Eagle
The
Viewpoints pages 2 & 3
VOICE OF THE
Lifestyles pages 4 & 5 Sports pages 6 & 7 The Eagle Life page 8
STUDENTS
Volume LXXXI • Number 2
www.usueagle.com
September 20, 2018
USUE’s assistant athletic director strives for athletics to be more community involved the university and area. Madsen, assistant athletic director, told those present that athletics gives hundreds of students the opportunity to continue their athletic career while pursuing a USU education. G r eg D a r t, v ic e chancellor of student affairs and enrollment management said, “Our community has a rich history of supporting Eagle athletics in so many ways. We are excited to
get any kind of support, from attendance at the games to helping fund scholarships. These students benefit so much from that support. “It is an amazing time to be a part of Eagle athletics. From new athletic teams to new supports such as athletic training, strength and conditioning and academic help, the department is strong. We look forward to a bright future, and your support is such an integral part.”
Madsen explained that the school provides an on-site academic c ou n s elor, academic
Eastern athletics is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association and hosts seven sanctioned NJCAA
study lounge, full-time athletic trainer, strength and conditioning coach and more to help each student-athlete succeed.
teams including men and women’s soccer, volleyball, men and women’s basketball, softball and baseball.
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ith a goal of get ti ng t he community involved with Utah State University Eastern Athletics, Scott Madsen told a gathering of community recently that “our programs need the community support.” He is in the process of organizing an athletic club for USU Eastern and brought the community, faculty, staff and administration together to explain why he sees this as important for
...our programs need the community support
The rodeo team competes in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association with other colleges and universities throughout Utah. A newly organized spirit squad features a nationally ranked dance team, cheer squad and drumline that are part of the athletic department. “We have over 200 student-athletes at USU Eastern that can each benefit from support of the athletic club,” Mad-
sen said. The first year, Madsen hopes to get 100 members to sign on and hopefully it will grow each season. His longterm goal with the athletic club is members would help increase the number of scholarships available to student athletes, improve and maintain Eastern’s facilities for athletic events, help with the cost of traveling to away games and conference tournaments, and
finally to keep the athletes equipped with the best uniforms and equipment on the market. The membership levels are broken into six categories with the captain at $100, MVP $250, Conference Champion $500, All Region $1,000, National Champion $1,500 and All American $2,500. For more information call Madsen at 435.650.0227 or via email at scott.madsen@usu. edu.
Blanding separating from USUE is just a rumor Kaina Elias Staff Writer
Overlooking Payson Valley, smoke blankets hills, planes flying overhead dropping water and retardant while heat is beaming down.
Utah State University has campuses throughout Utah, including Price and Blanding, also known as Eastern or Utah State University Eastern. Different from Logan and the regional campuses like Moab and Tooele, Price and Blanding have the lowest tuition rates of them all. A few months ago, rumors started among faculty and staff that Blanding would be no longer part of USU Eastern, leaving Price as the only Eastern campus. Interim-Chancellor Gary Straquadine was pressed about the subject to clarify some of these rumors. Straquadine was clear on his answer: “We are still one university. We have explored all kind of options to better serve students and community, but
U.S.-6 closure Grass is greener for Eagles’ new soccer field forces students Scott Froehlich to take an alternate route Managing Editor
photos by Kalli Prendergast/The Eagle
Thick smoke clogged canyon Sept. 13, shortly before closure on US-6.
Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires torched over 100,000 acres Scott Froehlich Managing Editor
This summer has not been kind to Eastern Utah, as wildfires scorch thousands of acres in multiple canyons. For Utah Sate University Eastern residents, two fires in Spanish Fork Canyon caused headaches for those traveling U.S.-Highway 6 when it closed the highway which forced drivers to take longer detours. Since Sept. 6, the Pole Creek Fire burned nearly 75,000 acres and as of Sept. 19, is only
25-percent contained. Officials closed U.S.-6 on and off from Sept. 13-15. On Sept. 16, when the wildfire jumped north across the highway, it remains closed. More than 6,000 people have been forced to evacuate from their homes and many are seeking shelter at a local high school. Students at USU Eastern had differing experiences while making their way in or out of Price last weekend. “My brother told me the fire marshal said that it would be open Sunday morning around 9:30. So I
Blanding is still part of Eastern.” According to Straquadine, every 10 years – if you follow the history of regional campuses at USU – changes are made. The last big change was eight years ago, when College of Eastern Utah merged with Utah State University to become USU Eastern, so it is normal that speculation is around even though nothing official has been decided. “We have had regional campuses in Utah since 1967, Uintah Basin being the first one. Every 10 years, we reorganize the campuses by adding new ones or realigning a few existing.” USU also has a new president that, according to Straquadine, wants to do new things. That reinforced the rumors about Blanding and a possible disconnection with Eastern campus at USU. Straquadine said changes were made Blanding P3
hurried and got my stuff ready to go, but right as I started to enter the canyon, the police closed it. So, I turned around and got off at the Nephi exit [to take an alternate route home],” student Shayla Atterton said. Kalli Prendergast had a positive experience, despite being rerouted as well. “I knew the canyon was closed, so I headed [down through Nephi]. I did not mind driving the alternate route, adding extra time because I’m from Nevada so seeing new places, beautiful scenery and fall colors is
worth it. “Huntington Canyon was filled with pure yellow Aspens along with the trees changing orange and red. Every corner I turned was something different.” Those looking to travel north during the canyon closure have limited options as to alternate routes, but would be best suited taking Highway 10 south, traveling through Huntington Canyon and heading north via Mount Pleasant and Nephi. Download the UDOT app for the latest information.
Utah State University Eastern’s soccer teams kick off this season with one key addition: a new soccer field. Located across the street from the Price Cemetery on what is known as the Durrant property, the new field is a breath of fresh air for both teams thus far. The field behind the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center has been in existence since the old CEU football team played in the 1930-40s and 80s, with the soccer teams playing on it for the last four. Head coach Ammon Bennett noted how poor of a condition the BDAC’s field was in and that it “wasn’t even really a soccer field.” He described the surface as being hard and bumpy which, as he put it, would be akin to “[having] potholes on our basketball court.” Another cumbersome feature of the old field was a cement gutter that encompassed the grass and whenever it would rain, the field would flood. For as fun as a mud bog may sound to some, it does not make for good soccer games. Needless to say, the new plot is a
welcome change. In 2014, initial plans for the field were discussed, but eventually fell through due to issues with funding. Two years later the green light was given and the project was completed in 2018 with both teams holding inaugural home games in August. Though the field is in playing condition, there are still some improvements that Bennett would like to see made soon such as a scoreboard, bleachers and bathroom facilities. Additionally, he wishes to see lighting “The one thing that the college doesn’t have in any of our outdoor facilities [is] we don’t have the capability to use those facilities at night,” he said. This would allow the team to hold practices at night, something Bennett believes would let the players make better class schedules during the day. Another benefit of having lights on the field is the ability to host tournaments and hold club-team activities, which will be great for fundraising. The players and other coaching staff are grateful for their new home and look forward to seeing it grow into a Soccer P3
Recruitment re-adjusts focus to increase enrollment numbers Kevin Van Der Spek News Editor
Recruitment plans need to change often to keep up with market pressures. That is according to Greg Dart, vice chancellor for enrollment management and student affairs and Noelle Cockett, president. After Cockett expressed the need to constantly evaluate recruitment efforts in July, a new position, vice president for regional campuses, was created with David Woolstenhulme appointed to fill it. It was distinguished that USU Eastern functions as a regional campus only for upper-division courses. Woolstenhulme and other administration are in the process of creating new plans to increase enrollment faster than before at Eastern and regional campuses.
The short-term plan for Eastern focuses on high schools whose students are most likely to enjoy the Price campus over other campuses in the Utah State System. Both Dart and Mark Dickey, recruiter, explained meetings are being held to sort all the details, but there are a few examples used to determine what schools are of interest to Eastern’s campus. First is geographical, second is programs and third is the level of involvement that the students’ desire. The schools which have these students will receive Eastern-specific visits, Dickey says, “On the Eastern-specific visits, I will be there.” On these visits he will have material that is mostly USU Eastern; including communicating the information in an Eastern viewbook with the Eagle logo on all but
one page. There are no set boundaries, or mile count, that define how schools are geographically Eastern favored. Though this might change in upcoming meetings between Dart and the others, he used a 70-mile radius as an example because students who live and go to school closer to USU Eastern are more likely to attend this campus. Also, students who live in rural communities are more likely to attend Eastern because the size of Price is a better comparison to their home town than Logan would be. High schools with courses that match well with academic programs offered at Eastern, might also be getting Easternspecific visits. Also, individual programs at Eastern will be allowed to have a recruitment plan
of their own. Dart and Dickey used theater as an example of a program which brings in students and already has its own plan. Journalism was another program that showed its ability to bring students from Copper Hills High School. Dart explained for students who want to be, “hyper-involved,” more strategic advertising is necessary. “More adverting dollars have been moved to social media.” Dickey described the involved student as someone who wants to be part of different programs at some time. These students prefer a smaller campus because they can be in theater, on student leadership and write for the newspaper. The Eastern viewbook contains only one page of USU system material and the rest are photos with information about the
Price campus. Dickey explained along with the viewbook, other USU Eastern propaganda like banners will be used on the special visits. The level of using the mascot in recruiting is still up in the air as both Dart and Dickey were unsure if it will get used. Many details of the new recruitment plan are to be determined, but both Dickey and Dart showed an abundance of confidence that these practices will raise student enrollment both in Price and the USU system. Dickey explained that one of the most important benefits of a smaller campus is the love that is shared. The impact the love he was given as a prospective student was a major motivating factor for not only attending USU Eastern, but also why he loves it.