By STEFANIE HUBBS and NIKKI SEYMOUR
The year 2003 was colored with highs and lows, points of interest and moments of change for BYU.
The university welcomed a new president and said farewell to students deployed to Iraq.
Students sat in the dark during a power outage at a February Devotional, talked about BYUSA President Dave Johnson’s student radio campaign and noted the arrival of Carmen Rasmussen, BYU’s own “American Idol” contestant.
The Daily Universe begins the new year with a glance back at the campus news that topped the headlines last year.
Goodbye President Bateman, Hello President Samuelson
In May, President Merrill J. Bateman closed his more than seven-year tenure as president of BYU. Elder Bateman took over duties as a member of the presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy, while Cecil O. Samuelson became the 12th president of BYU.
Though President Samuelson took over presidential duties in May, the change became official at an inauguration ceremony in September.
At the ceremony, President Gordon B. Hinckley, chair of BYU’s Board of Trustees, offered a vision for the new president.
“I formally charge you to go forward in leading this university to new heights of honor,” President Hinckley said.
President Bateman helped create many positive changes for BYU, including the completion of 36 buildings, and the beginnings of three more.
Responsible for raising the enrollment cap from 27,000 to 29,000, President Bateman also helped the Marriott School of Management improve and increase in size.
“I remember he was always a big fan of the sports, and he encouraged people to have better attitudes about things and to be better people,” said Christine Shearer, a sophomore from Erda, majoring in dietetics.
Men’s soccer joins a new league
A longtime local sports debate ended in 2003 when The United Soccer League and former BYU president Merrill J. Bateman approved the BYU men’s soccer club’s appeal to join the Premier Development League, a professional soccer organization.
After winning five of the last six national championships at the club level, the team became the first college team to play in the PDL, a spring-summer league that includes 50 national teams.
BYU finished its first PDL season with a 2-15-1 record.
BYU students deployed with U.S. troops
In December, 15 units of the Utah National Army Guard received orders to deploy, joining the mobilization efforts for Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Approximately 500 Utah soldiers accepted the call to fight in late 2003.
In an interview with The Daily Universe, BYU student and Marine Mark Patterson said: “I made a will, planned my funeral, planned what my headstone would say. I wanted to go [to Iraq], but no one really jumps up and celebrates. I had no idea when I would be coming back.”
Patterson, who received his mission call one week before being put on duty after Sept. 11, 2001, said he, like numerous other BYU students in the U.S. forces, had to face the fact that he might die in Iraq.
“The hardest part about it is you are risking your life for something,” Patterson said. “If you come home and people don’t care, it really cheapens what you did. It’s up to the people here to remember that [the troops] are gone.”
Helen Thomas speaks to BYU students
When former White House correspondent Helen Thomas visited BYU to address students at a Forum in September, she brought her liberal political views with her.
During her remarks, Thomas received polite applause from some audience members, while other students left the lecture in protest.
Known as “The First Lady of the Press,” Thomas, 83, looked surprised when cheers erupted after she commented, “President Bush is more conservative than any other president I’ve covered.”
Thomas’ visit was approved by university officials and the Board of Trustees, including the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other general authorities.
Some students said while they may not agree with the ideas presented in the Forum, they respect Thomas for sharing her opinions.
Ira and Mary Lou Fulton honored for $50 million in donations
Balloons, music and gifts, including a giant card, a portrait and the applause of an overflowing WSC Ballroom, showed appreciation to Ira and Mary Lou Fulton for their cumulative $50 million in donations to BYU.
A November ceremony formally named the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology.
The Fultons’ donations benefit nearly all parts of the BYU community, including a supercomputer lab, a virtual computer room and several new buildings across campus, including the athletic complex and the Joseph F. Smith building.
During Ira Fulton’s remarks, he said he didn’t just give money–he made investments.
“When I make an investment, I’m going to watch it grow,” Fulton said. “If I tell you I’m going to invest in your future then I want a progress report on how you’re doing, so I can invest at the next level and the next level.”
Record football losses depress Cougar fans
The 2003 football season was one for the record books as the first time in 33 years BYU lost eight games in a season.
The season included a Homecoming defeat and a shutout from the University of Utah.
Losing 58-13 to Colorado State, the Cougars allowed their opponents the highest point lead ever given at a BYU home game. BYU’s 45-point loss was the worst in more than 50 years.
The last game of the season ended with Utah winning its first conference championship in 46 years, breaking the Cougars’ 361-game scoring streak.
Cougar fans’ boos disappoint Pres. Samuelson
University officials were disappointed when BYU fans’ cheers at the men’s basketball game against Oklahoma State became jeers toward the other team and in particular, Daniel Bobik, an Oklahoma State guard.
Bobik, an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, transferred to Oklahoma State University after playing for the Cougars for two years. A small but expressive crowd of Cougar fans taunted Bobik, calling him a “traitor” to BYU and even to his religion.
At a Devotional following the game, President Samuelson said he was ashamed of the way fans represented BYU and the church.
“For the first time since my arrival at BYU several months ago, I have felt some sadness in my association with this great university,” Samuelson said. “Or more correctly, with a few of the vocal minority who consider themselves BYU fans but obviously give no value to good sportsmanship.”
