UVSC College Times, 2006-10-23

              MONDAY OCTOBER 23 2006 THE STUDENT VOICE OF UTAH VALLEY STATE VOLUME XXXVI NO. 13 V . 4 J School of MASS Reaches Fundraising Goal , - s SPORTS Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake tied in their final two contests but was it enough for a playoff berth? Find out on B5. UVSC Sports The Volleyball team hasn't won in three weeks but they have a chance to get revenge. See page B6. OPINIONS Know what net neutrality is? Ifs not Internet access in Switzerland. If you're like most people you may not know about the changes in Internet service some companies are trying to bring about and the ramifications that can have for Internet users. To find out more turn to AS. "1 LIFE New art at the Woodbury Experience the art scene this fall at UVSC's Woodbury Art Museum. SeeBl. Haunted Houses Wanna be scared out of your mind? We can tell you "witch" houses to haunt this Halloween? SeeB6. NEWS Cultural diversity Is UVSC's cultural diversity at risk? By becoming a University it just might be. Find out more on page A6. Outback Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse will be hosting another lunch to benefit a scholarship in memory of Connie Reynolds. For more info see A2. Jared Magill Assistant News Editor In a lecture delivered by part-time Utah County resident and well known philanthropist Ira Fulton last spring, a challenge was offered calling for the deans of each department at UVSC to raise as much money as they could from alumni, faculty and staff which would be matched by Fulton himself up to $1,000 per person. Thestipulationsofthechallenge stated that each school on campus had to set and subsequently meet a total fundraising goal by the end Dsim'S mh tap Easiest Math Ever no longer able to use BYU Independent Study Ashley Robertson Newes Editor "Easiest Math Ever" (now "New Century Learning") is no longer using BYU's independent study program as a host for their tutoring services. Students who were planning on utilizing BYU's allowance of calculators in their independent study math courses will be disappointed to learn that after course revisions, BYU no longer allows calculators in any college algebra class. UVSC's college algebra class math 1050 is one of the highest failed class at UVSC, and has often been the speculation of arguments concerning the school's math department and the much debated no calculator policy. Schools along the Wasatch front, including UVSC, BYU, Salt Lake Community College and Weber State University, all contain studerts who feel like there is no other way to pass Utah gas Abraham Hernandez Assistant News Editor For over a year, gas prices have been on the rise, . causing headaches for consumers across the United States. Recently, the trend of elevated gas prices has seemed to reverse itself. New numbers show gas prices in Utah have dropped sharply in the past month, but they are still much higher than the national average. AAA Utah reported gas prices in the state have gone down 35 cents in the last month, but Utah still has the nation's seventh-highest gas prices. Salt Lake City residents are currently paying an average of $2.52 a gallon for unleaded regular, and AAA anticipates gas will continue to plummet through, at least, October. The AAA report noted that all Utah cities showed substantial decreases in gasoline prices this past month. St. George's average price dropped the most, 44 cents to make $2.57. Logan's average price fell 31 cents to make $2.63, the highest price of all Utah cities. Only six states Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have higher of 2006. One man who took this challenge very seriously was the dean of The School of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences William Cobb. "I took Ira's challenge as a sort of personal wake-up call," said Cobb who along with his colleague Barbara Hammond, the assistant dean for external relations for HASS, went to work immediately talking to all of the advisory boards within their school in an effort deduce what dollar amount would be a realistic goal. Cobb said that after about two the graduation required college algebra but to do it through BYU's independent study with the help of Easiest Math Ever. There is also speculation into the quality of the Easiest Math Ever program, one BYU math department employee calling them dishonest. Tyler Jarvis, chair of the department of mathematics at BYU, explained that Easiest Math Ever (now known as New Century Learning) has never been affiliated with, approved by or endorsed in any way by Brigham Young University. " "Some of their advertising promised students that they would fulfill all their mathematics requirements in a very short period of time, guaranteed that students would pass the course, and suggested that students could use pre-programmed calculators to assist them with course requirements," Jarvis said. prices still at national high weeks of careful deliberation, he and his colleagues in HASS came up with a goal of $40,000. "Once we found out what would count and what wouldn't count, we decided that $40,000 was a realistic goal," Cobb explained. After about five months of fundraising, the School of Humanities Arts & Social Sciences announced that it has reached its goal by collecting $40,722.54 from over 160 different contributors. "We've learned a valuable lesson in fundraising. It has brought a lot of people together to work "We had serious concerns about the claims they made in these advertisements." Jarvis also explained that in response to their concerns, "BYU independent study decided to re-examine its course and to grant the BYU mathematics department greater oversight of the independent study math 110 course. As part of this reexamination, independent study has closed the course to all non-BYU students, and the BYU mathematics department is helping the department of independent study completely rewrite their course." Jarvis said the new course should be equivalent in content and difficulty to the on-campus course. Jarvis also stated that "most of our BYU students don't take college algebra because they have a sufficiently high ACT See EASY MATH A4 average gasoline prices than Utah. The average national price is $2.26, down from $2.64 a month ago. According to the Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) weekly survey of service stations, the national price to fill up with regular unleaded gasoline declined 3.5 cents from the previous week and 50 cents from a year ago. The EIA's survey showed that the cheapest gasoline was in Houston at $2.03, down 3.9 cents. In September, Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. launched an investigation into why Utah's average gasoline prices are so high. The Utah Department of Commerce, which is leading the investigation, expects to issue a report on its findings as early as the end of this month. The national average continues to fall, and analysts have said that if gas prices continue to fall, the extra money drivers save will help boost the economy over the next few months. However, the future of gas prices depends on several factors. For instance, if there is unrest in the Middle East or Nigeria, drivers can expect to see prices shoot back up. toward a common goal. The whole essence of the challenge is getting the stakeholders to step up themselves, and they have," Cobb said. Cobb explained that some of the past challenges that UVSC has faced in fundraising efforts are beginning to be eroded, due largely to the nature of the Fulton Challenge. Cobb said, "When you think about fundraising, people think about it as a dreaded task like it's someone else's job. But what Ira made us realize is that See HASS A4 President's Scholarship ball Eleanor Takahashi News Writer On Oct. 20, 2006, UVSC held the annual President's scholarship Ball for the 16th year in a row. Assembled in the elaborately decorated McKay Events Center, the event, which takes place each fall, assisted in raising money for the thirty President's Scholarships awarded to UVSC students each year. The President's Scholarship is the most prestigious private financial aid award for students attending UVSC. The money totals full year's tuition costs, with additional funds for other fees and books. The staff and faculty involved prepare year round for the event which is attended by 500 or more patrons and is catered by UVSC's culinary art students. Each year's ball is black tie optional, while this event included a six-course meal and performances UVSC's ballroom dance team and orchestra. This year's ball was not only a time to present UVSC in all its glory to the financial contributors of the President's Scholarship, but also an opportunity to mingle with prominent figures in the valley and the college. The event was hosted by UVSC President William Sederburg. The cost of attendance this year was $150 per plate. Utah Valley State College hopes to match last year's contributions, which totaled $75,000. Jamie TeerlinkNetXNews Gas prices continue to drop, although Utah is still above the national average.