<?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>Whitney Howard, Author at The Utah Statesman</title> <atom:link href="https://usustatesman.com/author/whitney-howard/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://usustatesman.com/author/whitney-howard/</link> <description>USU's Student Newspaper</description> <lastBuildDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2016 05:41:48 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</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>Whitney Howard, Author at The Utah Statesman</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/author/whitney-howard/</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <item> <title>Japanese-American prison camp survivor tells her story</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/japanese-american-prison-camp-survivor-tells-her-story/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2016 00:07:37 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lifestyles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22007147</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>When sharing her experience in Topaz during World War II, Alice Hirai forgoes tame words like “relocation” and prefers to…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/japanese-american-prison-camp-survivor-tells-her-story/">Japanese-American prison camp survivor tells her story</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When sharing her experience in Topaz during World War II, Alice Hirai forgoes tame words like “relocation” and prefers to refer to it as a “prison camp.”</p> <p>“What happened to the Japanese Americans — and this is not said enough — is that this was the worst civil rights violation in the history of the United States,” Hirai said.</p> <p>Out of 126,000 prisoners, most have died or become too ill to tell their experience firsthand. Because of this, Hirai said she will share her story with anyone who will listen. Hirai spoke at Utah State University on Friday, April 22.</p> <p>Hirai was only 3 years old when she and her family were taken from their homes and sent to the Topaz War Relocation Center near Delta, Utah. Though she was young at the time, Hirai has interviewed former prisoners and historians to gain context.</p> <p>Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor, there was discrimination against the Japanese in America, Hirai said. After Pearl Harbor, leaders in the Japanese American communities, who were monitored by the FBI without their knowledge, were taken from their families and imprisoned for the entirety of the war. Shortly after, anyone of Japanese descent was decreed to leave their home and relocate. Any items they didn’t collect after two weeks were lost, Hirai said.</p> <p>Wanting to keep their dignity, Japanese Americans showed up on moving day wearing their Sunday best. They also wore dog tags with preassigned numbers.</p> <p>Hirai and her family were sent to a temporary location, Tanforan racetrack. They lived in horse stalls. Hirai’s grandmother was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. Two men drove her to Tanforan and left her on the side of the road; she was too weak to move. She died in a hospital a few days later. This was part of the reason why Hirai became a registered nurse later in life.</p> <p>“I want to do a better job as a nurse and never treat a patient like this,” she said.</p> <p>When prisoners arrived in Topaz, they had barracks to call home. There was no insulation. Each barrack was 14 by 20 feet and housed six families, which made privacy impossible. Other than community toilets and showers, there were no utilities. However, prisoners wanted to make life in the camp as comfortable as possible.</p> <p>“They were doing all they could to make their lives better within the camp,” said Atsuko Neely, a Japanese professor at USU who has collected stories from survivors. “They had their own initiative to work so that the camp life was improving.”</p> <p>While there were guards, most prisoners were compliant. Japanese Americans wanted to prove they were loyal to America, Hirai said. With time, they were trusted and even allowed to leave the camp from time to time. This was, in part, because they didn’t have anywhere to go.</p> <p>After the war the prisoners were released, and most did not have a home to go return to. The generation before Hirai wanted to try to forget what had happened and move on. For a long time, there was no oral or written history of what happened, Hirai said. </p> <p>Discrimination against Japanese Americans remained, but Hirai is grateful she stayed in Utah.</p> <p>“The [Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints] community welcomed us,” Hirai said. “The LDS, because they were persecuted, treated us really well.”</p> <p>Hirai noted parallels between the culture that led to the imprisonment of her family and today. She recalled a recent trip to the grocery store, where she overheard a cashier and a customer saying they don’t like Muslims.</p> <p>“If I had time, I would have stopped that conversation because that’s the kind of person I am,” Hirai said. “I wanted to say, ‘If you’re saying you hate Muslims, that means you don’t like me. I’m Japanese. That’s why I got sent to prison camps, because they were saying the same thing you’re saying right now.'”</p> <p>Hirai encouraged attendees to vote. That way, no group of people has to have their civil rights taken away with the stroke of a pen like she did.</p> <p>— <i>whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/japanese-american-prison-camp-survivor-tells-her-story/">Japanese-American prison camp survivor tells her story</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>A century of USU kissing</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/a-century-of-usu-kissing/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2016 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lifestyles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Student Life]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22007122</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Utah State University has seen 100 years of full moons, tic tacs, mint chapstick and kissing students for Utah’s oldest…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/a-century-of-usu-kissing/">A century of USU kissing</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Utah State University has seen 100 years of full moons, tic tacs, mint chapstick and kissing students for Utah’s oldest collegiate tradition, True Aggie Night.</p> <p>This Friday, April 22, USU students will pucker up for a taste of True Aggie glory.</p> <p>“It’s extra special because it’s A-Week. We always have one during A-Week, regardless of a full moon. It’s also a full moon, and it’s the 100 year anniversary,” said Maegan Kasteler, Vice President of Traditions for the Student Alumni Association. “It’s literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”</p> <p>True Aggie Night’s origins began in 1916 with the Beno Club. While the exact story behind the club’s name varies, it was said to have been a tongue-in-cheek (no pun intended) response to an administrator stating there will “be no clubs.” The Beno Club erected the now famous Block A. According to legend, a student must kiss another student on the Block A under a full moon to become a True Aggie.</p> <p>True Aggie Night’s exact origins are unknown, Kasteler said, but the event has since become a school sanctioned activity. Kasteler and the Student Alumni Association are planning to make True Aggie Night’s 100th anniversary the literal “True Aggie Night of the century,” according to the USU event calendar.</p> <p>“Kissing is timeless,” said Erika Norton, USU alumni, “which is why the tradition is so iconic. It brings the community together.”</p> <p>Norton and her husband Erik shared memories of True Aggie Night and both admitted to saving the certificates they received on their last True Aggie Night. </p> <p>“You can’t leave college without becoming a True Aggie,” Erik Mikkelson said. “Other universities have tried to copy True Aggie Night, but it is not entwined in their history like it is in ours. Whenever anyone sees the Block A, they know exactly what it means.”</p> <p>Norton and her husband will both be returning for a chance to relive their glory days at the 100 year celebration.</p> <p>Doug Fiefia, former USU student body president, and his wife Jocelyn, will be featured as the celebrity couple this Friday. Fiefia said that he was both surprised and honored to be selected for this monumental event.</p> <p>“It’s not only a tradition that we love at Utah State, but a family tradition,” Fiefia said.</p> <p>True Aggie Night has a special place in the Fiefia family. They have celebrated their engagement, their pregnancies and the first birthday of their daughter on the Block A. Fiefia says his first daughter became a True Aggie before she was even born.</p> <p>Fiefia recognized the Student Alumni Association for their efforts to preserve the tradition and maintain the excitement with photographers, lights, True Aggie Night certificates and a dinner with the alumni before the event. He said that the event has endured because it is sponsored by the school.</p> <p>“Every True Aggie Night is someone’s first time, so the university has done a good job at making sure that it’s special,” Fiefia said.</p> <p>Some participants don’t have a partner in mind, but daringly leap onto the Block A anyway, waiting for someone to make a move. Others like to watch. Every True Aggie Night has a fun environment and a lot of energy, and it gives people the opportunity to meet others that they might not have otherwise, Fiefia said.</p> <p>“My first and only kiss was when I became a True Aggie, so it has a special place in my heart,” Kasteler said. “It’s a unique experience that, honestly, you’ll remember forever.”</p> <p>Kasteler and the Student Alumni Association have been preparing for this event for over a year. This True Aggie Night will feature live music by John Allred, True Aggie Night flavored ice cream, giveaways and chapstick for everyone. The SAA is anticipating long lines for the event and will be selling fast passes for $10.</p> <p>“I think every student at Utah State should be required to be a True Aggie before they graduate,” Fiefia said. “I believe that True Aggie Night will still be around for another 100 years.”</p> <p><i>— whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu </i><br /><i>— kayla1swenson@gmail.com</i> </p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/a-century-of-usu-kissing/">A century of USU kissing</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Excuses not to recycle we need to stop making.</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/excuses-not-to-recycle-we-need-to-stop-making/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2016 01:59:06 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lifestyles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Student Life]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22007108</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>With Earth Day coming up, we are coming up with many new ways to recycle — as well as many…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/excuses-not-to-recycle-we-need-to-stop-making/">Excuses not to recycle we need to stop making.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With Earth Day coming up, we are coming up with many new ways to recycle — as well as many excuses not to.<b><br /></b></p> <p>Here are some common excuses people make not to recycle, along with some new ways to think about them.</p> <p><b>1. “I don’t know what to recycle or where to take my recyclables.”</b></p> <p>We live in a world where many of us have the world’s information at our fingertips. It may seem tedious to Google it over and over again, but chances are you won’t deviate much from a few commonly-used items. Eventually, what you can and can’t recycle will become second nature to you.</p> <p>There is also literally an app for everything, including recycling. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/irecycle/id312708176?mt=8">iRecycle</a> for Apple and Android includes a database of recyclables in different categories, even paint or hazardous waste. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1800recycling.com/id375842467?mt=8">1800Recycling.com</a>, which is also available for iOS and Android devices, uses your GPS location to find nearby drop-off sites.</p> <p><b>2. “I’m only one person. It isn’t going to help much.”</b></p> <p>One person’s actions over time add up to an immense impact. Even one Google search provided a ridiculous number of examples. Here are a couple that were particularly sobering to me.</p> <p>Recycling one aluminum can provides enough energy to power a television set for three hours. That means a 16-pack of Pepsi can sustain the energy for a 48-hour Netflix marathon.</p> <p>The average American household throws away 13,000 pieces of paper a year. You and your roommates probably take care of most of this when you throw your handouts from the semester away.</p> <p>One individual, through years of consistent action, can make a noticeable impact.</p> <p><b>3. “It’s inconvenient.”</b></p> <p><b></b>We’re students. We’re time-starved. The thought of adding anything else onto our plates — even if it’s just where we dispose of our items — can seem overwhelming.</p> <p>Recycling doesn’t have to be a huge time suck. You can stack errands together, such as rinsing out your recyclables with your dishes or dropping your used glass bottles off on the way home from shopping. You can also keep a separate bin next to your garbage bin. That way you can recycle and forget it.</p> <p><b>4. “It involves a drastic lifestyle change.”</b></p> <p>Some are under the impression that living a greener lifestyle involves a dramatic change of lifestyle. We see examples of a person who rarely flushes their toilet to save water, and we think that’s what living sustainably means.</p> <p>It doesn’t have to be this way. If you’re taking on a greener lifestyle, you don’t have to do it all at once. Start small. These small, successful changes could possibly make you feel good enough to take on more in the future — except for maybe the “not flushing your toilet” thing.</p> <p>It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to start taking on small, gradual changes for a more sustainable lifestyle.</p> <p>— <i>Whitney Howard is an English major. She recently got into a debate with her boyfriend about whether or not milk jugs were recyclable. It turns out they totally are. Contact her at whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu or on Twitter @omgwhitshutup.</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/excuses-not-to-recycle-we-need-to-stop-making/">Excuses not to recycle we need to stop making.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Student voters reflect on caucus turnout, future of 2016 election.</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/student-voters-reflect-on-caucus-turnout-future-of-2016-election/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2016 03:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lifestyles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Student Life]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22006600</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Many voters in Cache Valley had a long wait ahead when they arrived at their district’s caucus. The Utah caucus,…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/student-voters-reflect-on-caucus-turnout-future-of-2016-election/">Student voters reflect on caucus turnout, future of 2016 election.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many voters in Cache Valley had a long wait ahead when they arrived at their district’s caucus.</p> <p>The Utah caucus, which was held on March 22, allowed registered voters to choose their party’s nominee for the primary election. This determines how delegates, individuals chosen during caucuses to represent their district, will vote during the National Convention.</p> <p>Skye Cowdell, a Utah State University freshman in law and constitutional studies and a Republican, voted with her sisters. Cowdell had attended a caucus before, but this was the first year she was old enough to vote. She saw more fellow voters than she anticipated.</p> <p>“My sisters said the year before there were only ten people there, and this year there were 110,” Cowdell said.</p> <p>Even though Utah is traditionally a red state, Utah Democrats experienced a drastic increase in caucus voters. Jenna Hase, a USU junior in social work, drove for two hours — since she was registered in a different town — and waited an additional two hours to place her vote at the Democratic caucus. Hase said her wait was “actually not that long” in comparison. She heard of voters throughout the state who waited four hours in line.</p> <p>Both parties were in a scramble to obtain enough ballots and registration forms for everyone, due to unprecedented voter turnout. Hase’s friend registered using a Spanish form because her district ran out of English forms.</p> <p>While data for the participant’s ages was not collected, attendees observed an increase in young voters.</p> <p>“Certainly at the Democratic caucus there was an extraordinarily high turnout of young people. I was there for the entire process, all three and a half hours,” said Michael Lyons, an associate professor of political science at USU. “Definitely a much larger percentage than in other years when I’ve participated. Pretty much an extraordinary percentage when you look at the political indifference of young people nationwide.”</p> <p>The young voter turnout was likely not as high on the Republican side, Lyons said. Young voters tend to lean left. Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders also appeals to young voters due to his stances on marijuana legalization, college tuition, gay rights and early opposition to the Iraq war.</p> <p>This year, there is a candidate for everyone, said Damon Cann, associate professor of political science at USU. Voters are turning out to support a candidate who they identify with. However, there are also people on the other side of the ideological spectrum who fear those candidates.</p> <p>Cann said many Utah Democrats felt in the past that they had two choices: vote for a liberal candidate who couldn’t win in Utah, or “hold their noses and vote for a moderate” who didn’t fully represent their beliefs but had better chances.</p> <p>“The thing I heard over and over again from Democrats in Utah is, ‘For once, our vote finally matters,'” Cann said.</p> <p>This partially explains why Sanders won 79.3 percent of Utah’s vote. Sanders is the first “aggressively liberal” candidate since Howard Dean in 2004, who didn’t last very long, Lyons said.</p> <p>For Utah Republicans, the reason for turnout was less due to enthusiasm for a particular candidate, but more opposition to another, Cann said. Despite Trump currently holding the national lead, Ted Cruz walked away with all 40 of Utah’s delegates.</p> <p>“Donald Trump doesn’t play well in Utah,” Cann said. “Utah Republicans wanted to come out and express their voice in opposition to Donald Trump.”</p> <p>This was true for Cowdell, who voted for John Kasich.</p> <p>“I don’t really like Ted Cruz. He’s way too conservative, and Trump is just crazy to me. Even though I know Kasich will never win the nomination.” Cowdell said, “I didn’t even care who is elected, as long as I feel like I was a part of it.”</p> <p>Hase voted for Sanders. She believes voters like Sanders because he’s “relatable,” and he provides a “goodness of fit” to her own beliefs.</p> <p>Hase and Cowdell also have personal convictions that drove them to the polls. Cowdell said it was her “civic duty” to vote, and people who don’t vote don’t have the right to complain. For Hase, she appreciates her right to vote as a woman, a privilege American women have had for less than 100 years. Also, as a social worker, it’s important to vote for candidates who are in the best interests of her clients.</p> <p>“As a future social worker, as a woman, as someone who has worked with refugees and children living in poverty, it hurts me to see people just be so angry against people that aren’t hurtful,” Hase said.</p> <p>As for how the rest of the election will turn out, Lyons is concerned. He believes Americans are “more disillusioned than ever.” He says far-leaning candidates like Trump, Cruz and Sanders will have difficulty passing anything through the Congress and the House of Representatives. Lyons advises voters to think critically about how a candidate will operate in the White House.</p> <p>“This has been a dramatic year. It’s been a fascinating year. It’s been, in recent memory, unprecedented. But we can’t lose focus on the need to govern the nation after the election,” he said.</p> <p>— <i>whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu<br />@omgwhitshutup</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/student-voters-reflect-on-caucus-turnout-future-of-2016-election/">Student voters reflect on caucus turnout, future of 2016 election.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>It’s okay if you’re struggling with mental health.</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/its-okay-if-youre-struggling-with-mental-health/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 20 Mar 2016 22:57:35 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Soapbox]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Depression]]></category> <category><![CDATA[mental health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mental Health is No Joke week]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Suicide]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22006255</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Trigger warning: This article has references to depression, anxiety and suicide. In my high school English class, the short story…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/its-okay-if-youre-struggling-with-mental-health/">It’s okay if you’re struggling with mental health.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> <i>Trigger warning: This article has references to depression, anxiety and suicide.</i></p> <p>In my high school English class, the short story we read ended with a man jumping in front of a train. One of my classmates raised her hand.</p> <p>“I don’t like that ending,” she said. “I just don’t understand how someone could be that selfish, how things could possibly be so bad that you want to kill yourself.”</p> <p>Little did she know that I was suicidal myself. One night during the same year, I tried overdosing on pain pills.</p> <p>I came out of class that day feeling hurt, angry, guilty and resentful. At that time in my life, those feelings were never in short supply.</p> <p>After some reflection, I came to a conclusion: She couldn’t know. That feeling of darkness and desperation is difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t gone through it.</p> <p>I wracked my brain, trying to find a way to describe depression and anxiety to someone who has never experienced it. For anxiety, you know that feeling where you worry something bad is going to happen? You can’t focus on anything because you’re too preoccupied and your mind is going 100 mph. Anxiety is that, all the time.</p> <p>As for depression, one common misconception is that it’s a constant sadness. It’s more of an emptiness, an absence of feeling. Depression numbs you and strips you of happiness, hope and enjoyment. Think of the Dementors from “Harry Potter.”</p> <p>I personally have struggled with mental health for almost half of my life. There has been a lot shooting up at 3 a.m. because my anxiety wakes me up in the middle of the night. There have been a lot of mornings where even getting out of bed was an accomplishment.</p> <p>Throughout my life, I’ve felt guilt about my mental illnesses. I’ve wanted to be “like everyone else.” It took a long time to stop shaming myself for these mental health struggles, which I didn’t ever ask for and only have a certain degree of control over. I also realized, through years of observation, that more people have been affected by mental health than those who haven’t. This includes not only the people struggling themselves, but those with loved ones who struggle too.</p> <p>There isn’t a finish line that I will cross one day and think, ‘I have completely beaten this. I will never have to worry about this again.’ For me, a lot of my healing has come from learning to live and enjoy life in spite of these struggles. Some days are harder than others. However, thanks to therapy and finding people who support me in life, it’s easier than it has ever been.</p> <p>If you are currently going through this, there is no shame in how you’re feeling or what you’re going through. You are deserving of compassion and love, even from yourself.</p> <p>— <i>Whitney Howard is an English major and, because of her personal experiences with mental health, a psychology minor. Tina Belcher is her spirit animal. Contact her at <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="mailto:whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu">whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu</a> or on Twitter @omgwhitshutup.</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/its-okay-if-youre-struggling-with-mental-health/">It’s okay if you’re struggling with mental health.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>‘Mental Health is No Joke’ aims to combat stigma</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/mental-health-is-no-joke-aims-to-combat-stigma/</link> <comments>https://usustatesman.com/mental-health-is-no-joke-aims-to-combat-stigma/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 20 Mar 2016 21:41:47 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lifestyles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU/SA]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ADHD]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Depression]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hope Wall]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Light the Night]]></category> <category><![CDATA[mental health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mental Health is No Joke week]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Salif Mahamane]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Suicide]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thomas Rogers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Trevor Sean Olson]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ty Aller]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22006248</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>The second annual “Mental Health is No Joke” week at Utah State University has “quadrupled in size,” said Ty Aller,…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/mental-health-is-no-joke-aims-to-combat-stigma/">‘Mental Health is No Joke’ aims to combat stigma</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The second annual “Mental Health is No Joke” week at Utah State University has “quadrupled in size,” said Ty Aller, the graduate studies senator for the Utah State University Student Association.</p> <p>Aller, who co-founded the event last year, is excited to see “Mental Health is No Joke” take on its own life.</p> <p>“It’s actually been very fun because everyone from the academic senate, to the executive council, to the entire university has gotten on board,” Aller said. “Now you feel a community start to get behind it, rather than just a single person.”</p> <p>Among other individuals and organizations, Trevor Sean Olsen, the president of the USUSA, has “put all of his resources behind it and made it his baby, too,” Aller said.</p> <p>“For me, when I started working on things this summer and trying to get some direction for the year, I realized there was a problem around mental health with the amount of suicides and attempted suicides on campus,” Olsen said.</p> <p>Events kicked off on Saturday, March 19 with the Out of Darkness walk. Last year’s event included a guest speaker, workshops and a benefit concert. These traditions will continue this year alongside new events.</p> <p>The Hope Wall will be open throughout the week. Students can take pictures with Polaroid cameras, write the name of a person who has helped them in their lives and hang it on the wall. The Hope Wall is a joint effort between Olsen and Thomas Rogers, the Athletics and Campus Recreation Vice President.</p> <p>“The Hope Wall is something that’s going to be visually engaging for people to participate in, to see that everybody has been through something and that we all have a chance to make a difference in somebody’s life,” Olsen said.</p> <p>Rogers is excited to not only “brand the HURD’s image in a positive light,” but also to help Aggies outside of the arena.</p> <p>“That’s what we’re about. We just want to enhance the Aggie experience, and that’s what the HURD is,” Rogers said.</p> <p>Light the Night has a similar theme, Aller said. Participants can write the name of an individual who struggles with mental health — or a personal message if they themselves are struggling — and send it alight into the night sky.</p> <p>Throughout the week, there are multiple workshops. These include yoga and mindfulness sessions, suicide prevention training, anxiety and sensitivity training, and a fair that features multiple mental and physical health resources on campus.</p> <p>There is also a benefit concert, which requires a standard composition notebook for entry. At-risk patients use composition notebooks to complete their therapy exercises, Aller said.</p> <p>“Mental Health is No Joke” features multiple guest speakers. The keynote speakers are representatives of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://twloha.com/">To Write Love On Her Arms</a>, a non-profit organization that works to present hope and find help for those struggling with depression, addiction, suicide and self-injury, according to the official website.</p> <p>Other guests include Salif Mahamane, a doctoral student of psychology at USU, who will share his research and personal experiences with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Mahamane will mediate a student panel, who will talk about their own experiences with mental health.</p> <p>“What we’re really trying to do is just facilitate conversations around mental health, so people can feel like they can come out of the woodwork and actually talk about it and not feel like they need to hide,” Aller said.</p> <p>All events have an underlying theme this year: “Stand Up to Stigma.” Olsen said there are two key reasons for the theme. First, people who have never experienced mental health issues in their lives can better understand those who do. Second, people who struggle with mental health will know how to find resources and a community of people who have gone through similar experiences.</p> <p>Madison Maners, the public relations and marketing director for the USUSA, adds that Utah State has a tradition of caring for each other as an “Aggie family.” Olsen and the USUSA are not only working at USU but also within the Utah Student Association to decrease mental health stigma throughout the state.</p> <p>“It’s so incredibly rewarding and emotional to work with people who have a vision and are willing to put in the time, energy and hours to make that vision a reality,” Maners said. “We hope that students can get on board with our cause and with our mission, and we’ll be able to see long-term benefits as a result of these incredible individuals.”</p> <p>— <i>whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu<br />@omgwhitshutup</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/mental-health-is-no-joke-aims-to-combat-stigma/">‘Mental Health is No Joke’ aims to combat stigma</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://usustatesman.com/mental-health-is-no-joke-aims-to-combat-stigma/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>USU sculptors create Snoopy Carnival course at Beaver Mountain</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/usu-sculptors-create-snoopy-carnival-course-at-beaver-mountain/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 18 Mar 2016 22:18:28 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Arts and Culture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lifestyles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Beaver Mountain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jessyka Barton]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ryoichi Suzuki]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Scott Price]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sculptures]]></category> <category><![CDATA[skiing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Snoopy Carnival]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Utah State]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22006243</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Ryoichi Suzuki, assistant professor of sculpture at Utah State University, attended the Snoopy Carnival at Beaver Mountain last year. It…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-sculptors-create-snoopy-carnival-course-at-beaver-mountain/">USU sculptors create Snoopy Carnival course at Beaver Mountain</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ryoichi Suzuki, assistant professor of sculpture at Utah State University, attended the Snoopy Carnival at Beaver Mountain last year. It wasn’t long before his creative gears began to turn.</p> <p>“Basically, I saw what they’d been doing for the Snoopy Carnival. They built this fun course for those little kids, beginning skiers. I thought, ‘Wow. Maybe we can do a little better job creating those fun courses in a more sculptural way,'” Suzuki said.</p> <p>This year’s Snoopy Carnival on Saturday, March 19, was sold out. Children skiied on courses built by USU sculpture students. The final course included tunnels, a bridge and mountain peaks made entirely of snow and ice.</p> <p>Suzuki decided to incorporate the idea into his sculpture projects class. The students in this class create sculptures for public view. Compared to previous projects, the ski course on Beaver Mountain was a “slightly larger scale,” Suzuki said.</p> <p>Jessyka Barton, an art major with a sculpture emphasis, decided on her emphasis because of Suzuki’s class. Barton was torn between sculpture and painting. When she first committed to painting, she felt that her artwork was “too flat.”</p> <p>“When I started participating in this class, and we went up on the mountain and started doing stuff with the snow, it was just so exciting for me,” Barton said. “I also talked to professor Suzuki, and I realized that I had been complaining about all of my other classes and that this is where my true passion lies.”</p> <p>Scott Price, a sophomore in art education, also enjoys sculpture because it allows him to create something tangible. He looked forward to practicing sculpture in a unique way.</p> <p>“I thought it was something that would be kind of challenging, something I’ve never done before,” Price said. “It’s not building a snowman. It’s building something on a larger scale, working with things we’re familiar with but working in a way we’re not used to working with them in.”</p> <p>Students began the project by creating a maquette, a 3-D small-scale mold to guide the real-life sculpture. The end goal was to create something “functional, but aesthetically pleasing,” Price said. Price enjoyed this aspect of production because he liked brainstorming with his classmates.</p> <p>“It’s kind of fun to work with the other students and try to see the different ideas, putting something together that is bigger than all of us individually,” Price said.</p> <p>But the planning stage was longer than it should have been, Price said. The sculptors underestimated how much work the project would take. The course required long hours and extra days to be completed on time.</p> <p>Suzuki estimated that they used “hundreds of tons of snow” to build the course, but he admits the exact amount is hard to quantify. Beaver Mountain provided snow-pushing machines to help sculptors move the snow around. Snow changes because of weather and climate, which made working with it unpredictable.</p> <p>“Beforehand, we knew that the snow changes from day to day because of the sun, the weather, whatever. And then when we’re there, it’s either that the sun has melted it, or overnight it freezes into ice. Or it snowed and it’s all powder and it won’t pack together and it just falls apart,” Barton said.</p> <p>Price agrees. Part of the challenge was adapting to whatever nature threw at them.</p> <p>“We ended up having to use pickaxes to be able to chip away at some of the ice, literally move mountains, so to speak,” Price said.</p> <p>Due to time constraints, some ideas had to be scrapped. There was originally going to be a dragon’s head, where kids could slide into the mouth on sleds. However, while the dragon’s head didn’t make it into the final course, it somehow lived on.</p> <p>“The funny thing is, before we ended up getting the last part done, a lot of what it looked like — at least the comments we got from other skiers — is that it looked like scales. It didn’t look like mountain peaks. So we still have a dragon in there,” Price said.</p> <p>Some sculptors were eager to have the project completed and leave long days of manual labor behind. However, for Price, the end of the project is bittersweet.</p> <p>“I’m excited to see the finished project. I’m excited to see it done. It’s kind of sad to see it already be done, also,” Price said.</p> <p>– <i>whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu<br />@omgwhitshutup</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/usu-sculptors-create-snoopy-carnival-course-at-beaver-mountain/">USU sculptors create Snoopy Carnival course at Beaver Mountain</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Are Facebook reactions really more expressive?</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/are-facebook-reactions-really-more-expressive/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 02 Mar 2016 00:16:11 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Soapbox]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Communications]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dislike button]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Emotions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Likes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Reactions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22005747</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Facebook rolled out a new feature last week. Now, on top of “liking” a post, you have a much broader…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/are-facebook-reactions-really-more-expressive/">Are Facebook reactions really more expressive?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Facebook rolled out a new feature last week. Now, on top of “liking” a post, you have a much broader spectrum of “reactions” to choose from — “love,” “haha,” “wow,” “sad” and “angry.”</p> <p>Do these new features help us express ourselves better on Facebook? I would say no. In fact, they limit us.</p> <p>I’ve been a Facebook user for almost 10 years now, before “liking” was even a thing. Looking back on my old statuses — which was not always fun, because Whitney back in the day was pretty embarrassing — I didn’t have as much reactivity to my posts before “like” came along. However, not having “like” forced my friends to respond to my posts in a more engaged, thoughtful way.</p> <p>Now, I’m not saying we have to get rid of “like” all together. It’s obviously caught on, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a social media site without a similar feature. I personally enjoy getting “likes.” To me, it’s like my friends are saying, “I don’t have the words to respond to this, but I wanted to let you know that I enjoyed your content.” It’s like the real life equivalent of a smile, a wink or — forgive my lack of creativity — a thumbs up.</p> <p>Regardless of the demand for a “dislike” button, which we still don’t have, I don’t want one. In fact, I’ve always thought they would be rude and unnecessary. This left us with three ways to react to a post: like it, leave a comment or leave it alone.</p> <p>Comments on social media aren’t always positive. Facebook definitely isn’t the ideal place for thoughtful, constructive dialogue. (If you don’t believe me, read any Facebook comment thread on a political article.) However, when someone posted something we didn’t like, we had a couple of decisions to make. First, is this worth my time to respond? If it is, it’s time sit down and try to explain our reaction with words.</p> <p>Now we can just leave an angry face. We don’t have to explain our anger anymore. It’s up to me to interpret my friends’ anger now. Are they angry for me? With me? At me? Is it really my job to try to play mind reader? Is that really fair? If you can’t try to explain to me why my post affected you this way, what kind of “friends” are we, really?</p> <p>At this point you might be thinking, ‘Whitney, it’s Facebook. You’re putting too much thought into this.’ I would argue that Facebook doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part of how we learn to interact with each other and build relationships. On the other side of your glowing screen is a real life human being. We forget that people, most of which we consider friends, are at the receiving end of our actions, rather than sending them off to an anonymous void.</p> <p>If it takes longer than a second to acknowledge our friends’ words, we don’t bother anymore.</p> <p>Have fun playing with the new Facebook reactions feature. Just don’t substitute it as real communication.</p> <p>— <i>Whitney is an English major. This column started as a Facebook status. She only got two angry faces in response, and they were both jokes. Contact her at whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu or on Twitter @omgwhitshutup.</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/are-facebook-reactions-really-more-expressive/">Are Facebook reactions really more expressive?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Men and women march against violence in USU’s ‘Take Back the Night’</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/men-and-women-march-against-violence-in-usus-take-back-the-night/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 29 Feb 2016 04:12:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lifestyles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jasmine Despain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jenna Hase]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU Aggies]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22005729</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Some students still remaining on the Utah State University campus on the evening of Feb. 26 were soaking up a…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/men-and-women-march-against-violence-in-usus-take-back-the-night/">Men and women march against violence in USU’s ‘Take Back the Night’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Some students still remaining on the Utah State University campus on the evening of Feb. 26 were soaking up a quiet atmosphere.</p> <p>The chants were faint at first. However, as a group of students and Cache Valley residents holding signs approached, their words became clearer and clearer.</p> <p>“Claim our bodies! Claim our rights! Together we stand! Take back the night!”</p> <p>“Take Back the Night” was organized this year by the USU chapter of I Am That Girl, a club that provides “a safe space to connect and have honest conversations about things that matter,” according to the chapter’s official website.</p> <p>The first “Take Back the Night” was formed by women protesters in the 1970s. The name was given to reflect some women’s fear of going out alone after dark. Over 40 years later, the event has since expanded an annual event to “end sexual, relationship and domestic violence in all forms,” according to the event’s Facebook page.</p> <p>The original “Take Back the Night” events shared a common theme: no men allowed. However, USU has never barred men from attending, said Jasmine Despain, president of I Am That Girl’s USU chapter.</p> <p>“I think that men and women should equally be involved, and we should represent men and women as perpetrators or victims. It’s never one way,” Despain said.</p> <p>Men not only came out for “Take Back the Night,” but surpassed women this year in attendee numbers.</p> <p>“There were more men than women here. It was shocking,” said Jenna Hase, a coordinator for I Am That Girl and a junior in social work. “I love that men are being involved because we can’t change the world if half the population isn’t invited. I think that because more men will be involved, we will also outreach to our male victims.”</p> <p>Some men came because they know victims of sexual assault. Others were seeking to learn more about prevention and advocacy. Members of fraternities also came to represent their chapters. No matter the reason for coming, their presence was appreciated by many attendees.</p> <p>“I’m really happy that a lot of men showed up, too, especially with the incidents that have happened on campus recently,” said Christopher Tonan, a political science major. “I think it’s important that men just show up and show solidarity, simply being a good human being. That’s what it is. It’s as simple as that.”</p> <p>The event began with a march from the Merrill-Cazier Library to the Taggart Student Center. After the march, attendees engaged in a dialogue with one another.</p> <p>“I feel like the marches and the rallies are great, but I also think it’s important to create a safe space for discussion on why we have ‘Take Back the Night’ and how sexual assault or domestic assault impacts people,” Despain said.</p> <p>The discussion gave participants an opportunity to reflect on why they were there, why they thought violence awareness events are important and what they hoped to gain from coming. Many attendees appreciated having this outlet, including Olivia Flores, an undeclared student at USU.</p> <p>“Things like this are really important because they keep the dialogue open,” Flores said. “That’s one of the biggest ways for us to help these kind of situations is to talk about it and not just brush it under the rug.”</p> <p>Despain seeks to provide participants with up-to-date statistics. According to the presentation given during the event, 34.1 percent of American Indian and Alaskan women have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. These statistics resonated with Despain, who was recently crowned Miss American Indian USU and is a sexual assault survivor herself.</p> <p>Even though the topic left some with heavy hearts, many attendees came away more connected and more ready to act as activists within their community.</p> <p>“I feel more optimistic, being in a room of like-minded individuals who take this issue as seriously as it should be taken,” Hase said.</p> <p>I Am That Girl — commonly referred to as “I Am That Person” to encourage inclusivity — meets weekly to discuss other topics. Club meetings take place on Mondays at 6 p.m. on the third floor of the Taggart Student Center. The topic for Feb. 29 is “Sex and Shame with I Am That Person.” </p> <p>— <i>whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/men-and-women-march-against-violence-in-usus-take-back-the-night/">Men and women march against violence in USU’s ‘Take Back the Night’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Humans of USU: Video game culture stigmatizes women</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/humans-of-usu-video-game-culture-stigmatizes-women/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Whitney Howard]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2016 05:07:22 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Humans of USU]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lifestyles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Female Gamers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Gaming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hardcore Gaming]]></category> <category><![CDATA[League of Legends]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Madeline Smith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Minecraft]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Nintendo 64]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Super Smash Brothers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[The Daily Dot]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Witcher 2]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22005457</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>According to the Daily Dot, adult women are now the largest video game demographic. Madeline Smith, a sophomore in social…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/humans-of-usu-video-game-culture-stigmatizes-women/">Humans of USU: Video game culture stigmatizes women</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>According to the Daily Dot, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.dailydot.com/geek/adult-women-largest-gaming-demographic/">adult women are now the largest video game demographic</a>.</p> <p>Madeline Smith, a sophomore in social work at Utah State University, weighs in on her experience with games, as well as feeling the pressure to validate herself to others as a woman in the gaming community.</p> <p><b>Utah Statesman: </b>What is your earliest memory playing video games?</p> <p><b>Madeline Smith: </b>I had cousins that had an N64, so whenever we’d go and visit them we’d play Mario Kart or Super Smash Brothers. </p> <p><b>US: </b>What have you been playing recently?</p> <p><b>MS: </b>Recently, I just bought “Witcher 2.” It’s pretty neat. I got it on sale, which is the only time that I’ll buy video games.</p> <p><b>US: </b>Was that a Steam sale, perchance?</p> <p><b>MS: </b>Yeah. [laughs] It was. And my brother bought “Dragon Age Inquisition,” and so I played that when I came home for Christmas and didn’t get to finish it because of time constraints. I like to play “Minecraft,” too. That one’s fun.</p> <p><b>US: </b>Do you think there’s a certain criteria that someone needs to meet to be considered a gamer?</p> <p><b>MS: </b>I think the criteria for being a gamer is stupid, so I would say no. I have a lot of problems with gaming culture because I feel like there’s a lot of stigma for women, especially. By all accounts, I would say that I am a gamer. I do play video games. I think that’s the only criteria that you need is that you play video games.</p> <p><b>US: </b>Do you ever feel like you’re put in a position where you have to prove your gaming credibility to people?</p> <p><b>MS: </b>I have a boy cousin that’s my age, and I felt like I used to have to prove it to him because he was a “hardcore gamer,” I guess. I think a lot of it was just chauvinistic and a little misogynistic. Usually it was to other males that I felt like I had to be like, “Yeah, but I play this game, or I do this.” Now I don’t really care. I play video games and it doesn’t matter because a lot of other people also play video games, and a lot of them are also women.</p> <p><b>US: </b>I heard that women are now officially the biggest gaming demographic.</p> <p><b>MS: </b>Yeah, I think I read somewhere that it was, like, over 50 percent of video games buyers are women. That’s what’s frustrating to me, that it’s marketed strictly to males and that it’s exclusionary for women.</p> <p><b>US: </b>In what ways have you noticed that gaming seems to be marketed to men?</p> <p><b>MS: </b>I play League of Legends, and I’m afraid to speak like a woman, because I think you get attacked for that. Or, like, “Oh, great. There’s a woman on our team, so we aren’t going to do as well. Clearly, because she’s a woman, she has no idea how to play.” Or a lot of the way that characters dress, I think, is what really gets to me. They’re really overly sexualized. On women, the armor isn’t realistic. The point of armor is to protect you.</p> <p><b>US: </b>What would you say to other girls who are under the impression that video games are just for guys?</p> <p><b>MS: </b>Can I address this to the women who are afraid to start playing video games, too? Statistically, you are not an anomaly. It’s not something that you need to be worried about. I used to be embarrassed to go to GameStop to buy games. I still don’t think that I’m treated very well there because I get talked down to a lot. But I would say stand up for yourself. Don’t bother proving yourself to people, because I think if they’re asking you to prove your gamer-ness to them, then they’re not really worth your time anyway. There are a lot of reasons why you could be doing it, and it doesn’t matter what your reason is as long as it’s justifiable and validating for you.</p> <p>— <i>whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu<br />@omgwhitshutup</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/humans-of-usu-video-game-culture-stigmatizes-women/">Humans of USU: Video game culture stigmatizes women</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>