DU Clarion Volume 121 Issue 8

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CATCH UP ON OSCAR HIGHLIGHTS | Page 10 University of Denver student newspaper since 1899

Vol. 121, Issue 8

march. 5, 2014

www.duclarion.com

Big Event brings evening Bike theft causes alarm of fun, food and festivities by sarah ford Managing Editor

gusto kubiak

| clarion

Students roll around in giant-sized hamster balls in El Pomar Natatorium at the Big Event on Feb. 28.

Entertainment Editor

This past Friday, Feb. 28, the Office of Student Life and the Department of Student Activities hosted “The Big Event” on campus for the third time. This quarter, the event was dubbed “The Big Birthday Event” in honor of the university’s sesquicentennial anniversary, which officially kicks off this week and will be celebrated during the entire year of 2014. The event lasted from 8 p.m. - 1 a.m. and offered numerous activities for students to enjoy free of charge. Among others, these included trivia competitions, a stand-up comedian, carnival games, crafts for charity, a zip-line, midnight breakfast and more. In all, over 2,000 participants attended. Some popular activities included were the zip-line, the laser tag and the hamster balls, which sustained long lines throughout the entire evening. According to Francisco Chacon, Assistant Director of the Driscoll Student Center, the budget for “The Big Event” was approximately $55,000. This was an increase of about $22,000 compared to the event held last spring. The event was funded entirely by sponsorships from student organizations, campus departments, contracted service providers and corporate sponsors, with the largest contributors being the Office of Student Life, the Department of Student Activities and Explore Denver. Many of the activities featured this quarter were put on or sponsored by various student organizations on campus.

First year vocal performance major Jared Giammanco said he was thankful for the opportunity to perform with his a cappella group, Exit 205, one of the student organizations that participated in “The Big Event.” “We really like having a giant public event, and being able to share our music like that is fantastic because we get a chance to show everyone our heart and what we’ve been doing,” said Giammanco. “People kind of learn our name and also we make good connections with DUPB and other organizations on campus, and it’s really good practice doing gigs and everything.” Students, faculty and alumni were involved as volunteers as well. Over 175 people volunteered to assist with setting up the venue and working during the event, in addition to 50 paid employees and 70 contracted service providers. This quarter’s “Big Event” also spread farther across campus, encompassing the Driscoll Student Center, Driscoll Green, Sturm Hall and the Ritchie Center. Thirdyear public relations major Lea Gralewski, who attended the event on Friday, said she felt the changes this quarter were an improvement. “I went to the first Big Event last spring and I thought they were both really great but I liked this one because it really promoted the different clubs on campus instead of bringing in outside people,” said Gralewski. “It was also really fun that it was spread out across campus so it never seemed too busy anywhere.”

PioneerNet faces trouble by brandon tate Senior Reporter

Throughout Winter Quarter, University Technology Services (UTS) has been working to amend reported connectivity issues with DU’s PioneerNet internet system. This included periods of disuse Monday, Feb. 24 through Thursday, Feb. 27, when the network experienced difficulties and downtime. “The campus network demonstrated sluggishness and most technology resources were intermittently inaccessible from approximately 11:55 to 3:45 today,” said UTS Assistant Vice Chancellor Ronald Rudloff in a campus-wide email on Thursday. Rudloff clarified that the issues with the internet were unexpected errors made by UTS when changing the certificate that allows devices to access PioneerNet. “The certificate had to be changed by Tuesday of last week, which would have expired,” said Rudloff. “In the meantime we switched certificate providers. When we did that, there were complications with what we call ‘radius,’ or the authentication system. During the Tuesday and Wednesday period when there were people still having a lot of trouble with their wireless, the wireless was actually fine, but it came down to the trust in the system between

iPhones and computers, and the access point they were trying to talk to.” Rudloff said another complication that affected student and faculty internet access was the operating systems (OS) installed on devices, including Maverick OS, which did not work with the DU network immediately after download, and required manual installation of DU ExpressConnect software to operate again. In the meantime, students have been dealing with on and off connectivity issues, and some have sought other temporary remedies. “When I went into the UTS help center, they went through the whole PioneerNet installation process again and that fixed it for a while,” said first-year student Cassie Jones. “Sometimes I try to do that on my own, but when UTS does it, it works, or I just use an Ethernet cord for internet.” Other students faced more complications and were concerned with being unable to access Blackboard, or other class-related websites, to complete work. Students have also been faced with needing to continuously reinstall the SafeConnect software.

SEE internet, PAGE 2

SEE 150, PAGE 2

Alum gives back to underprivileged with startup LIFESTYLES | Page 7

QUOTABLE

by meg mcintyre

On Sunday night the Department of Campus Safety (DCS) issued a series of alert messages to university students, staff and faculty about a suspect believed to be armed on the 1900 block of University Blvd. According to the alert emails, the suspect was “armed and dangerous” and traveling north on University Blvd. when the first alert was sent out at 8:52 p.m. “If you are outside, please seek safety in the nearest building immediately. If you are inside, please do not leave the building until Campus Safety issues an ALL CLEAR message or additional instructions,” the email said. After several campus buildings were shut down due to the threat, including Centennial Halls, Driscoll Student Center and the Ritchie Center, an “all clear” email was issued by DCS at 9:27 p.m. “We got a call from [the Denver Police Department] about this suspect,” said DCS information officer Stephen

Banet. “We didn’t know why he was wanted or why they were looking for him or anything like that.” According to a spokesman for the Denver Police Department (DPD), the suspect was in fact a bicycle thief, who was not caught. Despite earlier reports to the contrary, the suspect was not armed. As DPD conducted a search for the suspect, DCS continued to receive information on updates and relay it to the campus community. “As soon as we can confirm it we want to get the information out as quickly as possible, but we need to temper that with accuracy,” said Banet. Information was distributed via email, as well as sent by text to students signed up with the campus emergency notification system. DCS also sent out automated phone calls. At 9:27 p.m., an update was sent out that the threat had passed. “When these things happen they (DCS) have to do a lot, and do it very fast. There was a lot of cooperation shown by the DU community,” said Banet.

“DU can facilitate a flourishing community of both believers and non-believers.” OPINIONS | Page 13

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