The Daily Utah Chronicle

ASUU pushes to nix textbook sales tax

By By Rochelle McConkie | October 15, 2007

Students might be able to save some cash when buying books if the Utah State Legislature approves a bill to cut sales tax on college textbooks. In an attempt to curb the rising costs of education, Associated Students of the University of Utah is putting forward a bill that calls for a statewide sales tax exemption for textbooks.

Young applauds U sustainability efforts

By By Rochelle McConkie | October 5, 2007

Students who pushed for a greener campus received an answer from administrators -- the creation of the new Office of Sustainability. U President Michael Young formally announced the opening of the office at yesterday's Environmental Impact Day, calling it an "important milestone on campus" with the students as a "motivating, driving force.

Health insurance may become mandatory

By By Rochelle McConkie | October 2, 2007

U administrators want to require that all students have health insurance, but they need the OK of a state insurance plan from Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. for anything to happen. A soft waiver plan will go into effect at the U next fall, allowing students to declare whether or not they have health insurance when they register for classes and find out more information about university coverage.

Student Alumni Association ranks top in nation

By By Rochelle McConkie | September 27, 2007

The U Student Alumni Association must really be "up to snuff," as the Utah fight song says, ranking this year as one of the top three organizations of its kind in the country. The Association of Student Advancement Programs, a networking group comprised of more than 300 colleges and universities, recognized the U group as an "outstanding organization of the year," with programs and events such as the MUSS, the Rivalry Week food drive and the Spring House Party leading the way in student alumni associations nationwide.

Crimson Nights only allotted $5,000

By By Rochelle McConkie | September 26, 2007

The Union Programming Council will get its party, but on a smaller scale than it's used to. After nearly an hour of heated debate and three amendments, the ASUU General Assembly passed a bill last night granting $5,000 to the UPC to fund Crimson Nights, a monthly late-night party held in the Union that typically hosts thousands of students.

Grading: U raises admission requirements

By By Rochelle McConkie | September 26, 2007

The U might be easier to get into than other universities nationwide, but administrators said they are looking into upping admissions requirements in the next few years. Requirements for the U admissions index, a number calculated using incoming students' grade point averages and ACT composite scores to show eligibility, might be raised from 95 to 100, said Associate Director of Admissions Carolyn Dyson.

College of health shows little confidence in dean

By By Rochelle McConkie | September 25, 2007

Many faculty members in the College of Health expressed dissatisfaction with their dean in a survey taken last spring -- results that Dean James Graves attributes to anxieties caused by his efforts to reorganize the college and target external funding to make the college more research-oriented.

Crimson fights for the right to party

By By Rochelle McConkie | September 24, 2007

Crimson Nights will likely receive $30,000 less from the student government than it did last year, which ASUU senators said is a result of a rule in the student constitution capping student-group funding at $5,000. While the Associated Students of the University of Utah urged the Union Programming Council to make budget cuts, UPC leaders said the decrease could cost them two Crimson Nights -- the free campus parties held in the Union about once a month.

U losing students

By By Rochelle McConkie | September 21, 2007

Overall enrollment at the U is down by about 600 students this year, part of what administrators called a "short, downward trend" because of economic growth and flat high school graduation rates. While the size of the incoming freshman class has been mostly unaffected, the decrease came largely from transfer students and declining retention rates of upperclassmen, said Paul Brinkman, associate vice president for budget and planning.

Safety task force monitoring troubled students

By By Rochelle McConkie | September 18, 2007

When Seung Hui Cho shot and killed 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech University last spring and injured 17 others before taking his own life, a red flag went up for universities nationwide. At the urging of a campus security task force, U administrators and counselors are working together in an attempt to prevent students in need of mental or emotional help from taking tragic measures like those at Virginia Tech.