COLUMN: Check in with spring’s Newsmakers
The end is near, my friends, and while there may still be snow on the ground, it is, in fact, spring and time to honor this semester’s Newsmakers.
Erik Mikkelsen
With my time at USU rapidly vanishing and the possibility of my as-yet-unselected successor taking the Hugs and Kisses approach to ASUSU/Statesman relations, I feel the need to give a lesson in the first rule of media: Elected officials are subject to greater public scrutiny.
Mikkelsen ran a well-organized and aggressive campaign that compensated for his lack of a substantive platform, underwhelming performances in the debates and general lack of innovative ideas. Am I concerned that the former president of an elitist and exclusionary organization is now at the helm of the group charged with reaching out to and representing each Aggie? Of course. But the hot mess we call elections at USU isn’t about substance; it’s a four-day thunderstorm of sidewalk squawking, empty promises and backdoor dealing ultimately coming down to who is able to accumulate the largest number of acquaintances to hound their friends for votes with little to no consideration of actual policy.
All negativity aside, our president-elect is an intelligent, capable student who loves Utah State – SigEp is this university, after all – and I do believe that he will act in the way he believes is best for USU.
I offer my congratulations for his win – which came at the heels of record voter turnout and candidate numbers – and to the other elected members of ASUSU. As a parting note, however, I would remind Mikkelsen of some of the campaign promises he made. Do not surround yourself with “yes” men, of which you have a house full, reach out beyond your narrow comfort zone and put students first – whatever that means.
Richard Orcutt
Letters to the editor and online commenting were nearly nonexistent when Richard stopped me in the parking terrace and pitched me a guest column. I get a lot of pitches and usually am forced to say no, but thanks to ASUSU officers dropping the ball and USU faculty refusing to answer my e-mails, I had holes to fill. And, it only took me about two sentences into Orcutt’s column on dating in Logan to know I was holding something people might actually read.
So we published “To the single ladies in Logan,” and watched our website explode. Within three days there were 100 comments online and it had been “liked” by 680 people. Take a look at some of the other articles on utahstatesman.com and you’ll notice most are lucky to get a comment from the writer’s mom.
Orcutt received mail, congratulating and condemning, from home and abroad. One letter came from the Dakotas, and a southern Utah radio show blurbed the piece, creating traction at SUU and Dixie.
The response is amazing and I loved it. The sad social commentary, however, is after a year of reporting on disasters in Japan, corruption in government, social tolerance, budget cuts and ASUSU, the story that really got people talking was a debate on which gender is to blame for heartbreak. Still, my hat is off to you, Mr. Orcutt, for having the stones to say what all men think.
The men’s basketball seniors
Choosing an individual member of the men’s basketball team to feature as a newsmaker is like choosing which one of your children you love most. The graduating seniors are the winningest class in USU history and the beautiful thing is how they truly are a team. Unlike other men’s basketball programs in the state that live or die on the shoulders of one facially asymmetric player, each member of the Aggie men’s basketball team contributed to the tapestry of dominance that was this season.
Yes, we got shafted with a 12-seed. Water under the bridge. We reminded the country that the Aggies don’t lose in The Spectrum. We reminded the nation – especially Hawaii – why it’s best to double team Brian Green. In the end, we faced off against a great team in the national tournament and didn’t let up until the final buzzer.
Curt Webb
If you’re of the old school that believes that society is best served by an open and accessible government, or if you’re feral cat, then this last session of the Utah legislature was, to put it lightly, peculiar.
After the Republican leadership snuck a bill through sealing off public access to government records, the public in question responded with a resounding cry of abhorrent displeasure. At this point legislators, thinking “OK, maybe we should read this thing,” repented of their wicked ways, made grand apologies to their constituents and dislocated their jaws in order to better place their feet in their mouths.
Except Curt Webb.
The Logan representative was one of only three Utah senators to vote against the repeal of HB 477 and, from the looks of things, will go to the grave muttering incoherent nonsense about the media misrepresenting things.
Benjamin Wood is the editor in chief of The Utah Statesman. He can be reached at statesmaneditor@aggiemail.usu.edu.