The Utah Statesman, November 1, 2012

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Thursday November 1, 2012 www.utahstatesman.com

Culture

Taking on Texas State

Foreign professors adjust to USU

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Police tighten security, arrest 20 at Howl LIS STEWART news writer

Security at the Howl continued strong this year with a prominent police presence and multiple checkpoints before entry into one of the largest Halloween parties in the state. “It’s our busiest night of the year when it comes to arrests,� said Capt. Steve Milne of the USU Police Department. Twenty people were arrested at the Howl this year, mostly for underage drinking, according to Milne. Alcohol is the usual rea-� son for arrests at the Howl, and the campus police work to keep it a dry event. “Even if you’re of age and you’ve been drinking — and even not that much — if we smell alcohol and we catch you even before or in the event, we’re going to remove you,� Milne said. “Our problem seems to be people drink a large amount of alcohol before

going in.� Though the event had about four hundred less people, the number of arrests remained close to the 2011 Howl. Last year there were 19 arrests and 6,000 attend-� ees at the party, whereas Howl organizers gave an approximate count of 5,600 tickets sold this year. While police focused on safety within the event, Howl volunteers had security composed of three checkpoints at the entrance. Masks, props and alcohol were not allowed inside. Volunteer Mackenzie Stevens, a sophomore in elementary edu-� cation who assisted in security, said by the time people made it through two checkpoints to her table where wristbands were put on, they were determined to keep their items. “The people I caught were really upset, but generally they were pretty nice about it,� Stevens said. “I didn’t have any problems,

and plus I had other guys helping me.� The main item taken from attendees at the door were masks, Stevens said. Among the con-� fiscated costume pieces were 40 pairs of handcuffs, a saucepan taken from someone in a Johnny Appleseed costume, a Barack Obama mask and a snake charm-� er’s basket. Howl attendees were able to dig through garbage cans full of items confiscated upon entry after the event to find their prop-� erty. Stevens said the main problem she had was preventing people from sneaking out with their wristbands to give a friend their ticket. Occasionally she had to chase after people who walked past without getting their wrist-� band removed. A no re-�entry policy was in place throughout

See HOWL, Page 2

A USU POLICE OFFICER arrests a student. Most students arrested this year were intoxicated, according to the USU Police Department. SAMANTHA BEHL photo

Lt. Governor and Democratic candidate go head-�to-�head JES SKINNER news writer

In their only debate before the election, Lt. Gov. Greg Bell and Democratic challenger Vince Rampton met in the TSC Ballroom on Wednesday afternoon. Michael Lyons, a professor in the political science department who specializes in elections and electoral politics, moderated the debate. Lyons was joined by Erik Mikkelsen, former ASUSU stu-� dent body president, and Kerry Bringhurst, news director of Utah Public Radio. With elections less than a week away, political involvement was a major topic of the debate. Rampton said some people avoid voting because they don’t understand that their vote matters. “The concern is that there are too many that are voting because they feel they are not part of the process because they feel they cannot influ-� ence the process,� he said. The lieutenant governor main-� tains oversight authority of all fed-� eral, state and local elections in the state of Utah. Lyons asked a follow-�up question on why young people do not vote. “The reason they don’t vote more often is simply because because the Republicans are almost certain to win every election in the state in

LT. GOVERNOR GREG BELL AND VINCE RAMPTON debate in the TSC Ballroom on Wednesday afternoon. SAMANTHA BEHL photo

most parts of the state,� Lyons said. “I’m curious what you think the Democratic Party can do better at being more competitive during the elections in Utah.� Rampton said Utahns need make sure they understand Utah is not a one-�party state. “The Democratic Party has got to stop being a marginalized institu-� tion in the state of Utah,� Rampton said. “The Democratic Party has to shake off the misconception that if you’re a Democrat, you can’t be a good member of the LDS Church.

That is a myth. It turns into busi-� ness as usual and nothing gets done except behind closed doors.� In addition to students voting, Mikkelsen voiced concern that students are worrying about being unemployed after graduation. “As lieutenant governor, what can you do in the executive branch that will help to improve Utah’s economy for everyone as they come out of higher education?� Mikkelsen said. Bell said a business-�friendly economy would help ensure stu-�

dents could find post-�school jobs. “We can create an environment in the state of Utah that is friendly and inviting to business,� he said. “Jobs are what drives America and the free enterprise system. Government, per se, does not cre-� ate good jobs.� Bell said Utah has a stable, conservative, predictable and legal political tax environment. Utah’s unemployment rate is 5.4 percent versus the nation-�wide rate of 7.8 percent, he said. “That’s what good governors do,�

he said. “That’s what a legislature does, to make it secure for busi-� nesses to come here so that they can provide jobs.� Mikkelsen asked the debaters what would they bring and why if they were stranded on an island and were able to bring three things along. “One if them is my wife Janice,� Rampton said. “I’d have to say what I would really like from my personal life to be with me would probably be LDS scriptures because I am an active member of the LDS Church, and that would be some-� thing that is quite important to me. I would want to have a good supply of Coca-�Cola and my iPad in full function.� “Likewise, I would have my wife JoLynn with me.� Bell said. “And I’m hoping like Mr. Rampton to have internet so I can have the scriptures and books, and I would die without graham crackers.� Brenden Whitelaw, a student majoring in natural resources, said he enjoyed Rampton’s proactive approach. “I definitely would choose Democratic because they believe in renewable energies,� he said. “When I look around, most every-� body’s Republican.� – jeslphs@gmail.com

USU registers with a new sustainability rating system

JERA WOOD

news writer

Utah State University is making new strides toward sustainability on campus. On Oct. 22, the university officially joined a new sustainability rating system named STARS — Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System — which urges sustainability in all aspects of higher education. Alexi Lamm became USU’s sustainability coordinator three weeks ago and began the

application process for STARS. The program is administered through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Lamm said the first subscription to STARS is one year. “A year from now, we would have submit-� ted our materials and would have gotten a reading,� Lamm said. This report will say what can be improved and what is being done well with regards to sustainability on campus.

“It’s very tailored to the kind of areas we want to report on and the higher education system.� Lamm said. Paul Rowland, the AASHE executive coor-� dinator, said STARS has been successful for other universities and colleges. “STARS provides a gap analysis for some universities so they can decide where to put their resources in the future,� Rowland said. “It provides an opportunity to see how well they are doing compared to peer universi-� ties.�

More than 230 universities and colleges are registered STARS participants, includ-� ing the University of Utah, with a score of 35.74 in 2011, and Weber State University, with a score of 30.98 in 2011. Both have been STARS participants for longer than a year. “We’ve been waiting until we had the time and resources,� Lamm said. She said when she became the new sustainability coordinator, the time and

See STARS, Page 3


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