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NOVEMBER 2-8, 2016 / MONTANAKAIMIN.COM / THE LAST BEST COLLEGE NEWS
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Turning thrash pop to punk treasure Page 8
13 NEWPAGE LIBRARY
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LADY GAGA REVIEW
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PAGE 14 LADYmontanakaimin.com GRIZ READJUSTMENT August 31-September 6, 2016
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OPINION
BIG UPS & BACKHANDS The Kaimin’s take on this week’s winners and losers. Have a big up or backhand to contribute? Tweet us at @montanakaimin! Big ups to the ever-entertaining social media platform that was Vine. Let’s pay our respects with six seconds of silence. Backhands to Worcestershire and Sriracha sauce for being impossible to pronounce.
Big Ups to Donald Trump for being right about voter fraud. Too bad it was your supporter who committed it.
Week of 10/31/16 - 11/6/16
Backhands to people that tell you about the dream they had last night.
Leann Skach / @leannskach
ON THE COVER Photos by Olivia Vanni Design by Kelsey Johnson
KIOSK
Difficulty : Easy
FOR SALE
FA Reynolds 1950 Trumpet (serial #16903), Case and 3 cup mutes. Trumpet is close to new condition according to Morgenroth Music, no indication that it was ever used. Needs polished. Cups usable but not pretty. Case is in good condition. Beautiful velvet lining. Price $1600.00 Firm. Call 406-549-3921 or email raoke@aol.com
HELP WANTED
Youth Care Aides-Part time various evening and wkend shifts working at a children’s shelter. Stop by 4978 Buckhouse Lane or go to watsonchildrensshelter.org to fill out an application. Must be at least 21 years old.
I Buy Imports < Subaru < Toyota-Japanese/German Cars & Trucks. Nice, ugly, running or not 327-0300 Piano lessons all styles call Jim at 406-721-8947
The Montana Kaimin is a weekly independent student newspaper at the University of Montana. For comments, corrections or letters to the editor, contact editor@montanakaimin. com. or call (406) 243-4310. For advertising opportunities, contact ads@montanakaimin.com or call (406) 243-6541. November 2-8, 2016
Copyright 2016 by The Puzzle Syndicate
NEWSROOM Editor-in-Chief Kate Shea Web Managing Editor Claire Chandler Print Managing Editor Michael Siebert News Editors Meg Giddings, Margaret Grayson Arts & Culture Editor Bowen West Sports Editor Jackson Wagner
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OPINION
Week of 10/31/16 - 11/6/16
The Weekly Crossword
Leann Skach / @leannskach
KA IMI N ED I TO R I A L
Hate the candidates? Don’t let that stop you from voting By Editorial staff editor@montanakaimin.com
The election is finally here, but there’s one problem — you voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary and, shit, he’s not on the ballot. Now that everybody’s favorite socialist isn’t running, it’s easy to imagine that there’s no reason to vote at all. But don’t worry, there’s still A Future To Believe In. You don’t have to vote for a presidential candidate. Seriously, you don’t. You can actively choose to just skip that section on your ballot. The neoliberal gestapo won’t haul you off to a Clinton Foundation™ gulag for not voting for her or any other presidential candidate. If the presidency isn’t your concern, then focus your efforts farther down the ballot. There’s a wealth of candidates running in Montana (or your home state) who are actually decent, well-meaning people — people who might actually lose if you don’t vote for them. In the 2012 election, some of the state legislative races around Missoula were decided by less than 40 votes. 40 people who decided to stay home, who felt that the presidential candidates were less than palatable or thought that their votes didn’t matter could have easily changed the outcome of that election. A recent Missoulian article claims that a majority of Montana citizens oppose Initiative 182. If this initiative fails, thousands of medical marijuana patients across the state will lose access to the medicine they depend on. But don’t stay home just because the issue or candidate you believe in is polling poorly. Polls don’t mean anything compared to the results of the election. You have the power to turn everything around. Whether it’s medical marijuana, outlawing trapping on public lands or electing your favorite state senate candidate, you should vote in the races that matter the most to you. Unless we’re plunged into an eternal nuclear winter by our president-elect, their decisions won’t affect you on the same foundational level as our local legislature, our governor, our secretary of state, our county commissioner or even our state auditor. Your tuition, the way your tax dollars are spent, the way your laws are enforced and even our school’s board of regents are all decided by those candidates farther down the ballot rather than the wellknown names at the top. This fall’s election is so much more than whether you’re counting on Jill Stein to outlaw GMOs, nuclear power and vaccines, or whether you’re looking to Gary Johnson to throw us into a deregulated capitalist hellscape. It’s insurance, taxes, local laws and all the boring things that don’t make it onto CNN or Fox News. It’s issues that actually affect you on a day-to-day basis, the issues and the candidates farther down the ballot than the presidential race, that have the power to change your life for the better (or worse). Not voting for a president is one thing. Not voting on the issues that will shape our state for years to come is something else entirely.
ACROSS 1 Shells, e.g. 5 Out of shape 9 Fan frenzy 14 Like a church mouse 15 Marine leader? 16 Angered 17 Mystical glow 18 Gambling asset 19 Less moist 20 Aussie biter 22 Properous 23 Worldweariness 24 Live, after "in" 26 Andean animal 28 Type of bug? 32 Side by side? 35 Rats and such 37 Sierra Nevada, e.g. 38 Corn whiskey 40 Best 42 Mr. Potato Head piece 43 6 x 9-inch page size 45 Say it isn't so 46 Seaplane's anchor 48 Burn a little 50 Kind of valve 52 Bigwig 56 Bear 59 Virile 61 Neighbor of Fiji 62 Absorbed by 63 Long-legged wader 64 Put into words 65 Take to the cleaners 66 Wild plum 67 Wallace of "The Champ" (1931) 68 "Will be," in a Doris Day song 69 Camp sight DOWN 1 Abreast (of) 2 Lament a loss
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3 Idiot 4 Prophetic 5 Type of cypress 6 Depreciable item, in business 7 Like some subs 8 Selfish sort 9 Equidistant spot 10 Out-and-out 11 Catch redhanded 12 Doohickey 13 Eagle's roost 21 Engine need 25 Loafer, e.g. 27 Leggy shorebird 29 Unlikely to bite 30 Enthusiasm 31 Bank (on) 32 Out for the night 33 Hearty laugh 34 French bread 36 Walk of Fame honoree 39 Subject of many a war
41 Visionary one 44 Skeptical way to look 47 "Gilligan's Island" castaway 49 Animal with curved horns 51 Cockeyed
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Answer to Last Week's Crossword: S P A R S N I P L A T T E
P O N E
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T R E L L C R I A U S L L L E A U E S S M A T A L E I E R L S E
L E M T O I N M E A S T T S E E N E U A T E
O V E R D O R U N R E E L
W E R A D E D I A T R A R N W A T O N I N G G E E T N I G M A G I S E N S E G Y
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OPINION K AIMIN COLUMN
Meditation is the answer to a millennial crisis Millennials have created and embraced a culture where we inadvertently take glory in putting our mental health on the back burner. We constantly prioritize work and socialization over taking care of ourselves. We gloat about how many hours of work we did in a week or how little sleep we got the night before. We don’t take any time to reflect on how serious a toll these actions take on our bodies and minds. This is where meditation comes in. It’s the act of acknowledging the content of your mind without judement. We don’t spend any time reflecting on our feelings throughout the day — meditation can help us manage and reduce the stress and anxiety we experience and can even help us cope with far more traumatic issues. “I had a student who recently has been in a car accident and she has damaged her complete body,” said Emily Sumstine, a yoga instructor at Hot House and Bikram
Yoga in Missoula. “Since she’s been coming back to class, she’s started to sleep better, her anxiety levels are going down and her mood is better. Maintaining your personal health takes sacrifices — it’s just a matter of putting in the effort.” Copping out of taking care of our mental health can be seen in the dramatic rise of stress, anxiety and depression among millennials. More than one in five Americans struggle with mental illness, according to National Alliance on Mental Illness. More than half of all millennials admit that stress keeps them up at night, according to the American Psychological Association. Millennials also have higher rates of job dysfunction compared to other generations due to higher rates of anxiety and depression, according to a study by Chicago-based social services organization Bensinger, DuPont and Associates. It’s a crisis our generation is facing, and despite meditation proving its worth
scientifically as a great treatment for these looming issues, there’s still a negative social stigma attached. Meditation is often associated with pretentious spiritual people who say things like “namaste,” or by upper middle-class white people who exclusively buy their granola at Whole Foods. While these people may meditate, as many as 10 percent, or 18 million other people in the U.S. practice meditation, according to the National Center of Complementary and Integrative Health. Meditation has strong scientific evidence for being a necessary part of everyone’s life. Just 20 minutes of meditation a day has been proven to reduce anxiety, according to a study by Michael Bahrke and William Morgan, as well as reduce depression, according to psychiatrist William Marchand. Meditation can be practiced at home, walking to school or work or in a meditation room.
“What we recommend for people who are starting meditation is called breathing meditation. You just sit calmly, relax, and focus on the breath at the tip of your nose,” said Bob Jacobson, director of Osel Shen Phen Ling Center in Missoula. “Our minds are normally very active. Some of our teachers call it the ‘monkey mind,’ jumping from branch to branch, and our minds kind of do that. So it takes some time to reach a point to where you can calm your mind down.” Challenge yourself to take 20 minutes in the morning or the evening to try and meditate and get closer to enjoying a clearer headspace. •
Sam Tolman is a Kaimin opinion columnist. Email him at samuel. tolman@umontana.edu
K AIMIN COLUMN
A Cubs win will be baseball’s saving grace A Chicago Cubs World Series title isn’t necessarily important just for the lifelong fans, the city of Chicago or even the Cubs organization. A Cubs World Series would be good for the game of baseball. For 108 opening days, Cubs fans have patiently waited for a Billy Goat Curse-breaking championship for Chicago’s north-siders. But through each allstar loaded team, each division-winning season, each Cy Young winner, Silver Slugger, Gold Glover, MVP and Rookie of the Year, the Fall Classic title is the only thing that has eluded the boys in the royal blue pinstripes for almost 71 years. During the Ernie Banks era, Cubs fans began spinning the notorious Billy Goat Curse into a tagline. “The Lovable Losers” were born out of an apathetic culture of mediocrity. Fans have lived and died without seeing their Lovable Losers reach the end. Some have given up altogether and focused on the more recent World Series success for the south-side White Sox. Because of the light-hearted strife of
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Cubs fans, the identity of the baseball club shifted. Wrigley Field picked up the title “The Friendly Confines” to define the camaraderie within the walls of ivy and brick, and Wrigleyville regulars, though heartbroken from years of empty championships, shrugged off each unsuccessful season with a smile and a promise to get ‘em next year. The Chicago Cubs organization produces baseball in its purest form. They don’t stack together the high-priced championship teams similar to the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers, and their fans aren’t brutally bitter toward the players like in Philadelphia, nor are they bandwagoners. They have tradition mixed with a rare sense of togetherness most professional sport clubs lack. It’s easy to relate to the Lovable Losers. They’re scrappy, hardworking and ruthlessly optimistic. They’re a symbol of how Cubs followers see themselves — a “Rudy” of the baseball world. They play the game right, at least to
baseball purists’ standards, through the fun-first wackiness of manager Joe Maddon. The Cubs provide the perfect balance of “the right way to play” with the “make it fun” mentality of Maddon baseball. A World Series win would prove that a new form of baseball can survive in a new environment, a more fun environment, accessible to all ages mixed with traditions undeterred by time. Now, through the “right way to play” mentality, they are the best team in baseball in nearly every statistical category. Theo Epstein, the Cubbies’ general manager, brought in players like ace pitcher Jake Arrieta and first baseman Anthony Rizzo after rough stints with other teams and turned them into top-tier MLB all-stars. If the Cubs finally took a World Series, Major League Baseball could reset. Baseball purists say the game should stay the same while the declining demographic of watchers says otherwise. The nature of the game can’t be altered, but the way it’s played and the way it’s presented needs
to wake up into the modern world if the sport wants survive. A Cubs championship is the shackle-breaking first step. Sure, the Cubs can keep the old tradition of a “throw it back chant” after each opposing home run at Wrigley and sport the classic uniforms for another century or more, but the game itself needs a Cubs win to emerge from the abyss of professional baseball’s cyclical failure to reach a younger audience. Barring the Cleveland Indian faithful, if you aren’t on the Cubs’ side this Fall Classic, you are naturally against the essence of what makes baseball great (or on the side of the Billy Goat). •
Nick Puckett is a Kaimin opinion columnist. Email him at nicholas. puckett@umontana.edu
NEWS
Montana universities struggle to provide comprehensive mental health services By Lucy Tompkins lucy.tompkins@umontana.edu
More University of Montana students are using mental health services, but the UM Curry Health Center has taken a financial hit after enrollment-based budget cuts. Many students have to wait weeks for a counseling appointment. In early September, UM senior Katie Mostad decided it was time to see a counselor. Her anxiety and depression began to interfere with every area of her life, hindering her ability to spend time with friends or keep up with school. She stopped attending her classes, and schoolwork quickly accumulated. But when Mostad went to Curry to schedule an appointment, the staff told her the next available slot was a month away. She struggled to imagine enduring another month without help. “It was really discouraging for me at first,” Mostad said. “I was really frustrated because obviously mental health issues are an urgent matter, and when I set up the appointment, it was urgent. It was really frustrating to be told I had to wait a month to get the health care I needed.” Mostad’s wait is not uncommon at UM or other Montana universities, which are struggling to meet a growing demand for mental health services. Mental health service utilization rose 16 percent on Montana college campuses in the past five years, according to recent findings by a Montana University System Suicide Prevention and Student Mental Health Task Force set up in 2015, leaving universities unable to meet demand. The task force also found that Montana campuses have an average of one counselor per 1,800 students, far lower than the national standard of one counselor per 1,500 students. Two Montana campuses had no licensed clinicians, according to Ron Mussick, director of student affairs for the MUS. Because Montana’s suicide rate is the highest in the U.S. — nearly double the national average — accessible mental health services are critical. But tight university budgets, coupled with an increase in students using those services, has Montana struggling to provide adequate mental health care. Cathy Joy, assistant director of Curry Health Center Counseling, said despite falling enrollment at UM, the number of students using counseling services is increasing. The center had around 30 more counseling sessions this semester than at this time last year, Joy said. “It is counterintuitive,” Joy said. “We would have thought that with enrollment down, we would have seen a similar drop in our numbers.” This trend is not unique to Montana. According to a 2015 report by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, the number of students attending counseling appointments grew around seven times the national pace of institutional enrollment from 2009 to 2015. Joy said it’s difficult to know what has led to the spike, though she hopes it’s in part due to de-
Graphic by Zoie Koostra
creased stigma around asking for help and more student awareness about available services. But this trend poses a challenge to a counseling center that is funded by student fees. Students with seven or more credits pay a $256 fee each semester that funds Curry Health Center services as well as other health services on campus and the Student Advocacy Resource Center. Students with fewer than seven credits have the option to opt out of this fee, though services are still available to them. From 2010 to 2016, full-time enrollment at UM has declined 24 percent, which significantly impacts Curry’s budget, as fewer students are paying the fee. Since 2014, two half-time therapists at Curry were laid off due to budget cuts, as well as an administrative position. With fewer therapists, appointments are harder to come by. For most of the semester, students have had to wait two to three weeks for an appointment, Joy said, unless a student is “in crisis,” which students decide for themselves. “We have people define their own crisis,” Joy said. For Danica Wassmann, a UM senior studying English education, a two-week wait would have been too much. Wassmann said she had always been able to handle stress on her own, but before school started, she developed anxiety that culminated in multiple panic attacks. “It was this vicious cycle where I stopped going to class and stopped doing homework, which stressed me out even more to the point where I thought I was spiraling into a mental illness or something,” Wassmann said. She called her mom, who suggested she make an appointment at Curry. And because
Wassmann scheduled her appointment at the beginning of the semester, she didn’t have to wait weeks to speak with someone. “If I would have had to wait that long for the first appointment, I would have probably dropped out,” Wassman said. “And I’ve only felt that bad one other time this semester, but for some reason, talking to the counselor made me feel proactive, and it actually made me feel so much better.” For students in Wassmann’s situation, dropping out is not unusual. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 37 percent of students with a mental health condition age 14 and older drop out of school. Joy said anxiety is the most commonly reported issue by students, with 88 percent citing it as their top problem. Depression comes in second, reported by 84 percent of students who seek services. Curry holds group counseling sessions to reach more students and ease the schedules of staff members, who see as many as six students a day. One group, called “Overcoming Anxiety,” is so popular that a second one will begin meeting this week. These groups are free and help reach more students with fewer staff. Curry uses a “brief counseling” model, which limits each student to eight sessions per semester so that more students can see counselors. After waiting a month for her first appointment, Mostad was enthusiastic about her counselor but concerned that eight sessions may not be enough. “I was informed in the first appointment that you only get eight appointments, which is strange to me, because what if I need more?” Mostad said. Curry also refers students to Missoula ther-
apists and psychiatrists when a student needs more than eight sessions. However, cost can be a barrier for students seeking outside services. At Curry, the first counseling session is free, and all subsequent sessions cost $18. This was raised from $15 per session last spring. Meeting with a psychologist in Missoula costs around $130 an hour. Some therapists offer a sliding scale, and Joy said many accept student insurance as well. Mostad said it was hard to consider seeking counseling outside of Curry because she’d have to speak to her parents about needing counseling in order to use insurance. The MUS Suicide Prevention and Student Mental Health Task Force outlined 11 recommendations for improving mental health services across Montana campuses. These include completing a depression screening survey to discover how many students are depressed on Montana campuses and holding biennial summits on student mental health and suicide prevention. Montana State University hosted the first summit last February, with 300 attendees. The task force also urged the MUS to find additional funding sources for student mental health resources, which have yet to be located. Without a more stable funding model, students will continue to wait weeks for the care they need. •
Students in need can contact: SARC - 406-243-6559 Curry Health Center Counseling Services 406-243-4711 UM Police emergency - 406-243-4000 or 911. montanakaimin.com
November 2-8, 2016
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NEWS
Illustration by Zoie Koostra
Missoula Public Library overbooked, seeks new space with bond measure By Mollie Lemm mollie.lemm@umontana.edu
This November, voters will decide whether Missoula County will support a $30 million bond to build a new library structure. According to the Missoula Public Library Foundation, the main library facility was built in 1974 and was never meant to hold as many people or books as it does now. “For every new book that is purchased, an old book has to be pulled,” said Barbara Theroux, co-treasurer of the Yes For Missoula Library campaign. “There is not room. We are at full capacity.” According to a study conducted in 2010 by OZ Architects, the Missoula Public Library is a third of the size it should be for the amount of people who visit it and the size of the community it serves. Theroux
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estimates that 1,500 people pass through the library on any given day. While those opposed to the bond suggest the library should simply add another floor, OZ also found that the library’s foundation could not support additional floors, making expansion at the current location impossible. Taxpayers with a $200,000 home will be charged approximately an extra $2.34 each month for the next 20 years to pay back the bond, according to the Foundation website. The MPL Foundation is in the process of raising an additional $5 million to supplement the $30 million bond, $2 million of which is already raised. According to Theroux, if the bond measure passes, ground will be broken on property directly east of the current library. The soonest this could begin is in spring, after the ground has thawed, The goal for completion of the project is 2019.
The current library will be able to remain open while the new one is constructed. “The biggest concern is with having another bond initiative and taxes, but people seem to feel and understand the importance of the library,” Theroux said. Current problems with the library include limited parking, overcrowding, restricted access to seating, boiler issues, old piping and limited access to internet services. The new library would be much larger and provide additional services such as meeting rooms for the community and an entire floor dedicated to children. Along with this, MPL is planning on bringing community organizations into the building, such as SpectrUM Science Discovery, Missoula Community Access Television and Children’s Museum Missoula. These organizations would share the space with the library, and patrons
would be able to access their services for free. According to a study done by Pew Research Center in 2013, young Americans, while continuing the trend towards online consumerism, find value in printed books. The study found 82 percent of Americans aged 16-29 have read at least one book in any format in the previous 12 months, and over the past year, the same age group has read a mean of 13 books and a median of 6 books. MPL also offers traditional printed materials, e-books, workshops, storytimes for children, youth writing groups, and help with resumes and other paperwork. The new building would expand on all of these services with an increased access to internet, seating, parking, materials and children’s programs. “A library is essentially the heart of a community,” Theroux said. •
NEWS
Legislative committee aims to revise sexual assault, consent laws By Abby Lynes abigail.lynes@umontana.edu
A Montana state legislative committee is proposing a set of bills in the next legislative session that would revise state laws and sentencing for sexual assault, including a bill that would take away the requirement for victims to show that physical force was used. The current consent statute is outdated, state Sen. Diane Sands of Missoula said. In light of the University of Montana’s recent sexual assault crisis, it’s important that the state take a serious look at the way it handles issues related to sexual assault, she said. Sands sponsored the 2015 bill that called for a study of sexual assault laws, and she has served on the bipartisan Interim Law and Justice Committee. The committee voted in August to ad-
vance the six sexual assault bills to be introduced in the 2017 legislature. Former Associated Students of the University of Montana President Cody Meixner said he and other campus leaders across the state urged legislators to revise Montana’s laws surrounding sexual assault during the 2015 legislative session, and he supported Sands’ study of sexual assault laws. Right now is a good time for the legislature to take a look at sexual assault and consent, Sands said. It would be more difficult to push for the bills without the national attention Missoula has received for its handling of sexual assault at UM over the past several years. There have been some improvements, Sands said. Missoula and UM have revised many laws and policies concerning sexual assault in compliance with the Department of Justice and the Department of Education.
“It’s sort of the silver lining, if there is one, out of all the things that we learned going through the Department of Justice process,” Sands said. By changing consent laws, the bill would, in theory, make more sexual assault cases prosecutable, Senior County Attorney Suzy Boylan said. Right now, Boylan’s office has to turn down cases that don’t involve proof of force, and she said sometimes she has to turn down cases in which she believes the victim was sexually assaulted. “It’s the worst thing ever to tell someone, ‘I’m sorry you were raped. I totally believe this was non-consensual, and it doesn’t fit our statute,’” she said. Often, the brain’s response to trauma is to freeze, and victims may be too scared to use physical force and fight back, Boylan said. Montana is one of many states in the process
of revising its laws to reflect affirmative consent, in which the presence of an ongoing “yes” through body language or verbal communication is emphasized to confirm sexual consent, rather than the absence of a “no.” The proposed consent law would better reflect the kind of cases Boylan sees in her office, and it isn’t particularly progressive or out of leftfield, she said. “It just sort of takes us out of the dark ages,” Boylan said. Other proposed legislation would look at the illegal distribution of sexual images or recordings, also known as “revenge porn,” revising mandatory minimums for some statutory rape crimes, the statute of limitations for sex crimes against victims under 18, juvenile sex offender requirements, sexual assault laws regarding parental rights and incest laws. •
Despite accessibility concerns, project to re-brick Oval delayed due to lack of funding By Abby Lynes abigail.lynes@umontana.edu
The brick walkway leading up to the Oval on the University of Montana campus poses a huge challenge for students in wheelchairs, but there’s no money to replace the bricks any time soon. The bricks on the Oval and the pathways leading up to it have been there since the 60s, and the unevenness of the walkway has made it inaccessible for mobility-impaired students. Students voted on what kind of new bricks they’d like to see on the pathways in an online poll in 2014. Due to a lack of funding, progress on the project to replace the bricks has been stalled indefinitely, Facilities Services Director Kevin Krebsbach said. Krebsbach is hoping that a donation to restore the walkway will come in, but in the meantime, he said Facilities Services will continue to only repair certain sections that get damaged from the weather. Despite repairs, the path is not compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, according to Bernadine Gantert, Disability Services for Students coordinator. The ADA requires that there not be more than a half-inch bevel, or right angle, on a slope. The jagged nature of the pathway makes for a very bumpy ride, Gantert said, and some students’ wheelchairs can’t make it over the bricks at all. Even when the weather is good, manual wheelchairs can’t navigate the pathway, former UM student Kurt Skrivseth said. It’s especially difficult with chairs like his that have smaller wheels in the front. Additionally, the de-icer the University uses creates a lubricant on wheelchair tires that makes it difficult to even push the chair, Skrivseth said. Because he can’t use the brick pathway, it takes Skrivseth two to four times as long to get where he’s going. “That is easily the least accessible part of campus for me,” he said. •
Kira Vercruyssen / @kiravphotography A student bikes over the cross-section of brick examples on the University of Montana’s main walkway, Ryman Mall, on Oct. 26. Three options were installed next to the original brick pattern in 2014 with hopes that a school-wide vote would settle the decision. A final decision has still not been made.
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November 2-8, 2016
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Missoulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S gentle punks set sights on the future â&#x20AC;˘ Story by Drew Novak Photos by Olivia Vanni Design by Kelsey Johnson
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Mido Skip's lead vocalist, Ethan Uhl, walks over to pick up his guitar at the start of their show on Oct. 22. Uhl writes the majority of the songs for Mido Skip on top of writing for his personal albums, "FUKANAME", pronounced foohkah-nah-may.
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hristmas lights twinkled dimly in a cramped basement on Mount Avenue, Saturday, Oct. 22. A neon sign advertising Rockstar energy drink hung above an old couch sitting flush against a wall. A smattering of people, most clad in denim, milled about as a band deliberately set up their gear. Conversation was muted. Mics were checked, guitars tuned and speakers tested. This was the Hockey House, a miniature venue situated beneath a literal residence in central Missoula. Suddenly a voice started singing a familiar melody. The band’s vocalist, Ethan Uhl, burst into a zealous rendition of “A Whole New World” from Disney’s “Aladdin.” The power behind the voice is surprising and mismatched to his slight frame, like a bright patch on a worn jean jacket. His fellow band members quickly followed suit before deteriorating into fits
of laughter by the second verse — all before the show had even begun. This amicable attitude and lack of pretense exemplify what makes this band, Mido Skip, so appealing. It’s evident that Uhl and the rest of the band, which includes bespectacled horror movie enthusiast/guitarist Byron McKoy, scruffy bass player Robert Martin and soft spoken drummer Colin Murphy, are friends from the moment one watches them banter onstage. As a punk-leaning rock group, they’re surprisingly warm and open, all smiles and handshakes with no forced attempts at appearing “cool.” They are an endearingly awkward group. Even the band name is a geeky reference to a glitch used to complete video game “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” at top speed. They are not the guys that immediately come to mind when picturing the harder edges of the punk scene. “No one in Mido Skip is going to stab you,” Martin said. But watching the band in action gives the impression of a group overflowing with adolescent energy and veteran skills, a boy band from an alternate universe where musical talent is king. Murphy’s emphatic drumming shotgunned beneath McKoy and Martin’s driving guitar and bass. Uhl’s intentionally ragged vocals bellowed, but he cheekily smiled and winked with the charm of a teen idol.
Throw in a sound that touches on emo revival and gritty grunge guitars and you’re well on your way to understanding what makes Mido Skip special. Uhl calls their sound “emo-slashpunk” or “thrash pop,” while McKoy has a more vivid term for it “I used to call it ‘cry-cry,’” he said.
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There is something lovingly nostalgic about a garage band who get a group of friends together to just make some music. No frills. No gimmicks. It’s a homespun idea of what makes the creative process so rewarding. Each member of Mido Skip knows this experience firsthand, having been involved in former groups with names like A Midnight Drive, Little Giants, Novellas and The Whoopass Girls. Mido Skip’s roots can be traced back to roughly two years ago, following a musical hiatus McKoy, 30, had taken after the breakup of his band, The Sharktopus. He caught Uhl, 23, performing with a former band and knew he wanted to collaborate with the young musician. “I really, really dug what those guys were doing,” he said of Uhl’s band, noting that he would have loved to have been their guitar player. “This, I think, is what I was really looking for because it brought us back to the kind of basement playing
that I did right out of high school.” Uhl is a prolific songwriter, both in and out of bands. His solo works includes a series of “FUKANAME” albums, humorously titled because he dislikes naming his output. “You can write like three albums a year,” McKoy said to Uhl. “I can write like two songs a year.” Using the convenience of Facebook, McKoy reached out to Uhl and the band began to take shape. The two front men are self-described “introverted dudes,” but they clicked over a shared idea: bringing emo back. Finding other musicians with that same vision was more difficult than expected. Mido Skip went through three bass players and four drummers during its development. “It’s been a weird uphill struggle with this band,” McKoy said. “It’s hard to find what we do in Missoula. It’s hard to find someone with similar taste.” Eventually a permanent drummer was found in Murphy, 24, an Anaconda native who used to tour with McKoy. Though he considers himself more of a guitarist at heart, he has been drumming since he was 15 years old and was more than willing to step up to the plate. Their bass player Martin, 29, was a lucky accident and “sort of fell into [their] laps.” Originally from San Diego, Martin montanakaimin.com
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“
I guess you could say what we bring to the scene is that we exist.
“
-Robert Martin
had been living in Portland and playing in the female-fronted, political hardcore band Novellas before moving to Missoula a year and a half ago. He attended a Mido Skip show earlier this year, where McKoy asked if he’d be interested in playing bass. Martin agreed. Mido Skip was officially complete.
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After releasing a short EP titled “Demo ‘15” last year, the group opened for indie rockers Where My Bones Rest Easy, emo-softcore connoisseurs Vivian K. and rising Nashville band Diarrhea Planet, the latter of which recently performed on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” The bandmates share an eclectic love of all things music — Pop, punk, emo, screamo, psych folk and lo-fi. “Call Me Maybe” hitmaker turned indie darling Carly Rae Jepsen was mentioned more than once. “I actually really like John Mayer,” Murphy said without a trace of irony. Then he laughed. “That’s deep in my heart.”
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“I mostly listen to podcasts,” McKoy said. “I listen to like 40 hours a week.” His bandmates laughed. Clearly this was a well known fact. In addition to operating local business, Hide&Seek Clothing, McKoy is an avowed horror movie buff and the editor-in-chief of FrightDay. com and producer of its corresponding weekly podcast. With a focus on film reviews, the paranormal and cryptozoology, McKoy knows his stuff. He cited “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Scream” and “Last House on the Left” as some of history’s best. “Early Wes Craven is my favorite,” he said. “The late ‘70s were really cruel.” Appropriately for a band whose name references a glitch, the guys appreciate good old-fashioned electronic entertainment. “I play a lot of video games,” Uhl said. “For a long time I wanted to be a competitive fighting game player. I played ‘Super Smash Bros. Melee’ competitively. ‘Street Fighter IV,’ I took top eight last year in the state.”
Members of the band Mido Skip (Ethan Uhl, from front, Colin Murphy, Byron McKoy and Robert Martin) pose for a photo after their show at the Hockey House on Oct. 22. Mido Skip was named after a glitch used in “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" to complete the video game at top speed.
“I’m a big fan of ‘Shadow of the Colossus,’” Martin said, referring to a critically acclaimed hit known for its gameplay featuring a single player battling enormous foes. “That’s like the best video game.” That sort of David-versus-Goliath epic is interestingly tied to Mido Skip’s story. Here is a small band in a small town with a truly underground feel that is something of a rarity in the greater music scene. “Missoula’s such a weird microcosm of things,” Martin said. “If you think of bands who would do these sorts of basements shows, there’s like two. I guess you could say what we bring to the scene is that we exist.” The guys say that new music is currently being recorded and songwriting at this point being more collaborative than
it has been in the past. Now that Mido Skip’s lineup has settled, touring is a definite possibility, and it was unanimously agreed that it would be a dream to open for California-based punk band Joyce Manor should the opportunity arise. A gig in Helena this winter was brought to the table, and McKoy asked his bandmates if they would be prepared for such a thing in the near future. This would include the uncomfortable details of life on the road: long drives crammed into a van with gear and the inevitable bickering that comes with them. Martin and Murphy were unfazed, but Uhl turned to McKoy with a smirk. “It’s gonna not be terrible at all,” Uhl said sarcastically, with a wink. “Just kidding. I love podcasts.” ●
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ARTS+CULTURE THIS WEEK By Melissa Loveridge mellssa.loveridge@umontana.edu
Pop meets indie meets country: Lady Gaga’s ‘Joanne’ Album review: JOANNE LADY GAGA
WEDNESDAY, 11/2
MISSOULA FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD PROCESSION Missoula Festival of the Dead Procession Presented by Zootown Arts Community Center and inspired by the Mexican holiday El Dia de los Muertos, this year’s Festival of the Dead Procession includes pre-parade performers starting at 5:30 on Higgins Avenue and looks to be a great way to cap off your Halloween festivities. Past parades have been full of energy, floats and elaborate costumes. Red XXXX’s on North Higgins Avenue 6 p.m. All Ages FREE
FRIDAY 11/4
PUBLIC PLANETARIUM SHOW We need a little space. A faculty member of the UM Department of Physics and Astronomy will guide the audience at the Public Planetarium Show through the night sky as it appears above Missoula and will point out constellations and planets. Tickets are available at umt.edu/ umarts/events and often sell out beforehand, so get yours while they’re still available! Payne Family Native American Center Two showings: 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m All Ages $6 for adults
SATURDAY 11/5
LIKE A VILLAIN Portland’s Like A Villain has a unique musical style with clarinets and vocal performances that shift from opera to shouting. Like a Villain is joined by Ratbath and Erin Szalda-Petree Zootown Brew All Ages $5
TUESDAY 11/8
THE DEEP BLUE SEA The Roxy brings a little bit of ‘live’ drama to the stage. The Deep Blue Sea is set in early 1950’s England and centered around a love triangle including a High Court judge and a former Royal Air Force pilot. The play was filmed live in New York by National Theatre Live and is at the Roxy one night only, so catch it while it’s there! The Roxy Theater 7 p.m. $11 with student ID
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By Kathleen Stone kathleen.stone@umontana.edu
Remember when a few Youtube videos of Lady Gaga singing acoustic sets emerged, and we realized that she’s a lot more than just auto tune and some weird outfits? Lady Gaga’s newest album, Joanne, is a testament to that talent. Joanne’s foundations lie in the good kind of pop that Lady Gaga has been famous for, but the indie and country influences are what makes this particularly different from her previous albums. That said, Lady Gaga’s talent lies in pop music, so the further she branched from pop, the flatter the album fell. The album opens with “Diamond Heart,” which starts with a subdued Lady Gaga that almost sounds like Stevie Nicks. This song is good, but it’s a symbol of the album as a whole. Throughout “Diamond Heart” and “Joanne” in general, Lady Gaga seems conflicted between sticking to pop and trying to branch out. Some-
times, this conflict is good, other times, it seems like the album is trying too hard to seem like it’s not trying hard. The next song, “A-YO,” is unfortunately a pretty good example of trying too hard. It sounds like a country song, but it comes across as someone just trying to sing country. Something about this song brings to mind an image of Lady Gaga awkwardly singing karaoke to someone else’s song. Her voice is strong, the production is there, but the song just didn’t work. The next song, “Joanne,” worked. Lady Gaga’s voice carries most of the track, with guitar in the background that offers repetitive but appropriately complex chords that are almost reminiscent of Dave Matthews. Chances are you’ve heard some of “Joanne” in Lady Gaga’s Bud Light Dive Bar Tour commercial. The lyrics in “Joanne” asks “Girl, where do you think you’re going?” throughout the song, and it seems an awful lot like Lady Gaga is asking herself the same question -- is she going to pop? Country? Right after “Joanne” is “John Wayne.” It was the song that balanced Lady Gaga’s pop and country best. The title and attitude is country, but the beats and melody are all pop. It’s catchy as hell, and pure Lady Gaga. Beck, ever the versatile artist, helped with the
next song, “Dancin’ In Circles.” Beck’s multi-instrumental production shines through, and it sounds a lot like the older Lady Gaga that people fell in love with. Next, “Perfect Illusion” brings the talent of Kevin Parker from Tame Impala. The classic Tame Impala guitar riffs are the backbone on this track, but it’s still Lady Gaga’s song. It’s dramatic, produced perfectly, and should make indie fans just as happy as pop fans. The next songs fall a bit flat for the same reasons that “A-YO” did, but the album picks up again with “Hey Girl.” It’s a duet with Florence and the Machine’s vocalist Florence Welch. Welch’s smooth, airy range balances out Lady Gaga’s rough but strong voice nicely, and the melody is pop enough to be catchy but still not boring. But the rest of the album stayed flat. The quality is completely there. Lady Gaga’s voice is incredible, but the music felt theatrical and produced. Then again, theatrics are what made Lady Gaga who she is today. The last song, “Angel Down (Work Tape)” says it best; “I confess, I am lost in the age of the social…” The song, like the whole album, is beautiful and shows a lot of talent, but Lady Gaga shows some vulnerability in searching for herself. •
Shakewell releases funky new album, ‘Marzoula’ By Bowen West bowen.west@umontana.edu
Missoula funk band Shakewell will celebrate the release of their first album, “Marzoula,” at the Top Hat on Friday, November 11. The group, comprised of Emmet Ore (guitar and synths), Aaron Johnson (drums), Jordan Smith (guitar and vocals), Nathan Crawford (trumpet), Cove Jasmin (vocals and keys), Tanner Fruit (alto sax) and Sam Ore (bass) took a moment to discuss the process of making the album and Missoula’s desire for dance music. Kaimin: Tell me a little about “Marzoula.” Emmet Ore: It’s basically songs that we’ve collected over a year and a half. It’s been a long process. Actually one of the songs is five years old. These are songs that we’ve been playing for awhile. Jordan Smith: This album is about love. Emmet Ore: Nobody has ever sung about that before. There are a lot of metaphors about technology, in this album. Sam Ore: Also how we communicate with each other. The album brings a lot of things together, influences from “Hiatus Kaiyote” and “Soulive.” Emmet Ore: Those influences are due to the internet basically. That’s why the album is called “Marzoula.” Even though we are so
remote, sometimes you can feel lost in space out in Montana. Now we can … Nathan Crawford: Be heavily influenced by fucking Australians. Emmet Ore: Australians or east coast funk or hip-hop. We never would have heard these genres if it wasn’t for the age we grew up in. Kaimin: What was the production of this album like? Emmet Ore: We recorded in Evergroove studios, which is a studio outside of Evergreen, Colorado. Sam Ore: Another cool thing is that we could partner with Al Evans, who is a hero of ours. He is the drummer for Soulive and a producer. His prints are all over the album. Brad Smalling, who works at Evergroove, helped us a lot. Cove Jasmin: Within the last 20 years of soul and funk music, [Al Evans] and his brother and their friends have been pushing the envelope in terms of what people know now as soul and funk. It’s cool to be linked with that. Sam Ore: Well [Evans] was influencing Shakewell before we even met him. He helped us loosen up in the studio. Nathan Crawford: He brought a lot of maturity to our ideas. We’re all mature musicians, but I think he pushed us in the direc-
tion that helped us focus our energy. Kaimin: Is there pressure for this album because of your reputation in Missoula? Tanner Fruit: Most of the pressure comes from yourself. Jordan Smith: We’re also in a very small pond. We’re not even the biggest fish here. Emmet Ore: We’re actually very well supported here. It would be good to feel a little more pressure from the outside world. You don’t have to drive that hard if you [don’t] want to, you could play in bars all your life if you wanted to. But taking a step like this is really the hardest part. Kaimin: Is there a lot of desire for dance music in Missoula? Cove Jasmin: I think Missoula in general thrives on dance music. Whatever the genre, bluegrass, indie rock. People in Missoula are open to having a good time. The way Missoula is really caters to dance music. Nathan Crawford: It’s amazing how much good music is in this town. Jordan Smith: For how small Missoula is, awesome bands make it a point to stop here. Cove Jasmine: Really anything you do here. Like if you open up a new restaurant, everyone goes to support it. It’s the same thing with artists, they are really kind and supportive of each other. •
Register and Vote on or before Tuesday, Nov. 8. For voting and election info, visit MissoulaVotes.com
Our public library is an essential community resource, but it is almost a half-century old and over-capacity. Building a new, up-to-date and expanded public library will help our kids learn, benefit our community and ensure Missoula is ready for the future. Learn more at www.YesforMissoulaLibrary.org
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Paid for by YES for Missoula Library • Monte Dolack and Barbara Theroux, Treasurers • PO Box 8732, Missoula, MT 59807
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SPORTS
Views from the 406: Monte’s moving on There is a special feeling surrounding Washington-Grizzly Stadium on fall Saturdays in Missoula, where over 25,000 people from around the state and beyond gather for 60 minutes of football, party food and tailgates. But what makes the atmosphere at a Montana Grizzly football game so enchanting? Well, winning is a good start. The Griz are 191-28 at home since the construction of Wa-Griz. Montana has finished undefeated at home 11 times, with a 4-0 start this year, and have never had a losing season inside their current den. The community experience also helps. For Montanans, it is rare seeing 25,000-plus people all in one area, all agreeing on the same cause. The boom crew also helps, terrifying fans (just me?) with cannon blasts after every Griz score since the late 80s. The pregame festivities draw in a lot of fans. The hype video and tunnel run some-
times get the crowd to higher decibel levels than any play in the actual game. These are all great, but there was only one (well, two, but they don’t have pregame skydivers anymore) thing that made me ride the 105 miles from Anaconda to Missoula every game day as a kid. Monte the Bear. It may sound childish, but that’s only because it is. Monte is the perfect attraction for the thousands of kids that come to every home game but don’t have the attention span to watch football for almost four hours. When I got tired of seeing Chase Reynolds run for touchdown after touchdown, I would turn my attention to Monte, sprinting toward the goalpost and clotheslining himself on the padt. After Kroy Biermann sacks, I could turn and find Monte jumping from the south end zone back onto the turf, a fall of at least 20 feet to my adolescent brain. Or I would
watch Monte bodysurf up the student’s section, or back handspring for 30 yards, or deliver pizza to a fan. The absolute best thrill came when Monte entered the stadium. Peter Christian, the PA announcer, builds it up. “Can you hear the rumble? From deep within the heart of Washington-Grizzly Stadium…” Monte would come out on his motorcycle, do a little dance, get the crowd fired up and then the game would get going. For a young fan, and therefore also parents, there is nothing better than Monte. And for a while, there were also no mascots better than Monte. The bear won the Capital One Mascot of the Year award in 2002 and 2004. Barry Anderson, the man behind the award-winning Monte, went on to become Benny the Bull, the mascot for the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, where he was named the most popular mascot in sports by Forbes
in 2013. Now, the latest Monte is getting his chance at the big leagues. After more than five and a half years inside the Grizzly costume, Monte, who has an agreement with Montana athletics to remain anonymous, is leaving to become the new mascot of the Houston Rockets. A new Monte will replace him, just as Anderson was replaced back in 2005, and the tradition will continue at Montana. He may have lost his sidekick Mo this year, but Monte is still a part of Montana football. Even as Griz fans grow up, the kid in them will always laugh when those goalposts shake from another collision with Monte. • Jackson Wagner is the Sports Editor at the Montana Kaimin. Email him at jackson.wagner@umontana.edu.
Peaks and Valley: Lady Griz adjusting after star’s injury By Isaiah Dunk isaiah.dunk@umontana.edu
When Shannon Schweyen envisioned her first season replacing the legendary Robin Selvig as head coach, she wasn’t planning on being without the preseason Big Sky Conference MVP. But that’s exactly the situation the new Lady Griz coach has been facing since Kayleigh Valley’s knee buckled while shooting a layup during practice early last month. An MRI revealed she had a torn ACL, meaning the standout Spokane native would miss the entire 2016-2017 season. Valley led the conference in scoring last season, averaging 21.9 points per game. The senior, who will be able to return for a fifth season of eligibility next year, figured to play a major role both on and off the court leading a roster filled with underclassmen. “Our goal has definitely changed after we lost Kayleigh,” Schweyen said at Montana’s media day. “With the group we have, we can’t get too unrealistic about what we can do.” With Valley gone for the season, the question now is how to replace her on-court impact. The Lady Griz must now look to the two remaining upperclassmen, senior Alycia Sims and redshirt-junior Mekayla Isaak, to take up the bulk of that responsibility. Sims said Valley’s injury was “devastating” but, while there is no good time for an injury, the early-season timing gives the
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Lady Griz some room to readjust for a campaign without their star. “She [Valley] gave us time to realize that we’re going to have to play without her,” Sims said during media day. “It’s not going to be the same as it would have been with her, but we’re going to have to be scrappy and find our own way to do it.” Sims is already finding her own way. After averaging 9.8 points per game last season, she exhibited her ability to put up big numbers by scoring 23 in the team’s Maroon/Silver scrimmage last week in Dahlberg Arena. “Alycia was just solid,” Schweyen said. “Didn’t take any bad shots.” Isaak showed up as well, knocking down a couple of three pointers on her way to 12 points. Schweyen praised the all-around guard play after the scrimmage. Redshirt-freshman Taylor Goligoski, scored 10 points and three steals, while true freshman Gabi Harrington, scored 10. But perhaps the most noticeable showcase came from true freshman Madi Schoening, whose aggressiveness stood out on both ends of the court. Schoening drove into the paint early and often, leading to 10 points and four assists, including a pass to Sims for a layup early in the first quarter. She also added four steals. At the media day, Schweyen said Schoening has been possibly the brightest sight among a group of underclassmen that will be seeing the court sooner rather than later.
Rebekah Welch / Montana Kaimin Kayleigh Valley, the pre-season MVP, poses for a photo on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. Valley injured her ACL and is out for the season.
The freshman is looking forward to the opportunity. “It’s super exciting getting to play the role I am, because it’s kind of a leadership role I wasn’t really expecting,” Schoening said. Schweyen hopes Schoening and the rest of the group can learn quick. But despite some promising signs, Schweyen acknowledged the likelihood of growing pains
during the year. Without Valley, the goal is just steady improvement. “I don’t think we’re anywhere near ready right now,” Schweyen said after the scrimmage. “We have a lot to work on, a lot to still get in. But we’re getting there day-by-day, making progress. That’s what we want with this young team.” •
SPORTS
‘This is how we’re going to run things now’: Bob Stitt’s spread offense gives Montana a new identity
By Nick Puckett nicholas.puckett@umontana.edu
Montana football has flexed its ability to stomp opponents numerous times midway through the 2016 season, scoring at least 30 points in six of the first seven games. The video game stat lines have become less of a surprise to Griz fans, and more of an expectation. The success reflects the way head coach Bob Stitt wants to play and how he wants his players to perform. It’s all about numbers, and Stitt’s offense regularly posts gigantic ones. During the most recent three-game home stand, the Griz put up more than 1,600 yards of total offense and 180 points, including a two-game streak where Montana scored 128 unanswered points. “When people expect you to beat a team by 50-some points, you ought to go out and beat them by 50-some points and do it the right way,” Stitt said, following a 67-7 dismantling of Mississippi Valley State Oct. 8. The next week, Montana’s offense clicked again, this time in a 68-7 victory against Sacramento State where the Griz picked up a season-high 655 yards of total offense. In a 45-34 loss to Northern Arizona the week after, Montana collected 542 yards of total offense to the Lumberjack’s 406. It was only the second time Montana failed to score more than 40 points this season, the first during a 20-14 win against Northern Iowa Sept. 10. The offense moved up and down the field last Saturday against Eastern Washington, finishing with 540 total yards of offense, but struggled finishing drives in a 35-16 loss. Stitt is his own offensive coordinator, and his spread offensive scheme is lethal. The spread offense is one of college football’s most popular schemes, and it’s one Stitt and Montana adhere to more religiously than most other Big Sky teams. The idea is simple: stretch the defense horizontally and vertically with deep outside routes to open short, easy passing lanes for the quarterback. Short passes can open up giant holes in the defense for monster gains. “For running backs it’s not hard at all,” running back John Nguyen said. “You have a couple run plays and most of it is just blocking, some route concepts, but it’s pretty easy to understand.” The shift in play style came with Stitt at Montana in 2015. Before then, the Griz ran a classic, pro-style offense centered around a strong running game.
“The playbook was just gigantic,” Nguyen said. “Plays were long.” Now, Montana has shifted to a team emphasized by its offense. The opening game of Stitt’s tenure in 2015 was also the Grizzlies’ most anticipated game of the year — a game against the FCS powerhouse North Dakota State Bison on college football’s opening weekend. The Bison were hot off winning their fourth-straight national title and their quarterback, Carson Wentz, turned NFL scouts’ heads. Stitt was the unproven coach from a Division II program in Golden, Colorado. He led the Colorado School of Mines’ Orediggers to three conference titles in 15 years as head coach and won the program’s third championship in 2014. Montana offered Stitt the job as head coach that December. “I had to come in here, start over and instill the discipline and the program that I wanted Montana to be,” Stitt said. “I had to prove I could do it all over again and go back to the roots of how you build a program.” He brought Nolan Swett and Jason Semore with him from Mines to plug his winning formula into a Montana program already rich with winning tradition. “He gave me a call and said this is something that has come up, and I told him ‘I could pack my bags today if you want me to,’” Swett said. Stitt came in after some of the most arduous years in the program’s history. Montana was a team battered by challenges of their own making. Sexual and criminal allegations against players put football on the forefront of the University’s broader failure to address sexual assault and misconduct. Crumbling solidarity within the community saw a historic football program begin to fade away. Mick Delaney, who took over as the Grizzlies’ head coach in 2012, had steered the ship back in the right direction, but Stitt needed to re-establish Montana’s identity. The opener against the Bison offered a chance to make amends. When Montana running back Joey Counts busted across the line for a one-yard, game-winning score against the defending champions, the Stitt Era began. “I had to let the guys know,” he said, “‘This is how we’re going to run things now.’” On Montana’s second possession against Sacramento State, Stitt’s spread clicked.
Will McKnight / willmck_photo Head football coach Bob Stitt reacts to a holding penalty on the Griz during the third quarter against North Dakota State Dec. 5, 2015.
A five-yard screen pass to James Homan and a five-yard feed to Keenan Curran spurred a nickel-and-dimed drive in typical Stitt fashion. The short passes from Gustafson set up a 32-yard touchdown run from running back Jeremy Calhoun. A similar drive one possession later opened up a 23-yard Calhoun touchdown to put the Griz up 14-0. The change from the old, pro-style playbook of Stitt’s predecessor, Delaney, was not instant, but Montana still ranked sixth in total offense (422 yards per game) and eighth in scoring offense (29.3 points per game) in Stitt’s first season. “It definitely was a huge transition for me, going from a pro-style to more of a run-andpass offense,” Nguyen said. “Something that took me a while to get used to. Eventually, I adapted.” Stitt is a strategist by nature. Even after a win, when he invites the coaching staff to celebrate at his house that night, his mind is still set to football. “It revolves around football,” Swett said. “Even in our off time, we’re still talking about football.” But what makes Montana’s offense so successful this season is the consistency of Stitt’s play calls. If the defense adjusts to the short
pass, Stitt can call out a deep ball to Keenan Curran, which he successfully did against Sac State for a 40-yard score. He will call plays according to trends in the defense, and let his players do the dirty work. He won’t shy away from frequently targeting breakout freshman receiver Jerry Louie-McGee, who hauled in 21 catches for a school record against Cal Poly Sept. 26. “More Jerry, more Jerry,” Stitt said of his play call tendencies following a 45-23 victory over Southern Utah Oct. 1. “It’s a bit like more cowbell!” But even when the offense struggles, like in a 20-14 win against Northern Iowa on Sept. 10, Stitt will rely on his defenders and continue to let his offense practice the repetitive plays that make it successful. He doesn’t try to do it alone, even he admits that. His success is spurred by the coaches he surrounds himself with — coaches like his Mines colleagues Swett and Semore. But Stitt is the end of the line, and his offense has consumed Montana’s new identity — the lightning-fast and efficient Stitt Spread. “When Montana calls, you listen,” Stitt said before a September practice. “As a head coach and offensive coordinator, I could truly coach the offense the way that I wanted to.” • montanakaimin.com
November 2-8, 2016
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November 2-8, 2016
montanakaimin.com
61 REASONS TO VOTE YES on l-177 From the Veterinarian's Hippocratic Oath: “Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, and the prevention and relief of animal suffering...” • • • • • •
Initiative I-177 is not about a few dogs and cats that get caught annually in traps. It is not about sneaking in the back door to take away hunting and fishing rights. It is not about tarnishing some long wonderful tradition of our fur bearing history. It is not about endangering the public with vermin ridden public lands. It is about HOW we kill animals. When we kill, it should be done as swiftly and painlessly as possible.
The Montana Veterinarians listed below believe that trapping is an inherently cruel and inhumane way to kill an animal and causes thousands of hours of animal suffering and encourage all Montanans to vote YES on I-177. Dr. DOUGLAS ANDERSON Dr. ALAN APPLEBURY Dr. JENNY AULT Dr. SHARI BEARROW Dr. HANNAH BIGELOW Dr. SCOTT BOVARD Dr. ROBERT BROPHY Dr. WILLIAM BROWN Dr. KIRSTIN BULL Dr. BARBARA CALM Dr. JULIE KAPPES Dr. AMY LAMM Dr. KRISTA LORENZ Dr. KATHLEEN MCGANN Dr. TARI MORD Dr. TIA NELSON Dr. CHRISTINE O'ROURKE Dr. PATTI PRATO Dr. MARCOS PUIGGARI Dr. MARK RANSFORD Dr. JANI ZIRBEL
LEWISTOWN HAMILTON MISSOULA BOZEMAN BELGRADE MISSOULA HAMILTON MISSOULA HELENA KILA HELENA BILLINGS BOZEMAN MISSOULA HAVRE HELENA BOZEMAN FLORENCE MISSOULA HALL MISSOULA
Dr. MARCI COOK Dr. CAROLYN COSGROVE Dr. KRISTIN COSTLEY Dr. BRENDA CULVER Dr. ELMER DAVIS Dr. JILLIAN DOUGHERTY Dr. LUCY EATON Dr. HAROLD ENEBO Dr. TANYA FYFE Dr. EMILY GOCKE-SMITH Dr. KATHERINE REESE Dr. RICHARD RICHARDSON Dr. MELINDA ROBIN Dr. WALTER ROWNTREE Dr. BENJAMIN RYAN Dr. ROBERT SAGER Dr. OLIVIA SEDDON Dr. MARCIA SHANAHAN Dr. KATIE SHERRILL Dr. RONALD STAFFORD
COLUMBUS KALISPELL HELENA HELENA GREAT FALLS HELENA WHITEFISH MISSOULA SEELEY LAKE BILLINGS BOZEMAN MISSOULA CORVALLIS KALISPELL HELENA WILSALL BILLINGS VAUGHN KALISPELL BOZEMAN
Dr. MARGARET GORDON Dr. DOUGLAS GRIFFITHS Dr. SIDNEY GUSTAFSON Dr. MONICA HAALAND Dr. SARAH HANN Dr. SHANI HENRY Dr. KRISTEN HOLLEMANS Dr. ELIZABETH JENNINGS Dr. PETER JENNINGS Dr. BECKY JOURDONAIS Dr. RUTH STAFFORD Dr. MICHAEL STEVENS Dr. LESLIE STROPE Dr. KARI SWENSON Dr. LAURA THIEL Dr. KATHERINE THOMPSON Dr. ROBYN THOMPSON Dr. DAVID TRAYNOR Dr. LINDA TURNER Dr. JANICE WINDERL
Paid for by Jesse Applebury PO Box 1403, Hamilton, MT 59840
BIGFORK LIBBY BOZEMAN PEERLESS BOZEMAN CLANCY KALISPELL GREAT FALLS GREAT FALLS GREAT FALLS BOZEMAN BILLINGS POLSON BOZEMAN KALISPELL COLUMBIA FALLS WHITEFISH MISSOULA HAMILTON LINCOLN