By Jessica May

Panting, Erik Emmitt, a 19-year-old USU student from Portland, Ore., storms in through the library doors. Between gulps of air and sporadic hand gestures, I manage to make out the cause of his tardiness.

"Separation of church and state," Emmitt mumbles. "Separation of church and state."

The debate outside the Taggart Student Center concerning non-traditional vs. traditional marriage had caught his attention and kept a firm grasp. For the first 10 minutes of our interview, we discussed the issue . . . or rather, his thoughts on the issue.

"I like ranting and raving sometimes," Emmitt says. "It's fun."

If you're a student at Utah State and you haven't met Erik Emmitt yet, it's likely that you have at least seen him. Several days a week, he can be found sitting on the grassy hill just outside the TSC, playing his guitar and singing. He wasn't asked to be there, and usually doesn't even have an audience, but he's there still the same, sharing his love for music.

Emmitt picked up the guitar about five years ago, when impressed by some friends. He was a trumpet player in his high school band, and also grew up playing the piano, but guitar is now his main musical interest.

A fan of Jimi Hendrix, Blind Melon, classical music such as Beethoven and even Ecuadorean tribal music, Emmitt listens to music daily. He said it gives him something to think about, and he loves having it there in the background as he goes throughout his day. But while Emmitt loves listening to other people's music, he likes to create his own.

"I'd rather not play someone else's feeling. That's why they wrote it," says Emmitt. "I'd rather create my own feeling."

When he gets in his "guitar mood," Emmitt is able to produce his own flavor of music. And while he writes songs featuring different moods, he said that he mostly likes to write in minor scales because of the evil air they bring about.

"A song can be so happy, but can turn evil in two notes with a minor scale," Emmitt says as he brushes his shoulder-length blond hair out of his eyes and grins.

Then he jumps back to the conversation about the marriage debate. As he nervously taps his fingers on the table, he explains that he would like to take his guitar up to campus and sing a few protest songs. An advocate for non-traditional marriage, Emmitt openly shares his opinions. He also has some thoughts on the music scene in Utah. He said he wishes people would listen to more classical music and build from there.

"People in Utah -- stop listening to MTV!" says Emmitt. "Listen to something other than what pop culture tells you to."

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