September 1, 2008

Back in 1998, I was an 18-year-old movie aficionado with a job that paid far too much. I wanted to upgrade from VHS tapes to one of the newer digital formats. There was DVD format, which was fairly costly and there was DIVX (Digital Video Express), a cheaper, CD-based format, but which required one to go online and pay per movie view — like renting. Not knowing which format would catch on, I decided to take a risk by investing in the DVD format. Thank heaven I did. DIVX didn’t last one year.

Thanks to a recent grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Orem will join over 200 other cities in celebrating Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The program, which includes discussions and presentations, is free even if you don’t live in Orem.

The entire population of Utah Valley knows that UVU is becoming bigger and better. Every program is trying to grow to fit its new university shoes. The theater department in particular has been working to provide a better education and more experience for its students.