Editorial Editor Kevin Jensen explains what last night’s debate was missing | Page 5
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A knight’s tale Jousting Club gallops into CSU
THE RO CKY MOUNTAIN
Fort Collins, Colorado
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
COLLEGIAN
Volume 121 | No. 55
www.collegian.com
THE STUDENT VOICE OF COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1891
Beloved CSU statistics instructor dies at 55 By AUSTIN BRIGGS The Rocky Mountain Collegian With an easy going manner, bright smile and willingness to spend hours outside of class helping any student who was struggling with statistics, Carl Richard Gumina inspired thousands of CSU students in his 15 years as an instructor in the Department of Statistics in the College of Natural Sciences. “He truly was a beloved teacher who cared about his students. A consummate scholar. He had a love of life you can only dream of having,” said Janice Nerger, dean of the College of Natural Sciences. “Rick was one of the finest teachers in our college.” The instructor was found unconscious Monday morning by bike racks behind the CSU Statistics Building on the Oval. After being taken from
the Colorado State University campus in an ambulance, Gumina was pronounced dead at Poudre Valley Hospital at 8:35 a.m. Monday, according to Jere Gunderson, an investigator with the Larimer County Coroner’s Office. Gunderson said the cause of death is still pending, but no foul play is suspected. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. Gumina was 55 years old. Friday afternoon Kalie McQuillen, a junior psychology and social work double major, had just turned in a project in Gumina’s statistics class. Walking out the building with a classmate, they both talked about how good of an instructor Gumina was. “We were both talking about how great he was and how we wouldn’t want any other professor teaching us statistics,” McQuillen said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CSU STATISTICS WEBSITE
Statistics Instructor Carl Richard Gumina, right, was pronounced dead at Poudre Valley Hospital early yesterday morning.
Former CSU student Ulanda Baker said Gumina put everything he had in making statistics “fun, unique and engaging” for the students who passed through his class. She said he would try to come up with subjects that a college kid might find inter-
esting, like the average length of a kiss, marriage or average amount of alcoholic beverages a college student might consume over a weekend. “He was always willing to take the extra time to answer questions. He would try so hard to come up with different ways
to help the person understand the subject,” Baker said. Former students said Gumina knew statistics was one of the more disliked classes and would joke about that with students and do everything he could to make it accessible. “It’s really hard to find good professors who teach a tough subject everybody hates,” Baker said. McQuillen said she came from a high school of 300 people and was worried she wouldn’t be able to get to know any of her professors at CSU. After taking Gumina’s STAT 311 class her freshman year, she said there was no other instructor she wanted for her STAT 312 course. “He was just a cool guy and so unpretentious,” McQuillen said. “At the beginning of every See GUMINA on Page 3
“I’m the only candidate running for president of the United States that wants to end the drug war now.” Gary Johnson | Libertarian presidential candidate
Amendment 64 supporters rally for marijuana legalization By KATE SIMMONS The Rocky Mountain Collegian
KEVIN JOHANSEN | COLLEGIAN
Teresa Tellechea watches the presidential debate with a focused look on her face at Avogadro’s Number on Monday. The College Democrats held a watching party at Avogadro’s Number, while the College Republicans held one at the Larimer County Victory Office.
Community gathers to watch the final debate By KATE SIMMONS and KATE WINKLE The Rocky Mountain Collegian The chatter of voices and crunch of paper food liners quieted as President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney addressed patrons of Avogadro’s Number from a large projector screen in the back room of the restaurant. Meanwhile, the College Republicans at CSU and community members gathered in the Larimer County Victory Office for their own debate watch party and were greeted by a life-size cardboard cutout of Romney placed next to the television broadcasting the debate. “It’s really great to get together — whatever side you’re on — and watch the debate. You can talk about things that one said, and have a verbal discourse about issues,” said Kelsey Maez, president of the CSU College Democrats. “It can really provide a venue to answer questions people have.” Economics major Tyler Marr, who attended the Republican watch party, said he thinks voters know very little about Romney’s foreign policy platform and that the debate helped reveal each candidate’s platform. “I think if voters were still undecided about [Romney] on foreign policy they probably wondered what his policy would look like,” Marr said. “I think in that aspect the
debate helped him sway undecided voters.” For some attendees, the atmosphere of the watch party determined their attitudes toward the debate. Kevin Davis, a student at Front Range Community College, came to Avogadro’s Number to spend time with his friends and play a debate drinking game, but ended up learning more about the candidates. “We actually didn’t drink almost nearly as much as we thought. We all just got too much into the actual debate,” Davis said. Both watch parties had their share of applause and groans as the candidates attempted to explain their policy positions. Obama’s experience in office leaves Romney at a disadvantage when it comes to foreign policy, according to Maez. “There are so many situations going on in various parts of the world and right now. We can’t afford to have someone who has not had any foreign policy experience,” Maez said. “We need to keep the efforts we’ve made and the strides we’ve made in foreign policy continuing.” Marr disagreed with Maez. He said that even though Romney has not had Obama’s experience as Commander in Chief, the debate allowed him to See PARTY on Page 3
Colorado voters will decide on Nov. 6 on Amendment 64 –– legislation that would regulate marijuana like alcohol and it make the state among the first in the nation to profit from the substance’s legalization. It proposes modifying Colorado’s Constitution to allow individuals 21 years old or older to possess, use, grow and transfer up to one ounce of marijuana or up to six marijuana plants, with certain restrictions. Adults would be allowed to share up to one ounce of marijuana with other individuals over the age of 21, but are not allowed to sell it. According to Vote No On 64, one ounce of marijuana is the equivalent of 60 joints –– others say it comes out to 40 joints. “Marijuana prohibition has failed and 64 is a sensible, evidence based approach for Colorado,” said Betty Aldworth, a spokesperson for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. At a campaign event that took place in Fort Collins on Oct. 19, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson said that 90 percent of the problems with drugs in this country are problems because of prohibition, not use. “I’m the only candidate running for president of the United States that wants to end the drug war now; legalize marijuana now,” Johnson said at a former medical marijuana dispensary. “Colorado has the opportunity to change drug policy worldwide.” Changing drug policy worldwide is the same reason
Rachel Drechsler, treasurer for the College Republicans at CSU, said she is opposed to the amendment. “I believe that by regulating marijuana, the state of Colorado would become an epicenter for the drug trafficking across the nation,” Drechsler wrote in an email to the Collegian. Dreschsler stated that she also worries about the impact marijuana legalization would have in Fort Collins and on the CSU campus. “I believe that if Amendment 64 was made legal here it would directly impact the availability of marijuana across campus which would directly encourage a higher rate of use among students which would lead to a less academically inclined community,” Dreschsler wrote. In September, Gov. Hickenlooper opposed the amendment saying it would inhibit Colorado from remaining the healthiest state in the nation and it has the potential to tell children that drugs are OK. “While we are sympathetic to the unfairness of burdening young people with felony records for often minor marijuana transgressions, we trust that state lawmakers and district attorneys will work to mitigate such inequities,” Hickenlooper said in his statement. Dawn Nannini, evaluation specialist at Team Fort Collins, a local organization dedicated to preventing the abuse and illegal use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, also worries legalization of marijuana would negatively See AMENDMENT on Page 7
the
STRIP CLUB
The CSU Jousting Club is happening! Now everyone who has ever wanted to be Heath Ledger in “A Knight’s Tale” can live out their fantasy of riding atop a horse, clad in knight’s armor and wielding a lance and shield. The creation of a Jousting Club now begs the question, what other cool clubs should CSU students put together?
Cool Clubs We Wish We Had Live Action Role Playing
Since we’re going full medieval now, CSU needs to approve full contact “LARPing.” Swords, axes, armor –– the whole nine yards. It is one step closer to a CSU Renaissance Festival.
CSU Wakeboarding/ Waterskiing
All of us in the Fort live within easy driving distance of a perfectly usable large body of water: Horsetooth Reservoir. People are wakeboarding and waterskiing up there all the time when it is warm and it isn’t exactly difficult to have fun doing it.
Trampoline Sports
If it is good enough for the Olympics, it is good enough for us. Trampolines are some of the things that just never ever get old. The Strip Club is written by the Collegian staff.