Thursday, March 30, 2023 Vol. 132, No. 26

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN

WHY STUDENTS DON’T VOTE

BY PIPER RUSSELL & ALLIE SEIBEL

Lory Student Center, Suite 118 Fort Collins, CO 80523

FORT COLLINS FOCUS

TOP STORIES TOP STORIES

NEWS: ASCSU candidate profiles PAGES 4-14

LIFE: Beyond study: Former Rams share realities of moving abroad PAGE 19

CANNABIS: Weed to Know: Does the strain, type of cannabis mean anything? PAGE 20

OPINION: LFTE: Hold ASCSU representatives accountable with your vote PAGE 22

SPORTS: Group classes at The Rec bring community to CSU fitness PAGE 27

ARTS: Old Town Library hosts Tara Dairman book signing PAGE 29

PHOTO: Persuasion at Avogadro’s Number PAGE 28

FOCO EVENTS FOCO EVENTS

Colorado Symphony Brass Quintet at the University Center for the Arts

4 p.m. March 31

CSU Community Dance Class at the University Center for the Arts

10 a.m. April 1

Masih Alinejad at the Lory Student Center Grand Ballroom

4:30-6:30 p.m. April 3

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the Editor reflect the view of a member of the campus community and are submitted to the publication for approval. Readers may submit letters to letters@collegian.com. Please follow the guidelines listed at collegian.com before submitting.

Rex ShadesEagle shows his tattoos that match the title of his book, “KNOW LOVE: A Memoir” March 25. “KNOW LOVE: A Memoir” tells the story of how ShadesEagle overcame 27 years of addiction by healing his childhood trauma of being physically and sexually abused from 6-12 years old and being kicked out on the streets for fighting back against his abuser. He learned to hustle, lie, cheat and steal on the streets of southern New Jersey. He left New Jersey to follow The Grateful Dead, where he found his tribe. The Grateful Dead led him to Boulder, Colorado, where he found his family. For the next two decades, ShadesEagle continued his heroin use and was in and out of prison until one night in October 2013 when the lights came crashing down and a new day dawned on a new man. Eight years clean, “KNOW LOVE: A Memoir” shares one man’s journey of overcoming his past to build a bright and beautiful future. ShadesEagle will be hosting a fundraiser dinner and silent auction to raise money and awareness for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. More information can be found at ShadesEagle’s website, www.knowlovefoundation.org.

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CLASSIFIEDS 970-538-1183

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This publication is not an official publication of Colorado State University, but is published by an independent corporation using the name ‘The Rocky Mountain Collegian’ pursuant to a license granted by CSU. Approximately 59% of Rocky Mountain Student Media Corp’s income is provided by the Associated Students of Colorado State University (ASCSU) for the purpose of fostering student careers post-college and greater campus awareness and engagement. The Rocky Mountain Collegian is a 4,000-circulation student-run newspaper intended as a public forum and is printed on paper made of 30% post-consumer waste. It publishes every Thursday during the regular fall and spring semesters. The Collegian publishes online Monday through Thursday. Corrections may be submitted to the editor in chief and will be printed as necessary on page two. The Collegian is a complimentary publication for the Fort Collins community. The first copy is free. Additional copies are 25 cents each.

CORRECTIONS

Everybody makes mistakes, including us. If you encounter something in the paper you believe to be an error, please contact us at: copy@collegian.com.

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PHOTO BY REUEL INDURKAR THE COLLEGIAN

Why don’t more people vote?

By Piper Russell and Allie Seibel @csucollegian

Colorado State University student voter turnout for the 2022-23 Associated Students of Colorado State University elections was 6.17%. The 2022 election season, which concluded with the announcement of current President Rob Long and Vice President Elijah Sandoval, saw only 1,854 students voting. That number decreased from 2021’s 13.73% and 2020’s 15%.

“I do not vote,” said Maddie, a CSU first-year transfer student who only provided her first name. “I just don’t really feel affected by it in any way — positive or negative.”

The 2023 election season has four candidate pairs for president and vice president and two candidates for speaker of the senate, which is an increase from 2022, when Rob Long and Elijah Sandoval ran unopposed on the official ballot.

ASCSU manages a budget of $57 million every year from student fees. ASCSU funds student clubs and organizations, including CSU Athletics, Student Diversity Programs and Services, RamEvents and RamRide.

As well as funding many organizations, ASCSU “advocates for students on a university, local, state and national level and represents the student body on administrative campus committees,” according to the ASCSU website.

“I would say that ASCSU controls a large portion of student fees, and they also represent the student body to university leadership,” ASCSU Elections Manager Grace Neumann said in an email. “It matters who they vote for and who represents CSU as a whole.”

“I think there could be multiple reasons why students choose to not vote,” Neumann wrote. “The main one is that some students may not know about the ASCSU elections or the role of ASCSU in the university’s governance structure. Without sufficient awareness of the importance of voting, students may not be motivated to participate in the election. Luckily, this year we have a competitive race with two speaker of the senate tickets and four presidential tickets. With this, many campaigns’ awareness rises. Additionally, the elections committee will be tabling all day during voting (April 3-5). We are hoping this brings awareness to elections and makes voting easily accessible.”

Candidates have promoted their platforms on The Plaza and around campus, with some even visiting classes to raise awareness for their campaigns. All have Instagram accounts focused on their priorities and goals if elected to office. Despite the engagement attempts, voter turnout and desire to vote remain low on campus.

“Focusing on student outreach and creating voter awareness (are) the most important component of increasing voter turnout,” Neumann wrote. “Candidates need to emphasize the importance of voting and encourage students to use their voices.”

Despite all of the initiatives candidates adopt to try and make their campaign more attractive to student voters, especially given the history of low voter turnout, most students on campus do not vote or only vote because of a personal connection, such as having a friend connected with ASCSU.

“I do not (vote),” said Makayla, a CSU first-year student who only provided her first name. “I’m a tour guide on campus, and I talk about how you can vote during ASCSU (elections); I know that people provided their names and stuff, so I haven’t looked for (the candidates),

but I know it’s happening. If (voting) was popped up or if they sent an email about it with the form, I probably would vote.”

Other students expressed similar opinions about why they choose not to vote. Sophomore student Lauren, who only provided her first name, said that she has not voted and does not plan to vote because she doesn’t know about elections. Bradley, another first-year student who only provided his first name, said he was planning to vote because one of his girlfriend’s friends is running.

“I have not (voted), but I am going to in this next election,” said Collin, a junior who also only provided his first name. “I didn’t know about (ASCSU elections). I’m going to vote now because I have a friend who is helping with elections.”

“I would like to see ASCSU elected leaders focus on enhancing student well-being and aiming to improve students’ lives both on and off campus,” Neumann said. “I hope to see integrity, compassion and professionalism in ASCSU leadership next year. I am confident that the candidates this year aim to achieve exactly that.”

Reach Piper Russell and Allie Seibel at news@collegian.com.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY SOPHIA SIROKMAN THE COLLEGIAN

“I would say that ASCSU controls a large portion of student fees, and they also represent the student body to university leadership. It matters who they vote for and who represents CSU as a whole.”

GRACE NEUMANN ASCSU ELECTIONS MANAGER

President, VP candidates Nick DeSalvo, Alex Silverhart

By Grant Coursey @grantcoursey

The Collegian sat down with presidential candidate Nick DeSalvo and vice presidential candidate Alex Silverhart ahead of the upcoming Associated Students of Colorado State University elections for the 2023-24 academic year. DeSalvo and Silverhart listed their qualifications, motivations and strategies as well as discussed some of their planned initiatives and policies if elected.

CSU students can vote for next year’s ASCSU president, vice president and speaker of the senate on RAMweb April 3-5.

Background, ASCSU experience, qualifications

DeSalvo: I came to CSU organically. I’m a first-generation college student — never even visited campus before I came here on my first day of freshman year. … When I was 17, I ran for office in a local election, and I became the youngest person in state history to ever be on a ballot. … It taught me what was important in communities and especially (how) the local aspect of

governance is just incredibly important because it affects you the greatest deal compared to state or federal government.

When I was a freshman, I really wasn’t aware of the larger student government that I could participate in, so I served on the Board of Student Organization Funding, and that really connected me to campus in a much broader way because all of the major events that would happen on campus, we would pretty much fund. I got to see really cool things happen.

Then I was encouraged by the director of finance, who chairs BSOF, to run for speaker of the senate. So that’s what I did at the end of my freshman year, and I won, and this year has definitely been a challenge. One of my goals was improving the senate environment, and you know, I can only do so much, and others have to meet me halfway. But I’ve still been able to accomplish a lot. The tuition petition was something that I spearheaded. … On top of that, I’ve advocated on the city council level a lot for housing affordability, and the political will to overturn U+2 finally exists. So us showing up as student leaders is absolutely paramount. … I understand the struggles of probably our most vulnerable students.

Silverhart: I grew up in New Mexico. (I) absolutely

Colorado right before high school. … That’s when I started realizing that I want to go into the medical field because I really enjoy helping people.

Compassion has always been a trait that I really try and work on every single day and try to exude in everything that I do. Then COVID-19 hit, and that was very tough. I’ve been with ASCSU for the past two years. I’m a (resident assistant) in Corbett. I run a research journal on campus called the Journal of Undergraduate Research. We only publish undergraduate work, and we’re only run by undergrads. ... And then I also still work as a (certified nursing assistant), but I work at a hospital this year.

I started off as a senator for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, as I am a biomedical science major. During that year, I really tried to advocate for sexual health and improving the way in which our campus looks at conversations and accessibility to sexual health services.

Within my first year, I passed a resolution that focused on sexual health and tried to prioritize that on campus. I was also chair of the Budgetary Affairs Committee, which gave me a great understanding of how our budget (at the) senate worked. … It’s really good for me to have experience with budgets wanting to be vice president.

Motivations, campaign platform, priorities

DeSalvo: (Our platforms are) action, advocacy and affordability. I’ve talked to Mayor (Jeni) Arndt, and we’re also endorsed by Larimer County Commissioner John Kefalas, and I’ve shared with them my goals and how I want to bridge the gap between our student government and local elected leaders because there’s so much that we can do together, and there’s just so much potential waiting to be unleashed — it’s just making those connections.

I think I’m in a good spot in comparison to the other candidates because I already know all the administration officials. … We need a champion who’s going to put their foot down and say absolutely not. … (For U+2), we have an action plan, ... so there’s finally come a time for Fort Collins City Council where they’re looking at overturning it.

Silverhart: I would like to continue to expand on accessibility to medical services here on campus. Something in particular that I’d like to work on is increasing accessibility and decreasing the price of STI tests for students.

I’ve interacted with a lot of students that appreciate the services and Planned Parenthood, but when it comes to the financial component, there was very little education, and that goes for not only sexual healthrelated services but for all medicalrelated services.

Something that I saw done in a few other universities that I think would be instrumental for students here at CSU is the formation of a syllabus bank. ... A lot of students don’t know what these classes are, so being able to read the syllabus while they’re registering for classes would help a lot of students. ... Being a STEM major myself, that would help me tremendously in terms of planning workload for this semester. For students that do have a job, it’s important to kind of know which classes are harder and which ones take more work.

ASCSU/student relationship, campus issues

DeSalvo: One of the things I did is I brought President (Amy) Parsons to one of my classes. … I think it was really important to just connect someone like the president to the students and have students be able to ask her questions and just for her to be able to tell her story to students. … — changing that environment and making it so that (presidents) aren’t these super ritzy people who just hang out in the administration building all day.

Bringing back the traditions that we lost during COVID-19 is really important to us just to connect students more to the university. That’s what makes CSU feel like home.

Silverhart: (We are focused on) improving the community around student government and our place here on campus. Being in the cabinet this year versus the legislative branch last year, it’s really given me an opportunity to help create that community.

Being in such positions of power, we would really be able to champion this sense of diversity and inclusion on campus. A lot of students specifically do not feel included in the conversation. … As much as I hope students do vote for us and as much as I believe that we are the strongest ticket and we will do the most for the students out of the people running, I really just want students to vote. … Please vote and make your voice heard on campus.

Reach Grant Coursey at news @collegian.com.

Associated Students of Colorado State University candidates Nick DeSalvo and Alex Silverhart pose in the Lory Student Center March 24. PHOTO BY SARA SHAVER THE COLLEGIAN

President, VP candidates Rithik Correa, Jessica Laffey

By DJ Vicente @deejmako

With the Associated Students of Colorado State University campaign and election period fully underway, candidates Rithik Correa and Jessica Laffey, campaigning for the positions of ASCSU president and vice president, respectively, have begun spreading the message of their own campaign around campus.

Their campaign is focused on the improvement of many aspects of the campus, including changes to the ways ASCSU internally operates, from transparency to the student body about issues the student organization is resolving, to the active support of the CSU community through efforts in outreach and awareness.

CSU students can vote for next year’s ASCSU president, vice president and speaker of the senate on RAMweb April 3-5.

Background, ASCSU experience, qualifications

Correa and Laffey remarked on the work they did in the past as well as what they will bring to the community and ASCSU if elected to these positions. Correa has been involved with ASCSU for two years now, being a former senator for the Office of International Affairs, while Laffey currently serves as the senator for the College of Liberal Arts.

Correa: I used to be the president of the Indian Students Association, and my main task over there was restarting the organization, and that was right after (the) COVID-19 (pandemic). … When COVID-19 hit, nobody knew what the ISA was. I think I did a very phenomenal job with that; the ISA is now back on track and hosting really beautiful events. … I’d say I laid the foundations for restarting the ISA, and that’s something I want to add to ASCSU as well.

Laffey: I’ve been involved in leadership across this campus. I’m the current director of media for the Liberal Arts Student Leadership Council, … (and) I’m also the vice president of the Economic Student Leadership Council. … I’ve done a lot of event planning with that, having various economic speakers come in, … and just a lot of different work across campus, just trying to help students wherever I can.

Correa: The first project worked on was making ASCSU a more productive space. ASCSU is terrible when it comes to being productive, which is why no one knows what we do, so I amended the bylaws in such a way to ensure that ASCSU is more effective. ... If I do get elected to this position, I want to eradicate anything that comes in between organization, students and efficiency.

Laffey: I’m the only vice president candidate running who has served a full term on the Student Fee Review Board. … I really understand what happens with student fees. I understand what exactly happens with the budgets every single year. I’m also a twotime state champion public speaker in interpretive reading. … I bring a lot of knowledge about how to talk to people and how to get what we want done.

Motivations, campaign platform, priorities

Highlighted by Correa and Laffey, student outreach and awareness have become their overarching goal in finding ASCSU’s success. Their campaign platform focuses on ways ASCSU can be more available and transparent to the community, including addressing concerns about a lack of full-time mental health professionals, student organization funding and transportation.

Correa: We have a very good understanding of why ASCSU is not successful. … It stems off from students not knowing what we do. Let’s stop looking at ASCSU as a student organization. I would suggest people look at it as a student union because that’s the only way we can advocate for students.

Laffey: I really want to be a voice for students on this campus. … (Who is) the next person who we can help at ASCSU, and what tangible things we can do for them? We’re in charge of $1.3 million. We’re not just another student organization; we are students’ voice on campus, and one of the things that I want to do is to get students to know that in a way that they don’t right now.

Correa: If I do get elected, I will create a new position specifically for outreach called “Deputy Director

of Student Outreach” under the department of marketing. … The sole purpose of that position is to let students know what ASCSU is, what ASCSU can do for them and the projects we are currently conducting.

Laffey: One thing I want to do with the Board of Student Organization Funding, (which) gets $150,000, is to increase that to $200,000 so that Recognized Student Organizations have more access to more funds. … The thing that goes on with increasing outreach is that there is more need, … not to put more people into the pool so that there is more competition of who gets funding from BSOF but adding more money for RSOs to have events.

ASCSU/student relationship, campus issues

Correa: The main issue we face is that students don’t know about ASCSU. When I ask students, “Have you all heard of ASCSU?” in a classroom of 100, five raise their hands, and when I ask, “Do you all know what ASCSU does?” it’s zero. … We have the resources to go (to) these classrooms, but we don’t do it; we want to start at the grassroots level and let students know what we do.

Laffey: People don’t forget that they have a student government; they just never knew. … Targeting those audiences and building for the next president and vice president and those after it … — it’s about building for the future of ASCSU.

Laffey and Correa both explained that the issues they face with improving CSU evolve every day, finding issues around campus that ASCSU can address within their campaign as well as their prospective positions. The pair urged those interested to check out their Instagram page for updates and ideas they plan to solve.

Reach DJ Vicente at news @collegian.com.

Associated Students of Colorado State University presidential candidate Rithik Correa makes preparations outside the Lory Student Center March 23. “Let’s stop looking at ASCSU as a student organization,” Correa said. “Let’s start looking at it as a student union.” The upcoming election takes place April 3-5. PHOTO BY RIVER KINNAIRD THE COLLEGIAN

Associated Students of Colorado State University vice presidential candidate Jessica Laffey prepares for the upcoming election outside the Lory Student Center March 23. “I really want to be a voice for students on campus,” Laffey said. “I think I’m a very good candidate for this.” The election takes place April 3-5.

PHOTO BY RIVER KINNAIRD THE COLLEGIAN

ASCSU ELECTIONS

President, VP candidates Mia Ritter, Sammy Trout

transfer, international (and) firstyear students and upperclassmen. I’ve also done a lot of Safe Zone training and diversity, equity, inclusion and justice training.

I’m an Indigenous woman, I come from the Tohono O’odham tribe in southern Arizona and I’m an outof-state student from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Third-year animal sciences student Mia Ritter poses at the Micahel Smith Natural Resources Building March 24. Ritter is running for student body president and has been a part of the Associated Students of Colorado State University for three years holding various positions: senator for the Native American Cultural Center, chair for the Diversity and Inclusion Caucus and chair for the Budgetary Affairs Committee within the Legislative Branch. Voting opens on RAMweb April 3.

By Sam Hutton @sam_hut14

The Collegian sat down with presidential candidate Mia Ritter and vice presidential candidate Sammy Trout ahead of the upcoming Associated Students of Colorado State University elections for the 2023-24 academic year. Ritter and Trout listed their qualifications, motivations and strategies as well as discussed some of their planned initiatives and policies if elected.

CSU students can vote for next year’s ASCSU president, vice president and speaker of the senate on RAMweb April 3-5.

Background, ASCSU experience, qualifications

Ritter: My name is Mia Ritter, my pronouns are she/her/hers and my major is in the College of Agricultural Sciences as an animal science major with a minor in Spanish and chemistry. I’m a senator for the Native American Cultural Center, so I represent Indigenous students here at CSU, and I’ve been doing that for about three years now. I’ve also served as the chair on the Diversity and Inclusion Caucus, and this year I’m serving as the Budgetary Affairs Committee chair. I’ve also worked in Housing and Dining Services.

This is my second year working as an Inclusive Community Assistant at the NACC as well as a liaison for the rest of the Student Diversity Programs and Services offices. I also serve as a liaison for students in honors (and) engineering (and)

Trout: My name is Sammy Trout, and I use the he/him/his series of pronouns. Currently, I serve as a senator for the College of Liberal Arts, and I’m also serving as chair of the University Affairs Committee. The University Affairs Committee reviews legislation that has a direct impact on students, so I feel really honored to be in that position.

Other positions that I serve on include the Pride Leadership Council, which is a student organization in the Pride office, and the Legislative Advisory Board, which reviews legislation on a state level and discusses and decides what legislation would be beneficial for students.

I also serve on the Student Fee Review Board, which is a student oversight board that reviews whether student fee areas get increases or not, and that has been an incredible honor to serve on that board under current Vice President Elijah Sandoval. I also work at Off-Campus Life as a program assistant and night operations coordinator for RamRide, and that has been an incredible experience helping students out with housing insecurities, making sure students get home and doing all the things OCL does.

I also serve on the Internal Affairs Committee and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Affairs Committee, which was previously the Diversity and Inclusion Caucus. Mia and I helped the authors establish that legislation and iron it out as folks who have been in the space for a while and have chaired committees.

Motivations, campaign platform, priorities

Ritter: I want to advocate for my students because I’m not in it for my own self-interest; I’m more in it for others in my community and making sure my community’s needs are being met. Being in my third year at CSU now, I’ve had enough, and I want to make a change and do tangible things for once in our student government for our student body.

Trout: ASCSU has really jumpstarted my advocacy work, and that’s something I want to continue on with this. ... One of our priorities is putting qualified folks in the legislative cabinet that can get connections out and put ASCSU back on the map. We really want to bring ASCSU into the forefront of students’ minds and tell them what their student government is doing and show them tangible results that can be seen on campus because of ASCSU.

Ritter: A lot of people view the president and vice president as the leaders and people who take care of everything, but I have to disagree because with our cabinet, we work as a team. The people that we work with create this leadership in our student body, and I think something we’re focused on is creating a passionate team in our executive branch to make sure that every person who is hired is passionate about their jobs. I think working as a team is very important to creating tangible change.

Trout: Our three primary pillars are accountability, transparency and inclusivity. Every time we talk to constituents, those are the three big things they want ASCSU and CSU to improve upon and address. ... We also believe transparency is super important because if we don’t talk about the pros and cons about our organization, no one can make informed opinions.

Ritter: In terms of our initiatives and what we want to do, we want to be more transparent with what is happening inside our student government. We essentially want to create a TED Talk program, maybe called RAM Talk, that discusses in five-minute videos what is going on internally and externally — basically whatever is relevant to students.

We want to create that platform and really inform students what’s happening on our campus. That could be in ASCSU as well where we talk about legislation or what’s happening in the executive branch because each of our directors does something very important.

Trout: One of the beauties of the Student Fee Review Board is it’s enshrined within Colorado law. Students need to have some type of say.

A big priority for us would be to network with state legislators and have that be a primary goal of our governmental affairs department: (to hold) stake-holding meetings and (talk) to other universities to ensure students are being listened to.

... Not only would that benefit CSU students but benefit students across the state.

Even if that’s not something that we’re completely able to fulfill, we want to at least have enough of a foundation so that the next administration can come in and pick it back up.

ASCSU/student relationship, campus issues

Ritter: That’s something I’ve been discussing with a lot of students that I’ve interacted with: how can we change the relationship with ASCSU and the student body because there’s a lot of students that don’t know about ASCSU or what we do, and they just see the office and walk right by. ... Also doing more outreach and making sure students feel supported in their communities because I feel like there’s a lot of disconnect with students.

(ASCSU) is open to any student to come to, whether they want to write a bill and present that to senate, but I think within senate, there’s such a huge disconnect because a lot of students feel unwelcome to be there, and I feel that has to do a lot with how leadership runs things. That’s something that I really want to change.

Reach Sam Hutton at news @collegian.com.

PHOTO BY CAT BLOUCH THE COLLEGIAN

Fourth-year sociology student Sammy Trout poses at the Michael Smith Natural Resources Building March 24. Trout is running for vice president. Trout has been in Associated Students of Colorado State University for two years, holding the positions of senator for the College of Liberal Arts as well as the chair of the University Affairs Committee within the senate. Voting opens on RAMweb April 3.

PHOTO BY CAT BLOUCH THE COLLEGIAN

President, VP candidates Ashton Duffield, Emily Aschenbrenner

By Piper Russell @piperrussell10

In preparation for the upcoming Associated Students of Colorado State University elections for the 2023-24 academic year, The Collegian interviewed presidential candidate Ashton Duffield and vice presidential candidate Emily Aschenbrenner.

Duffield is a junior majoring in business administration with a concentration in accounting and a minor in legal studies and has worked as vice president of alumni relations and fundraising chair for Delta Sigma Pi.

Aschenbrenner is also a junior, majoring in sociology, criminology and criminal justice. Aschenbrenner was a level 10 gymnast for six years and team captain for three years, which provided her with leadership experience. Aschenbrenner also works as a server and bartender at a restaurant in Longmont, Colorado, where she has worked on community outreach events.

CSU students can vote for next year’s ASCSU president, vice president and speaker of the senate on RAMweb April 3-5.

Background, ASCSU experience, qualifications

Duffield: I first got acquainted with ASCSU because I was in the President’s Leadership Program — so basically like a yearlong program where you learn about servant leadership — and I knew Michael Buttram, who’s the director of Rams Against Hunger. And there were some openings within (Student Leadership, Involvement & Community Engagement), and SLiCE technically oversees the (ASCSU) accountant position now, as there was some mismanagement of funds a couple of years ago.

So basically, they took me on as the accountant. I run the budget of $1.7 million. Running the budget just includes accepting RFDs, which are requests for financial documentation, and then putting it in the book and making sure everything lines up at the end of the year.

One of the main responsibilities of the president is allocating the budget, and since I have been looking at the budget pretty much

every day for the past year, I think I’d definitely be able to do that exceedingly well and know how to allocate those funds efficiently.

Motivations, campaign platform, priorities

Duffield: I’ve always wanted to further my leadership. … I remember freshman year, I was joking when I was walking through (the Lory Student Center). The (ASCSU candidates) were running, and I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll run when I’m a senior or a junior.’ So I’ve always wanted to further my leadership experience.

Emily and I both used to play rugby in high school, and I think through rugby, I learned more about servant leadership, just learning how to build other people up, and that’s really what makes me happy: ... just teaching others how they can be successful.

We have three values that we’re basing (our platform) off of, and the first one is unity, the second one is diversity, equity and inclusion and the third one is mental and physical health. We kind of wanted to look at those values and see what kind of action we can take since student governments are known for just simply using buzzwords and not taking action.

We kind of want to build our platform off of improving upon the dorms. So the way we think we can incorporate all those values is by essentially analyzing the dorms and running an audit on them to see what percent of students have been assaulted in the past month, what percent of soap dispensers don’t have soap, just as much as we can get. … We’re really just trying to improve the dorm life on campus.

Emily and I got here first semester freshman year, and it was COVID, and the dorms weren’t good then, and we’ve heard from talking to students on campus that they’re still really bad. … That’s pretty much our platform: three values — one mission.

Aschenbrenner: I think that ASCSU is a really great close-knit community, but at times, I feel like there are issues in letting the rest of the campus know what issues are being addressed and what issues are being talked about within the ASCSU community.

I think the main reason why I wanted to do this was to be an advocate for the average college student and make their voices heard and, through making their voices heard, making changes from what they say is necessary. … I want there to be increased accessibility to ASCSU issues in the community, … together in unity — rebuilding (the) community is our biggest thing.  ASCSU/student relationship, campus

issues

Duffield: If elected, the president hires several directors, and I’d definitely try to ... recenter one of the current director’s roles to allocate a budget to funding that audit of the dorms. So there are a couple (of director positions) like campus community, environmental, state and local policy.

Another thing I could do would be to create a new position by allocating a percentage of the presidential budget to salary. (I) definitely just want to have some leadership behind that, and then I’ll also be attempting to set up meetings with all the dorm leadership, trying to send out surveys to everyone in the dorms, trying to get maybe a third-party contractor to evaluate the dorms and perform an audit separately — there’s a lot of ways we can go with this.

I think it’s a failure to focus on such a small group (and) to focus on the political aspect of this election. I think it is kind of a mistake because the election is to appeal to the entire body, not just people who know what ASCSU is.

One of the reasons I picked Emily is (because) she’s in Kappa Alpha Theta, I’m in Delta Sigma Pi and we both just really want to bring a sense of community, that’s our number one value, also, is unity. We just want to bring a sense of community back to CSU. We think that the dorm audits are something that will help us accomplish that.

Whether it be the hostility in many on-campus organizations and SDPS offices (or) offices that I’ve heard, I think it starts at the culture at ASCSU since ASCSU funds so many of those programs and essentially is the backbone behind on-campus organizations and to advocate for the students.

So I think it really starts with building a strong culture, and I think that also starts with hiring really well-versed directors because leadership should always be responsible.

Through my leadership experiences, I’ve found that the best way to get to know people is (by) overcoming obstacles. … So I think just maintaining professionalism and just being as encouraging as I can during my presidency — as well as calling on resources from Emily because she’s really good at building close relationships with people — I think that’ll help us accomplish a strong culture.

Aschenbrenner: I think the biggest way to push change within voter turnout in CSU is to advocate for the common student, what their needs are (and) hearing their voices. And through that then, I believe there will be more student involvement if we reach out.

Reach Piper Russell at news @collegian.com.

Associated Students of Colorado State University presidential candidate Ashton Duffield and vice presidential candidate Emily Aschenbrenner March 28. Duffield and Aschenbrenner are one of the four pairs of students running to serve as ASCSU president and vice president for the 2023-24 academic year. PHOTO BY LUCY MORANTZ THE COLLEGIAN

President, vice president debate

By Grant Coursey @grantcoursey

The Associated Students of Colorado State University presidential and vice presidential debate was held Wednesday, March 29 in the Lory Student Center Ballroom A and streamed by CTV on their YouTube.

Despite some early production hiccups, including the ballroom being plunged into complete darkness in the middle of an answer by vice presidential candidate Emily Aschenbrenner, the debate mostly ran smoothly, covering a large number of questions both prepared for the candidates ahead of time and taken from the audience watching the livestream of the event.

The debate allowed the four pairs of candidates to discuss their platforms and what made their campaigns stand out from the others presented on stage through a series of both individually targeted questions and group questions on a range of issues that impact the CSU student body, notably U+2 and the disconnect in recent years between ASCSU and the students they are intended to represent.

Presidential and vice presidential candidates Nick DeSalvo and Alex Silverhart focused heavily on their record as members of ASCSU and expressed their intention to continue the work they had already begun through their administration if elected.

DeSalvo served as ASCSU speaker of the senate over the last year and Silverhart as the director of health for ASCSU. The two

mentioned their action on U+2 by bringing up that DeSalvo was the only candidate involved in Wednesday’s debate to approach the Fort Collins City Council about the issue. Actions of DeSalvo and the City Council Action Committee of ASCSU have culminated in an agreement DeSalvo claims to have made with a Fort Collins City Council member to put U+2 on the ballot to be voted on by Fort Collins residents if enough students show up to an April 4 City Council meeting in support of the action.

This connection to city government was reiterated by DeSalvo and Silverhart when they brought up their endorsements from several members of the Fort Collins local government, including Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt and outgoing ASCSU president Rob Long.

The two also discussed Silverhart’s record of action as the director of health, specifically his work in providing free pregnancy tests to CSU students as well as the need to educate students about the services already offered at CSU that have been poorly communicated by ASCSU previously.

Presidential and vice presidential candidates Mia Ritter and Sammy Trout focused heavily on their own experiences as members of ASCSU, having more than five years of involvement with the

Ritter and Trout’s platform is largely based on the ideology of “nothing about us without us,” Trout said during the debate.

Whether addressing the members of their administration, U+2 or the issue of accessibility for disabled students on campus, Ritter and Trout reiterated through almost every answer that those most affected by an issue should be the ones to lead the charge on that issue. Their campaign promises include developing better collaboration between offices like the Student Disability Center and El Centro to ensure minority voices are heard in student government.

Ritter and Trout also focused explicitly on the need for input and engagement from the students of CSU in response to the perceived disconnect between student government and the student body on campus in recent years.

Presidential and vice presidential candidates Rithik Correa and Jessica Laffey’s campaign platform rests on their understanding of the inner workings of ASCSU, specifically concerning committees that already exist and are simply not being used to their full potential, such as the Student Fee Review Board, which should involve more input from the student body than it currently does, Laffey said.

The duo proposed to create another board similar to the SFRB called the Student Tuition Review Board, which would review what students’ tuition is being used toward.

Presidential and vice presidential candidates Ashton Duffield and Emily Aschenbrenner broke the mold of candidates running by having a vice president who hadn’t served time in ASCSU.

The pair says this is a strength of their campaign. Bringing in a fresh outside perspective is what the duo said is necessary to bring real change to ASCSU and better connect to the student body.

Duffield and Aschenbrenner focused heavily on their campaign promise to better the culture of campus dorms and provide better services for those living on campus.

Duffield also explained that the two were focused in their campaign on listening to what the student body wants, claiming that they would take no action before listening to the will of the student body if elected, instead focusing on a grassroots, face-to-face approach to communication that has been lost since the pandemic, Duffield said.

ASCSU voting will run from April 3-5 and will be accessible through RAMweb. With declining student turnout in recent years and the docket of important issues that ASCSU holds sway over, there was an appeal from candidates for students to vote and make their voices heard in this year’s elections.

Reach Grant Coursey at news @collegian.com.

Vice presidential candidate Jessica Laffey discusses her involvement on the Student Fee Review Board at the Associated Students of Colorado State University presidential and vice presidential debate in Lory Student Center Ballroom A March 29. Laffey is running with presidential candidate Rithik Correa.

PHOTO BY SERENA BETTIS THE COLLEGIAN

ASCSU PRESIDENTIAL, VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

1. Associated Students of Colorado State University presidential candidate Rithik Correa discusses his and running mate Jessica Laffey’s campaign platform at the presidential and vice presidential debate in the Lory Student Center Ballroom A March 29. CSU students can vote for ASCSU’s executive leadership on RAMweb April 3-5.

2. Nick DeSalvo explains his and Alex Silverhart’s campaign platform. DeSalvo is the current ASCSU speaker of the senate, and Silverhart is the director of health and wellness.

3. Candidates Mia Ritter and Sammy Trout explain their plans to create a student tuition advisory board if elected to the ASCSU president and vice president positions, respectively. Ritter and Trout are both currently ASCSU senators.

4. ASCSU presidential candidate Ashton Duffield discusses his and running mate Emily Aschenbrenner’s campaign platform

5. ASCSU presidential candidate Mia Ritter discusses her and running mate Sammy Trout’s campaign platform.

BETTIS

FRAME BY FRAME

Speaker of the senate debate

By Sam Hutton @sam_hut14

The Associated Students of Colorado State University speaker of the senate candidates Ava Ayala and Hayden Taylor participated in a live debate March 28.

The debate, taking place in the Lory Student Center Ballroom A and livestreamed by CTV, granted both candidates opportunities to display their qualifications for office, assess the current climate within the senate and the CSU campus and outline their goals and initiatives if elected.

with College Councils and Student Diversity Programs and Services offices so that they can get their message out to the constituents they represent,” Taylor said. “Having that communication so that people know what we do would be the biggest goal of mine.”

“I totally agree; I think communication between the offices on campus (is essential),” Ayala said. “Allowing myself to still talk to every person that I’ve talked to this year or the connections I’ve made helps improve the space in senate.”

Motivations

Both candidates were granted an opportunity to express their motivations for running for speaker of the senate, discussing their previous experience in ASCSU and detailing their primary motivating factors behind seeking elected office.

Ayala and Taylor are current senators and serve on multiple committees within the senate, using their previous experience to provide input on the future of ASCSU.

“Accountability falls upon the speaker with being able to pull senate back to a kind environment where we can benefit students by passing meaningful legislation,” Taylor said.

“Being transparent with senate and the student body about what’s happening is the biggest role of the speaker,” Ayala said.

U+2 residency policy

The Fort Collins U+2 residency policy, which restricts the number of occupants legally allowed in a residential setting, has been consistently denounced by ASCSU leadership, becoming a fixture of ASCSU business and serving as one of the executive branch’s primary focuses.

While ASCSU has no direct involvement in Fort Collins City Council processes, Ayala and Taylor believe they can work to promote additional involvement in local government and, ideally, influence legislation that makes edits to the policy to better benefit CSU students living off-campus.

The central points of discussion during the debate and the overarching theme of the ASCSU election cycle included ASCSU’s relationship with the student body, the candidates’ motivations for pursuing the speaker position, ASCSU accountability and transparency, the U+2 residency policy and the management of student funds.

ASCSU/student relationship

Throughout its history as a student organization, ASCSU has struggled with campus outreach and student participation, evidenced by a record-low 6% student voter turnout in the previous election cycle. ASCSU candidates across the legislative and executive branches have made strengthening relationships on campus a fixture of their campaigns, offering different solutions to address the issue.

Both Ayala and Taylor said they believe they can work to further bridge the divide between ASCSU senators and their constituents, promote increased campus outreach and rebuild the reputation of ASCSU if elected as speaker.

“One of the biggest things I would plan to do is have communication

“We have a lot of times that (senate) becomes not the most welcoming of a place to be, so I think that having someone that can guide us back to a place of community and kindness so we can accomplish goals that actually benefit students is one of the biggest reasons I decided to run,” Taylor said.

“I think looking at the job this year and all my previous years of student government, I chose to run because I felt that I saw the problem in senate, and I could be the person that could help change it,” Ayala said. “I could be the impartial facilitator and make the hard decisions that the speaker has to every Wednesday.”

Accountability and transparency

ASCSU senate has come under scrutiny in recent months regarding the lack of accountability within the senate and limited transparency on campus, which, according to the candidates, assigns a negative connotation to the organization and further limits student outreach.

ASCSU is responsible for the allocation of funds generated from student fees through the Student Fee Review Board, which determines the distribution of over $1.2 million in student funds to campus programs such as RamRide, athletics, student media and campus events.

Both candidates believe they can use their status as speaker to promote increased internal accountability, strengthen the campus perception of ASCSU and help voice the needs of students to SFRB.

“I’ve seen the work that our executive cabinet has been doing for U+2, and I think for me personally, I would want to take steps to first outreach to them and see how I can back them up and how senate can back them up,” Ayala said. “I think that I have the skills to outreach enough to get information out and make sure that students know what’s happening and how to get involved.”

“The only thing we can do is act as the voice of the students and say that ASCSU does not like U+2 and we think it should be changed,” Taylor said. “I think that I can be some of that change in having that communication with students, faculty, CSU administration and Fort Collins City Council to have that dialogue.”

Elections for speaker of the senate take place April 3-5 on RAMweb.

Reach Sam Hutton at news @collegian.com.

Students of Colorado State University speaker of the senate candidate Ava Ayala explains her leadership mentality at the speaker of the senate debate in the Lory Student Center Ballroom A March 28.

PHOTO BY SERENA BETTIS THE COLLEGIAN

Associated Students of Colorado State University speaker of the senate candidate Hayden Taylor discusses why he wants to be speaker of the senate at the candidate debate in the Lory Student Center Ballroom A March 28.

PHOTO BY SERENA BETTIS THE COLLEGIAN

Speaker of the senate candidate Hayden Taylor

By Alex Hasenkamp @alexhasenkamp

Hayden Taylor, a Colorado State University first-year, is running against Ava Ayala for speaker of the senate in the upcoming Associated Students of CSU election.

According to the ASCSU election website, Taylor is from Littleton, Colorado, and is currently studying political science.

CSU students can vote for next year’s ASCSU president, vice president and speaker of the senate on RAMweb April 3-5.

Background, ASCSU experience, qualifications

Taylor: I’ve always been into politics, so I went into political science at CSU. I wish that I did student government in high school, but I hadn’t found my place yet. I sort of stumbled upon ASCSU during Ram Welcome week, so I joined the Senate, and it’s been a lot of fun. So I thought this would be a good chance to take the next step and see if I can campaign and lead the body.

Motivations, campaign platform, priorities

Taylor: It’s two main things for me. One is that any time I

tell someone I’m in ASCSU, they have no idea what that is and what we do. So I think it’s beneficial to have the name out there and be able to come to us when they want to see or accomplish something. Two, some of the senate meetings can be heated or intense. I think that I’m somebody who can calm that down a little bit and make us a functional body.

Transparency is a big (priority), helping people know what we do and how we do that and being able to help when needed. Efficiency is a big one for me as well — being able to know what the students want and give it to them in a way that’s beneficial. Community is the last one, both within ASCSU and the CSU campus as a whole. So kind of unifying ASCSU in a way that is sometimes lacking and then making that a functional body that can benefit the CSU body as a whole.

A big thing that I want to do is just listen — having people know that the voices that they have and the opinions that they hold will be valued. My top priority is the transparency aspect of my campaign. I just got a bill passed

by senate last week that will be adding a section to the ASCSU website showing the bills that we spend money on so that people can know what we fund.

ASCSU/student relationship, campus issues

Taylor: I think having the name out — “This is ASCSU, this is what we do, this is how we can help you” — that can get more people involved in that. I would intend to use social media to spread the word since that’s something that connects with a lot of people at this age.

I’ve spent a lot of time in senate, so I know the ins and outs of that. I’ve also spent a lot of time looking at the constitution and the bylaws we have, so I know a lot about how it’s supposed to go. We have a lot of people who have been in senate longer than I have, and so having them by my side would be helpful as well.

Housing is a big (issue); a lot of people don’t like the U+2 rule. We have taken some actions in senate to be looking at that with the city government, so I think continuing that would be good.

Reach Alex Hasenkamp at news

Hayden Taylor poses on The Plaza outside the Associated Students of Colorado State University offices March 28. Taylor is running for the speaker of the senate position for the 2023-24 school year.

PHOTO BY SERENA BETTIS THE COLLEGIAN

Speaker of the senate candidate Ava Ayala

By Rebekah Barry @csucollegian

Ava Ayala is a first-year student at Colorado State University majoring in zoology. She is running against Hayden Taylor for speaker of the senate in the upcoming Associated Students of CSU election, according to the ASCSU elections website.

CSU students can vote for next year’s ASCSU president, vice president and speaker of the senate on RAMweb April 3-5.

Background, ASCSU experience, qualifications

Ayala: I am originally from Los Angeles, California. I was actively involved in student government for about all four years of high school and held many different positions, including internal affairs manager. Since then, I have taken my love for student government to CSU.

(I am a) senator for the College of Natural Sciences for ASCSU; I also sit as vice chair of the Diversity and Equity Affairs committee student peer review board (and have) learned many things. As a first-year, (I’ve learned how to) navigate that space. Within ASCSU, that space is very competitive and very formal, if I do say so myself. You are figuring things out yourself, and I’ve had to navigate those changes this year.

I held many positions back in high school, as I mentioned earlier. I ran for president back in my senior year, I was special events manager, I was commissioner of athletics and even now, holding a lot of positions within ASCSU, ... I have even been a part of advocating and helping pieces of legislation be passed. I think with all of these experiences, I think I am the best person to hold this position next year. With all of that, I couldn’t see anyone else but me holding that position. I have had experience accepting critical feedback and going out into the field to gather opinions from others outside of the committee.

Motivations, campaign platform, priorities

Ayala: I feel there could be an improvement in the ways that the senate handles the meetings and their relationship with the students — it’s been very unkept. It hurts not only the students but also all of us internally within the senate. Seeing everything happen outside of the legislative cabinet, I feel there are a lot of things to change.

Communication and community are two issues that I feel could be improved. Students deserve to know what is happening within their student government — not just during a campaign and never again. We need to make it more approachable to students on campus.

If I was elected, one of the first things I would work on is the accessibility and how the house senate is run, specifically the 48-hour rule.

Sometimes in the senate, this gets brushed over, and that is very detrimental to the people who need this. So improving accessibility to the students is very important.

The community in ASCSU, specifically the senate, can be very hostile, and being able to put a mediator position in the senate may help to build community instead of creating feelings of ad hominem.

ASCSU/student relationship, campus issues

Ayala: I heard last year the voter turnout was about 6%. I think we need to focus on even more external affairs. Students need to know what is happening to the money that they are giving to the school. (I also consider) promoting and continuing to keep student involvement as a top priority.

Students deserve to know what is going on in their student government, not just when the candidates are running for election. Even in my high school years when COVID-19 hit, we worked to create videos and announcements to send out to students every week to keep our students involved. Student involvement is one of the main focuses that I think would help increase voter turnout.

Some of our current leadership positions may subconsciously attack some of the senators with some of the words that they say. It is very easy to make someone feel invalidated when you don’t agree with their viewpoint. Having my position as an impartial facilitator, I hope to keep the senate productive and redirect the viewpoints shared in a respectful manner. Focusing on taking accountability when we consciously speak about our biases is a huge factor that I would like to work on.

I table on The Plaza Tuesday and Thursday if anyone has any questions. ... I encourage everyone to stay informed about the candidates. And be aware that voting opens soon. I encourage you all to vote.

Reach Rebekah Barry at news @collegian.com.

Ava Ayala poses on The Plaza outside the Associated Students of Colorado State University offices March 28. Ayala is running for the speaker of the senate position for the 2023-24 school year

PHOTO BY SERENA BETTIS THE COLLEGIAN

New CSU Honors director to focus on campus-wide connections

interdisciplinary seminars that replace some traditional alluniversity core curriculum classes. The seminars are discussionbased and focus on connecting a broad topic through multiple academic perspectives. Students also participate in honors-level courses in their major and a thesis project at the end of four years.

“This is the best job on campus, bar none,” Bingham said. “Even on more frustrating days, I have to sort of pitch myself that I get to work in a really creative, interdisciplinary environment with incredibly talented students (and) faculty who are incredibly invested in this kind of high-touch education.”

While focusing on attracting prospective students to the program, Bingham stressed that the honors experience at CSU is completely different from high school honors programs that often focus on giving students more or harder work.

“I’m really interested in pushing students beyond the checklist mentality,” Bingham said. “My pitch really to any prospective student is throw out your ideas of honors from high school. ... Honors builds context around your major, so it pushes you to think beyond your major because you’re more than your major.

By Allie Seibel @allie_seibel_

The Colorado State University Honors Program, an academic learning community focused on providing students with an enriched and interdisciplinary education, according to their website, is composed of around 2,000 undergraduate students.

Shawn Bingham, the new director of the Honors Program, hopes to focus on engaging students in creative ways and build connections across academic departments on campus.

Bingham’s experience spans leadership roles in honors departments at several universities, the two most recent being assistant dean of the Honors College at the University of South Florida and the University of North Carolina Wilmington Honors College director and associate dean of undergraduate studies.

“Once I got a taste of kind of rebuilding an honors college and the kind of magic that you can do in honors that you can’t do in a traditional department, I was hooked, and there was no way I was ever going back,” Bingham said.

While at USF, Bingham and his family lived in a residence hall as a faculty member in residence. His children spent their formative years living on a college campus, and Bingham said the experience of living close to students shaped how he connects and interacts with undergraduate students.

“We lived amongst students in an apartment, hosted events, did laundry in the same laundry room,

and there’s no better way to get to know students than doing laundry next to them, so that was a really amazing classroom for me to get to know students,” Bingham said.

“It also sort of disarms them. You get to know faculty, that they’re real people and they have real lives and real challenges.”

“I’ve never worked at a university with an ag school, and that was very intriguing (for me),” Bingham said.

“I really see a natural connection between honors and the outdoors in some interesting ways. There’s absolutely wonderful things being done here, and there was a real taste for some new creative things (in the program). I certainly don’t want to downplay my predecessors at any of the institutions because they have done some awesome things, but I was drawn to coming in and really creating a new culture and connecting with new partners across campus and new partners in the community.”

The Honors Program at CSU is characterized by smaller-class

Honors professors come from various academic departments on campus and bring seminar topic ideas they want to teach to the honors program. One of Bingham’s goals going forward is to continue to foster those faculty-spanning connections with the program.

“Without sounding too trite, (honors) really is a jazz-ensemble kind of environment,” Bingham said. “It’s not an environment where there’s a department head and they’re sort of driving the train and giving orders.

“It’s a co-creative environment where you get to go to faculty and say, ‘What’s your dream class? Come teach (it) up here.’ Or you get to say to students, ‘What kind of story do you want to tell about yourself? And let’s help you create an honors thesis or senior project that really helps you put together not just who you are in your major, but who you are with your major or minor and who you want to be.’”

“It’s an immediate community — it’s a way to connect you, not just to faculty and other students, but to places around the community and off campus. And really unlike larger classrooms, it’s 100% built on conversations. That really is what is the magic of this is, what makes it unique and special.”

For Bingham, the future of the Honors Program is built on the passion of the students he gets to interact with every day.

“Every day when I come to the door, I get to work with wonderful students,” Bingham said. “Sort of selfishly from my own perspective, there are a lot of folks my age and older who have a really downer view of the future. I don’t because I’m surrounded by amazingly talented students who want to go out and do amazing things and who are doing amazing things here on campus. I think it’s really hard to be around those kinds of students and be grim about what the future holds.”

Reach Allie Seibel at news @collegian.com.

Shawn Bingham, the newly appointed director of the Honors Program at Colorado State University, poses for a portrait at the fireside lounge in Academic Village at CSU March 24. Bingham talked about the biggest hurdles he hopes to overcome as the new director, noting his goal to overcome the stigma of elitism that some people may have toward the Honors Program through efforts of diversity.

Bingham was drawn to the honors program director job at CSU in part because of the creative potential he saw for the growth of the program.

“I’m really interested in pushing students beyond the checklist mentality. My pitch really to any prospective student is throw out your ideas of honors from high school. ... Honors builds context around your major, so it pushes you to think beyond your major because you’re more than your major.”

SHAWN BINGHAM

NEW DIRECTOR OF THE CSU HONORS PROGRAM

PHOTO BY CAT BLOUCH THE COLLEGIAN

Shawn Bingham shakes hands with a member of the Colorado State University Honors Program in the Academic Village fireside lounge March 24. Bingham is the newly appointed director of the CSU Honors Program. “The first thing out of my mouth typically at any info session: ... ‘Throw out all your ideas about honors because hopefully this is not going to be that’ — it’s a community, and it’s a really supportive one,” Bingham said.

PHOTO BY CAT BLOUCH THE COLLEGIAN

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WGAC workshop to help survivors rebuild relationships

By Ivy Secrest @ivysecrest

Trauma often changes a person’s relationship with boundaries. For staff members at the Women and Gender Advocacy Center at Colorado State University, addressing that change is an important part of survivors’ healing.

The WGAC works with primary and secondary survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking. Primary survivors are defined as the survivor themself, and secondary survivors are those close to the primary survivor. The center provides advocacy as well as information about academic, legal, medical, emotional and student conduct resources.

This work inspired confidential victim advocates Lauren Shulman and Alison Wood to facilitate a boundaries workshop April 5-26 through the WGAC.

Those interested in participating can email wgac@colostate.edu to schedule a 15-minute intake.

“One of the really common themes that comes up in working

one-on-one with survivors is that they’re struggling to figure out how to hold boundaries with the people in their lives and sometimes with themselves,” Shulman said.

setting realistic boundaries, feeling guilt over boundaries and even feeling responsible for others’ emotions about their boundaries.

“We decided that holding a boundaries group would be beneficial for folks,” Shulman said. “Being able to talk openly and honestly, hopefully, about boundaries could help people kind of define what their boundaries are and what it means to set them and hold them.”

Boundaries can be a difficult topic for both survivors of sexual assault or abuse and for those that have simply had negative experiences with boundaries.

“When you’ve experienced trauma, your choice in what you do and how you do it has been taken away from you, and so your relationship with boundaries often changes,” Wood said.

mechanism and a survival strategy for people in difficult relationships,” Wood said. “That sticks with people, even if it’s a five-year relationship or a one-time encounter.”

Some don’t realize they can set boundaries because past experiences have taught them that by setting boundaries, they could encounter conflict and negative emotional responses, Shulman said.

Because both Wood and Shulman recognize that this workshop will be hosting people with a variety of different experiences, they aim to create a space where healthy boundaries can be set and respected from the beginning. This does not just mean speaking to the issues but also practicing them in action.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CHLOE LELINE THE COLLEGIAN

right to miss out on material to take care of yourself because that’s a boundary.”

Outside of the workshop, personal work with boundaries will likely continue. Shulman and Wood said there are good alternatives to continue working with boundaries.

Working directly with an advocate at the center, a counselor at the CSU Health Network or looking into books like “Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself” by Nedra Glover Tawwab are good alternatives for those who feel a need to learn boundaries but aren’t interested in the group.

Shulman, who is also the coordinator for victim advocacy, said survivors also struggle with

Even some habits that may be viewed as selfless, like putting others’ needs above one’s own, can be a sign of a complex relationship with boundaries.

“Putting someone else over yourself is often a coping

Wood gave the example of participation, saying that if someone needs to miss a session or leave halfway through, they may feel guilty or feel like they are disappointing or hurting the facilitators, but that’s not the case.

“Your needs are what is best for us,” Wood said. “You have the

While having multiple resources is beneficial, Shulman encourages a critical mindset.

“No book can tell you the absolute capital-T truth about what is right for you,” Shulman said. “No book, no resource, nobody can tell you that. You have to be the owner of what is best for you.”

Reach Ivy Secrest at life @collegian.com.

“No book can tell you the absolute capital-T truth about what is right for you. No book, no resource, nobody can tell you that. You have to be the owner of what is best for you.”

LAUREN SHULMAN WGAC COORDINATOR FOR VICTIM ADVOCACY

Beyond study: Former Rams share realities of moving abroad

By Ivy Secrest @ivysecrest

A semester abroad is a dream come true for many college students. It exposes people to new cultures and, for some, sparks a permanent move abroad.

Making the move can be daunting. There’s a change in culture, laws, rental processes and citizenship, which makes being adaptable an essential quality.

Kevin Curreri, a former Colorado State University student and current director of the Crisis Response Department at Control Risks in London, moved to Australia in 2001 after spending the previous year there studying abroad. Curreri has now lived in five countries and is no stranger to change.

“When you move to another country, it’s quite exciting, and even if you are the odd one out, you get a lot of attention,” Curreri said. “As long as it’s positive attention, which for the most part it was, people are curious and want to ask a lot of questions.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean an absence of culture shock but rather expecting to not fit in, even in the places a person once blended in well.

“I think what shocked me more and still does to this day is going back to the States,” Curreri said.

“It’s where I’m from. That’s what I identify as being — American — and then when I go there, I expect it to be comfortable and familiar. I find it’s probably the oddest place for me in the world.”

Culture shock is common, even if someone is just going from one English-speaking culture to another. Bec Whetham, a former study abroad student at CSU from Australia and current feature reporter for Australian Broadcasting Corporation, found that the United States was full of surprises. Cannabis, guns and the considerable size of trucks were just a few of those surprises.

“I really immersed myself in Colorado,” Whetham said. “I made more friends in six months there, from CSU, than I did in my whole degree in Australia.”

Whetham moved back to Australia to be close to family and her longterm partner who later became her husband, but she really loved the opportunities and experiences she gained in the U.S.

Relationships are a common reason to move abroad, especially if a partner feels strongly about remaining in their home country. For former CSU student and current freelance media producer, Mike Ball, it was also love that pulled him into his new life abroad.

Ball participated in a study abroad program in the United Kingdom in 2014 where he met his wife, Deborah Wautier. After that, they began a long-distance relationship that eventually led to Ball moving to Belgium.

“When you’re young is the time to take a chance, when you don’t have a career that you’re trying to build or something else holding you back,” Ball said. “It’s really a good time to just say, ‘Yeah, why not? I’ll try something.’”

Ball was able to live with Wautier through a cohabitation visa, which can be obtained in Belgium if a person has someone they’ve known long enough to sponsor the visa. This connection also helped him obtain an internship, garner support from Wautier and her family and build a career abroad.

“If you’re at all interested, you know, go for it when you’re younger because it’s easier,” Ball said.

Both Ball and Curreri advise moving when young. Whether or not a person has a partner to meet them there, the opportunity to go abroad through a work or student visa decreases as people age. So why not move while already in a transitional period?

“When you graduate from CSU, if you decide to move to New York or something, it’s still going to be the huge change; there’s going to be risk involved,” Curreri said. “It’s just to a larger degree that you’re going to be different, and you’re going to have to figure things out and navigate an environment that you’re not familiar with.”

Both Ball and Curreri said they were offered unique opportunities they could never replicate for someone else, and they said being

open to opportunities and building a network of people while abroad are how they got to where they are today. Making a permanent move abroad means leaving a current support system and facing a new set of challenges that will likely be unexpected. There are immense rewards and immense challenges that must be weighed against each other. “It’s not a utopian existence,” Curreri said. “It’s a struggle as well, just as it is if you stayed in the States. Life is messy, and life has its challenges no matter where you are.”

Reach Ivy Secrest at life @collegian.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BEC WHETHAM

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN CURRERI

Does the strain, type of cannabis mean anything?

By Miles Buchan @buchanmiles

One of the first things to come up when delving into the world of cannabis is the type or strain of any given product. Knowing whether cannabis is sativa, indica or hybrid, alongside the name of the strain, is said to inform consumers about the product and its associated experience.

However, as the weed industry grows, it’s become clear that this classification system is too simplistic and does not offer an accurate or full assessment of the effects of any cannabis strain.

Overall, there are three types of cannabis — sativa, indica and hybrid — that are historically categorized this way because of the differences in the appearance of each plant.

Sativa grows taller and has skinnier, longer leaves whereas indica grows short with stocky bush-type leaves, and a hybrid is a mix. Other distinctions between these three types come from popular culture, which ascribes different effects to different types.

Sativa has long been considered the more active and energizing of the two, and indica is known for its sedative effect. At this rate, one can assume the effects of the hybrid should be somewhere in between, but all three of these categorical groups have been misrepresented big-time. This means that if you’re picking a strain because it’s sativa or for its name, you might not be able to reliably predict its effects.

In a study published in “Journal of Cannabis Research,” various strains were genetically analyzed to

test the distinctions and chemical makeup of each one. The study found that while the strains had small differences in their genetic groups, they did not correspond individually to being sativa, indica or hybrid types.

Despite the broad acceptance of these types as being somewhat defined and consistent, there is very little data to support their respective effects or chemical makeup, which is mainly due to the Schedule 1 drug classification of cannabis.

Laws across the country continue to turn in favor of cannabis, but the decades of criminalization frequently prevent cannabis types and strains from being analyzed using scientific methodologies.

Similarly, cannabis strains are said to have some cohesiveness in terms of how a particular strain may make you feel. Strains of cannabis are named based on their phenotype and ancestry, meaning that if one strain is crossbred with another strain, the name of the new strain will be a combination of its two parent plants. It’s also possible to clone one particular plant strain, in which case the name remains the same as before.

For plant breeders, this decision is multifaceted, but the choice to clone a strain or crossbreed two strains is often informed by the desired effects of the strain by the consumer. The problem is that this method of production, distribution and marketing assumes a level of consistency that has yet to be proven.

In the study listed previously, researchers found that some strains had significantly different genetic compositions, which may in part be due to the mislabeling or mispackaging

of a plant with a different phenotype. However, this study also found that in some strains, the genetic makeup was considered stable.

The science of strains is complicated by the fact that in recent years, the cannabis industry has grown rapidly, which means a massive increase in new strains. The popularization of hybrids and novel strains continues to blur whatever

boundaries exist between sativa and indica, effectively diluting each genetic pool.

It has been proven that some strains can be grown separately in controlled environments to maintain their distinctive cannabinoid and terpenoid profile in a way that is highly reproducible.

This suggests that it may be possible to standardize the chemical

content of cannabinoids and terpenoids within a given strain in a controlled environment. The fact remains that many strains are not grown in controlled environments. Therefore, they are liable to inconsistencies in chemical makeup and may have inconsistent effects.

Reach Miles Buchan at cannabis @collegian.com.

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Cannabis growth of Wedding Cake, an indica strain at the Organic Alternatives growth facility Feb. 3

PHOTO BY TRI DUONG THE COLLEGIAN

How to stylishly blend in with stoner community

By Taylor Paumen @taytaypau

Humankind has been indulging in cannabis activities since the Golden Age, lighting the start of a new culture. However, the then-sophisticated theorists probably weren’t rockin’ beanies and sweatpants.

The modern stoner may have just as innovative ideas as our progressive ancestors but has ground up a mix of past eras to bring you today’s stereotypical stoner. So if you’re trying to blend in with the stoner crowd or want to embody “The Weed King,” these are the must-haves to ensure you don’t get outed as just a grungy poser.

Let’s start with a base. Depending on the season, this can look like a few different styles. The warmer months of the year aren’t prime stoner-style weather, but a simple comfy set of baggy cargo shorts or spandex will do the trick. Think Shaggy, but if you’re looking like a dad on July 4, you’ve gone too far.

In those more chilly times of the year, sweatpants will become your

best friend, pairing nicely with a favorite sweatshirt. But if there’s one main rule to follow, it’s to layer, layer and layer.

shirts are all great bases or covers to add to an edgy T-shirt when you are trying to embody a common cannabis connoisseur.

Now that you’ve got the basics of what is inside an everyday stoner’s closet, we can go to the fun stuff: accessories. This is a part of your image that can be very unique to yourself and can differentiate you from a West Coast or Midwest stoner.

You can pull inspiration from legends of the past like Cheech & Chong and Bob Marley with things like groovy sunglasses, bandanas, beanies and lighter colors like green and yellow. Or if you’re going for the more modern look, adding layers of necklaces and chains or any kind of jewelry will only increase your green-infused aura.

only the essential pre-rolls and a lighter or something more hefty and protective like a backpack in case you’re transporting any type of glassware. Backpacks can also be a place to stash your snacks and drinks when those munchies or cotton mouth kicks in.

But while all these styles are fluid and can mix and match to your own taste, you could always take people by surprise and be a daily suit-and-tie type of smoker like The Beatles or just your everyday kind of guy like Seth Rogen.

Your style could look like Rihanna meets Snoop Dogg, baggy but swaggy with several articles of clothing. Flannels, sweatshirts and long-sleeved

While the list could go on, there is one other accessory that tops them all while being an area for personal style and convenience: You need to have a go-to smoke bag.

This could look like a quick grab bag like a fanny pack with

So if you’re sitting next to someone who’s giving off stoner vibes because they’re wearing a beanie and talk kind of slow, it may just be the girl in the back corner wearing all Lululemon who lights up every night. However, don’t be afraid to blend right in with the rest of the stoner community if you throw on a baja hoodie and some shades.

Reach Taylor Paumen at  cannabis@collegian.com.

“But while all these styles are fluid and can mix and match to your own taste, you could always take people by surprise and be a daily suit-and-tie type of smoker like The Beatles or just your everyday kind of guy like Seth Rogen.”

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MADELYN HENDRICKS THE COLLEGIAN

Hold ASCSU representatives accountable with your vote

comfortable while going to classes.

The ASCSU senate also provides funding for fun programming events, like ice skating on The Plaza, and the executive branch approves the student fee funding received by Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation.

ILLUSTRATION BY TRIN BONNER THE COLLEGIAN

By Serena Bettis @serenaroseb

Editor’s Note: All letters from the editor reflect the views of the editor only and do not represent a stance taken by The Collegian.

To all Colorado State University students,

It is absolutely imperative that you vote in the upcoming Associated Students of CSU elections.

ASCSU is our student body government, but they’re not the folks who plan dances and decorate hallways like your high school student councils.

They oversee the allocation of $57 million in student fees each year and have roughly $1 million they can spend on their own operations and other initiatives, like events and programs passed through the senate.

In recent years, one of the most significant things the ASCSU senate did, in my opinion, was allocate $61,000 to the Rams Against Hunger permanent food pantry that opened last year. As a beneficiary of a RAH program, I cannot express how essential that resource has been to improving my well-being on campus.

In 2021 the senate also passed a bill to create signs near bathrooms directing students to a map of all gender-inclusive restrooms on campus to help students feel safe and

These ASCSU members — your classmates — also act as representatives of all CSU students to the CSU System Board of Governors, the Fort Collins City Council and community and even the Colorado state legislature.

According to CSU SOURCE, there were 28,580 students enrolled at the Fort Collins campus as of September 2021. Yet only 6.17% of the CSU student body elected the current ASCSU leadership, which encompasses the president, vice president and speaker of the senate.

That’s 1,854 students who voted.

To put that into some perspective, The Collegian has approximately 3,000 weekly print readers.

With so few students voting for the ASCSU leaders, I’m not confident they properly represent the whole student body.

Moreover, who is holding them accountable? When fewer than 2,000 people on a campus of 28,000 select the name of the next ASCSU president, there are 26,000 other students who aren’t paying much attention to anything that president does.

Throughout my three years of covering ASCSU senate meetings, elections and controversies, I’ve watched our student government get a lot done. And I’ve also seen them spend countless hours and late nights not doing much, instead arguing internally about procedural rules and what they often refer to as a toxic environment.

In recent months, the Collegian staff has been inundated with complaints from ASCSU members about relatively insignificant decisions we make, like our use of older file photos

for weekly ASCSU senate coverage. Additionally, if you look toward The Collegian’s Letter to the Editor page, you’ll see recent letters we’ve published, both signed and unsigned, that discuss some of these issues from the perspective of ASCSU members.

There are certainly more urgent issues that ASCSU members could address instead of airing personal grievances at every turn.

Because of my personal experiences seeing the way ASCSU (dis)functions, I am urging all CSU students to vote. If you’re reading this: Vote. Tell your friends to vote, tell your classmates to vote and tell the student next to you in line at a coffee shop to vote.

I have to stress that this is my own opinion; it does not reflect the opinions of the rest of the Collegian staff, and it is not a reflection of Collegian policies.

This is my perspective based on more than three years of experience working at The Collegian and, quite frankly, being fed up with and discouraged by the gossip and drama that come out of ASCSU. I believe it’s important to acknowledge the good with the not-so-good, and it’s the not-so-good that is some of the best motivation for voting.

Give your student government representatives more motivation to hold themselves accountable and work for the betterment of student life on campus.

Voting for all students will be open on RAMweb April 3-5. It takes less than five minutes to log in, select who you think is the best candidate and submit your vote, even if you have a bad internet connection.

All students, graduate and undergraduate, full- and part-time, graduating in May or in their first semester, can vote in the ASCSU elections. This is, without a doubt, an election in which every vote can make a difference.

Serena Bettis, editor in chief Reach Serena Bettis at editor @collegian.com.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

GRAPHIC

‘Leaders’ of DEI have failed the students: A call for action within ASCSU

By Guest Author @csucollegian

Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board. Letters to the Editor reflect the view of a member of the campus community and are submitted to the publication for approval.

Diversity, equity and inclusion have become increasingly relevant at Colorado State University, and it is crucial that all students feel welcome in an inclusive environment. It is also vital that leaders responsible for spearheading DEI efforts at CSU implement these principles in a fair and unbiased manner.

Unfortunately, there has been a weaponization of DEI within Associated Students of Colorado State University, primarily by well-established Student Diversity Programs and Services representatives who are considered our leaders of DEI.

At the beginning of the fall 2022 semester, these leaders of DEI physically divided the senate into two sides, with representatives primarily from the SDPS offices on one side and primarily college council representatives placed on the other side to protect marginalized communities from harm.

However, recent developments have compelled many of these SDPS representatives to flee in droves to their counterparts, leaving the very side that was supposed to protect them due to the reckless behavior carried out by these leaders of DEI.

These leaders of DEI have not only failed to represent their

communities in good faith but have also caused great harm to those they are supposed to represent. An exclusive Discord server was utilized to coordinate questions and comments within official ASCSU senate sessions.

“parents” often spoke disrespectfully to the “children” and installed ruthless hazing mechanisms. When someone stepped out of line, they were punished and told they “needed to be parented,” further degrading the people that they so desperately want to protect.

When called out on their actions, these leaders of DEI have failed to take responsibility and have instead chosen to point fingers and claim that this is a smear campaign. It is essential for them to take a deep look at their actions and rhetoric in this Discord server and ask themselves whether their actions and comments have represented all their constituents’ interests with the best intent.

If they are struggling to answer that question, they must reevaluate their priorities within the organization and hold themselves accountable to the principles they so eagerly impose upon their peers.

These leaders of DEI would effectively tell individuals verbatim what to say, treating them like pawns in a chess game and failing to include their true thoughts about issues. Those outside of this exclusive community were regularly demonized, and hideous comments and slurs were used against them, directly contradicting the very principles they claim to hold so dear to their hearts.

The behavior exhibited in this Discord server had cultlike characteristics, with certain individuals being labeled “parents” (primarily these leaders of DEI) and “children” (people who were newer to ASCSU/SDPS). The

It is crucial to understand that diversity, equity and inclusion are not just buzzwords to be thrown around. They are principles that must be implemented in good faith and with the best interests of all students in mind. The actions of these leaders of DEI within ASCSU have shown that they have failed to uphold these principles, and it is time for them to take accountability and re-evaluate their priorities.

As a community, we must come together and strive toward creating a truly inclusive environment where all students feel welcome and valued.

Sincerely,

Rob

Long ASCSU president Send

letters

to letters@collegian.com.

When submitting letters, please abide by the guidelines listed at collegian.com.

“It is crucial to understand that diversity, equity and inclusion are not just buzzwords to be thrown around. They are principles that must be implemented in good faith and with the best interests of all students in mind.”

March Madness is the best American sports tournament to exist

By Aaron Peck @aa_peck7

Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.

Every March, student-athletes compete in the NCAA Division I basketball tournaments to determine the best men’s and women’s college basketball teams in the country.

The first-ever NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament took place in 1939 and saw the University of Oregon Ducks defeat the Ohio State University Buckeyes to become the first national champions. March Madness is one of those sporting events that feels so ingrained in American culture.

March Madness often feels bigger than basketball itself and hypnotizes the American people for a short time of the year. Almost everyone has a story of predicting an upset, watching a Cinderella team or seeing a buzzer-beater from previous tournaments. March

Madness unites a divided nation for a few weeks to celebrate the beautiful game of basketball, making it the best tournament in American sports.

One of the pros of March Madness is it occurs during a relatively dull part of the American sports calendar where the NFL has concluded, the NBA and NHL have not reached the playoffs and MLB is still in spring training.

In addition, the sheer quantity and frequency of games the tournament provides ensure viewers are never left bored or disappointed.

The tournament includes 68 teams, seven rounds and single elimination. Men’s games typically start late in the morning on Thursday and go until late at night on Sunday for each weekend of the tournament.

March Madness begins with the First Four, which is four games played by eight teams to qualify for the traditional 64-team bracket.

During the first weekend of the tournament, the first two rounds are played with 48 of the remaining teams eliminated. The following

weekend includes the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight; then the weekend after is the Final Four and National Championship games.

championship tournament or earn an at-large bid from the NCAA tournament selection committee. Due to the drastic skill disparity between conferences, many of the matchups in the first round are mismatches with one team being heavily favored.

These David versus Goliath games create the beauty of March Madness when small underdog schools shock the country by defeating tournament favorites in the first round. Upsets are an inevitable part of March Madness and provide a special opportunity for everyone to cheer on the underdog as they make a Cinderella run to a late round.

The unquestionably best part of March Madness is filling out a bracket to compete against your friends and family. Accurately predicting the winners of the tournament is like trying to guess how many grains of sand are on a beach; it is impossible.

or studied all the matchups. Your grandma, who picked the winners based on how much she likes the mascot, still could beat you. However, the thrill of correctly predicting an upset or watching your friend’s national champion go out in the first round cannot be matched by many other sports events. The unpredictability and randomness of the tournament make the bracket competition so fun because anyone, even those who know nothing about basketball, can win.

To qualify for the tournament, teams can either win their conference

It does not matter if you watched every game of the season, know all of the advanced statistics

March Madness is an essential part of American sports culture that has created endless moments, memories and memes. From the “One Shining Moment” compilations of players giving their all in likely their final-ever games to the infamous “boss button” for pretending you are working while watching games, March Madness truly is iconic. It is March, it is madness and we love it.

@collegian.com.

Reach Aaron Peck at letters

“It does not matter if you watched every game of the season, know all of the advanced statistics or studied all the matchups. Your grandma, who picked the winners based on how much she likes the mascot, still could beat you.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF MADELINE DAVIS

Life of a lifeguard: Diving into safety at The Rec

By Emma Askren @emma_askren

Two loud whistle blasts were heard in the Colorado State University Recreation Center pool at 5 p.m. March 20. Following those two blasts, a lifeguard jumped into the pool to extricate an unconscious individual from the pool.

This mock scenario is one of many examples of training that campus lifeguards undergo during their time as guards. Every month, the lifeguards meet at the pool to go over policy procedures, safety procedures and in-water training to ensure that all guards are confident in their abilities to react quickly during real lifethreatening situations.

CSU lifeguards don’t just keep watch at the Rec Center pool though. They also lifeguard at the Moby Pool and the pool at the Glenn Morris Fieldhouse, where

they make sure many different sports clubs are safe. With a staff of around 50 guards at The Rec, the safety of all patrons can be ensured.

The pool is kept running from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on most days with guards working three-hour shifts. Each guard rotates every thirty minutes, ensuring the lifeguards are able to take a break. The 30-minute breaks aren’t spent lounging around, however. Each shift has a different set of tasks that must be completed before the end of the shift, including measuring the chemicals of the pool and hot tub, taking patron counts and cleaning the guard stand and room.

In addition to daily tasks, lifeguards are tested on their rescue skills every semester in real-life emergency scenarios.

“Audits are basically live scenarios in the pool that lifeguards have to respond to as if it was real,” said Amelia Lesnick, the audits and inservices manager for the aquatics department. “We have a lifeguard or Rec coworker volunteer to be a victim, and they’ll go into the

pool and create a fake drowning scenario. The lifeguards on duty don’t know it’s happening, so it really puts their skills to the test.”

Lifeguarding is an important job. With waking up at 5:30 a.m. heading straight to the pool, it can be intense and strenuous. However, the training and rigor of the job pay off.

“I was in my apartment during homecoming, and someone’s parent passed out in the hallway of my apartment,” Lesnick said.

“I was able to use the skills that we had gone over in training and help that woman, which was pretty cool.”

To add to the stressful nature of the job, each shift has its own quirks.

“Yeah, there is a lot of variety,” lifeguard Paige Foster said. “It kind of depends on the shift. Sometimes we have times where we don’t have anyone in the water, and other times everyone’s in the water.”

However, despite some difficulties, the atmosphere of

the staff is extremely positive. It’s clear the staff really respect each other, and despite the serious nature of the job, they know how to have a good time.

Staff bonding activities are planned every month, and in February, it was a cookie decorating party. There is also Guard Games, which is a competition each semester where teams of guards compete for a small prize.

“Guard Games rewards lifeguards for doing positive things at work, and that’s anything from like having a positive attitude, picking up shifts, helping a coworker or having their back for something,” Lesnick said.

The lifeguards of The Rec are well-trained and able to respond to all kinds of emergencies in and around the pool.

Reach Emma Askren at sports @collegian.com.

“We have a lifeguard or Rec coworker volunteer to be a victim, and they’ll go into the pool and create a fake drowning scenario. The lifeguards on duty don’t know it’s happening, so it really puts their skills to the test.”

AMELIA LESNICK AUDITS AND IN-SERVICES MANAGER FOR THE CSU RECREATION CENTER AQUATICS DEPARTMENT

Colorado State University lifeguards Annie Scott and Paige Foster perform a simulated rescue on Megan Mullin during lifeguard audits at the Campus Recreation Center March 20.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL MARQUARDT THE COLLEGIAN

Group classes at The Rec bring community to CSU fitness

By Dylan Heinrich @dylanrheinrich

The Colorado State University Recreation Center is a bustling ecosystem. Between all the equipment, basketball courts and the indoor rock wall, The Rec has something for everybody. Tucked inside this enterprise is a hidden gem of 25 separate group classes.

These classes usually last about an hour with a focus on creating a group atmosphere of anywhere between 10-30 participants. They have a wide array of purposes, from relaxation to strength to cardio. For my first-ever group class, I dipped my toe into the world of kickboxing.

The group of 11 I was participating with had a healthy mix of both newcomers and those who had previously taken the class. But even with all the new faces, the studio was immediately welcoming with its warm light and minimalist decor. As a result, everyone jumped right in and immediately engaged with the class.

The routine was a unique blend of exercises that tackled the basics of kickboxing along with related movements to increase your heart rate. The class constantly transitions between throwing kicks, jabs and uppercuts, to jumping jacks, butt kicks and knee pulls. I felt that I was constantly being challenged by the quick movements to keep up and work my different muscle groups. However, these activities were repeated plenty of times, which created a sense of comfort and muscle memory for some of the activities I was less familiar with.   Muscle memory was extremely valuable, as it was an intense

45-minute cardio session. The fast-paced music and rapid movements gave me a heightened sense of adrenaline and propelled me to give it my all. Luckily, this class, along with many others, offers variations in the workouts, allowing individuals to control their own intensity to create the perfect workout for their body.

But what really makes these classes so engaging is the instructors. The people I spoke with said they immediately felt included in a safe and encouraging environment due to the efforts of the instructor. These individuals aren’t teaching for a big paycheck or an increased status; they simply do it because they love fitness and want to spread that love throughout the campus.

One of the most notable things about the class was the fact that besides myself, the rest of the participants were women. When speaking with the instructor, she explained this is a common theme across most of the group classes. Plus, when there are men who do take on a class, they usually leave after one session.

My belief is these classes are by no means gender specific, so I would recommend the experience to everyone on campus since it’s a unique way to meet people and try something new. There are plenty of different sessions, times and classes to fit whomever may be interested.

If you find yourself bored and looking for something to do, want to get some exercise or even go make new friends, sign up for a group class at the CSU Recreation Center.

Reach Dylan Heinrich at sports @collegian.com.

THE POWER OF PERSUASION

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL MARQUARDT

trying to get famous with Persuasion. It’s going to get as big as it’s going to get.”

FRAME BY FRAME

1. Concertgoers dance as Fort Collins-based band Persuasion performs “The House Is Rockin’” at Avogadro’s Number Feb. 11.

2. John Jimenez and Frank Jimenez of Fort Collins-based band Persuasion perform “No One to Depend On” at Avogadro’s Number Feb. 11. In addition to playing in Persuasion, John Jimenez works as an information technology professional for Colorado State University Athletics, while Frank Jimenez is the co-owner of Babalu’s Cuban Cuisine.

3. Juan Pablo Casillas of Fort Collins-based band Persuasion performs “Oye Como Va” at Avogadro’s Number Feb. 11. Casillas was previously the lead singer of Los Angeles-based boy band Los 5 but moved back to Colorado after growing disillusioned with the Los Angeles music industry. “Fort Collins saved me,” Casillas said. “I’m not

4. Fort Collins-based band Persuasion performs “The House Is Rockin’” at Avogadro’s Number Feb. 11.

5. Ruben Alonzo of Fort Collins-based band Persuasion performs “Africa Bamba” at Avogadro’s Number Feb. 11. Alonzo also works for the Greeley Police Department, sings in Salsa Forte Latin Collective and is the Music Director at City Park Church in Fort Collins.

RAD READS

Old Town Library hosts Tara Dairman book signing

By Sophia Masia @sophie_masia

Author Tara Dairman celebrated the release of her new book, “The Girl from Earth’s End,” on March 26 at Old Town Library.

Dairman is a middle-grade author who has published six successful novels throughout her career.

“I love to write books about kids with strong passions and big questions about the world,” Dairman said. “I’ve been writing ever since I was a kid, and I majored in creative writing in college, but it took me until my early 30s to finish my first novel.”

Her new book, “The Girl from Earth’s End,” follows the story of 12-year-old expert gardener Henna, who lives on the tiny remote island of Earth’s End with her two papas.

When one of her papas grows seriously ill, Henna embarks on a quest to find the last remaining seed of a plant she thinks will save his life.

Dairman’s books not only explore childlike passion but also give amazing examples of diversity for readers.

On her journey, Henna meets some friends: P, who is canonically genderfluid, and Lora, who uses a wheelchair. Together, the three help each other navigate love, grief and growth.

“I love to write about food and cooking in middle-grade books,

and I infuse humor into all of my books, even the more serious ones,” Dairman said. “I’m also very inspired by setting; most of my books have settings based on places I’ve traveled to around the world.”

talk to Dairman about her travels and novels and play games.

“I love fiction,” attendee Claire Hicks said. “I think Tara’s books are great for all ages, honestly, and I’m about to be 20. I’m just getting back into reading full chapter books, and I think hers are really easy to just fall into.”

Some die-hard fans shared their experiences with Dairman’s writing.

“I read her first book and loved her ever since,” said Olivia Dustin, a 10-year-old attendee. “I am excited to read ‘The Girl from Earth’s End.’”

This is Dairman’s first book tour in almost three years.

TARA

Dairman has been to more than 90 countries and also spent 2 1/2 years traveling around North America full time in a recreational vehicle with her family, whom she said greatly influences her writing.

Her signing at Old Town Library drew a crowd of over 120 fans who were ready to celebrate the release,

“It’s already been wonderful meeting young readers in person again,” Dairman said. “Truly, my main goal is to celebrate the publication of this new book. I’ve been working hard on it for five years, and I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved with the story. After these years of (the) pandemic, I don’t take the opportunity to celebrate with even a small group in person lightly.”

Dairman will be doing book signings over the next month in Cambridge, Massachusetts; New York City; Austin, Texas; and Henderson, Nevada. More information can be found on her website, taradairman.com.

However, if you missed the signing, you can still keep up to date with Dairman on her

Instagram and borrow her book from Old Town Library or purchase it at a local bookstore.

“Middle-grade books may say they’re for ages 8-12 on the cover, but really, they’re for everyone,” Dairman said. “I chose to write in this genre because those are the books that made me fall in love with reading when I was young and made me want to become a writer.”

Her continuous love for the genre shows up in her writing and her interactions with her fans.

“Even if you’re a teenager or an adult, never hesitate to pick up a middle-grade novel for pleasure,” Dairman said. “I’m certainly biased in their favor, but I think they’re the best.”

Reach Sophia Masia at entertainment@collegian.com.

“Middle-grade books may say they’re for ages 8-12 on the cover, but really, they’re for everyone. I chose to write in this genre because those are the books that made me fall in love with reading when I was young and made me want to become a writer.”

DAIRMAN MIDDLE-GRADE AUTHOR

Photo of the newly released middle-grade book from Tara Dairman, “The Girl from Earth’s End” March 26. The book follows the story of 12-year-old expert gardener Henna, who lives on the tiny remote island ofEarth’s End with her two papas.

PHOTO BY REUEL INDURKAR THE COLLEGIAN

Tara Dairman, a middle-grade author, shows a group of children her newly released book, “The Girl from Earth’s End” March 26.

PHOTO BY REUEL INDURKAR THE COLLEGIAN

Sudoku

OVERHEARD AROUND CAMPUS

“There is no mozzarella sandwich. They’re all named after drugs.”

“I’m Catholic. I don’t understand poly-aneurism.”

“My ancestors fought and died so I wouldn’t have to cut my food up to fit it in my mouth.”

“Your ancestors also gave you your small mouth.”

Have you overheard something funny on campus? Put your eavesdropping to good use. Tweet us @CSUCollegian and your submissions could be featured in our next paper!

new group of friends to take random trips with.

TAURUS (APRIL 20 - MAY 20)

WEEKLY HOROSCOPE

By Abby Flores

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (03/30/23)

ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 19)

You often worry about how you appear to others, but what you must understand is you have a unique way of navigating the world. It is through adventure and humor that you feel most happy, and you will soon have a

You have not been able to have alone time in a while and have been wondering when you’ll get to sit down without a heavy workload on your shoulders. Aries energy is in your favor this week, so you will find balance and motivation to develop consistent routines again.

GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 20)

It seems ever since Saint Patrick’s Day passed, you have been feeling lucky in all your career endeavors. I suppose you can wonder if this is only a coincidence, but my intuition says you have actually worked to get to where you are. Enjoy the present because you are blessed at this time.

CANCER (JUNE 21 - JULY 22)

You developed a closer relationship with someone who

means a lot to you. The only thing is that there will be a period of time where both of you will not see each other. Sometimes we need distance from the people we love in order to develop and come back refreshed.

LEO (JULY 23 - AUG. 22)

Sometimes our auras get tainted with other energies throughout the day. You are currently in the process of cleansing your own aura and getting rid of bad energies you may have walked past. Your symbol is the lion, so people naturally view you as powerful.

VIRGO (AUG. 23 - SEPT. 22)

Your perfectionism is a gift, not a curse, Virgo. Don’t feel bad if you need to spend extra time on projects and take the space you need to clear your head. You need more time to relax.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23 - OCT. 22)

You have been feeling more

motivated than ever to complete your goals. You are the sign of the scales, so people appreciate having you around because you bring balance into their lives. Keep staying happy and bright.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23 - NOV. 21)  The last few weeks felt slow moving, but things are picking back up again. You will spend time with more friends this week and receive a reward from the universe for being so kind.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 - DEC. 21) The reason you are so unique is you have your own style and flow. This week is all about embracing your authentic self and receiving blessings that have been long awaited for. You have been working hard to reach this point. Great job!

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22JAN. 19) You tend to be a workaholic, and this can

affect your sleep schedule. You want to find a balance between your social life and your professional life. Writing lists and keeping a scheduled routine are going to help you at this time.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 - FEB. 18)

You will soon receive an award for being a supportive and caring person in your community. You may find great happiness when you give to others and volunteer for organizations. Your humanitarian nature is a gift to this world.

PISCES (FEB. 19 - MARCH 20)

You are getting back in touch with the spiritual world after feeling blocked out of it for a while. Messages and people will show themselves to you to reveal the truth of what you have been missing. Prepare for a myriad of revelations to hit you.