Officers vote to sell student tickets to public

Utah State University Student Association officers voted Tuesday night to release 500 student tickets to the general public for this weekend’s football game.

The tickets, which will sell for $38 apiece, were given to the Utah State Athletics Department. This is in addition to the 500 tickets released to the department last week when athletic director John Hartwell presented to the executive council on Oct. 6. So far, only 45 of those tickets have been sold.

“It’s not a whole lot, and I don’t anticipate them selling too many more, either,” said student involvement director Linda Zimmerman.

The Aggies will take on Boise State over fall break, when many students leave town. Hartwell said historically, student attendance during fall break and Thanksgiving games has been low. As of Tuesday evening, 2,650 student tickets were distributed.

Although the executive council’s vote was unanimous, there was some concern at the initial meeting with Hartwell last week. Tickets in the student section are funded by student fees – students are required pay $135.14 each semester for the privilege of attending all athletic events.

But this game is special. Boise State is ranked in the Mountain West conference.

“We’d rather have a full stadium cheering on our Aggies than see us with empty bleachers,” said athletics vice president Thomas Rogers. “If this wasn’t over fall break, I don’t think we’d be giving away tickets at all.”

Hartwell said athletics would never ask for more than 1,000 student tickets. Usually, 6,500 seats are reserved for students — most of what remains of the 25,513-seat stadium goes to the public. Rogers said the majority of public tickets are sold out for this weekend.

“They’re pretty pricey tickets, for sure,” Rogers said. “I can’t say exactly dollar-for-dollar amount where it is going.”

If the athletics department sells the additional tickets now available to it, that would make a $38,000 difference.

“The revenue that they really gain from using any of our seats, probably is slim,” Zimmerman said.

With the funds, Zimmerman said athletics may host some sort of event for students. She explained that athletics and USUSA have a close working relationship, and the entities work together to meet common goals.

"It’s tough to give away student tickets. It’s not something I enjoy," Rogers said. "I’m hoping if we beat Boise our fans will start sprouting out of nowhere and will come to everything."

Officials talk growing concern of campus crime

Campus officials at Utah State University are reporting a steady increase of crime every year — especially sexual assault, and particularly at the beginning of the school year.

Since 2011, liquor arrests, burglary, drug arrests, stalking and incidents of dating violence and sex offenses have all increased in frequency — liquor law violations have increased the most, at 25 in 2011 and 56 in 2014.

The average number of crimes committed per month on campus is 22. During the first few months of the school year, the average jumps to 38. Campus Police Chief Steve Mecham said it takes a while for students to learn they need to take precautions.

“The university is generally a safe community, but there's still crime that happens,” he said. “So I think that maybe the students don't stop to think about that, and so they're a little bit careless about where they lay their property, or they leave their apartments open.”

According to the university’s Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report, students are at highest risk of sexual assault from early August through Thanksgiving break. This period, called the Red Zone, sees an increase of crimes of many natures.

Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information, or SAAVI, coordinator Jenny Erazo has been with the university for three years. At the beginning of the school year, Erazo hires five interns to help sexual assault victims.

“Since I’ve been here, each year the number of students that have come in has increased over the first of the semester,” she said, referring to the Red Zone. “I was talking to a county attorney, and she was noting an increase in cases.”

Victims have several avenues for reporting sexual assaults on campus, including through SAAVI, the Department of Student Services or the Counseling Center.

“We know that there are more that occur that are not reported,” Mecham said. “They don't have to report it to the police. Our concern is that victims of sexual assault get the help that they need — help them get through it.”

Sexual assaults account for less than one percent of crimes reported to the campus police. Only three incidents were reported to the USU Campus Police last school year. In two instances, the victims “refused to cooperate.” In the third, the case was cleared.

“That means that we investigated it, we know he did it, we know it happened — but we're not going to prosecute,” Mecham said. Almost always, the victim will be the one to press charges. In many cases, they opt not to — criminal trials are public and can be traumatizing to victims.

Although the term “Red Zone” only embodies sexual assaults, all campus crimes spike at the beginning of the school year, particularly liquor law violations and theft. Combined, they account for 46 percent of campus crimes in 2014. Criminal mischief and ordinance violations follow at 9 percent each. Controlled substance violations are next at 6 percent.

“We take very low tolerance to alcohol violations, and so if we have an alcohol violation, it almost always ends up in an arrest or a citation,” Mecham said. “And so that gets the knowledge out there that, 'Hey, if I get caught, it's gonna cost me a lot of money.'”

Representatives for campus police meet with resident assistants, housing directors and students enrolled in the Connections course to talk about the beginning-of-the-year potential of becoming the victim of a crime. Mecham added that he strives to have more officers on duty during the first few weeks of school.

Executive director for Housing and Residence Life Steven Jenson said he and his staff want students to be aware of potential dangers. Additionally, he has taken measures to make on-campus housing more secure.

“Recently — a year ago — we started locking all the external doors 24/7 so that only people that are supposed to be in the buildings can access it,” he said.

Jenson sits on the Behavior Intervention Team, or BIT. Organized by student services, BIT is a team of professionals designed to assess, refer and interview students of concern. The Residence Hall Association takes safety very seriously, Jenson said.

Mecham, Jenson and Erazo agreed they want students to be aware of the dangers on campus, and the first few months of the school year are a time to be cautious and educated.

“We get a bunch of students who are away from home for the first time, and so they're spreading their wings — sowing their wild oats, so to speak,” Mecham said.

Investigation of Big Blue impersonator continues

The Cache County Sheriff’s Office is investigating reports that a man has been impersonating Big Blue and allegedly scamming community members. Police now believe they have identified the suspect, whose real name is Christian Scott Fairbanks.

Fairbanks claims to be a student, but that fact has not been verified yet. Associate vice president for student services Eric Olsen said if he is a student, Utah State University will examine whether to press charges.

“The student code indicates you are to follow state and federal laws, so if you’re charged with a crime, you’ve broken the student code,” Olsen said. “We would look at that and determine if there’s action that needs to be taken and go from there.”

Operating under the pseudonym Chris King, Fairbanks wore the famed Big Blue jersey as he went door-to-door in Nibley and Providence last week, often introducing himself as Big Blue. Spirit squad coach Nicole Troumbley was perplexed as to how he was able to get the jersey. She expressed concern that he was abusing the image of Big Blue, which is owned by the university.

Fairbanks offered to repaint residents’ curb numbers for $25, but gave varying accounts as to what the money was for – sometimes he said it was for the Big Blue Scholarship fund, sometimes for the cheer squad, other times even the Utah State University Robotics Club. The man identifying himself as King told Heidi Hickman that it was for an after-school reading program.

“I mean, at least give them the same story,” said Hickman, a Nibley resident. “He got fidgety once you started to ask him more questions, and then he was like, ‘Okay, see you.’”

Fairbanks claimed he was raising money for the Royal Academy for Music and the Dramatic Arts, or RAMDA, an after-school program he directs in Hyde Park. He also said the funds were for Afterschool Alliance, a free after-school program for children.

A man claimed to be representing Fairbanks, but who declined to give his name, defended the work that was done.

“The funds that are being raised – they’re offering a service. That service is being provided. And we have over 52 names of people who have confirmed that the services that was offered was provided to them,” he said. “It’s been a great fundraiser.”

According to the man claiming to be Fairbanks' representative, Fairbanks plans on pressing charges of libel against the Utah Statesman for publishing an article, although the article did not identify Fairbanks.

It is unclear what charges will be pressed, but several people – including Hickman – have reported fraud to the Cache County Sheriff’s Office.