Campus and community briefs
Gay marriage debate scheduled for Friday
The Speech & Debate Club of Utah State University is holding an educational debate Friday at 11:30 a.m. in the Taggart Student Center Sunburst Lounge.
The topic will be: “Should gay marriages be legal in the United States?” Students, staff and faculty are invited to become educated on what current legislation may arise in relation to the basic unit of society – the family.
Students can get taxes done for free0
If students want their taxes done for free, USU’s honor accounting fraternity, Beta Alpha Psi, is the answer. It is time for the fraternity’s annual service project, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.
The fraternity has spent the last two weeks preparing 40 of its members for student tax returns. In addition to their accounting courses, the members attended two eight-hour training sessions where they were instructed by local accounting professionals on the new Tax Wise program and to review tax laws taught to them.
New services this year include computerized returns and free electronic filing.
“We are given permission by the IRS to run this program so students don’t have to worry about any mistakes that might be made,” said graduate student Melissa Webster, vice president of Beta Alpha Psi.
VITA will run from Feb. 17 to April 10 in Science and Technology Library, Room 117. The site will be open the following hours: Tuesdays 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesdays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. VITA will not be offered the week of Spring Break.
This service is open to any students who want help or just need to ask a few questions.
USU to present deaf issues in February
USU’s Deaf Education Student Association presents its annual Winter Workshop titled “Encountering Excellence: An Avenue of Hope for Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing” on Saturday, Feb. 28 in Old Main.
The featured speakers include Robert Sanderson, a nationally renowned member of the deaf community and for whom the Deaf Center in Salt Lake City is named. Also presenting sessions will be Angel Ramos, current superintendent of the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind and advocate for people who are deaf, as well as Emma Lozada, a pre-school teacher and expert storyteller also from ISDB.
These presenters are all deaf themselves and will share their own experiences and expertise in working with children who are deaf. The goal is to demonstrate how deafness is not a barrier to success; rather, DESA wants to share these successful people with the USU community to better educate and broaden the perspectives of university students.
The afternoon session will be taking a look at possible educational placements for deaf children. These presenters are some of USU’s alumni who have gone on to make significant differences in the lives of the children they teach. Piper Benjamin, Shelia Robertson and Michelle Tanner will be sharing information about their classrooms and the unique aspects of the settings in which they work.
Students are invited to attend at a cost of $12 if prepaid by Feb. 21 and $15 after that. Many ASL students are required to take advantage of opportunities to use their receptive and expressive sign language skills and this is a chance to do just that. For more information, check the DESA Web site: www.coe.usu.edu/comd/desa.html.
Valentines for sale at Bookstore on Friday
A Valentine’s display will be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Friday at the Utah State University Bookstore.
Fresh flowers, gifts, cards and candy can be purchased for a special valentine. Purchases can also be delivered anywhere on campus for free.