Issue 88

Independent

The

Fort Lewis College News Magazine Issue 88

www.theindyonline.com Spring 2017

UNDERSTANDING YOUR STUDENT GOVERNMENT

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK Dear readers, It’s already April, meaning we are at the homestretch of the semester. Buckle up for these last couple of weeks as the end of the school year approaches.

I want to give a quick shoutout to the staff at The Independent this semester. We have made several changes, both internally and externally, at the Independent and the staff has adjusted wonderfully. It’s never easy moving from the status quo, and the staff has adapted wonderfully. The best part about this staff has been the enthusiasm with which they work with daily. Producing news content isn’t always the easiest, but the staff has shown up with a passion and eagerness that has been unmatched since I’ve been here.

As always, continue to check www.theindyonline.com for up to the minute news. Thanks for making The Independent a part of your day!

Alex Semadeni Editor in Chief Independent News Organization

Anyone who is interested in providing feedback on The Independent can reach out either through Email (independent@fortlewis. edu) or through Facebook (The Independent FLC) and Twitter (@flcindependent). If you are interested in providing feedback about specific departments please visit theindyonline.com where you can find contact info for our departmental editors.

EDITORS & STAFF

Alex Semadeni Editor in Chief

Jarred Green Associate EIC

Carolyn Estes Print Editor

Crystal Ashike Photography Editor

Allison Anderson Design Editor

Chris Mannara Social Media Editor

Cover photo by Allison Anderson

Izzy Farrell Online Editor

Avery Martinez IndyTV Producer

Natalia Sells Business Director

Keenan Malone Copy Editor

REPORTING CJ Calvert Becca Day Davis Deussen Douglas DuPont Matt Roy Shandiin Ramsey Ryan Simonovich Lacey Tewanema DESIGN Hannah Burlingame Katreena Haswood Walter Potter PHOTOGRAPHY Isaac Furtney Traven Halley Richie Scheuer Mathew Tallman VIDEO PRODUCTION Nicole Curry-Stephens Sierra Doan Faith Luna Alex Sarracino BUSINESS Levi Nells Evan Wick SOCIAL MEDIA Brandon Book

IN THIS ISSUE

CAMPUS Miss Hozhoni’s History and Process - 5 Story by Lacey Tewanema

Meet the Alumnus: Todd Wells - 10

Story by Shandiin Ramsey

COMMUNITY Changing with the Times: North Main Ave. Projects and Developments - 5 Story by Davis Deussen

COVER Understanding Your Student Government - 7 Story by Ryan Simonovich

HEALTH Fluoride and Durango - 11 Story by Becca Day

ENTERTAINMENT Book Review, Indy Online Highlights, and Professor Profiles! - 13

A construction worker directs southbound traffic at the intersection of West 27th Street and Main.

Story on page 3.

Photo by Richie Scheuer.

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COMMUNITY

CHANGING WITH THE TIMES: NORTH MAIN AVE. PROJECTS & DEVELOPMENTS Story by Davis Deussen

Photos by Richie Scheuer

Design by Hannah Burlingame

he City of Durango has many projects and developments occurring around the downtown area, particularly around the north end of Main Avenue.

Tim Walsworth, the executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District said that the projects and developments are in line with growth pressures that are projected for Durango in the upcoming years.

“We’re growing and we’re not keeping up with the growth,” Walsworth said. “So, the city is trying to figure out where and how should Durango grow and North Main Avenue is identified as an area for growth.”

Two efforts that the City of Durango is working on are a Comprehensive Plan Update and a Character District Assessment to help define how North Main Avenue fits into the growth that Durango is experiencing and what that growth is going to look like, Walsworth said.

The Comprehensive Plan Update is a community-guided, 10year plan with policies as to how the community should grow and how it could grow within the city limits, before having to spread outside of them, Kevin Hall, the director of community development for the City of Durango said.

The Character District Assessment is attempting to have a look, feel and function that is unique to each district that could encourage possible redevelopment opportunities for under-utilized lots such as those along North Main, Nicol Killian, the assistant director of community development for the City of Durango said.

“Both of these studies, or plans, will come together and, ultimately, will define what is the zoning for North Main and the zoning tells you what kind of uses and how big can it be,” Walsworth said.

The goals behind these plans are to support infill development,

rather than sprawling development and to make the entirety of Main Avenue more intraconnected by becoming more pedestrian-friendly and biker-friendly, Walsworth said.

Infill development is using the space and lots that are available in town, rather than sprawling development, which is taking on the cost of moving infrastructure, businesses and residence outside of town.

“Inside the community, you already have streets and sewer lines and water lines and transit, bike lanes, trails and that sort of thing, so it makes more sense to put in more homes and businesses within the community rather than going out and building more roads and sewer lines and water lines and trails outside of the city limits or on the edge of the city,” Hall said.

Some of the considerations for the uses for North Main Avenue under the city’s future codes would be a corridor for mixed use development projects, meaning multi-story build

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Construction workers repair the road on West 8th Avenue. next to the Strater Hotel. ings with retail on the bottom level and residential on the above levels, Walsworth said.

The city also came up with a Mobility Plan and a Multi-Modal Master Plan to go along with these two future development plans, Amber Blake, the director of transportation and sustainability for the City of Durango, said.

These mobility plans are meant to get as many people out of cars and on bikes or walking as much as possible and to keep the increased amount of pedestrian traffic as safe as possible, Blake said.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is currently heading the Concrete Rehabilitation Project, which is meant to improve mobility along the North Main Avenue corridor by making the concrete smoother through the use of a pavement preservation technique known as diamond grinding, Lisa Schwantes, the regional communications manager for CDOT said.

When CDOT re-stripes the project, they will also narrow the travel lanes to allow for bike lanes, which are currently not available, Schwantes said.

“There’s things that can be done to slow and calm traffic and then encourage developments where people

can get out of their cars and wander around a little bit like they do downtown,” Walworth said.

With the Concrete Rehabilitation Project, a number of intersections will get updated ramps to coincide with the Americans with Disabilities Act to improve mobility for those with disabilities along that corridor, Blake said.

The Comprehensive Plan Update should be completed this spring and adopted at a public City Council meeting occurring at 6:30 p.m. on April 4 at the City Hall Council Chambers to make the necessary updates to the city’s codes, Killian said.

The Character District Plan for North Main Avenue should be completed by this summer and that’s when the city will know what North Main Avenue’s character will be, Walsworth said.

Some projects that have already been completed under the city’s current codes are the old Dairy Queen building being turned into a Starbucks and a Four Corners Community Bank going where Mama’s Boy Italian Restaurant used to be, Walsworth said.

Other projects that are in the works are the old 7/11 building being turned into an insurance agent’s office and a possible new Zia Taqueria building on an empty lot at 2977 N. Main Ave. that would be mixed use of a restaurant and a residential component, Killian said.

A construction worker directs traffic heading south on Main Avenue.

For more information regarding the City of Durango’s Comprehensive Plan Update, visit durangoplanupdate.org.

For more information regarding the City of Durango’s Character District Assessments, visit districts.durangogov.org.

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CAMPUS

Miss Hozhoni’s History and Process

Story by Lacey Tewanema

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Photos by Crystal Ashike & Lacey Tewanema

he Miss Hozhoni pageant is a four-week contest for young women. Each contestant will represent the Native community, FLC and her home community as well as herself, Yvonne Bilinski, one of the committee members said.

The pageant components are an interview, the traditional food preparation, the traditional and modern talents, and the crowning of at Hozhoni Days Powwow. There is also an essay answering questions regarding the title, she said Hozhoni Days and the Miss Hozhoni pageant began in 1966 when the Fort Lewis College administration called Clyde Benally to their office when he was a freshman at the school, Benally said.

Initially, he thought he was in trouble, but the college instead wanted his help in increasing the Shalako Indian Club’s presence on campus, he said.

Other organizations, like the football team and Westerner’s club, were noticed more than the Shalako

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Indian Club. Hozhoni days was created to bring balance to the campus to make the Shalako club as important as the others, Benally said.

“The word Hozhoni was to be like hozhonjigo, which is bringing balance of harmony and not just beauty, and that was what the goal was,” he said.

A part of the Hozhoni Days celebration was the Miss Hozhoni pageant.

Each pageant component comes with its own personal stress depending on what the contestant is or isn’t comfortable with, Ferrari Arviso, the reigning Miss Hozhoni 20162017 said.

“I’m comfortable around people, talking in front of people,” Arviso said. “I think for me it was being prepared and not critiquing myself in a way that would stress me out more.”

The main responsibility is to represent the Native American students, Wanbli Ota and FLC as a whole, Bilinski said.

Wanbli Ota is a registered student run organization on campus.

The goal for Wanbli Ota is to promote diversity on campus and in surrounding areas.

“This is not a powwow role, although it can go into powwow if that is the Miss Hozhoni’s interests,” Bilinski said. “Primarily it would be

Design by Katreena Haswood

like going out and speaking into the community about different things on campus.”

Miss Hozhoni gives women the opportunity to develop their personality, their ability to speak out in front of large audiences and help them develop a sense of self, Bilinski said.

“Who am I, where did I come from, what are my goals in life?

What kind of roots do I have that give me those?” Bilinski said about developing a sense of self.

Miss Hozhoni needs to be articulate, she needs to be a fairly good speaker and understand what is being asked of her, which is judged in the first component of the pageant, Bilinski said.

The next component would be a traditional food preparation and the knowledge of the food. The next component is the contemporary and tradition talents of the pageant.

The talents could vary from poetry, to singing and dancing, she said.

Arviso’s reigning year was eventful with networking with different people, gaining new experiences, and intermixing her education with

her events, she said.

“For me the powwow was completely new,” Arviso said. “I didn’t grow up around powwow at all so just being able to be a part of Grand Entry and learning about customs of powwow and how people operate was being completely new to me.”

“I felt like that’s where I needed to exceed to excel, especially in those attributes, understanding a lot of where I represent especially being

Navajo to being able to demonstrate the idea of hozho,” Arviso said.

The importance of Miss Hozhoni is how important FLC and the students make her to be, Bilinski said.

By speaking at convocation and attending graduation are ways that Miss Hozhoni is important to the college, Bilinski said.

The education is an important aspect of being Miss Hozhoni. She

must maintain a cumulative 2.5 grade point average.

To maintain her grades Arviso said she didn’t attend many events during finals and midterms. She did make time for community events, also getting involved with FLC campus events, and being able to intermix her education with the title, she said.

“If their grades drop they have to give up the crown,”Bilinski said.

Miss Hozhoni Pageant Events

Former Miss Hozhoni Lindsay Sandoval stands with 2015-2016 contestants.

From front to back, Nicole Lovato of the Santo Domingo Pueblo, Charine Gonzales of the San IIdefonso Pueblo, Mariah Gachupin of the Jemez Pueblo, Marquel Begay of the Dine Tribe, and Lindsay Sandoval of the Jicarilla Apache.

All events are at 6:00pm in the Student Union Ballroom Tuesday Evening, March28 – Interviews Tuesday Evening, April 4 – Traditional Foods Tuesday Evening, April 11 – Traditional and Contemporary Talent The 53rd Annual Hozhoni Days Powwow Honoring Veterans of All Conflicts Friday evening, April 14 Gourd Dancing 5:00pm, Grand Entry 7:00pm Saturday afternoon and evening, April 15 – includes crowning of Miss Hozhoni.

Gourd Dancing 11:00am, Grand Entry 1:00pm Gourd Dancing 5:00pm, Grand Entry 7:00pm Hozhoni Days Alumni Breakfast Gather with other FLC alumni in Durango for the Hozhoni Days Powwow at Fort Lewis College annual alumni breakfast! Breakfast will be served from 9-10 AM. Saturday, April 15, 2017 9 - 11 a.m.

Piedra Room, San Juan Dining Hall Student Union

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COVER

UNDERSTANDING YOUR STUDENT GOVERNMENT Story by Ryan Simonovich

Photos by Allison Anderson & Traven Halley

Design by Allison Anderson

he Associated Students of Fort Lewis College is the student body’s representation. They meet every week and deal with issues that are pertinent to the student population at FLC. The ASFLC is made up of a president and vice president executive team, 11 senators, two parliamentarians and two advisors.

Senators can sit on various boards and committees, but two positions, the Financial Allocation Board director and the administrative assistant, are filled by students who are not senators.

Senate

pass resolutions, she said.

There are two main types of resolutions that senators typically deal with, Ramsey said.

One type of resolution is a resolution that gives the ASFLC’s stance on an issue or current event. Recently, The ASFLC came out in support of the Native American Education Act and the FLC Common Ground statement, Ramsey said.

The other type of resolution deals with rules. An example of these rules that the ASFLC deals with are rules that registered student organizations must follow in order

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ASFLC senators are the bridge between students and the ASFLC as well as college administration, Meryl Ramsey, senator and speaker of the senate said.

The ASFLC cannot overturn a decision made by college administration, but the administration does listen to ASFLC input, Ramsey said.

“I think that administration definitely respects our voice,” Ramsey said.

The main job of ASFLC senators is to

to keep their funding, she said.

There are multiple ways that FLC students can be involved with their senators, Ramsey said.

Senators are required to have office hours, which students can visit, and the senate student services committee has a suggestion box that is placed around campus where submissions can be made, she said.

Ideas for Innovation is an annual event where students can present their ideas to the ASFLC in a more formal manner. The event is typically held in January. The disc golf course on campus is an idea that originated at the Ideas for Innovation event,

end of the semester, as a cashable check, Cafferty said in an email.

Senators are only allowed two excused absences per semester in order to retain the full amount of their scholarship, and they forfeit the entire amount if they resign mid-semester, according to bylaw XI of the ASFLC constitution.

If a senate seat becomes open mid-year, a replacement is appointed by the ASFLC. The appointed senator must run for reelection in the next year if they wish to continue, Ramsey said.

Appointed senators receive a prorated scholarship amount, according to bylaw XI. This year the ASFLC has put in place

Planning Council and the college president’s Cabinet, Cafferty said.

“On each of those committees, you try to speak up on behalf of the students,” Cafferty said.

As a member of the college president’s cabinet, Cafferty meets weekly with President Dene Kay Thomas.

The president and ASFLC have input on campuswide financial issues. Topics that have been discussed recently are increased tuition, increased mandatory student fees, new course-specific fees and college enrollment, Cafferty said.

The ASFLC president also engages with the Colorado State Legislature since FLC is

Ramsey said.

The ASFLC has also been instrumental in the construction of new buildings on campus such as the Student Life Center, Connor Cafferty, ASFLC president, said.

If a student makes a suggestion that senators feel is important to FLC, a senator can sponsor the idea and bring it up for discussion at an ASFLC meeting. If the ASFLC agrees, a resolution is proposed and voted on. Once a resolution is passed it goes into effect as determined by the ASFLC. The senators are elected to one year terms by way of popular vote, Ramsey said.

ASFLC senators receive a $500 scholarship per semester if they meet certain requirements, Cafferty said.

The $500 scholarship is given out at the

a new policy for students running for the position of senator, Ramsey said. Senate candidates must attend one meeting and all of the candidate forums, as well as meet individually with the executive team to better understand the responsibilities of being a senator, she said.

a publicly funded institution, he said. A big part of that is the Joint Budget Committee, which makes budget recommendations to the Colorado General Assembly.

Many of these meetings are closed door, so the ASFLC president has the job of representing the student body to the college administration, he said.

“I wouldn’t say you have control of very much, but because you are so informed with what’s happening around campus, it gives the opportunity for you to steer the dialogue a lot,” Cafferty said.

For instance, on March 17, ASFLC members traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with United States representatives from Colorado, Cafferty said.

Cafferty led the ASFLC to come up

Executive Board The executive board is made up of the president, vice president and speaker of the senate.

The ASFLC president sits on a number of committees including the Board of Trustees, College Budget Committee, Institution Review Board, Strategic Enrollment

Student Vice President Mason Shea at an ASFLC meeting.

FAB President Lauren Smith at a meeting.

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Student President Connor Cafferty speaks at a recent ASFLC meeting.

with a resolution in support of the Native American Education Act that was recently introduced in the United States Congress, he said.

Every week Cafferty gives a report on what he has been doing involving the college administration, and senators can give feedback, he said.

The job of the vice president is to manage senators and maintain order at meetings, Cafferty said.

Recent resolutions have been regarding student fees and Registered Student Organizations, Ramsey said.

This semester, the ASFLC allocated $135,000 to RSOs II and IIIs, Lauren Smith, the Financial Allocation Board director, said.

Smith said that it is hard to say what percent that number is of total student fees collected, but she estimates that it is about $1.50 per credit hour, she said.

Every year, RSOs present to the ASFLC and request an amount of money for their budget, Smith said. RSO’s can also come to

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the ASFLC for travel and event grants, she said.

The ASFLC has a budget just like any other RSO. The ASFLC is an RSO II, so they present their budget and vote on it, she said.

RSO’s budgets depend on if they meet certain requirements. If RSO’s do not submit meeting minutes or come to required meetings, their budgets will get cut, Smith said.

This semester the ASFLC has been working on resolutions to hold RSO’s more accountable.

“The students need to elect candidates who will hold RSO’s accountable,” Smith said in an email.

Financial The Financial Allocation Board is made up of the director, three senators and two students at large.

The director is hired position by the executive board and is paid state minimum

wage for their work, Smith said.

The administrative assistant is also a hired position. The executive team interviews and hires for the next academic year in the spring, Cafferty said.

The money for these positions paychecks comes out of the ASFLC’s RSO II budget.

ASFLC’s RSO II allotted budget also goes toward ASFLC events and things such as free Thelegal advice for FLC students, Smith said.

The table is governed by a constitution.

A version of the constitution is available for any student to view on the ASFLC website. The most up to date version is available by contacting the ASFLC. There are two parliamentarians, whose job is to help the table reference the constitution, Cafferty said.

For the lastest news on election results, visit www. theindyonline.com

CAMPUS

MEET THE ALUMNUS: TODD WELLS Story by Shandiin Ramsey

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Design by Allison Anderson

ort Lewis College has produced many successful and prominent alumni in its years as a college, one of these being Todd Wells. Wells is a professional mountain biker who has attended the Olympics three times since the start of his career at FLC. Wells grew up in Kingston, New York. He decided to move to Durango to attend FLC when one of his friends and fellow mountain bikers, Ryan Barthel convinced him to go. It was 1995, and FLC was one of the only colleges in the United States that had a mountain biking team and according to Wells, it was the best one.

“FLC and Durango launched my career,” Wells said. “The people I met when I moved to Durango gave me the network to get my first contract.”

Wells explained how he had never been west of Ohio before moving to Durango, and how the team became his family here.

After a few years at FLC, Wells secured two Cross Country Mountain Bike Collegiate titles and the inaugural Semi Pro NORBA National Series title. He then signed a professional contract with Specialized Mountain Dew team and took a few years off school to race professionally.

“FLC gave me the support structure to learn, race and succeed on my own,” Wells said.

Wells raced professionally for three years then decided to return to school at the University of Arizona to finish his degree in Management Information Systems.

“Getting my degree was a way of securing my future since cycling is a tough way to make a living,” he said.

After graduating, Wells set his sight on professional mountain biking again, and his career skyrocketed.

“I have traveled the world many times over,” he said. “I get paid to be in the best physical shape I can be in. I am in charge of my own destiny and sink or swim on my own merit. There are no politics in mountain bike racing and that finish line is unforgiving, you get what you put in. I am my own boss and make my living being outside doing something I love, riding my bike.”

Since graduating from college in 2000, Wells has won thirteen national championships and has gone to the Olympics three times.

“Competing on the World’s stage in a sport that we mostly contest in much smaller venues was awesome,” Wells said.

“The town I grew up in never had anyone go to the Olympics that I’m aware of so it was really cool for me, one of the most humbling experiences of my life.”

Wells wants to continue on with his racing career and spending his time off with his wife and son.

“I like to have things mapped out, but right now I’m just seeing where life takes me,” Wells said. “It’s been an amazing ride so far and I’m hoping to continue following my passion and hopefully continue to make a living doing it.”

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HEALTH

Fluoride is one of the most common ingredients in toothpaste

Fluoride & Durango T

he fluoridation of Durango’s waters will be voted on by the community on April 4 during local elections, which has stirred up debate over the chemical fluoride.

Fluoridation is a process where sodium fluoride is added to water systems in order to improve dental hygiene, Ron Margolis, a member of Clean Water Durango and former Washington D.C. attorney, said.

Fluoride is a product of the yellow gas fluorine and is formed after fluorine combines with other elements to make a salt, Kenny Miller, chair and associate professor of chemistry at Fort Lewis college said.

After the salt is dissolved in water what’s left of the fluorine becomes fluoride, a negatively charged ion, Miller said.

Question 1A on the election ballots asks if city officials should be prohibited from adding fluoride to Durango’s waters, Margolis said.

People against the use of fluoride in the CIty of Durango’s waters are voting for Question 1A, and those for the use of fluoride in Durango’s waters are voting against Question 1A, Margolis said.

“Fluoride strengthens enamel in teeth and decreases dental decay,” Miller said.

Fluoride is added to water systems at a rate of .7 parts per million, Christie Chatterley, assistant professor of engineering at FLC said.

People against fluoridation are concerned about fluorosis, which is a condition where the teeth become discolored with brown or white spots due to an overexposure to fluoride through their lives, especially during childhood, Margolis said.

Fluorosis is mainly a cosmetic concern and it is treatable, the complications of fluorosis do not outweigh the benefits of having fluoride in the water, Miller said.

Fluoridation was implemented nationally due to cases of fluorosis in the Front Range in Colorado, he said.

Story by Becca Day People noticed a ‘Colorado brown stain’ that discolored people’s teeth due to the naturally occurring high amount of fluoride in Colorado’s water, Miller said.

Photography by Traven Halley Dentists explored this and discovered that people with brown stains from fluoride on their teeth had fewDesign by Walter Potter and Allison Anderson er cavities and less dental decay, Miller said.

This discovery was the basis on which fluoridation in municipal water supplies was initiated, he said.

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Fort Lewis College student filling up a water bottle to prevent the use of plastic waterbottles

The nation started fluoridation in the 1940s and Durango began adding fluoride to its water in the 1950s, Margolis said.

Fluoride naturally occurs in Durango’s waters and sodium fluoride is added to the water to adjust the concentration in order to reach the ideal .7 parts per million, Miller said.

The sodium fluoride that the City of Durango uses is from China and is produced as a waste product formed from a process used to produce aluminum, Chatterley said.

There are trace amounts of other minerals in this sodium fluoride such as aluminum and uranium, Margolis said.

The fluoride that the CIty of Durango adds to its water is contaminated with these metals, Margolis said.

“The City of Durango had the fluoride independently tested, and they verified that there was less than .001 percent of any heavy metals which would then get diluted further once added to the water supply,” Miller said.

There is little reason for concern about where the fluoride Durango uses comes from, Miller said.

An ethical concern about the addition of fluoride to Durango’s water is that fluoride is classified by the FDA as a drug, Margolis said.

Typically, the additives that are put in water consumed by people are solely intended to clean the water and make it safe to drink, Chatterley said.

Adding fluoride to water is adding a drug to water, she said.

The fact that fluoride is a drug raises questions about ethics, Chatterley said.

“Is it right for public officials to be adding things to our water that are not used for the purpose of cleaning it?” she said.

Medical procedures require that a patient gives consent to the procedure before it takes place, Margolis said.

Currently the only way people can remove fluoride from water is by buying expensive water filters, which is not economically possible for some people, Chatterley said.

People should have the same right to choose if they want to consume fluoride as they do when considering other medical issues, Margolis said.

“The best is to use fluoride topically, in toothpaste, so its people choice,” he said.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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:

BOOK REVIEW

Center of Southwest Studies Delaney Dinosaur! Exhibit

by Kirbie Bennett

Story by Ryan Simonovich

Against The Fascist Creep Alexander Reid Ross ISBN: 9781849352444

Fascism as an ideology and revolutionary movement is often viewed as vehemently pitted against the values of liberalism, democracy and multiculturalism, going to great lengths to dismantle institutions that promote such ethics. This perspective overlooks the historical tendency of fascism’s ability to creep into left-wing and socialist movements. In his latest book, Against the Fascist Creep, the journalist Alexander Reid Ross explores in-depth the “fascist creep” that left-wing movements for social justice have fallen prey to around the world since the late-nineteenth century when fascism came into being.

From the way European right-wing intellectuals seized the ideals of anarchism and socialism in the build-up to World War II, taking each philosophy’s criticisms of the state and capitalism as a means to create a hyper-masculine white civilization, to the misogynistic occultism of post-WWII Italian fascist Julius Evola, whose mystical spirituality acted as what Ross calls a “rebirth” of fascism, one that advocated more “blood, sacrifice and ultraviolence” – Ross takes the reader on a whirlwind of a journey through the ruins of Europe after the war where right-wing extremists carefully crafted a sense of pseudo-solidarity with left-wing movements, only to end up taking them over and using their base to further fascist nationalism. Such strategies continue today, as Ross copiously documents, with Europe’s New Right forces continually posing as left-leaning groups, catering to disenfranchised white populations, feeding off their resentment and revenge. The same can be said in the U.S. with the “alt-right” using leftwing intellectualism to spread the creep of fascism.

Given the fact that White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon once proclaimed to be a “Marxist-Lenninst” and also speaks admirably of figures such as Julius Evola, the fascist creep continues to rise. By connecting the dots and naming the names between fascist movements of the past and present, Ross’ book is an urgent read for those keeping a watchful eye on the state of the world.

For more reviews on music, books and movies, check out our website at www.theindyonline.com.

The ASFLC: Budget Approvals for RSO II’s and III’s Story by CJ Calvert

FLC Student Passes Away in Car Accident Over Weekend Story by Ryan Simonovich

Altercation between Preacher and FLC Student Ends in Detainment Video by IndyTV

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA! The Independent FLC @independentflc @flcindependent flcindependent IndyTV

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MEET A PROFESSOR: PAUL DEBELL

by CJ Calvert

Dr. Paul DeBell is an assistant professor of political science with expertise in comparative politics and post-communist politics.

Why did you come to teach at Fort Lewis College?

“I really love the public liberal arts mission at Fort Lewis College.

As an undergrad, I went to William and Mary, which is the state of Virginia’s liberal arts school. I had such a great formative experience there myself, and it made me want to be a professor.”

Where was your favorite place to travel internationally?

“During grad school, I actually worked at a university in Budapest, and so Budapest just became my favorite city in the world.”

Do you have any pets?

“I have two dogs, they’re both mutts, both rescues. One I’ve had for six years now, Reggie. He looks like a boxer but smaller, and then we just got another dog from friends of ours who had to give her up named Tooka.”

What is your favorite restaurant in Durango?

“I would say the College Drive Cafe. We live right behind it, and it’s certainly not the fanciest place, but I could just eat there every day.”

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