Auditorium Center and communication major to watch a video called “Changing at USU. She said each student the Fate of Utah State.” The video who marched with a poster got showed pictures of students hold- “emotionally naked” in front of ing posters with micro-aggressive campus. statements that had been direct- “To have over sixty people show ed at them in the past.They told up and expose themselves for the personal stories about encoun- benefit of all people was huge. ters with discrimination due to Powerful,” Haggan said. “These religion, sex, race or otherwise at students did something to change USU. the rest of the world, like Rosa During the event, students Parks. These students got naked discussed with each other the in front of everybody for the betmicroaggressions they faced on terment of this campus.” campus. Some said they were dis- After the video, a guest speakcriminated against for their dis- er, Jackie Thompson, addressed Kylee Larsen photo abilities. the group about the importance ‘MAMA JACKIE,’ OR JACKIE THOMPSON, talks about discrimination and “I’ve been discriminated against because I have a service jSee FATE, Page 4 microagressions at the “Change the Fate” event Wednesday in the TSC Auditorium. staff writer
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Hispanic enrollment rises, other groups falling staff writer
in biology and member of Latino Student Union, or LSU, said many Hispanics are starting to understand college is an essential way to be successful. “Our parents are coming into this country for us to have a better future,” TorresReyes said. “And I think a lot of Hispanics are starting to realize that college is what’s going to get them further into the future.” Sandra Martinez, a sophomore majoring in sociology and the president of LSU, said the Latino population is growing in the U.S. in general as Mexicans immigrate to get a better job and education. “Not that all the other ethnicities and
While enrollment numbers for Hispanics are increasing, enrollment numbers for other races and ethnicities has decreased over the last four years, according to data points graphed from USU’s Office of Analysis, Assessment and Accreditation. Students said possible reasons for the upward trend in Hispanic enrollment include an increase in the Hispanic population in the U.S. as a whole and an increased determination in the Latino culture to succeed. Leo Torres-Reyes, a freshman majoring jSee ENROLL, Page 3
Hispanics of any race 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
Hispanics of any race
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4By Chris Campbell
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As the growing season begins for farms in Cache Valley, the USU Student Organic Farm is already selling produce. Every Wednesday beginning as early as March, the organic farm sells its produce from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the TSC Patio. The farm, which is managed entirely by students, provides workers with experience and skills many employers value. “Our interns and students managers have gone on to do wonderful things once they have graduated,” said Jennifer Reeve, assistant professor of organic and sustainable agriculture. “We’ve heard back from many of them saying the student farm has provided a lot of credibility on their CV (curriculum vitae) and a lot of applied hands-on knowledge. Basically, these students are running a business.” While the students who help run the organic farm benefit from the experience, do people benefit from eating the produce? “It depends on what you are looking at,” Reeve said. “There’s quite a bit of evidence, or growing evidence now, that organically produced produce tends to have higher levels of antioxidant compounds, but they’re not necessarily considered nutrients, so the research is really mixed.” In order to be considered an organic farm, certain regulations regarding fertilizers and pesticides must be met. No synthetic fertilizers can be used on organic farms, which is part of the reasoning behind the claim that organic farming is better for the environment. “The biggest positive thing about gardening organically is you add the organic matter to your soil, and increasing the organic matter in the soil makes it more long-term sustainable,” said Jeanette Norton, professor of soil microbiology at USU. “So the organic matter in the soil helps the soil structure, it helps the soil nutrient supplying capacity and it stores water better in the soil.” What makes compost and manure different from synthetic fertilizers is it puts carbon back into the soil while adding
Students gather to raise awareness of the consequences of microaggressions
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Aggies advocate for change of fate
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4By Katie Larsen
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Benefits of organic food still being evaluated
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Thursday, April 24, 2014
Info courtesy USU Office of Analysis, Assessment and Accreditation
Utah congressman pushes national parks bill 4By Connor Comeau staff writer
Bob Downing/Akron Beacon Journal/MCT SOUTHERN UTAH is the home of Escalante Canyons, a wild and rugged remote area that lies in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
A bill introduced by Utah Rep. Rob Bishop limiting the president’s power of authorizing any new national park or monument without having an environmental review done first is under consideration in Congress. The review would follow guidelines set by the National Environmental Policy Act, a bill passed in 1969 that requires any federal act involving to the environment follow a strict set of policies before it can move forward. Bishop’s bill would also limit the creation of a park or monument in a state to one every four years unless there is a strict
act by Congress. In a statement, Bishop said the passage of the bill would allow parks and monuments to be created with public input. “The American people deserve the opportunity to participate in land-use decisions regardless if they (were) made by Congress or the president,” Bishop said. There are 47 state parks within Utah under the control of the Utah Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. National Park Service. About 90 percent of all national park lands are also owned by the federal government. Jon Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, said it is usually this way with most parks, especially in the West.
“National parks are a crown jewel of the country, so they must be preserved by the right people,” Jarvis said in a statement. There are steps taken before the president can authorize any national park or monument. According to the National Park Service website, in order for a park or monument to be created, there are guidelines an area must follow. First, the area must be either naturally or historically significant. Then the NPS sends people out to the specified area to find out the significance of that area’s resource. If that gets approved, boundaries are then set to the area before being sent off to Congress for approval.
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