Volume 120, Issue 8

THEO JAMES GETS HIS ‘GOLDEN’ OPPORTUNITY

| Page 11

University of Denver student newspaper since 1899

Vol. 120, Issue 8

March 5, 2013

www.duclarion.com

Boone funding Pios clinch conference victory The Head and the pulled by USG Heart to perform at Musicfest

by anita balakrishnan Editor -in-chief

The Resolution: summary of the new rule The resolution stipulates in the 30 days between the finalization of the school mascot and the enactment of the funding ban, USG and the School Mascot Task Force “ will notify the student body of all policy changes, hold forums for student and student organizations to ask questions and other necessary steps to ensure a smooth transition.”

SEE resolution, PAGE 2

by gigi pecollo Assistant News Editor

kim nesbitt|clarion

New Mexico State’s 7-foot 5-inch center, Sim Bhullar, tries to block freshman Jalen Love’s drive to the net.

SEE o’neale, PAGE 14

One of the featured performers at DU’s annual Musicfest on May 25 in Magness Arena will be The Head and the Heart, a Seattle-based folk band.

“We are over-the-moon excited,” said Sam Estenson, USG president and DUPB Concerts co-chair .

Estenson said DUPB has been working with Amplitude Entertainment, a Boulderbased entertainment agency that deals specifically with student programming boards.

“They’ve been a huge help to us,” said Estenson.

The Ritchie Center has also been working with DUPB to host the event in Magness.

“The Ritchie Center has just been a huge support in all of this, giving us a lot of their know-how,” said Estenson. “I’m very confident this is just the first partnership that will be happening.”

All the student tickets will be general admission, with 6,000 seats available. Tickets sales will be opened to the public after students have had a chance to buy them.

Student tickets will cost $9.95; student presale starts Friday, March 8.

Musicfest will take place on the last day of May Days.

“We think timing-wise it’s perfect,” said Estenson. “We hope this will be a big event students will look forward to.”

Other band names will be released as the event draws closer. Students can visit the DUPB Facebook Page for more information.

Staff, professors donate $776K to ASCEND by gigi peccolo Assistant News Editor

Staff and faculty members have raised over $776,000 for the University in an annual campaign, according to Scott Lumpkin, vice chancellor of University Advancement.

“The Faculty & Staff Campaign, part of the ASCEND campaign, is an annual campaign that offers a way for individuals who work here to also invest in the longterm health of the University by making a financial gift,” said Lumpkin. “The goal of the Faculty & Staff Campaign is participation; gifts of all sizes make a difference in the lives of our students.”

About 26.6 percent of staff members gave to the campaign; only full-time employees are included in the tally. The total number of staff members that have donated is 2,154.

Fiddler raises the roof off the Newman Center LIFESTYLES | Page 6

QUOTABLE

Undergraduate Student Government (USG) passed a resolution Tuesday night enacting a ban on the use of funds provided by USG to student organizations to purchase merchandise featuring the image of Boone. The ban will become effective 30 days after the School Mascot Task Force has “finalized, produced and approved, with administrative support, a new school mascot.”

The resolution also enacted an immediate ban on USG committees using funds to purchase merchandise with an image of Boone. Finance Committee, which funds student organizations, will pass separate bylaws to handle the ban when it takes effect for student organizations in a 30-day grace period.

The vote occurred during the normal USG meeting at 6 p.m. in Driscoll Underground and was attended by more than 50 students, faculty and alumni. Discussion was limited to two minutes of comment per person and final votes were cast by paper ballot counted by Carl Johnson, USG adviser and executive director of Student Activities, and announced to the audience.

Parker Calbert, USG vice president, moderated the discussion. She opened the discussion with a personal statement on behalf of herself and Student Body President, Sam Estenson.

“Sam and I were elected on platforms of inclusive excellence and on bridging gaps in school spirit. We do not see these as separate issues, but two goals we are working toward together,” said Calbert.

Estenson further explained his overarching goal for the transition away from Boone.

“This is going to be a long process, this is not going to happen overnight, but I challenge all of you find the enthusiasm to actively find a mascot that we can all rally around,” said Estenson.

“We simply emphasize the opportunity and importance of investing in our students’ future,” said Lumpkin. “Gifts to the university – no matter the designation – enhance the student experience and help to make a DU education all that it can be for our students.”

According to Lumpkin, the Faculty & Staff Campaign started in 2011. The University has also been running a “comprehensive campaign,” ASCEND: The Campaign for the University of Denver, since 2006, including all annual giving contributions as well as major gifts, according to the ASCEND website.

“Through ASCEND we are strengthening the people and programs at the heart of our university,” said Lumpkin.

“Scholarships, endowed faculty funds, future-focused programs and select facili-

ties are among the campaign priorities.”

Since the beginning of the ASCEND campaign, the school has brought in over $400 million, with $63 million coming in since the beginning of the fiscal year. During 2012, the campaign raised $51 million.

The ASCEND campaign has set aside over $116 million for scholarships; 417 new scholarships have also been established.

“Scholarships make the University of Denver experience available to outstanding students from all background,” said Lumpkin. “Great students invigorate the campus both academically and socially, and they go on to become leaders in our world.”

According to Lumpkin, those who give money to the university specify where they want the money to go to.

“The privilege of white oblivion is slowly slipping away.”

OPINIONS | Page 9

SEE faculty, PAGE 2

$7.25

Federal minimum wage per hour worked

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Resolution bans Boone funding Continued from page 1 According to the resolution, after the transition period, any entity funded by USG that uses funds to purchase merchandise with the image of Boone may have their funds frozen “at the discretion of the Finance Committee and their perception of prior understanding of the rules and the severity of the situation.”

The resolution further stipulates that a student organization can have its licensing revoked by the Student Organizations Committee if it violates the resolution, and will have its student organization’s licensing revoked “without exception” after a second offense.

Four amendments were made to the final resolution.

One amendment, suggested by commenter and alumnus Tim Healy, “acknowledges alumni support of Boone as a part of their history with the University of Denver, but recognizes that the campus climate has shifted.”

Three other amendments were suggested by Jake Muniz, Senator an amendment removing the requirement that USG fund the costume of the new mascot, the removal of Finance Committee as part of the USG committees immediately banned from funding Boone, and an addition that Finance Committee adopt bylaws that reflect the spirit of the resolution.

The amendments were made to maintain the current structure by which Finance committee funds student organizations.

Another amendment, clarifying that USG was reaffirming their lack of support based on statements by DU administrators, was also included.

The resolution was written by Craig Hirokawa senior political science and international studies major and social sciences senator, Alisa Brown, psychology and Spanish major and sophomore senator, Zach Gonzales, senior mathematics and economics major and arts and humanities senator, and co-sponsored by Harper Hill, junior chair of campus climate, senior Jackie Faust, senior senator, Katherine Snow, junior international studies and political studies major and offcampus senator, senior Electrical and Electronics Engineering major Emily Wetmore and science, engineering and computer science senator, and Vanessa Teck, digital media studies · intercultural communication senior senator.

The meeting: Discussion of the resolution Nine of the students and three audience members provided comments during the two-hour meeting.

The Native Student Alliance, which has been among the groups that have opposed Boone since the early 1990s,

had four members voice their support of the bill at the meeting: senior psychology major Vanessa Racehorse, junior sociology and theater major Jose Guerrero, junior psychology major Amanda Williams and junior chemistry major Julia Bramante.

“This bill is a tremendous step in the right direction. If it were to be passed, it would uphold the values by which DU eliminated Boone in 1998,” said Racehorse.

Bramante, who is the cochair of NSA, added to Racehorse’s statement later in the meeting.

“I’ve heard the questions raised, ‘Is this issue important? Will this [resolution] make a difference or change anything?’ My answer to those questions is, ‘Yes, absolutely,’” said Bramante.’“If you have to ask, just look at the turnout at his meeting tonight. It’s very important that USG takes a stand on this for the student community - are we going to take a step forward toward a new mascot or take a step back?

You don’t need to understand it’s offensive or why there is so much need to change. If you can understand that people are deeply hurt by it, out of love your DU peers you should be able to support it. “ Stuart Portman, senior Biology major, Lena Chhay sophomore political science and international studies major, Neal Feldman, junior International Studies major and Ashlee Shaw Gonzales, junior English and political science major, all voiced their support of the resolution.

“I believe this bill is perfectly written – 30 days will not leave much of a void. As long as we know something is coming, the student body will have something new to rally around,” said Chhay.

Other commenters supported the movement toward a new mascot but questioned the timing and language proposed in the bill. Junior Erik Meek, who has served on the spirit committee, in Greek Life leadership and organizes tailgates for DU athletic events, spoke to the confusion that the lack of mascot might have for the committee.

“We must move forward toward the next mascot – however, spirit committee will be put in a tough spot [by this resolution.] We have some major events coming up in the next two quarters – the mile high tailgate, a big season for men’s lacrosse and men’s basketball is also performing well and will likely make it to playoffs. These games will be nationally televised with no mascot,” said Meek.

Sophomore Adam Hammerman, presented USG with a petition signed by 230 students urging USG to delay the resolution until the student body could vote between Boone and the new mascot proposed by the School Mascot Task Force.

Both Estenson and Snow responded to the petition.

“The work of the student task force is not intended for popular vote, but to narrow down the possible images that reflect our values for a mascot, and will become a formal recommendation for the Board of Trustees, Provost, Chancellor,” said Estenson. “This is something that the student body can’t just pick, because we [the student body] are not entertaining a large portion of our community.”

“When we [Brown and Snow, author and co-sponsor] were writing this bill, we tried to come up some sort of vote, images to pin up on a bulletin board somewhere or something, and we realized that most of the possible suggestions from students would be sarcastic versions of what a mascot could be. No democracy descended straight from the student body will work for this, unfortunately,” said Snow.

Going forward Amster, Hill and Hirokawa addressed challenges to come if the bill passed.

“This transition will be hard for everyone… Boone is not official, but he is something, though,” said Amster.

“There is no perfect time to challenge a loved figure. But there is just no justification for pushing this off,” said Hill.

“It [the resolution] paves the way for the new mascot, whoever it is, to be successful,” said Hirokawa, referring to a previous attempt at a new mascot, Ruckus the red-tailed hawk.

Sam Garry and Hayden Johnston expressed lingering concerns about the resolutions’ timing, with Garry maintaining that the resolution was “two quarters too early.”

“I’m not opposed to a new mascot or moving past Boone and I don’t want to marginalize anyone’s sentiments here tonight,” said Johnston. “ But I’ve heard that this [resolution] is preemptive and that is correct. I think we can’t make this discussion final because we need on paper what the new decided mascot will be. Pushing the discussion of the new mascot to Thursday makes no sense to me… I oppose this bill not for what it stands for but because it is too hasty.”

The school mascot task force held the first of many meetings Thursday at 4 p.m. to get feedback from the student body about a new official mascot. According to Estenson, the meeting allowed students discuss “values and components” of the new mascot.

“And now we begin. This is a gargantuan task and we want to make sure that we do it properly. The next step will be to start collecting qualitative and quantitative data from the many varied and valuable voices that make up this university,” said Estenson.

P O L I C E

R E P O R T

HIT AND RUN

the scene, officers spoke with Sodexo staff who stated that an unknown person has been stealing coffee from Jazzman’s Cafe.

On Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 2:18 p.m., a Parking Enforcement Officer (PEO) met with an unaffiliated party who wanted to report a hit and run collision in Lot 311. The party stated that while their vehicle was parked in the lot it had sustained moderate damage.

THEFT On Thursday, Feb. 28 at 11:54 a.m., Campus Safety responded to a call regarding a theft from Driscoll North. Upon arrival at

DRUGS On Friday, March 1 at an unspecified time, Campus Safety responded to call regarding the ordo r of marijuana emanating from a residential room in Centennial Halls. Officers arrived on teh scene and confirmed the odor. There were no students in the room at the time of hte investigation.

Faculty rise up for ASCEND Continued from front-page

“When an individual makes a gift to the University, whether it’s for scholarships, their favorite academic or athletic program, or a capital project like the Anderson Academic Commons, they make a difference in the lives of our students,” said Lumpkin.

The total cost of the Anderson Academic Commons was $32 million. Roughly

a third of funding came from gifts, a third from institution funding and another third from academic units.

Other popular designations for funding include Athletics, Anderson Academic Commons, and academic units such as the Daniels College of Business, the Division of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Josef Korbel School of International Studies.

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Biology department addresses growing pains by lanna giauQue Staff Writer

A recent rise in undergraduate enrollment in the DU Biology Program and increasing class sizes has faculty adding more sections of courses, increasing department hires, exploring new teaching methods and re-evaluating current standards of undergraduate education in the sciences.

According to Professor Jim Fogleman, former Dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, several freshman biology classes are now taught two or three times per day because there are over 200 students interested in taking them.

Joseph Angleson, Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, said the department has seen steady growth in the past decade, but the growth has increased rapidly in the past three to four years. Increases in student enrollment during this period have reached up to 20 percent per year.

Fogleman says this increase should not, however, result in restrictions on enrollment or second applications like those currently required by the Daniel’s College of Business.

“Part of the reason the business school did that was to try to ensure a higher quality student in the program. I’m not sure that we have that sort of problem in biology,” said Fogleman. “I can’t imagine that we would put a restriction on science majors.

That would be objectionable to any science faculty member.”

Still, Angleson says the increase in enrollment has impacted class sizes.

“Where it’s most noticeable is in the intro classes—intro science classes, whether it be in biology, chemistry or physics, at any university tend to be big relative to that university,” said Angleson.

Classes at DU are capped at 100 students. One of the reasons for this number, according to Angleson, is that DU has very few rooms on campus that can support classes of that size. To stay within this limitation, the biology department has started offering multiple lecture sections, especially for introductory level courses, which has helped the department keep introductory-level class-size averages to 60-70 people.

Angleson cites these relatively small class sizes, even for introductorylevel classes, as an important factor in helping professors get to know their students and keeping their classes engaged.

“Our big is still small, relatively,” said Angleson. “Our goal is constantly to provide a really good experience for science majors here, and that includes keeping class sizes down.”

Maintaining this standard is not always easy, as Angleson has found during his time as chair of the Department of Biological Studies. Every quarter during advising week, Angleson spends the entire week solving scheduling conflicts and managing the depart-

ment’s enrollment. One common challenge is unexpected demand for courses. This can increase the number of lab sections needed for that course, which then requires both additional lab space and the use of additional resources such as Teaching Assistants. Additionally, since biology majors are required to take several chemistry classes, these scheduling challenges extend across departments as well.

Angleson says that rearranging schedules to accommodate student needs, a common occurrence at DU, does not often happen at larger schools, where students can get up to a year behind due to scheduling conflicts.

“We don’t ever want science majors to get locked out of a class.

We really try to accommodate them,” said Angleson.

This is not, however, the department’s only challenge.

According to Angleson, the goals of solving scheduling problems and offering more sections of introductory-level courses to keep class sizes down have to be balanced with keeping upper-level classes small and allowing time for independent student and faculty research.

“We really do try to do it all.

We want to give the absolute best experience for the undergraduates and at the same time we want to let the faculty do their research, so it is a balancing act,” said Angleson.

The only way to accomplish all of these goals, says Angleson, is to grow. Therefore, the department currently has on-staff four lecturers and

18 tenure-track faculty members in biology, and is currently searching for an additional tenure-track professor. Lecturers focus exclusively on teaching, while tenure-track professors are responsible for both teaching and research and are expected to secure outside grants for that research. While it is a big investment in terms of both time and money to hire tenuretrack faculty, Angleson says this option is considered the better of the two by administrators in the department.

“We very much prefer tenure track hires because those are the people that do research,” he said.

“Undergraduates can really benefit from that because that means the person teaching their classes is literally, by definition, an expert in the field.”

According to Angleson, the research experience of faculty is especially important in the smaller and more discussion-oriented upper-level classes, although he emphasizes that the quality in teaching should not change based on the faculty member.

“Hopefully from the undergraduate student perspective, it’s not that different, because hopefully we have a quality teacher regardless of what their rank is,” said Angleson.

Looking to the future, Angleson says he expects interest in science to continue to grow both at DU and across the country, although not necessarily at the same high rates the department

has seen recently. This, in turn, means that additional accommodations and adaptations will have to be made within university science departments.

He said one way he expects to see this happen is through changes in class structures. Hybrid teaching technologies, in which a course is taught through a combination of traditional face-to-face lectures and online supplemental activities, are already being tested at DU in pilot studies.

What Angleson does not expect to see is change in the role of professors in universities. He says that for universities such as DU to continue to say they are research institutions, they have to keep tenure-track faculty on staff to conduct research.

“There’s definitely going to be change. It’s hard to say what, but the role of the teacher and the researcher, as long as the university wants to remain a research institution, isn’t going to disappear,” said Angleson.

Angleson also says he does not expect the quality of teaching and research, opportunities available to students, and student experiences in courses to change.

“All of these things that DU really prides itself on, we’re still trying to accommodate, even as we’re growing pretty rapidly,” said Angleson. “I think for the most part we’re doing a good job of accomplishing that.”ing and research, opportunities available to students, and student experiences in courses will change.

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Inclusivity competition offers $6K prize by carolyn neff Senior Reporter

Topics for the Daniels College of Business fourth Inclusive Excellence Business Case Competition will be released early next week.

The competition will take place Friday, April 12, and will see approximately 25 students provide potential solutions for a live business case proposed by telecommunications company CenturyLink.

According to Daniels Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Dorothy Joseph, the competition connects undergraduate and graduate students with companies committed to providing a better understanding of inclusivity and its role in business.

Joseph said that scholarships are awarded to the three top teams. This yar the winning team will receive $6,000, second place will get $4,000 and third place will take home $2,000.

“The prize amounts have not always been the same,” said Joseph.

“The first-place prize money was somewhat reduced last year.”

According to Joseph, funds for competition winners will receive prize money from CenturyLink, who is sponsoring the competition and reception. As sponsor, CenturyLink will write a business case about a current issue in their company.

The winners are determined by judges from various companies, this year including CenturyLink, Target, United

Launch Alliance, Charles Schwab, Molson Coors and FirstBank among other corporations.

Apart from the success achievement of winning the Inclusive Excellence Case Competition, Joseph said the competition is a fantastic opportunity for students to get in front of corporations and make connections.

“It’s all about networking,” said Joseph. “By participating in the competition, students are able to enter the workforce with more knowledge about the importance of inclusivity and how to work in groups where people are not all alike.”

Joseph said that the IE Business Case Competitions started four years ago, after a former Daniels employee in the Career Center started a multicultural career fair that drew participants from all around the state. However, the competition is now no longer for the entire state, but instead specifically for DU and Daniels.

According to Joseph, while the case competition is not directly related to any Daniels courses, inclusivity is at the center of the competition. As such, Joseph said that the competition gives students from different academic disciplines, ages and ethnicities the opportunity to work on a live case.

Similarly, Joseph’s graduate assistant and planning partner Kathryn Ruggeri said students are asked to compose their teams as diversely as possible based on a variety of criteria.

In the past, Joseph said that there have been six teams of four students. However, this year it has changed.

“Students are now encouraged to form teams of four to six people, which provides more flexibility and opportunity for more students to participate,” Joseph said. “We are trying to be as inclusive as possible, so that every student who wants to get on a team hopefully can.”

“Teams are selected for the competition based on several factors, and the key sponsor [CenturyLink] will have some say in this,” said Ruggeri. “For example, teams are evaluated on whether or not they meet the formation criteria, their responses to a number of short answer questions on inclusive excellence, as well as their resumes.”

Joseph said that compared to last year, there has been a “tremendous” increase in IE Case Competition interest and awareness among students.

“We’re all learning a lot of things and we’re getting better and better as we have more resources.” said Joseph. “Obviously just having someone like Kathryn [Ruggeri] to help and who has been completely dedicated to the execution of the project has been great.”

Joseph said that the competition this year was planned by the Inclusive Excellence Committee, co-chaired by David Corsun and Marilyn Hughes with the help of graduate assistant Kathryn Ruggeri. They also partnered with the

Center for Multicultural Excellence (CME).

“Whatever the issue, students get to work with companies on live cases, in which they attempt to provide potential solutions and suggestions to the issue through research, analysis and a final presentation,” said Joseph.

Joseph said that some of the companies’ past issues have been about veterans and specific minority populations.

According to Ruggeri, the committee is still working with CenturyLink to develop the live case, which will be released to the selected teams March 11.

One of the most beneficial aspects of the competition is that students get to meet with representatives of the companies throughout the competition, which includes the pre-information sessions known as Lunch & Learns said Joseph.

“Representatives from companies enjoy watching the students interact, particularly with judges and individuals from the corporations,” said Joseph.

“Great companies such as Kaiser Permanente, CenturyLink and Charles Schwab that have participated in the past really enjoy the program.”

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Have Fun and Promote Conservative Ideas with Other Students Like Yourself!

You can provide a bold alternative on campus and ensure your peers are introduced to conservative ideas by launching a Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter. YAF chapters bring students together to advocate for individual freedom, limited government, free enterprise, strong national defense, and traditional values, by organizing campus initiatives, hosting conservative speakers, posting flyers, and more.

You can take the first steps to launch your chapter, change your campus, and begin a life-long career in the Conservative Movement right now! Visit yaf.org to start your chapter today!

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Start a Young Americans for Freedom Chapter on Your Campus!

Young Americans for Freedom is a project of Young America’s Foundation.

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March 5, 2013

Students ‘fiddle’ with tradition by camilla sterne Contributing Writer

This past week, the students of the Lamont School of Music and the Department of Theatre delivered a visceral rendition of Tony Award- winning musical, “Fiddler on the Roof ” this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The show will continue next Friday and Saturday at 7: 30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

“Fiddler on the Roof ” is set in prerevolutionary Tsarist Russia in 1905. It tells the story of a poor Jewish milkman named Tevye whose five daughters are constantly challenging his traditional values. It is a story of familial and romantic love, community, religion, tradition and political tumult.

Taking place in the Byron Flexible Theatre and directed by Pamyla Stiehl, a professor of Musical Theatre, Acting, Theatre History and Women’s Studies at DU, “Fiddler” made full use of the intimacy that can be accomplished between audience and cast in a theatre-in-theround format.

The Byron Flexible Theatre can be arranged in any configuration according to the set designer and director’s wishes.

Stiehl wanted to rethink the traditional way in which “Fiddler” is performed, and did so by using an atypical theatre format.

“We wanted to make it different,” Stiehl said.

Theatre-in-the-round, or Arena theatre, is a format of theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. The blocking and choreography integrated the actors into the midst of the crowd.

The audience was enveloped in the music and movement of the production.

Through candlelit ballads, rejoicing odes and eerie dream sequences, the audience became intermingled into

the feeling, movement and intensity of the production.

Choreography ranged from boisterous and celebratory to deliberate and unadorned, and was complemented by a rustic and minimal set.

Stiehl, who also choreographed the production, included the traditional Eastern European and Russian folk dance known as “the bottle dance” in which men balance bottles filled with sand on their hats and dance in unison.

Featuring Russian folk music akin to Hava Nagila, the tunes were performed by a small pit orchestra. Senior music major Lucia Thomas from Evanston, IL played fiddle numbers with ease and vitality.

Director Stiehl hired Denver actor John Arp, 44, to fill the role of Tevye, which he did with natural and utterly human vulnerability.

Stiehl chose to hire Arp because she knew what a burden the role of Tevye was. She knew Arp from his work in Denver and his respectable reputation as a character actor. The strenuous role even challenged a professional actor like Arp. “He would come in hours before rehearsal to rehearse his own stuff,” said Stiehl.

She also wanted him to act as a mentor for students in the production.

Arp has been active in the Denver theatre scene for 17 years and performs at a variety of venues including the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities. Arp said he loved working with students.

“They are so hungry to make it work.

It has been a blast,” he said.

Jerica Khosla, a junior French and theatre major from Pueblo, portrayed Tevye’s alter ego, the Fiddler. Her depiction of the Fiddler was subtle and playful.

photo courtesy of du internal photos

“Fiddler on the Roof” opened at Lamont last Thursday and will continue next Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Fiddler, a separate character functioning as Tevye’s conscience, appears on the stage with Tevye as he struggles with moral and ideological questions. Khosla’s depiction of the Fiddler was subtle and playful.

“The Fiddler embodies the tradition.

It represents the disjuncture between tradition and Tevye’s love for his daughters,” said Khosla.

Khosla’s role is a non-speaking role.

She discussed the challenges of portraying a character without the aid of words.

“I firmly believe you can portray as much with your body as with your voice,” said Khosla. “Physicality is universal.”

Junior Opera Major George Arvidson filled the role of Perchick, a student and Bolshevik revolutionary, who falls in love with Tevye’s daughter Hodel. Arvidson portrayed a virtuous and passionate Perchick, and was also one of the three

spectacular bottle dancers.

Arvidson said the cast got along well and that the production had positive energy.

“This has been a really positive experience,” he said. “Pam is a phenomenal director.”

Characters range from a boyish and eager Motel, to a comical and fumbling Rabbi who seems to have lost his words, to a love-struck and vulnerable Chava, this production certainly succeeded in pulling heart strings and fiddle strings alike.

The production was far from elaborate, but its sincere and understated display of human emotion was anything but simplistic.

Begin the plunge into finals week with tradition, feeling and entertainment.

Tickets can be purchased at the Newman Center Ticket Office for $15 with a student ID and $22 for the general public.

Restaurant week provides cheap eats by maura shea Staff Writer

Denver has delicious dining options that are out of reach for many students because the price is not right. Luckily, Denver Restaurant Week is happening through March 8 and gives students the opportunity to eat like kings and queens at a fraction of the price.

Starting in 2004 by Visit Denver to promote Denver’s culinary scene, over 300 restaurants now participate in Denver’s Restaurant Week, each offering customers a dinner priced at $52.80 for two or $26.40 for one, not including tax or gratuity, in honor of Denver’s elevation at 5280 feet.

Each restaurant features a unique menu or food and drink selection in honor of Restaurant Week, and many restaurants change their 5280 menu during the second week.

Often times, restaurants who participate in Restaurant Week are on the more expensive side, making 5280 a perfect time for students to eat amazing food at a lower price. Here are three local gems in the surrounding Denver area that are participating in 5280 week that students should be sure not to miss.

Cherry Creek Located on 3041 E. 3rd Ave, Cucina Colore Trattoria & Bar is a cozy Italian restaurant that offers contemporary Italian foods that will leave customers full and satisfied. While generally out of the average college student’s price

range, its modern feel makes it a great option for a date night or a relaxing dinner with friends. Known for its wood-fired pizzas, pastas and salads, Cucina Colore is offering a four-course experience this week starting with a choice of five appetizers. Options include the baked fonuta—an artichoke dip with blue crab, spinach, mozzarella, fontina, focaccia and crostini. They will also be offering an arugula salad with grilled shrimp, shaved parmigiano and fresh lemon.

For the second course, pasta and other main course dishes are offered including a pan-seared salmon served with brussel sprouts, cipollini onion, pancetta and celery root puree.

For dessert, customers have a choice between peach bread pudding and the tiramisu espresso. The restaurant is also featuring wines by the glass for $5.28 and by the bottle for $26.40 and $52.80.

Information about the wines available are explained by the server.

While walk-ins are welcome, it’s recommended by staff to call ahead for reservations as tables fill up quickly during Restaurant Week. The 5280 menu are available Tuesday-Thursday from 4-10 p.m.

Capitol Hill If students are looking for an elegant date-night dining experience or a delicious way to end a stressful day, Table 6 is the place to go. Located at 609 Corona St., Table 6’s food comes out prepared

four-star quality and looks almost too perfect to eat. With main courses generally priced between $19 and $32, the tab can add up quite quickly. During restaurant week, they are offering a three-course special.

The first course can be chosen from three options including a chopped salad topped with citrus ranch, chicken ham and Marcona Almonds. Tater tots served with “blood orange ketchup,” are another option according to the menu on the Denver Restaurant Week website.

For entrees, customers can choose between petit basque risotto, fettuccine with smokey marrow and parmesan broth or the “beast of the night,” which can be a roasted brisket or steak depending on availability. Served with gold potato, Jardiniere, vinegar jus and scalloped egg, it’s one of their most popular dishes.

The dining experience is finished with either a coconut cream pie served with cocoa nibs and whipped cream or the chocolate beignets with apricot puree and walnut sugar.

Table 6 will also be serving wine by the glass for $5.28, including some cabernets and pinot grigios. Depending on the wine, bottles will be served for either $26.40 or $52.80.

The restaurant still has seating availabilities through the end of the week, but it’s recommended by restaurant staff to check OpenTable.com for reservations.

5280 specials will be offered from 5-10 p.m. through this Friday.

Downtown

If students are looking for a new restaurant to enjoy, Southern Hospitality Restaurant & Bar opened in February and has brought southern comfort foods into downtown Denver. Its casual bar setting makes it the perfect location for a stop during a night out on the town. This menu encompasses over 25 items for customers during a threecourse meal.

Notable appetizer options include BBQ pulled pork or chicken sliders, egg rolls with smoked prime rib, cheese and grilled onions and BBQ nachos served with baked beans, cheddar cheese, jalapenos and many other toppings.

For the second course, customers can address their seafood craving with shrimp and grits served with jumbo shrimp, garlic mushrooms and andouille sausage. Other options include beef brisket seasoned and slow roasted for 12 hours.

For the third course, Southern Hospitality offers every dessert customers could possibly want, from banana pudding to pecan pie and a double chocolate milkshake.

Restaurant Week is a great opportunity for students to step out of their comfort zone and try many of the different restaurants that Denver has to offer where prices might usually prohibit them. Many vegan-friendly restaurants are also participating in the event.

For a complete list of participating restaurants and its course options, visit http://www.denver.org/denverrestaurant/.

March 5, 2013

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Gamma Phi-Oke sings, raises funds

photo courtesy of emma calderon

Members of the Delta Gamma sorority perform “Want U Back” by Cher Lloyd at last Tuesday’s Gamma PhiOke event held in the Davis Auditorium.

by kameryn tanita Senior Reporter

Anyone looking for an evening of entertainment was sure to find it last Tuesday at Gamma Phi Beta sorority’s annual Gamma Phi-Oke Karaoke fundraiser.

Open to all students, the event was held in Davis Auditorium from 6-9 p.m. and included performances from one of DU’s a cappella groups, the Idiosingcracies and members of Greek Life.

Money from this event will go to Gamma Phi Beta’s current philanthropy, Girls Incorporation of Metro Denver.

“Their [Girls Inc. of Metro Denver] mission is to create smart, bold girls,” said freshman Marketing and Emerging Digital Practices major Alana Dreimann, who is the Philanthropy Chair and organized this year’s event. “Our philanthropy in general with Gamma Phi is any philanthropy that builds strong girls and we worked with them last year as well.”

So far, they have raised $2,029 not including the chapters of Greek Life who chose to donate more money, according to Dreimann.

Last year, Gamma Phi Beta raised $1,226.45 for the Girls Incorporation of Metro Denver, according to sophomore Biology major and Financial Vice President Alisa Phillips.

“We’re hoping to raise a few thousand dollars [this year] once the money from Greek Life is counted,” said Dreimann.

Idiosingcracies started off the show and performed two songs and then there was an open-mic portion with three different performances. Following this was the main event, karaoke. There were 12 different karaoke performances from groups of Sigma Chi, Beta Theta Pi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Delta Gamma, Zeta Beta Tau and one group that was not affiliated with Greek life.

With high-energy performances and engaged audience members, the groups had organized costumes and choreography.

“It was really funny, it was a great event because everyone was so dressed up and had different performances,” said Dreimann.

One group performed a song from Disney’s “The Lion King” and another did a song from “Mulan.”

The majority of performances were from fraternities but there was one group of eight Delta Gamma girls who performed “Want U Back” by Cher Lloyd. There was even a solo performance of “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show.

According to one performer, sophomore Sarah Sutin from Delta Gamma

Sorority, the performances were carefree.

Sutin performed with five other girls and she helped choreograph the dance.

“We were just having fun with it— [Eliya] and I choreographed the dance a few days before and then we taught it to the girls a couple of hours before,” said Sutin.

The winners of Gamma Phi-Oke were a group from Beta Theta Pi fraternity, who performed “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line. Delta Gamma sorority got second place with “Want U Back” by Cher Lloyd and a group from Zeta Beta Tau received third place for their performance of “Look At Me Now” by Chris Brown. The winning group of Beta Theta Pi performers received a $100 cash prize as a group, which came out of Gamma Phi Beta’s budget.

The judges of the performances were three house-mothers, or chaperones, from the Gamma Phi Beta and Delta Gamma Sororities and the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. This year, the judging was different for the performances.

“In the past we had all the judges write down comments and they deliberated at the end and they picked the winners and this year we gave them five categories to scale from one to 10 so it was appearance, vocal ability, choreography and things like that and we tallied all the scores up at the end,” said Dreimann.

Gamma Phi Beta sold tickets in advance for $5 and then $7 at the door and each group paid a $35 fee to perform.

“We appreciate all the support that we got from DU this past week,” said Phillips.

“Our philanthropy does mean a lot and its amazing that so many people wanted to support that.”

ABC correspondent sits down with the Clarion by clarion staff As told by Martha Raddatz

The Clarion had the chance to sit down with ABC’s Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Martha Raddatz for a short interview last Monday evening after she gave a speech at the Lamont School of Music regarding her more than 30-year career in journalism and foreign affairs. Raddatz is well known for her time spent reporting on the war in Iraq, her book “The Long Road Home,” published in 2007, as well as her position as moderator for the Vice Presidential debate last October. As follows, are the questions we asked and her responses: Clarion: What is the biggest issue that you think college students should be educated on? What should we be concerned about in terms of international news?

MR: I think if you haven’t traveled, and obviously most college kids haven’t, then seeing how America is perceived is sometimes different than you would think. I think Americans tend to think, and your generation not as much as mine, that everybody just loves us and I think that is not always the case. Some of [these stereotypes] are not real.

Some of it is rumors, but some of it is real. Think about trying to change the world [and] about how America is viewed. I think theres’ a lot of repair to do.

Clarion:What do you think we can do with that? What can we do to change that perception?

MR: I don’t know, I guess it’s

probably what we, as a nation, haven’t figured out... We send groups overseas, we send singers. I think all that helps - I think sports help, and cultural outreach.

Our reporter in Iran the other day, David Muir - I was sort of stunned, I didn’t even realize this—but [he reported] there was a wrestling match between the U.S. and Iran. So that kind of outreach was still going on.

But I think that’s all from knowing people. If they know you or they know Americans in a different light, I think that’s important.

Clarion: Around 65 percent of our students study abroad so it’s definitely something that is important for them to know.

MR: It is, and it’s important to keep up exchanges. It doesn’t always work, we’ve trained a lot of troops that go right back and shoot us.

Clarion: Do you have any advice for aspiring journalists?

MR: Find something you really love. Whether that’s foreign affairs, whether that’s city beat, whether it’s whatever and learn it.[Thinks for a bit] Here’s my better advice: learn how to be a reporter, because I see a lot of people coming through and a lot of people have no idea how to be a reporter. And it’s so easy, Google children, that you can look up everything. I started really at the bottom of the ladder I think that’s important.

Unless you are a brilliant writer and that’s what you want to do, or you’re a brilliant foreign

policy mind and you’re going to bring that…but [it is important] to fundamentally know how to pick up the phone and say “What? Why did you guys do that today?” or “Who’s working on that case?”

When I started covering the military, I knew nothing about the military, but I had a completely open mind about it and I wanted to learn everything about it and I had a fundamental respect.

Clarion: On the other end of the spectrum, students wishing to get a little bit more involved in foreign policy, what are some simple steps that they could take to start that?

MR: I think I would go to the State Department website, and the CIA website. [Laughing] I’m going to get slapped for that, but you know there are analyst jobs that are fascinating and I know a lot of young people who have ended up at the agency.

You’re not a secret spy, you’re an analyst.

I would actually—and this will sound insane to you guys probably-look at intelligence jobs in the military as another option, or a lawyer in the military. There are all kinds of jobs within the military that people don’t know exist. You’re an intelligence officer.

A lot of women have done that over the years because of the combat exclusion. A friend of mine named Matt Sherman went into the state department. You take a foreign service exam, and you end up posted in embassies around the world.

Clarion: What about students that don’t necessarily want to get involved in a career, but just want to be more involved in being an active member of their country?

MR: Knowing the world? Then I would go to major news sources [such as] the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio.

We [ABC] are too, but not to the extent that they are. So I would read that, and click on Foreign News and click on the world.

There’s also a website called GlobalPost which has a lot of young people around the world [writing] for them. One girl [who I taught at Wesleyan] is interested in foreign news coverage and is writing for GlobalPost now, just a few dispatches, but

that’s the way you start.

When I was your age I had no idea there were a million perspectives, so, I was really quite clueless. I still think there’s hope for my son.

Clarion: I think a lot of people our age don’t really take a global look at things. What do you think?

MR: Look at our budget, look where your tax dollars are going.

For foreign aid, for the military, for all those things…you should know about this stuff.

VISIT duclarion.com/martha for full intervieW

Compiled by Gigi Peccolo, Emma McKay, Ryan Lumpkin, Jill Hamilton and Mike Snodgrass

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The Grind: Mercury Cafe

The Clarion editors review bars, restaurants and coffee houses; attempting cultural mutiny on all things hipster

Students develop nightlife navigation app, NightFlyer Students launch new nightlife app aimed at organizing, finding local events and specials by brenda velasQuez Contributing Writer

emma mckay|clarion

The Mercury Cafe is home to tarot reading wizards, tango dancing vegans and hungry hipsters galore.

Mercury Cafe: 4.65 beans

Mercurial commune pleases the masses by emma mckay

Assistant Lifestyles Editor

Calling all peace-loving folk singers, salsa dancers, organic junkies, horoscope believers, activists, vegans, vegetarians and slam poets: the Mercury Café has created a second home for you in downtown Denver. If you’re looking for a place to outdo your last socially responsible, ecofriendly, hip hangout spot, then the Mercury is your place.

Located on 2199 California St. and easily accessible by light rail, the Mercury has an atmosphere that is difficult to forget. Bright red Christmas lights droop from all corners of the ceiling and various eccentric pieces of art decorate the walls. In the back, you can see a tiger (a common theme at the Mercury) statue that appears to be jumping out of the wall.

Signs on each table indicate that you can purchase a tarot card reading for $10. Soon enough, you’ll spot the self-proclaimed “wizard” (long beard, robes and all) wandering the crowd. His services are popular—there is often a wait list.

Venture into the Jungle Room to enjoy an artistic event on any given night. While this usually requires a cover charge of about $5, it is worth it. Events range from theater performances, to musical shows and open-mic slam poetry events.

Musical performances include everything from folk bands to single cellists. Head up the stairs to the studio if you’re looking for a more interactive experience with the Mercury. Here you can find salsa, tango, swing and belly dance classes, as well as yoga and zumba classes, usually for a drop-in charge of around $10.

With all that is going on at the Mercury, one might temporarily forget about its main attraction: the food. Its extremely vegetarian and vegan-friendly menu has an array of organic options

(even organic beer), and includes off-beat dishes like the delicious “Grilled Tempeh with Black Bean Sauce,” (a small cake made from fermented soybeans) or, for those hipsters who have yet to adopt the vegan lifestyle, the “Ground Elk Burger.” There is also a large coffee menu, appetizers and a full bar to choose from. After dinner, head up to the dessert bar to choose from a wide selection of treats, including vegan cake and ice cream options.

Entrees lie a bit on the pricy side, ranging anywhere from $10-$16 but they are worth the money. The Mercury uses almost entirely local ingredients bought from farmers markets, and even grows their own vegetables if you’re into that kind of thing.

But the Mercury’s menu isn’t the only way it is socially conscious: all of the building’s electricity is sourced from wind turbines and solar panels on the café’s roof.

In addition, it uses LED fluorescent light bulbs and live vines that grow on the walls outside to minimize electricity use from lighting and cooling.

It also has its own composting system, and encourages employees to walk, bike or use public transit to get to work.

However, for all it’s “progressive” features, The Merc still has it’s drawbacks. With despondent and often rude wait staff, be sure to leave your short temper and expectations of serving-grandeur at the door.

Similarly, be sure to bring cash, the Mercury is notorious for not accepting credit cards.

Meant to be a place where the community can come together, The Mercury finds it’s strength in the classes offered and the atmosphere surrounding the visitors. If you want feel good about what you are eating and enjoy every bit of the experience, spend an evening at the Mercury. You [probably] won’t regret it.

A few weeks ago, five DU students and one student from the New Mexico Military Institute launched an app they hope will change the way people think about night life.

NightFlyer is an app that brings users all the information they need to know about events happening on any day or night of the week.

For this reason, according to their Facebook page, the team chose the all-knowing owl as their mascot. NightFlyer was proposed

by Brandon Bourn as an antidote for people bored of going to the same bars, clubs or restaurants.

“Bourn, NightFlyer’s founder [and president, who studies engineering at the New Mexico Military Institute] originally came up with the conception of the idea for a “What’s-Up?” App that had a list of all the best things to do anytime,” said Head of Sales DU junior economics major Amir Alsayegh. “He came up with the idea for a mobile app about a year ago and worked with [Vice President and psychology major] Jack Wangelin in getting the foundations and some precursor versions up and running, a few months later he brought another friend Joey Leon [‘12 grad from Minnesota and Head of Finance] to handle the financial aspects of the project.”

Six months later, Bourn met Alsayegh, HRTM major Alex Clever and business student Quinn Foster. Bored of the same bars, clubs and restaurants, the six-man team decided to pour their passion into a personal project aimed at solving this dilemma.

“We all were very passionate about making something that broke the mold of the 9-5 desk job and the FridaySaturday weekend of hanging out with the same friends doing the same thing,” said Alsayegh.

“Thankfully we found a way to break the mold of both by creating NightFlyer.”

NightFlyer promises to broaden one’s horizons by introducing users to local venues and attractions in the area they may have been previously unaware of, so they’ll never have to miss out on exciting opportunities for socializing.

“When you’re planning to go out these days, nothing really comes to mind. It’s a lot of work trying to figure out where to go; you have to check Facebook pages, check out websites, go to the events and feel around. There’s nothing convenient about going out anymore,” said Alsayegh.

NightFlyer’s core goal is to maximize fun time and minimize the decision-making process, directly connecting

people to events via the mobile app and website.

The app gathers a smorgasbord of events organized into five different categories: Happy Hours or events that revolve around food/drink specials, Recurring Events or events that occur weekly such as Ladies Night or College Night, Special Events which include Holiday parties, Giveaways, Live Music Performances, All-Day Events or food/drink specials active from open til close and Game-Day Events—whether in support of collegiate or professional teams, people can gather at the best venue to watch the game.

Similar to MileHighMenus, in which businesses are asked to sign up with the app in order to offer a collective buffet of options, NightFlyer solicits the participation of event makers or venue managers in the Denver community, gathering a reservoir of nightlife options in one highly convenient entertainment menu.

The app includes several navigation tools to facilitate access and search, including a filter feature and a map feature with colored pins to indicate current and upcoming events.

Currently focusing on the DU area, Alsayegh and the team hope to expand to other Colorado schools.

“Our app is open in a few preliminary locations, CU Boulder, CC, CSU, and of course DU, but we’re expanding as quickly as we can,” said Alsayegh.

Hosting events to promote the app, Nightflyer held a Pub Crawl last week wherein users went from bar to bar using the app and testing out its features.

The group will be holding a scavenger hunt and party Thursday to advertise further.

The app is now available for iPhones at the App Store and for Androids on GooglePlay; readers can go onto their Facebook page and scan the QR codes to download the app.

The group hopes that users won’t have to miss out on the best events or settle for going to the same bars anymore.

“It’s more than just a cool idea to us, we want it to change how we think of our social lives, we want it to make going out and having a good time convenient and easy,” said Alsayegh.

“It’s your night, it’s your life, simplified. Night Flyer—Nightlife simplified,” said Alsayegh.

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9

$9 minimum wage Americans deserve is excessive real wage increase by chris bach

Assistant Opinions Editor

The minimum wage debate has been brought back to light since President Obama’s State of the Union Address.

In that speech, he announced that he would like to see the federal minimum wage be raised to $9 per hour. At the current rate of $7.25 per hour, this increase is just over 24 percent, which is a rather large jump. While I agree that the minimum wage should increase, I believe this drastic increase could be extremely detrimental.

At the current rate, a family of three with one full-time worker would be making less than the poverty rate. For hardworking Americans, this should not be the case. So any increase in wages that will make life a little easier for these people by not having to worry as much with bills and payments is great in my book.

Raising the minimum wage a little bit would also be beneficial because lower-level income families that need the extra income would be more likely to spend it rather than save it.

This will continue the flow of money into the economy and increase consumer spending, which will help drive demand. It will essentially be a boost to the system.

However, with such a large increase so quickly, I fear about some economic impacts. First, prices will probably rise.

It only makes sense that they would.

This is supported by various employers including Subway’s CEO Fred Deluca.

He has publicly stated that raising the minimum wage that much that quickly will cause his prices to go up. Because when the costs of production are higher, the costs passed on to the consumer are also higher.

It may also force employers to have to rethink hiring workers. If they don’t want their prices to increase, the other

option would be to not hire any additional workers. This could dampen the employment rate around the country.

This is supported by employers such as the CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, Peter Schiff. Schiff points out that raising the minimum wage that much in an economy with 7.8 percent unemployment will only raise costs for employers and make hiring workers less likely.

I recognize that many states, including Colorado, already have minimum wage rates higher than the current federal rate. However, only one state, Washington, has a minimum wage of $9 or more. Washington has an unemployment rate of 7.6 percent, which is lower than the national rate.

Oregon, on the other hand, is the state with the second highest minimum wage rate at $8.95, but has an unemployment rate of 8.4 percent. While it seems that a higher minimum wage does not counteract the unemployment rate, it can in fact contribute to a higher rate.

Furthermore, because the rest of the country is at much lower rates, a huge increase like what is proposed would only be a shock to the system.

This proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9 is actually a compromise by the President. Campaigning for office in 2008, he had originally wanted $9.50 but recognized that this was unlikely to make it through Congress. Now with the current offer, he hopes that more members of Congress can find it acceptable.

I hope not. The minimum wage needs to increase, no doubt, but at something more accommodating for employers. I am neither an economist nor an expert in math, so for me to pick a rate more acceptable would be senseless. I just know, from listening to employers speak about this proposal, that $9 is too much of an increase for the moment.

by danny zimny-schmitt Staff Writer

President Obama made many great proposals in his State of the Union address, almost all of which require a significant amount of funding.

But raising the U.S. minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $9.00 per hour is one proposal that does not have any upfront costs, but would improve the lives of tens of millions of Americans.

But what does this mean to all of us, as DU students? Colorado’s minimum wage is currently $7.78 an hour, and a raise to $9 an hour by the summer would help DU students who are working their way through college. A difference of $1.22 per hour over an eight-hour workday comes out to about $10 extra per day, $50 per week, and $500 over the course of the summer in a ten week job.

This extra $500 could be used for textbooks, to help make a down payment on student loans, or even buy an Epic ski pass for next season. All of this economic activity generated from a wage increase contributes to the overall economy as well.

Some historical perspective is needed to understand why such a major increase in minimum wage is necessary. For the past four decades, increases in the minimum wage have consistently lagged behind inflation.

In real terms, this means that the minimum wage today is substantially lower than it was in the 1960s. In the same timeframe, worker productivity has doubled. It’s time to properly compensate these employees for their hard work.

The main effect of a raise in minimum wage would be a rise in the income of hard-working yet low-paid Americans.

These are the employees that put in long hours every day to drive the U.S. economy forward, but are paid nothing close to their fair share of the profits their labor generates.

The best way to drive an economy in a slump forward is to get money into the hands of lower income workers, who will go out and spend the money and drive economic growth. Raising the minimum wage is the best way to do so. A lower minimum wage simply means that less money is transferred from the already well-off Americans who own the large companies to their workers, instead ending up in their retirement accounts and not helping to drive the economy.

A common criticism of a higher minimum wage is that it will make employers less likely to hire new workers. But the fact of the matter is that the exact effect is not clear; some studies link a higher minimum wage to higher unemployment, but there is also plenty of research indicating that raising it has no effect on the jobless rate.

The biggest problem facing a raise in minimum wage today is that, frankly, most Republican leaders feel disdain for low-wage workers. Minimum wage workers rarely pay federal income tax, making them the “takers” in the eyes of the GOP, receiving benefits like Medicaid and food stamps. But giving these workers a slightly higher wage would actually help save the government money by relieving the government from some of its welfare obligations.

Furthermore, most Americans support raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour. A Rasmussen poll found 54 percent in favor of the change, with 34 percent opposed and 12 percent unsure.

As students, we are some of the people who have the most to gain from a raise in minimum wage because we are part of a demographic most likely to work for minimum wage. I worked for minimum wage all last summer to save money before coming to DU, and would have appreciated the extra $500 for my hard work.

Don’t we all deserve $9 an hour?

GUEST COLUMN

More than guns, terror is the problem by david daniels

I grew up in small town Texas, the smallest county in the state, where guns, like dust and cattle, were a matter of course.

Mornings, during my six-mile drive down lengthy Farm-to-Market roads that carried me to school, I’d pass the carcasses of coyotes that had been shot in the night.

They were stripped and strung to barbedwire fences as a warning to other predators.

My friends owned guns, as did their parents. We had no official shooting range in town, as much of the entire landscape, unoccupied fields of sweet acacia and pecan, provided plenty of places to shoot.

My father’s hunting rifles were kept in a soft-sided duffel bag on the top shelf of his closet, unlocked. I can recall putting on his hunting coat and feeling, deep in its pockets, spent shells and tufts of animal fur.

I have nothing against gun ownership, per se, and certainly not for the purpose of recreation.

More concerning to me than guns themselves is the panic I hear in some friends’ voices, the paranoia I detect as I talk to them, that something is out to get them. Paranoia, coupled often with masculine bravado.

I’ve witnessed childhood friends brag more and more in recent years about the

models of guns they own, exactly what they plan to do with them, should someone step foot, uninvited, into their homes at night. I’ve seen them post photos of themselves with guns across the top of their Facebook pages.

And particularly during the Obama administration and in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, I’ve watched their terror escalate as they visualize, however irrationally, the prospect that the government plans to take their guns away.

This unhealthy mix of terror and swagger concerns me more than guns themselves. It is the same psychological stance, I think, that has driven some people to stage shootings in public spaces.

That most of these shooters have been male, young, suburban and white is significant, I think, although this fact tends to get obscured by our national media.

A recent meme circulated on Facebook suggests how different our discussions would be if our recent mass-shooters had been mostly female, or elderly, or Japanese, for example, how differently we’d begin to examine what exactly is going on.

The invisibility of whiteness – and maleness for that matter – from our debates about mass-shootings, despite evidence to the contrary, is part of the problem we need to address. In a landmark

essay on whiteness and its potent invisibility, Peggy McIntosh confronts ‘the daily effects of white privilege’ in her own life. Free to go wherever she pleases, to congregate publically with whomever she desires, to speak wherever and on whatever issue she chooses, McIntosh admits to how ‘normal’ she feels “in the usual walks of public life,” without needing to acknowledge or question the specificity of her own racial identity.

Her essay is written as a list of such privileges, and two of her insights seem prescient here: “22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion”; and “27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.”

Growing up in an overwhelmingly white town, I, too, enjoyed the ‘oblivion’ of race that McIntosh highlights here.

I never felt ‘outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.’ My voice was, simply, the standardized voice of my hometown, on the playground and in the parking lot of our sole grocery store.

But in recent years, of course, the privilege of white oblivion, which is a form of dominance, is slowly slipping away.

Demographers predict, based on census trends, that white Americans will constitute a minority by 2042. The myth of white suburbia, popularized in the 1950s as a safe haven from urban industry, is gradually unraveling.

Hispanic Americans, the fastest growing population in the United States, enjoy more voting power with each election, and we have elected our first black President.

Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 both brought into focus, in different ways, whiteness as a form of unchecked dominance.

Throw gay rights into the picture – for normative heterosexuality has long enjoyed a similar oblivion in culture – and we can see how the makeup of America is changing.

All of which is a good and valuable thing, in our classrooms as well as on the Senate floor.

Yet I can imagine that many of my childhood friends, those heavily equipped with guns, wouldn’t share my sentiments.

They are, increasingly, terrified.

That terror, more than guns themselves, is what we should be talking about, examining in order to dismantle it.

Daniels is a faculty member in the University Writing Program.

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A vegan DU for me and you DU needs to keep pace with other universities on vegan options by naomi forman Contributing Writer

I chose DU, I pay thousands of dollars for DU, I moved 1,800 miles away from my family for DU; I call DU home. After all of this, the university has disappointed me. It is providing fuel for my body that not only is unsatisfying and unhealthy, but unethical and environmentally unsustainable as well.

Whether students are eating rubber chicken or wilted lettuce, the dining hall’s options are below par, both for your palate and conscience.

The university should serve students food of which we can all be proud.

Regardless of a student’s diet, each and every individual attending this school should have access to meals that are tolerable and do not support animal cruelty or environmental degradation. Students are expected to uphold the virtues and codes of this school, but what about the school upholding its own values?

The on-campus dining

institutions seem to be disregarding the Health & Counseling Center’s declaration that they are “committed to promoting healthy lifestyles to DU students.” Hamburgers and pepperoni pizza everyday should not be anyone’s idea of proper nutrition.

Even apart from all the harmful oil and fat, studies, such as those conducted by Colin Cambell author of The China Study, have shown that large amounts of animal protein can promote heart disease, diabetes, obesity and certain types of cancer.

The university is not only obligated to support student health, but they have voluntarily created a center to foster healthy living. Admittedly, eating well is partially the responsibility of individuals, but when the healthy options are less than inviting after a long day of class, I don’t blame anyone for going for the comfort foods.

Unfortunately, I don’t take comfort in the majority of options served for breakfast, lunch or dinner due to their environmental ramifications.

The university claims to be working towards sustainability and on their website boast such statements as, “We strive to

purchasing and serving the products they do this is the reality of their choices.

We’re certainly not Pioneers on this front. DU dining halls fail to make the Princeton Review’s list of best dining hall food and on the web rank 380th healthiest and 317th best “vegfriendly options” of schools nationwide. Aramark, a major food supplier to colleges and universities, found that one of four students polled said vegan options were important to them.

The number of vegan college students has also more than doubled since 2005.

In response, some schools, such as the University of North Texas, have been taking powerful initiative to reinforce their support for students. Recently they opened The Mean Green Café, a 100 percent vegan cafeteria on campus.

In January 2012, the University of California-San Diego followed suit with an all-vegan dining hall called Roots. It’s time to take the hint, have a little courage and leap into vegan eating options.

I have chosen DU, and as a student I have committed to maintaining the university’s values in addition to my own. Now all I ask of DU is

make the world a more peaceful, secure, and stable place.”

As reported in the New York Times, industrial animal agriculture creates more greenhouse gases than all of the transportation worldwide, and simultaneously produces immense water pollution and global deforestation.

A carnivore riding a bike has a larger carbon footprint than a vegan driving a hummer.

So if DU wants to be environmentally friendly they need to pursue the integration of more vegan products on campus.

Furthermore, every serving of meat, dairy or eggs is supporting the torture and slaughter of billions of farm animals each year. Kept in filthy, disease-ridden and inhumane conditions, these animals are abused and neglected for the extent of their lives.

Each of these creatures has a unique personality and is fully capable of feeling pain.

Is the school that encourages social responsibility going to disregard the immense ethical offense being committed here? If asked point blank, DU would surely not assert that it is socially responsible to contribute to the exploitation of billions of animals. But by

to consider practicing what it preaches consistently.

Upholding the university’s principles means implementing more plant-based options throughout campus.

By continuing to foster communication between dining hall services, other campus authorities and the student community, it will be possible to work towards having more plant-based accommodations and even an all-vegan dining hall on campus.

I am not alone and I am not simply coming from a vegan animal advocate perspective, though I can’t deny my identity.

Your values and intentions can be admirable, but they hold no meaning if they are not maintained through your various actions.

The intent of these changes would not be to make non-vegans upset or unwelcome, but to enable everyone, including those with restricted diets, to enjoy a variety of healthier and tastier dishes with less environmental and ethical ramifications.

As is so encouraged of DU students, it’s time for the university to challenge the process and take initiative. Denver, what will you DU?

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

An open letter to DU campus safety by zoe diaz-mcleese, neda kikhia and joanne cho

On behalf of the students of DU, we would like to thank the officers of the University of Denver’s Campus Safety division for their hard work and dedication for the safety of the students on campus.

The hard work of this incredible group often goes unrecognized. As women on this campus, we appreciate the effort you all put into protecting us, especially for safety.

Your generosity in escorting us home, offering a free self-defense workshop, and giving us free whistles is more than any girl could ask for.

Your diligence in alerting us when crimes take place is reassuring, because it lets us know that you are aware of the situation, and truly care about our safety.

Additionally, we appreciate the care you show when you walk through the residence halls to make sure that our doors are closed and locked if unoccupied, and

talking to us when you are walking around.

We see you around campus a lot, and appreciate the work you do just by the simple act of being around in case anything happens.

We would like to extend a wholehearted thank you for everything you do for us.

We realize that it is impossible to detail every action you take to ensure our safety, and it is immeasurable how much you care.

We just want you to know that we care about you too.

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News Editor

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Sarah Ford Dylan Proietti Alex Johnson Roderick O’Dorisio

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March 5, 2013

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‘Golden Boy’ appears bronze

photo courtesy of possiblypopculture.com

Walter William Clark Jr. (Theo James), newly minted homicide detective, walks away from a group of paparazzi on his first day. Clark was promoted after an act of heroism and was given an assignment of his choosing.

by dylan proietti Entertainment Editor

CBS’s latest crime-drama appears in the form of “Golden Boy,” a predictable and utterly unbelievable plot centered around underdeveloped characters. Though the program has good intentions, creator Nicholas Wootton (“NYPD Blue”) and his team will have much to accomplish if “Golden Boy” is to live out its namesake with critics.

It follows the story of fresh-faced homicide detective Walter William Clark Jr. (Theo James, “Downton Abbey”), promoted after three years on his beat and an act of heroism. His methodical, calm and perhaps burnt-out partner Don Owen (Chi McBride, “Pushing Daisies”) acts as Clark’s foil and is only two years away from retirement (he’s too old for this stuff).

Clark, who grew up stealing groceries for he and his sister to stay alive, seems eager to ride his newfound fame to the top and bust cases wide open single-handedly, using powers of deduction usually reserved for Sherlock Holmes. However, when clash-

ing with fellow homicide detectives Tony Arroyo (Kevin Alejandro, “True Blood”) or Deb McKenzie (Bonnie Somerville, “NYPD Blue”) or committing a little B&E, it becomes clear that Clark needs some guidance from his partner. Using a common metaphor about good and evil dogs vying for metaphysical food, Detective Owens acts as Clark’s sagelike guide and the keeper of his conscience.

The plot structures around a flashforward/flash-backward storytelling device, where Clark—as police chief—tells his life story. “Golden Boy” centers around one basic premise: good versus evil. The dog metaphor, at least throughout the pilot, frames the show and illustrates the mental and moral work Clark will have to do before becoming a truly great homicide detective and eventually chief of police.

What sounds like a fulfilling and engaging story manifests as a convoluted and contrived pilot episode. James as the cocky-for-a-reason detective is utterly ineffective, keeping the implied dualistic nature of his character a mystery. While the audience can see the attempt to manifest

the fighting dogs within him, James ends up looking erratic and uncomfortable, not easily slipping into the role of hard-core cop or the loving brother taking care of his down-on-her-luck sister.

McBride offers the only solace to viewers, though his screentime and lines are so limited it’s as if Clark is partnered with himself. Though it may seem like a blessing that this is not the typical buddy cop drama, McBride acts as more of sulking realist than an appealing character and his chemistry with James is nowhere to be found—despite the unmistakable scent of “father figure” all over him.

Choosing the 45-minute run time for the show, the pilot had ample time to create a fantastic story structure for episodes to come—which was entirely squandered.

Focusing on Clark’s sister and her abusive relationship, the age-old rivalry between Arroyo and Owen, antiquated cold-cases and finally a fresh murder, the pilot of “Golden Boy” simply demands too much from viewers. It becomes more difficult by the second to keep the story straight, with only the

occasional erudite mutterings of Detective Owens, the show’s only constant so far, to ground audiences as Wootton’s show jumps from plot point to plot point.

Yes, this is network television, so expectations should not be overly high. Then again, though, just because a network show doesn’t have the budget of “Mad Men” or “Game of Thrones” does not excuse this program of being little more than a dusty crime procedural—now with more flashbacks.

Perhaps, as with many shows, “Golden Boy” is simply in that phase of pilot episode awkwardness. Without a doubt, James could improve his character and develop him into more of a human being and less of a homicide-investigating demigod.

Furthermore, McBride has typically had a wonderful charisma to him, which viewers can only hope appears sooner rather than later in this series.

Regardless, the flaws in the show make Wootton’s latest attempt a flop. Lack of characterization, poor storytelling and all-around laziness will ensure that this new procedural will not be the “Golden Boy” of CBS.

Passion Pit delivers sensory bliss by christian allen Web Editor

On Friday, famed electro rockers Passion Pit hit Broomfield’s 1st Bank Center alongside fellow indie darlings Matt and Kim. The set, which lasted a brisk hour and fifteen minutes, was an eclectic mix of cuts new and old, and demonstrated the rather wonderful fact that Passion Pit just doesn’t have a weak track in its catalogue. The group’s lead singer Michael Angelakos, on the other hand, at times fell a little flat within a stadium setting, though the crowd was dancing so hard and the backing band playing so tight that this failed to be too much of an issue.

The show opened with Brooklyn DIYers Matt and Kim, who played a characteristically rabble-rousing set. Even if you loathe the group’s music (note: I do), it’s tough not to be won over by the duo’s hijinks on stage.

From Harlem Shakes to crowd surfing and Dr. Dre covers, Matt and Kim make the audi-

ence’s enjoyment their sole goal, and they accomplish it in spades.

Passion Pit, on the other hand, focuses far less on these sort of novelties. With two highly critically acclaimed records and a wealth of sell-out tours, Passion Pit has now established itself as a far more serious group than its debut EP, 2008’s Chunk of Change, suggested, and the band’s live show mirrors this—five musicians (four of whom were professionally trained at Berklee College of Music) give the group’s live sound a surprising and satisfying oomph.

The stage production also reflects this more established position, with a couple dozen hanging orbs that moved around and changed color in tandem with the music, along with the more traditional strobes and spotlights. There were moments during the show of such sensory bliss that the audience was all but stunned.

The stage set up and razor-sharp musicianship allowed even lesser-known numbers

to be strong contenders amidst the hookheavy lyrical splendor the group is better known for. “It’s Not My Fault, I’m Happy,” for example, combined Angelakos’ relatable lyricism with an almost Sigur Ros-ian sonic ambition, and even though few were singing along, all were impressed.

That being said, it was still the singles that went down the best. Gossamerera tunes “Carried Away” and “Take a Walk” both had the audience bouncing and singing euphorically. Pashy classic “Moth’s Wings,” on the other hand, was given a fierce but expansive energy in its live performance, and had fans moving even with its more somber lyrical vibe.

And “Little Secrets,” the sole encore, went down splendidly, ‘cause, well, who doesn’t love that song?

As was to be expected, it was when fans were singing along loud and proud (and dancing just as shamelessly) that the show was most enjoyable. During some of

the quieter moments, though, it became evident that this was due to Angelakos occasionally needing help doing his job.

Though always a charming and energetic frontman, there were numerous moments where his voice either cracked or failed to be audible over the backing instrumentals.

Though not an uncommon phenomenon at shows, for a group so characterized by its lead singer’s unconventional falsetto vocals, it was regrettable he sometimes failed to stand out.

In spite of this, Passion Pit still put on a fantastic and extremely solid show, and it’s clear this came as a result of the group’s almost spotless catalogue it had to pick from. Though not the greatest live band, Passion Pit just doesn’t have a weak song, and when you combine this with some faultless backing musicians and a visually fantastic stage set up, longtime fans and newcomers alike are in for a great night indeed.

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Shout Out Louds romances listeners on Optica by christian allen Web Editor

For those of us who first encountered Shout Out Louds as a rather timid young band on an episode of “The O.C.” nearly a decade ago, there’s a moment about 12 seconds into the band’s newest record, Optica, when you realize you’re listening to a band that’s grown up as much as you have. Gone is the timid, washed-out aesthetic of the early 2000s—in its place is a truly gorgeous new sound, with a confidence only matched by its sweeping production values. That being said, Optica stretches a bit too long, and its songwriting doesn’t always match up to the record’s sonic architecture, but for the most part this Stockholmare five-piece has created an attractive and enjoyable fourth record, one which might just be the band’s best work yet.

Let’s return to that twelfth second, when the beat of midtempo opener “Sugar” drops and reveals its arpeggiating guitar refrain. It sounds like absolute sunshine, and as the song progresses to its inclusion of strings and horns, you’ll know that you’ve stumbled upon a band with an innate knack for details (though the year and a half spent in the studio probably also helped). Whether it’s effected steel drum sounds at the end of “Circles,” the lilting pan flute in the chorus of “Walking in Your

photo courtesy of flickr.com

Bebban Stenborg (left) and Carl von Arbin (right), two of the members of Shout Out Louds, play a concert live.

Footsteps” or the synth-vocal loop in the brooding “Hermila,” Optica is filled with charming little musical flourishes that make the record a more eclectic listening experience than the band’s traditional foundation of guitar, bass and drums would initially suggest.

Take the sum of all these moments, and Shout Out Louds does a fantastic job of adding a modern angle to Optica’s welldefined 1980s vibe. For you moviegoers, it’s like John Hughes

meets Wes Anderson, and as you same film buffs would know, that is a very, very good thing.

Love, longing and loss appear frequently within singer Adam Olenius’ lyrics, and before long, he’ll have you yearning for that same elusive elsewhere.

The drawback of this reliance on tone (whether intentional or otherwise), however, is that it requires something truly memorable to break through the mood’s mould. Fourth track “14th of July”

exemplifies this, with its driving drums, propulsive guitars and memorable chorus that together almost sound like something Friendly Fires would have trotted out a few years ago. “Illusions,” a straightforward love song which features a gorgeous female vocal refrain, also has the sweetest line on here: “A heart is what a heart is / It won’t forget where it came from / And when I walk down the line / I’m walking with you.” It’s equal parts timeless and shameless, and

by the end of it, you won’t help but be swept up by its earnest lyrics and gorgeous production.

The problem is, “memorable” can go both ways. The seven-minute album centerpiece “Glasgow,” despite having some of the strongest instrumentals on the record, also features a monotonous vocal performance (does “If you know what I mean” really merit repetition?), and after its minute-long build never really goes anywhere, aside from a “what were they thinking?” semi-hidden synth jam that comes out of nowhere late in the track. Closer “Destroy” is similarly problematic, and for a record that’s a bit too long, it’s unfortunate that the album’s two longest tracks are also its two weakest.

As a result, it seems that the group’s frequent critics, who often find fault with the band’s aversion to risk, may have it the wrong way around; Shout Out Louds might just be a band that does its best work under a self-imposed set of constraints, faltering only when it grasps beyond its limits. Optica, though never truly bold or dynamic, works well as a romantic and thoroughly pretty group of indie pop songs bolstered by strong production values. And while Shout Out Louds were never the world’s (or even Sweden’s) greatest band, with Optica, the group may finally be living up to its full potential.

Girl Talk an eclectic, ‘Stranded’ stretches supernatural snark-filled conversation by meg mcintyre

by julia kuttler Contributing Writer

Fans of British pop will rejoice when they hear Kate Nash’s new release, Girl Talk. The third album by the UK songstress features 15 tracks that fully explore the range of Nash’s voice and talents as a songwriter. Nash’s unique blend of pout and potty mouth prominently appears on this attempt, and it’s dead on. Whether you are looking for an upbeat dance anthem or a ballad to fall asleep to, Nash provides something for everyone.

“Part Heart,” the first cut, is slow and ballad-like, but by the second track, “Fri-end?,” Nash is back to the bubbly element she is known for. The third piece, “Death-Proof,” is an amalgam of the two songs before it, simultaneously sweet and strong. Nash’s voice croons pleasantly over a heavy drumbeat and electric guitar backup, seeming to draw inspiration from the ‘80s dance-punkrock sound first introduced by artists like Blondie.

It is not until the fifth song, “Sister,” that Nash really hits her stride. Nash’s unique timbre helps make this one of the strongest songs on the album, luring audiences to join in. “OMYGOD!” will please fans of Nash’s previous two albums, since a catchy chorus and relatable lyrics propel this sixth track.

Tracks seven and eight, “Oh” and “All Talk,” are unlikely to become singles but certainly reveal Nash’s indie side. “Oh” sounds like a schoolyard chant, whereas “All Talk” is reminiscent of other UK rock bands like the Arctic Monkeys with its head-banging beat.

The single off of the album, “3AM,” showcases all of Nash’s strength as an artist. The beat is playful and dance-worthy and

Nash’s lyrics are bitingly bittersweet. Half love song, half girlanthem, if any of these songs are going to get stuck in your head, “3AM” is probably the one.

Songs 12 and 14, “Cherry Pickin” and “You’re So Cool, I’m So Freaky” display one of Nash’s strongest areas: an ironic mix of self-deprecating and confident lyrics—elements that make this pop star one of a kind. Both are exceedingly fun tracks to listen to.

“Labyrinth,” in contrast, exists in an entirely different vein, moving slow as molasses and harmonizing just as sweetly.

The two strongest tracks on Girl Talk are “Rap for Rejection” and “Lullaby for an Insomniac.” As the title implies, the first of these is Nash’s version of a rap song, and she has just enough sarcastic sass to pull it off. This track is taunting and at times laugh-out-loud funny. The songstress seems to have lost all her shyness and is stripped down to razor-sharp honesty. Her ability to rhyme curse words will be a pleasant reminder of other British pop stars like Lily Allen.

The final song is fittingly entitled “Lullaby for an Insomniac.” Nash delivers “Lullaby” like a punch to the gut. It is in the final home stretch that the audience knows for sure Nash is a supremely talented musician who can excel in almost any effort. “Lullaby” is hauntingly beautiful and seems both an inspired work of genius and a feat of vocal athletics as well.

As the title suggests, Girl Talk is a thoroughly feminine exploration of life’s ups and downs. This may be pop music, but Nash wears so many hats that there is no way to mistake her for another simpletune, shallow-lyric-churning pop artist—she’s in a league of her own.

Staff Writer

In Syfy’s new paranormal series “Stranded,” normal people spend five days alone at supposedly haunted locations all around the U.S. They truly are alone—not even a camera crew is present, and the entire pilot episode is filmed on low resolution handheld cameras. While these people are “stranded” in these locations, they aim to incite paranormal activity and do so through EMF readings, “ghost traps” and general supernatural investigation.

In the pilot episode, three friends are left at a historic hotel on Star Island, which is just off the coast of New Hampshire.

The hotel is rumored to be haunted by the 14 employees that drowned there many years ago, as well as three young girls who died on the island. Closed for the season, the hotel has a “Shining”-esque vibe to it, and in terms of setting, the creators of “Stranded” did well in choosing an exceedingly creepy locale. Viewers will definitely be frightened by the setting, which can be described as big, dark and spooky.

That being said, “Stranded” is similar to other ghosthunting shows in that not much paranormal activity actually happens. There are several instances of bumping or clanging noises in other parts of the hotel, a window that seems to have shut on its own and even a supposed giggling noise coming from near the nursery. The problem is that most of these noises can’t actually be heard on camera, and all that audiences see are the hunters’ reactions to the happenings. Plus, those who are already skeptical of the exis-

tence of ghosts will be sure to notice that these “supernatural occurrences” could easily have been staged.

Some other elements of the pilot episode seem a bit suspect.

For instance, the hunters visit a nearby graveyard on their first day on the island to ready themselves for the daunting paranormal adventure ahead.

There they read inscriptions on gravestones to find out more about how people died, but these inscriptions aren’t normal markings like “Beloved Daughter” or “Rest in Peace.” One of the headstones reads, “Death is a debt to nature due. I’ve paid the debt and so must you.”

Though it’s possible that this is actually written on the grave, it seems more like a warning from an angered ghost than a loving farewell to a son or husband.

Elements like this make the pilot episode less believable and may cause viewers to be suspicious of its authenticity.

The three friends, Sarah, Shawn and Xand, also seem to be overreacting for the camera.

At the beginning of the episode, Xand displays herself as a tough,

self-proclaimed skeptic who doesn’t believe in ghosts at all.

But then suddenly, towards the end of the pilot, she becomes very frightened and begins to cry because of a loud noise on the fourth floor—an occurrence that had already happened several times before in the episode and had left her unaffected.

Shawn also gets emotional near the end of the episode and suddenly begins to get angry and swear at the “ghost” for no apparent reason. From a viewing standpoint, these extreme reactions seem to be ploys to give the episode more of a climax—and once again detract from its authenticity.

Thus, “Stranded” is a series that skeptics will continue to be skeptical of and believers may find is too similar to other ghost-hunting shows currently on the air. Some of the “paranormal activity” simply seems too staged to be real, and the reactions of the ghost hunters often feel overdone and fake.

This results in a reality show that doesn’t feel “real,” and one that doesn’t offer anything new in terms of the supernatural.

photo courtesy of tvequals.com

One of the so-called spooky locations the stars of “Stranded” occupy during the show.

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‘Jack’ slays audiences with visual effects by meg mcintyre Staff Writer

In this new twist on an old fairytale, Jack (Nicholas Hoult, “Warm Bodies”) is a simple farm boy struggling to make ends meet. But, unlike the story told to children, Jack lives in a world where the beanstalk grew once before and the giants terrorized his people until King Eric the Great stopped the monsters and cut the beanstalk down. When a mysterious monk offers Jack a couple of beans for his horse with the promise that he can exchange them for money later, Jack has no inkling that these are the same magical seeds that caused all the trouble hundreds of years before.

That is, he has no idea until one of the beans accidentally gets wet and a beanstalk sprouts right in the middle of his house, taking his farm—and coincidentally, the Princess of Cloister (Eleanor Tomlinson, “Alice in Wonderland”)—with it. Jack joins a band of soldiers and climbs the beanstalk in hopes of finding the princess and returning her to safety.

“Jack the Giant Slayer” should first be praised for the skillful use of animation and computer-generated effects. In the beginning sequence of the film, live action is interspersed with animation as a young Jack listens to a bedtime story (the story of the giants) told by his father. This use of animation breathes life to the story while also giving it a child-like wonder, which is perfect considering the setting in which the story is told.

Additionally, the digital creation of the giants later in the film is incredibly detailed, and it’s easy to surmise that an immense amount of time was spent perfecting these images.

That being said, the story is, at times, predictable. Though some interesting changes have been made to the original fairytale, by and large the film lacks any sort of unknown aspect. This makes for a movie-going experi-

photo courtesy of wearemoviegeeks.com

Nicholas Hoult stars as Jack in this remake of the classic fairytale. He is seen here climbing the famed beanstalk in an attempt to find the lost princess.

ence that is enjoyable but not particularly emotional, and it’s unlikely that viewers will truly become invested in the characters and plotline. Additionally, since this is essentially a “recycled” fairytale, it’s difficult to call the film something special or original.

Surprisingly, “Jack the Giant Slayer” also has some top-billed actors in its cast. With Stanley Tucci (“The Hunger Games”) as the villainous Roderick and Ewan McGregor (“Star Wars”) as the king’s guard Elmont, the film features some sea-

soned acting to enhance the newer talent of leading actors Nicholas Hoult and Eleanor Tomlinson. Yet Hoult and Tomlinson should not be ignored—each provides an incredibly dedicated performance, and the on-screen chemistry between them is undeniable. Also notable is the vocal performance of Bill Nighy (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”) as the two-headed giant king. Once again, Nighy’s distinctive voice breathes life to a character that is mostly computer gener-

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ated, and in doing so creates a character worthy of being feared.

In all, “Jack the Giant Slayer” is a respectable adaptation of a traditional fairytale, but offers little in terms of the new or innovative. The film should be commended for its skillful animation and CGI, as well as enthusiastic performances by each of its cast members. Audiences will find that “Jack the Giant Slayer” is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon, but perhaps not a film that will be considered beloved in the future.

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March 5, 2013

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O’Neale leads basketball in WAC win

kim nesbitt|clarion

Sophomore forward Royce O’Neale posted a team-high 14 points on Saturday.

Pioneers prep for final week of regular season by anna gauldin Sports Editor

In front of a jam-packed student section, the Pioneer men’s basketball team defeated New Mexico State 66-60 on Saturday

afternoon in Magness Arena, advancing to an eight-game win streak and improving to 19-8 overall and 14-2 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

“In college basketball, student [attendance] is the cherry on the top,” said head coach Joe Scott. “This time of year, to get them here is great because it creates that atmosphere.”

With the win, the Pioneers remain at No. 2 in the WAC, 1.5 games behind undefeated conference leaders Louisiana Tech (15-0), who DU will battle on Saturday in the final game of the regular season. After the loss, the third-place Aggies drop to 19-10 overall and 12-4 in the WAC. “I thought we did a really good job of staying within ourselves tonight,” said Scott. “Our offense at the beginning of the second half went a little dry on us, but our defense was really good. We had a couple of steals that helped us make a big run.”

Four players broke into the double digits in points for the Pioneers, led by junior forward Chris Udofia with 13 points, five assists, four blocks and three steals.

Sophomore forward Royce O’Neale posted a team-high 14 points, five assists and five rebounds, while sophomore guard Brett Olson tallied 13 points, including four of four from the free-throw line, and senior guard Chase Hallam added 11 points and four rebounds. Freshman guard Jalen Love added an additional nine points, including two crucial free throws in the final 40 seconds of the game.

“There were a few instances in the game where we had to stay calm and stay with our stuff, and different guys stepped up and made some plays when they needed to,” said Scott. “That’s what you’ve got to do this time of year.”

Throughout the contest, the Aggies relied heavily on two players: senior forward Bandja Sy, who recorded a game-high 21 points, and seven-foot-five freshman center Sim Bhullar, who added another 17.

“He’s the biggest human “This time of year, the games being I’ve ever seen,” said Hallam. are all going to be like this,” said “But we just played strong against Scott. “It’s March, and every game him and boxed him out, and it is big. We’re playing nothing but wasn’t too bad.” good teams.”

The last time the two teams The Pioneers have two games met was on Jan. 23, when New remaining in the regular season Mexico State topped Denver before the WAC tournament 53-42 in Las Cruces, N.M., mark- begins March 12. On Thursday, ing the Pioneers’ only loss since DU will host UT Arlington (16Dec. 29 and one of only two losses 10, 10-5 WAC) at 7 p.m. before in the conference this season. hosting conference leaders LouiHowever, Scott said the team was siana Tech at 5 p.m. on Saturday. able to use its knowledge from the “[We need to] just keep playprevious game to its advantage. ing how we’re playing,” said Hallam.

It was a closely “We’re not worried contested game from about anything else; the opening buzzer, “It’s March, we’re not worried and the teams stayed and every about the other team; within four points we’re just worried of each other for the game is big. about ourselves.” entirety of the first The Mavericks half. After 20 minutes We’re playing will enter Thursday’s of play, the Pioneers nothing but game having won entered the locker of their past good teams.” seven room trailing 27-28. eight games, sitting “We made a at No. 4 in the WAC. little adjustment [at Joe Scott, Senior forward halftime],” said Scott.

Kevin Butler leads “This time of year, Head coach the team with 274 everybody knows points this season, each other. We went into the averaging 11.4 points per game, game thinking we were going followed by senior forward Jordan to do something, and then in Reves with 227 points. the second half we made a little On Saturday, the Pioneers adjustment. We turned those will battle the Bulldogs, who turnovers into points to give us haven’t lost a game since Dec. 12 the cushion that you need.” and boast a perfect conference In the first nine minutes of the record. Denver will have to consecond half, the Pioneers trailed by tain sophomore guard Raheem as many as seven points. Two free Appleby, who has tallied 412 throws from O’Neale at the 11:36 points so far this season. mark, however, tied the score, and “We just have to take it one Denver maintained the lead for the game at a time,” said Scott. “We remainder of the game. The Aggies have made it a two-team race closed the gap to one point with less [for the WAC title]. We just have than two minutes in the contest, to concentrate on ourselves. It’s but DU drained eight of eight free the only way we can get to the throws to seal the deal, topped off point where we’re playing for the with a three-pointer from Hallam.

WAC championship.”

Men’s lacrosse tops Penn, wins 3rd straight Sophomore Wes Berg leads Denver past Quakers with 7 goals by michael gooch Senior Reporter

The men’s lacrosse team defeated the University of Pennsylvania 15-12 in its third consecutive win on Saturday to improve the Pioneers’ record to 4-1 so far this season and advance from No. 10 to No. 7 in the national rankings.

“We were a little erratic,” said head coach Bill Tierney. “I have to give Penn a lot of credit. We thought we had a great week of practice and that we prepared well for them, but they are as energetic and non-giving up of a team as I’ve ever seen.

They just kept coming at us. I thought we had really good second and third quarters.”

Sophomore Wes Berg led the team with seven goals and posted his seventh career hat trick before the end of the first quarter.

With those seven goals, Berg was able to tie DU’s Division I single-game record, set by current associate head coach Matt Brown during his time playing for the Pioneers.

“It’s just nice to get the win,” said Berg. “A lot of those goals were just tap-ins because Eric Law beat his guy or [Jeremy] Noble and Cam [Flint] drew a lot of attention, and I just kind of slipped into the middle. It’s nice to score a bunch of goals, but its even better to get the win.”

Also scoring a hat trick was sophomore Eric Adamson, while senior Eric Law

and junior Jeremy Noble added two goals each. Senior Colin Scott tallied a careerhigh of seven assists.

“I thought we were really on top of our game offensively,” said Tierney. “There was a lot of unselfishness out there, we had a lot of assists, and guys were just dodging hard and moving the ball a lot.”

Law scored first for the Pioneers in the first minute of the game. At the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at five. By halftime, Denver was up 10-7.

“We came out strong for the first time, and then we started to kind of let up,” said Berg. “We let in a couple, but throughout most of the game we carried the play, and then we started to slow down.”

Denver put up a total of three goals in the third quarter and one more at the start of the fourth. During the fourth period, the Quakers shot back with four straight goals to come within two of the Pioneers at 14-12.

A crucial save came in the final two minutes by junior goalkeeper Jamie Faus, who switched in for the second half. Faus made a total of nine saves in the second half.

“Jamie came in and did a really good job, especially in the third quarter,” said Tierney. “That save he had was a huge save; had they gotten one there and got the score within one goal, and had the momentum facing off, it might have been a different story.”

Senior Chase Carraro was absent from the field for his fourth straight game, recovering from a knee injury. In the meantime, senior Chace Calkin is filling in for Carraro.

kim nesbitt|clarion

Sophomore Wes Berg scored seven goals against Penn, posting his seventh career hat trick on Saturday.

“Chace has certainly done a great job, not just winning a certain percentage, but stopping the other team from getting fast breaks; that’s so important in our face-off game,” said Tierney. “We’re thrilled with where we’re at with arguably the best face-off guy in the country on the side with an injury.”

Up next, the team will hit the road to take on the No. 13/16 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) on Saturday.

In their recent game against Penn State, the Buckeyes came back from a six-goal deficit at halftime to beat the Quakers 10-9 in overtime. Senior Logan Schuss leads the team with 12 goals this season, and he scored two of them against Penn State.

Sophomore Jesse King is second in goals with 11, and he scored his third hat trick of the season against Penn State.

March 5, 2013

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3 Pioneers nominated for national award by michael gooch Senior Reporter

The men’s lacrosse team recently had three of its All-American midfielders named to the 2013 Tewaaraton Award watch list that honors the top collegiate lacrosse players, which is the largest number of DU athletes named to the list in a single season in program history.

Seniors Chase Carraro and Cameron Flint, along with junior Jeremy Noble, were all recognized last week by the Tewaaraton Foundation as contenders for the prestigious award. The Tewaaraton Award is annually given out to the NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse player of the year.

“It’s an honor, because you’re getting named with some of the best players in the country,” said Flint.

“Right now, it’s a preliminary list, but even just to be recognized and have the opportunity to be on the list with these players, I mean that’s an honor in itself. I’m excited about it; hopefully I play well enough where I can keep myself on the list.”

The men’s list is currently at 92 names and will continue to grow as the season progresses. In late April, a selection committee comprised of top collegiate coaches will shorten the list to 25 men’s and women’s nominees. In midMay, the top five men and women will be announced and the winners will be recognized May 30 in Washington, D.C. “The Tewaaraton Award is one of the most prestigious honors a collegiate lacrosse player can be considered for,” said head coach Bill Tierney. “Jeremy, Chase and Cam are all true representatives of our program as great players and great young men.”

To remain on the list, the players will have to continue to play at a high level throughout the rest of the season.

“I’m definitely honored to be mentioned alongside Cam and Chase, and especially everyone else on that list,” said Noble. “But all I’m worrying about right now is game week and weekend games. I’m not worrying about any individual goals; we’re a team and we have one goal for the whole season.”

Noble finished third on the team in points and goals last season and was named USILA Third Team All-America, while Flint, a two-way midfielder, was named USILA All-America Honorable Mention. This season, Noble leads the team in groundballs and has scored seven points for the team. Flint is third on the team with assists and has scored five goals this season.

“If you look at the other two guys, I would definitely say that they’re allaround players,” said Flint. “Jeremy is all over the field, and Chase dominates the X, so I think just being able to contribute with them and their efforts is probably what got me there.”

Last season, Carraro was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Specialist of the Year and was selected to all-ECAC first team as a specialist and second team as a midfielder. He also tallied 33 goals and 11 assists and finished eighth in the nation in face-off win percentage. This season, Carraro is second on the team in face-offs with a .421 win percentage, despite only playing two games. He is currently out temporarily due to a knee injury and senior Chace Calkin has stepped in for him.

“We’ve continued to do better and better and have had really successful seasons,” said Carraro. “Winning big games and having games on TV where me, Cam and Jeremy have played well has really helped to put us in the national spotlight a little bit more, so that definitely helps. I’ve done well individually in some of the bigger games we’ve had, so that helps out my cause a lot too.”

The recognition these players are

receiving is also benefiting the lacrosse program as a whole, according to Tierney.

“The University of Denver is proud that our program has reached a level that three of our players are on the Tewaaraton Watch List,” said Tierney.

With the rest of the season ahead of them, the players said they are also looking forward to where the program is headed.

“It’s huge for this program to show that we’re bringing quality players into this program and we’re turning good players into great players,” said Noble.

“That’s a testament to how good our coaching staff is and how hard they work with us and how hard we work as student athletes. But I think it’s a big turning point, and there’s great things to come for this whole program.”

kim nesbitt & ryan lumpkin|clarion

Chase Carraro(left) and Jeremy Noble (right) were each named to the Tewaaraton watch list.

March 2013 May 22,5,2012

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Hockey splits Minnesota series

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by alex proietti Assistant Sports Editor

The then-No. 10/11 Denver men’s hockey team split its road weekend series against then-No. 2 Minnesota last weekend, edging the Gophers 2-0 Friday before dropping a 5-1 decision Saturday.

The weekend’s performance moves Denver to 17-11-5 overall and 12-9-5 in the conference loops, while Minnesota sits at 22-7-5 and 14-7-5 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Pioneers improved to No. 9 in the Pairwise Rankings, after coming in at No. 12 last week. The top 16 teams in the Pairwise Rankings receive automatic berths to the NCAA tournament. The weekend also dropped the Pioneers to No. 12/11, while Minnesota maintained their No. 2 spot in the polls.

Saturday’s loss also drops Denver to No. 7 in the WCHA with 29 points, and with one regular season series remaining, the Pioneers look to move into the top six in the conference, as only the top six teams host the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

Ranking above Denver in the WCHA are St. Cloud State at No. 1 with 35 points, Minnesota and North Dakota tied at No. 2 with 33 points each, Minnesota State and Wisconsin at No. 4 with 31 points each and Nebraska Omaha at No. 6 with 30 points. The Pioneers have hosted the first round of the WCHA playoffs every year since the 2003-2004 season. This year’s

WCHA playoffs are set to occur March 15-17.

get their chances,” said head coach George Gwozdecky. “They’re a big scoring team, they always are.

Tonight, we gave them perimeter Weekend action shots, but they didn’t have many The Pioneers skated to a chances at the doorstep, and when shutout Friday, pushing past Min- they did, Juho cleaned it up.”

The Pioneers returned to the nesota 2-0 after being led by senior ice Saturday night in an attempt forward Shawn Ostrow.

Sophomore goaltender for a sweep, but the Gophers Juho Olkinuora represented stifled the attempt with a decisive the Pioneers between the pipes, 5-1 victory. Sophomore defenrecording 33 saves for his third seman Scott Mayfield scored Denver’s lone goal in shutout of the the loss, while junior season and fifth of his career. Min- “They’re a big goaltender Sam Brittain defended the nesota’s freshman goaltender Adam scoring team, Pioneer goal.

Brittain turned Wilcox recorded they always away 38 shots in the 34 saves in the loss. defeat while making After two are.” his 10th start of the scoreless periods, season and first since Ostrow found the net just 18 seconds George Gwozdecky, Jan. 19 at St. Cloud State.

Minnesota’s into the third period Head coach Wilcox recorded 31 for his 11th goal of the season. Sophomore forward saves in the win.

Scoring for Minnesota were Ty Loney took a shot on net that was deflected by Wilcox, which redshirt junior forward Zach ricocheted off Ostrow’s skate to Budish with two goals and junior become the eventual game winner. forward Nick Bjugstad, junior Sophomore forward Zac Larraza defenseman Justin Holl and sophomore forward Sam Warning was also credited with an assist.

With 15 seconds remaining with one each.

Denver struck first when in regulation, Loney slipped in an empty net goal to account for Mayfield found the net just 3:34 the final 2-0 margin. Denver was into the contest, capitalizing on a able to shut down all five of Min- power-play opportunity with an nesota’s power-play opportunities, assist from senior forward Chris despite the Gophers boasting the Knowlton and senior defenseman and captain Paul Phillips, marking nation’s top power-play unit.

“Whenever you play Min- the only time the Pioneers would nesota, you know they’re going to find the net for the evening.

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DELIVERY! ©2011 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Minnesota answered with a goal in the second period before sparking a three-goal flurry over less than a four-minute span in the final stanza of the contest. The Gophers made the score its final 5-1 margin with an empty-net goal in the final seconds of regulation.

The Gophers outshot the Pioneers 43-32 on Saturday despite winning 23-of-29 faceoffs and holding the Gophers to 1-for-4 on power-play opportunities.

Scouting Alaska Anchorage Denver will conclude the regular season at home next weekend with a two-game series against Alaska Anchorage (4-21-7, 2-18-6 WCHA). Denver is 46-15-7 all-time against Alaska Anchorage and boasts a 14-2-2 record in the past 18 meetings.

Leading the Seawolves in goals is Scott Allen with 11 goals, followed by Jordan Kwas and Blake Tatchell with nine and eight goals, respectively. Chris Kamal will represent Alaska Anchorage in goal with a .890 save percentage, averaging 3.12 goals allowed.

The Pioneers will look to jump up to the top six in the WCHA after next weekend’s series in order to host the first round of the playoffs.

The series is set to begin on Friday at 7:37 p.m. and will conclude on Sunday afternoon at 12:07 p.m.

Friday’s game marks senior night and will be preceded by a ceremony to honor the 2013 senior class.

Gymnastics wins West Virginia quad by makayla cisneros Staff Writer

On the road this weekend, the No. 13 Pioneer women’s gymnastics team beat out West Virginia, scoring the third-best road score in program history at 196.8 on Sunday afternoon.

Denver’s opponent, No. 16 West Virginia, finished second with an overall score of 196.375, followed by George Washington with a score of 195.3 and Temple with 191.375.

The weekend’s performance held the Pioneers at No. 13 in the polls for the third-straight week.

“I was really pleased overall with the girls’ performance,” said head coach Melissa KutcherRinehart. “Not only were we on the road, but it was a threehour flight to Pittsburgh, which includes a two-hour time difference and an hour-and-a-half drive to Morgantown. In addition to that, the meet was at 2 in the afternoon instead of the evening and two hours earlier by Denver time, but the girls did well with the travel and managing themselves; they really blocked out the distracting factors.”

The team’s finish on Sunday also marked its sixth-highest overall score in program history. Denver also combined for a 49.30 in their first, third and fourth rotations, adding a 49.025 in the second.

Junior Jorie Hall also scored 9.925 on beam, tying her career high, and freshman Emily Barett scored her career high of 9.85 on the balance beam and

tied her career high on uneven bars at 9.8.

Although two uneven bar regulars were unable to perform in this competition, the third rotation finished with a combined score of 49.300, which is also the sixth-highest score in Denver’s program history as well as another third-highest road score for the entire squad. Senior Simona Castro lead off with a 9.825 on the uneven bars, followed by Barett with a 9.8 in her debut performance. Junior Emily Warfield landed a 9.775 in her debut after a limiting back injury earlier in the season.

Sophomore Nina McGee and redshirt senior Brianna Springer led the Pioneers on the uneven bars with tied scores of 9.9, and junior Moriah Martin added a 9.875.

“This victory certainly does help in the ranking. It doesn’t reflect the overall ranking, but it does mean we get to drop a lower rank,” said Kutcher-Rinehart. “It’s really going to help in regionals for the overall qualifying score.

However, the scores aren’t what matters; we really emphasize that the team improves and displays confidence.”

The Pioneers are now preparing to host Arizona State and Illinois State at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

DU will welcome Olympic gymnast Jordyn Wieber to Hamilton Gymnasium during the event.

“We really are striving for perfection, form, execution and sticking our landings,” said Kutcher-Rinehart. “We have to be calm and aggressive.”

GAME TALK

March 5, 2013

Basketball bits The Clarion sports staff dives deep into the world of athletics.

by dalton handy Contributing Writer

After the men’s basketball team’s solid win over New Mexico State on Saturday, it became abundantly clear to anyone watching on ESPN 3 that DU students have yet to learn how to react to camera crews showing up at games.

Storming the court after beating an unranked opponent that actually sits lower in conference than the Pioneers is simply embarrassing. Granted, DU does not get to play top-ranked teams often (if ever), but the fact that the student section was larger than normal and the Pioneers came out with a win does not warrant defacing one of the best traditions in sports.

The blog “Ballin is a Habit” lays out four prerequisites for court storming that DU students should pay heed to. First, it has to be a big game (either a rivalry, a conference championship or something of that magnitude). Second, the talent levels of the two teams have to be significantly different. Third, the game has to come down to the wire; no blowout wins allowed. Finally, if the winning team is already ranked, it simply should not happen.

I highly suggest we follow these prerequisites and note that we might not get to storm the court every year. We should still support the team, but let’s leave the court storming to national upsets.

Moving on to other basketballrelated news, Nuggets center JaVale McGee is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. McGee, with his 7-foot-6-inch wingspan, thunderous dunks, alternate personality name Pierre and incredible shot blocking ability, is slowly rounding into form as a basketball player, all in a way that is so distinctly JaVale.

When the Nuggets released their version of the Harlem Shake video last week, McGee was the one that got the video rolling, just as any Nuggets fan would expect.

While in the past he has been known just as well for his boneheaded plays as his amazing feats of athleticism, it seems that the good JaVale is starting to overtake the bad JaVale. Over the course of the 2012-2013 NBA season, McGee has posted a team-high 21.45 Player Efficiency Rating, well above the league average of 15. That ranks him 18th in the league of all players with enough minutes to qualify.

While many have questioned McGee’s on-court decision making, Nuggets wing Andre Igoudala disagrees with the notion that McGee isn’t thinking on the court.

“JaVale McGee is one of the smartest guys I know,” said Igoudala.

“He’s a thinker, so his mind goes into a lot of different places, and I think that can be taken the wrong way when he’s on the court—he can be an over-thinker at times.”

Regardless of his intellectual capacity, I’m excited to see the progress I’m sure McGee will continue to produce. If he continues his level of play across some increased minutes (yes, George Karl, it’s time to play JaVale more), I truly believe his defensive presence as a shot blocker and insane level of athleticism and dunking ability could make him one of the best centers in the league.