The University of Utah held its fifth annual Giving Day from March 28 to March 29. The celebration lasted a little over 30 hours — or 1850 minutes exactly — and has so far raised $1.2 million thanks to over 4,800 donors.

“It’s 1850 minutes, based on the U’s founding year,” said Kelsey Rodgers, associate director of annual giving. “Basically all of our departments in the University of Utah and University of Utah Health come together to fundraise for really important causes and projects on campus.”

Rodgers added that Giving Day is an important time for the U because private philanthropy is “so huge to the success of the university.” 

This year, there were about 120 different fundraising projects that wouldn’t have been possible without the Giving Day donors, Rodgers said. 

“We do our best to create really exciting experiences, really impactful experiences for our students and part of being able to grow those, expand those and make them even more meaningful does require funding,” she said.

These projects were split into five categories: arts & culture, campus & community resources, equity, diversity & inclusion, scholarships and U alumni.

Rodgers said that this organizational structure gives donors a unique opportunity to explore different projects in areas they care about.

One of the U’s biggest goals for Giving Day this year was to get students more involved, and they did this in a variety of ways, including tabling around campus and taking over the University of Utah Instagram account. There was also an opportunity for students and donors to get a personalized link and become a “champion” for a specific cause.

The giving team can see how many people use that link to donate, and at the end of the festivities, two “truest champions” will be crowned, who “made a huge impact on Giving Day through their efforts of being a champion,” Rogers said.

The centerpiece of student involvement, however, was the two-day-long philanthropy fair.

“It’s an opportunity for us to help students learn the importance of philanthropy,” Rodgers said. She added that while they often talk about the importance of giving back to donors and alumni, “we’re working really hard to kind of teach that to students here on campus as well.”

The first day of the fair was in the Library Plaza, and representatives from across campus came to teach students about philanthropy in their respective areas. Students could also enter a drawing if they visited at least six tables and asked the designated “philanthropy question.” Over 700 students attended.

“I don’t have a final number yet, but I know that we ran out of items at 700, so probably more than that,” Rodgers said.

Day two of the fair was held in the Union building and was service project-focused, rather than money-focused.

“We obviously know that fundraising dollars are important, but we also want to teach students about the importance of giving back time and talent and all those types of things,” Rodgers said. “Students are doing service projects, participating in those and giving back to the campus and community that way.”

Gracie Sorensen, a third-year information systems major and member of the Student Alumni Board, was tabling on the second day of the fair to “show that it’s a student-led day for students to give back to the school that’s given them a lot.”

She added that she decided to participate in the philanthropy fair because it’s important to “cultivate a culture of giving” as a student.

“For me personally, I wouldn’t be able to have the experience I’ve had without other people making philanthropic donations,” Sorensen said.

This is why she aims to create a “cycle of giving back,” that will continue even after she is no longer a student.

Though Rodgers didn’t have any specific dollar or donor goal, she felt like the fifth annual Giving Day was a success simply due to all the different areas of campus it reached.

“We’ve significantly grown the number of areas that we’re representing and also we’re getting a lot more interest from students in terms of learning what philanthropy is about,” she said.

Rodgers added that students being involved in Giving Day is really important so they can “understand that they have so many supporters behind them in terms of friends and family, previous alums, all these people who they may have never met.” 

c.roberts@dailyutahchronicle.com

@caelrobertsnews 

Juana Garcia/The Cougar

The final meeting of the 59th administration of the Student Government Association was marked by a last-minute flurry of judicial appointments, some of which have caused concern among members of the incoming administration. 

The appointments were made after Chief Justice Eddie Munoz and Associate Justice Laura Rincon stepped down from their positions. Their resignation came shortly after SGA Attorney General Tiffanie Gordon called for Munoz’s impeachment, citing an “egregious” ruling in the recent SGA election hearing. 

“Considering the timing of the appointments, each candidate’s extensive background in campaign-driven SGA politics with For The Students, and the high tensions of the past elections, I find it nothing more than a last-ditch effort to hinder the 60th admin’s ability to pass effective legislation,” said incoming SGA President Benjamin Rizk.

Combined with an existing vacancy, the departure of Rincon and Munoz allowed SGA President Joshua Martin to appoint three new justices. Martin has appointed at least five of the seven justices currently serving on the Supreme Court. 

Caitlyn Foret, who formerly served as a member of Martin’s cabinet, was appointed to replace Munoz as Chief Justice. Her involvement with the 59th SGA administration was a cause for concern for Sen. Salik Faisal, who asked if she would recuse herself from future election-related cases. 

“Of course, I believe in the integrity of this court,” Foret said. “Any person that has prior involvements in other situations or parties should recuse themselves when deemed necessary.” 

While he said Foret is qualified for the position, Rizk echoed Sen. Faisal’s concerns in regard to her work with For the Students. 

Christian Medrano, a senator under Martin’s administration and chair of the Young Conservatives at UH, was the next student to go before the senate. Similar to Foret, several senators cast doubt on Medrano’s ability to remain unbiased in light of his prior involvements. Sen. Jayden Winsett asked how he would separate his biases when adjudicating cases. 

“Because I can empathize with others and understand their perspective, I’m able to set aside my biases,” Medrano said. “Everyone has to check their bias at [the Senate] door, and I will carry that sentiment into my position on the Supreme Court.” 

Ansel Garcia was the last to be appointed. Also a member of the Young Conservatives, Garcia was the only newcomer to SGA to go before the senate Tuesday night. Unlike Medrano and Foret, Garcia’s appointment went unquestioned by the senators assembled. 

“Though the organizations I’m a part of do have a political affiliation, that does not mean they necessarily reflect my beliefs,” Garcia said. “As a political science major, I have to be on both sides of the aisle.” 

Last night’s series of appointments represent the final legislative action taken by the 59th SGA administration. All that’s left now is for the newly elected representatives to assume their positions within the legislative and executive branches. 

“Once again, I think this has been a really good administration. We got a lot of things done,” Martin said. “It has truly been a remarkable ride.” 

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“59th SGA administration appoints new justices in final meeting” was originally posted on The Cougar

Fort Collins Music eXperiment – It may sound like a weird science-themed CSU Lab band formed in a broom-closet, but in actuality it is Fort Collins’ own renowned music festival hosted each April in Downtown Fort Collins! Affectionately known as FoCoMX, the festival is making a triumphant return to the heart of our town’s music and culture scene after a two-year hiatus. Audiences are already showing their love in anticipation of Northern Colorado’s most sorely missed musical pageant. FoCoMX was born as an effort from the Fort Collins Musicians Association to increase the visibility and value of musicians whose talent and creativity make our local scene magical.

If you have yet to bear witness to this annual event, your chance approaches this spring. On April 28 and 29 FoCoMX will take command of almost every stage in Downtown Fort Collins, including the, Washington’s, Avogadro’s Number, The Comedy Fort, The Lyric, New Belgium Brewing Co. patio, and Odell Brewing patio, just to name a fraction of this year’s stages.

No matter your musical tastes there’s definitely something for everyone. From bluegrass to metal, hip hop to punk, acoustic or synthesized, fans can hear original songs and tributes, experience the tame and the brazen, in both indoor and outdoor settings. Colorado artists will showcase nearly all genres during two days of musical performances. And if you want to get involved in the music scene consider being a volunteer and get a free festival wristband and commemorative t-shirt for your time. Audiences are encouraged to come see their favorite local acts, while also discovering new artists from more than three hundred Colorado artists across thirty stages. You might catch the next break-out broom-closet band in an intimate bar before they’re selling out stadiums – it wouldn’t be the first time – *clears throat* Nathaniel Rateliff!

See you at the eXperiment!

Photos courtesy of Backstage Flash.

Some of the most prolific members of the University of Utah men’s swimming and diving team traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota from March 22-25, to compete in the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.

The University of Utah team traveled with four of its most accomplished athletes from the season. On the swimming side, Jaek Horner and Andrei Ungur achieved greatness and met the mark for this year’s championship. On the boards, freshman Elias Petersen and senior Luke McDivitt represented the Utes in the diving competition. 

No athlete had a better showing at this year’s championship meet than Ungur. The fifth-year from Baia Mare, Romania competed in his last-ever meet as a Ute and certainly didn’t hold anything back.

On day two of the meet, Ungur took to the pool to compete in the highly competitive men’s 50 freestyle race. After the dust had settled, Ungur placed 51st overall with a time of 19.98 seconds. His swim was slightly slower than a personal best time of 19.80 the swimmer set earlier in the month during the Pac-12 Championship meet. 

Ungur’s most impressive feat of the championship came on day three of the meet when he achieved All-American status in the men’s 100 backstroke. 

The journey to this accomplishment began when Ungur swam a time of 45.05 seconds in the event’s preliminary round. This prelim time ousted his brother, Paul Ungur, as the holder of the quickest ever time by a Ute in the men’s 100 backstroke, and gave the younger Ungur the crown.

However, Andrei didn’t stop there. After already claiming the fastest time ever by a Ute in the preliminary round, the swimmer exploded for an even quicker time of 45 seconds flat in the event’s final. The official 45.00-second time granted Ungur fifth place overall and the highly sought-after status of a 2023 All-American in the event. 

Ungur finished his time as a Ute with one final swim on the last day of competition in the 200 backstroke. A 1:43.89 second swim gave Ungur 38th-place in the event and closed the Utah swimming chapter of the athlete’s career. 

“Andrei got better every year,” head coach Jonas Persson told Utah Athletics. “He bought into our culture, he trained hard and consistently and that led him to having the success he did.”

Ungur wasn’t the only Ute competing in their final meet as a college athlete, as McDivitt also finished out his diving career with the Utes. 

On the second day of competition, McDivitt competed in the 1m dive and posted a final score of 258.55 to secure 49th overall in the event. On day three, McDivitt continued with a 295.55-point effort in the 3m which gave the diver 46th overall. 

McDivitt’s last event as a Ute came on the last day of the 2023 championship. The diver posted a 310.35-point score in the platform final, which granted him his best finish of this year’s meet at 29th overall. As McDivitt broke the water during his final dive of the meet, he capped an amazing career as a Ute that includes two CSCAA All-American marks, becoming a three-time CSCAA Scholar All-American, and a standing school record in the men’s platform.

Besides the two Utes competing in their last-ever event as school athletes, the team also had two other competitors at this year’s meet. 

The senior from Hawaii, Horner, had a strong championship that included a 54th overall placement in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:46.45 seconds. Horner also placed 38th overall in the 100 breaststroke on day three of competition with a blazing quick time of 52.65. 

Horner had his best performance on the final day of the competition. He placed 35th overall with a time of 1:55.00 in the 200 breaststroke. 

The final Ute competing at this year’s NCAA championship was the sensational freshman Petersen. The diver from Malmo, Sweden, capped off an amazing freshman campaign by making the NCAA championship in two events.

In his first event, Petersen managed the top Ute score in the 1m dive. He placed 35th overall with a final score of 310.65 points. Petersen’s second and final event of the meet came on day three of the competition. Competing in the 3m dive, Petersen put together a score of 303.20 to take 42nd overall in the event. 

“Elias closed out an incredible year,” said diving coach Richard Marschner. “And I’m really proud of everything he accomplished. It’s exceptionally difficult to come in mid-season and perform as well as he did. He gained the experience and recognition that we needed to get and his future with us is bright.

As the youngest Ute competing in this year’s NCAA championship, Petersen defied all odds and has more than enough time to improve with the Utes during his future collegiate seasons. 

The Utes will return next season for the chance at even more program records, championship berths and conference meet victories. 

a.eames@dailyutahchronicle.com

@AustinEames55

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In preparation for the upcoming Associated Students of Colorado State University elections for the 2023-2024 academic year, The Collegian interviewed presidential candidate Ashton Duffield and vice presidential candidate Emily Aschenbrenner.

Duffield is a junior majoring in business administration with a concentration in accounting and a minor in legal studies and has worked as vice president of alumni relations and fundraising chair for Delta Sigma Pi. 

Aschenbrenner is also a junior, majoring in sociology, criminology and criminal justice. Aschenbrenner was a level 10 gymnast for six years and team captain for three years, which provided her with leadership experience. Aschenbrenner also works as a server and bartender at a restaurant in Longmont, Colorado, where she has worked on community outreach events. 

CSU students can vote for next year’s ASCSU president, vice president and speaker of the senate on RAMweb April 3-5.

Background, ASCSU experience, qualifications

Duffield: I first got acquainted with ASCSU because I was in the President’s Leadership Program — so basically like a yearlong program where you learn about servant leadership — and I knew Michael Buttram, who’s the director of Rams Against Hunger. And there were some openings within (Student Leadership, Involvement & Community Engagement), and SLiCE technically oversees the (ASCSU) accountant position now, as there was some mismanagement of funds a couple of years ago. 

So basically, they took me on as the accountant. I run the budget of $1.7 million. Running the budget just includes accepting RFDs, which are requests for financial documentation, and then putting it in the book and making sure everything lines up at the end of the year.

One of the main responsibilities of the president is allocating the budget, and since I have been looking at the budget pretty much every day for the past year, I think I’d definitely be able to do that exceedingly well and know how to allocate those funds efficiently.

Motivations, campaign platform, priorities

Duffield: I’ve always wanted to further my leadership. … I remember freshman year, I was joking when I was walking through (the Lory Student Center). The (ASCSU candidates) were running, and I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll run when I’m a senior or a junior.’ So I’ve always wanted to further my leadership experience. 

Emily and I both used to play rugby in high school, and I think through rugby, I learned more about servant leadership, just learning how to build other people up, and that’s really what makes me happy: … just teaching others how they can be successful.

We have three values that we’re basing (our platform) off of, and the first one is unity, the second one is diversity, equity and inclusion and the third one is mental and physical health. We kind of wanted to look at those values and see what kind of action we can take since student governments are known for just simply using buzzwords and not taking action. 

We kind of want to build our platform off of improving upon the dorms. So the way we think we can incorporate all those values is by essentially analyzing the dorms and running an audit on them to see what percent of students have been assaulted in the past month, what percent of soap dispensers don’t have soap, just as much as we can get. … We’re really just trying to improve the dorm life on campus.

Emily and I got here first semester freshman year, and it was COVID, and the dorms weren’t good then, and we’ve heard from talking to students on campus that they’re still really bad. … That’s pretty much our platform: three values — one mission.

Aschenbrenner: I think that ASCSU is a really great close-knit community, but at times, I feel like there are issues in letting the rest of the campus know what issues are being addressed and what issues are being talked about within the ASCSU community.

I think the main reason why I wanted to do this was to be an advocate for the average college student and make their voices heard and through making their voices heard, making changes from what they say is necessary. … I want there to be increased accessibility to ASCSU issues in the community, … together in unity — rebuilding (the) community is our biggest thing. 

ASCSU/student relationship, campus issues

Duffield: If elected, the president hires several directors, and I’d definitely try to … recenter one of the current director’s roles to allocate a budget to funding that audit of the dorms. So there are a couple (of director positions) like campus community, environmental, state and local policy. 

Another thing I could do would be to create a new position by allocating a percentage of the presidential budget to salary. (I) definitely just want to have some leadership behind that, and then I’ll also be attempting to set up meetings with all the dorm leadership, trying to send out surveys to everyone in the dorms, trying to get maybe a third-party contractor to evaluate the dorms and perform an audit separately — there’s a lot of ways we can go with this.

I think it’s a failure to focus on such a small group (and) to focus on the political aspect of this election. I think it is kind of a mistake because the election is to appeal to the entire body, not just people who know what ASCSU is. 

One of the reasons I picked Emily is (because) she’s in Kappa Alpha Theta, I’m in Delta Sigma Pi and we both just really want to bring a sense of community, that’s our number one value, also, is unity. We just want to bring a sense of community back to CSU. We think that the dorm audits are something that will help us accomplish that.

Whether it be the hostility in many on-campus organizations and SDPS offices (or) offices that I’ve heard, I think it starts at the culture at ASCSU since ASCSU funds so many of those programs and essentially is the backbone behind on-campus organizations and to advocate for the students.

So I think it really starts with building a strong culture, and I think that also starts with hiring really well-versed directors because leadership should always be responsible.

Through my leadership experiences, I’ve found that the best way to get to know people is (by) overcoming obstacles. … So I think just maintaining professionalism and just being as encouraging as I can during my presidency — as well as calling on resources from Emily because she’s really good at building close relationships with people — I think that’ll help us accomplish a strong culture.

Aschenbrenner: I think the biggest way to push change within voter turnout in CSU is to advocate for the common student, what their needs are (and) hearing their voices. And through that then, I believe there will be more student involvement if we reach out.

Reach Piper Russell at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @PiperRussell10.

Editor’s Note: Read about president/vice president candidates Rithik Correa and Jessica Laffey here, Nick DeSalvo and Alex Silverhart here and Mia Ritter and Sammy Trout here. Find information on the speaker of the senate candidates on The Collegian’s website here.

As the weather starts to warm up in the 757 and baseball season gets into full swing, ODU baseball took on the Marshall Thundering Herd in a three-game series on March 24-26. This three-game series is the Monarch’s second series in Sun Belt play, where they look to place themselves atop the Sun Belt leaderboard. Entering this series, ODU’s record stood at 18-3, 3-0 in the Sun Belt, while Marshall stood at 10-8 and 1-2 in the Sun Belt respectively. 

Game one started under the lights on Friday evening with sophomore LHP Blake Morgan on the rubber for the Monarchs. Unfortunately, the Thundering Herd was able to capitalize off a walk and then a double that plated a run in the first. The Monarchs had no response in their part of the first as they were struck out in order to finish the first inning.  However, the Monarchs responded in the second and tied it at one after the Marshall starting pitcher developed some control issues and found himself in a bases-loaded situation. He then hit the batter in the box with a fastball, bringing home a run. 

Unfortunately, that was the last scene of the ODU offense on Friday night. The Thundering Herd continued scoring one in the third and then forced Morgan out of the game in the fifth inning with two outs. Junior left-hander Jacob Gomez came in after Morgan struggled and gave up two earned runs in 1.0 innings, bringing the game to 6-1 in the sixth. Fortunately, junior right-hander, Vincent Bashara was able to stop the metaphorical bleeding in the evening, tossing 3.1 innings while tallying four strikeouts. 

In short, the Monarchs went home Friday night with a sour taste in their mouths at a poor hitting performance and tallying their first loss in Sun Belt play. But the Monarchs did not struggle at the plate in game two or three, instead putting on an offensive showcase in both games. 

Game two on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. showed off all the talent ODU baseball has to offer. The Monarchs dominated both on the mound and in the box. Starting pitcher Sam Armstrong, an ODU junior, tallied five scoreless innings, giving up only one hit during that span and getting a fair amount of run support. The Monarchs plated seven runs and spread the wealth by scoring two times in the second, third, and fourth innings, and once in the fifth. 

The sixth inning came as a brief wake-up call for the Monarchs as the Thundering Herd tallied four runs, making the score 7-4 and finishing off Armstrong’s outing. Following this, Radford transfer John Holobetz was put in to shut down the Marshall lineup and maintain the Monarch lead. Holobetz did just that, and the Monarchs provided him with an immense amount of run support as they tallied 5 in the sixth and 9 runs in the seventh batting through the lineup. Following this, Holobetz gave up a solo home run in the eighth, which was inconsequential, as he gained his third save of the season. Armstrong also earned the win, which brought him to a perfect 5-0 for the season. 

On the offensive side of the ball, the Monarchs set a program record for eight home runs in the contest. The long ball charge was led by ODU’s 6’7” designated hitter junior Jake Ticer, who went 3-5 with three HRs, seven RBIs, five runs, and two walks on the day. This is his second game of the season where he has launched a trifecta of home runs, becoming the only Monarch ever to do so. This also puts him and first baseman Hunter Fitz-Gerald in the top 15 nationally in home runs. Other Monarchs to homer were Camden Grimes, who had two, as well as Kenny Levari, Robbie O’Neal, and Josh Trujillo, who all had one dinger on the day. 

At the end of their offensive showcase and drain on Marshall’s pitching, the Monarchs found themselves up 21-5. They took game two and looked forward to taking the series as they awaited the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Monarchs strung together another dominant performance on both sides of the ball. The ODU pitching staff continued to improve throughout the day, as they surrendered nine hits but only gave way to two runs in the eighth and final innings. Freshman lefty Dylan Brown started on the bump and scattered four hits across 4.2 innings and tallied four strikeouts—one shy of his season best. 

Following this, freshman lefty Bailey Matela came out of the bullpen and tossed 2.1 innings in relief and remained immaculate for the year, his record now 3-0. A trifecta consisting of Joey Dechiaro, Trent Buchanan, and Ron Cole also came out of the bullpen. 

The Monarch offense was led on Sunday by a great performance from leadoff man sophomore Luke Waters, who went 3-5 with a triple, an RBI, two runs, and a stolen base. Senior utility man Camden Grimes (2-for-3) also tallied two doubles with an RBI and a walk. Freshman shortstop Alex Bouche continued his offensive tear across college baseball as he went 2-for-3, tallying a double, two runs, and a base on balls. Fitz-Gerald (1-for-5) tallied the Monarchs’ only long ball of the afternoon, launching a two-run blast in the sixth. This two-run blast puts him in the top 10 across D-I baseball in RBIs with 38. The game ended with ODU in an impressive 12-2 lead.

“I was really proud of how we played these last two days,” said head coach Chris Finwood. “We faced three really good arms today and had our best approach offensively of the season with lots of big two-strike hits to expand the lead. Dylan Brown continues to improve on the mound each time out and gave us a really solid start today. We have a real tough week in front of us and it was nice to start it off with a series victory.”

The Monarchs continue taking on challenges within the Commonwealth as they face the University of Virginia, which is ranked number five in the nation, on Tuesday, March 28 at 3 p.m. Following this, ODU baseball will spend next weekend in Georgia as they battle the Georgia Southern Golden Eagles in a three-game series before coming home to Southern Miss on April 6-8 where they are likely to face Tanner Hall—the gem of the Southern Miss rotation—and to be an early-round draft pick in an upcoming MLB draft.

Over the past couple of weeks, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has signed bills from the 2023 legislative session, including H.B. 469, the “Wildlife Related Amendments.” H.B. 469 focuses on wildlife issues and includes provisions allowing for year-round mountain lion hunting with only a hunting or combination hunting and fishing license. Gov. Cox should not have signed a bill with these mountain lion hunting provisions. The bill adopted the provisions without discussion or explanation, and the legislation is scientifically unfounded. It will likely lead to mountain lion overhunting and environmental harm.

H.B. 469 makes many provisions that affect hunting and wildlife. These include banning trail cameras, establishing regulations for air rifles in hunting and land acquisition for hunting access and wildlife habitats. However, the provisions on mountain lion hunting weren’t initially included in the bill’s text. Language concerning cougar hunting was only introduced on the legislative session’s 43rd day. A rise in mountain lion populations served as the only explanation given. The bill also lacks public backing. Conservation groups and mountain lion hunting groups have all opposed it.

The so-called rise in mountain lion populations cannot be substantiated because mountain lions are incredibly elusive, generally avoiding human contact. In 2019, an estimated 2,000 mountain lions lived in Utah. In 2021, 667 were killed. That number dropped in 2022 to 491 mountain lions killed, indicating a dip in mountain lion populations. But even with that data, what little indicators we do have don’t show a significant change in mountain lion populations. Mountain lions tend to manage their population sizes.

Austin Green, a wildlife biologist at the University of Utah, explained, “They don’t occur in large numbers. They require massive home ranges and disperse hundreds and hundreds of kilometers. They tend to control their populations pretty well. They meet their population density … just through natural processes.” Therefore, because cougar populations self-regulate, we have no need to increase hunting.

Additionally, H.B. 469 is said to aim to help struggling mule deer populations. Killing more mountain lions would not necessarily increase mule deer populations, though. While some correlation exists between decreasing mountain lion populations and increasing mule deer populations, it is still only a correlation. We need more research to confirm a significant relationship before passing legislation. A 2019 study found a potentially negative correlation between mountain lion hunting and mule deer populations. The study found that mountain lion hunting disproportionately kills adult mountain lions, leaving more young and inexperienced mountain lions. Lone young mountain lions haven’t learned how to kill large elk, so they focus on the prey they have experience with — mule deer.

Other variables also affect mule deer populations. Green explained in our interview that “If anything, there’s more evidence to suggest that mountain lions might actually serve a benefit to both of those populations, specifically, as chronic wasting disease continues to become more and more prevalent throughout Utah.” Chronic wasting disease is a new and prevalent variable that has a significant impact on mule deer populations. In this instance, mountain lions help to decrease this fatal disease. Mountain lions tend to go after old and sick mule deer, so predated infected deer cannot then spread the disease. Mountain lions also haven’t been shown to contract the disease from mule deer.

The bill is also problematic because it could lead to overhunting. H.B. 469 removed mountain lions from the list of big games that require a separate application and license. Now, those wishing to hunt mountain lions need only a hunting or combination permit. If mountain lions get overhunted, it would lead to environmental issues and worse mountain lion-human interactions. Mountain lions are integral to their ecosystem. As keystone species and top-level predators, they keep prey populations stable and — like the wolves of Yellowstone — impact important river systems.

As previously mentioned, hunters tend to kill adult, mature mountain lions. This leads to a disproportionately young mountain lion population. These young mountain lions have less experience and are more reckless than the older generation, and they more frequently go after livestock and creep into human living areas. A 2016 study substantiated this by using a 30-year dataset of mountain lion deaths in British Columbia. The study found that mountain lions killed in human and mountain lion conflicts were consistently younger than those killed by hunting. The study also found that trophy hunting increases human-mountain lion conflicts, with 16 of their 17 models showing a positive correlation.

This bill should not have been signed. It has no scientific foundation and will lead to overhunting and increased hunter-mountain lion conflicts. More regulations must pass to lessen the blow of H.B. 469 on mountain lion populations until new legislation can right this wrong. Mountain lions are a critical and beautiful species, although unfairly painted as dangerous vermin. They keep to themselves and manage their own populations.

“At the end of the day, unfortunately, [the bill] is just not based on what science would suggest,” Green said. “And there’s going to be a lot of indirect effects that we may not be able to measure until, unfortunately, it’s become too late.”

a.dunn@dailyutahchronicle.com

@auriana_dunn

The banking world has been in a state of uncertainty as of late. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Signature Bank and Credit Suisse all collapsed over the last month, and many people have already begun drawing comparisons to the 2008 housing crisis.

Is this a valid concern? It’s hard to say, and we may not know until months — if not years — from now when we have a full view of the situation.

I’ll try and save you from the in-depth economic examination of the events of 2008, but, essentially, the Federal Reserve decreased interest rates on banks, allowing them to loan out greater amounts of money, even to “high-risk” or “sub-prime” customers.

Often, hundreds of these sub-prime customers were grouped as an odd sort of bond.

Many of these loans were used for purchasing, you guessed it, housing and general property. Housing prices went up, and many people were purchasing houses they couldn’t afford without these loans; as interest rates went up, people defaulted on loans, bonds lost value, loans on houses became more expensive than the houses themselves and banks started going under.

I feel no sympathy for these banks. They dealt in treacherous territory and wouldn’t look past their own noses, dragging everyone else down with them. Plus, they received a hefty bail-out (at the expense of taxpayers, of course), an olive branch not extended to the many contractors, homeowners and average Americans who were far more adversely affected.

The situation now is reminiscent, but not the same as 2008

Our current situation is slightly different. SVB had invested a lot of money into government bonds as interest rates were ridiculously low. Sound familiar? They also worked closely with venture capital firms and invested in fairly volatile industries like tech startups and cryptocurrency.

To combat inflation over the last year, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, causing those bonds to become a lot less valuable. These bonds represented a large portion of SVB capital, and their decline was lethal.

This loss in value caused a run on the bank (large waves of withdrawals, eventually exceeding their reserves) and, as SVB collapsed, stock in Signature Bank fell and the bank was shut down.

How was this able to happen? Are other banks soon to follow?

Not all banks are like SVB

The average commercial bank is in a much safer position.

“What I do in the Midwest here in Minneapolis and what [SVB does] are kind of apples and oranges,” said Trevor Bakken, commercial banker for 21st Century Bank.

Bakken deals more in what he refers to as “meat and potatoes” banking, like real estate, brick-and-mortar equipment and lines of credit for businesses.

These banks are by no means infallible, as demonstrated by the aforementioned housing crisis. However, when handled appropriately (as I am confident Bakken does) they are built on much safer markets.

“I’m surprised that more [banks like SVB] don’t go down because of the type of business they’re catering to,” Bakken said. “Tech, it can be volatile. It can be here today and gone tomorrow.”

There is a lot of money to be made in tech. Venture capital loves these startups, but they aren’t always built on concrete earnings.

“A lot of these tech companies don’t actually ever make a profit, or they’re worth billions of dollars and never make money,” Bakken said.

Bakken mentioned how many of these startups are built to find some sort of niche, garner users and sell themselves off to the highest bidder.

In dealing in business that is more abstract than physical buildings and the loans associated with them, banks like SVB expose themselves to a lot of risk.

If more banks in similar ventures start falling to a similar fate, who will be affected by it? How far-reaching will these consequences be?

“When you take a step back and understand all the factors that go into the housing market, you have title companies, you have mortgage people, you have plumbers, electricians, HVAC guys, cement guys, roofers, framers,” Bakken said.

If the tech industry sees some contraction, it appears a very different crowd will be affected. This is not to say that it is inconsequential; more 5 million people are employed in the tech sector and could stand to be majorly affected.

However, more 11 million people are employed in construction alone, not to mention the other aspects of the housing market.

An uncertain future

The ramifications of this will most likely not be as universal as the events of 2008, but it should not be taken lightly. Despite this being localized in the tech sector at the moment, there could be greater ramifications for all.

“I feel like we’re at this moment in time [where we’re wondering] are we in a recession? Are we going into a recession? It feels like we’re in a recession, but are we really in a recession? What do we not know? That’s around the corner,” Bakken said. “What are we not seeing today that a year from now, two years from now, you’re gonna look back with your buddies having a beer and go, ‘Man, how did we miss that?’”

Only time will tell.

“When everything’s going really well, it just keeps chugging along. The second there’s a chink in that armor or something derails just a little bit, the whole thing falls apart. And it falls apart quickly,” Bakken said.

Bakken mentioned that SVB exhibited rapid growth (probably too rapid) in a very short time frame. This involves taking some risks and shying away from more conservative, safe banking practices.

“The right way to do things [is] over a long period of time, it’s not sexy, it’s not going to make you front page of the finance section in any outlet in America,” Bakken said. “But you’re giving your shareholders a good return.”

Not to mention, when you get there more modestly, you probably won’t be found in the headlines of every news outlet in America when it all comes crashing down.

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