The Collegian Editorial Board: ‘Gone to the Dark Side, Lucasfilm has’ | Page 4
Page 8
Culture shock
New basketball coach Larry Eustachy changes team mindset
THE RO CKY MOUNTAIN
Fort Collins, Colorado
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
COLLEGIAN
Volume 121 | No. 61
www.collegian.com
THE STUDENT VOICE OF COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1891
Amendment 65 could limit Colo. campaign spending
the
Strip club
Now that Disney has purchased Lucasfilm and is planning to release Star Wars Episode VII in 2015, the thoughts of Star Wars fans are casting around for other science fiction series’ to fill the Alderaan shaped hole in their hearts.
By Skyler Leonard The Rocky Mountain Collegian Following a controversial opinion by the supreme court on campaign finance laws in 2010, Colorado has a constitutional amendment on this year’s ballot that would direct the congressional delegation to propose and support campaign finance limits. Amendment 65 attempts to change campaign finance by instructing elected officials to introduce and pass a federal constitutional amendment that would allow for campaign finance limits. “The ultimate goal is to get big money out of our elections,” said Daniel Katz, director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG). Although no formal opposition has been made to the amendment according to the Colorado Secretary of State website, there has been criticism from those who believe the amendment will actually limit free speech. “Amendment 65 is a blank check for government censorship of political speech and goes vastly beyond what would be something more precise to reverse the Citizens United case,” said David Kopel research director of the Independence Institute. The amendment addresses Citizens United v. The Federal Election Committee, a controversial supreme court decision that found money to count as free speech and corporations as people who have a right to practice free speech. The Citizens United ruling has changed the political environment. With the inclusion of super PACs, corporations and various individuals able to make substantial contributions to campaigns, this year’s election is on track to triple the amount of money spent during the 2008 election, according to Katz. Steve Justino, the co-chair of Move to Amend, a group looking to amend the federal constitution to overturn the Citizens United ruling, said the case was a very bad tipping point for America. “I don’t think it is an See Amendment on Page 3
amendment 65 Instructs Colorado representatives in Congress to propose and support legislation limiting campaign contributions
Supporters say:
The amendment sends a message that money in politics should be limited. Passing 65 in Colorado would be a first step in changing the U.S. constitution.
Opponents say:
A ballot measure cannot force elected officials to vote for laws and policies. The amendment could lead to limits on organization’s and individuals’ free speech.
Series That Need a Movie/Show
Madison Brandt | COLLEGIAN
Jared Woodrow chooses not to celebrate Halloween because of his religious beliefs. Being a Muslim, Woodrow says there is no connection between the holiday and his country and religion.
Halloween not a holiday for everyone Religious, personal reasons stop students from celebrating By Emily Smith The Rocky Mountain Collegian
On Halloween
Halloween may seem like a harmless holiday for kids to dress up and trick-or-treat and for college students to go to costume parties, but many students don’t celebrate the occasion for personal and religious reasons. Graduate student Justin Marks, a mathematics doctoral candidate, is one of them. “It doesn’t encourage deepening of relationships within the family, or friends for that matter, like Thanksgiving and Christmas do,” Marks said, who identifies as a Christian. Marks said he trick-or-treated as a kid in costumes like dinosaurs or trains, but refrains from celebrating Halloween now because it doesn’t have a meaningful tradition behind it in Christianity, such as Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus and Easter celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. “Currently, the dominant tone of Halloween in our culture is a celebra-
Nearly 120 million American children and adults dress up in costumes. More than 35 million pounds of candy corn are sold annually. 72 percent of American adults report handing out candy. 46 percent of American adults carve a pumpkin.
tion of death and horror, which are characteristics of Satan, versus life and peace, which are attributes of Jesus and the things truly worthy of celebration,” Marks said. Marks said Halloween seems like an excuse for many people to get drunk and be promiscuous, both of which are behaviors he thinks are wrong. Marks said there isn’t much that draws him about Halloween, making it easy for him not to celebrate it. Senior health and exercise science major Rebecca Schwarz doesn’t celebrate Halloween either. Schwarz explained that in her reli-
gion, Judaism, there is a different holiday called Purim which Jewish people celebrate by dressing up in costumes and traveling to others’ houses to give them candy. Purim is usually celebrated in February or March, she said. “I can’t speak for all Jews, but most religious Jews will refrain from celebrating Halloween due to its pagan roots,” Schwarz said. The roots of Halloween and the various traditions that go along with celebrating it have been said to come from several different sources, from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain to the Catholic holiday of All Hallows Eve which takes place before All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1. Schwarz grew up not celebrating Halloween and never trick-or-treated as a child. “I did celebrate Halloween my first year up here at CSU,” Schwarz said. “It wasn’t quite as wholesome as I expected it to be, given that my See halloween on Page 3
Celebrating nine years of safe rides home By Carrie Mobley The Rocky Mountain Collegian
Amid all the midterms and papers due this week, another event occurred –– the celebration of the ninth year of RamRide and the first year of RamRide Return by the Associated Students of CSU. Since its creation in 2003, the program has given 174,038 safe rides home, according to ASCSU President Regina Martel. That’s an average of about 200 rides per night of operation. “RamRide has come such a long way,” said Becky Ewing, director of RamRide. “It’s grown not only in terms of usage, but also in staff, community support, cars and the amount of students who know about it. It has literally grown
in every aspect possible.” RamRide began in an apartment off campus, according to Ewing. The program initially rented cars for every night of operation until it became clear that it would be more cost-efficient to purchase vehicles solely for RamRide’s use. “In the beginning, the program was completely run by the RamRide and ASCSU members,” Ewing said. “They literally worked it every single weekend just to get it started, but after that it really started to grow.” Today, RamRide has its own office in the Lory Student Center, a 19-car fleet and eight paid employees. “Its really become part of our campus culture,” said Emma Lanham, a veteran
Celebrate Ramride Since its creation on Oct. 24, 2003, RamRide has: Provided 174,038 safe rides Expanded to a 19-car fleet Added a RamRide Return program to return student to their cars the next day
RamRide volunteer. “A Lot of the CSU alumni in my hometown think it’s great that its not only still here, but that it has grown so much in the last few years and really become part of who we are.” ASCSU also celebrated the first birthday of RamRide Return, an initiative implemented by the last ASCSU administration. In its pilot year, the program has seen consistently low numbers –– a trend
that some site as an attribute to the natural growing pains of a new program. “It’s grown a lot in the last year, but it’s still in its early stages,” Ewing said. “It has a lot of growing left to do … this year will play a heavy role in determining its growth and how sustainable it will be for the years to come.” The celebration included free cake for passers-by on the plaza, free t-shirts and informational fliers promoting RamRide Return. This year’s birthday celebration was low key, according to Ewing, but for RamRide’s 10th birthday, she said, the department won’t hold anything back. ASCSU Beat Reporter Carrie Mobley can be reached at news@collegian.com.
Foundation
Isaac Asimov is regarded as the King of Science Fiction. Spanning hundreds of years, and incorporating hundreds of characters, Foundation is the sci-fi equivalent to “Game of Thrones”... with less sex.
The Pendragon Adventures
A story of dimensional travel, the Pendragon Adventures centers around teenager Bobby Pendragon, who gets plucked out of his normal existence to fight against a megalomaniacal lunatic.
Old Man’s War
A story of an elderly man’s mind transplanted into a young man’s body to fight a war is rife with creative cinematic potential. The Strip Club is written by the Collegian staff.