<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Jeffrey Dahdah, Author at The Utah Statesman</title> <atom:link href="https://usustatesman.com/author/jeffrey-dahdah/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://usustatesman.com/author/jeffrey-dahdah/</link> <description>USU's Student Newspaper</description> <lastBuildDate>Tue, 14 May 2019 14:42:07 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2</generator> <image> <url>https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/cropped-screen-shot-2017-10-19-at-4.33.29-pm-32x32.png</url> <title>Jeffrey Dahdah, Author at The Utah Statesman</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/author/jeffrey-dahdah/</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <item> <title>How underage drinking changed my life for the better</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/how-underage-drinking-changed-my-life-for-the-better/</link> <comments>https://usustatesman.com/how-underage-drinking-changed-my-life-for-the-better/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2016 01:46:42 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Soapbox]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22007178</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>I understand that this is the opinion section, but I would like to share a story that holds very little…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/how-underage-drinking-changed-my-life-for-the-better/">How underage drinking changed my life for the better</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I understand that this is the opinion section, but I would like to share a story that holds very little of that. </p> <p>I am graduating in a couple of weeks and feeling a little pensive. Looking back, one thing stands out as the best thing that ever happened to me. Getting a Minor in Possession of Alcohol. </p> <p>To anyone who has had an MIP, so a lot of people in this valley, this will sound odd. I want to say that I’m not trying to make light of the people struggling through the fine, community service, alcohol classes and probation right now. I know that is frustrating. I also am not complaining about the strict underage drinking laws in Utah; I grew up here and fully knew the potential legal issues if I was caught drinking under 21. I just want to share my experience with it. </p> <p>Spring semester of my freshman year I moved into the Living Learning Center with some friends. One night we were having a party where there was, you guessed it, alcohol. When it was winding down and I was going to bed I heard a door slam and one of my friends yelled, “Oh, that’s my pinky! Oh no, that’s the bone!” </p> <p>The top part of his pinky was crushed off in the door of one the rooms. He also was also one of the only sober people there. He rushed out and ran downstairs where luckily there were some police officers outside who were able to give him a ride to the hospital. </p> <p>The next fifteen minutes were a blur. I pulled the top third of my friends pinky off the door frame and put it in a bag of ice and gave it to a sober person to take to the hospital in case they could attach it — if you’re wondering, they couldn’t. I started ushering everyone out of the apartment who did not live there. Then tried consoling the person who had slammed the door and felt overwhelmingly guilty. At the time the best I could tell him was that it would just suck to type for our suddenly pinky-deficient friend.</p> <p>Naturally the police came with all of this ruckus and two of my friends and I were cited with MIPs. However, I would like to add that the police were very nice to us. They reassured me it was going to be okay and I even speculated with them how my family would react. After all, I was 18 and living on my own for the first time. I was forced to move out of the LLC because of the incident, which admittedly helped pay the large fine I was facing because I moved to cheaper housing.</p> <p>At the time I was miserable about the whole thing. I flat-out screwed up. While now and at the time I recognize that this is a pretty common thing and not a huge life challenge in the least, I still was terrified about the whole thing.</p> <p> What happened after all of this is why I say this was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was a statistics major at the time. In a panic about the fine I scoured Career Aggie and saw a job posting for the Statesman. They were looking for writers. On Monday I wandered into the office and asked about it. By the end of the day the editors took a chance on me and hired me as the beat writer for tennis. I had no writing experience and at the time no interest in journalism. </p> <p>After some rough stories and a fair amount of coaching from the editors I started to really enjoy writing. I even decided to take a journalism class as an elective when registering for classes. It was beginning news writing, which had a reputation of being a very difficult class. I was not aware of that going in so when the professor put up a pie chart showing the large chunk of people who did not pass the class I wrote it off as a bunch of smoke.</p> <p>That class kicked my butt. However, the class coupled with my experience at the Statesman made me love journalism enough to make it my major. </p> <p>I became an editor for three years at the paper and have loved being in the major I am in. I credit it to a series of decision driven by the starting point of getting that MIP. I jokingly say that underage drinking changed my life for the better and even developed a catchphrase of “Where would we be without the MIP?” But there is some truth to the joke. The whole experience for me was serendipitous. I know that sounds cliche, but I think it’s true. </p> <p>If I could go back to that night I would be thankful for the heavy doors in that dorm and the drunken slamming of them. I would be thankful for the pinky. I would even be thankful that the police came knocking on our door. Because what at the time was an extremely frustrating and upsetting event, turned out to point me in the right direction.</p> <p>If there is a spin to be had with the story I guess it is to see things through, but even that is not necessarily why I wrote this. I wanted to share how something as jarring as a good friend parting ways with a finger led me to a fulfilling college experience. I wanted to share this because it was the most important night of the four years I’ve been at Utah State. I guess I just wanted to share why I get a little smirk on my face whenever people ask me how I ended up picking the degree I did. I don’t regret pinky night for one second. </p> <p><i>—Jeffrey Dahdah is a senior majoring in Journalism. He loves the program and will miss the professors and classmates he has had the pleasure of working with since stumbling into the department. You can contact him at dahdahjm@gmail.com or on twitter @dahdahjeff.</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/how-underage-drinking-changed-my-life-for-the-better/">How underage drinking changed my life for the better</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://usustatesman.com/how-underage-drinking-changed-my-life-for-the-better/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Response to hateful letter</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/response-to-hateful-letter/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 17 Apr 2016 21:54:43 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Soapbox]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22007014</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>We have received a lot of responses from a Letter to the Editor we ran in this paper on April…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/response-to-hateful-letter/">Response to hateful letter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We have received a lot of responses from a Letter to the Editor we ran in this paper on April 11. </p> <p>Thank you. </p> <p>This is my third school year being on the editorial board of the Statesman and I have seen many Letters to the Editor that make me cringe, including this one. Too often the ones that are upsetting are met with no response from readers. </p> <p>This is, in my head, either because people aren’t reading or people don’t care. While the former is more likely, the latter scares me. So honestly, I was happy to see people angrily writing in about the letter, because it assured me that people were as upset about that way of thinking as I was. </p> <p>The letter was terrible. It was written from a narrow-minded point of view from a small person. I know that; everyone on the editorial board knows that. So allow me to explain why it was printed. </p> <p>This is our policy with Letters to the Editor: We run them unless they personally attack a person who is not a public figure. As is the norm for newspapers across the nation, the views expressed in these do not represent the opinion of the Statesman. We just provide the space, not the opinion. In many cases, such as this, we hate the content but believe in allowing views to be expressed.</p> <p>I believe it would be irresponsible for us to pick and choose what would go in as Letters to the Editor, because then we would potentially be silencing opinions we don’t agree with and not allowing for an open discussion. That is why we stick to a strict policy on that. It is not for us to decide what our readers can handle as an opinion.</p> <p>It has been pointed out to us that the person was not a member of the community. Something we knew. This individual is from Illinois. He is a member of an anti-LGBT advocacy group, as we found out later, and the letter may have been a mass email, but it was submitted to us. We have had discussions on looking into if letters sent in bulk to numerous publications will make our pages in the future, but that is for next year’s editorial board to decide. </p> <p>We also have a policy for allowing letters from people outside the university and immediate community. We are at a university. Utah State boasts students and faculty from all 50 states and a multitude of countries. It is not a matter of geographic community. People come from all different communities and are represented at this university. In addition, people could end up in any community worldwide after they graduate. To limit views and opinions based off of a 20-mile radius of Old Main would be doing these people a disservice. Their background likely isn’t Cache Valley and their future likely isn’t in Cache Valley. </p> <p>I want to reiterate I hated the letter. But we strive to serve as an open plane of discussion. This often doesn’t get used, however. So I implore anyone moved to anger and frustration by this letter to write in. I would happily order more pages if they were going to be flooded with opinions of support for the LGBT community. </p> <p><i>—Jeffrey Dahdah is a senior majoring in journalism. Please write to him or send him letters to the editor at @dahdahjm@gmail.com or on twitter @dahdahjeff.</i> </p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/response-to-hateful-letter/">Response to hateful letter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Court decision gives Relopez the option to take back guilty plea</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/court-decision-gives-relopez-the-option-to-take-back-guilty-plea/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 14 Apr 2016 01:49:50 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jason Relopez]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Judge Brian Cannell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Logan City]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sexual assault]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sigma Chi]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22006929</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Jason Relopez, a 27-year-old former Utah State University student and Sigma Chi Fraternity member, has the option to withdraw his…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/court-decision-gives-relopez-the-option-to-take-back-guilty-plea/">Court decision gives Relopez the option to take back guilty plea</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Jason Relopez, a 27-year-old former Utah State University student and Sigma Chi Fraternity member, has the option to withdraw his guilty plea following a ruling by Judge Brian Cannell on Wednesday.</p> <p>Relopez pleaded guilty to attempted rape and forcible sexual abuse in a plea deal between his defense and the state. The deal hinged on an independent psychosexual evaluation done to determine his risk level of re-offending.</p> <p>Two weeks ago Relopez’s sentencing was delayed due to some uncertainties with that evaluation. Dr. Peter Burn, who administered the test, was asked about it in court on Wednesday by the defense, the state and the judge. Burn’s report said that Relopez was a low-moderate risk to re-offend.</p> <p>Represented by Barbara Lachmar, deputy county attorney with Cache County, the state asked for the test to be re-administered due to some uncertainties with the result.</p> <p>In the proceedings Shannon Demler, Relopez’s defense attorney, said that the state agreed after the initial settlement that a low-moderate risk would be treated the same as a low risk with the deal and would result in one year in jail and sex-offender treatment.</p> <p>That amendment was not good enough for Judge Cannell, however, and he expressed his concern in that decision being made outside of the initial deal and in the evaluation in general.</p> <p>“The court determines that he is not low risk, he is low-moderate. Therefore the agreement was not met and those terms are not met,” Cannell said in his ruling. “That being the case I will absolutely give Mr. Relopez the right and ability to withdraw his plea and we can proceed with trial; that’s the court’s order.”</p> <p>Both sides will now proceed with the case.</p> <p>“We’ll be talking, hopefully we’ll reach a meeting of the minds between all of the parties and right now Mr. Relopez has that option,” said Barbara Lachmar, Deputy County Attorney with Cache County, after the ruling.</p> <p>Lachmar said the ruling was neither good nor bad for the state.</p> <p>“I really wouldn’t call it either, it’s just what the judge ruled,” Lachmar said. “We want to give Mr. Relopez the opportunity to make whatever choice he makes.”</p> <p>Relopez’s defense could not be reached after the trial. We will update this story as more develops.</p> <p>—dahdahjm@gmail.com</p> <p>twitter: @dahdahjeff</p> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/court-decision-gives-relopez-the-option-to-take-back-guilty-plea/">Court decision gives Relopez the option to take back guilty plea</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>What Cambodia can show us about the media</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/what-cambodia-can-show-us-about-the-media/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2016 00:13:51 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Soapbox]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cambodia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[English]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Khmer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[media]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Press]]></category> <category><![CDATA[World Press Freedom]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22006796</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>About a year ago I traveled to Cambodia to write a story about the state of journalism there. Admittedly not…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/what-cambodia-can-show-us-about-the-media/">What Cambodia can show us about the media</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>About a year ago I traveled to Cambodia to write a story about the state of journalism there. Admittedly not the most exciting topic to your average student at Utah State, but it was to me a fascinating topic. </p> <p>What I expected out of the Cambodian media — <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://index.rsf.org/#!/">which is ranked 139 out of 180 in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index </a>— was a government-controlled and intimidated media. That was what I found with media that was primarily Khmer and with the broadcast media, which was state-run anyway. But there was a niche of news that opposes that 139 ranking. The English language press.</p> <p>This may sound odd, but the English language press in Cambodia — where Khmer is the primary language — is operating freely and aggressively. They write whatever they feel is necessary to write regardless of governmental reprimands they receive. This is not lost on the people there. While talking to a Cambodian teenager in Phnom Penh this was clear. He offhandedly said that he only reads the English press because the Khmer press is so slanted. A luxury he can afford because he speaks English.</p> <p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://medium.com/@DahdahJeff/three-paper-town-141adb3e6558#.f85xoin63">In this paper you can read the story </a>I wrote about the English language press, but I would like to use this healthy competition going on in Cambodia to make a point.</p> <p>I repeatedly hear that newspapers in the U.S. are going away and that journalism in general is dying. I’m not going to sit here and argue about the relevance of newspapers or journalism in today’s society because honestly I don’t think it’ll change any of your opinions. However, I would like to caution against this type of apathetic attitude to this opinion.</p> <p>I’m not naive. I know that newspapers are less prominent today than they were 10 years ago and 10 years before that. However, the fact that people say that people are so willing to believe and accept an overall decline in journalism is dangerous.</p> <p>You don’t need to read it every day, you don’t need to watch it every day, but news is an important piece of society. It is also a luxury that we take for granted in this country. After all, you could be living in a country where the only way to check the government and those in positions of power is through a medium written in a secondary language.</p> <p>You may not consume news, but it helps check things. You may not have faith in our media, but its presence is vital. You may not care about this column, but it’s the only way I know how to encourage people to care about the state of the media.</p> <p>Apathy is a dangerous stance to have. Too much of it directed at one thing can lead to its extinction. So I encourage you, love the media, hate the media, but at the very least have degree of care for the media. Because a malnourished news medium is a dangerous thing for a country to have. </p> <p>—<i>Jeffrey is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. Yes, is a little biased towards caring about the media, which is fitting for the opinion section. You can reach him at dahdahjm@gmail.com or on twitter @dahdahjeff.</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/what-cambodia-can-show-us-about-the-media/">What Cambodia can show us about the media</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>USU opens up a reflection room</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/usu-opens-up-a-reflection-room/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Diversity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Reflection room]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22006611</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>On the second floor of the military science building there is a small room with eggshell walls and a lamp…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-opens-up-a-reflection-room/">USU opens up a reflection room</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On the second floor of the military science building there is a small room with eggshell walls and a lamp in the corner. At first sight, it’s just another, admittedly tidy, room. This room, which opened on March 28, is a reflection room. </p> <p>The purpose of the room is allow people to go and privately pray, meditate or reflect regardless of their religious beliefs or non-belief . </p> <p>“It fills a need,” said Rob Llewellyn, Immigration Advisor for the Office of Global Engagement. </p> <p>The Office of Global Engagement and the USU Interfaith Initiative worked together to bring the room to campus. A press release from The Office of Global Engagement said that a 2014 survey of 120 students, faculty, staff and community faith members found that people wanted a place to express religious views on campus, but many didn’t feel safe doing so. </p> <p>In the past there was a place like the reflection room through USU housing, but due to rule changes with locking areas with housing they couldn’t prove it anymore. So for many years there hasn’t been a place like a reflection room at USU. </p> <p>“Over the last few years many people have been working on finding a new location for a reflection room,” Llewellyn said. </p> <p>However, finding a place for this had its own difficulties. </p> <p> “This can be a challenge working with public school restrictions,” said Dr. Glass-Coffin in a press release about the room. Glass-Coffin is Professor of Anthropology at USU and founder of the Interfaith Initiative. “Students need to be able to express their world view both in religious contexts and non-religious contexts.”</p> <p>Though the room may be small, its creators say what is important is that it is on-campus and available to everyone. </p> <p>“I think this is very exciting, there is many students on campus that would love a centralized location where they can go and pray or reflect and it’s difficult for some of them to do that without just going back to their apartments off-campus and that could take a lot of time,” Llewellyn said. “So this is a really nice thing that we can provide for students.” </p> <p>Organizers hope that this room will set a precedent for future reflections rooms as new buildings come to campus. </p> <p>The room has little decorations in it, and nothing on the walls, but that is by design. </p> <p>“We’ve kept the setup of the room very, very simple so that it’s not tailored for a specific faith,” Llewellyn said. “it’s for everyone regardless of what they believe.” </p> <p>Llewellyn did say people are welcome to put up their own decorations as long as they take them down when they leave. </p> <p>The room is in Military Science 213A. It is open during regular office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students, faculty and staff can use it in that time frame and ask the front desk in the Military Science Building if they need help finding it. Organizers just ask people to be respectful of the space and of other people’s time. </p> <p>—dahdahjm@gmail.com</p> <p>@dahdahjeff</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-opens-up-a-reflection-room/">USU opens up a reflection room</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>USU student dies in ski accident</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/usu-student-dies-in-ski-accident/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 04 Mar 2016 04:11:46 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Beaver Mountain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cache Valley]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lieutanant Mike Peterson]]></category> <category><![CDATA[skiing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Utah State]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22005828</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Tyson Lloyd Shoemaker died at Beaver Mountain Ski Resort on Wednesday after he hit a tree while skiing. The 18-year-old…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-student-dies-in-ski-accident/">USU student dies in ski accident</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Tyson Lloyd Shoemaker died at Beaver Mountain Ski Resort on Wednesday after he hit a tree while skiing.</p> <p>The 18-year-old man was a Utah State student in his first year at the school. He was from Washington. </p> <p>He was skiing on a groomed run when he lost control and veered into a tree. Lieutenant Mike Peterson of the Cache Valley Sheriff’s Office said that he died of blunt force trauma. However, there is further examination being done by the State Medical Examiners Office. Peterson also said the man was wearing a helmet. </p> <p>“It’s a very unfortunate accident, a very unfortunate circumstance. I’m sure it will have an impact on the USU community,” Peterson said. “It’s a young man, a vibrant young man, a very active young man.”</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-student-dies-in-ski-accident/">USU student dies in ski accident</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Cache Valley Muslims travel to Salt Lake City to get Halal meat</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/cache-valley-muslims-travel-to-salt-lake-city-to-get-halal-meat/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 29 Feb 2016 01:50:09 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Diversity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Adam Alrowaiti]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cache Valley]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Halal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Logan]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Logan Islamic Center]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Meat]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Muslims]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Salt Lake City]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shahrazad Market]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Yusuf Mumin]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22005710</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>When Adam Alrowaiti wants meat he drives more than 80 miles to get it. This is because Alrowaiti is Muslim…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/cache-valley-muslims-travel-to-salt-lake-city-to-get-halal-meat/">Cache Valley Muslims travel to Salt Lake City to get Halal meat</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When Adam Alrowaiti wants meat he drives more than 80 miles to get it. This is because Alrowaiti is Muslim and the closest place for him, or any other Muslim in Cache Valley, to get Halal meat is in Salt Lake City.</p> <p>There are no Halal butchers in Logan and the closest alternative for Cache Valley Muslims is buying a live animal and slaughtering it themselves, which isn’t necessarily an appealing or realistic task for an average person.</p> <p>Alrowaiti is the Islamic Center Committee President and a second year graduate student at USU. He and other Muslims tried to order the meat from websites, but they would not deliver it to Logan.</p> <p>“Nowadays the only option for me is to go to Salt Lake City to get it from Halal Markets,” Alrowaiti said.</p> <p>As a result, many Muslims will plan ahead and send a few people to markets in Salt Lake to get meat for groups.</p> <p>“We do on a regular basis have quite a few students and customers coming from Logan,” said Abed Abou, who manages the Shahrazad Market in Salt Lake, a market which is popular for Logan Muslims. “They stock up every week and they come out. And sometimes one will come shop for three or four people.”</p> <p>Abou said that it’s not just Cache Valley. He has people coming from places in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana just to get Halal meat.</p> <p>Halal meat is slaughtered and prepared in accordance to Islamic guidelines. The guidelines are broad, but among other things in order for meat to be considered Halal it must be a healthy animal, slaughtered with a sharp knife so it endures minimal suffering, the phrase “Bismillah” — which translates to “In the name of Allah” — must be said while it is being killed and it must be facing Mecca during the killing. Then the blood must be drained from the animal before it is butchered. Halal meat also sets guidelines for which animals can be eaten. For example, pork is not permitted under Halal guidelines and in contrast, fish is always allowed.</p> <p>“Living in a small town city in America, it’s hard to access all of that,” said Yusuf Mumin, a Muslim student at USU.</p> <p>Mumin, who grew up in Salt Lake, said he used to get it when he would go home to see his family. However, he doesn’t get to do that as much anymore with work and school so he has had to make compromises.</p> <p>“Eating out and preparing halal food isn’t as difficult if you’ve kind of grown up in the culture,” Mumim said. “Had I moved from the Middle East or a predominantly Islamic country and moved to the U.S. it would be a struggle. But I grew up in Utah so it’s always been a struggle since day one.”</p> <p>Mumin will stick to mostly vegetarian food and will eat some chicken that is approved for mass consumption. He still does not eat certain foods, such as pork. But some lines are considered okay to bend if circumstance makes it too difficult to follow Halal guidelines.</p> <p>“If we run out of every option, every single option, it is not forbidden for us to eat meat from a regular grocery store,” Alrowaiti said. “Many people think of Islam as a very strict religion with very strict teachings and strict rules so Islam is in contrary a very flexible religion.”</p> <p>Being conscious of the guidelines is the most important part of them.</p> <p>“It all depends on your intentions when it comes to eating Halal food,” Mumim said. “If you order a pepperoni sandwich knowing that there is pork in it and you eat it then that is more sinful than you accidentally eating a slice of pizza with pepperoni on it.”</p> <p>Halal meat is not commonplace in the U.S., especially not in smaller cities. So people who do want to follow Halal guidelines face the challenge of dining between the mainstream options.</p> <p>“It is kind of frustrating, but it has also taught me self-restraint and adjusting my diet,” Mumin said. “It’s more frustrating for social aspects, being a 23-year-old and trying to go out and eat with friends and trying to make sure you stay within your dietary restrictions.”</p> <p><i>—dahdahjm@gmail.com</i></p> <p><i>twitter: @dahdahjeff</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/cache-valley-muslims-travel-to-salt-lake-city-to-get-halal-meat/">Cache Valley Muslims travel to Salt Lake City to get Halal meat</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Junior Gymnast leaves team</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/junior-gymnast-leaves-team/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2016 01:33:38 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Gymnastics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Charly Belliston]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Perfect 10 Challenge]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU Athletics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU Gymnastics]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22005588</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Junior Gymnast Charly Belliston has quit the team. She left earlier this month before the Perfect 10 Challenge meet in…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/junior-gymnast-leaves-team/">Junior Gymnast leaves team</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Junior Gymnast Charly Belliston has quit the team. She left earlier this month before the Perfect 10 Challenge meet in Oklahoma City, Okla. on Feb. 12.</p> <p>USU Athletics confirmed the news earlier today, but was unable to give a reason for Belliston leaving the team. </p> <p>Belliston competed in every meet of her freshman and sophomore seasons and competed in all but one meet this year prior to her resignation. </p> <p>Belliston came to USU from Magna where she attended Cyprus High School. </p> <p></p> <p><i>We will update this story as more becomes available.</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/junior-gymnast-leaves-team/">Junior Gymnast leaves team</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Don’t throw away words because of arbitrary connotations</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/dont-throw-away-words-because-of-arbitrary-connotations/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2016 01:33:33 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Soapbox]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22005523</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Connotation, to me, is one of the most intriguing and important words in the English language. Merriam-Webster’s definition of connotation…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/dont-throw-away-words-because-of-arbitrary-connotations/">Don’t throw away words because of arbitrary connotations</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Connotation, to me, is one of the most intriguing and important words in the English language. </p> <p>Merriam-Webster’s definition of connotation is: an idea or quality that a word makes you think about in addition to its meaning. The reason this fascinates me is because it is a word that admits that some definitions are intangible. Sure, you can always define a word, but what that word means as far as a feeling is different from person to person and even from society to society. </p> <p>As a society we let connotations of words change over time and this can even sometimes lead to changes of accepted definitions. This is a scary phenomenon. The way we feel about a word can change our language. </p> <p>I am fearful that this will happen with the word feminism. Merriam-Webster defines feminism as: the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. To me this is a no-brainer — of course a mere chance difference in genetical makeup should not drastically affect your rights and opportunities. Yet as a society we have let this word take on other connotations. Many people won’t call themselves a feminist because of the connotation attached to it.</p> <p>This concerns me. I’ve honestly heard people that think that men and women should have equal rights refuse to define themselves as a feminist. That clearly isn’t a refusal of the dictionary definition, but a flaw in the connotation of the word.</p> <p>As a society we should look to reverse this. The fact that every person, or at least every woman, wouldn’t call themselves a feminist to me doesn’t demonstrate a belief in inequality, but a hesitance towards a word that is somehow not universally socially accepted. If you want to change a connotation think hard about the definition. </p> <p>This happens with other words as well, whether they simply get a negative feel for it or the word becomes slang for something else. Because of flawed connotations, political issues, faiths and social stances lead to divisions in people. These divisions are often unfounded. </p> <p>This may seem like an odd thing to harp on, but in my opinion language is one of the most important things we can talk about. After all it is the base for all communication. The next time you decide your opinion on one of these charged words to think about the intended and actual definition rather than the emotional definition you may have arbitrarily developed.</p> <p><i>—Jeffrey is a senior majoring in journalism and minoring in religious studies. For the record, yes he calls himself a feminist. You can reach him at dahdahjm@gmail.com or on twitter @dahdahjeff.</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/dont-throw-away-words-because-of-arbitrary-connotations/">Don’t throw away words because of arbitrary connotations</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Our view: Concern over elected position without charter</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/our-view-concern-over-elected-position-without-charter/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeffrey Dahdah]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2016 03:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Our View]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22005404</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>As of right now there is one position we will all be voting on next week that does not have…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/our-view-concern-over-elected-position-without-charter/">Our view: Concern over elected position without charter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As of right now there is one position we will all be voting on next week that does not have a charter: USUSA Student Alumni Vice President. While the position of SAA vice president does exist, it has never been an elected position and has never been a part of the USUSA Executive Council.</p> <p>You may remember if you were here last year that the EC voted to add the position and held a <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://usustatesman.com/ec-votes-to-add-position-remove-depth-requirement/">special election of the student body to ratify it. </a>One of the conditions of adding the position was that there would be a charter made for it at least by the time elections rolled around this year. </p> <p>They are supposed to approve the charter in their next EC meeting on Tuesday. This will at least let those voters who want to be educated on the position do so. However, those running for the position still do not know exactly what their duties will be. Yes, they have a good idea, but what if the charter makes them mop the TSC every Tuesday night? Yes, it’s a bad example, but the fact is that they could have a duty in their position that they were not anticipating when they ran and, if elected, would not take seriously as a result. </p> <p>We are not necessarily questioning the position here or its effectiveness. However, the fact that students are deciding who to vote on without knowing exactly what they will be doing is an issue to us. Additionally, the fact that students have committed to being in a position without ever officially seeing what will be expected of them is a concern. It is a concern that two organizations, USUSA EC and the SAA, will be linked by this position and we do not have any official legislation on how exactly that will happen. </p> <p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.usu.edu/legislation/documents/doc_2014-2015_800.pdf">The legislation last year</a> does state some of the purposes for the position and some outlines for it, but they are vague as of right now. The current position of SAA VP does have a list of responsibilities, but they are not specific to how they relate to USUSA EC. </p> <p>We are at least grateful that the position will have a charter by Tuesday of next week and we hope that is not too late for students to make an educated decision on the position.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/our-view-concern-over-elected-position-without-charter/">Our view: Concern over elected position without charter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>