UVSC College Times, 2000-09-11

              MtWUMM lMMri EL BUEN PANO EN EL ARCA SE VENDE VOLUME 29 ISSUE 9 WHAT'S INSIDE Campus Stuff: Service Fair: September 1 3 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Hall of Flags. Opinion: Are Utah Mormons "sexually retarded?" Life: Greek Festival review, largest in state. Sports: A recap of the college football weekend. 'Marketplace: Buy and sell, call 222-8688. "p T 1 ! - tL: uu - J.U&w 1 BY AND FOR THE STUDENTS OF UTAH VALLEY STATE COLLEGE CL 00740 PARKING ISSUES UVSC sfudsnts speak out on lis school's continuing parking problems. SHAKESPEAR SATIRE iv X: ' ; UVSC theater presents rCpttmUpr 1 'I 9 000 Tha Complete Works of r terr-ty Eitt lifts: .1999 190 of 2,106 9 - as compared, to US 34,476 of 271,059 33 Various CHnri(-; Population Poverty Fejven.t leaver , 5,642 457 S.1. Box Oder- 40,170 2,290 5.7 Cache. 82,657 8,679 10.5 Carbon 21,246 2,762 13 Davis : 221,510 10,854 : 4.9 Duchesne 14,314 2,233 15.6 Iron1: 28,289 3,705 13.1 Miller 11,961 1,507 12.6 Morgan 8,867 357 5.2 SLC . 813,530 56,947 7 San Juan 13,331 4,093 30.7 Sanpete' 19,824 2,934 14.8 Seveir 17,985 2,410 13.4 Summit 24,557 1,277 5.2 Tooele 31,657 2,754 8.7 Utah 319311 33,208 10.4 Wasatch 12,836 552 4.3 Washington 75,623 7,260 9.6 Weber ' 177,505 14,023 7.9 S!?a8sp8ar--in under two hours. NET NEWS Willi 1 1 I' i i, . i , i,,, ii ,1' Sports: Volleyball wins conference opener against SLCC. VALLEY WEATHER Monday- Mostly Sunny. High 84, Low 44 Tuesday: Mostfy Sunny. High 84, Low 47 Wednesday. Partly Cloudy: High 86, Low 47 Hill low Coalition lobbying voir higher wages Economic reports indicate that many Utahns earn below the national minimum wage By DANIELLE WHITE OF THE NETXNEWS STAFF SALT LAKE CITY- The Utah job market may be up, but the pay isn't. The Utah Living Wage Coalition, comprised of 24 independent union organizations are sending approposal to Salt Lake government to increase the amount of minimum wage Utah state pays to its lower income families.According to Chief Economist Ken Jensen of the Utah Department of Workforce Services, Utah unemployment is at an estimate three-percent as compared to the four percent US . average. "These persistently low rates indicate that the labor market remains very tight," said Jensen. "About 33,200 Utahns were unemployeed in July," he said. Though economic reports issued by the Utah Department of Workforce Services show a 21.8 percent increase in non-farming jobs, the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development statistics say that Utahns barely make $.85 above the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. "A family of four would need to $35,000-$40,000 a year to live reasonably in Utah," Utah Issues reports. "But According to the Federal Government a family of four is at the poverty level if they earn $17,050 per year or $1,421 per month. Families earning this amount should be spending no more than $426.30 on rent (Utah's fair market rent is $598 for a two bedroom apartment)." Utah Issues continues to say that, "A minimum wage worker would have to work 276 hours each month, or 69 hours per week to match this poverty level." According to their research of the 319,311 Utah County population 33.20S are in poverty; 56, 947 of the 813, 530 Salt Lake City residents. Jensen believes that the coalition will likely fail. "This is a fairly complicated issue on the economic level because we (the state) either can't afford to pay people we will have to raise prices or tax payers would end up paying more for services," he said. "The manicipality would have to arbitrarily determine what is a living wage but it is unlikely unless businesses receive pressure. Things would have to change quite a bit, there would have to be a group of proponents that would aggragate together to get the cities to enact it," he said. Various other economists, including Jensen, are doing research to determine who would benefit and the economic effects. Deeda Seed, Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson's chief of staff, told The Salt Lake Tribune that "We're keenly interested in this continued pg. 3 see "Wages" Net Spot THE HOTTEST SPOTS IN: NewxPolitks r5.fs.fed.uvfi'Vteam5.com youthvote2000.orgnew5 cnn.comALlPOUTICS msn.com mtv.comnavintrochoose orloose msnbc.comnewsdefault.asp Entertainment: utahvalleymall.com music.utah.edupagessche dules utahvalleymusic.com moviefone.com Music Online: emusic.com liquidaudio.com MP3.com Student helps: makingcollegecount.com edu.com fastweb.com firetalk.com lycos.com Sports uvsc.eduathletics majorleaguebaseball.com nflfans.com nfltalk.com espn.go.com nba.com wnba.com I320kfan.com 0 percent tuition hike- By AMBER V00RHEES OF THE NETXNEWS STAFF Students of higher education should be aware of the possibility of a 10-percent tuition hike. The Utah Board of Regents recently met to discuss what funding the state needs for educational purposes. The Regents haven't come up with any proposals; however, they have asked college presidents to compile a list of prioritized spending if tuition were inflated by 10 percent. Utah Valley State College's Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Lucille Stoddard, said, "It is difficult for UVSC to ask for such an increase when it goes directly on the student's back." However, she feels that a critical funding dilemma has been reached. Weber State University's President, Paul Thompson, is uncomfortable with the size of the possible figure. Roughly 85 percent of WSU's students are working to pay for school. Half of those students are working at least 30 hours a week, and they are struggling to make ends meet. Thomson wonders if WSU "would indeed get extra money," if the tuition increase caused some students to drop out of school. "I would prefer the increase not be that much," he said. President Lynn Cundiff, from Salt Lake Community College, agrees with Thomson. "Honestly, I am worried about turning students away. We're not a university; we're a community college," he said. "If there are major increases . . . the people who struggle to come to college anyway would have even more difficulty attending." The heat is on for the presidents of the nine institutions. continued pg. 3 see "Tuition" -.V-"- fc ...V " MATTHEW BROWN THE COLLEGE TIMES Construction begins today on the University Parkway 1-15 Interchange, which handles traffic to and Irom UVSC. The hook ramp connecting UVSC campus with 1-15 northbound (shown above) will eventually be closed. The project Is expected to be completed in September ol 2001. Parlcway begins today By CLARKE CALDWELL OF THE NETXNEWS STAFF Beginning today, the University Parkway and 1-15 interchange, located immediately west of the UVSC campus, will undergo a one year reconstruction project to extend the life of the old parkway bridge, which crosses over 1-15, and help decrease traffic congestion. The project will include new on and off ramps as part of a new Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) and is expected to be completed September 15, 2001. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has contracted with Ralph Wadsworth Construction Inc. to work on the project.For the first phase of construction, which starts today, crews will be adding pavement along the shoulders of the north bound on and off ramps, as well as the west bound connector to Geneva road. According to Tracy Timothy, Traffic Control Supervisor for Wadsworth Continued pg. 3 See "Construction" Pol! shows Bush, ore dead even By DAN BALZ AND RICAHRO MORIN WASHINGTON POST STAFF WRITERS Al Gore and George W. Bush arc locked in a dead-even race for the White House, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, with Gore having consolidated gains he made at his convention and enjoying the edge on who is best equipped to handle the issues voters say are most important to them. The Post-ABC poll reveals an electorate that is sharply divided over the choice for president in November but relatively contented with both major party candidates. With two months remaining before Election Day, the poll foreshadows a fiercely competitive contest as Gore tries to capitalize on the strong economy and Bush seeks to make a compelling case for changing parties after eight years of Democratic control. In a four-way matchup, Gore and Bush each received 47 percent support among likely voters, with Green Party nominee Ralph Nader at 3 percent and disputed Reform Party nominee Patrick J. Buchanan an asterisk. In a hypothetical two-way race, Bush led Gore 49 percent to 47 percent. The polls taken immediately after Labor Day are considered especially important by presidential candidates because they are the first that measure the lasting impact of the summer political conventions, and they mark the moment in the race that many Americans begin to pay serious attention to the candidates. Election Tidbits In the last four presidential elections, the leader on Labor Day has gone on to win the presidency. Some polls reveal that Bush is considered to be the stronger leader, by a 65 to 54 percent margin. rmrrrrrxumf mill ?!.'jLY!".",'yarTrT Gore is favored over Bush by women, 52 to 38 percent. Hotel Roberts irks locals By JARED W. BLACKLEY OF THE NETXNEWS STAFF Built in 1882 by Esther Pulispate and sold to the Roberts' family three years later, the Hotel Roberts was in its prime the premiere lodging facility in Provo. 1 imagine many newly-weds spent their first night together there. Anybody who was anybody that was passing through Provo most likely stayed at the Hotel Roberts. But time has taken its toll on the place. No longer does the Alamo-like front skyline so easily attract the eyes of the passerby. No longer do its doors pander to the wealthy or romantic-minded sojourner. I have heard its inside described by one as "eerie." One resident of the nearby Franklin Neighborhood complained that the building "detracts from the Continued pg. 6 See "Hotel Roberts" ' I , ' ;it j warn1 1 UWwJIiZZ! j- -- :n w; d JARED ILACKLET THE COLLEGE TIMES Hotel Roberts Is the target ol Provo residents, who claim that the appearance and clientele ol the building detracts Irom the community.iTiJSEEijii! '.mmto .uiMtwii 1 1 in i mi mm wn iiii.ii inaaa