THE SIDELINES : Petition for USU Water-Bombers

LOGAN, Utah — Supporters of two former Utah State University students charged in the water-bombing of the Nevada-Las Vegas bench during a March 1 game here are launching a petition drive.

Valerie Durrant, a spokeswoman for SQUIRT--Students on Quest for the Understanding of Innovative Requests for Tradition--said her group is protesting the prosecution of the students and seeking donations to defray their legal expenses.

Gavin Washburn and Jeffrey Leishman pleaded no contest last week to misdemeanor charges of disrupting a public event. Sentencing for the two is scheduled for 1st District Court on April 1. The maximum penalty is six months in jail and a fine of $10,000.