The sound of a gong, then silence, a whistle blows, and more silence, a loud ringing of a bell, more silence. Each of these sounds is an auditory reminder of the violence that occurs daily in our community. The gong, played every 10 to 12 seconds, indicated that a woman in the United States had just been assaulted.

Now more than ever, teachers are feeling pressure nationwide to emphasize basic literacy skills to counteract the stunting effects of growing up in what can only be described as Generation Text, which have taken a firm hold on formal academic writing skills by the time students have reached middle-school age.

In an effort to stimulate blood donation among Utah college students, in addition to meet record-high demand, the American Red Cross has teamed up with UVU volunteers and pitted them against the similarly equipped Weber State in an epic “Blood Battle” between the state’s two newest universities to see which will donate more blood.

Campus Briefs: UVU instructor wins award – Linda P. Walton, advisor of the UVU student public relations firm and president of The Walton Group, Inc., a public relations firm in Provo, received the Provo-Orem Chamber of Commerce Women’s Business Network (WBA) Athena Award, a national award for women leaders.

This year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration will focus on civil rights. The Commemoration Advisory Board is now accepting proposals for the celebration. The primary focus for the proposals should be able to expand into civil rights issues. Accepted proposals will be incorporated into the Martin Luther King Jr.

The Utah Fire and Rescue Academy has a new team member. It comes in the form of a 1986 FMC fire engine that the Layton City Fire Department donated on the 13th of this month. When Layton’s Fire Department recently purchased new firefighting equipment, they decided to donate the sleek red machine to the Emergency Services Department at UVU instead of selling it to another fire department in the area.

The Entrepreneur’s Club is participating in the annual Opportunity Quest business plan competition, which offers prizes up to $3,000 for finalists, who then go to the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge competition to compete for up to $40,000 in prize money. “You learn more about writing a business plan by doing a competition than by reading a bunch of books,” said Pete Robinson, entrepreneurship professor and mentor for the E-Club.

After last year’s success, UVU will be hosting a Graduate School Fair, to be held in the Grande Ballroom in the Student Center. The fair begins Thursday, Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. and will continue until 3 p.m. The Graduate School Fair provides an opportunity for students to prepare now for their future educational goals.

The documentary “This Divided State,” created around Michael Moore’s infamous visit to UVU, shows a young professor posing hard and forceful questions to Sean Hannity. Because he speaks against Hannity’s beliefs, the professor is quickly quieted, ignored and even booed by the crowd before he can finish his sentence.

When facing the problems of student life, sometimes help is needed. Knowing where to go for help makes finding a solution easier. UVU has an ombuds program to help students with any problem. Ashley Robertson, UVU ombuds, said that the most important right students have is access to an ombuds.