Want More Info?

Love football? If you’re hoping to cheer the Wolverines on the gridiron soon, don’t hold your breath. Athletic Director Mike Jacobsen has a passion to start a varsity football program at UVU but doesn’t see it happening anytime soon.

The poor economy and fewer dollars from corporate sponsors have put the hurt on all varsity athletics, Jacobsen said. He cites money woes combined with waning political support from power-brokers both on and off campus, as the major obstacles delaying a football kick-off.

Football supporters hoped for a perfect storm last year with the combination of achieving university status while awaiting a new school president that many hoped would be pigskin-friendly. President Holland has not yet announced his intentions either for or against a football program, and so the pot sits on the back burner for now.

Not all is at a standstill though. A start-up fund that began three years ago continues to swell towards a calculated $3 million goal – a figure Jacobsen says is enough to launch a football team. The fund, labeled as a “conference affiliation fund”, receives unwitting donations each year from every student enrolled at UVU.

The brainchild of 2006-07 student body president Jared Sumsion, the fund began collecting $5 per school year from every student the year Sumsion was elected. The five-year plan increases the student contributions every school year until spring 2011, when students will be pitching in $13 per year.

Written By: Matt Beaudry

UVU Football, To Be? Or Not To Be?

The current situation on UVU establishing a football program is technically undecided since the decision is left up to President Holland whose main concern right now is establishing credibility for UVU academically instead of athletically. According to an interview with head of UVU athletics department, Mike Jacobsen, there is potential land set aside for the purpose of a football field. If President Holland would give the go ahead for football it would take UVU 3 years to come up with the money that is needed to start up a football program. The obvious question is where to get the money? Jacobsen mentioned that in the beginning a 5 year plan was established for football plans so that money could start accumulating. This was proposed to the student body in 2006. Polls were established and the student body was uanimously on board with the idea. Jared Sumsion, who was the student body president at UVU during this time was interviewed on the matter last Friday. He was asked about the football fund that students, since 06, have been putting money into every semester, what are the fees? And how much money is in the fund now? His response was that there wasn't a football fund, it was the conference affiliation fund which was established to fund athletics so that UVU could get into a legitimate conference. When talking to Mike Jacobsen about the funds though he said it started out as a football fund and was changed to the Conference Affiliation Fund that it is now. So honestly it is really unclear what the purpose is of being "taxed" for football, if there may not be a football program. When comparing the two interviews, Jacobsen and Sumsion, there were a lot of holes in the story. One said money is being set aside, the other said that football would happen only if UVU was able to find a wealthy benefactor for the program. According to SUmsion, bottom line is that UVU must get into a conference before they even think about a football program. Bottom line for Jacobsen is even if Pres. Holland said yes to a team tomorrow it would still take 3 years to raise the money.

A survey of students was taken and there was a wide variety of results and opinions. A poll is in process and so far 80% of the students would not put their money toward a football team if given a choice. However, 60% of the same students would like a football team here at UVU.

Jared Sumsion did a poll when he was student body president and the result was 80% to wanting a football team, but were these students aware of the money they were paying without consent.

We interviewed a number of students about this subject. Most originally had a positive reaction, but when they discovered that their money was already going toward this establishment many ended with the answer no, to having a football team at UVU.

Garret Swenson was one of the students who answered yes. Swenson says that having a football team would help the reputation of the school and also his education.

A few students agreed that since they are graduating soon it is not fair for the school to use their money because when a football team is established it will not be beneficial to them.

“BYU is right there”, said McCall Tycksen.

Students don’t feel it is necessary to have another football team here in Utah Valley.

The poll proves these reactions of interviews. Students see positives in having a football team, but not when their money is involved.

Also, We want to make you aware that $123 of our tuition is going toward the Athletic department each year. We spoke with the University Utah and discovered that they are paying the same amount. Why are we paying the same amount as an extremely established university who has the added expense of a football team? Football is the most expensive sport to have at a university, therefore we should not be paying the same amount as the University of Utah because UVU is not funding a football team.

Jared Sumsion Q&A UVU Football

Jared Sumsion, Executive Director of the Wolverine Club for UVU athletics.

Q: In an earlier interview with Mike Jacobsen, Athletic Director for UVU Athletics, he said UVU
had established a five year plan, which we are now in the third year of, (correct me if I'm wrong).
Was this established when you were president?
Tell me about the five year plan, what was it set up to accomplish?

A:  Yes, I was the Student Body President who established this fund. It actually does not even mention football at all. It is called "The Conference Affiliation Fund" (You can obtain a copy of the document through the student government office)
It was not set up to bring football to UVU at all. The purpose of the fund was to help UVU get into a conference (i.e.) WAC or Big Sky, etc... For example, the Big Sky requires that we have a football team whereas the WAC does not want us with a Football team...
The fund is to help us get into a legitimate NCAA conference...

Q: Mike Jacobsen, UVU Athletic Director, said it was meant for football. Did the purpose of the fund change?

A: It is more important to get into a legit conference than to have a football program. If getting into a good conference means we need a football program than we will try our best to bring one on board.

Q: When talking to other sources involved in football I was told that it is now up to Pres. Holland wether to create a football program or not. So if he decides to not go through with football, where would the accumulated funds go, and where have they been going up to this point?

A: Football is not on the radar right now (unless you know someone who would like to donate lots of money). Getting into an awesome conference is first on everyone's agenda (including the President's).


So what's up with UVU Football? Does anyone know?

Stay tuned for more later on this subject. In the meantime... Please feel free to take the poll on UVU football and let us know what you think.

Football team at UVU?

Hey guys!

On the right hand side of the page I've installed a poll. I'm hoping that you'll be able to do me a favor and give me your opinion on the matter. If you feel like you'd like to comment more, leave me a comment under this post, i'd love to hear about it.

There has been rumor at UVU of a football team for a while now, me and a few close friends are looking into the matter further but as of right now how do you feel about UVU establishing a football team?

And if you'd like a football team at UVU would you be willing to pay for it out of your pocket? Say likle 30 dollars a year give or take a few...?

If you don't like the idea of UVU establishing a football team and you found out you were paying for it, say 30 dollars a year give or take a few, how would you feel about that?

Fill out the poll please!

40 Years Ago Today

A bunch of Native American college students in California moved to Alcatraz for a few months, 19 to be exact, to occupy it in hopes of it being relinquished to the indians for their own purposes such as a tribal center and a place of worship since the previous one in SF had burnt down and the government had made no immediate plans to rebuild.

DUring the stay at Alcatraz they lived in the buildings sometimes without electricity and all the time without any phone service and sometimes without running water. During this time the prison was closed and was considered surplus property to the government.

From the article- Motive for the occupation was the government's general treatment of Indians. The U.S. 16 years earlier had begun a policy of terminating Indian reservations and relocating the inhabitants to urban areas.

"[The Alcatraz occupiers] wanted to focus attention on broken treaties, broken promises and termination of tribal areas," said Professor Troy Johnson, chairman of the American Indian studies program at California State University, Long Beach, and author of several publications on the occupation.

The event gathered a ton of media coverage resulting in change for these people. Check out the article.

Since when does Oprah need publicity?

Our darling Oprah is giving her last show (gasp, can it be true?) kinda...she will be giving her last show in 2 years.

SO why does she decide to tell us now? So that our hearts don't break? Trying to break it to us easy... I think she's decided to be done in time to get ready to run for president. If she didn't like Obama so much already I think she would have ran in the last election...

Without Oprah in our lives what will we do? Will we ever hear from her again? I'm being honest here.... What does she think SHE'S going to do? Sit around in her multiple houses all by herself? I wonder if she will continue on with her magazine. I truly do love that magazine. I never read the articles but the pictures are beautiful and the bolded phrases throughout the articles are very clever.

She always looks great on those covers. I think it's safe to say that Oprah is a beautiful woman. Sometimes are better than others. I like watching Oprah because she's not Tyra Banks... You know what I mean? SHes a news woman, she';s giving you facts. Tyra Banks is always trying to start a fire. "Is you baby daddy, YOUR daddy?"......wtf

Oprah never does that. Oprah is also very helpful. To readers like myself she fights half the battle by telling you straight up that she likes a certain book. I have come to find that you can trust these books. I read a story called 'Krik? Krak!' which was a very short read but really touching and it was on her booklist.

Oprah we will miss you and your wholesome clothes and views and books.

The question remains however, why are you telling us this now? It's like her ratings have gone down so she's like, "....I'm leaving!" (fire fire!) and every woman in America is frantic they'll never hear anymore advice. To be fair, they probably just decided and the press always figures this stuff out. She released the info to be informative...why wouldn't she? She's Americas angel.

I bet her ratings go up immediately. The story I read is right here

Check it out

News Story #2

Utah Fire and Rescue Academy students show off for the ladies.

Provo, Uta.- Friday girlfriends and wives of students at the Utah Fire and Rescue Academy (UFRA) were invited to watch as their husbands and boyfriends demonstrated what they've been up to all semester.

Class begins every morning starting at seven o'clock at the academy, however the students are expected to be there at 6:15 am to prep the fire trucks and clean gear. Last Friday was no exception. The day started as normal at the academy, but around lunch the girlfriends and wives enjoyed BBQ while the boys lit a building on fire and demonstrated their knowledge of putting it out.

The program is set up of six groups called "companies" and there are four men in a company. As students of the program they are expected to display leadership qualities, discipline, and strong work ethic.

The students are tested throughout the semester on their physical fitness, comprehensive knowledge and their academic abilities. Which were displayed on Friday as they tore down walls, broke through doors, and exhibited their knowledge of fires behavior towards different elements.

"Discipline is first and foremost at the academy, along with attention to detail. If you score lower then 80% on 3 tests you're kicked out of the academy." said Owen Beaudry a student attending UFRA.

While the students showed off their skills the instructors hung out with the girls and answered questions. Later the girls were taken on a tour where they were shown the props used in the fire demonstration.

"It was fun because the guys were excited and proud to show us how hard they have been working. We were treated like special guests. I never realized how task oriented it is to put out a fire." Said Emily Jensen UVU student and a girlfriend that attended.

After the completion of this fall semester the students of UFRA, who are also all UVU students, will have completed this program and be qualified firefighter/EMTs.

November Dancesport

This was truly a disappointment. I was not dancing at this competition because i've been sick and been busy getting married. It was crazy to watch all the bad dancing. I'm not saying I could have done better (even though I could have) but I was hoping for not so much crap.

I didn't even wait to see who placed where because they all looked the same. I didn't know who would be last. To be fair Giovanna and Paul, were honestly having fun and looking great. And Shannon and Shane were great at being big and boold, they took up space and looked decent doing it.

Other than that I was not impressed. Eugene and Maria came and did a performance and not even they looked very good. Not their best. Everyone was tired and sloppy.... Made me want to get out there though and show em whats up.

There are a few things I want to see in a couple.

1- foremost, good legs and feet, if you can't turn out your feet, can't lift a hip and settle it, and don't know when to straighten or bend. PLEASE, please get off the floor.
2- Don't do cheerleader faces... you know what I mean, Hold your head still please.NO bobbing, and close your mouth
3-any body movement you have going on should only happen because of where your feet are going. Which I understand is alot easier said than done, but if you bend a leg, your butt goes out, simple.. Stop making your body shake unaturally it looks awkward and it makes me feel een more so.

I can't wait to get back in the studio and seriously competing again.

Blackpool 2010 here I come
check out BYU Dancesport

Fort Hood

"The impact of trauma on those who help the traumatized has become a subject of discussion as investigators try to piece together why Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, an Army psychiatrist at Darnall Army Medical Center, allegedly opened fire at a military processing center Thursday at Fort Hood Army Post in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding 30 others." CNN

This guys story is unknown for the most part. We do know he is a 39 year old psychiatrist at the Texas army base Fort Hood. He just went on a "bloody rampage" as CNN puts it, by killing and injuring several people on the base. This article is speculating that perhaps by hearing so many horror stories that aren't his own and having no outlet for them they just built until it led to a horrifying story of his own.

When I heard this story, before I knew his name or saw his picture, I immediately thought TERRORIST. I'm interested to see how this turns out. It appears in this article with all the experts advise and quotes that there might be some serious government PR work going on here. I'm not usually one for paranoia or conspiracy theories but this seems odd to me.

"Though it was previously reported he was dead, officials reported late Thursday he was alive, wounded and in stable condition." This excerpt was from another article linked to the one I read. Doesn't this seem off to anyone?

Marriage

I get married tomorrow at seven o'clock. I'm sitting here going over my vows. And i'm so excited. I'm a little nervous. A titch bit scared.

I'm excited to have Trey forever in my life.
I'm nervous that I might cry too much, or miss a moment I will want to cherish.
And i'm scared that I won't be the best I can be for him...

This man i've found, is the best one anyone could know. He gets it. He sees life through blessed eyes. He is strong both in body and mind. He is the type of man who could walk through flames to get to something he wanted or needed on the other side.

I'm excited to watch him be a dad.
I'm nervous our kids will like him more than me :)
I'm scared that I'll lose it with him sometimes... that i'll yell too much

T doesn't yell, he gets quiet, and he gets sad. This amazing person I've found is going to give me the most amazing life. Want to know why?

He tells me so. And he winks at me...I love it when he winks cuz he's good at it.

I'm excited to hear his laugh until i'm too old to hear anymore.
I'm nervous that might come too young. 60 years seems too short...
I'm scared I might die first, and he'd be alone.

You know, i've been waiting for Trey forever. I always knew I wanted him. I can't believe I found him so soon, and so easy!

I'm excited to be his wife.
I'm nervous to try a new signature. A cursive J seems hard.
I'm scared that since I found him so easy....maybe it was too easy.

I get married tomorrow so when I was getting a pedicure today I was talking to the girl doing my nails. Her husband recently passed away so now she is a widow with a two year old daughter. When I looked in this girls eyes I could see so much pain there. I wondered how she could get into bed, or wake up knowing he wouldn't come home.

I'm excited T will come home...
I'm nervous to try and be cooking now. I never thought of it before.
I'm scared

I'm excited to have sex with him forever
I'm excited to have his babies
I'm excited to boss him around
I'm excited to know his deepest feelings
I'm excited for him to know mine
I'm nervous for the hard times
and I'm scared for the end


T, i love you like no one can. I want to protect you, and hold you on bad days. I want you to hold me and I want to laugh alot. You are my everything.
Married :)

Swine Flu Hype

I got home Sunday evening from my bachelorette party in Vegas where I stayed up really late, had a few drinks, didn't sleep very well. I had just gotten my wisdom teeth out a little over a week before so I already wasn't one hundred percent. I get home, monday i'm exhausted, not sleeping really caught up to me. Tuesday I am up and moving around but i'm feeling pretty sick. That night I had a fever through the roof... and since tuesday I have basically been laying on my couch thinking I was going to die.

To be accurate, thursday I went to the doctor because I had started to violently throw up. I could barely walk and I knew something was seriously wrong. By wednesday I had started to feel this ache in my back which I think started on tuesday but I must not have noticed because it started as a bit of a muscle ache, I thought that that wasn't uncommon since I work out it might have been some stiffness. Well when I went to the doctor I was thinking either swine flu or kidney infection either one sucks because I get married next thursday and I have a lot of stuff to do between now and then.

Turns out it was a kidney infection.

The remarkable thing about this whole story is that mustiple times through my fever haze I can remmebr being so scared that it was swine flu and I might die, that I think it made my symptoms worse. I can remember feeling my heart beat speed up and my face get hotter. Almost like my brain was like, ok we thought it was this one thing but she is saying it's another so... let's freak out!

The swine flu hype makes me sick...literally.
When I went into the clinic where my doctor is they have a sign asking that if you have a fever, cough, runny nose etc.. to where a little mask like the doctors wear. So I did and I just remember thinking....

Now I look like everyone in the pictures. I have swine flu, and I'm going to die... www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/qa.htm

SWINE FLU SCARE HAS REACHED NEW HIGH

Orem, Ut - Last week a UVU student was asked to not attend class once it was known that she had been exposed to the swine flu and a class member now has symptons.

The professor of the class gave a personal phone call Monday night asking the student to please stay home for the night instead of attending class. A class member is now sick with the swine flu and the prevention of the illness spreading is first and foremost on teachers minds at the university.

"When my son showed symptoms I took him to the doctor to get diagnosed, the doctor said to take him home, they have had so many outbreaks, the clinic didn't even test him."
Said Lisa Packard, the student who received the call. Packard had missed class due to her childs illness but never became sick with the flu herself.

Faculty was sent a mass email at the university asking to relay the message to students. If you are sick, or have come in contact, notify your teacher and please stay home.

"I was kind of freaked out by the outbreak in the valley and I went to get the flu shot but the line was so long I left after an hour" said UVU student Nate Parkins.

The syomptoms for swine flu have been fever, loss of appetite, and stomach cramping.
"The swine flu has evolved so that the flu shot doesn't even treat it now" claims Farrah Dunn, a Professor at UVU. Dunn has had students in her classes miss two weeks at a time with the flu. A few of her students started getting sick before the email to faculty went out.

"It felt weird to be asked to not attend class" said Packard about the phone call from her professor. When she recieved the call Packard explained the situation, she never got sick and her son was technically never diagnosed. Packard claims her Professor was very kind about the situation. The main thing on his mind is prevention of spreading the sickness as midterm exams start in two weeks.

When class resumes Monday the 19th after fall break she is expected back in class as usual.

Strip Tazed...?

I have often thought that I would do certain things to get myself out of a ticket. Stripping for a police officer in front of my children probably wouldn't be one of them. Julia E. Laack, 36, of Sheboygan Wis. was convicted of a felony for battering a peace officer. She stole beef jerky and a lighter from a convenience store and when the cops went to her house to questions her she started yelling at her three children, refused o come to the door, and stripped naked so that when they entered they wouldn't be able to arrest her...
Honestly this story is too good. Please read this article.
I want to know what people in america would do to get out of a ticket, or talk the police (or try to) out of being arrested. We've seen cops, we've seen drunken red necks trying to drive and hookers trying to convince undercover that they arne't doing what they are actually doing. SO... what would a "normal" american do to get out of these circumstances?

I would cry myself out of a ticket, justify speeding on being in labor. If I ever shoplifted, which I wouldn't, but I might say that I did it because I forgot I had it... I might do some crazy things to get out of trouble...
Check out this article and let me know, what would YOU do to get out of trouble?

http://www.theledger.com/article/20091009/APA/910092199

RANT

My last post talked about agenda setting. I've been reading up a little bit on healthcare and everything that's available to know about it, which isn't much, and if you know me you've heard me talk about how I don't feel like I have a voice at all. I'm not old enough to vote. Which is the number one issue. The number two issue is that even if I could vote, is anybody listening?

This article I read on CNN.com is talking about how the public option for healthcare may or may not be dead. President Obama has been nurturing this project of his since before he was elected, even the president has his own agenda to set. I am not sure if I care one way or another about healthcare, I'm just bothered that it feels like I don't have a choice.

I just graduated from high school, which just means I most recently learned about U.S. Government and how bills are made/passed. There have been so many bills that citizens would like to be passed, or just considered, that haven't been because they aren't important enough or... something. Whatever the reason it just adds to my opinion that even though I love my country, and even though my government is somewhat flawed, I know I'm lucky to have it the way I do... I just feel like our politicians don't give a shit, and they've never given a shit but at least our other presidents were more .... under the table about it. Which is how I prefer dirty deeds to be done.... Why is this so important? And urgent... like they are wasting no fucking time on trying to get this shit done and legitimized. It baffles me. He was barely sworn in and it feels like it was already a done deal.

Our president is either very proactive, and hardworking, doing what he thinks is best for this country...or he's crazy... either way WTF
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/30/public.option/index.html

What's The Agenda?

So....I've started to read news from different sources like The Onion and I've even listened to BBC just out of curiosity. It made me start listening to the news differently when in my comm 1600 class my teacher said that everyone in the "news" industry has a reason for giving you the information that they are giving you. Whats the message? And why are they giving it to you?

So i'm looking at MSNBC right now and they've decided to cover a story on turning parking spots into a park for the day. With a photo of a dude with a laptop in a flannel shirt just chillin in a parking spot. WTF? Seriously.... What is this message? There has to be something more important to be talking about then this. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32916362/ns/us_news-environment/. I'm not sayng this is a bad artic;e or that the actual purpose behind the act is stupid, even though it is, but I want to know whats going on. In America.

With my government, with my rights for healthcare and with my new president. I want someone to tell me the truth without all the fluff. Even the onion or the colbert report is still so sarcastic and cynical they aren't getting the message across either. Everyone has a different agenda that they are setting the stage for. Some want comedy others wnt to cover something "green" because that's popular right now? I don't know.

Moneymakers

I read an article on newsweek that was talking about female ambition. The author of the article was showing pictures of these women and giving a breif history of their individual careers and the roles they've played in society. Some of the women being discussed were Madonna, Yoko Ono, Nancy Pelosi, Anna Wintour, and Sarah Palin.

Each of these women have been condemned for some reason or another. They don't dress right, they don't care enough or they care too little. Martha stewart was one of the eleven women discussed in the article. She talked about her imprisonment and how she believed that if she were a man her crime would have been less of a "scandal" and recognized as more of an amibitious accident.

Anna Wintour as editor of the most popular fashion magazine, has been looked at as a bitch forever because, allegedly, she is very hard to please. However it is obvious this woman has built an empire. The article mentions she has readily admitted that she is not always "cuddly" (as a woman should be?) but that she appreciates good work and expects none less from her tough managment style.

I am not really a nut for womens rights. I am a woman, and I am human and I believe I am equal to other humans. That being said it was interesting for me to read this article that was written by a woman, about successful women. I am aware of the issues associated in the business world about women in positions of power. My mother is strong willed, intelligent, and very creative in her line of work. It is very obvious to me that she is treated differently for being a woman than if a man had her job.

So it makes me wonder. Do men treat women differently? Is it the other women, sitting at home being mothers and homemakers that are treating these ambitious women differently? Or is it the business women themselves? The Katie Courics, and Martha Stewarts of the world that have set themselves apart, maybe unknowingly?

As a woman I believe that it is instinctive for me to feel "motherly" or nurtering. But i don't believe it is my only emotion. And it would definitly not be a setback in a professional situation. It would be an advantage. Are these stygmas being put on business women to dampen success in field? To make them seem less threatening? If I were Madonna, or Nany Pelosi, or Sarah Palin how would I do it? How the hell would YOU do it? Probably not as well.

Because honestly there is no expectation. If they were more masculine it would not help. If they were more feminine they wouldn't be taken seriously. So what do they do?... Prove everyone wrong by making millions yearly.... Now isn't that ironic? People can be hating all they'd like..

Check out the SCOREBOARD! 1 Business Women, 0 Ankle Biters

I say chew on that. www.newsweek.com/id/214518

The Dancer In Me

Ballroom dance is becoming more popular through the media, we've seen it on T.V. and now there is becoming more magazines and papers covering the competitive professional and amateur dancers and what they've been up to... What new competitors will be at the Embassy Star Ball Sept. 4-6??

www.dancebeat.com