ALL-STAR CAST FALLS SHORT OF ART | Page 11 University of Denver student newspaper since 1899
Vol. 121, Issue 5
feb. 12, 2014
www.duclarion.com
Film highlights Native American journey Byrd, Olson by brandon tate Senior Reporter
Last week, DU’s Native Student Alliance (NSA) and Political ScienceAssociate Professor Nancy Wadsworth hosted a free public screening of the Lukas Korver documentary film “The Medicine Game,” followed by a panel discussion with members of the Denver Lacrosse community. The event, hosted on Wednesday, Feb. 5, was a part of DU’s Sesquicentennial events series; over 300 people were in attendance. The film followed the journeys of Jeremy and Jerome “Haina” Thompson, two brothers of the Onondaga nation in rural New York who had ambitions to play Lacrosse at Syracuse University, but initially struggled academically and socially throughout high school and community college. Eventually, Jeremy was able to transfer and play with the Orange, and currently plays for Major League Lacrosse’s Hamilton Nationals. Haina later reached semi-professional Lacrosse. NSA President Amanda Williams, who was pleased with the amount of
“The people who came [Wednesday night] took the time to learn about Native American culture,” said Williams.
people who came, believed the event served an important part of remembering the Sand Creek Massacre, which also has its 150th anniversary in November.
SEE nsa, PAGE 4 emily krebs
by jillian queri Senior Reporter
brandon tate
| clarion
Professor Nancy Wadsworth, right, looks on as NSA members present a ceremonial blanket to Men’s Lacrosse player Zach Miller, the first Native American to play the sport at DU.
Undergraduate Student Government (USG) President Mike Schutte and Off-Campus Senator Parya Mahmoudi met with Denver City Engineer David DiGiacomo on Tuesday, Jan. 28 to discuss the possibility of putting a crosswalk in at Evans Avenue and Franklin Street west of campus. Since the summer of 2013, both senators have been in talks with Denver officials about possible measures to make the Evans Avenue crosswalk a safer path for students. Schutte stated the most feasible possibility for slowing down traffic on Evans. This comes after his meeting with DiGiacomo. Previous ideas, such as lowering the speed limit, have failed. “There’s no speed limit sign from [South Columbine] up until [South Downing] streets,” said Schutte. “The only real indication of speed limit is the school zone sign for Asbury Elementary School, yet there is nothing that indicates the speed is actually 35 miles per hour. Putting up a crosswalk would hopefully prompt drivers to slow down and give the pedestrians some kind of comfort that there’s a place where you should at least cross instead of a free-forall mentality.”
Mahmoudi agreed with the idea of installing a crosswalk on the aforementioned intersection, seeing it as the best possible solution. “We’re central Denver, and traffic congestion does play a big part in it,” said Mahmoudi. “[Installing a crosswalk] would have much more of an impact than just DU. It’ll extend a couple miles.” Schutte further described that a crosswalk at the intersection would alleviate the dangerous traffic he believes stretches from Illegal Pete’s to the university, especially in light of the death of Wilson King in that area last year. “There’ve been fatalities in that area,” said Schutte. “If you talk about crossing Evans there, it’s a gamble. It’s a high pedestrian area yet there’s a borderline highway where drivers are speeding a lot.” While both Schutte and Mahmoudi acknowledge the jurisdiction issues associated with finding methods of making pedestrian travel safer, they also believe that for some DU students the area is a staple of social interaction and dining. Mahmoudi stated the current 35 miles per hour speed limit on Evans encourages drivers to go 40 or 45 miles down the road, bringing great risk to both pedestrians and other drivers.
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“Comparing that to other public institutions in the state, like CU Boulder and CSU-Fort Collins, they have much lower speed limits,” said Mahmoudi. “We want to make [Evans Avenue] a safer place for students and drivers and hopefully encourage drivers to slow down as they go through that street.” Freshman Sean Stroh, does not believe that placing a crosswalk at the Evans-Franklin intersection would help the situation, but rather people looking to cross Evans should use the crosswalks currently in place. “Obviously people just sort of run across Evans because they’re jaywalking and don’t want to cross at the crosswalks,” said Stroh. “I think people should just stick to the crosswalks that are already there.” Another possibility Schutte mentioned would be to expand the median bisecting Evans Avenue out to where the road meets South Franklin Street. Both Schutte and Mahmoudi encourage students and staff to contact the city of Denver at the 311 number. They also encourage students to push the city to further consider a crosswalk and other possible construction routes on Evans Avenue. Further questions or comments can be directed towards DUsenate@gmail.com.
QUOTABLE
Senior Reporter
| clarion
Marcus Byrd [left] and Brett Olson [right].
USG examines options for Evans Avenue crosswalks by brandon tate
friends off-court
Juniors Marcus Byrd and Brett Olson didn’t become teammates when they started their careers as Pios, but have been on the court with each other since middle school. From Highlands Ranch, Colo., both Byrd and Olson have been playing basketball their entire lives and have been on the same team together for eight years. “We grew up playing together and I actually played against him [Byrd] for a little in middle school. Then we played together from seventh grade on,” said Olson. The Highlands Ranch High School basketball team started to improve and even made a run at the state championship during Byrd and Olson’s senior year. “It was always my goal to play college basketball. I’ve had a lot of fun and success at DU,” Olson said. In addition to being teammates on their high school team, Byrd and Olson also played together on the local club team, Next Level. “I think we played really well together just because we have played with each other and have had that chemistry for so long. I think it helps that we can bring that to the table for our team,” said Olson. Both players claim the chemistry they’ve developed together on the court has improved their individual level of play along with the cohesion of the team. “I think we are one of the closest teams in the country. We bond really well and I think it shows up well on the court,” said Olson. Byrd, who is majoring in economics, and Olson, who is majoring in finance, both agreed that finding a balance between school and Division I basketball wasn’ t easy, but once they were adjusted both became equal priorities. Off and on the court, they are each other’s support and encouragement. “We played well together in high school and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It was definitely nice coming to college with a close friend,” said Byrd. Throughout their seasons as Pioneers, Byrd and Olson have each had memorable career moments. Playing different positions, Byrd as a forward and Olson as a guard, the players still manage to maintain a special bond that allows them to excel together and apart. “Whenever one of us isn’t playing well, we know how to pick each other up,” said Byrd. The Pioneers have three games remaining in Magness Arena this season.
“Trying to delegitimize his legacy based off of one game is absolutely absurd.” SPORTS | Page 15
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days until the official start of spring