Weber State University journalism instructor Shane Farver hit the trail earlier this month in Canyonlands National Park.

Farver and friends hiked in Chesler Park in the Needles District. As you can see from the photographs, wide open vistas gave way to slot canyons on a day of sightseeing.

Farver also mapped his hike. Find it by clicking here.

What are your favorite trails in Canyonlands National Park?

— Nate Carlisle

Photos can be viewed here. 

By Stephanie Simonson February 23, 2012.

Weber State University students interested in public relations work will soon have an official outlet for honing their skills. Yeonsoo Kim, a public relations professor at WSU, is now accepting applications for WSU’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America.

“Journalism students have The Signpost so they can get some professional, hands-on knowledge in journalism, but in this department, even though PR has a lot more students, we didn’t have any organization or agency for students to have that kind of experience,” Kim said. “So I tried to reorganize PRSSA, and it’s going to become a student-run agency like The Signpost. . . . I heard there was a PRSSA before, but it was like students just have a meeting once per month and just having a guest lecture to learn a little bit more outside of the classroom, but that was it. So I tried to make it a big deal.”

Kim will be the academic adviser for the organization, and she said she also hopes to recruit three public relations professionals to help advise and train students in real-world issues within the field. Two of the professional advisers will be Allison Hess, WSU’s public relations director, and John Kowalewski, media relations director. The third is yet to be decided on.

Students of any major are welcome to join, but Kim said the actual student-run agency, once properly developed, will require a significant time commitment and passion for the field. However, she said the jobs the agency will offer will be diverse and require students of various skill sets.

“We need so many different types of people who are specialized in just general communications — it’s not only about PR students.”

For now, PRSSA membership will include conferences, workshops, internship opportunities and optional course credit for COMM 3890. Next Friday, the newly formed chapter will attend the regional conference at Brigham Young University, where students will have the chance to network with public relations professionals from around the country and students from other chapters, Kim said.

“It’s a large opportunity for networking and really understanding what the industry’s all about from an angle that can’t be had in a classroom,” said Steve Martin, president of BYU’s chapter of PRSSA. “It opens up doors, it provides people with the resources that they need in order to land their first job, because you just don’t learn about PR in general; you learn about your place in PR.”

Ryker Morgan, a public relations junior and the account director of the recruit campaign for WSU’s chapter, said the hands-on experience PRSSA offers is important for public relations students if they plan on getting related jobs out of college.

“The main point of the national chapter is kind of to bridge the gap between students and professionals,” Morgan said. “It just helps students to get professional experience in the PR field in many different aspects, so that it can basically ready them to enter into a professional world. It helps them get connections with professionals that work in PR, instead of, you know, just learning about what PR is in school and then having to worry about trying to find a job after they graduate without any type of connection to the professional world.”

Kim is taking applications for WSU’s chapter of PRSSA though Saturday. Students can find the applications and membership guides on the bulletin board next to the communications department office, Room 330 of Elizabeth Hall. A $50 deposit is required on application to cover conference and activity costs.

A lesson on values, a trip to China and a blanket-making project all combined in Jamie Reeve's mind to turn into a thought-provoking art exhibit.

The exhibit, featuring four denim- and word-covered mannequins, is on display at the main branch of the Weber County Library. Titled "The Value in Genes," it will remain on exhibit through June 30.

"I was working with denim, making blankets for my sons, and I got to thinking that different shades of denim could be skin tone -- if we were blue," said Reeve. "I was making those blankets right about the time I was learning about value, as an art term, in my first semester of art school. ... I got to thinking, when I was making those blankets, about value in denim and how it changes from light to dark. ... People are the same."

Then Reeve noticed another similarity.

"They all have the same color of thread that goes with the blue," she said, referring to the gold stitches running through jeans. "It's a pretty cool connection there, because we all have red blood running through us."

Reeve had been thinking how much people have in common, when she went on a trip in 2010. The South Ogden woman studied visual communications at Weber State University, and traveled to China with a group of design students.

While there, she worked on a display of art based on family and growth. In the process, she learned that the Chinese symbols for "big" and "family" don't mean "big family" when put together -- they mean "all people."

Value and genes

Reeve wanted to know what people believe about race, so she applied for an undergraduate research grant. She asked people to fill out a survey, with questions such as "What is your emotional response when disclosing your ethnicity on official forms?" "Is ethnicity a valid detail when reporting positive or negative behavior in the news?" "Describe the political and genetic advantages of race." And, "If skin color were a choice, would you choose the same skin tone you already have?"

She was surprised by some of the answers.

"Growing up in Utah, in a bubble, I thought we were all God's children and everybody should be treated equally," she said. "I thought everybody would feel the same way I do, but unfortunately, they don't."

A few people, given the opportunity to express their feelings without signing their names, made derogatory comments about races other than their own. In spite of that, Reeve was mostly encouraged by what she read.

"I would say at least 90 percent of the population loves all people, and wants everybody to feel comfortable with each other," she said.

Values and jeans

Reeve turned her survey into art by gluing patches of denim, in differing values, to mannequins. Then she wrote phrases that came as answers to her questions on the denim.

"One person from the survey said, 'Our skin color wasn't a choice,' " Reeve said. "Another participant said, 'I was born the way I am supposed to be.' Still another said, 'I am proud to be who I am.' These are the messages that should ring out. The color or shade of our skin doesn't matter. Another participant said, 'Anyone can commit a crime or be a hero.' "

The mannequins have been on display at other branches of the Weber County Library in past months, and Reeve says she has received some positive feedback.

"It is my hope that viewers of my piece will take something away from the exhibit that will encourage them to genuinely feel more connected to everyone around them," she said. "The general message is that we're all made of the same stuff -- we're all human -- and we need to be comfortable in our genes."

PREVIEW

• WHAT: ‘The Value in Genes’ exhibit
• WHO: Jamie Reeve of South Ogden
• WHEN: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, through June
• WHERE: Weber County Library main branch, 2464 Jefferson Ave., Ogden
• ADMISSION: Free, 801-337-2632

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