#Ke ep Ca lmA MOVIES TO MAKE YOU SCREAM THIS HALLOWEEN | Page 10 nd Cla University of Denver student newspaper since 1899 rion
Vol. 120, Issue 23
oct. 30, 2013
www.duclarion.com
USG recognizes “Indigenous People’s Day” by clarion staff
On Tuesday, Oct. 22, the DU Undergraduate Student Government (USG) voted unanimously to pass Resolution 12, which states that USG will recognize Indigenous People’s Day annually on the second Monday of October. The resolution further “strongly encourages” the university as a whole to include the term for the holiday on DU-affiliated calendars. Resolution 12, authored by USG On-Campus Senator Kaitlyn Griffith, says Indigenous People’s Day is a “manifestation of inclusivity, cultural education and is a holiday observed by many on the University of Denver campus.” The resolution calls for the adoption of Indigenous People’s Day as “a means of promoting an inclusive campus climate as well as recognizing the struggle of many to undo the communal and psychological damage done by Columbus and subsequent colonialism, imperialism and neoimperialism.”
“It places emphasis on the existence of people, as opposed to emphasis on the removal or extermination of them,” said Griffith. The resolution further states that “[USG] strongly encourages the University of Denver, in all its totality extending from university, Greek, or athletics, to adopt Indigenous People’s Day and have this decision reflected in future calendars.” Resolution 12 is an amended version of USG Resolution 10, which called on DU to “remove, in all its totality extending from university, Greek, or athletic calendars, any recognition of Columbus Day immediately.” The resolution proposed the alternate recognition of “Native People’s Day,” but was voted down in a majority vote by USG on Tuesday, Oct. 8. “It is really hard for a lot, maybe even the majority, of the DU community to be open to breaking from or changing tradition,” said junior psychology major Marin Klostermeier. “But I am really happy that some of the leaders in
Sodexo, campus orgs prioritize sustainability Editor Emeritus
“Social equity is a piece that’s at the heart of sustainability efforts,” said Chad King, Sustainability Director at DU. But with an out-of-date Sustainability Plan that has many moving pieces, achieving social equity while focusing on DU’s other sustainability goals is easier said than done. Many students may have seen the recycle and compost bins on campus, called “tri-bins” and thought about sustainability, but few may have considered this connection to social equity. DU has linked sustainability with social equity so far with elements such as service learning and Sodexo initiatives such as the Real Food Challenge, LeanPath, Stop Hunger and Meatless Mondays. “Equity is typically one of the three legs of the stool of sustainability as it’s typically defined,” said King. “That said, it’s a lot easier to talk about environmental and economic sustainability than get into what they look like together. But sustainability, at the core, needs to look at equity. It’s typically the lower income communities that are hardest hit by environmental service degradation, such as air quality and water quality.” However, King has concerns that the social equity piece of sustainability
it says is the university will recognize Indigenous People’s Day.” Though Resolution 12 recognizes Indigenous People’s Day only within USG, Wehe said they plan on having discussions with Chancellor Robert Coombe and encouraging university-wide recognition of the holiday. “We are a significant stakeholder at the university, so if we pass something unanimously, our president, Mike Schutte, will bring that up with the Chancellor and the Provost every week,” said Wehe. “We are putting pressure on the administration to say, ‘as a university let’s recognize Indigenous People’s Day.’” DU alumna Olivia Hails, who graduated in 2012 with a BSBA in International Business and served as the Vice President of USG during the 2011-12 school year, disagrees.
SEE student, PAGE 5
Pio installs Boone
needs more attention when it comes to purchasing policies. “Not a lot [of our future goals] get into social equity, though,” said King. “There have been some national movements into divesting from gas and oil, so getting into how our financial efforts impact the environment is not something we are looking at here quite yet. But we will be reviewing university policies, ranging from environmental policies and ground management all the way to policies on flexible work weeks or remote working (which has a great impact of carbon footprint) as part of our updated plan.”
The state of Sustainability at DU It’s been a year since Chad King was hired as the first full-time staff of DU’s Center for Sustainability. In that time, he has worked on implementing best practices, improving reporting, getting involved with classes and co-curricular education with the office of Student Life and Housing and Residential Education and putting on events that get people involved in sustainability efforts on campus – just to name a few highlights. SEE sustainability, PAGE 8
Pio hockey splits weekend games at home SPORTS| Page 15
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by anita balakrishnan
the DU community are not letting the popular opinion get in the way pioneering an era of inclusive excellence and doing what is right by recognizing the lives of Native people.” Resolution 12 altered Resolution 10 to recognize the holiday as “Indigenous People’s Day” within USG while removing the portion eliminating use of the name Columbus Day. “After conversations Senator Wehe and I had with each other and other USG senators, we thought it was plausible to get the resolution passed if it was only about the recognition of Indigenous People’s Day without any mention of Columbus Day,” said Griffith. Wehe praised USG in the decision, saying, “It’s not a controversial step. It passed unanimously, which expresses a greater vision of the USG to be more inclusive and to give honor where honor is due.” “The resolution does not at all negate Columbus Day,” he said. “All
gusto kubiak|clarion
A seven foot tall statue of former DU mascot Boone now stands on the outdoor porch of local bar the Pioneer
by logan baker and lanna giauque
The Pioneer Bar on South University Boulevard has recently unveiled a new outdoor patio that includes a ping-pong table, a bar, a firepit and a seven-foot-tall statue of former DU mascot Denver Boone. Owner Mark Berzins said the statue has nothing to do with the current mascot controversy and has been a part of renovation plans for the past few years. Berzins stated that he had no idea of the controversy surrounding Boone until earlier
this year. Berzins’ father had already been working on carving the wooden statue so he said they decided to keep it. Berzins says the bar has not experienced any negative feedback from the statue. “We prefer to stay out of the limelight as a company and allow our food and service to do the talking, but in this case it’s just a Disney caricature and see no real harm in it,” said Berzins. The statue itself is seven feet tall and features Boone with his traditional coonskin cap, a DU t-shirt and holding a glass of beer.
“There’s a perception that ‘no’ means ‘try harder’ and this isn’t the case.” NEWS | Page 2
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dus rank in list of least affordable colleges