As Westminster College’s incoming president — and someone new to Salt Lake City — I’ve begun exploring various neighborhoods, sampling great cuisine and learning about the region’s rich history, culture and landscape. I’m also learning about the varied impressions that residents have of Westminster.

At one retailer, I noted that Westminster wasn’t among the universities promoted in their collegiate section. I asked, “Where’s the purple?”

The clerk responded, with a note of derision, “Well, we have something with a rainbow. Aren’t those Westminster’s colors?”

Rainbows are an important part of Westminster, as are Purple Hearts, leis, lacrosse sticks and mariachis. These examples are all cultural expressions of students’ varied lived experiences and reflect the changing demographics of both Salt Lake City and the state of Utah.

The tendency to reduce people to one part of their identity is entirely consistent with a country infatuated with political labels and seeking information for affirmation rather than knowledge. We sometimes reserve thoughtfulness and openness for those we already know and like. Difference can create discomfort. We’re reluctant to respect celebrations of diversity, as if doing so might open the door to thinking about people as more than a checkmark in a box.

Sometimes, though, checking boxes signals limited progress. For instance, the most noted characteristic I’ve heard about my presidency is my identity as a woman. The symbolism of my appointment may be important to a state that has seemingly struggled to embrace women in leadership roles, from Utah’s judges to government officials, to top positions in Utah businesses. So noted.

In the least, having a group of women assume presidencies of Utah’s universities shows that being identified as a woman should not, and need not, be a barrier to leadership. It might even prompt us to examine our assumptions about what it means to lead, or to be a woman. The next step is understanding the significance of having women in those positions, to move from seeing women as novelties to colleagues and partners in moving the state forward.

Just as there is value to be gained from understanding and including diverse people and perspectives, there is danger in assuming it’s not necessary. There are opportunity costs for companies that exclude key consumer groups in their workforce. There are labor costs of importing talent rather than training people who are already here. There are productivity costs when women and other underrepresented groups aren’t supported in their pursuit of education. And, perhaps most fundamentally, there are human costs that happen when people lose the ability to respect, empathize and take the perspective of others who seem different.

Given the growing diversity of Utah, figuring out how to derive value from diversity, whether demographic, political or religious, will be crucial. Institutions like Westminster do more than celebrate diversity: They help students cultivate the skills to navigate increasingly complex communities and workplaces. They are resources for businesses wishing to build stronger, more collaborative teams. They are key partners in solving complex problems and creating opportunities from the assets that diversity brings — as long as we begin by treating others from a place of empathy and respect.

The beauty of Utah’s landscapes is matched only by the beauty of its people. I’m excited to be part of a small college in a thriving city surrounded by bold, natural settings, and with students whose varied backgrounds and perspectives make our learning community richer and deeper. By giving them the knowledge and skills they need — and partnering with Salt Lake City’s communities, businesses and educational institutions — we can come one step closer to benefitting from all of the diversity the region has to offer.

Bethami A. Dobkin, Ph.D., is president of Westminster College, Salt Lake City.

At one point in Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s ringing dissent from last week’s Supreme Court decision upholding Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from a group of nations, most of them with Muslim-majority populations, she recounts his many insults against followers of Islam. Though most of us can likely recall his bigotry clearly enough without a refresher, it’s worth quoting at some length to appreciate the stunning depth, breadth and constancy of Trump’s prejudice.

To wit:

“During his presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump pledged that, if elected, he would ban Muslims from entering the United States. Specifically, on Dec. 7, 2015, he issued a formal statement ‘calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.’ “

“On Dec. 8, 2015, Trump justified his proposal during a television interview by noting that President Franklin D. Roosevelt ‘did the same thing’ with respect to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

“At a rally in South Carolina, Trump told an apocryphal story about United States General John J. Pershing killing a large group of Muslim insurgents in the Philippines with bullets dipped in pigs’ blood in the early 1900s.”

“In March 2016, he expressed his belief that “Islam hates us. ... We can’t allow people coming into this country who have this hatred of the United States ... and of people that are not Muslim.’

“That same month, Trump asserted that, ‘⅛W⅜e’re having problems with the Muslims, and we’re having problems with Muslims coming into the country.’ He therefore called for surveillance of mosques in the United States, blaming terrorist attacks on Muslims’ lack of ‘assimilation’ and their commitment to ‘sharia law.’ “

“One week after taking office, President Trump signed [an] executive order entitled ‘Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.’ As he signed it, President Trump read the title, looked up, and said, ‘We all know what that means.’ “

Remarkably, there is more — much more — but space is limited and there’s a point that needs making. It has to do with privilege. That is, the inherent advantages that accrue to members of a favored group — the assumptions they get to make, the treatment they get to expect — and the things they get to not see.

You’ll seldom find a more compelling example of that willful blindness than this. To approve the travel ban, after all, the Court had to take Trump at his word that it was based in national-security concerns and had nothing to do with his animus toward Muslims. And the Court did. It put aside overwhelming evidence of religious bigotry. It even put aside the fact that Rudy Giuliani says Trump told him he wanted to ban Muslims and was seeking “the right way to do it legally.”

In choosing to believe Trump’s actions were unimpinged by his seething Islamophobia, the Court chose to not see what was as obvious as an elephant in a stairwell. In so doing it has delivered one of the worst decisions in its 229-year history.

All of us who value human dignity should be appalled. But perhaps Muslims and others who know how it feels to be on the receiving end of systemic bigotry might be forgiven an extra measure of dismay at this reminder that some of us have the ability — and privilege — to put such things aside.

Must be nice.

Leonard Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald. lpitts@miamiherald.com

We are hearing a lot about separating families of people coming into the country illegally. I believe this would be a good time to look at American citizens in the prison system and their families.

The prison system is designed to help people reform, rehabilitate and benefit society. This should include keeping their families intact also. Obviously, the children shouldn’t be incarcerated with parents, but there should be more visiting rights for them so that they will be able to see and get hugs from their parents, so that they will be able to maintain family relationships.

Most of the inmates will be out someday, and I believe it’s important for these family ties to be maintained.

Helen Anderson, Paradise

Lies are the foundation of our immigration system — “immigrants bring crime,” or “immigrants steal our benefits and welfare” — but the worst lie is that we are better than this — “this isn’t America.”

Pick up a book and look up nativism, the Know-Nothing Party, the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Gentlemen’s Agreement with Japan, immigration quotas, the Bracero program, Japanese (and Japanese-Latin American) internment, “Operation Wetback,” the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act (expedited removal), the formation of ICE and its litany of abuses, the detention of asylum seekers (under Barack Obama and Donald Trump), the forced separation of families, and the travel (Muslim) ban. Not once has this country truly cared about immigrants or refugees in any way commensurate with the stories we tell ourselves. This fundamental misunderstanding of this aspect of our country sets up every other immigration lie. We bomb countries continuously, wage economic warfare against them and fund violent coups to overthrow their governments, only to demonize them on the back end and deny them entry when things go wrong.

Our inability to confront our past and our biases precludes us from being a beacon to the world, a “city on a hill” or a nation that “embrace[s] all and not just some.”

Jason Chandler, Salt Lake City

The excitement would heighten as children in my neighborhood (back in the day) watched as the red striped “big top” tents were put in place. The circus had come to town — we were thrilled.

Fast-forward to now. The sight of those circuslike big tops only brings dread: ”Oh no, it’s July in Utah!”

Noise and air pollution, fear of fires, thunder coats for our pets … here come the days (daze) of celebrations.

Anne Stringham, Salt Lake City

In his column urging us to vote against the GOP in the upcoming midterm elections (Tribune, June 24), George Will makes a persuasive case against President Donald Trump, the “Vesuvius of mendacities,” and his congressional enablers. But while urging voters to remove “the president’s poodles” from office, Mr. Will remarks that a Democratic congressional majority would be “a basket of deplorables.”

It is disappointing that Mr. Will, a Pulitzer-winning columnist and best-selling author, sees fit to punctuate his opinion with such a gratuitous gibe. That broad insult is just as inappropriate issued against Democrats as it was when candidate Hillary Clinton applied it to Trump supporters.

It is convenient and easy, I suppose, to sweepingly discredit and insult people based upon their political party affiliation — just as one might do so based upon race, religion or occupation. That way, no individual office holder or candidate need be considered upon the actual merits of her or his positions on the issues. I submit that by his comment, Mr. Will is both committing and advocating intellectual laziness — which, indeed, is a deplorable way to address the multiple and often complex issues facing our country. We all should be better than that.

J. Kevin Murphy, Salt Lake City

Just as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted so unambiguously on Feb. 13, 2016, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.”

Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee should do everything in their power to make sure this happens. Anything less would be shameful hypocrisy.

Stuart Wilde, Murray

Aaron Johnson is what many people would consider an online troll.

The Salt Lake City resident delights in jabbing elected politicians with comments that are almost always barbed, mocking and sometimes combative.

“I don’t know if I consider myself a provocateur,” Johnson, 53, who goes by the online name Aaron Jones, said in interview.

“I don’t try to provoke people,” he says, but then allows, “It might just come naturally to me. … It’s just humor; to me it’s funny.”

Johnson, a veteran, says his voice has been muted, illegally so. He claims he’s been blocked from a number of government social-media sites because officials don’t like his contrarian views. And he’s fighting back.

In a rambling, poke-in-the-eye federal lawsuit written and filed without the help of an attorney, Johnson accuses Salt Lake City of violating his constitutional rights of free speech and equal protection.

Citing the recent federal court ruling against President Donald Trump for blocking critics from posting to his Twitter account, Johnson accuses Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and the City Council of “Trump-like restrictions.”

This viewpoint-based censorship, he argues, is the height of hypocrisy given the liberal enclave’s “empty slogans about inclusion.”

Among other things, he calls out the the city’s Human Rights Commission, claiming it banned him from its Facebook page.

“The irony of that mixed metaphor of equality is like a Fahrenheit 451 fire sale at its $742/sq ft. main library!” he writes in his 99-page complaint, filed earlier this month.

Matthew Rojas, a spokesman for the mayor, says the lawsuit doesn’t have “much merit.”

“If you read through the entire kind of screed that he’s written, you can see he as much as admits he’s not blocked” on the sites controlled by the mayor or her administration, he said.

“We don’t block individuals” as a matter of policy, he added. “We also don’t delete comments. We will hide comments if they contain foul language or threats.”

Rojas said he recently checked social media sites under city control — including the Human Rights Commission — and Johnson is not blocked from any of them.

Johnson is blocked from the City Council’s Facebook page — a status that was imposed at least dating back to 2014.

He is believed to be the only individual banned from the site, which publishes rules about what’s not allowed — from endorsing candidates or commercial products to promoting discrimination by spouting racist or sexist views.

It describes itself as a limited public forum and warns that “comments that do not relate to a topic posted by the city may be removed.”

A spokesperson said council members cannot comment on pending litigation.

Johnson’s recent federal lawsuit is the second he’s filed claiming his civil rights were violated by being blacklisted on government social media. The first, filed in January, names multiple state officials as defendants — from Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox to Attorney General Sean Reyes.

State attorneys have responded with a motion to dismiss, basically on grounds that the 91-page pro se lawsuit is a mess of irrelevant insults, grudges and “unintelligible allegations.”

Reyes’ chief of staff, Ric Cantrell, recently reviewed the offices’ online presence.

“I went into the control panel of our website and I saw that we had 17 different administrators and most of them I didn’t know.”

Many were long-gone interns or office assistants.

“That’s been the whole course of our spontaneous evolution into the social media realm — that it wasn’t centrally planned.”

Johnson, he found, was banned from the A.G.’s Facebook page beginning in 2012, before Reyes was elected.

“I don’t know who did it or why,” Cantrell acknowledged, without admitting any wrongdoing in the ongoing complaint.

Lawsuit notwithstanding, he said, “we can always revisit our policies and retool and it’s my inclination to whitelist everybody who’s been banned and personally invite them to re-engage.”

Before doing that, however, Cantrell plans to create a policy “that makes clear what the expectations are. We would then direct and moderate the tone as if we were in a legislative committee hearing or a town hall.”

“As we write these policies, the paradigm will be that the citizens own the government and not the other way around,” he said.

The ACLU of Utah has gone on social media to warn elected officials not to block people based on criticisms or other viewpoints. It also wrote to all six members of the state’s federal delegation last fall to clarify these issues.

“We receive a steady stream of complaints,” said Jason Stevenson, the organization’s strategic communications manager.

Most come from people dealing with state or local government.

“That’s where you’re seeing more of the friction happening between constituents who are trying to comment on the Facebook or Twitter accounts primarily of elected leaders and seeing that their viewpoints or access are being blocked and they’re wondering what their rights are,” Stevenson said.

Those rights are rapidly evolving. In addition to the recent federal court ruling involving the president’s Twitter account, the ACLU has sued governors in Maine, Maryland and Kentucky for similarly blocking constituents on Facebook.

The civil-rights organization last week asked Vermont Gov. Phil Scott to stop deleting critical posts and blocking constituents on Facebook.

Scott’s office said it is simply trying to maintain a civil dialogue, The Associated Press reported.

“This is a nexus of new technology, new ways to interact with elected leaders and the law is slowly catching up to figure out what are the boundaries for free speech and public forums on the internet,” said Stevenson, of the Utah ACLU.

The organization publishes a concise primer, Know Your Rights: Social Media Blocking.

Among other things, it says standards must be posted on the social-media pages of government agencies, must be applied consistently and “must not block speech that is critical, unpopular, or negative to the elected official or is protected speech under the First Amendment.”

Stevenson has this analogy: “If an elected leader has a town hall, can they restrict the people who come through the door if it’s a public event, based on their political viewpoints? The answer is probably no.”

Johnson acknowledges his views might not be popular and “I find a lot of people will not like me for the things that I write.”

But he says he doesn’t threaten or harass government leaders online — just writes things they disagree with or things that offend them. To those officials, he says — get over it.

“That’s part of the political process. If you’re too weak to withstand some criticism and some dissent, you know you shouldn’t be in office.”

Ten years ago, Sonny and I became infatuated with the explosive power of propane. We went so far as to build a cannon that used it as a propellant.

Our contraption is referred to by most as a potato gun, but we didn’t bother to just use potatoes for ammunition. We also used carrots, nails, marbles, zucchini, a dead mouse and, once, even a rolled-up magazine that put a dent in the side of my truck.

We were rather proud of our accomplishment even though it was a slipshod affair capable of seriously hurting us. We once shot a potato straight up that didn’t come back for about a minute.

When it did return, it was partly cooked, glowing, traveling just under the speed of sound, and drilled a hole in the ground between us.

Since I reported on this for the newspaper, it put us on the radar with public safety officials.

Shortly after I announced the first successful firing of our new cannon, I received official notice from the Utah State Fire Marshal’s Office that we (but mostly Sonny) were in violation of state law.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Bryan Thatcher went so far as to send me an email citing all of the statutes we had violated in constructing an illegal “explosive device.”

“Robert, you idiot. Those things are illegal. If you don’t believe me, see 76-10-501, 76-10-306, and 76-10505.5. Knock it off before someone less expendable gets hurt trying to copy you.”

There were some other warnings about illegal firearms, bombs, fireworks, catapults and something that is still top secret that Sonny and I invented for our “Rats in Space” program.

In closing, Deputy Fire Marshal Thatcher added the full weight of the law: “If you tell anyone that I used to build that crap myself, I’ll get a search warrant for your garage. Bryan.”

That was back in 2011. In the seven years since, a number of things have happened. First, Sonny and I have improved our research to include things like camp stoves, argon gas tanks, bowling balls, frozen turkeys, starter fluid, lug nuts and unripe melons.

Our research hit a bump when I moved last year. As it so often happens with irony, the new place was only half a mile or so (within range of a bowling ball) from our old place — but directly across the street from now-Draper Fire Marshal Bryan Thatcher.

It was almost a deal-breaker. How was I going to enjoy life living so close to someone who had already warned/threatened me with the law?

That turned out to be easier than I thought. Using compressed air — which is kind of a silencer for projectile enthusiasts — I could shoot Bryan’s official fire marshal SUV all I wanted from within the confines of my new garage.

If he ever wondered how he got so much bug splatter on his vehicle when he hadn’t even driven it, he never said. Also, I was careful not to hit his wife Erin’s car because she’s a woman AND an attorney. That’s a really dangerous combination.

Nothing fun ever lasts forever. Thursday night, Erin called me in hysterics. She had returned home to find Bryan unresponsive on the family room floor downstairs.

I got there in time to hold her while Unified Fire EMS tried to pound the life back into him. It didn’t work. Despite drugs, electric shock and seemingly brutal manual effort, Bryan slipped away into the Great Down Range.

Godspeed, Fire Marshal Bryan. I know you’ll hit something soft and welcoming.

Living in Salt Lake City, Delta Air Lines has been my first pick for traveling.

After reading about Delta’s ban on “pit bull-type dogs,” my first reaction was whoever thought of this ridiculous ban has never had the opportunity to own a beloved pit bull.

Henry, my 11-year-old pit bull, was found wandering by a busy road. Being afraid of the little we knew of the breed, not sure what to do, we nervously approached him to help him, only to find him collapse in our arms. Not knowing Henry’s story, this is what we did know: He was malnourished, skin and bones, cut feet and tail, had this enormous head and a strong desire to be loved and near humans.

It has been said that we saved Henry, but Henry saved me. He came into my life when I was struggling with fertility and felt something was missing from my life. Some women are fulfilled as mothers to children; I am fulfilled as a mother to my pit bull. He is the most loyal and sensitive dog I have ever had, and I have had dogs my entire life. He is always wanting to please and be near me. He loves everyone. Everyone.

I am sad to hear that one isolated incident had to be a “pit bull.” All dogs need training, no matter the breed. With the rise in deaths of dogs on various airlines, rather than restricting one breed, it is clear to me that airlines need to implement better dog regulations. Delta does need to improve policies to protect its customers and employees, but also look at ways to improve safety and ethical travel options for animals.

In honor of my Henry and for all pit bulls that just want to be loved and part of a family, it is my hope that Delta will reconsider such an absurd ban.

Brandy K. Jenkins, Draper

Utah primary results really proved what we’ve known all along: The “Utah Republican party” (the caucus system) and its leaders are completely out of touch with most Utah Republicans.

None of “their” major candidates got even 30 percent of the vote. Their state legislative candidates are the ones who vote against Medicare expansion, against education spending, against many measures that regularly have 65 percent approval and more from the electorate.

They voted against Gov. Olene Walker, Sen. Bob Bennett and other candidates most Republican voters wanted.

The larger question, now, is how to get voters to go elsewhere rather than put these Libertarian RINOs into office. Count My Vote is sliced bread for Utah politics. Finally, the Ruzicka era may be over.

Bill Miller, Salt Lake City

Two in every three Utah voters back the campaign to legalize medical marijuana in the state, according to a new Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll.

Support for the measure remains high, though the survey shows some voters have changed their minds in recent months, when a group that included top Republican politicians sounded off against the measure.

Some 66 percent of voters say they support the initiative, which would legalize marijuana possession and use for approved patients with ailments like cancer and chronic pain. That’s a drop from a Tribune poll in January, when 76 percent said they somewhat or strongly supported the measure.

That dip follows consistent polling showing support over 70 percent. (In January, 76 percent of respondents told The Tribune they supported the measure. In October, 75 percent supported it.)

It also shows the influence the LDS Church has over Mormons in a state where nearly half of all voters are active members of the religion.

What remains to be seen is whether the predominant faith will come out more strongly against the measure than its indirect statements of concern so far.

“This is not a hill they want to die on,” said Matthew Bowman, an associate professor of history at Henderson State University (Arkansas) who also wrote a book on the Mormon faith.

Bowman recalled the church’s attempts in the 1930s to prevent Utah politicians from ratifying an amendment to repeal alcohol prohibition in the United States. The state cast the deciding vote in favor of allowing alcohol sales after nearly 15 years prohibiting it.

As the marijuana measure continues to poll well, and as church members continue to believe marijuana should be used for medical — rather than recreational — purposes, Bowman said the church may avoid directly calling on its members to oppose the initiative.

“The church is often pretty hands-off when it comes to political issues,” Bowman said. “It very rarely weighs in on stuff like this, [and] when it does it is often rather like this. A general statement of principles.”

The LDS Church leadership has expressed concerns with the medical marijuana initiative, while stopping short of directing members to vote against it.

A legal analysis prepared by church attorneys, Mormon leaders wrote in a statement, “raises grave concerns about this initiative and the serious adverse consequences that could follow if it were adopted.”

Still, the statement encouraged members to read the legal opinion for themselves and “to make their own judgment.”

The Utah Medical Association has come out in opposition to the initiative, as has Gov. Gary Herbert.

The Tribune asked poll respondents whether the church’s input changed their minds on the initiative. The results show while the feedback changed the minds of 29 percent of voters who consider themselves “very active” Mormons, it had no effect on 58 percent of “very active” LDS voters.

In fact, 11 percent of respondents said they were more likely to support the initiative because of the statements from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including 8 percent of very active Mormons.

Sixteen percent of all respondents said they were less likely to support the initiative because of the church’s position, and 61 percent said the stance had no impact. Eleven percent said they didn’t know what the church’s position meant for them. The poll was conducted by the Hinckley Institute between June 11-18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Political watchers said it appeared the church would largely stay on the sidelines, without explicitly telling members to oppose the measure, as it did with an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment that California passed in 2008.

“This is one of these issues that I think the church leadership always tends to be relatively cautious about,” said Matthew Burbank, a political scientist at the University of Utah, who assisted on the poll. “It doesn’t go to the heart of their kind of religious concerns in the same way that something like the question of marriage equality did.”

Officials with the LDS Church declined to comment on their statements, the results of the latest poll or whether leadership intended to weigh in and spend money in an attempt to defeat the initiative.

DJ Schanz, campaign director of the Utah Patients Coalition, conceded the church’s influence is “undeniable,” but said the campaign was “encouraged” by the latest poll.

“People in the state are becoming more entrenched in their positions on this issue as traditionally nonpolitical entities weigh in,” Schanz said in a statement. “We feel confident that in November, Utahns will continue to side with medical patients by affirmatively stating that these people who use cannabis for medicinal purposes are indeed patients and not criminals.”

Dear Harvey,

Holy shiitake mushroom, Shortstack, you’ve made it to your second birthday (and your mama and I even survived it, too). What a momentous occasion.

Sometimes I think about how you came to be, and how a million decisions could have changed our trajectory: the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage, what sperm donor we chose, what vials of his life juice were sent to us and chosen on the day of insemination, my insistence on having my feet up the entire day when the doc only recommended it for 30 minutes (and also my strong requests for bacon — which I assume played a key role).

Through all that, you prevailed on our first attempt at kiddo-making, and most everything about you feels magical. I loved you when you looked like a gummy bear and I loved you when you felt like gas bubbles in my belly. I loved you through 33 hours of natural childbirth and I have loved you over two sometimes-excruciating-but-mostly-lovely years.

To be fair, the pain has only been my own (irrational?) manifestation of ways you might leave this world too early. My hormones have betrayed me from time to time (hi, postpartum anxiety). Over and over, I have envisioned the worst.

But you have gotten back up after every fall, the Heimlich maneuver has worked every time, and, quite frankly, watching families being split up at the border has me feeling grateful I even get to have you in my sights and for the chance to cringe in worry that you’re going to bonk your head during your laps around the dining room table (eyes ahead, bud!).

In just two years (and nine months), you have given me hope, you have given me purpose and you have given me new life.

In return, I promise you these six things:

1. Helicopter parenting: Despite the fact that you approach the world with reckless abandon and disregard for harm, we’re going to try not to succumb to our overwhelming desire to swaddle you in bubble wrap (with plentiful breathing holes) to keep you safe. We’ll allow you to learn about gravity and consequences and to pay attention to the voice of reason in your growing brain. Seriously, though, stop running with food in your mouth.
2. Active embarrassment: Your mama and I excel (greatly) at #dadjokes and awkward dancing, so I can promise you that while we’ll inevitably embarrass you, it won’t be intentional. We’re just kind of weird, kid. So, sorry in advance (but also, you’re welcome for the lessons in resilience).
3. Modeling self love: The corporate world is going to do its best t<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/07/18/gomberg-hey-victorias-secret-want-my-money-you-need-to-fix-something-first/">o breed self-doubt in your psyche for its monetary gain</a>, but we are committed to — if not perfect at —&nbsp;showing you what it looks like to love yourself. Good thing perfection isn’t the goal; self-love is.
4. Respect who you want to be: Your mama and I know how hard it is to be different from what the world expects of you, so even though we’ll have lots of ideas about what you could become, we’re going to do our best to let you do you, boo.
5. Provide what you need, but not everything you want: For as long as we’re able, your mama and I will provide you everything you need to have a chance at success in this world. We won’t, however, give in to your every desire. Although we want to (because that’d be fun), what we want even more is for you to know how to work for what you want, how to handle disappointment and to understand that wealth is not distributed equally.
6. Making the world a better place: This is perhaps my most important promise, dear Harvey, because when you were conceived, we were pretty sure that we were on the precipice of having our first woman president — and not just any woman, but a smart, articulate, compassionate, hard-working, experienced, progressive woman. But we were wrong, Mr. Cupcake. And achieving equality, understanding and progress will be a harder-fought battle than we ever imagined. But we didn’t bring you into this world for our benefit alone; we brought you here to live a fulfilling life of your own. So, we promise to work every day (seriously, every single day) to make the world, our Earth, the place of opportunity and fairness we know it can be. And we will teach you to do the same.

So thank you, sweet child, for being that which gives us tireless dedication to live well and do good. And happy birthday, Harvey.

Love, Mimi

Marina Gomberg is a communications professional and lives in Salt Lake City with her wife, Elenor Gomberg, and their son, Harvey. You can reach Marina at mgomberg@sltrib.com.

Everyone seems to have the same question about Utah’s suicide rate: Why is it so high?

The answer remains elusive and complex. But a new report offers some clarity, finding the Beehive State’s high altitude may play a role.

“Growing evidence, based on large data sets, suggests that altitude of residence is specifically associated with increased risk of suicide and depression,” conclude a trio of University of Utah researchers, who recently published their review of medical literature in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. They found altitude also may make popular antidepressants less effective.

Experts suggest many factors play into the state’s high suicide rate, from widespread gun ownership, to a stoic cowboy mentality that is common in some rural Western communities, to the influence of religion.

Last year, Utah hired a researcher, Michael Staley, to dig into what’s behind the problem, part of an effort to develop better prevention programs.But it appears at least one leading driver behind Utah’s suicide rate — which ranked fifth in the nation in 2016 — is simply the mountainous geography.

Low atmospheric pressure at altitude causes declining blood oxygen levels. This affects the body’s levels of serotonin, the chemical that helps regulate mood, the U. researchers wrote, adding that lower oxygen also impairs energy flows through our brains.

“People with depression tend to have less efficient energy utilization in certain parts of their brain, like the prefrontal cortex,” said Brent Kious, a U. psychiatry professor and the review’s lead author. This energy roadblock, he said, means people have a tougher time overcoming negative emotions.

It turns out other mountainous states have similarly high suicide rates, with Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico also in the top five and Alaska ranked second, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This trend has earned the Intermountain West a morbid nickname: the suicide belt.

The U. researchers reviewed several U.S. studies that found suicide rates increased with altitude. One that examined nearly 9,000 suicide deaths in 2006 across 15 states found the suicide rate at high altitudes was three times higher than for those living near sea level. Another study noted a “threshold effect,” where suicide rates increased dramatically between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. Salt Lake City’s altitude is 4,265 feet.

Scientists in other countries have discovered similar associations, the U. review found. Suicide rates in Andalusia, a mountainous region of Spain, were higher than the country’s average, a finding correlated with high altitude. In Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of suicidal thoughts among depressed patients at a high-elevation psychiatric hospital was more than five times higher than at a sea level one.

These studies have piled up in recent years, Kious said, including several conducted by researchers at the U. One 2015 study showed how exposure to altitude led to more depressionlike behavior in female rats. After a week of thin air, the rats were less likely to struggle in a swim test.

“Our sense is that every study that has looked at this association in a scientific, rigorous fashion has found it,” Kious said.

The researchers also reviewed treatments. The most commonly prescribed antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, appear to be less effective when used at altitude, they found. SSRIs include Prozac, Zoloft and Lexapro.

But other supplements, including tryptophan and one known as 5-HTP, might be developed as alternative antidepressants that remain effective at high elevations. For example, 5-HTP “bypasses the oxygen-dependent step in serotonin production,” the authors wrote.

In addition, the popular sports supplement creatine could be helpful in boosting the ways our brains store and utilize energy, and therefore combat depression at altitude, according to the report.

While altitude appears to be a risk factor for suicide, Kious said, it’s tough to gauge how moving to a higher or lower elevation would affect an individual’s suicide risk or depression.

“That’s simply not a realistic treatment plan,” said Staley, the state suicide researcher.

Staley said the growing body of research into altitude and suicide is “one piece in the larger puzzle” that helps explain Utah’s high suicide rate. But he said it’s difficult to envision how the altitude findings could affect his research into individual suicide cases or how it might guide public policy on suicide prevention in Utah.

Still, Staley said, if the research leads to new medicines for depression — including more effective treatments for people living in the mountains — that would be a welcome development.

Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts is asked to call the 24-Hour National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Utah also has crisis lines statewide, and the SafeUT app offers immediate crisis intervention services for youths and a confidential tip program.

I am writing in response to Fred Burton’s letter, which appeared in the June 28 issue of The Tribune.

He takes issue with a letter from Jason Chandler, printed June 24, which expressed concern about the 46 percent increase in suicides since 1999. Burton then goes on to say Chandler “forgot to factor in the increase in Utah population — 43 percent since 1999, resulting in a trivial change in the number of suicides.”

First of all, Mr. Burton, if you had bothered to check the data, you would’ve found the increase to have been 15.8 per 100,000 in 1999 to 24.2 per 100,000 in 2016 (from the Utah Department of Health). Note that this is per 100,000. Therefore, Utah’s population increase does not factor into these statistics.

Finally, as a father who has lost a son to suicide, I find Burton’s use of the word “trivial” to be extremely offensive. It makes me wonder at his motivation behind writing his letter.

Mr. Burton, there is nothing trivial about even one suicide.

Jerry Neves, Sandy

Phoenix • The first state lawmaker in the nation to be first kicked out of office amid sexual misconduct claims since the #MeToo movement started can run for state Senate, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The justices said Don Shooter’s name can appear on the ballot in the Aug. 28 Republican primary because it appears he’s still a resident of the district he wants to represent.

An opponent, Brent Backus, had filed a legal challenge saying Shooter doesn’t live at an address in Yuma as he claims.

The state House expelled Shooter in February after investigators concluded he sexually harassed at least seven women, including fellow lawmakers.

He has apologized for what he called insensitive comments involving women but said he never sought to touch anyone or have a sexual relationship.

Shooter previously represented a district that includes parts of Yuma and Phoenix.

The state Supreme Court affirmed the decision of a Maricopa County Superior Court judge that Shooter has treated his Yuma apartment as his primary residence in the five years that he’s lived there.

Shooter has filed more than 800 signatures to qualify for the primary election ballot in the southwestern Arizona district.

Other candidates seeking the district’s Senate seat are Republican Sen. Sine Kerr, a dairy farmer who was appointed to fill the seat, and Democrat Michelle Harris.

Moscow • Russia shockingly eliminated Spain from the World Cup, surviving two hours of dominance by the 2010 champions in a 1-1 draw and then winning a penalty shootout 4-3 on Sunday.

Russia’s captain and goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev saved spot-kicks from Jorge “Koke” Resurreccion and Iago Aspas, while all four Russian shooters scored before thousands of screaming home fans.

Akinfeev used his trailing left foot to kick the ball high away from the goal on Spain’s last attempt. The 32-year-old goalkeeper leapt up, punched the air with both hands and dove into a belly flop cross the rain-soaked turf as teammates raced to him from the halfway line.

The World Cup’s lowest-ranked team — 70th when the tournament began — now advances to a quarterfinal against Croatia or Denmark in Sochi on Saturday.

A Russian-hosted party many feared would see the home team’s hopes end within days now extends into a fourth weekend at the tournament.

“I just feel emptied out,” Akinfeev said. “Over the whole second half and extra time we were defending our goal and managed it, we were hoping for penalties because Spain are hard to beat. Spain can’t always be lucky.”

It gave Russia its greatest win in international soccer for 10 years, since Akinfeev was in goal for an extra-time victory over the Netherlands in a European Championship quarterfinal. That run was ended days later by a Spain team beginning its era of dominance.

Spain has now failed to win a knockout game at three major tournaments since it won the 2012 European championship, its third straight major title after the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.

It was too passive a performance by the Spanish, who were ranked 10th and one of the pre-tournament favorites. Turmoil erupted two days before the opening game, when the federation fired the head coach.

“It’s painful, there’s nothing else we can say,” Spain captain Sergio Ramos said. “We left our soul in the pitch.”

It is unclear if interim coach Fernando Hierro will continue in the post he did not seek before Julen Lopetegui was sent home. Lopetegui was fired because he had failed to tell the national soccer federation he accepted an offer to coach Real Madrid after the tournament.

Sunday’s defeat likely spells the end of Andres Iniesta’s national-team career. The 34-year-old Barcelona midfielder came off the bench and almost won the game with an 85th-minute shot well saved by Akinfeev. Iniesta also scored the first spot-kick of the shootout.

Spain was more urgent in extra time after being too passive when it dominated the ball in the 90 minutes of regular time.

Akinfeev pushed away a 109th-minute shot from substitute Rodrigo who ran hard at goal from near the halfway line. He also ensured the game needed 30 extra minutes with back-to-back diving saves in the 85th to deny substitutes Iniesta and Aspas.

Spain dominated the ball during the game — completing more than 1,000 passes — but rarely threatened a well-organized Russian defense.

Spain led in the 12th minute when Ramos helped force Russia’s Sergei Ignashevich into an own goal when his back was turned to the play. The 38-year-old defender diverted a crossed ball into the net with his heel as he and Ramos got tangled up.

An error in Spain’s defense let Russia level in the 41st, after Gerard Pique’s raised arm blocked a header by Artyom Dzyuba at a corner. Pique’s complaints were wasted. Referees and video officials have consistently penalized handballs in the box at this World Cup.

Dzyuba’s penalty kick fooled goalkeeper David De Gea to dive the wrong way.

The noisy 78,000-capacity Luzhniki Stadium has been good for Russia at this tournament, which kicked off here with a 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia. That defied expectations for the home team, and Russia’s path to the final also includes a potential semifinal here.

SPECIAL GUESTS

King Felipe VI of Spain was at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The king is a soccer fan who, as crown prince, attended the 2010 World Cup final in Johannesburg to see Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time.

Russia was represented by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who was on his feet and leaning on a protective barrier to watch the shootout.

FOURTH SUBSTITUTE

World Cup history was made with the first use of a fourth substitute, which FIFA now allows teams to have one more sub in extra time. Russia’s Alexander Yerokhin went on in the 97th minute against Spain, replacing fellow midfielder Daler Kuzyaev. The rule is aimed at reducing injuries and allowing higher-quality play in extra time, when players are most tired.

Boise, Idaho • A man who had been asked to leave a Boise apartment complex returned the next day and stabbed children celebrating a 3-year-old girl’s birthday in an attack that left the city reeling, Police Chief William Bones said Sunday.

Nine people in all were hurt in the attack, including the birthday girl. Five other children aged four to 12 were injured, as were three adults who came to their defense.

Bones said all are alive, although some are gravely injured.

A resident of the apartment complex where the stabbing took place had allowed 30-year-old Timmy Kinner to stay there a short time, but asked him to leave Friday because of his behavior, Bones said.

Kinner returned Saturday, when the girl was having her party a few doors down from where he had stayed, according to police. Kinner is facing nine counts of aggravated battery and six counts of injury to a child for the late Saturday violence.

The complex houses many resettled refugee families, but Kinner is not a refugee.

Esrom Habte, 12, and Fathi Mahamoud, 11, were playing in the grass behind their apartment when the attack began.

“It was kind of scary because we were outside,” Esrom told news media as his mother looked on. “He was chasing people and stabbing people.”

“We saw him saying bad words and stabbing a grown-up really hard and a lot of times,” Esrom said.

The children ran into an apartment and hid in a closet with other children until police told them it was safe to come out, he said.

On Sunday, colorful bouquets rested just outside crime scene tape.

“This incident is not a representation of our community but a single evil individual who attacked people without provocation that we are aware of at this time,” Bones said during a press conference Saturday night.

Police found stabbing victims both inside the complex and in the parking lot; Kinner was arrested a short distance away.

Bones said the attack resulted in the most victims in a single incident in Boise Police Department history. “As you can imagine, the Wylie Street Apartment and our community is reeling from this attack,” he said.

The apartment complex is just off of one of Boise’s busier streets, separated from the traffic by one of the many irrigation canals that run through the city.

Victim witness coordinators and counselors were being made available to the victims, their families and friends and other residents of the apartment complex, Bones said.

“Our hearts go out to the victims who are in the hospital tonight, please keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers,” he said.

Boise Mayor Dave Bieter condemned the attack on Twitter.

“Last night’s horrific attack does not represent Boise,” Bieter wrote. “Please join me in praying for the injured and their families. We must come together to condemn this vile act.”

The St. George (Utah) Police Department verified that it arrested Kinner for theft back in April, the Idaho Statesman reported. Further information on that arrest wasn’t immediately available.

Kabul, Afghanistan • A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Sikhs and Hindus on their way to meet Afghanistan’s president in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday, killing at least 19 people.

Inamullah Miakhail, spokesman for the provincial hospital in Nangarhar, said that 17 out of 19 dead in the attack are from the minority Sikh and Hindu community.

Miakhail added that at least 10 of the 20 wounded were also from the same minority community and are undergoing treatment at a Jalalabad hospital.

Narendr Singh, one of the wounded Sikh from Sunday’s attack, told The Associated Press by phone from his hospital bed in Jalalabad that the attack targeted their convoy. He cried on the phone worrying what had happened to his father, Avtar Singh Khalsa, who was also in the convoy.

Miakhail confirmed that Khalsa, a longtime leader of the Sikh community who had planned to run in the parliamentary elections set for October, was killed in the attack.

Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, said that a number of shops and vehicles caught fire as result of the attack.

Gen. Ghulam Sanayee Stanekzai, Nangarhar’s police chief, said that the attacker targeted the group on its way to the governor’s compound. They had planned to meet with President Ashraf Ghani, who was visiting the region on Sunday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban and an Islamic State affiliate are active in the province.

Sikhs and Hindus have long suffered widespread discrimination in the conservative Muslim country and been targeted by Islamic extremists. The community numbered more than 80,000 in the 1970s, but today only around 1,000 remain in the country. Under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, they were told to identify themselves by wearing yellow armbands, but the dictate was not wholly enforced. In recent years, large numbers of Sikhs and Hindus have sought asylum in India, which has a Hindu majority and a large Sikh population.

In a separate incident, at least 110 people have been hospitalized after drinking from a river in the northern Parwan province, an official said.

Abdul Khalil Farhangi, the head of the main hospital in Charakar, the provincial capital, said it was not clear what caused them to become ill. The symptoms included vomiting and headaches.

Afghanistan’s infrastructure has suffered from decades of war, and many rural communities do not have access to electricity or clean running water.

Berkeley Heights, N.J. • President Donald Trump intends to delay signing a revised version of the North American Free Trade Agreement until after the fall midterm elections, a move aimed at reaching a better deal with Canada and Mexico.

Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday that he could quickly sign an agreement with the United States’ neighbors, “but I’m not happy with it. I want to make it more fair.” Asked about the timing of an agreement, Trump said: “I want to wait until after the election.”

The president’s decision to push back the NAFTA talks comes as the U.S. and Canada have been engaged in a tit-for-tat trade dispute over Trump’s tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Canada announced billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. on Friday, and the president signaled the trade rattling could continue.

In the interview on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” Trump again threatened to impose tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, saying, “The cars are the big ones.” The move has been viewed as a possible negotiating ploy to restart NAFTA talks, which could resume following Sunday’s elections in Mexico.

If the U.S. moved forward with tariffs on auto imports, it would be a blow to Canada’s economy because of the critical nature that the auto industry plays in the country. The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to hold hearings on auto tariffs in late July and to complete its investigation into auto imports later this summer.

Trump has sought to renegotiate NAFTA to encourage manufacturers to invest more in America and shift production from low-wage Mexico to the United States. The talks have stalled over several issues, including Trump’s insistence on a clause that would end NAFTA every five years unless all three countries agree to sustain it.

The president has suggested he may pursue separate trade pacts with Canada and Mexico instead of continuing with a three-country deal. But any reworked deal would need to be considered by Congress, and negotiators missed a self-imposed deadline to wrap up the talks by mid-May to allow it to be considered by lawmakers before the November elections.

Trump has clashed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over trade, with the U.S. president tweeting last month after departing the G-7 meetings in Quebec that Trudeau was “weak” and “dishonest.”

Trump and Trudeau spoke by phone late Friday after Canada announced it would impose its own tariffs in retaliation for the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trudeau’s office said the prime minister “conveyed that Canada has had no choice but to announce reciprocal countermeasures” to the U.S. tariffs.