The Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics & Public Service at Southern Utah University

Current Events

Municipal Election Results

The result of the municipal election has been tabulated and the Leavitt Center would wish to congratulate Joe Burgess for being elected as mayor as well as Ron Adams and Nina Barnes for being elected as our city councilors.

The results for Mayor:

Candidates	Votes Cast	Percentages
JOE BURGESS	2399	58.54%
STEVE WOOD	1665	40.63%
Write-in Votes	34	0.83%

The results for City Council:

Candidates	Votes Cast	Percentages
RON ADAMS	2265	28.78%
NINA R. BARNES	1887	23.98%
JOLENE W. GOFF	1862	23.66%
BRIAN K. TAVOIAN	1811	23.01%
Write-in Votes	44	0.56%

Leavitt Students Arrive Home from International Diplomicay Trip to NYC

A group of 12 students from Southern Utah University traveled to New York City for a diplomatic cultural exchange. The trip was planned to take advantage of the U.N. General Assembly proceedings, and the objective was to expose students to a variety of perspectives on democracy in the Middle East with special attention to Iran. Students met with
President Ahmadinejad, members of the Iranian parliament, professors from surrounding universities, and human rights leaders. The week’s events provided students with the opportunity to probe deep into the complexities of diplomatic relations with the Middle East and Iran. Stay tuned for a date and time of a forum where students will discuss their experience with the SUU community.

ACLU "Freedom of Religion Forum"

The Religious Freedom Forum was a huge success and prompted some terriffic discussion. Thank you to our panelists and all that attended and participated.

VOTE ON NOVEMBER 3rd!!!

Candidates

Candidates for mayor are Steve Wood and Joe Burgess. Candidates for city council are Nina Barnes, Jolene Goff, Ron Adams, and Brian Tavoian

For more information on registering or voting, please contact the Leavitt Center.

University 1000

Week Seven (Understading the War in Afghanistan)

Please follow this 5 part series in the New York times. I want you to write about the mindset of the Taliban and why they are willing to fight a war in their own and neighboring countries.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/world/asia/18hostage.html

Also, pick three additional news reports to read or watch and try to fit the pieces together.

http://news.google.com/news/search?um=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=afghanistan+pakistan&cf=all&as_qdr=w&as_drrb=q

Week Six (Integrity in Reporting and Journalism)

Please discuss how you see media reporting of the the news, particularly political news. Is it okay to tell one side of the story and have a political bias, or should the news be unbiased? What is journalism today and what role does it play in our society today? (Please listen to the radio program about the Atlantic article and/or read the article.)

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuer/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1559216/news/92809.The.Story.Behind.the.Story

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910/media