Federal Reserve Bank of New York Releases Student Debt Studies

By Jordan Groff

 

In a new Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released new figures for student loan debt. These numbers affect students across the nation, including those at Utah State University.

The debt from student loans has risen $663 billion dollars since 2003, surpassing the debt of credit cards.

“I started saving money for college when I was 14,” said Katie Chapman, senior at Utah State. “It is so easy to become enslaved to debt and crumble under all of the pressure to pay it off.”

 Chris Lenz sees financial aid and student loans as something that propels him

 to a better future, though he understands the risks of the loan process.

“I have received financial aid 3 times and now have a student loan,” Lenz said. “I’m scared for after school, but I’m also scared now. I have three years left and can’t take any semesters off or else my payments start.”

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that most of the student debt that exists in the nation is by those under 30.

“I have payments due all of the time,” Lenz said. “Interest rates are so high that I can’t afford to miss them.”

Many like Chapman are working hard so that they will never have to face creditors. In the case of Chapman, she has been planning for this most of her life.

“If you never go under, you can’t be ruined by debt,” Chapman said. “That’s why I worked so hard to stay out of it.”

Fusion Company Presents Play at Utah State University

By Jordan Groff

 

The Fusion Theatre Project gave its final performance of The Woodpecker King of Tacony on Friday in the Chase Fine Arts Center at Utah State University.

The Fusion Theatre Project is an experimental theater company at Utah State. The company combines the ideas of teachers and students in writing and performing plays. This year’s play was written by Shawn Fisher and directed by Richie Call.

“In 2006, Shawn Fisher, the playwright of the main piece, founded fusion theatre project,” Call said. “This show tonight is the third piece that has come of the fusion theatre project process.”

With senior actors from the Utah State comprising much of the group, senior experience is something the director and writer rely on.

“We assembled this group of young artists and each of them worked on a play of their own,” Call said. “This main piece started with a single idea or a nugget as we sometimes call it, and the final product is a combination of all of our ideas.”

Morgan Morley, an attendee of the play, saw how personalities came through in the play.

“Each of the characters was so unique and developed,” Morley said. “I could see a little of whom the actors really were. I was impressed with their work and the performance.”

According to Call the entire writing process took the company about a year. Call thinks that the process is well worth the wait.

“It has been an incredible journey for us,” Call said. “We hope that everyone who comes and watches will join us for a little bit of that journey.”

The Fusion Theatre Project hopes to continue to write and perform at Utah State University.

Seniors Star in Robins Awards

By Jordan Groff

 

The Robins Awards Ceremony was held Saturday night in the Tagart Student Center at Utah State University. The awards featured seniors from the many programs offered at Utah State and started at 7:30 p.m.

The award ceremony presented awards such as researcher, scholar, athlete and man and woman of the year. These awards were given to teachers, advisers, athletes and students at the university.

"This was a great way to congratulate people for their accomplishments," said Hannah Blackburn, the host of the award ceremony and senior at USU. "Seniors won many of the prestigious awards tonight. Including Man of the Year and The Bill E. Robbins Award."

Seniors like Christian Orr were thrilled to be nominated at this event.

"It is deeply touching just to be nominated for The Bill E. Robbins Award," Orr said. "He is a personal inspiration for me and we have many similarities. It is great just to follow in his footsteps."

Orr helped raise over 3,000 dollars for his community and also lead his team to a first place victory in a cooking competition for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

"I have done what I can to help others," Orr said. "Win or lose the award, I am happy to have helped others and come so far."

Steven Gould, double major of finance and economics and winner of the Man of the Year award will be graduating in a couple of weeks.

"It's an honor and extremely humbling," Gould said. "There are so many great people here at Utah State and to be honored among them is incredible."

Orr and Gould hope to continue to progress as they graduate and move on to work or continue their education.

"I hope I can be what the University wants and what they represent," Gould said. "I am blessed to have job opportunities and hope to give back to USU throughout my life."

Interior Design Seniors Exhibit Work

By Jordan Groff

 

The Interior Design Senior Exhibition had its opening reception on Friday night from 6-8 p.m. The exhibition showcases designs from seniors that will be graduating from the interior design program offered at Utah State University. The exhibition will continue through Friday, the 26, in the Twain Tippets Exhibition Hall.

The Interior Design Senior Exhibition displays what seniors have learned and studied while in the program.

“It took me the past two years to make some of my projects,” said Melissa Burger, a design senior. “It’s a combination of experiences that I have had in studying interior design and the new perspective on design I’ve learned.”

Many people like Marjie Emch came to support and see the work that seniors in the interior design program have made.

 “Now I know why she didn’t sleep all of last night,” said Emch, mother of Stephanie McCabe who was a senior featured at the reception. “She stayed up so many nights trying to finish all of her work and to finish her portfolio. She has improved so much. I’d even let her work on my home.”

According to design seniors Mellissa Burger and Philemon Tevis, this reception marks the end of a year and graduation from the interior design program.

“I have come to this exhibition every year since I was a freshman,” Tevis said. “I would look at the seniors’ walls and think that I could never achieve something that great.”

According to Tevis looking at what he has done and accomplished now is surreal.

“We always doubt and hate what we are doing when we work on a project,” Tevis said. “But in the end we have a great piece of work. And in the end we have a career. A career solidified by the interior design program.”

Bike Mob on Utah State University's Campus

By Jordan Groff

 

At the David B. Haight Alumni Center on Wednesday, hundreds of Utah State University students came together for a bike mob.

The bike mob that started at 9 p.m. was a fundraiser for The Grange Foundation. The bike mob is one of the events put on by the Student Alumni Association during A-week, a week full of events that celebrate the end of the school year.

"It was a ton of fun," said Felicia Gallegos, who attended the event. "It brought a whole bunch of people together as we rode around campus and the city. Police blocked off roads and the SAA set up an obstacle course for all of us."

According to the USU Alumni Association, A-day started as one single day where students and faculty cleaned up campus. 101 years later it has evolved into a week-long event. Kyle Neuberger has seen many of the A-week changes.

“A-week continues to hold tradition here at USU,” said Neuberger, a candidate for the SAA. “A-week provides that spirit and charisma that binds students to this school and helps them create memories that can last a life time.”

Senior students have experienced A-week for four years, and have events like the senior breakfast and senior celebration focused on them.

“The senior based activities are such a blast,” Neuberger said. “Being a senior I really feel like USU and I have progressed mutually. It feels almost like the university is giving back in appreciation.”

The money that is raised during A-week will be donated to The Grange Foundation. A-day is a great opportunity to involve students, faculty, alumni, and the community in service.

“The ending excitement of A-week and day on the quad is always a great close to the school year,” Neuberger said. “I’ll definitely be there.”

Photos Represent Utah's Industrial Industry

By Jordan Groff

In the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Chris Dunker, an industrial photographer, is showcasing 21 pictures that focus on Utah's industrial businesses and workers. 

The photographs were presented on Monday and will remain in the museum until the end of the semester. The Eccles Museum is free and open to the public.

"My images describe industrial landscapes, machines, architecture and interior spaces," Dunker said. "This exhibit shows industrial fixtures related to beef processing, steel making, recreation, aerospace and mining, to name a few."

The pictures focus on a wide variety of Logan's new and old industrial market. Highlighting places like ICON Health and Fitness, Thermo Fisher, Nucor Steel, and Sirtec Plastics.

"The exhibit shows how machines are getting more complex," said Zac Watts, an engineering major at Utah State University. "As long as these businesses keep thriving and need machines, it is more likely that I will have a job."

While the pictures display industries in Utah that we often look over, for those like Zac Watts and Josh Howell, it also means job prospects after graduation.

"As I looked at the pictures it showed the potential that Utah has for employment," said Howell, finance major at Utah State. "It also represents all the careers that can be ahead of me right here in Logan."

Capturing hope for a job market wasn't necessarily a goal of Dunker when he began industrial photography, but it has been something that students at Utah State have remarked.

"I see myself as an expressive documentary photographer," Dunker said. "My intent as a photographer is to clearly describe the subject in a manner that allows quick visual access as well as a sense of size, context and function."

Even though the exhibit will close at the end of the semester, the career options portrayed in the photographs remain available to students in Cache valley and in Utah.

Finishing the Semester Strong

By Jordan Groff

 

Academic workshops offered by Utah State University teach skills to help students push through to the end of the semester.

On Wednesday, the Academic Resource Center at Utah State helped students to plan out their workload until the end of finals week. The event was held in the Tagart Student Center. The Resource Center is providing workshops until the end of the semester for those who are seeking help.

"A lot of people reach their fatigue point around this time of the year," said Dennis Kohler, a tutor at the Academic Resource Center. “And with only three weeks before finals, people really need to start planning for them at this point."

The workshops focus on things such as stress management, planning and also specific work shopping on what the students need. Tiffany Tolman is a student tutor who not only teaches these practices, but said that she benefits from them herself.

"This job has helped me learn skills to become a better advisor and also a better student," Tolman said."I've seen people come in here bawling, but leave with a grasp on everything."

Kohler explained some ideas that make a difference in the stress level of students throughout the session.

"Simply planning the minimum time for each assignment is essential," Kohler said. "Like everything else, homework has a natural progression. The trick is finding out what that natural order is."

Kohler gave challenges for the students that came to the workshop and made promises for those that follow them.

“You can have free time during finals week,” Kohler said. “Plan out what success you want and then actually do it. The less you plan, the more you stress. It’s a scale of happiness.”