President Hall Signs Constitution for First Student Chapter

President Kermit L. Hall made opening remarks at a constitution-signing ceremony Friday for Utah State University's new Student Organization for Society and Natural Resources.

Referring to the Constitution of the United States, Hall pointed out that one of its strengths is that it always leaves something to be discerned or interpreted.

He commended the club's constitution, explaining that it had likewise not created "a kind of code, but instead an expression of sentiment and interest, which clearly go to the purpose of the organization, which is to spread the [knowledge] of environmental stability."

Students and faculty watched as the constitution was signed by eight witnesses, including Hall, Natural Resources Dean Fee Busby, Department Head Terry Sharik, Associated Students of USU Natural Resources Senator Dax Mangus, club President Kent Andersen, club Vice President Meghan Wereley, Treasurer Kevin Campbell and Secretary Diana Glenn.

Busby said, "The signing of this constitution is a sign of how students step forward with their own leadership skills to create an organization to serve in ways you want it to."

Hall said, "Many of the ideas that are critical to you will, in fact, become critical for the life of the university, as well.

"I think what you're seeing you can do with your new organization and with this constitution is really what the university should seek to do in its endeavors to make this place better by making it more respectable of the environment -- in so doing, sustaining the life forms [that] are absolutely crucial to us," he said.

Busby congratulated those who worked to organize the club and said, "It is a major contribution to the College of Natural Resources and to Utah State University. I salute you for your hard work and pledge to continue to work with you to make this successful."

Andersen shared the club vision statement, "We are a club committed to the open discussion of local and global and environmental and natural resource issues, bringing people and solutions together for healthy communities and enduring ecosystems."

He said, "We want to effectively represent all sides of environmental and natural resource issues and bring all parties together to be able to come to the most widely accepted idea that will not solve only one group's problem but at least some of everyone's problem."

Sharik said the organization is a way of bringing people and science together in a tremendous work.

Wereley explained that the new group has been accepted by the International Association for Society of Natural Resources as the first student chapter.

Andersen said, "This is not only great for our club but for the university."

The club advertises it is one that provides a forum for discussion of current environmental topics.

"We will help promote campuswide environmental literacy," he said.

The Society of Natural Resources will be involved in service projects in the community and will sponsor speakers.

The club's Web page is still under design but will be linked through the College of Natural Resources' page, Wereley said.

Club meetings are every Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the Natural Resource Atrium.

"Everyone is invited and welcome," she said. "Or they can e-mail us if they are interested in more information, at sosnr@gis.usu.edu."

By Julia Mitchell; julia@cc.usu.edu
Photo by John Zsiray