UVU Review, 2012-01-30

              ; , V : ' ; UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY "4 n C.J L-A STUDENT ASSOCIATION 11 iisa' -j) Students start competitive m mr .91 is iglt vs. Mi ffr I J L f As presidential candidates start campaigning, students consider what matters most to them BY SIERRA WILSON Asst. Young people are the voice of the future. Come November, they can be the voice of the next four years. With the US Presidential Elections coming up this year, talk of candidates and political issues can be heard buzzing on Twitter feeds, TV stations, news headlines and even the lips of college students. Using an informal poll of 42 students in the Student Center, the UVU Review tapped into the political buzz here on campus, unveiling some unique results. Students polled were first asked, "If you had to vote for U.S. President today, who would you vote for?" Several students seemed undecided and struggled to select a candidate. Others spoke their choice without hesitation. A total of 64.3 percent of students polled said they would vote for Mitt Romney Frequency of Info. Consumption How often do you check in? 11 a Z-'l VUSA Rock us Caucus: Its' time to run BY J.P.RODRIGUEZ Staff Writer With student body elections taking place this semester, applications for perspective candidates are due Monday, Feb. 6. Application packages can be picked up at the UVU Student Association office located at SC 105. "If students care where their dollars go, they should care about student elections," said Joe Jurisic,vice-president for student life, and a member of the election committee atUVUSA. He said student body officers make decisions that affect the students at UVU, bass fishing club LIFE B4 H 0 if they had to vote today. Diverging from the rest of the nation, not a single student said they would vote for Newt Gingrich. However, Gingrich currently has the lead in the running for Republican candidate.Although Romney was the clear favorite with UVU students, most polls, as compiled by RealClearPolitics.com, show that Obama would beat Romney in a general election. The next question students were asked was, "What is the most important political issue to you?" Many students struggled and hesitated with an answer. However, in the end, 54.8 percent of students polled said that the economy was the most important issue to them. This result was not surprising, especially in light of the 8.5 percent national unemployment rate, as reported for December 201 1 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. None of the students polled Most Important Political Issue What matters most to you? Daily Weekly Every Few Weeks Monthly Rarely Never such as allocation of funds from fees, advocating for students at the state and local levels, and planning various campus events. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and students should take advantage of it," Jurisic said. He said student body elections are important because, "they get to determine student's college experience. Gives them an opportunity to feel people in the UVUSA office care about what they want." Jurisic said the current student body officers ran unopposed last year. He said when several teams run for office, Please participate in student elections li'HE It'll V' II'IE ' chose "foreign policy" as the most important political issue to them. This may suggest that, at least for UVU students, the November elections will be determined by issues closer to home. If you had to vote for U.S. President today, who would you vote for? Coining in second and third place respectively were health care and education. Three students selected "other" as the most important political issue to them. When asked what issue they thought was most important, one of these students said abortion, another said the environment and the last said the legalization of marijuana. The final question students polled were asked was, "How often do you consume infor- r'T Economy U Immigration Education HealtliCare Foreign Policy : 1 Other "we get more different perspectives of how students see campus, and more students can feel their voice is being heard." Jurisic said the election committee put up posters on campus encouraging students to run for office. He said UVUSA held open meetings to let students know what to do to run for student body offices this year, in order to avoid having unopposed elections once again. UVUSA has been reaching out and going to entities on campus whose students would be interested in running, such as honors societies, and different colleges at h v 0 U i II SUM COKTNEY NELSOM t Oki MIUMUVU REVIEW mation about the presidential election and candidates?" Most students appeared to be frequently informed on these matters, with 23.8 percent consuming information on the presidential election and candidates daily, and 45.2 percent of students polled consuming such information weekl. In a day of ubiquitous mass media, this isn't hard to imagine. Nevertheless, 11.9 percent of students polled said that they never consume information about the presidential election or candidates. This informal poll only brushed the surface of political life at UVU. However, even with this glimpse, people can know a little about the voices helping to decide the future. For more information on presidential candidates, go online and visit2012.presi-dential-candidates.org. This website provides links to the campaign websites of each of the candidates. Presidential Candidate Choice If you had to vote today, who would you choose? Z'l Obama n Romney Gingrich : 2 Santorum Paul '. : Other UVU. To run, students must pick up and fill out the "20 1 2-20 13 Student Body Officer Candidate Packet" at the UVUSA offices at SC 105. This must be filled and turned in by Feb. 6 to run in this semester's elections. Interested students must also attend a mandatory meeting that will be held at the UVUSA office that same day at noon, and pay as security deposit. Jurisic said the $200 is a facilities cleaning security deposit. He said the money will be refunded, provided no permanent damage is done UVUSA A3 Bringing biking to the forefront TKEVMA6AZQV4 V, IHMf IE Salt Lake Dream team members explain DREAM Act and struggles The Dream Act is a bill that would serve as a pathway to citizenship for undocumented students who meet certain criteria BY YVETTE CRUZ Staff Writer Eager to voice their opinion and the desire to change the world, even Time Magazine declared "Person of the Year" none other than, the protester. Salt Lake Dream Team members and siblings Bryan and Raymi Gutierrez shared their stories, struggles and thoughts on immigration laws in a panel on Jan. 25 to inform and educate the public on the DREAM Act. Before they spoke, a video was shown to the audience in which Illinois Senator Richard Durbin expressed to his colleagues the need to pass the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is a piece of legislature that would provide residency to undocumented students who ft ' ' ., t One of six unchanged historic houses in Orem, is Bye bye good ole' Bunnell house BY TIFFANY THATCHER Asst. New Editor Every student has walked by it. Many look in the windows, but for the most part, the Bunnell home, located near the Liberal Arts building has been underused. This pioneer house, one of six remaining unchanged historical buildings in Orem, is about to be moved off the campus, but this is not its first move. In the late 70's,the Bunnell house could be found near the creek where the Sparks Automotive building is now. Its current location was then the outskirts of campus. In order to make way for the new student wellness center, it will be moved early this summer. Vegor Pedersen, academic advisor for the communication department has had many visions for this forgotten piece of the campus, starting when he first noticed it as a student. "Five or six years ago, back when I was a student, 1 was walking on campus and noticed a really cool building that seemed to be underused," Pedersen said. "My first idea was to have it be a campus cafe. There was were brought to the U.S. before the age of 16. They also have to have lived here for at least five years, have no criminal background and either receive an Associate's degree or volunteer to serve in the military for two years. It stands for development, relief and education for alien minors. Bryan shared his story with the audience and told them how he came to the U.S. when he was just three years old and doesn't know another place as home. Although it seemed he lived a life similar to many of his classmates, he was unsure about his future due to his legal status. "Like a lot of undocumented students, I lived afraid," Bryan said. Bryan graduated from the University of Utah with two Bachelor's degrees, yet his' immigration status continues-to be an obstacle for him and other dreamers. Raymi was the first American citizen in her family. Out of nine children she was the first born in the U.S. She DREAM A3 to be moved. COMNOR AiEM UVU REVIEW nothing remotely like that at that time." Pedersen imagined a student run, student owned cafe, with many other uses such as poetry readings, and even housing a radio station but these possibilities could only be a reality with funds from the school to fix it up. Many joined Pedersen's efforts and to this day five dollars of each of paychecks go toward the Bunnell house fund. President Holland joined the cause and introduced the idea of it being, an in-terfaith chapel, specifically for Muslim students to pray during the day since, there is a group of Muslim students who currently hold their Friday prayers in the Trustees room. However, when Holland and UVUSA looked into it financially, the project was; deemed too much to fight; for, Pedersen realized this. "Many see the land under the house as more valuable than the house," Pedersen said. "I thought, 'if the president can't save the house, I can't." With all of the requirements for state owned buildings from the disabilities BUNNEL A5