Fort Lewis College News Magazine
Independent
The
Issue 35
The FOOD & CULTURE Issue HOZHONI DAYS, BUFFALO HARVEST HELP STUDENTS SHARE NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE AND FOOD AT FLC HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW FLC TO HAVE THE FIRST COMPOSTER OF ITS TYPE IN DURANGO LOCAL FOODS A DAY AT THE PARK STUDENT CONTRACEPTION OPTIONS AND INFORMATION NON-TRAD TO GRAD: STUDYING ABROAD MEAT: THE PLANETARY PULVERIZE
April 2012 FREE
theindyonline.com
Indy Editors & Staff
BUSINESS Amanda Penington Courtney Ragle Troy Sliter
Kaitie Martinez
Haley Pruitt
Emily Fagerberg Assistant Financial Manager
“If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.” -Albert Einstein
“It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” -Agnes Repplier
Bre Pascuzzo Assistant Events Coordinator
Editor in Chief
Business Director
COPY EDITING
Ali Bryson
Jordan Alexander
Associate Editor in Chief
Marketing/PR Director
“Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection.” -Simon Pegg
“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” -David Brinkley
Meagan Cunha
Lacey Kae Shuster
Creative Director
Events Coordinator
“...watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” -Roald Dahl
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” -Wayne Gretsky
Julian Martinez
JR Starns
“In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.” -Jimi Hendrix
“No amount of money is worth your word and your integrity.” -Dana White
Art Director
Financial Manager
Ali Bryson Chief Copy Editor Emily Griffin Copy Editor DESIGN Graeme Johnston Jennessa Pitka Erica Saurey Zoey Sturm ONLINE/BROADCAST Morgan Boaman Chris Braun Tawney Summers PHOTOGRAPHY Allie Johnson Adam Mohsin Hana Mohsin REPORTING Mitchell Fraser Jimi Giles Ayla Quinn Reid Tulley
Steph Cook
News Editor “The dude abides.” -The Big Lebowski
Lucas Hess
Online/Broadcast Manager “You can’t beat death but you can beat death in life, sometimes.” -Charles Bukowski
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Visit us at THEINDYONLINE.COM for profiles and much more!
the independent news magazine
Cover Photo by Allie Johnson
from the editor’s desk Dear Readers,
CONTENTS Hozhoni Days, Buffalo Harvest Help Students Share Native American Culture and Food at FLC
4
Story by Ayla Quinn
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Story by Reid Tulley
FLC to Have the First Composter of its Type in Durango
6 7
Story by Mitchell Fraser
Local Foods Story by Jimi Giles
A Day at the Park Story by Mitchell Fraser
Student Contraception Options and Information
8 10 11
Story by Jimi Giles
Non-Trad to Grad Studying Abroad
13
Column by Ruby Spalding
EC Column: Meat: The Planetary Pulverize Column by Angela Lewis
Kaitie Martinez
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The semester is coming to an end and the Indy has had another fantastic run. Each semester the Indy is lucky to get more and more talented FLC students on staff that have worked tirelessly to create the product you find in the yellow boxes and on the Indy Online. We kicked off the semester with “The Winter Sports Issue” and followed with “The Student Resources Issue”, “The Durango Stories Issue”, and “The Body, Mind and Sleep Issue”. This issue is the “Food and Culture Issue” featuring stories on local food production, Hozhoni Days and Buffalo Harvest, and an introduction to FLC’s new composter. Also in the issue is information on birth control and an update on the department cuts. On a lighter note, the Indy gives you a peek into Durango’s skate culture. Finally, from the voices of FLC students this issue includes the “Non-trad to Grad Series” with a piece from Ruby Madigan on studying abroad for non-traditional students, and the FLC Environmental Center’s view on meat production and the impact it may have on the environment. Themed issues have allowed the Indy to tackle news from all different angles. We have looked at campus news, community news, environmental news, and sports and recreation news through the lens of each theme. When the final product is ready to distribute we have a collaboration of information, photos, videos and design all connected by one theme. The idea of themed issues reminds me of the education we are getting here at FLC. By this I mean a “liberal arts” education. No matter how unrelated the classes we take may seem at first, they are all intended to result in a collaboration of knowledge, a final product, a degree. Here at FLC we are fortunate to have the opportunity to gain extensive knowledge in numerous ways. From courses in astronomy to news media writing I can say I have experienced the liberal arts education, and the opportunity to do so is dependent on the decisions made here on campus. Students, faculty and staff are a part of that decision. It is wise to pay attention to what happens on this beautiful campus, and we will help you by providing you with the most accurate, ethical and original news in our new themed issues. Thank you for reading. Sincerely,
Got something to say? We want to hear from you! Kaitie Martinez
Independent News Organization
We encourage reader participation through our perspectives Editor in Chief section. Submit letters, cartoons, or anything else you’d like to see in print to Editor in Chief Kaitie Martinez at kmmartinez@fortlewis.edu or News Editor Steph Cook at sscook@fortlewis.edu. Note: The Independent reserves the right to edit submissions as necessary or deny publication. News tip? Contact Steph Cook at sscook@fortlewis.edu For any other inquiries, contact Kaitie Martinez at kmmartinez@fortlewis.edu
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Hozhoni Days,
Buffalo Harvest Help Students Share Native American Culture and Food at FLC Story by Ayla Quinn Daisa OneFeather serves food at Hozhoni Days.
The Buffalo Harvest and Hozhoni Days are events that take place within the Native American community and are organized by various clubs housed by the Native American Center, said Myron Britton, Administrative Assistant for the Native American Center and advisor for Wambli Ota. Hozhoni Days, which was sponsored by John and Sophie Ottens Foundation, Wanbli Ota Student Organization and the Native American Center, took place March 22 through March 31, said Myra Britton, administrative assistant for the Native American Center and advisor for Wanbli Ota. On March 30 and 31 the 48th Annual Hozhoni Days Pow Wow took place in the Whalen Gymnasium, said Zak Valteau, President of Wanbli Ota. The Buffalo Council organized the Buffalo Harvest on March 17, at the Old Fort in Hesperus, said Gilbert Dee, the Buffalo Council treasurer. The Buffalo Harvest and Hozhoni Days are important to the community because they incorporate awareness for traditions and respect for a variety of tribes represented at FLC and promote cultural diversity on campus, Britton said. “The mission of Buffalo Council is to raise awareness of Native American issues,” Dee said. The Buffalo Harvest is an example of how the Buffalo Council incorporates ceremonial components into the community, he said. By keeping their traditional culture prevalent today, Native American students and community members will gain a better sense of who they are, said Buffalo Council member Sherri Willeto. “One of the goals for the Buffalo Harvest is to fulfill the cultural components for Native American students,” Dee said.
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When Dee was on his reservation, he was able to go to ceremonies every other week—an opportunity that is not available at school, he said. “As Native Americans, we have ceremonies that help us to understand what life is all about,” Dee said. “We need that as Native American students.” This year several students were experiencing the Buffalo Harvest for the first time, including FLC senior Marquita Adakai. Navajo people do not harvest buffalos, Adakai said. They have gatherings where they butcher sheep and cows, she said. “I was not sure what to expect,” Adakai said. “I thought it was just going to be killing a Buffalo, but it was so much more. The day was filled with different cultural experiences and people showing a lot of respect.” The Buffalo Harvest is a very spiritual experience to many people, Dee said. “Mainly it is just to practice our spirituality, to say those prayers because the buffalo is very, very important to a lot of tribes,” he said. A lot of people who attended the Buffalo Harvest intended to take something from the Buffalo because of how powerful the animal is, Dee said. Navajos have stories that explain the origin of the buffalo and where the animal came from, he said. By having these stories, Navajos have knowledge that is specific to their tribe, Dee said. “Which is our own and no one else’s,” Dee said. Dee believes that often students are ignorant about the culture and how important it is to have in their lives, he said.
Classmates cannot always relate to the Native American culture, which is why giving everyone on campus the ability to participate in Native American traditions is so important, Adakai said. Organizing traditional Native American events that relate to many tribes is very important for Native American ideology, Adakai said. The Native American Center is promoting Hozhoni Days and the Pow Wow so that even non-Native students have the opportunity to experience the traditions, Britton said. Hozhoni Days consist of the Ms. Hozhoni Pageant, where Native American women take part in a meet and greet, present their native foods and traditions and a perform traditional and modern talents, said Deanna Diaz, a Ms. Hozhoni contestant. Being a part of Hozhoni Days and running for the title of Ms. Hozhoni is a huge honor, Diaz said. “Because of the diverse Native American community, it is a unique opportunity to represent numerous tribes,” Diaz said. Ms. Hozhoni is not only intended to be a role model for Native American students, but for the community of Durango as well, Diaz said. The Buffalo Harvest and Hozhoni Days bring awareness of certain traditions to campus and assist in the process of being away from home, Britton said.
“This is truly their home away from home and they are bringing that home reference to college with them,” Britton said. Keeping traditions and culture in the community helps the process of healing while being away from home, Willeto said. The Pow Wow brings a lot of families from many different tribes to Durango, Valteau said. The Pow Wow takes place the same time every year, Britton said. “It is kind of the homecoming for Native students,” Britton said. Both Britton and Valteau said that being surrounded by different tribes that have different traditions allows a variety of different experiences. “It is just a good way to get to know your fellow students,” Britton said. The Native American Center’s main goal is to create a support system for Native American students, Britton said. Wanbli Ota, along with other Native American clubs on campus, also promotes cultural awareness by reaching out to the community and volunteering at Durango High School, Britton said. “Students need to take responsibility to keep their culture, values and traditions intact and stay strong,” Willeto said.
“Mainly it is just to practice our spirituality, to say those prayers because the buffalo is very, very important to a lot of tribes.” indyonline.com theindyonline.com
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Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Why courses & programs vanish at FLC and what students can do
Story by Reid Tulley Photo by Hana Mohsin
Over the past two years Fort Lewis College has seen a combination of raised tuition and departmental cuts. As tuition increases, students might wonder why programs continue to disappear, as well as what students can do to bring programs back and prevent similar cuts in the future. What programs have been cut so far? After FLC received a $4.5 million reduction in funding from the state of Colorado in 2008—roughly 10 percent of the college’s total budget—three academic programs were cut from the school including agriculture, Southwest studies, and computer systems information science (CSIS). Most recently, changes within the department of Modern Languages have included instructional reductions to the French program, as well as the decision to not offer Japanese and German courses during the upcoming academic year. Spanish will not experience any changes. While Japanese and German courses will not be taught this following year, they will “remain on the books,” said Mitch Davis, the public affairs officer for FLC. The courses will remain in the school catalogue, however students will not be able to register to take the courses during the 2012-2013 academic year. If a students wants to register for a class that is in the school catalogue but is not offered, they can contact their advisor or the chair of the department the course would be offered in to let their interest be known, Davis said in an email. “If student demand materializes, those courses can be brought back fairly quickly,” he said. The most direct route for students to voice their interests in courses is through the student senators and the student body president, who have the most direct link to the provost and the president, he said. Why did these cuts happen? The administration’s decision to make cuts to the Modern Languages department was in response to low student enrollment in the programs, Davis said. “The student demand for French was so low the administration couldn’t justify having a full time tenured faculty member teaching basically one course,” he said. The faculty member Davis referred to, Assistant Professor Nathan Guss, taught French courses in the Department of Modern Languages and was on track to become a tenured
faculty member next year, said Ellen Hartsfield, the chair of the Modern Languages department. “The decision was made not to renew professor Guss’s contract,” Davis said. Adjunct professors, whose contracts will not be renewed, were teaching the German and Japanese courses, Davis said. “Students vote with their feet,” Davis said. “If student demand goes up for German or Japanese, than we can hire adjunct professors, if it goes up a lot we can hire a full time professor.” “I was surprised at the choice to remove courses in Japanese and German at Fort Lewis,” Hartsfield said in an email she sent to FLC faculty members. “According to the FARG (Program Prioritization) data of 2009-2010, German garnered over $31,000 before OCE and Japanese over $60,000 before OCE,” she said in the email. “These languages seemed like offerings that benefitted both the students and Fort Lewis College’s bottom line.” The acronym OCE stands for other current expenditures. The same FARG (functional area review group) data showed that the Modern Languages department as a whole generate over $500,000. Who do these decisions affect? Foreign languages are traditionally a staple of a liberal arts education and can help to integrate people into different cultures by enabling them to become more immersed in their surroundings when they travel to foreign countries, Guss said. “I believe it is definitely a hit to the liberal arts school,” he said. Language professors and the school are not the only ones who are affected by these changes. Students who want to pursue these courses are also affected. “I think it’s a shame,” said Sarah Hileman, a senior at FLC who is double majoring in biology and French, though French was only offered as a minor program. Hileman, who studied abroad in France, said she would not have considered studying abroad if it wasn’t for the French courses she has taken at FLC. It is hard to understand how a liberal arts college such as FLC can eliminate language programs and still be considered a liberal arts school, she said.
“I believe it is definitely a hit to the liberal arts school,” Guss said.
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Photo and photo illustration by Hana Mohsin
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FLC to Have the First Composter of its Type in Durango Can break down 97% of waste into usable soil Story by Mitch Fraser The arrival of Fort Lewis College’s new composter means reduced waste and an eco-friendly image for the campus. The composter, located directly under the San Juan Dining Hall, gives eco-friendly students of Durango something to smile about. Tazeus Steyskal, a student worker for the Environmental Center located in the Student Union building is a vital piece of the “composter team.” “I’ll be helping the running of the compost program,” Steyskal said. “I’ll be taking the compost from the actual machine and taking it where we’re going to store it.” The composter works by speeding up the natural process of decomposition. “It speeds up the natural composting process which is microbes that decompose all that trash, Steyskal said. “The compost is broken down into useable soil.” Unlike most composters, FLC’s can break down meat and dairy, Steyskal said. “That’s one thing that separates us from a regular compost pile is that ours can break down meat and dairy,” he said. Overall, the composter is dramatically increasing the amount of waste that can be turned into usable soil, said Rachel Landis, who is the Environmental Center’s program assistant. “Up until the composter, we were able to break down about one to two percent of waste, where now we will be able to break down around 97 percent that can be broken down into usable soil,” Landis said. Consumers often throw unnecessary things away without considering how much they waste or where the waste goes, Landis said. The soil that is created from the compost is used for natural resources like gardening, she said. Employees of Sodexo will be working with the Environmental Center to make sure everything runs correctly, she said. Getting a composter on campus was no small endeavor, but it does set FLC apart in the community, Landis said. It was a $50,000 process to get the entire composter to the
Photos by Allie Johnson The new composter that is helping FLC to become a pioneer on the green front.
campus, she said. Now that the composter is here, though, FLC is becoming a pioneer on the green front. “A while ago the city tried to get a city-wide composter but it got shut down,” Landis said. The college has the only composter of its type in Durango, she said. Despite some students’ interest in the new composter, word hasn’t completely spread through the campus yet. “I didn’t know we were getting a composter, honestly, but I’m happy we are,” said FLC student Torrey Udall. “With the amount of food I have consumed and thrown away in the cafeteria, it’s good to know that it’s now getting put to good use.” Until now, Udall had never thought about where his uneaten food goes once he leaves his tray on the belt outside of the dining hall, he said. “The trash is put down into a big silver tube-like thing that goes under the cafeteria where everything is broken down through the actual composter and results in the soillike material that comes out the opposite side,” Landis said. The Environmental Center is receiving training throughout the last week of March to ensure that everything that surrounds the compost program runs as smoothly as possible. Getting all the working pieces of the composter delivered to campus has been an ongoing process, and the motor was the final hold out. The composter’s motor has now arrived and everything is put together and ready to go, Steyskal said. “I just hope as many people as possible are aware of it,” Steyskal said. “It’s a great thing for our school.” Consumers often throw unnecessary things away without considering how much they waste or where the waste goes, Landis said. The soil that is created from the compost is used for natural resources, like gardening, she said.
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How Durango is closing the gap between producers and consumers
Story by Jimi Giles
The shift towards a tangible relationship with food in Durango is happening, a shift known as the local food movement. “It’s growing,” owner of Turtle Lake Refuge Katrina Blair said. “There’s definitely a movement growing.” More and more local restaurants are using local foods and local products are even found on the Fort Lewis Colleges campus. Turtle Lake is one of the groups facilitating the local food movement. Turtle Lake started when Blair was biking near her home by Turtle Lake, she said. At the time, 60 acres of land in the area were for sale for $500,000. Blair thought the area would be “an amazing place to keep wild,” she said, but the owner had an opposing vision of large estates and metal buildings. Hence the start and name of “Turtle Lake Refuge,” she said. Currently, Turtle Lake serves raw lunches on Tuesdays and Fridays in their 848 East Third Ave. location from 11:11 a.m. to 2:22 p.m., but the original lunches were served in the Smiley Building for $5 a plate to raise the money needed to purchase the land, Blair said. “We didn’t exactly raise $500,000,” she said. They did, however, raise enough awareness that a neighbor ended up buying the property and putting 47 acres aside for conservation, the current home for the farm known today as Turtle Lake Refuge. With greenhouses in their farm and their in-town location
(same building as Rocky Mountain Retreat accessed through the alley), Turtle Lake grows food year round including everything from various greens, to fruit trees and honeybees, Blair said. “We realized that our mission was way bigger than one piece of land,” she said. “It was land everywhere across the planet Earth.” “We adopted the mission to celebrate the connection between personal health and wild lands,” Blair said. Turtle Lake delivers microgreens, including sunflower greens, buckwheat greens, peagrass greens, and wheatgrass, to Cosmopolitan, Nature’s Oasis, Durango Natural Foods, the Strater Hotel, occasionally Zia Tacqueria, The Yellow Carrot, and Zuma Natural Foods in Mancos, she said. All schools in the 9-R school district receive these greens as well, she said. “Growing these microgreens and getting them into the school was another really big desire,” Blair said. “And now all the local schools have these local greens in their salad bar, which is really wonderful.” Future plans for Turtle Lake include providing a locally grown salad that would be harvested in the moment, Blair said. People would get a dollar off by bringing in their own containers, she said. “So, I feel like a large percentage of Durango people do eat local, like find that that’s a priority, whether it’s locally grown vegetables from the farmers’ market, or their own fruit or their own vegetable garden from their backyard, or the wild weeds that are available everywhere,” Blair said. The local food movement grows beyond foods rooted to the Earth; it includes local animal farms as well.
“It’s increasing the general intelligence of the people who live here,” Blair said
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Photo by Allie Johnson
Photos by Allie Johnson Graphics by Jennessa Pitka
Pat Percy, a bartender and packaging employee at Durango Brewing Company, said DBC uses local bread, bratwursts, and beef in their restaurant. Bread comes from the local Sundown Bakery, he said. Their brats, called “Way Good Brats,” come from James Ranch, he said. Their beef comes from a local Texas Longhorn cattle ranch called El Dorado Cattle Company, Percy said. The process of brewing beer includes malted barley and water, Percy said. The abundance of leftover malted barley, called spent grain, is sent to El Dorado Cattle Company and James Ranch as feed, Percy said. At Zia Tacqueria, several parts of the daily menu incorporate local products including ground beef from James Ranch and the fajita mix, which uses sirloin from Sunnyside Farms, said Keleen Pedersen, the restaurant’s general manager. Their drink menu also includes local products including sodas from Zuberfizz and beers from Ska Brewing Company and DBC, Pedersen said. The restaurant uses other products that are not local to Durango, but are local to Colorado, Pederson said. FLC’s Sodexo Manager Chris Wilke said the company is in the process of adding local vendors to the options provided for students in the on-campus dining areas. Local foods found on campus include James Ranch burgers and vegetables when in season—mostly for the fall semester—East by Southwest sushi, Durango Bagel bagels, Zuberfizz sodas, Desert Sun coffee, and Ska beer available in
the Rocket, he said. They buy 200 packs of sushi from East by Southwest, 250 bagels from Durango Bagel, and 75 pounds of Desert Sun coffee each week, he said. Wilke said it’s important to use local foods, but there are some challenges when using local items because of their insurance requirements, he said. “We have food safety rules that we have to follow, but it is something that we work on,” he said. “But you have a core group of students, though, who are going to go for that Zuberfizz soda over anything else because it’s produced in town,” he said. “So you know we obviously don’t sell as much of the locals as we do others, but there’s definitely a core group on campus that wants it local.” “If people have someone they know who’s a local vendor who may be interested in working with us, have them contact me, and I’d be happy to talk to them and see if we can work it out,” he said. Blair sees that a lot of people in town are finding that eating locally is a priority. “It’s increasing the general intelligence of the people who live here,” Blair said. “And then what that does, like when people are connected to the Earth like that because they’re eating it, we are going to protect our home. And it becomes a really special place to live and be part of.”
“Turtle Lake grows food year round including everything from various greens, to fruit trees and honeybees,” Blair said.
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A Day at the Park The Indy checks out the scene at the Durango Skate Park Story by Mitch Fraser
While taking a casual stroll through town along Animas River, eventually one would run into a dude ridden cement oasis of smoothly paved bowls, drops, rails and jumps. With the beautiful weather starting to creep up in Durango a lot of outdoor activities are starting to pick up. The Durango Skate Park is now in full swing for people with skateboards, trick bikes and everything in between. “It’s really just a mind state,” said avid skater Sam Taggert, who was visiting the park from out of town. “Being a skater means freedom, and, basically every time you skate, seeing if you if can throw something down you haven’t before.” Taggert, who spent the day performing kickflips and flip variations at the park said that the skating atmosphere makes him feel relaxed and at ease. “A lot of peeps I know all have something that lets them escape from the world, even if for just a moment,” Taggert said. “Whenever I’m on my board, I just feel like natural, like everything else going on in my life can wait for a little bit.” Boulder native Zack Starrmann was tearing it up on two wheels rather than four. Starrmann “was just out here to shut up some newbs,” he said. Newbs are people who think they know what they’re doing until someone experienced shows them up, Starrman said. Starrmann demonstrated his skill by performing a
large tail whip over a gap on the side of the park. “I just have so much fun on my bike, plain and simple,” he said. “Even when I get a bleeder I’m still having more fun than a lot of other things I could be doing, and that’s good enough for me.” So naturally, taking advantage of the thirst for competition, the Indy had to lay down a challenge to a group of skaters to see who could do the best trick in five minutes. The chosen winner would get to be featured in none other than the Indy itself. Although one competitor twisted his ankle and was forced to opt out of the first tournament, the electricity was undeniably in the air. After a pretty decent crowd had formed to watch the competition, skater Josh Tartell earned gold on a trick he later described as a 12 foot 50/50 grind followed by a kick flip. Tartell landed the trick with impressive casualness and skill. “I want to thank my friends, who are terrible and allowed me to win this jam session,” Tartell said. “I also want shout out my mom who bought me my pimp board, my agent and my sponsors deserve some credit as well.” Tartell was able to skate home a winner. In the end, one biker explained what it’s all about. “I mean it’s like I could not ride my bike, but it’s like, why not ride my bike when I have the option to ride my bike you know?” Starrmann said.
Being a skater means freedom, and, basically every time you skate, seeing if you can throw something down you haven’t before.
Photo by Allie Johnson
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Student
Contraception Options and information Story by Jimi Giles
Teen pregnancies, births and abortions reached an all time low in 2008, mainly because of improved contraceptive use, according to a study published in February by the Guttmacher Institute, which educates and conducts research and policy analysis on sexual and reproductive health. “Recent research concluded that almost all of the decline in the pregnancy rate between 1995 and 2002 among 18–19-year-olds was attributable to increased contraceptive use,” said the study’s authors, Kathryn Kost and Stanley Henshaw in the discussion section. Fort Lewis College students can receive several forms of contraception on campus at the Health Center in addition to various clinics around town. FLC’s Health Center offers forms of both short and long-term birth control in hormonal and nonhormonal mechanisms, ranging from pills, shots, inserts, intrauterine devices, and emergency contraception, said Susan Pugh, a registered nurse at the Health Center. The Health Center also distributes free condoms, which are 90 percent effective, Pugh said. The center works directly with a company called Minnesota Multistate, which sells various types of birth control at lower prices, she said. “It’s cheaper for us to buy it from the company, therefore we can offer it cheaper,” she said. Twenty-eight percent of U.S. women who used contraception between 2006 and 2008 used the oral contraception pill, making it the most common form of contraception in recent years, followed by tubal sterilization at 27.1 percent, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Oral contraception pill packs are priced around $15 to $25 each at the Health Center, and women need one pack per month, Pugh said Depending on the brand of pill, the user will either be ingesting progesterone or a combination of progesterone and estrogen. Women who smoke might want to choose a form of contraception that does not contain estrogen, Pugh said. If a student smokes cigarettes, she should consider a method without estrogen, as the hormone may cause blood clots, Pugh said. “It’s rare in your age group, but if you smoke and you’re on estrogen, you increase your risk a lot for blood clots,” Pugh said, referring to traditional-aged college students. Even social smoking, which may include only one or two cigarettes a
week, will increase a woman’s risk of blood clots, she said. The birth control shot, known as Depo-Provera, is a three-month dose of progesterone given four times a year. For women who smoke, this method is a good choice, Pugh said. One example of a contraceptive that uses a combination of estrogen and progesterone is the NuvaRing. The NuvaRing, a hormonal contraceptive that is inserted vaginally, costs $65 and is good for one month, Pugh said. The Health Center also offers two types of intrauterine devices, which are long-term forms of contraception that run $400 each, she said. Students can choose between the hormonal Mirena, which is good for five years, and the copper IUD, which is good for 12 years, she said. Mirena secretes a small dose of progesterone, and the copper IUD prevents sperm from entering the fallopian tubes, which is where fertilization occurs, she said. “More and more, the young girls are deciding to do an IUD because they want more long-term birth control where they don’t have to worry about taking a pill everyday or putting in the NuvaRing in and out every month,” she said. The Health Center may also set up a monthly payment plan for a student’s IUD if she is unable to pay the $400 upfront, Pugh said. Women who purchase contraceptives from the Health Center pay for them up front, and then request reimbursement from their personal insurance providers if they choose, Pugh said. “We don’t bill outside insurance, so what we do is we give them a super-bill which they can submit to their insurance to see if they can get reimbursed,” she said. If students receive health insurance on campus, birth control can be applied to the $150 deductible, she said. “We want it to be as convenient and easy and affordable as it can for girls to get birth control here,” Pugh said. “It’s an individual choice, and we respect that person’s choice, right down to even Plan B.” Plan B is an emergency contraceptive in the form of two levonorgestrel pills, which do not contain estrogen, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (continued on next page...) Plan B is meant to prevent pregnancies and will not terminate an existing pregnancy.
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48 percent of pregnancies in Colorado were unintended in 2006. The Health Center offers Plan B for $25 compared to $60 in most pharmacies, Pugh said. “But access to birth control is easy now, and the consequences of not being on birth control and going through the emotional trauma of having a pregnancy when you’re not ready for a pregnancy is devastating,” she said. “Everybody needs to be on birth control if they’re not ready to have a family,” she said. Former FLC psychology student Kelly Smith said she went to the Health Center last April for a non-hormonal method of birth control, but the price for the contraception had jumped. As a low-income college student, Smith was referred to the San Juan Basin Health Department by the Health Center where she didn’t pay anything for their services, she said. The SJBHD offers the same methods of contraception, said Liane Jollon, the department’s clinic nurse manager, in a phone interview. The SJBHD is a federally funded as a Title X program, which is also matched by state funding from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and funding from the general county fund, Jollen said. The Title X Family Planning program, enacted in 1970 as Title X of the Public Health Service Act, is a federal grant program meant to provide people with family planning and related preventative health services, with priority going to people from low-income families, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Beginning patients at the SJBHD take an income survey, and qualifications based on their salary translate into a sliding scales fee, Jollon said. Anyone under 200 percent of the federal poverty level will pay zero, she said. The poverty threshold for a single-person family in all states except for Hawaii and Alaska is $11,170 gross yearly income, according to the 2012 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Poverty Guidelines. Two hundred percent of the poverty threshold would be $22,340 gross yearly income.
The SJBHD sees about 1,500 people a year, most of whom are uninsured, Jollon said. Eighty-five percent pay nothing for their services, including the initial visit, the actual contraception, and any follow-up visits, she said. The next 10 percent of patients pay 20 percent of their total cost, she said. The department does ask for donations. “The majority of people that we see donate something, ” Jollon said. “Even if it’s just a couple of dollars, but certainly it’s not required. We just want people to have the opportunity.” The SJBHD also plays a part in family planning. “Our position is that we want everybody to have the tools to determine when they will have children,” she said. “We believe that everybody should have that right and those tools.” “We know that close to 50 percent of the pregnancies in Colorado are unintended, so we know there are people that are not planning or intending to be pregnant who are getting pregnant,” she said. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 48 percent of pregnancies in Colorado were unintended in 2006. In addition to contraception, the SJBHD offers free HIV, chlamydia, and gonorrhea testing, Jollon said. Chlamydia was the most common STD in both Colorado and the United States as of 2005, according to government figures. Sexually active adults may not display symptoms of chlamydia for over a year, Pugh said. Overall, family planning is a key to a person’s overall health and well-being, Jollon said. “What we know is that family planning is an integral part of good health, meaning that optimum health and well-being for all men and women of reproductive age includes the option of timing and spacing in pregnancies,” Jollon said. “We know that family planning is important for family stability and for dignity of individuals that each person has the right to determine their own reproduction within their own beliefs and lifestyles.”
If you need to make an appointment: The Health Center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with other times sometimes available by appointment. The SJBHD is open Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The department uses next-day scheduling and has adjusted hours of 10 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. on the second Monday of every month to accommodate staff meetings.
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the independent news magazine
Photos by Julian Martinez
Non-trad to Grad Studying abroad for non-traditional students The Non-Trad Series: a series of stories and columns on non-traditional students at Fort Lewis College Column by Ruby Madigan
In the last issue I focused on office hours and the importance of getting to know your professors. This week I would like to move the conversation outside of the classroom and talk about studying abroad with kids in tow. As a student who is also a parent, juggling schoolwork with my son’s busy life is one of my greatest challenges, and the thought of getting on an airplane with a 5-year-old has me in cold sweats—so why on Earth would I want to consider doing these things at the same time? The answer it seems, is why not? The first time I seriously considered traveling abroad I was 16. The allure of museums, exotic encounters, and cosmopolitan cites contributed to my lifelong appreciation of history and foreign cultures. Fastforward 14 years, and here I am re-visiting the idea of traveling abroad, only this time as an infinitely busy mom, wife, and student. While researching the avenues for doing so, I discovered some potential roadblocks that I thought I would share here today. Finances The number one reason why I do not travel abroad is finances or lack thereof. Fort Lewis College offers several programs for students interested in traveling abroad, and the one I chose, ISEP, allows me to pay my tuition to Fort Lewis using my FAFSA/scholarship/loan monies, and attend the participating university of my choice. This was a great option for me, as the tuition at the university I chose is actually less than that at FLC. This allows me to save money and increase my monthly budget over the school year. Scholarships are also a fantastic way to enhance finances. However, I would suggest to be sure to examine the total costs of the trip thoroughly—most programs do
Graphics by Graeme Johnston
not include transportation costs, though some do include housing and meals, it’s important to know exactly what will be responsible for when you get there. Paperwork Deadlines You will face a daunting amount of paperwork by the time you are enrolled and ready to go. It is very important to adhere to deadlines and to keep track of each program separately. For example, the program facilitating my study abroad has a different deadline than that of the actual university. Try keeping a separate schedule and planner for your trip—it will make it easier to keep things in order and to not miss important paperwork deadlines. Remember, this also included passport and visa for everyone—babies included.
“The allure of museums, exotic encounters, and cosmopolitan cities contributed to my lifelong appreciation of history and foreign cultures.” Language Make sure classes are taught in English. I found many programs of interest only to discover they were not taught in English. If you are one of many students who have second-language experience, studying abroad is a great way to enhance your learning, but for those of us that may have focused otherwise, be aware that language may place some limitations on your options. Building on my existing desire to travel, my exposure to a liberal arts education at FLC in particular, has heightened my appreciation for other cultures and ultimately, other ways of doing things. It is important to me to expose my son to as many different perspectives as possible, and, each time I meet someone who has had a similar experience in their childhood, they impart a sense of appreciation for their parent’s having done so. Is this really just my way of justifying the fact that I really want to travel? Probably, but the possibility of broadening my son’s experience is a difficult one to let pass. As non-traditional students, it often seems the list of reasons why we can’t far outnumber the reason why we can. I would like to challenge each of you to rekindle your adventurous spirit and perhaps in the process you will provide a treasure trove of experience for yourself and your children—you’ll never know what you may find until you start digging!
theindyonline.com
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Meat:
The Planetary Pulverize Editor’s Note: This column was contributed by the Environmental Center. The Indy is not responsible for any views stated in this piece and the Indy content department is open to suggestions and requests for column space from other campus organizations. For more information contact: sscook@fortlewis.edu or kmmartinez@fortlewis.edu.
Column by Angela Lewis Meat production, an unlikely component of anthropocentric greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental concerns, is responsible for more environmental degradation than most other industries, including the transportation sector. Questions have been raised regarding the massive industrial factory farming of livestock and its contributions to environmental concerns such as an increasing amount of greenhouse gases, deforestation, soil erosion, water quality issues, world food security, and their potential to breed diseases. A number of studies indicate that changing your diet and shifting from a meatbased diet to a plant-based diet can reduce personal impact on the environment. Meat production is responsible for 18 percent of anthropocentric greenhouse gases, and is only expected to increase, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This is attributed to the methane secreted by millions of cattle awaiting cultivation in conjunction with the deforestation that is occurring in order for grain and soy feed to be produced. Not only is this deterring food cultivation for human consumption but also encouraging the consumption of more meat products. Cleared forests are also prone to soil erosion, inducing desertification upon a landscape that was once filled with biodiversity and life. The size of the global meat market needs to be considered in order to fully understand the extent and amount of degradation occurring. “Livestock grazing occupies 26 percent of the Earth’s terrestrial surface while feed crop production required a third of all arable land. In Latin America, 70 percent of previously forested land in the Amazon is used as pasture, and a majority of remaining land is used for feed cultivation,” said the FAO.
Water use and contamination have also shown to be problematic. The FAO points out that 8 percent of global human water use is used to irrigate livestock feed crops. Even more alarming is the toxicity of the animal byproducts, which eventually find their way into water systems. Crop fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides have also contaminated water sources, creating a real concern for local water supplies. “The sector also generates almost two-thirds of anthropogenic ammonia, which contributes significantly to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems,” the FAO said. Meat production is expected to double by 2050, intensifying the already environmentally taxing meat assembly line, according to a recent New York Times article. Most of this growth is occurring in developing countries. As they become wealthier their demand for meat products also increases. In terms of world food supply this could have negative consequences. If the demand for meat products increases so does the price, making meat inaccessible to millions of people. Even more alarming is the fact that “two to five times more grain is required to produce the same amount of calories through animal protein as through direct grain consumption” said Stanford Law professor, Rosamond Naylor in the New York Times article. Meat production affects all of us greatly. The way in which it is produced needs to be carefully considered so that it does not degrade the environment further than it has thus far. By eliminating or reducing animal products consumed we can begin to curb our impact on the environment, as well as become healthier individuals, which has been reaffirmed in a recent Harvard School of Public Health study.
grazing occupies “Livestock 26 percent of the Earth’s
terrestrial surface while feed crop production required a third of all arable land.
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the independent news magazine
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Photos by Lucas C. Hess Graphic by Sarah Zoey Sturm
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