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Volume 106, Issue 17 | February 2, 2012

MSU’s Student Newspaper since 1895

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THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

MSU’s Student Newspaper since 1895

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Eric Dietrich

Managing Editor Derek Brouwer

layout & design PRODUCTION MANAGER Tammi Heneveld

PHOTOGRAPHY

Emma Light, Maury Neipris, Justin Stewart, Matt Williams

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Tammi Heneveld, Emma Light, Vanessa Swenson, Danny Mecca, Danyelle Moore, Pierce Ware

business & marketing BUSINESS MANAGER Ryan Bovy

Marketing DIRECTOR Nicole Kuha

MARKETING ASSOCIATES Jeff Dougherty, Else Trygstad-Burke, Pierce Ware

Lieutenant Colonel James West Faculty, Military Science

Your commitment and contributions to our university are an inspiration.

You are PURE GOLD!

OFFICE MANAGER Tucker Hankinson

EDITORIAL OPINION EDITOR Jordan Maxwell

NEWS EDITOR Garrett Smith

Nominate those who inspire! www.montana.edu/puregold

SPORTS EDITOR Heather Kruger

Culture EDITOR Sabre Moore

MAKE your voice heard

technology

The Exponent exists in large part to provide a forum for student voices, a mission that extends well beyond the words of our staff. To that end, we encourage the broader student body to engage us by submitting letters, rants and story ideas. This is our student publication, after all, and we’d love you to be part of it. And, besides, a bit of variety does a lot to keep our pages interesting.

tech editor Fred Vollmer

msuexponent.com editor@exponent.montana.edu Advertising Ad space must be reserved by 5 p.m. the Friday prior to the Thursday publication date. The Exponent’s ad sales staff can be contacted at advertising@exponent. montana.edu or 406-994-2611.

CONTRIBUTORS Kyle Lowis, David Hoy, Michelle Thomas, Megan Bernhardt, Kristen Ingman, Pat Hessman, Nathan Carroll, Karen Wilson, Vanessa Naive, Colin Gaiser, Katie Chambers, Texel Feder, Cassie Wilson, Rose Sullivan-Springhetti, Hogan Peterson, Matt Schwager, Alicia Exley, Ryan Bovy, Bonny Birkeland, Matt Williams, Brent Zundel, Kendra Schaff, Josh Mazzoni © asmsu exponent 2012

contact us: THE ASMSU EXPONENT Strand Union Building Room 366 Bozeman, MT 59715 406.994.3976

RANTS: Fed up with one of the myriad injustices of campus life? Want to publicly rail against it? Send us a rant to letters@ exponent.montana.edu. Just keep submissions 200-300 words. And please, try to refrain from personal attacks.

Letters to the Editor: Inspired or angered by something we've published? Want to call out our editorial judgement, good, bad or otherwise? Just want to send one of our writers "fan" or "hate" mail? Send us a letter at letters@exponent.montana. edu. Submissions should be signed and kept under 300 words, and may be edited for AP style, grammar and length.

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

EDITORIAL

editor-in-chief | Eric Dietrich

3

editor@exponent.montana.edu

From the Editor’s Desk

Why We’re Covering Horner’s Marriage In news coverage on page 4 this week, we have chosen to cover the recent marriage of Professor Jack Horner, MSU’s preeminent paleontologist, to Vanessa Weaver, who was enrolled last fall as an undergraduate paleontology student.

That decision has been the single most difficult our staff has encountered in my Eric Dietrich time at the Exponent. editor-in-chief In printing the story, we intrude into the private lives of two consenting adults in a way that gives us pause. Despite the age difference — Horner is 65, Weaver, 19 — the marriage is perfectly legal, and he has, to our knowledge, fulfilled the requirements of MSU’s (rather vague) faculty code of conduct in acknowledging the relationship.

However, Horner, arguably MSU’s highest-profile faculty member and one of the best-known paleontologists in the country, occupies a unique position of public trust. Beyond his stature in the field at large, he plays a key role in our university’s program as the Museum of the Rockies’ Curator of Paleontology. As such, we feel an obligation to present the story — fairly, we hope — in a way that allows for public

See also: Regents Professor Horner Marries Paleontology Student, page 4 scrutiny of an unorthodox personal choice.

Furthermore, various online news outlets have reported inaccurate information about Horner’s involvement in Weaver’s education, coverage that has been spread widely via social media (and appearing, as of print time, on Horner’s Wikipedia page). Given the sensitivity of the issue, we feel responsible for helping correct the record.

In crafting this week’s story and its visual presentation, we’ve made a deliberate effort to downplay the story’s sensational aspects, focusing instead on the facts we feel are most essential to the public’s understanding of the issue. We have made a conscious decision to print the piece without an accompanying image, and to avoid featuring it on our front cover.

Furthermore, we delayed the story’s publication by a week so we could have the opportunity to validate our facts and round it out by both interviewing Weaver and contacting

MSU Legal Services. In addition, we have deliberately avoided providing a history of other faculty-student relationships at MSU with the intention of giving the story’s facts space to stand on their own.

I suspect that at least some of our readers will see fit to criticize our choices here. Both our decision to publish a story on the issue and the specifics of what we’ve included in it have been topics of heated debate within our staff this past week, and I would expect no less from our readership. As is always the case, I would encourage readers to voice concerns through our letters section (letters@exponent.montana.edu), turning scrutiny on our coverage as well as its subjects.

corrections: The Jan. 26 Edition incorrectly identified Michelle Thomas as the author of the Badass Student of the Week. Credit should have gone to David Hoy. It also ran a photograph with a student-athlete profile that falsely identified Asa Stavens as Jeffery Mohl. The Exponent regrets the errors.

from the editorial staff

The Exponent's opinion on topics and issues impacting our campus community.

Green Light Proposed Sustainability Office MSU’s student-funded sustainability program has taken great strides towards making our campus greener since its establishment in 2009. However, truly fulfilling our community’s environmental responsibilities requires greater investment — which is why President Cruzado ought to support a student government proposal requesting funds from her administration to create a more expansive sustainability office.

In 2008, then-MSU President Geoff Gamble signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, officially recognizing global warming and obligating the university to take direct action towards becoming climate neutral.

That same year, students voted to enact an annual sustainability fee of $7 per student. Those funds were used to create the ASMSU Sustainability Center, which has operated MSU’s recycling program and housed several other green initiatives that

provide educational and leadership opportunities for students.

The center, a product of lobbying by the Network of Environmentally Conscious Organizations, or NECO, is a model of how student-led efforts can produce real change on our campus. By taking this next step, MSU’s administration has a chance to join students in promoting sustainable practices.

The ASMSU investment proposal calls for the creation of a sustainability office with a full-time director to coordinate sustainable practices across campus. The new office, which would absorb the current ASMSU Sustainability Center, would report directly to Cruzado.

The university has already taken important steps towards sustainability, by creating a Campus Sustainability Advisory Council, conducting its first Greenhouse Gas Inventory, drafting a Climate Action Plan, and investing in energy-efficient building upgrades.

A centralized office, though, would provide the framework with which MSU can build upon its progress by integrating university operations, academic curricula, and student engagement. It’s a commonsense move that will increase efficiency, benefitting our community both now and in the future.

It is important to note that much of the ASMSU Sustainability Center’s value lies in its commitment to involving students in sustainability initiatives. Educating students in environmental responsibility is one thing, but providing opportunities wherein we can develop leadership skills and experience is equally — if not more — important. If created, the administrative-level sustainability office must work to open further opportunities for students to become active leaders.

While full administrative support is necessary to tackle an issue of this scope, sustainability at MSU is fundamentally the student body’s movement — as demonstrated

by our self-imposed sustainability fee. The proposal appropriately encourages cooperation and coordination between students, faculty and administration, rather than a university takeover.

What is unclear is how ASMSU would maintain oversight of students’ sustainability fee revenue once the Sustainability Center is combined with the administrative office.

Student government and MSU administration must work together to ensure that students continue to have a say in the way their money is distributed.

If created, the sustainability office would demonstrate that MSU is serious about its climate commitment — and that the motto ‘Mountains and Minds’ is more than lip-service.

4

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

MSU Student Attends Sustained Dialogue Summit Bonny Birkeland & Rose Sullivan-Springhetti

MSU student Kiah Abbey was recently invited to attend the Sustained Dialogue Summit at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia.

Sustained Dialogue is a forum for youth from around the world to come together and produce rational discourse while exploring various peacekeeping tactics.

Princeton University initiated the first Sustained Dialogue 10 years ago in response to racial profiling on their campus. Since then, universities around the world have adopted this open discourse method to serve their own communities.

Abbey explained that the student-run dialogue follows five basic guidelines for discussion: • “Who do we need in the room?”

• “Identifying everyone in the room and their backgrounds.”

• “What are we here to talk about?

Describe each person’s experiences.”

• “What is the source of the problem?

Why are we here?”

• “How can we change experiences for the future?”

These steps allow for a variety of opinions to be heard, or in Abbey’s words, “It’s about listening enough to be changed. I want to hear your experiences and I want to tell you mine, let’s find a solution together.”

After hearing about the program, Abbey helped found a Sustained Dialogue club on the MSU campus.

The summit was unique in that it was lead by youth. Youth, both at MSU and Addis Ababa University, can feel the increasing pressure of the world’s problems on their futures. “We don’t necessarily live in a world that has easy problems to fix, we’ve answered all the easy questions and it’s easier to turn away [from the problems] rather than approach them.”

Exponent: Did you experience any culture shock?

Abbey: The biggest surprise to me was how seriously they took peace. In the United States peace at best is what an idealist would believe in and at worst it’s a bumper sticker or t-shirt from Target. Their peace is such a necessary reality.

Where did you stay?

The first two days we stayed at this cool old hotel called the Taitu Hotel, which was built for the Queen. It was built 100 years ago and is the oldest hotel in Ethiopia. For the next five days we stayed in the dorms and the rooms were very similar to the dorms here. The bathrooms were very different; essentially they were just a hole in the ground.

What was the food like?

Well, I got food poisoning. Then we moved to the dorms, which had squat toilets.

So much throwing up.

What’s one of your most memorable moments?

Dance is an important part of Ethiopian culture and we danced constantly. They [the non-American students] would always have us choose the music and so we were like “uhhhh Beyoncé?” So we were literally doing all these crazy cool ethnic dances to Beyoncé and Rihanna. They said “Show us your dance!” So we did the Electric Slide and the Macarena.

Were there any differences between college students in Ethiopia/around the world, and students here?

These are students who are passionate about learning, they’re excited about learning just like I am. They’re student leaders who are just as passionate about getting people involved and engaged as I am; they have the same problems, the same troubles in terms of finding themselves and feeling displaced in reality and feeling like the work they’re doing isn’t relevant to their campus.

Regents Professor Horner MSU Solar Physicist Claims

Marries Paleontology Student Kristen Ingman Preeminent MSU dinosaur expert Jack Horner married 19-year-old Vanessa Weaver, an undergraduate paleontology student, in January. The couple, who call themselves “best friends,” met last year while Weaver volunteered at the Museum of the Rockies (MOR).

Among the most famous paleontologists in the country and one of MSU’s highest-profile professors, Horner, 65, has served as the technical advisor for the Jurassic Park films and the ongoing television series Terra Nova. One of MSU’s four regents professors, he also serves as the MOR’s Curator of Paleontology.

Although Weaver was a volunteer at the museum prior to the marriage and remains a volunteer now, Horner said reports that she was his student and employed in his lab are inaccurate. “She does not work for me or the museum,” he said.

Weaver, who is taking the semester off to research bone absorption in pachycephalosaurs, explained that she and Horner met

in the fall. She said they kept their working relationship professional, but fell in love during time spent together outside the museum.

She was given away by her grandfather at the couple’s Jan. 15 wedding in Las Vegas.

While MSU’s faculty code of conduct does not forbid consenting relationships between professors and students, it does require staff members to disclose potential conflicts of interest and to “maintain the highest ethical and professional standards in their interactions with students and employees.” MSU Legal Counsel Leslie Taylor did not indicate the university plans to investigate the relationship.

Horner and his wife have followed necessary procedures, said Jean Conover, the MOR’s marketing director. “It’s not the museum’s business,” she added, explaining that the MOR does not comment on its staff ’s personal lives.

Weaver said she has always considered herself a paleontologist and has worked throughout her life to study at MSU. “We are best friends and both love dinosaurs,” Horner said in a statement to the Exponent about his marriage.

International Award Josh Mazzoni

For the fourth time since 2003, a solar physicist associated with Montana State University has won an international award for contributing to the study of the sun. This year’s recipient of the Karen Harvey Prize is Dibyendu Nandi, a former graduate student and assistant research professor at MSU. “These sort of things snowball,” said Dick Smith, head of the MSU Department of Physics. “It’s not a Nobel Prize, but within the community of solar physicists it puts you on their radar.”

“Recognition from your peers in the scientific community is very motivating,” said Nandi. She plans to continue the research he has spent the last few years studying with former MSU graduate student Andres Munoz-Jaramillo and research professor Piet Martens.

“My research is geared toward understanding how complex interactions between ionized gases and magnetic fields inside the Sun generate solar activity,” Nandi said. Solar activity affects Earth’s power grids, radiation at the

North and South poles, orbiting satellites and other space-based technologies, “therefore, understanding how the Sun produces magnetic fields and how these fields vary is important.”

To further this understanding, Martens and Nandi are collaborating again. This time, they are working with the University of St. Andrews in Scotland on a joint proposal to NASA and the National Science Foundation that would help scientists better predict the Sun’s activity.

“Academics tend to be competitive and [scholars] only want the credit for themselves,” however, “We are a very collaborative group,” Martens said. The annual Karen Harvey Prize has been awarded to four MSU-affiliated physicists since its inception 10 years ago;.

Dibyendu Nandi proudly explained “the MSU Physics Department and the Solar Physics Group has an excellent academic atmosphere, where everyone is very supportive of each other and actively sustains a happy environment.

This is essential for nurturing creativity.”

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

5

news

[student profile]

Police Reports

CJ Carter: Mountaineer on a Mission

1/4/12 Criminal mischief: Someone broke a gate in the yard of a residence.

colin gaiser From rural Montana to rural Mongolia, CJ Carter is on a mission to help the rest of the world understand what life is like for those off the beaten path.

Carter, a “directed interdisciplinary major” specializing in media, anthropology and geography, is currently working on two multimedia projects that emphasize rural development.

The first is a film called “Alti Story,” which focuses on people living high in the Alti Range of Mongolia. Carter and a friend used money from a mountain exploration grant to fund the project, and he hopes to have the film finished by this summer.

“It’s a story about a place where the mountains have defined the identity [of the people] rather than political boundaries,” Carter said.

The next project, Carter’s undergraduate thesis, is a documentary about the lives of Peruvian sheep-herders brought to Montana to be shepherds in the Beartooth Range.

Carter acquired HD cameras for the farmers to document their experiences, both at their homes in Peru and in Montana.

Carter said he is fascinated by the “rural-to-rural migration” experienced by the sheep-herders employed to do work that has traditionally been done by Montana ranchers. “The film is looking at a way of life that is disappearing in Montana,” he explained. “This is definitely something I’m going to follow for a while.”

In addition to these pursuits, Carter recently went to Greenland to intern for a medical anthropology project. The project focused on using community involvement to create a campaign to raise awareness of the spread of sexually transmitted infections in Greenland. “Participatory community investment” is important in creating public health initiatives that are actually effective, Carter explained Despite his rich array of experiences, Carter isn’t sure exactly where he’s headed next. While he might eventually go to graduate school, right now he wants to continue working in some capacity of “rural development.”

“I realized this is where I need to be,” Carter said while reflecting on his experiences in Mongolia, “because I have the resources to help these people tell their story.”

THE EXPONENT IS NOW HIRING:

1/8/12 Criminal mischief: An officer observed that someone had drawn on the exterior of Wilson Hall with a marker.

1/9/12 Criminal mischief/TRESPASS: Upon responding to a report of the sound of breaking glass, officers located an intoxicated male who had broken a window at the MSU Family & Graduate Housing Office and then passed out inside the building.

1/13/12 Suspicious activity: It was reported that a male was opening residence hall room doors and warning the residents of impending police raids.

1/13/12 Disorderly conduct: Officers responded to a report of an intoxicated male yelling and using profane language in the SUB. 1/14/12 Suspicious incident: It was reported that an intoxicated male had entered several apartments. Officers responded and determined that the male had been trying to locate the apartment of a friend. image Courtesy of cj carter

mountain man Carter is working on multimedia projects that focus on rural lifestyles from around the world

1/21/12 Theft: A pizza delivery driver reported that someone had stolen pizzas from his vehicle while he was away from the vehicle.

1/23/12 Negligent arson: An MSU Residence Life Employee reported that someone had partially burned a paper name tag that was affixed to a door.

opinions?

we want them.

MARKETING ASSOCIATES. GRAPHIC DESIGNERS. Contact editor@exponent.montana.edu for more information and an application.

send them to editor@exponent.montana.edu

6

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

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THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

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Parking Pass Prices:

Immune to Criticism?

The college experience is riddled with additional expenses and for students who drive, parking is one of the big ones.

Permits are one of the more annoying fees in a long list of expendiHogan Peterson tures, but they’re necOpinion writer essary in terms of the service to which they provide access. Many students hate the idea of paying to park but rarely take the time to ask questions, as illustrated by a rant from last week. A common complaint about parking at MSU is that students living in dorms cannot purchase an SB permit. Despite providing disparate levels of convenience, both E and SB permits cost $159.

Parking Services manager Kurt Blunck explained the reasoning behind the pricing of parking permits in a recent interview. To understand the nature of the parking system, students must first understand the regulations surrounding the management of parking at MSU. Foremost is the fact that the parking system must fully fund itself. MSU cannot allocate tuition nor housing fees for parking related expenses, which means that the money required for these expenses has to come from sales of parking permits, use of the pay lot and citations. Parking Services uses this money to pay employees and maintain lots. In other words, E permits do not serve as a fundraiser for MSU. Last year around 7,700 permits were sold, amounting to $1.4 million in sales. An additional $211,000 came from pay lot fees, and $170,000 from fines. This means that the parking department brought in around $1.7 million in revenue. Blunck explained that while the office ran a surplus this year, the department usually faces deficits. However, the question remains: Is $159 fair?

According to Blunck, the parking administration derives its logic behind restricting SB passes to off-campus students from a need to strike a balance. As anyone who drives at MSU knows, there are times when finding a parking spot is a challenge. Spaces are kept open for off-campus students by confining those who do live near their classes to specific areas. Off-campus students have to compensate for commuting to school.

Leaving 30 minutes before class starts just so

you can find a place for your car sucks.

The blame doesn’t lie with students on campus, but they live close to their classes, and don’t need close parking spots. Additionally, E parking is about the same as most SB parking in terms of proximity to classes.

That being said, Blunck explained that E pass pricing is comparable to residential parking at other, similar universities. This makes sense, but for the same price, why can those with SB passes use the E lots?

It should be noted that the vast majority of on-campus students do not move their vehicles during the day. With 1,350 spaces available and around 1,700 permits sold, more E passes exist than spaces. The D and

leaving E pass holders who do leave their spot in parking purgatory.

Ultimately, the real issue with parking at MSU results from a growing student population coupled with a static amount of parking spaces. Responsibility falls on shortcomings in infrastructure planning. With a finite number of spaces available, there must be a breaking point. Students identify individual flaws in the system as culprits, but when it comes down to it these inconsistencies serve merely as symptoms of a parking disease.

Unfortunately, MSU hasn’t exhibited any intentions of dealing with this, so it’s up to the students to raise the red flags.

The parking administration has more

Image by Matt Williams

F lots relieve some of this tension, but the hypothetical likelihood of SB pass holders screwing over dorm residents is unlikely. SB users can utilize E parking because there also exist more SB passes sold than spots available.

As with most things, the ideal and the reality are not quite the same. On a given day, numerous SB passes are visible in E lots,

“Everyone thinks they have the solution to the problem, but it’s always on the back of somebody else. My job is to find a good balance.”

– Kurt Blunk, parking services manager

integrity than it has received credit for. They can’t build new lots, and they’re managing the current ones as well as they can. In other words, the defining principle of the parking system is that it is flawed, but reasonably so.

Given the available resources, the parking administration has to compromise on several levels while trying to keep everyone happy.

“Everyone thinks they have the solution to the problem,” Blunck said, “But it’s always on the back of somebody else. My job is to find a good balance.”

The typical parking complaint is shared between two students, but it should be directed toward MSU. Complaining to your peers isn’t productive, even if it is gratifying.

New buildings are constantly under construction and renovation is prevalent, but until MSU takes the initiative to support increased enrollment with adequate parking, things will only get worse.

The Montana Hall Run-Around Eric Dietrich

I

was foolish enough to try ordering an official transcript the other day. While the ordering part wasn't too bad (at least after I found the office hidden in the basement of Montana Hall), paying for it made me wish I'd paid more attention when a class assigned a Kafka reading some years back.

Not having exact change, I was told I needed to go to another part of the building to pay. Once there (after a wrong turn on the way) I asked if I could pay with my debit card. The answer, it turned out, was no. At the same window where I've used that same debit card to pay my tuition bill far more times than I care to remember.

I could, however, call the Cat Card office in the SUB to put money on some account attached to that particular piece of plastic, and then pay with it. At which point I gave up and pulled bills out of my pocket so I could move on with my day (at least that counter was able to give me change).

I'm sure there's a rational for the system that makes sense to administrators somewhere, but I'm afraid it escapes me. While I know enough about bureaucracy at this point in my college career to find the situation more amusing than anything else — especially given how politely I was told (in different words) the system sucked — but I'd hate to be a freshman caught in the maze. Especially if I was considering dropping out.

If we're going to insist on using Montana Hall — the beautiful structure that it is — as a symbol for our university, it really shouldn't be the most frustrating building on campus.

8

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

opinion

NorthWestern Fees Unethical Image by Matt Williams

Recycling Pitfalls The ASMSU Sustainability Center seems carefully optimistic, if the latest MSU News feed is any indication.

With recycling rates for the last few years finally being tallied, it Matt Schwager looks as though MSU opinion Writer is recycling more and more each year — but only about 9 percent of waste generated on campus reaches a recycling bin. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Sustainability Center seeks to develop its programs to an unheralded density, and soon.

After all, the program is looking to become a formal branch of the student government and with that, it follows, comes a deeper commitment to the campus.

But current programs might illustrate pitfalls that can frustrate the center’s future plans.

There’s an unexpected consequence to the ubiquity of the recycling bins distributed around campus. Their consistent presence — as urgent as the bright blue recycling insignias that grace their appearance may be — makes them an overlook-able fixture. Their imperative becomes everyday and mundane.

Undoubtedly, seasoned students don’t give the bins a second glance as they rush across the plaza to class. Some have probably incorporated recycling into their everyday routine as a result, as the empty latte cup must be disposed somewhere along the way to class.

Others, though, may view and ignore recycling bins as they do trash cans, the boring iron landmarks that riddle campus. The message that recycling bins present to the campus is lost through constant wear, just as the message garbage bins present have been lost long ago. There’s no thought when one looks at a garbage bin — no consideration of alternatives, no examination of the culture

that has birthed it.

MSU certainly doesn’t want the same thing to happen to recycling, which is most likely why the Sustainability Center has such an impeccably informative, engaging website. It’s also probably why it has tried to make itself noticeable in other ways.

At the same time, these other ways might swing the pendulum too far in the opposite direction. Trying to coerce a population to recycle through tallying benchmarks and affixing the message of recycling annual, “fun” events such as Move-In Day create a sense of uniqueness and glamour around recycling. There’s not the burden of everyday thoughtfulness that should be pinned to considerations such as garbage management.

Instead, by associating recycling with events gauged to unite a community for a few hours, there’s a risk of it becoming that much more disposable once the event is over and everyone has gone home.

The possibly-too-cynical message above is not to deflate the efforts of the sustainability corps of MSU; ASMSU Sustainability Center director Gretchen Hooker has reported an encouraging jump in recycling rates from the end of 2010 to the end of 2011, and the center’s website claims to have recycled over 700,000 pounds of material that would have otherwise gone to the landfill. Not bad, considering that the center has only been around since 2008.

If the Sustainability Center wishes to progress past their already generous public service, or if they wish to make recycling a more pervasive activity at MSU, it wouldn’t hurt to consider the idea that there’s a precarious balance between creating a monotony and creating an effective public attitude.

Although the center has undoubtedly considered this, it’s time that students appreciate the difficult task laid before the office.

Most of us know the old, familiar feeling of dread upon opening a power bill in the middle of winter in Bozeman. The process goes in a recognizable order: First, we think, Alicia Exley "Why did I leave the opinion Writer TV on that night?

Why didn't I turn the heat down and buy some extra blankets?" Next comes denial: "I wasn't home much this month. The bill shouldn't be too high." Finally, we crack open the envelope and gawk at the price before begrudgingly paying it, wondering why we're not living in a warmer climate.

What if I told you that you could be charged even more money based on how you choose to pay your bill? NorthWestern Energy goes through Western Union for credit card transactions, who then charges a fee for each. NorthWestern has chosen to pass this expense on to its consumers, who now have to pay a fee of $5.50 if they choose to pay their bill by credit card.

While passing costs on to consumers is certainly nothing new in the corporate world, NorthWestern Energy’s charge is unethical because of the recession’s negative effects on Bozeman.

After the construction boom ended, Bozeman was one of the hardest-hit towns in Montana. The Gallatin Valley had an 11 percent decline in employment in 2008. The Montana unemployment rate hovers around 7.5 percent.

This is relatively low compared to the

rest of the country, but wages in Montana are also notoriously low. 14 percent of Montanans live below the poverty level — oneseventh of our population.

A $5.50 charge may not seem like a lot of money. But if one pays that fee each month, it adds up to a total of $66 a year, which is a lot of money for the large portion of our population making less than $20,000 a year. For those who are unemployed or making insufficient wages, a credit card may be the only way to get bills paid on time.

Furthermore, most of our energy is not produced here (but shipped in, adding delivery charges), there is little competition among energy companies and we have long, cold winters, adding to the money consumers must pay for power. Montana ranks sixth in the nation for energy expenditures per person, as reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In the last few years, NorthWestern Energy has not gained a good reputation in our community. Many customers are frequently unhappy and feel that they are being treated unfairly (as evidenced by a visit to the company’s Facebook page). If NorthWestern Energy wants to gain customer faith, they should find a way not to pass these credit card fees on to consumers.

Montanans are already struggling in the recession and cannot afford to pay any more for power — nor can they do anything about the requirement of heat in the winter, which can boost bills up several hundred dollars a month. NorthWestern Energy should re-examine its fees and make sure they are treating (and charging) customers fairly.

Image by Matt Williams image by matt williams

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

opinion

I

can hear the masses across campus asking now, “What happened to Ryan Bovy’s rants? That guy is hilarious!” Someone will emerge from the shadows to respond, “Didn’t you hear? They finally gave him the recognition he deserves by giving him his own column.”

That’s right, I didn’t go anywhere, and I don’t plan to for at least a few minutes. I know some of you are worried about me changing my style or something since they legitimized my column. Fret not children, I’m still going to tell you what’s up and hopefully offend some people in the process.

Check out the new title and the awesome header though; it’s all personalized and whatnot. Do you get it? It’s a joke because I wear sweatpants a lot — instant classic. And just to clarify, I’m not a writer, I’m the business manager. No one pays me to write now or ever, but I digress.

You know what really forces me to laugh uncontrollably? People who take themselves too seriously.

There are several kinds of people who fall into this group. Here are a few: lawyers, accountants, liberal studies majors, donut eaters, Alaskans, country music lovers, artists (all of them), cyclists and a handful of business majors.

Life is more fun if you can take a joke;

try it, I dare ya. It must be pretty miserable not being able to laugh at yourself. I know if I didn’t look in the mirror every morning for a good laugh I wouldn’t even go to class.

Regardless, as my rants have grown in popularity I have also become more and more fearful for my well-being as I walk across campus. It is creepy that some of you who hate me know my looks and regular attire.

Perhaps those kids just misunderstand my comedic social commentary. This whole ranting thing started as an homage to an Exponent great, Mike Tarrant, the most hated man on campus.

If you have no clue who I’m talking about, then you’re too young for me, girl.

My first rant of all time (which was never run in this upstanding publication) was about how much this local hero upset me.

For the full text, see Mr. Tarrant’s blog, where he posted it because he found it hilarious.

I don’t aim to be hated, but you can laugh at me and my sweatpants all you want.

After all, I can only make the same joke about myself, to myself, so many times before it stops being funny. So, I promise I’ll keep up the rants as long as you keep up the irrationally angry responses. I appreciate the fresh material.

The Exponent's most infamous ranter takes on whatever gets his goat. If you have any questions, comments or threats, feels free to let him know at msuexponent.com/sweatpantrants.

To read the rant that started it all, you can go online and visit: http://mikeservations.blogspot.com/2011/09/you-know-whatreally-sticks-to-my.html

9

$146,551.8

$110,555.98 $43,508.04

$35,340.89

$17,592.48

$46,938.13

$81,621

$101,944.86

$98,500.91

$98,932.31

$92,656.48

$150,000 $140,000 $130,000 $120,000 $110,000 $100,000 $90,000 $80,000 $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 0

CE Music Daycare Exit Gallery Exponent KGLT Radio Legal Services Fitness Center Leadership Institute Outdoor Rec Procrastinator Theatre Streamline Bus Sustainability Center

2011-2012 Fee Allocation

$485,377

Story By Texel Feder / Design by Pierce Ware

Program Budgets

ASMSU President Blake Bjornson said that student government plans to use the results from a recent survey to help inform its decison-making. Last fall’s student needs assessment, the first effort of its kind in several years, sought to capture students’ attitudes towards various ASMSU programs and services.

Survey results indicate a relatively high satisfaction with ASMSU programming and services, while concluding that student government could do more to improve its communication efforts with students.

Most respondents, over 80 percent, said they were satisfied with their representation by student senate and the ASMSU executive branch, but the majority said they did not know how to contact elected student leaders.

The survey also provided comparative data between specific ASMSU programs, such as Campus Entertainment and the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center.

Student government worked closely with MSU graduate student Teresa Borrenpohl, a former student body president, to create the survey. After identifying various stakeholder groups around campus, Borrenpohl collaborated with ASMSU to formulate survey questions.

The voluntary, online survey was accessible to students through a link sent to student e-mail addresses and the ASMSU Facebook page. Around 3 percent of the student body, 435 students, responded.

The assessment acknowledged that the format encouraged respondents who were likely to be already engaged with student government, potentially creating sampling bias even though ASMSU offered gift card incentives to attract broader participation. Nevertheless, Bjornson said, he is confident that the respondents are sufficiently representative of the student body.

Digesting the Data Bjornson said the survey was carried out not only to gather student opinion, but to use the results to initiate conversations within student government to help make decisions that accurately reflect students’ wants and needs.

The goal,” he explained, “is to use it to inform our budget decisions,” adding that while “we can’t do everything for everyone, we can at least do something.”

He said he hopes the survey will be considered by student senators as they allocate program budgets for next school year in the coming months. Programs with lower ratings may be examined more closely to determine whether they are serving students in the best way possible.

Bjornson cited ASMSU’s art gallery, the Exit Gallery, as an example of a program that senators may choose to discuss in regards to student funds. Around 63 percent of respondents said they believe the Exit Gallery is a good use of student funds, the second lowest among ASMSU programs after the Campus Entertainment committee’s comedy offerings.

Bjornson explained he does not believe the Exit Gallery should be closed, but said that “I do think the people who are responsible fiscally have to take that into account.”

“Those are hard, hard choices, he added.

“I don’t envy the senators who have to make them.”

In addition to using survey results to make budgetary decisions, Bjornson hopes to look at increasing public relations efforts for services that are less well-known.

Senate

Exec. Branch

150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Representation

0 50 100

Senate

Know About ASMSU Satisfied with ASMSU Exec. Branch

Survey to Inform Student Government BudGetInG

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

Representation

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

# of Respondents

10

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A 'Good use' of Student funds?

Students who answered yes to appropriate use of student fees.

CE Music Daycare Exit Gallery Exponent Legal Services Fitness Center Leadership Institute Outdoor Rec Procrastinator Theatre Streamline Bus Sustainability Center

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Know about but don’t use the service

Satisfied with the service

Utilize the service

Servi c e Sati s facti o n rati n gs Percentage of Students Aware of, utilizing and Satisfied by Programs

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

CE Music

Daycare

Exit Gallery Exponent

KGLT Radio

Legal Services

Fitness Center

Leadership Outdoor Institute Rec

Procrastinator Streamline Theatre Bus

Sustainability Center

VERIFICATION COPY OF YOUR ADVERTISEMENT

smoke Tobacco

opy of your advertisement which will appear in the 2012-2013 edition of the Big Sky Regional Telephone

y published12

by Statewide Publishing - Montana under the heading(s) of:

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

and Tobacco Accessories

SPORTS

s spelling and ad information correct? .......................................................................................... ❑ Yes ❑ No editor | Heather Kruger sports@exponent.montana.edu s your phone number and address correct? ................................................................................. ❑ Yes ❑ No understand that colors in my ad may vary due to differences in printer inks & paper. ... ❑ Yes lease mark the necessary corrections directly on the ad as neatly as possible.

Moonlight Basin Reschedules Freeskiing

World Tour Qualifier FEATURING LOCAL ARTISTS

Moonlight will host the 2013 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour Qualifier March 22-25.

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Karen Wilson Moonlight Basin will host the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour Qualifier on March 22-25. The event was originally scheduled for January 26-29, and is the only qualifying event on the tour this year. The new dates are a week after the Championships at Snowbird—skiers will be competing for a place in the 2013 World Tour.

The planned venue for the event is the Headwaters, which are currently skiable but do not have enough snow to support the level of skiing that occurs on the Freeskiing World

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A skier progresses up a trail in the Absaroka Range on Saturday.

light season

Tour. Moonlight is not the only mountain that had to reschedule—Crested Butte will host the tour a month later than originally planned for similar reasons.

The Headwaters will be separated into two separate venues for Moonlight’s qualifying event, one for each day, and the boundaries of the venues will not be announced until the day before the event. Moonlight’s Events Coordinator Michelle Jondahl said the venues remain a secret so the event is as fair as possible, although locals who compete will naturally be more familiar with the terrain.

Registration is no longer available for the 2012 tour. For more information go to freeskiingworldtour.com.

1st PROOF

check the appropriate box, sign, date and return within five working days for completion of your file.

ompt attention is greatly appreciated in returning this proof even if the ad is approved as is.

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Women vs. UM: 2pm Free Student T-Shirts and Giveaways!

Men vs. UM: 7pm

Let’s PACK THE HOUSE and BEAT THE GRIZ! No ticket necessary– scan your Cat Card at the door

Free PIZZA in between games! 5:30pm West Lobby in the Brick

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

13

sports

Bobcats Split Games Against Conference Teams Megan Bernhardt This past week was filled with highs and lows for Bobcat basketball. Both the men and women beat Portland State, while losing to Eastern Wash. by double digits.

During the women’s win over the Portland St. Vikings (11-9 overall, 3-5 conference), on Jan. 26, Head Coach Tricia Binford tied Judy Spoelstra for the most

for Samaritan’s Feet, a charity that raises awareness for impoverished children who suffer from diseases and infections of the feet due to lack of shoes. At the game, there were bins where fans could donate shoes.

The game was rough for the Cats. Forward Rachel Semansky led the way, earning 12 points in the first half, and a total of 19 in the game. However, as a whole, the team shot 31.3 percent from the field.

“Our defense was strong, but not stable enough to escape the Eagles with our unfortunate cold shooting night.”

– Tricia Binford, Women’s Head Coach

Image by maury neipris

basketball beauties

victories (98) in MSU women’s basketball history. Guard Katie Bussey had 20 points in 32 minutes for the Cats. The final score was 70-50, with the Cats (14-7, 6-3) coming out on top.

Against Eastern Wash. (13-9, 7-2) on Jan. 28, there were two special events. There was a player autograph session after the game.

Also, Binford and her assistant coaches went barefoot for the game as part of a fundraiser

“We finished the weekend up and down, playing a pretty solid game against Portland St. with an exciting second half for our fans. Then the hottest Big Sky team rolled in on Saturday and we could not stop Brianne Ryan [who scored 22 points] from Eastern Wash. Our defense was strong, but not stable enough to escape the Eagles with our unfortunate cold shooting night.

The rim was unfriendly to us on Saturday,”

Fans had posters and schedules signed by the team after Saturday's game.

Binford said.

Binford is not giving up on her team though, and does not think anyone else should either. “I am optimistic that there is a lot of conference still to be played and the Bobcats are still in the hunt. Please continue to get behind us because when this team catches on fire they are fantastic.”

The men (11-9, 6-3) were in Portland, Ore., and Cheney, Wash., playing Portland

[club profile]

Boxing: Opportunity for All Cassie Wilson Lanakila Boxing is another example of a unique fitness opportunity for any MSU student to take advantage of. The Boxing Club is a student-run club that emphasizes teaching the fundamentals of boxing. It is free, open to all and quite a workout. You need not bring anything but yourself and the motivation to learn.

Zachary Coleman, the president of the club, is a senior at MSU. He got involved in the boxing club last summer with Josh Mori, another organizer of the club. “It started as just a few of us training together,” Coleman explained. “The main mission for the club is

to give all levels of training to people who are serious about learning techniques of boxing.”

While the class is free, Coleman strongly encourages serious participators to invest in a pair of hand wraps and possibly a pair of training gloves. These can be found around town at any sports store. This is so members can learn the technique of true boxing without damaging their hands and knuckles. The club also does conditioning and intense warm-ups each meeting. So, if your boxing skills are slightly nonexistent, you can still get a strong workout.

If you’re interested, stop by the group fitness room to check out the club. For more

information or questions visit their website at http://www.facebook.com/pages/LanakilaBoxing/109013265887353 or contact Josh Mori at joshmori@hotmail.com.

What: Lanakila Boxing Club When: Sundays at 6:00 p.m., Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. and Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.

Where: Group fitness room in Hoseaus Gym Cost: Free

St. (10-11, 4-5) and the Eastern Wash. Eagles (10-12, 4-5), respectively. The Cats beat Portland St. 65-70 and lost to Eastern Wash., 52-69.

The men are home tonight, Feb. 2, against Idaho St. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. The first Cat/Griz game is on Feb. 4. Tipoff for the women’s game is 2:05 p.m., and the men’s game begins at 7 p.m.

14

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

sports

Memorable Times in Paradise Valley kyle lowis

Image by Matt Williams

Many gather to soak, relax, and have a good time at Chico Hot Springs. local getaway

athlete profile:

Heather haug

This past weekend Outdoor Rec hosted a cross-country ski outing into the beautiful Paradise Valley, followed by a soak at Chico Hot Springs. Students gathered Saturday morning to hop on the shuttle to Paradise Valley, headed for Mill Creek.

Nestled in the gorgeous Absaroka Range, Mill Creek proved to be an ideal destination. From snowshoeing to dog sledding, Mill Creek supports all types of winter fun.

Before heading out on the tour, members of the expedition split into two groups: beginner skiers and experienced skiers.

The beginners learned the basics as

What is your motivation before a competition?

Dance parties in the locker room and listening to music.

they traveled up Mill Creek road, following the creek. The experienced group enjoyed a five-kilometer trek up an access road that had been turned into a cross-country trail.

The farther the group went, the more spectacular the view. The group was so thrilled by the journey they broke trail and carved fresh tracks up the mountain. This proved to be foolish, but was very entertaining. The result of trying to jump a log in the snow on cross-country skis is far more delightful than cable TV. After the mostly uncontrolled descent down the hill, skiers piled back into the shuttles, bruised, tired and ready for the springs.

Students from Idaho, California, Norway, Sweden, Australia and Korea traded stories

Badass of the Week Know a badass? let us know at sports@exponent.montana.edu

Do your future plans involve this area?

If I believed in plans they would.

Are you planning to continue competing in Track and Field after graduation?

Probably not competitively; I’ll just run for fun.

What is a day you will never forget?

The day I floated the Mesa Falls double waterfall in a tube.

What do you think is the key to your success as a student athlete?

I try not to make it a chore, by making running and school as fun as possible.

Image by michelle thomas

Sport: Track and Field Name: Heather Haug Hometown: Livingston, Mont.

Major: Exercise and Nutrition Science Year in School: Fourth How long have you been involved in Track and Field? 10 years.

What events do you compete in and what do they entail?

The mile, 800-meter, steeple chase, 3000-meter and whatever else the coach throws me in.

Why did you join Track and Field?

I like to be outside and do things outside. It also doesn’t require a lot of coordination.

What is your favorite thing about Track and Field and why?

The team. They are a bunch of fun and easygoing kids.

Do you have any awards or achievements you have received while involved in your sport?

Two time conference champion in the 1500-meter and one mile. All conference, which is the top 30 in the conference in steeple chase. Two-time teammate of the year and all academic.

Do you have an inspirational person or quote?

“If you’re not first you’re last,” from the movie Talladega Nights.

Do you have any other hobbies/activities/interests?

Hanging out with friends, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and people watching.

What is your favorite class at MSU and why?

Exercise physiology because I can apply it to multiple aspects of my life.

Why did you come to Montana State?

Because Bozeman is a happenin' place!

– michelle thomas

and memories, learning more about each other and the world around them. The outdoors are a classroom unlike any other.

Lindsay Zuill, attending MSU from Australia, said, “Meeting more people here in the states and spending the day with them while being active and seeing more of Montana was awesome. The hot springs were very memorable.”

Outdoor Rec hosts outings every Saturday. On Feb. 4 they will travel to Triple Tree for a snowshoe hike in the Gallatin Range.

Cost is $10, and transportation and equipment are provided. Pack a lunch and sign up now, and check out future outings at montana.edu/outdoorrecreation.

image Courtesy sam forsyth

Name: Sam “The Kang” Forsyth Hometown: Solomons, Md. Major: Business Management Occupation: A badass pimp.

Hobbies: Riding and racing bikes (road, mountain and cyclocross), MSU Cycling Club, whitewater swimming and rocking out with PLD (my band).

Why did you move to Montana?

The mountains. So original, I know. I had a dream once in high school; John Bozeman appeared and whispered the words, “Bridger Bowl.” He then morphed into Dave Chappelle and when I woke up, I knew I must attend higher education in Bozeman, Mont.

If you could do anything for a day, what would it be?

I would base jump off the Eiffel Tower, land on my bicycle and ride the last stage of the Tour de France, go to a fancy restaurant in Paris with my friends and family and eat about two pounds of shrimp, jump off some cliffs into pristine, blue water and then take a long shower with subtle electronica or Coldplay in the background. I would then be alone for a few hours where I could collect my thoughts, read a good book and work on a piece of writing. Afterward, my friends and I would explore the nightlife and rage thoroughly hard. I would then sleep for an hour, wake up and repeat a similar process all around the world.

A small profile cannot grasp the extremeness of Sam Forsyth. Between rocking out in his band PLD and hanging out with friends, Forsyth practices daily acts of awesomeness.

For example, you know those flimsy neon plastic tubes for use in aboveground pools?

Forsyth utilized a blue one to go off a huge waterfall just to pop it before the second consecutive gigantic waterfall. Forsyth points out, “I was just happy not to have drowned because for a moment I thought I was going to.” Sam and his friends continued to enjoy two different rope swings, huck meat off several cliffs and tried to feed a cow Nutella.

– david hoy

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

CULTURE

editor | Sabre Moore

Wintergreen Contra Dance

Weekend a Success Katie Chambers Skirts swirled, heels stomped and dancers rejoiced to the live music last weekend during the Wintergreen Contra Dance Weekend.

Put on by the Bozeman Folklore Society (BFS), 84 participants, some traveling from as far as Hawaii, took part in Bozeman’s wellknown, annual weekend of Contra.

“It was an idea at a party one time, a long time ago,” said Peter Husby, member of the Wintergreen Planning Committee. “So we said let’s try it, let’s try putting on a Contra dance weekend here. It’s been happening ever since.”

Husby describes Contra, a form of folk dancing with Old English Country and Apalachian folk dance influence, as “not only fun, but also vigorous exercise.”

“We also do some square dancing,” Husby said, “but you have couples in long lines, and each couple progresses from one end of the line to the other throughout the dance.”

Along with the dances themselves, lasting until midnight both Friday and Saturday, participants were able to attend a number of workshops such as “Tricky Contras” “Waltzing and gentle dances” and “New Callers.”

“Calling is an art form,” said Husby.

“Each dance has a caller that teaches the

mu s i c rev i e w garrett smith Lana Del Rey released her debut LP “Born to Die” this week. The Internet-born sensation’s first effort will have many uttering a resounding “meh.”

“Born to Die” isn’t bad, but it is subtle.

Del Rey’s musical style isn’t loud or filled with attitude. It is presented as a quiet girl singing a quiet song. A listener can partake in it if they want, but she will not try to demand their attention.

Anyone who saw Del Rey on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago can attest to the fact that she and her songs have very little stage presence and command little attention.

During her entire set she stood stationary, and sang in a small, meekish voice. “Born to Die” is the same experience, with no big sounding songs or experiences.

Del Rey herself has said that outwardly expressive music is not her forte. “I stand

dance at the beginning, and continues to call out the moves throughout the song.”

Although the Wintergreen weekend covered a large range of Contra interests, many claimed that the music was the greatest aspect of the event.

“This band that came, Notorious, is the most amazing band,” said BFS member Michelle Kozlow. “The woman has the most beautiful voice, and their skill on the instruments is just incredible. We’re very lucky to have them.”

Along with the world-renowned Notorious, who has taught workshops in the UK, Afghanistan and played at the Kennedy Center of the Arts, Wintergreen featured singer Kathy Anderson and folk group Bébé LeBoeuf.

“Having live music there is my favorite part,” said Husby. “I would encourage the younger generation to pick up Contra dancing mainly because of the music. It’s fantastic.”

For those with more interest, the BFS holds twice-monthly Contra dances at the Eagles Lodge on Main St. as well as a variety of other local dances and concerts. Check out their website at www.bozemanfolklore. org.

lana del rey there and sing. I’m not that exciting,” she said in a recent VH1 interview.

This quiet quality isn’t all negative though. I’ve found the album to be relaxing.

It’s going to be perfect for the summer when it becomes warm enough to go floating. It perfectly embodies the experience of drifting along the river.

The biggest downfall of the album is that all the songs blend together. After song number six, it’s hard to really care anymore.

Del Rey sings mostly of love and lovelost. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the song writing skills to express anything really cool or unique on the subject. Her writing is immature and a couple of the songs should have been left behind at the demo stage.

In conclusion, “Born to Die” is a quiet, often boring affair that does not do justice to Lana Del Rey. Rating: 4/10

15

entertainment@exponent.montana.edu

M VIE REVIEW “Inside Job” Breaks Down Financial Crisis It was the shot heard around the world: the financial crumble of Wall Street in 2008. “Inside Job,” the 2010 Academy Award Winning Documentary, describes the global financial meltdown, which resulted in losses of over $20 trillion worldwide and cost millions of people their homes and jobs. Inside Job traces the rise of a rouge industry and unveils toxic relations, which have corrupted everything from politics and regulations to academia.

The Leadership Institute presented the film to an audience of about 70 last night at the Procrastinator Theatre. The Leadership Institute chose the film due to the impact it has had directly and indirectly on many MSU students.

The film is split into five parts, describing the beginning of financial deregulation in the 1980s, to the bubble, crisis and where the state of the financial structure is as of mid 2010.

The film uses an excellent array of visuals, professional interviews and voiceover to convey the complications of the rise and fall of the biggest financial bubble in history. The film also explains how the financial crisis affected the world economy.

“The power that certain business leaders discussed in the film hold is literally greater than that that of some

f ilmosophy

waking life Kendra Schaff

Once or twice a year the A-Z Philosophy Lecture holds a Filmosophy night. Multiple students and professors join together to watch a movie with philosophical highlights, eat pizza and discuss philosophy. Tuesday, Jan. 31, the movie “Waking Life” was shown.

“Waking Life” follows the dreams of one man who is trying to figure out the difference between dreams and reality. While trying to wake up, he runs into many people who pose different questions about dreams, reality and life. The film does not answer all these questions, but allows us to answer them for ourselves.

heads of state and can, if wielded improperly, have vast and far-reaching consequences,” said Koby Bernard, a student in the Leadership Institute.

“Inside Job will impart with its audience a new level of understanding in regards to corporate social responsibly and ethics. Future leaders must learn from the shortcomings and pitfalls of those who preceded them so they are not repeated.”

I highly recommend the film to anyone who is confused as to just how the financial crisis happened.

The film does a good job of breaking down the different parts of the crash to a more easily understood level. The almost two hour long documentary will have you on the edge of your seat wanting to see more.

Future events with the Leadership Institute include former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and 2004 presidential candidate, General Wesley K. Clark, speaking on March 5.

Tickets are on sale now at ticketswest. com, the Bobcat Ticket Office and the SUB Ask Us desk. Tickets are $3 for students and $8 for the public. More information on upcoming events can be found at www.montana.edu/ leadership.

– vanessa naive

Each scene was put together by different animators, and to show the audience that the movie was set in a dream, the scenery and people were in constant motion. In the film, 30 different people combined their philosophical opinions to provide the audience with different ideas.

Some of the ideas covered in the movie are existentialism, the idea that man has to have chaos, that everyone shares their experiences telepathically with someone else, and that there are two kinds of sufferers: those who suffer from a lack of life and those who suffer from an abundance of life.

How can people have free will when either a God or physical laws dictate and know what they will do? What is the universal human emotion: fear or laziness? Which is better, all action and no theory, or all theory and no action? What are dreams? Are they an escape from reality or reality itself ?

The ASMSU Exponent

16

Calendar FRIDAY

February 3 WHAT: LANDLOCKED!!!

That’s right, the band...will be at the Zebra, with David Dolla G opening.

WHERE: The Zebra WHEN: Call the Zebra COST: $5

SATURDAY February 4

WHAT: Service Sarturdays!

Transportation and lunch provided. Have a great time helping others!

WHERE: Meet at the Ask Us Desk in the Strand Union Building WHEN: 10 am-2 pm COST: N/A WHAT: Volcom Peanu Butter and Rail Jamm WHERE: Moonlight Basin WHEN: 12:30 pm-3:30 pm COST: N/A GENERAL NOTICE: Sizzlin’ Salsa class are now Mondays at the Santa Fe Red’s downtown location.

February 1 through 16 Got an exciting, entertaining, extraneous, educational, or just plain excellent event coming up? Let us know at calendar@exponent.montana.edu

Thursday February 9

WHAT: Want to start your own business? Think you have an edge even with this nasty economy of ours? Come to How to Start a Business in Montana WHERE: Campus – Gaines Hall Room 148 WHEN: 6:15 pm– 9:15 pm COST: $59 WHAT: Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival: Includes 9 short films focusing on deep winter, humanpowered recreation WHERE: Emerson Theater

WHAT: Cold Smoke Awards Official Ceremony WHERE: Emerson Theater WHEN: 7 pm COST: $12

Thursday

February 14

WHAT: Professional Rescuer CPR Certification Course: Taught by a professional.

WHERE: MSU Recreational Sports and Fitness Center WHEN: 5:30 pm-8 pm, also same time on Feb. 16 COST: $75 and worth it!

WHEN: Starts at 8 pm COST: $59

Thursday

February 11 WHAT: Love basketball? Well how about seeing the Harlem Globetrotters?!

WHERE: Brick Breeden Fieldhouse WHEN: 7:30 pm COST: $20

CLASSIFIEDS EMPLOYMENT Women with interesting tattoos wanted for photography project. Pay is $50 per hour. Please email a photo of your tattoo to jkern@bresnan.net or call Julia at 570-8653 for more information.

EMPLOYMENT Female Model Wanted - $100/hr - Fine Art Figure Photography - email faceshot to Julia at jkern@bresnan.net or call with questions at 570-8653.

October 27, 2011 | 8

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

CLARENCE MJORK'S APOCRYPHA Clarence Mjork’s Top 5 Valentine’s Day Ideas Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.

And by just around the corner, I mean T-minus 12 days. If you have a significant other, start planning yesterday. If you don’t have a significant other, plan on watching your friends with significant others go down in flames. This is Clarence Mjork’s Top 5 Valentine’s Day Ideas: 5. Make reservations at a restaurant now. Even if you don’t have a date, you can sell your reservation to your idiot friend who put it off until the last second.

4. Get your homework and studying done early. Valentine’s week is also the week for a lot of tests, and you don’t want to pull an all-nighter studying before you pull an all-nighter... doing other things.

3. Plan something quirky for the day, but not too dangerous. For example, ice skating sounds like a good idea until you remember that you are horrible at skating

and inevitably both pull her down and pull a hamstring.

2. Get a gift. Even if you’ve both agreed not to get a gift, do it anyway. And not some last minute box of chocolates.

I mean, you should probably get one of those too, but get something nice. Like a necklace or something.

1. Order flowers to be delivered immediately after the date. You will screw this up. If you don’t, then good on ya, you now seem even more wonderful. But you’re going to need them.

Physics Dept. to Take Over Steam Tunnels

Matt Williams

tests in an attempt to create dark matter.

“While we’re not expecting to create a black hole in the center of campus, it is always a possibility for which we cannot prepare.” Kolligs recommended that in the case that an experiment goes wrong, students should get under their desks for protection.

Testing should conclude at the beginning of May, effectively leaving the majority of campus without heating for some of the coldest months of the year.

Kolligs assured that they would look out for the well-being of students, saying that a “limited supply” of hand warmers will be available.

“We are excited to be participating in some very unique research on the forefront of quantum physics.” Kolligs hopes that MSU students share the team’s excitement while their teeth chatter in labs. “At least we’ll help keep students awake in class as they freeze.”

With Apologies to America's Finest News Source

Montana Hall Overthrown

in ‘January Revolution’ Brent Zundel After completing ECNS 101: The Economic Way of Thinking, a group of young, impressionable — and rabidly free-market — students from MSU have taken over Montana Hall, where the university is run by a panel of buttons and levers.

In response to the recent protracted recession, they are demanding that the university implement an austerity plan.

Their proposal includes firing public sector employees—including all professors who don’t directly create jobs for their students—deregulating tuition and just generally getting the state and the university “out of the average student’s life.”

These laissez faire capitalists have

building’s windows.

In response, many of the neocons have called on their NRA contacts for help.

Using an illegally maintained cache of weapons, they have employed bazookas to launch rolled-up copies of Adam Smith’s and Milton Friedman’s seminal capitalist works into the middle of the liberals’ “Kum Ba Yah” drum circle.

The Exponent asked former International Monetary Fund Managing Director Johan Witteveen to comment on the economists’ demands. “While I don’t condone their methods, the results of the austerity package are sure to be transformative for MSU and potentially for the Montana region as a whole.”

When pressed for further details about the effect of neoconservative

[A] group of young, impressionable — and rabidly free-market — students from MSU have taken over Montana Hall. held the university hostage since last Tuesday.

In response, the College Democrats, backed by members of the Montana ACLU, local members of the Communist Party USA and a few dazed-looking hipsters have laid siege to Montana Hall.

The group’s leader, Subcomandante Kim, an MSU senior in Latin American studies, told the Exponent that her band of leftist guerrillas intend to “occupy” the building within a week. Using basic trebuchets and catapults, built with the help of the only three leftist members of the College of Engineering, they have begun launching copies of various peer-reviewed economic journals, as well as pamphlets of “The Communist Manifesto” and Amnesty International human rights documents through the

Grab your jacket and don’t bother removing it in class. 8:00 a.m. lectures just got a bit more bitter — bitterly cold, that is.

The Montana State Physics department announced this week that they will be temporarily assuming control of the large steam tunnels that run underground around campus. The tunnels, which usually supply heating steam to the buildings on campus, will be repurposed over the next couple of months to be used as a particle accelerator. “We’ve been itching to get our hands on the steam tunnels for years,” said quantum mechanics professor Phillip Kolligs, who leads the team of researchers.

The next four weeks will be spent preparing the tunnels for particle acceleration and collision. After the tunnels have been restructured, the physics department will begin conducting

policies on a global scale, Witteveen declined to comment. According to him, the infamous meetings between roving economist-for-hire Milton Friedman and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, where Friedman doled out economic advice, had nothing to do with the egregious human rights violations that resulted. “I have no idea where those 3,000 desaparecidos are,” he said, referring to the thousands of people who went missing while Pinochet busied himself with increasing both the country’s Gross Domestic Product and its staggering inequality index.

Recent reports indicate that the fighting has spread to the Student Union Building, where the guerrillas ambushed the Scotch-swilling neocons during a Yacht Club meeting, as they were discussing how to best make use of their inheritances.

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

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Facebook Unveils 'FaceStalk' Pat Hessman

Meanwhile, “World of Warcraft” enthusiast Greg Vincent said of FaceStalk, “Well, at least now I can be shot down before I spend three weeks working up the courage to talk to a girl.”

Some users pointed out some women are in strange “I-don’t-want-tomake-it-Facebook-official-yet-but-we’restill-exclusive situations.” Zuckerberg answered those criticisms by revealing a system to spy on women suspected of being in “not-quite-relationships.”

He explained, “It’s simple. If the system detects a woman who is tagged in pictures and is messaged by the same man often, we deploy squads of hired ninjas to confirm if they are ‘together’ or not. Those caught not properly updating their relationship status are held at shuriken-point and forced to correct it.”

At a press conference, an unnamed female reporter asked Zuckerberg, “Are you saying I have no right to my own privacy to divulge whether or not I have a boyfriend?”

“No, you don’t,” he answered.

The males in attendance erupted in applause at this statement.

Recently, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg hinted a “revolutionary” new service was in the works. Today, he proudly unveiled FaceStalk; a new mobile phone app designed to check a person’s Facebook relationship status. One simply has to point their phone’s camera at a person and they will instantly be checked.

Misleading relationship statuses have long been a thorn in the side of Facebook users. Many a time a person has met someone they find attractive, only to find out after speaking with them that they are already taken.

Zuckerberg commented, “It’s the logical conclusion of the idea of the relationship status. Why should you even have to know her to know if she’s available?”

FaceStalk was instantly greeted with praise from large swaths of Facebook’s user base, mostly male. MSU student Chaz Chad told the Exponent, “God I love this! You know how annoying it is to waste time talking to some chick only to find out she’s got a boyfriend?”

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THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

THE ASMSU EXPONENT |February 2, 2012

ASMSU Exit Gallery Presents: “Remain Calm” Photography installation by Collin Avery

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The photographs will be displayed in the Exit Gallery February 6th to 17th with a reception open to the public on Wednesday, February 8th at 5:00 PM.

Artist Statement My photographs are about a particular process of observation which I acquired during adolescence. As a child, I was afraid of confrontation, so as a way to escape difficult mental and physical situations I had designated hiding zones located throughout the house and yard where I could disappear. During these times of self introspection, I became fixated on certain physical details of the space. The subtle nuances and intimate moments of silence were mine alone. It is this way of seeing which has influenced my personal photographic practice.

Observation has become my new way of escaping. My images are not about finding the extraordinary in the everyday, but instead are about finding the everyday extraordinary.

Emotion is prevalent through the sterile, pure visual reference of the color white, which evokes many emotions instead of implying one specific emotion or idea. This allows the viewer to reference their past experiences and take what emotions they want from the textural aspect of the work, creating a blank canvas for the viewer.

“Remain Calm” is an artistic venture into Collin Avery’s detailed observation of ordinary spaces and objects that serve an unsettling purpose.

Avery’s photography focuses on self-reflection and his connection with particular physical details of spaces. With inspiration from his childhood, the photos demonstrate how he developed ways to escape difficult mental and physical situations. Avery used these “intimate moments of silence” along with self-introspection and a specific way of viewing the ordinary spaces to compose his photographs. Upon first viewing his work, the subjects of the photographs appear as common unnoticed items, but as Collin claims, his images “are not about finding the extraordinary in the everyday, but instead are about finding the everyday extraordinary. ” Upon spending time with the photos, one finds himself . connected whether by nostalgia, a fleeting glimpse of a memory, feelings of anxiety, confusion and even disgust at the comforting yet repulsive combinations of dreary paneling, quiet pastels, and floral patterns that we know only too well.

About the Artist: Collin Avery (b. 1987, Adams, MA) is a photographic artist who uses his camera as a communicative tool to emphasize the subtleties of his world. Collin is currently finishing up his Bachelor of Arts degree in Photography at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. Collin’s work has been shown nationally in group shows in New York City, Seattle, Denver, and Middlebury, VT. He received an honorable mention in the Soho Photo National Competition and was a finalist in the 2011 Luceo Student Project Award. Collin’s work has also received attention on some of the foremost photoblogs including Lenscratch, Flak Photo, Actual Colors May Vary, and Problemata Physica. Most recently, Collin was invited to join the ranks of some of the world’s foremost fine art and documentary photographers in the International Art Photographer Index through Photo-eye Gallery

The Exit Gallery is located in SUB 212. For more information please contact ASMSU Arts and Exhibits at 406.994.1828 or asmsuexhibits@ montana.edu.

What Not to do at a superbowl Party Superbowl etiquette for the common tool.

Tebow at inappropiate times. Continue to ask the same questions about the game.

Bring a salad.

Bring your girlfriend.

Talk during the commercials, Mimic the dance after every because everyone touchdown, no matter the knows that's the only team. reason people watch the Superbowl.

Eat all the chips right after they are put out.

Show up drunk.

Keep reminding everyone that you played football in high school.

Comic

Pretend you know more than the coach.

Concept and llustration by Nate Carroll

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

sudoku

Welcome to The Box, a weekly feature intended to provide an eclectic array of puzzles, cartoons, jokes and quotes. Have suggestions for content to be published here? E-mail us at: editor@exponent.montana.edu.