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October 29 November 4, 2013

Brigham Young University Provo, Utah

Serving the Brigham Young University Community

Ridley overcomes adversity on way to spotlight

By JACOB ERICKSON
Many young athletes playing in their backyards dream of scoring the winning touchdown in a big game. Skyler Ridley was able to do just that on Oct. 19 as BYU took down Houston 47-46. With less than two minutes left in the game and BYU down by ve, the offense took the eld determined to come away with a win against then-unbeaten Houston. On the rst play of the drive, Ridley caught a 28-yard pass that put the Cougars on the 20-yard line. Two plays later, Ridley caught the gaming-winning touchdown, which was just the second touchdown catch of Ridleys college career. I knew that I had one-on-one on the outside and that there was a high probability that Taysom was going to throw it to me. He made a great throw; I just had to hold on to it, Ridley said. Ive said it before, but celebrating with my teammates in the end zone and to come back and win the game like that was a pretty awesome experience. During his high school career at Murrieta Valley High in California, Ridley played both baseball and football and was recruited by the University of TexasEl Paso, the University of San Diego, Utah, Idaho and Utah State. Ultimately he decided to walk on at BYU. This university is unique. Its special in so many ways, and as a young man I was preparing to serve a mission, Ridley said. I felt like that was the biggest factor in me choosing to come here because there was no other place that I thought could better prepare me for that than this school. Ridley redshirted his freshman year at BYU, and was later called to serve in the England Manchester mission. During his service, Ridley felt he received an impression that if he put in the hard work, football would eventually pay off. When his two years were nished, Ridley came back to BYU determined to work hard and succeed on the eld. The coaches were happy to have him back with the team, and they decided to assign him to the scout team, where Ridley would spend the next two years, which he said were some of the most difcult times of his college career. During those years, Ridley thought about quitting football for good. There was a point when some tough decisions needed to be made, Ridley said. After a lot of thought, I decided that Ive come this far and I might as well nish for my wife and my parents and for the sacrices that they made during the process as a walk-on helping me get through school. I felt like I owed it to them. With his hard work and dedication, Ridley was able to make it off the scout team his junior year and was awarded a See RIDLEY on Page 3

Scout leaders face backlash

Incident in Goblin Valley sparks uproar
By DYLAN ELLSWORTH
Two Utah Boy Scout leaders are facing signicant backlash after posting a video online of the men tipping over a nearly 200-million-year-old rock formation in Goblin Valley State Park. Glenn Taylor and David Hall, from Highland, Utah, have now been removed from the Boy Scouts of America. An investigation is underway to determine whether the men will face felony charges. We made a boneheaded decision, Hall said. The video shows Taylor pushing over a 2,000-pound rock from the top of a hoodoo formation (the original has since been removed from YouTube). Hall, the cameraman, looks on with Taylors adult son, Dylan, and celebrates as the rock falls, giving high ves and yelling. The men claim they pushed the boulder because it was a safety risk. In the video I clearly say at the end of the video that a little kid could have been crushed, he said. I explain why we removed the rock, but 95 percent of the media that broadcast the video cut it off as soon as the rock falls so everyone in the world thinks this was about vandalism. Now, just because our intention was to save lives did not mean it was right. See BSA on Page 3

Photo by Sarah Hill

Skyler Ridley makes a catch before being tackled Oct. 12 against Georgia Tech.

Rate My Professors lists BYU as a top university

By LAURA HARRISON
Rate My Professors ranked BYU as No. 14 on its Top University List for the 20122013 school year. BYU was given a rating of 4.5 out of 5. Universities a re g iven t hei r ra n ki ng based on 10 di f ferent categories : reputation, location, opp or t u n it y, l ibr a r y, c a mpu s , Internet access, food, clubs, social life and happiness. BYU ranked 4.8 in library, campus and happiness. The lowest ranking, a 4.1, was given to food. Accordi ng to K atie Cla rk, a s ophomor e f r om Me s a , A r i z ., studying business management, Rate My Professors gives students a real view into what colleges are like. I go to RateMyProfessors.com before I sign up for a class, Clark said. Some ratings are a little dramatic, but I trust that most people are giving their actual opinion. The questions (for the ratings) are good too, not the basic questions we get in the ratings that the school gives us. S cho ol r a n k i n g s a r e b a s e d partially on professor ratings and campus ratings. According to a press release from Rate My Professors, they weigh professor ratings and campus ratings equally (50 percent each), which means top schools score high in academics as well as campus life. For BYU, there are 594 student ratings and comments on the site. You dont just get a good education at BY U, you get a wonder f u l environment, a lot of good people and a great emphasis on a well-rounded education, including a spiritual education, one review said. T o p pi n g t h e h i g h e s t r at e d university list are Duke University, Vanderbilt University, Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin. See TOP 14 on Page 3

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BYU ranked fourteenth in Rate My Professors. The graphic to the right marks the ranking number of each school in black. Rankings are: 1. Duke University 7. Washington University in St. Louis 2. Vanderbilt University 8. Rollins College 3. Pennsylvania State University 9. Texas A & M University at College 4. Stanford University Station 5. University of Wisconsin Madison 10. University of Michigan 6. University of Georgia 11. Auburn University

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12. James Madison University 13. Texas Christian University 14. Brigham Young University

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Graphic by Lauren Prochelo

13 Last-minute costumes
Hale Center Theater inventory

9 BYU beats Boise State

Cougars cruise to victory

Spooky spaces

Haunted spots in Utah

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