UVSC College Times, 2008-01-21

              Primary caucus Opinions A6 t he College Times MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2008 THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF UTAH VALLEY STATE VOLUMEXXXVII.NO. 17 LiVCOLLEGETIMES.COM 2008 ' Film Festival begins Life B1 i LU' - - ' 1 ' "" '"'W "1 " ' " t J - t i ' l.....m..-., .,,,,.,,,..-,, n. mi i,., i i. ..... , ,-,-,-,., Mark Johnston College Times Is danger lurking in the shadows of UVSC? Insufficient lighting in certain areas has created questions regarding the safety of students on campus after dark. Campus safety After dark, UVSC becomes . an entirely different environment Britnee P'jc'ic Campus safety issues have been on the minds of students across the county the past few months. One issue that is a main concern among UVSC students is feeling secure at night around campus. UVSC has a low crime rate compared to other schools. "There are some things to consider when looking at (safety at) our campus versus other institutions," said Sgt. Justin Sprague, UV Fire Marshall. "The biggest being we do not have on-campus housing which helps keep our crime statistics lower than other institutions."While UVSC has a good safety record, there is still some room for improvement as UVSC transitions into a university. One safety concern is the lack of adequate lighting in certain parking lots and walkways around campus. "Lighting for night students has been a concern for the last couple of years," said Joe Marrott, UVSC Director of Risk ManagementHealth and Safety. Students walking in poorly-lit areas subject themselves to being easy targets of crime such as robbery or sexual assault. To avoid crime happening at night, UVSC has continually made improvements to the campus over the years. For example, the parking lots north of the campus used to be all gravel with no lighting whatsoever. Legitimate safety concerns were brought up by those on campus and a paved parking lot with sufficient lighting was put in. According to Marrott, over $100,000 has been provided by the administration to bring external lighting to a higher standard. Lisa Davis, a junior at UVSC, is taking a night class this semester and generally feels safe on campus after dark. However, she sees some areas that could still use some improvement. "There are places on campus that 1 definitely avoid after dark, such as the outside walkways around the Gunther Trades Building and some parts of the Computer Science Building. The lighting in these areas is lacking, but more especially, there seems to be significantly less (foot) traffic and thus, I don't feel safe walking alone after dark," said Davis. Davis uses the indoor hallways instead of the outdoor walkways if she has to walk in those areas at night, but Safety tips for night students Always have another person walk with you. Try to stay in well-lit areas. Be extremely careful while entering cross walks as it is very difficult to see pedestrians at night. Be aware of your surroundings and report anything suspicious immediately. Don't wait until you get home to report it. Keep a cell phone close by with UVSC Dispatch 863-5555 programmed into your contacts Nguyen ecaor "' mini! i . i u I. ... .. ii I. - College Marketing avoids it when she can by parking in the Institute parking lot where she feels safer with more people around and more lighting in that area. Todd Blake, Assistant to the Student Body President, feels that safety is a concern but should not be dramatized. "I totally feel safe on campus. But I'm a guy, so that may be different for girls. But I also think that a lot of girls on campus overreact to walking around on campus or in the parking lot at night." "Like, if I'm walking behind a girl while leaving the school at 9 or 10 p.m. I can just feel the tension coming from her because she thinks I may be a predator," See SAFETY 5 FIND OUT MORE about : CAMPUS SAFETY ON A5 College Marketing Homestate renovation Students assist in dedication ceremonies for state capitol Jennie Nicholls Assistant News editor UVSC students, along with dignitaries from across the state, were among the prestigious guests that attended the Utah state capitol rededi-cation celebrations during the first week in January. Student volunteers from UVSC were present to serve as escorts and to provide trivia facts about the capitol building. Approximately 40 UVSC students were in attendance on any given day during the week long celebration, accounting for the largest turnout from any school in the state. Matt Harrison, a student at UVSC involved in various leadership positions on campus, spoke about the significance of UVSC's student involvement. "The students of UVSC have really shown the caliber of the student body that we have. They were willing to give their time and I think it reflects the high ber of students we have at- cal tending this school," said Har- y rison. Protecting mans best friend Henry visits UVSC campus to promote animal cruelty awareness Dave Iba Assisl.int l-'hoto etlnor Henry, along w ith owner Rhonda Kamper, visited UVSC's campus to help promote animal cruelty awareness and to help get a petition signed to show support for Henry's Law, also known as SB 102. On April 26, 2007 Henry was chased by Kamper's ex-husband. Marc Vincent, with a leaf blower-damaging his eye permanently-and then put into a 200-degrce oven for five minutes, leaving him with severe scarring on his chest and fusing his front toes together. Vincent was later charged with intentional animal cruelty, which is presently a class A misdemeanor. The maximum sentence Utah currently has to offer is one year Harrison also places a lot of the event's success on' these student volunteers. "We had the largest student turnout out of all the schools that were invited. Interesting that out of all the colleges we had the longest commute." Harrison, along with UVSC student Caleb Love, were the student coordinators from UVSC. Their duties included recruiting and organizing volunteers, publicizing the event, and involving as many different student groups as possible. Harrison attributes networking skills to the success he and Love had in getting the biggest turnout.Some schools reportedly declined attending this landmark event due to travel costs. Dignitaries at the event included UVSC President Bill Sederburg and well-known government officials from around the state, as well as religious leaders, including Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ ' See CAPITOL A4 Visitsaltiake.com in jail and a $2500 fine. Kamper is now working to see Utah law upgrade animal cruelty to a first offence felony. In the U.S., 43 states have felony provisions for animal cruelty, and Kamper's pledge is to See HENRY A3 1 T - 'V i . Dave Iba College 1 imcs Rhonda Kamper, along with her dog, Henry, were collecting signatures for a petition to pass a bill that would demand the necessities for pets in the state.