Top 10 stories of 2018
10. New residence hall opens for students but is not yet completed
The new Central Suites form stands north of the old Mountain View tower in central campus Sunday, August 26, 2018. Fences separate the two buildings due to the ongoing construction inside and out of the Central Suites.
After a year of construction delays and uncertainty about the completion of a new residence hall, Utah State University has finally opened the new Central Suites residence hall, a co-ed, suite-style hall.
However, most of the amenities are yet to be completed, and students can hear the buzz of saws and pounding of tools right below their beds.
9. Questions remain about track coach firing
Courtesy of Utah State Athletics Gregg Gensel with Dillon Maggard at a USU Cross Country meet.
Five months after his official departure, Utah State remains quietly reluctant to release information about the former coach. The university did not send out a formal public announcement until a press release more than a month after his departure. In that release — sent out Dec. 22, 2017 — the university only said that Gensel was “no longer employed by the university.”
8. Logan might say goodbye to plastic bags
Iain Laurence FILE PHOTO
Plastic bags might be banned in Logan soon if Logan City Council member Herm Olsen’s ordinance is passed. The ordinance would effectively ban plastic bags in Logan and he hoped the rest of Cache County will follow.
“Logan is only half of the equation,” Olsen said. “With city council, I only have involvement with Logan City, so other jurisdictions will have to decide how they want to deal with it. Single use plastic bags create litter, trash, visual pollution problem throughout the whole county, so I hope Logan can set an example to begin the process of ridding ourselves of a troublesome source of pollution.”
7. Column: We can’t stop every drunk driver, but we should probably still try
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert Mourners hug as they leave the funeral of Alaina Petty, in Coral Springs, Fla., Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Petty was a victim of Wednesday’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder on Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
You know, we didn’t have guns in the house growing up.
I’m not even talking about real firearms, I mean any guns. No super soakers. No NERF firepower whatsoever. My younger sister and I didn’t even see our first shooting video game until “Star Wars: Battlefront” somehow slipped through the cracks one Christmas.
6. Support for Proposition 2 wanes week before midterm elections
Matt Sellers Next week, Utahns will officially know the results of the midterm elections. This year’s ballot includes a medical marijuana initiative called Proposition 2.
A “yes” vote for “Prop 2” supports legalizing the medical use of marijuana for individuals with qualifying medical illnesses. A “no” vote opposes the legalization of medical marijuana.
5. Craig Smith named USU men’s basketball head coach
USU men’s basketball head coach Craig Smith speaks at his introductory press conference on April 21, 2018.
Craig Smith has been named the new head coach of the Utah State men’s basketball team. The university officially announced the hiring Monday morning, while announcing a formal press conference to introduce Smith coming on Tuesday.
Smith comes to Utah State after most recently coaching at University of South Dakota. He will assume head coaching duties immediately, filling the vacancy left by three-year head coach Tim Duryea, who was fired from the position on March 11.
4. Miss Diversity is crowned this year’s Miss USU
Photo courtesy of Madlyn Petty Alexis Cooper was crowned Miss USU 2018 at this year’s pageant Tuesday.
For the talent portion of the competition, she received a standing ovation for her poem on what it is like to be diverse on Utah State University’s campus and in America.
Tarren Jessop, Miss SAA (Student Alumni Assiciation), won first attendant and Gabby Hawkes, Miss Engineering, won second attendant.
3. USU hosts first university-funded drag show in state of Utah
Kings and Queens perform at the Utah State University drag show on Nov. 14 in Logan, Utah. This drag show was Utah State University’s first drag show put on by USU Housing and featured a combination of performances, historic background on drag and a Q&A with the Kings and Queens of the evening. While the event was free, donations to the Cache Pride Center were encouraged.
The Utah State University Housing Resident Assistants hosted the first-ever USU Drag Show Wednesday in the Taggart Student Center Ballroom to raise support and awareness for the LGBTQ+ community in Logan, especially on the USU campus.
“We decided to put on this drag show to include minorities and give them a voice in a safe space on campus, but there ended up being so many other benefits,” said Nathan Taylor, the USU Housing resident assistant who organized and planned the show.
2. Bull Rush: Ground game comes up big as Utah State dominates BYU 45-20
Utah State University plays Brigham Young University on Friday, Oct. 5, at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Utah State won over the Cougars 45-20.
The Wagon Wheel is staying put.
Utah State dominated from the outset in a 45-20 victory over in-state rival BYU on Friday night in Provo. The Aggies have now won three out of the past five games versus the Cougars, including two straight.
“I’m just really really proud of (the players) and and the effort that they put forth. That’s a big win. That’s a big program win,” said USU head coach Matt Wells.
1. USU Piano investigation ends
President Noelle Cockett announces many changes in the university’s handling of misconduct reports as a result of the investigation of Utah State’s piano program. Some of the announcements include the retirement of former piano department director Gary Amano and leadership changes to USU’s Title IX office.
The eight-week independent investigation into Utah State University’s piano program has ended and the investigator’s report has been released. The investigator’s recommendations include the dismissal of Professor Gary Amano, the current director of piano studies, who has been on sabbatical since August. The investigators also recommend that Dennis Hirst, the interim director of piano studies, be removed as acting director, citing that “for years” he “enabled Professor Amano’s discriminatory acts.” However, the report suggested that Hirst can remain on piano faculty and provides no specific sanctions for his actions.