Issue79

Independent

The

Fort Lewis College News Magazine Issue 79

www.theindyonline.com

TAKE A SEAT: UNDERSTANDING THE FLC SEAT DEFICIT

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK Dear readers,

Let me first thank you for picking up this issue of The Independent. Inside you will find the hard work of your fellow students. From the articles, to the pictures, to the layout of the magazine itself, everything you hold in your hands was crafted by diligent students who decided to embark on a semester-long journey into the world of news media production.

For some this is merely a return to form, but for many this represents their first such endeavor into this field.

I become acutely aware of this everyday when I look around the newsroom. I see many new faces and a few seasoned veterans who for one reason or another keep coming back for an opportunity to apprise the students of Fort Lewis College of what is happening both on campus and in the community of Durango.

I would like to pull back the curtain for a moment and share that this semester represents a unique phase of transition at the Indy. Most of the old guard in the form of our experienced editors have moved on from FLC to pursue life in the post-grad world. Fortunately, for both you and me, we had a stable of highly capable staff awaiting an opportunity to step up and show its quality. I hope that this is represented in both the product you hold right now and in the continued productions of The Independent, the IndyOnline and IndyTV.

Thank you and enjoy.

Luke Perkins Editor in Chief The Independent News Organization

EDITORS & STAFF REPORTING

Chris Mannara Alex Lamb Masheli Thompson Carolyn Estes Travis Good Izzy Farrell

LUKE PERKINS Editor in Chief

ALEX SEMADENI Print Editor

JARRED GREEN Online Editor

NATALIA SELLS Business Director

DESIGN/PHOTOGRAPHY

Catie Welch Celeste Matovich Crystal Ashike Drew Lovell Cyril Glaser

VIDEO PRODUCTION

LUCY SCHAEFER ALLISON ANDERSON KEENAN MALONE ALLISON KRUCHELL Photography Editor Design Editor Social Media Video Production

Alison Uralli Meryl Ramsey Gabrielle Silva Drew Lovell

BUSINESS

Alicia Koehler Emily Dee

SOCIAL MEDIA

Cover photo by Drew Lovell

Chris Mannara Alex Lamb

IN THIS ISSUE

CAMPUS

Where The Cookie Crumbles: The Sodexo Fort Lewis Food Partnership - 3 Story by Chris Mannara

COMMUNITY Telescopes, Microscopes and More at GPE Building - 5 Story by Masheli Thompson

COVER Take a Seat: Understanding the FLC Seat Deficit - 7 Story by Alex Lamb

SPORTS New Coach, New Team - 9 Story by Carolyn Estes

OUTDOOR Vacation or Life? What to do in Durango- 11 Story by Travis Good

ENTERTAINMENT Horoscopes, Indy on the Street, and Meet and Indy Staffer!- 13 Photo by Lucy Schaefer

CAMPUS

Story by Chris Mannara

F

or almost 20 years a partnership between Sodexo and Fort Lewis College partnership has brought food to many of the students on campus.

The mission has been for the two to work together to provide quality food services to students and faculty alike, Cindy Walz,general manager of FLC Dining Services, said.

A partnership between a company such as Sodexo and a college or university is not uncommon, Walz said. “If you self operate, it’s a lot of work,” she said.

“Not many campuses do it because it’s hard and it’s costly.”

Because of the work-load involved the partnership between colleges and Sodexo can almost be a necessity, Walz said. “For most campuses it just makes sense that you have a food service provider because it’s cost effective and easier,” she said. Sodexo provides many job opportunities for the community and the world alike, Walz said.

003

Photos by Crystal Ashike

The Rocket Returns FLC wants the dining options to be varied and exciting, and a big part of this movement is the reopening of The Rocket Grill, in the Student Union Building on Sept. 5, Walz said.

The move back to The Rocket from Wholly Habanero was a decision that partly was based on sales, she said. “We looked at the sales and Wholly Habanero didn’t do nearly as well as The Rocket did and we wanted to have more of an offering,” she said.

Wholly Habanero was a Sodexo property with a fixed menu, and the switch back to The Rocket allowed for more diversity in the menu options as well, Walz said.

For Liv Ashcraft, executive chef of The Rocket is something that is good for FLC.“I wanted the students that were here with a mandatory meal plan to know that they had a place to come to get good, consistent food where people cared,” Ash-

Design by Crystal Ashike

craft said.

The return of The Rocket was brought on by a financial aspect, but the students voice also played a role in it, she said.

For those who remember The Rocket when it was at FLC previously, the menu has been brought back mostly unchanged, she said.

“I brought the old recipe items that a lot of the students missed,” Ashcraft said. “The Panini, the Rocket Sauce, we brought those things back.”

The menu does have some fresh new things for students to experience besides the classic favorites, she said. Examples of this are the returned Rocket Burger and the brand new FLC burger, she said. So far the response to the return of The Rocket has been generally positive, Ashcraft said.

For Erik Fernitz, a senior at

FLC, The Rocket returning has been a welcome change. “I hadn’t eaten at The Rocket since I was a freshman back in early 2013, so when I heard about it I was pretty happy to see it come back, it was a good thing for me,” Fernitz said. The number of choices given to students at The Rocket was a feature that made it stand out, he said. “I liked The Rocket’s options much more than Wholly Habanero, because I mainly enjoy that type of food more, “Fernitz said.

Regardless it is good to have a variety of things on the menu but for their return it could be a good idea for different specials, he said.

“There’s always room for more options,” he said. “It would be cool if they had seasonal items something that only comes around in the winter. That would be kind of neat,”

he said.

The difference between the quality of food at The Rocket and Sodexo is noticeable, Fernitz said.

Sodexo does offer quick and simple food choices which can be great for any student on the go, Fernitz said.

The ease and effectiveness at The Rocket was a great part of their business, he said.

“The Rocket was quick, you didn’t have to wait a while, and the food was always fresh which was nice for a meal that was prepared so fast,” Fernitz said.

“Overall the students are really happy,” Ashcraft said. “We have a couple of students that do miss Wholly Habanero, but the biggest response is that they’re really happy to have it back.”

004

COMMUNITY

Telescopes, Microscopes and More at GPE Building

T

Story by Masheli Thompson

he opening of the new Geosciences, Physics and Engineering building has been pushed back from its projected fall 2016 date to a new date yet to be determined.

The contracting company on site, Jaynes, is under contract to finish by Nov. 7, Claire Attkisson, a Jaynes representative, and Mark Gutt, Fort Lewis College’s Manager of Planning, Design and Construction, said.

“Our goal is to have everything ready for the start of the spring semester,” Gutt said.

This is a construction project that will encounter uncertainties, so stated goals are not always going to

005

Photo by Catie Welch

be reflected in reality, he said.

The GPE building project conceptualization goes back to the 1990s, Gutt said.

“We’ve been planning for a long time,” he said. “The detailed planning work was done in 2006-07.”

Prior to the GPE project, biology and chemistry were slated to get their upgrades, he said.

Part of the process from conceptualization to building was a bid process by contractors, Gutt said.

Jaynes won the contract and came in under estimate.

“And so we had about $2 or $3 million dollars of money available,” Gutt said, “and so what we did with that was bought a lot of technology,

Design by Catie Welch and getting that done and incorporated into the project within our schedule was really the biggest challenge that came to me.”

Some of the technology includes items like photovoltaic cells on the roof, a constellation roof in the south lobby, attendance trackers, digital door locks, and schedule signage for classrooms, Neil Dodson, a Jaynes employee, said.

The new building will bring in well-equipped laboratory spaces, a third story telescope, classrooms with computer audio-video capability, and computing facilities for students, Dodson said.

“The facilities are going to be phenomenal for students,” Jeff Jessing, professor of physics and engineering at FLC, said.

“One thing that I’ve been doing this summer is heading up and identifying the purchase of a brand-new Scanning Electron Microscope,” Jessing said.

This SEM includes the capability to analyze a substance down to the base elements, and put patterns on a substance at a microscopic scale, he said. The availability of the SEM will also offer undergraduate research opportunities.

“It is going to be as good, or better, than any SEM in the state of Colorado,” he said.

One of the benefits of FLC having this equipment that differentiates it from R1 schools is the opportunity for undergraduate research using the new equipment, Jessing said.

R1 universities are large research universities, such as Harvard or University of Colorado.

Undergraduates do not nor-

mally get the opportunity to do research using equipment such as the new SEM at other institutions, Jessing said.

“Here, in our department, it is common that we do undergraduate research with our students,” he said.

The ability to use the SEM and research equipment while an undergraduate positively impacts graduate school and career opportunities, he said.

Jessing said he thinks the increased capacity and new facilities will increase geosciences, physics, and engineering enrollment at FLC, but he does not foresee 100-person introductory-level physics and engineering classes typical of larger colleges being held at FLC as a result of the building.

006

COVER

TAKE A SEAT: Examining the FLC SEAT DEFICIT Story by Alex Lamb

F

ort Lewis College experienced a seat deficit in fall 2016.

Classrooms did not have enough space to accommodate everyone despite a decrease in overall enrollment, but adjustments are being made.

The school always attempts to

007

Photo by Drew Lovell estimate how many students, both freshmen and returning, will enroll in classes prior to the semester, Barbara Morris, FLC Provost and Vice President of Academic affairs, said.

Departments work on their schedules a year in advance so that everything is ready for registration

Design by Allison Anderson in spring, Morris said.

“There were just a number of factors that happened this particular year that created this perfect storm,” she said. “We were seeing, even as of early summer, that we did not have enough seats which means not enough courses or maybe that the

caps needed to be increased.”

There are always adjustments that have to be made each year, Morris said.

“In the summer we thought we had enough, but you know, when it came to actual registration and the first day of classes there was a lot of movement of students,” she said.

Faculty Senate’s first meeting this academic year discussed a mandate from the administration regarding increases in class size that would be required to get freshmen and transfer students to full time, David Blake, FLC Faculty Senate President, said.

“So this year there was a bunch of freshmen and transfer students that did not get or were not able to get a full load,” Blake said.

A lot of intro-level courses had their seat capacity increased in order to compensate for the seat deficit, Connor Cafferty, Associated Students of Fort Lewis College President, said.

Reasons for the Seat Deficit: One policy that affected this seat deficit was the requirement for students to take their math and composition courses earlier in their degree path, Blake said.

“What that essentially dictates is that you have three semesters to do your composition requirements and to do you math requirements, and so that was a policy based off of data that the academic policy committee came with indicating that if students wait to take their composition and math it does not help them get through school or do well in school,” Blake said.

There are a lot of incoming students taking these basic intro courses with this policy, Cafferty said.

The freshmen class tends to be the biggest class, and they represent most of the students trying to fill those intro class seats, and they are the last to register leading to overcrowded classrooms, he said.

Also in order for students to fill their schedules, some arbitrarily took 100- or 200-hundred-level courses rather than courses required for their majors, Morris said.

The overall class enrollment numbers has also be increased by this semester credit change, Andy Burns, FLC director of Admissions, said.

A lot of students have to take an extra class in order to get 15 credits because of the change from fourto three-credit courses, Burns said.

Students want to take full course loads to graduate on time.

“Nationally students are graduating with about $30,000 in debt, and we are going to help our students manage that,” he said. “That is why the Finish in Four program and some other strategies are in place to help students graduate in a faster time period, and then hopefully graduate with minimal debt as well.”

Another factor for the seat deficit is Colorado’s new eligibility requirements regarding what classes count as general education courses or guaranteed transfer pathway courses, Morris said.

“When we were going through our curriculum revisions we had fewer courses that met that state eligibility,” she said. “So we had fewer GT pathway courses on the books.”

Registered student organizations will have to have their budgets reworked, he said.

“Right now we are behind the doors trying to assess where the money is going to come from if it is not here because, unfortunately, student organizations are probably going to be cut which is never an ideal situation, and it is a hard position to be in,” he said.

The Strategic Plan Committee wants FLC to increase enrollment by 2 percent annually, Burns said.

From a capacity standpoint FLC could accommodate an enrollment of 4,400 to 4,500 like it did 10 years ago, he said.

Future Preventative Strategies:

Moving forward, curriculum maps need to be analyzed for any scheduling conflicts, and advising needs to align with maps to graduation and course scheduling, Morris said in an email reporting to Faculty Senate, which she provided to The Independent.

FLC needs better ways to predict student enrollment and course offerings in the future to prevent seat deficits, she said.

“In the past departments, at the local level, have really looked at their course offerings, looked at past behaviors and then scheduled the classes,” she said. “What we need is more of a centralized approach that gives them the information about what courses they need to offer.”

FLC is creating a forecasting tool that takes into account both Effects of the Enrollment past behavior and modeling future behavior as well, and so that will Decrease: give better information to departTotal enrollment at FLC is ments regarding their class scheduldown, and the next step for ASFLC ing, Morris said. is to assess how much student fees have gone down, said Cafferty.

008

SPORTS

NEW COACH, NEW TEAM Story by Carolyn Estes

H

ead Coach Ed Rifilato, who previously served as the defensive coordinator, was selected as the new head coach in December 2015 for the 2016 Fort Lewis College football season.

This is Rifilato second time to be named head coach in his career at FLC. Following the 2006 season, FLC’s last winning season for football, Rifilato left the college for another head coaching position at New Mexico Highlands, Dwain Crawford, the co-defensive coordinator, said.

Rifilato came back in 2015 as the defensive coordinator for FLC, Crawford said.

As the head coach Rifilato does not coach as many of the fundamentals of the game but serves as the disciplinarian figure for the team and keeps all the players in line, Noah Loutherback, freshman offensive lineman, said.

The head coach’s main job is

009

Photos by Celeste Matovich

paperwork, scheduling and travel, Crawford said.

“Rifilato has a plan, but that plan is always subject to change based on whatever is happening at the time,” Joe Morris, co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach, said.

Coach Rifilato attempts to take care of the players, Tyrell Thomas, junior cornerback, said.

“Coach John Smith took care of us, but I would say he is more of an old-school type guy,” Thomas said.

“He ran us to the ground.”

While there are similarities in coaching style between Smith and Rifilato there are also noticeable differences, he said.

“Coach Smith is more of a command coach, like ‘do it my way’, where Coach Rifilato is also a command coach,” Thomas said. “He is more cooperative, like he will go listen to his players as well as tell you what to do.”

Rifilato eases the players into

Design by Celeste Matovich

things instead of full force, Crawford said.

“For one instance, this fall camp under Coach Smith we would normally have three scrimmages,” he said. “With Rifilato we didn’t scrimmage one time, but we did go against each other, offense against the defense.”

During this fall football camp the team never live tackled, Crawford said.

Another benefit of Rifilato taking over as head coach are his relationships with the existing staff, which were instrumental in maintaining the integrity of the coaching staff, he said. This is not always the case with regime change.

“When you have a head coach leave a lot of times you have a lot of turnover in your coaching staff,” Crawford said. “So we are fortunate enough to keep the continuity as a staff.”

The FLC atmosphere also played

a role in the lack of coaching turnover, he said.

“We all enjoy this place, and we all decided to stay here and continue to move forward with the program,” he said.

The only new addition to the coaching staff this season is the new offensive coach, Clayton Johnson, Morris said.

For Morris this represents his fourth year coaching at FLC, he said. Prior to this year Morris was the defensive line coach, assistant head coach and strength and conditioning coordinator, When Rifilato became head coach, Morris shifted his position to be the co-defensive coordinator as well as assistant head coach, he said.

This brought a host of new responsibilities.

“The coordinator role has changed a lot,” he said. “Now I have to look at the entire package as opposed to just the running game. I have to take care of the pass game and the run game.”

As the assistant head coach he works with Rifilato to make decisions regarding practice, travel and

personnel, Morris said.

Crawford was a secondary coach for two years at FLC until his promotion to the co-defensive coordinator, he said.

Crawford’s responsibility as the co-defensive coordinator is to break down all the team’s passing, their tendencies and route combinations, he said.

“Passing is a big part of the game these days,” Crawford said. “A lot of teams throw 40 to 50 times a game now so we have a big responsibility in that game to hold up and not give up big plays and touchdowns.”

Crawford and Morris handle the defensive players, as far as the game plan for the week, he said. But Rifilato ultimately has authority, and as the former defensive coordinator commonly provides insight.

“He always comes in and just checks and sees what our thoughts are and what we are going to go with,” Crawford said.

Regardless of who is the coach the team has the same goal, trying to win as many games as they can and make it to playoffs, he said.

010

OUTDOORS

Vacation or Life ?

Story by Travis Good

Photography by Lucy Schaefer

t is no secret that there is plenty to do in Durango. The area is filled with an abundance of trails that lead to numerous outdoor adventures, along with an involved family-friendly community.

“If you are bored in Durango anytime of the year there is something wrong with you,” Andy Burns, director of Admissions at Fort Lewis College, said. “There is so much to do in Durango, whether it is anything to do with the outdoors or being involved in the town.”

The outdoor opportunities are a main reason why students are coming to Durango,Burns said.

There are plenty of environmental resources that can be utilized in the Durango’s residents free time, Brett Davis, Outdoor Pursuits coordinator at FLC, said. This can include all the hiking and mountain biking trails that are found in the area along with the Animas River, Davis said.

FLC has made deals with local companies that give students outdoor opportunities that they do

not get at other colleges, Burns said.

For example prospective students get a free lift ticket during summer months at Purgatory Ski Resort or a free rafting trip down the Animas River through MildToWild, a local rafting company.

Most tourists and prospective students are sold on Durango just on the location and overall friendliness of the community, Burns said.

“Our connection between the college and the town is essential for our success as an institution,” Burns said. “Many of our students select Fort Lewis not only for the great academic programs and personalized faculty support that they see but for the strong supportive community that we live in.”

Not only does Durango have outdoor experiences but the town is growing culturally as well, Burns said.

“We have a thriving art program in our town and an emerging music scene as well,” Burns said.

“They like the cultural aspects of Durango.”

Activities residents and visitors

I

011

Design by Lucy Schaefer can be involved with are of great abundance, Matt Sheldon, campus visit coordinator at FLC, said.

“People are interested in a small town community and the ability to get involved,” Sheldon said, “That’s something our students can really do a great job of, if they have something that they want to pursue in the community they can do that.”

Burns feels that FLC’s diverse community is attractive to prospective students and tourists, he said.

The goal is to encourage students and their families to take advantage of the community and get to know what they are offered, Burns said.

“We are trying to capitalize on the people who visit Durango,” Burns said, “If they have a good experience, their wanting to revisit, come back again, perhaps send their son or daughter here.”

The most important thing to introduce prospective students to in Durango are the healthy opportunities that they have, Davis said.

“We are lucky,” Davis said. “We are on vacation here every day.”

012

ENTERTAINMENT

HOROSCOPES ARIES (March 21-April 19) Try something new and maybe a little out of character. Shaking things up could have an overwhelmingly positive effect on your state of being.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) A recent change in your life could be causing you some stress.

Trust yourself to do the right thing and be remember to be open and communicative.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) The new school year can be hectic and you might have a lot of things on your agenda. Don’t get too caught up in your work that you forget to take care of yourself.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Take a break from the recent busy state in your life. Maybe go on a short trip, or catch up with some old friends. You’ll return to your regular routine feeling refreshed and ready to go.

LEO (July 23-August 22)

CALL FOR CREATIVE WORKS The Independent is now accepting creative content to be included in the next print issue of the Indy.

Art, poems, photos, short stories, anything you’d like to submit is welcome!

Please send all submissions and questions to Allison Anderson (awanderson@fortlewis.edu) and be sure to include your name and the title of your work in your email.

If you don’t like what you’re doing, and there’s no real benefit in continuing to do it, stop doing it. No good can come out of forcing yourself to be miserable.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22) Out with the old, in with the new...and then back in with some of the old. Revisit a hobby or pastime you’ve been neglecting lately.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22) If you’ve been working on a big decision lately, now is the time to make it - there’s no time like the present.

THE INDY ONLINE Want more? Head over to theindyonline.com for exclusive stories, opinions, Indy TV videos, photo slideshows and more! You can find these stories online now:

Student Involvement on Campus

SCORPIO (October 23-November 22)

Photojournalism piece by Celeste Matovich

A new opportunity may come with a lot of extra stress - time to break out the pro/con list and evaluate the best option for you.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23-December 21) Get outside! Winter is coming soon so be sure to enjoy the last bits of nice weather. Go for a hike, hang out by the river, or ride your bike around town.

Give Me Some Credit

Opinion by Jarred Green

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19) Set aside some leisure time this weekend - you totally deserve it. Just make sure you get your other responsibilites out of the way first.

ASFLC to cut RSO Budgets

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)

Story by Alex Lamb

You may be looking to make a major change in your life, which could be a good thing - just make sure it’s something you can really commit to.

PISCES (February 19-March 20) Appreciate the people in your life. Take a little bit of time to take stock of your priorities and count your blessings.

013

Skyhawk Hall, FLC Art, and the 3rd Annual Glow Run Video by Indy TV

INDY ON THE STREET Why did you come to FLC?

MEET AN INDY STAFFER

DEIONNA VIGIL

Senior Nambe, NM Came to FLC for the tuition waiver, small class sizes, no obligation toward picking a major.

ELIZA FINKE

Senior Bio Major Came to FLC for the Biology program and small classes, Women in Science Club.

KEVIN HORTON

Junior Wasilla, AK Came here with high school friends.

CONNER MCCASLAND Junior Littleton, CO Came here for snowboarding and small classes.

NAME: Lucy Schaefer POSITION: Photography Editor FAVORITE INDY DEPARTMENT: Photography and design,of course!

IF I COULD LIVE ANYWHERE: I would live tucked into the mountains with my dog.

FAVORITE FOOD: Artichokes or brussels sprouts

STORY IDEA? Email Luke Perkins at ldperkins@fortlewis.edu

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA The Independent FLC

@flcindpendent

@independentflc

The Independent FLC

014

Indy Staff Fall 2016

JOIN THE INDY!

The Independent is your student-run news source for campus and community news. We are an RSO as well as a practicum course, which means anyone can join us as a club or a class.

No experience needed!

POSITIONS AVAILABLE: - Reporting - Copy Editing - Photography - Design

CONTACT:

- Video Production - Ad Sales - Event Planning - Budgeting & Finance

Paige Gray Practicum Director pmgray@fortlewis.edu

Luke Perkins Editor in Chief ldperkins@fortlewis.edu