SUU News

Welcome Back Week wrapped up Friday night with the SUU Idol finale and mind-boggling tricks performed by mentalist Craig Karges.

Tyson Pulsipher, SUUSA activities vice president, said the week's activities were a hit with the students, making this one of the best Welcome Back Weeks of the past few years.

Nearly 700 students were in the crowd for comedian Vic Henley on Wednesday, he said.

Despite the cold weather Thursday evening, about four hundred students still showed up for the drive-in movie Dan in Real Life, Pulsipher said.

"I was a little worried about the movie because it was so cold, but I was very pleased with the turnout," he said.

Kim Henderson, a freshman sociology major from Orange County, Calif., said he and his friends were cold at the movie, but they wanted to stay anyway.

"We had a thermos of hot chocolate, but it's been gone for a while," he said at the movie. "It's cold, but we're staying here."

Because the drive-in movie idea was so popular, Pulispher said he would like to try it again sometime later in the semester when the weather gets a little better.

"Most of the students do not have the opportunity for a drive-in movie, so this is one that we will try again," he said.

The final round of SUU Idol took place Friday with Tiffani Bells, a senior theatre arts major from Lehi, taking home the winning spot.

Also during Friday night's entertainment by the mentalist, students filled the Ballroom to see Karges perform various mind tricks like mind reading, merging metal rings and levitating a table.

Ashlie Baker, a junior hotel, resort and hospitality management major from Layton, participated in one of Karges' activities where he had her come to the stage with an I.D. card and proceeded to guess what was on the card and who it belonged to while blindfolded.

"I thought we were going to mess him up," Baker said. "It was absolutely amazing."

Pulsipher said there is more to come in the way of student activities for the spring semester.

Through advertising efforts, Pulsipher said he would like to see a larger turnout at the spring events, because usually participation in school activities decreases during the spring semester.

"We just need to keep the momentum rolling and finish out strong," he said.