Volume 29, Issue 17, Jan. 18, 2007 by Met Media

THE

METROPOLITAN 1.18.07 • Vol. 29 No. 17 • http://metonline.mscd.edu • Serving the Auraria Campus since 1979

Dems address student debt Lawmakers propose reduced interest rates for federally subsidized loans

PAGE 3

Back in the swim of things

Photo by Jeremy Billis • jbillis@mscd.edu

Metro and Colorado School of Mines women swimmers take their mark during a dual meet Jan. 13 at the Auraria Pool. The Orediggers men’s team defeated the ’Runners 139-77, while the Metro women were defeated by a 151-61 margin. Paul Bunge (100 and 200 backstroke) and Kenny Rhoades (1- and 3-meter diving) won individual events in the men’s competition, and for the women, Kathy Lind (100 and 200 backstroke) and Elizabeth Michael-Trumbull (100-yard freestyle) were also victorious.

METROSPECTIVE

PULLOUT SECTION

AUDIO FILES

Local theater springs Denver’s Shadow Work into season productions comes out of the dark PAGE 12

PAGE 14

SPORT Hanavan named national player of the year PAGE 21

MetNews

THE METROPOLITAN • PAGE 3 • GEOF WOLLERMAN • GWOLLERM@MSCD.EDU

Faculty Proﬁle

Sandra Doe

Photo by Rachel Crick • crick@mscd.edu

Photo by Jason Small • jsmall4@mscd.edu

The line for the Ofﬁce of Financial Aid was out the door and down the torn-up hallway on the ﬁrst day of spring semester. Sophomore Daniel Feely, right, answered quick, general questions in the hallway to try to ease aggravation and shorten wait times. Student loans are an integral part of many students’ educations, and Democrats have made lowering loan interest rates a priority in the new congressional session.

Bill to slash student debts Dems aim to reduce college loan burden in first 100 hours By Allison Bailey abaile19@mscd.edu Congress discussed legislation to cut interest rates in half on federally subsidized student loans this week as their new legislative session began. A federally subsidized loan is awarded to a student on the basis of financial need. The subsidized loan does not charge the student interest before the repayment period begins or during deferment periods. The proposed legislation would cut interest rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over the next five years, according to Lawrence Pacheco, press secretary for Mark Udall, D-Colo., who is co-sponsoring the bill. Democrats have been working on the bill since July, Pacheco said. According to a recent Newsweek poll, the bill is widely supported by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress as well as 88 percent of the American public.

Intended to make higher education more accessible, the bill would also relieve some of the financial burden that student loan debt places on college graduates, Pacheco said. Due to rising tuitions and fees, there are greater financial barriers between young Americans and a college education. “(The bill is) important because our economy rests on having a highly skilled work force,” Pacheco said. The proposed legislation is part of the Democratic agenda for the first 100 hours of the new legislative session, which marks the first time since 1994 that Democrats have controlled both the House and Senate. If passed by Congress, the bill will still require presidential approval, and Pacheco said he was unsure how long that process might take. It is still uncertain how the student loan interest bill might affect the loan industry if it is passed, said Sheri Bogardus, vice president of marketing at Student Loan Funding, a lending company that is a subsidiary of Sallie Mae, one of the United States’ largest loan providers. The bill might cut the return on federally subsidized student loans by $6 billion, Bogardus said. “They could ask the lenders to give up some of the return,” she said. “That’s how the govern-

ment has done that in the past, asking businesses for help. Usually the lenders have been willing.” The funds could also come from additional taxes or from other resources such as funding cuts from other programs. Bogardus said she would like to see the money coming from programs other than those aimed at helping college students financially, such as grants. “If they take money from those programs then they aren’t investing, they’re just moving money around,” she said. Lenders are waiting to see how Congress plans to finance the bill and piece out the details, but most are supportive of the idea of reducing interest rates if it benefits students, Bogardus said. “We support any effort to support higher education and make it more accessible to students,” she said. In addition to reducing interest rates on student loans, the Democratic agenda includes legislation on several controversial issues, including federal funding for stem-cell research, lobbying reform, raising the national minimum wage and implementing recommendations made by the 9/11 commission.

BACKGROUND: English Professor Sandra Doe began her career when Metro opened in 1965. Almost 42 years and more than 440 classes later, Doe continues to challenge, intrigue and inspire Metro students in what many describe as an unconventional and demanding, yet highly provocative style of teaching. Doe headed west to Colorado from Oklahoma with her family when she was ﬁve. EDUCATION: B.A. from Doame College in Nebraska, M.A. from the University of Denver and doctorate of education from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. INTERESTS: Doe has a passion for pioneer history, especially of those who forged their way westward along the Santa Fe Trail. At Metro, Doe has taught everything from freshman composition to poetry, biography, travel and nature writing. ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Doe’s dossier of students who have continued writing after graduation include Denver Post journalist Tabitha Dial and published travel writer Ruth Kear, whose story originally written as an assignment in Doe’s class went on to win Kear an award as one of the best travel writers of 2005. Another recent graduate, Sarah Wall, had a parallel narrative, also written in one of Doe’s classes, published in 2006. QUOTE: ”I feel writers should think in two different directions: the wild, which represents the ﬁrst draft, and the civilized, which represents the revision.”

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.18.07

NEWS • 5

Program closes door on gangs Open Door advocates provide alternatives for troubled youth By Amy Woodward awoodwa5@mscd.edu The shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams has sparked a renewed awareness of violent crime and gang culture in Denver. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations’ website, 47,596 juvenile arrests were made in 2005 with high numbers of drug violations, assaults, larceny and burglary. These statistics are telling, but there is little concrete evidence to provide a connection to gang activity – and there may not be a strong desire to make one. The pressure to investigate such deaths is light, said Terri Wash, program director at Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives. “Kids die every month who were Darrent Williams’ age or younger,” Wash said. “There is not a big push to investigate into these crimes, and street justice prevails because nobody is really pursuing who did it.” The Open Door program is a youth advocacy center that provides alternatives to gang violence and gang activity. The center reaches out to kids as early as kindergarten. The key to the program is to use prevention measures on young children because they are at the age where you can still change their minds, Wash said. The “heart and soul” of Open Door is the Rev. Leon Kelly, who has dedicated his time since 1987 to helping children pursue a more productive life through counseling, education and community service. Kelly has counseled

many young children, including those involved with some of Colorado’s most prevalent gangs, such as the Crips and the Bloods. Whether it is young children affected by gang culture or teenagers being inﬂuenced to join a gang, Kelly is not one to sugarcoat the consequences of becoming involved with violent groups. “It ﬁlls certain voids all of us have. They want identity, acceptance, money and security,” Kelly said. For newcomers to Open Door, Kelly furnishes a list of those who have died violently from gang violence and a list of those who have been imprisoned. “He does a realistic approach,” Wash said. “It’s not pretty … he lets them know the real deal.” Open Door offers a diverse array of alternatives for those looking for a way out of gangs: in-school and after-school programs, community outreach, summer camps, parent connections, gang mediations and interventions, and public education and community awareness. “Our main objective now is prevention,” Kelly said. “One way to kill a gang is to cut off recruitment. It is easier to mold a kid than repair an adult.” Raquel Roveitson, 15, along with her two younger sisters, has been in Open Door’s afterschool program for a couple of years and is now a part of Open Door’s staff. “The program gave me a chance to do homework and focus,” Roveitson said. She now works in one of the gang programs and also volunteers her time for issues like the environment. “I am able to understand why (Open Door) started the program. It’s not cool to be involved in gangs or drugs,” she said. “It has really helped me out for my younger sisters and younger brother.” Photo by Heather Longway-Burke • longway@mscd.edu

The Rev. Leon Kelly, executive director of Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives, Jan. 16 in his ofﬁce at Open Door in Denver.

Violent Offenses 1980-2004

500 400

Average: 444.2 Low: 334.0 in 2000

300 200

Rates per 100,000

600

Peak: 578.8 in 1992

Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter Offenses 1980-2004 Peak: 8.1 in 1981

Average: 5.1 Low: 3.1 in 2000

4 2

100 0

0 Information courtesy of Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime and Justice Data Online and Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Report • Illustrations by Joe Nguyen • nguyejos@mscd.edu

Annual conference immerses students in leadership tactics By Mellisa Blackburn mblackb4@mscd.edu Improving MetroConnect and forming a student club council were two of the ideas Metro student leaders presented during the 2007 Leadership Immersion Conference last week in Estes Park. “Everybody goes to learn more about leadership principles,” said Justice Jackson, a Metro student and director of MetRadio. The conference is an annual event organized by Metro Student Activities to cultivate leadership skills and bring positive change to Auraria. This year it focused on networking and the relational leadership model, said Gretta Mincer,

assistant director of student activities. Participants spent three days in team-building exercises and attending workshops. After the students were broken up into groups of seven to 10 people, they were challenged to ﬁnd a new program or service that would increase student organization networking, Mincer said. On Jan. 11 the small groups presented their ideas to members of the presidential cabinet and other inﬂuential people to demonstrate what they had learned over the three days. The groups came up with several ideas, including improving MetroConnect as a better place to network, involving more student organizations, having a student club orientation and forming a council of all student organizations as

a support. The council could share what’s going on with common events and help plan them together, Mincer said. Jackson’s group worked on creating an online database and network that would enable students to access clubs at Metro, without having to track down where the clubs actually meet. The network would essentially strengthen the club infrastructure at Metro, Jackson said. “The Club Hub is cool,” Jackson said, referring to the tri-institutional student organization lounge located in the Tivoli Student Union, Room 346. “But if you don’t know where it is … so we created a model where we would be able to get out and actively promote clubs all the time.” These ﬁnal projects are not just practice,

Jackson said. Speciﬁc ideas developed at the conference are often brought back to campus and implemented that same semester. Last year Jackson and SGA student trustee Brian Glotzbach put together a 5K run for Metro students and faculty. Jackson said that this year was calmer than last year, because last year there were a lot of upperclassmen and there was a bit more partying. This year the students had a pool party, and some participants took the opportunity to check out Estes Park at night, he said. “It’s a good experience,” Jackson added. “I would recommend it for any student who goes here.”

6 • NEWS

1.18.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

Campus church feeds, clothes Denver homeless By John McEvoy jmcevoy@mscd.edu

Photo by John McEvoy • jmcevoy@mscd.edu

Volunteers at St. Elizabeth’s Church hand out water and food to homeless people in the alley behind the Central Classroom building.

GRADUATING?

Attention! All Potential Spring 2007 Degree Candidates All Students Who Will Have Completed All Degree Requirements by the End of Spring Semester, 2007: 1 Must file an Application for Graduation in the Office of the Registrar (CN105) by Friday, January 26, 2007. The Application for Graduation is available in the Office of the Registrar (CN105) and on-line: www.mscd.edu/enroll/registrar/docs/index.htm (May be faxed to 303-556-2568.)

2 Should have a CAPP Compliance Report run NOW in their major department or the Academic Advising Center (CN104).

3 Must clear or explain all CAPP discrepancies (Not Met) with the Registrar’s Office by March 2nd in order to remain a degree candidate for this semester.

For more than 50 years St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church has been helping feed and clothe the homeless, hungry and needy. Nearly every day of the year the Auraria soup kitchen opens its doors at 11 a.m. to provide freshly made sandwiches and soup to an average of 80 to 100 people per day. Each morning a different team of six to 10 volunteers arrive to assemble sandwiches, make soup and coffee, and portion out desserts and other foods. The church used to buy supplies from a local food purveyor and was spending almost $3,000 per month. “About a year ago we were wondering if we were going to be able to keep both the soup kitchen and the church going,” said Dee Perez, one of the kitchen’s nearly 200 volunteers. To help cut costs, several of the church’s volunteers now go to wholesale stores in order to keep both the church and the soup kitchen operational, Perez explained. This has helped cut the soup kitchen’s costs nearly in half. Through word of mouth and diligent work by the volunteers, the kitchen has also been able to acquire free food, Perez said. “When companies have food that is near expiration, they donate it to us,” she explained. Other contributions in the form of fresh produce come from Whole Foods, and recently Old Chicago donated some frozen homemade meatballs, Perez said. The church also pays a reasonable price for food from the Food Bank of the Rockies, and there is a small subsidy from the government in the form of six boxes of peanut butter and a couple of boxes of refried beans. Food is not the only thing the kitchen receives for free. Perez recently convinced the trustee of an estate to donate a dozen bags of clothes for distribution to anyone who needs clean clothes or help keeping warm. The food bank and church also negotiate for donations with other parishes in the Denver area that do not have a homeless problem, volunteer Jim Brisnehan said. These parishes include Queen of Peace in Aurora, Spirit of Christ in Arvada and Christ on the Mountain in Lakewood. “The Knights of Columbus also donate about $2,500 a year,” Brisnehan said. St. Elizabeth’s was dedicated in 1898, and its mission statement is a quote from the Bible: “If you love me, feed my sheep.” “We would like to see it go another 100 years,” Perez said about the church and its charity work. For information on joining the volunteers or making a contribution, contact Lauretta Proulx at (303) 534-4014.

Got a news tip?

4 Monitor the Spring 2007 Graduation/ Commencement Website on MetroConnect throughout the semester.

METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE of DENVER

Contact the news desk by e-mail or phone: gwollerm@mscd.edu (303) 556-3423

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.18.07

NEWS • 7

Gathering celebrates King’s legacy Hundreds congregate to hear special guests praise local advocates By Geof Wollerman gwollerm@mscd.edu As temperatures stayed in the single digits and light snow ﬂurried around campus, students, faculty and other community members gathered to celebrate the life and philosophy of one of the 20th century’s most vocal civil rights leaders. More than 300 people gathered on Jan. 12 for the 2007 Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Breakfast at the Tivoli Turnhalle, where Metro student Win Nang and professor Lupe Martinez each received the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Award in recognition of their dedication to nonviolent cultural and political activism. Nang – who before coming to Metro had been jailed, tortured and forced into exile from Burma – received the award for his advocacy on behalf of oppressed journalists. Martinez was recognized for his work over the last eight years in initiating a more diverse and inclusive curriculum and for his general efforts on behalf of Metro students. Offering some opening remarks was Metro President Stephen Jordan, who began by pointing out that less than half of students of color graduate from Colorado high schools. “We must improve upon that,” Jordan said. He talked about Metro’s efforts to increase opportunities for minorities and thanked students and faculty members who were a part of those efforts. “I’d want to thank each and everyone of you for your role in creating opportunity and striving for equality here at Metro State and in the greater Denver metropolitan area,” Jordan said. Guest speaker and former Mayor Wellington Webb honored the memories of Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks and Constance Baker Motley and also spoke about his experiences growing up with segregation in Denver. “As we celebrate this holiday, we must remember from whence we come, and we do not understand the history of whence we

come unless we understand the tragedy of this history,” Webb said. The morning’s keynote speaker, the Rev. James D. Peters of Denver’s New Hope Baptist Church, was also recognized with a Peace Award for his lifetime of commitment to furthering King’s dream. Peters recounted some of his experiences working with King, particularly on the day in Washington, D.C., when King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, which Peters called the best speech he has ever heard. “I had the chance to sit on a platform with Martin more than 50 times in different places all around the country and hear him speak – and he was good, he was great, he was excellent. But his other speeches that he gave after the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech never eclipsed the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech,” Peters said. The ﬁrst Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast was organized in 1992 by Karen J. Thorpe, a former assistant vice president of student affairs at Metro, and was held in St. Cajetan’s Center. “Now, it’s evolved into a major event,” said Alton Clark, the chairman of the event’s organizing committee. “There’s been quite a few people who are wanting to make this even larger,” he said. Clark estimated that around 350 people attended this year. “I think it’s great that we have these things so that we don’t feel like our school is just a city school,” said Metro student Kalilah Shelton. Shelton said she enjoyed the fact that the event did not focus strictly on the black civil rights experience. “It concentrates on everybody from everywhere,” she said. “I would have never known about the guy from Burma.” The breakfast reminds people where they come from and the progress that’s been made, said Shawn Worthy, the interim director of student services. “I think also it provides a basis for understanding Metro as a very diverse entity, and how special that is,” he said. Students can get together in the classroom and share these diverse perspectives, and the breakfast is meant to celebrate that diversity, he said. “It reminds us of a lot of great things about Metro and about our future,” he added.

Photo courtesy of @ Metro

Former Mayor Wellington Webb speaks at the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Breakfast at the Tivoli Turnhalle about the history of the holiday and his experiences growing up with segregation.

“As the highest-ranking African-American elected ofﬁcial in Colorado and a child of the movement engineered by Dr. King, I would be skirting my historical electoral responsibility if I didn’t speak on this occasion directly to my community and to my young people. “To the community I love and work for, I say that when the shot rang out, and the body fell, and the blood ﬂowed, and the spirit raised to the heavens, at that moment a new generational responsibility was created on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. – a responsibility that falls on all of our shoulders equally.

Photo courtesy of @ Metro

The crowd looks on as the Rev. James D. Peters recounts his experiences working with Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement.

“A responsibility to create a culture of hope and hard work that would result in our ultimate entrance into the promise land, a culture of excellence that would require us to expect the best and demand the best from our children and for our children, a culture that would respect our seniors, our women and our history and hold them in the esteem that they should be held.” -- State Senator Peter Groff on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

metrospective Stage Highlights PAGE 12 Fly the friendly skies PAGE 10

Slim Shadow Work PAGE 14

Scott Ferrara as Katurian and Douglas Harmsen as Ariel in the Denver Center Theatre Company production of The Pillowman.

Photo courtesy of Denver Center Theatre Company

Isn’t it Romántico? Romántico 80 minutes Not rated Opens Jan. 19 at the Starz FilmCenter By Joe Nguyen nguyejos@mscd.edu What’s more important: staying together as a family, or ﬁnding work to support your loved ones even if it means traveling hundreds of miles away? Director Mark Becker (Lost Boys of Sudan) explores this question in his latest feature-length documentary, Romántico. The movie follows Carmelo Muñiz Sánchez, a Mexican musician who migrated to America in order to make more money to send home. Although the cinematography is often hit-or-miss, the story is sure to capture the audience’s attention. In 1997 Sánchez left his hometown of Salvatierra, a

Courtesy of Meteor Films

Carmelo Muñiz Sánchez is the subject of director Mark Becker’s documentary Romántico.

city more than 1,000 miles south of the border. After working a number of odd jobs, he contacted his friend Arturo Arias, who helped ﬁnd him jobs as a car washer and musician in San Francisco. But after three years in the States, Sánchez felt the need to return to his family. Becker follows Sánchez through his time in San Francisco to his return to Salvatierra. Using a non-narrative

THE METROPOLITAN • PAGE 9 • ADAM GOLDSTEIN • GOLDSTEA@MSCD.EDU

approach, the director lets his subjects tell the story, allowing for an intimate view into their lives. The result is an engrossing tale that captures the struggles and sacrifices this man endured for the well-being of his family. Certain aspects of Becker’s filmmaking style make the film difficult to watch, however. Early on, Sánchez and Arias are shown walking through San Francisco in slow motion. Although this effect worked well in setting the mood in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, it adds nothing to this film. While in Mexico, Sánchez is placed in obvious poses as he stands and stares toward the camera while people go about their lives. Some of these bystanders turn to look at Sánchez to find out why he’s staring into space. These shots detract from the realism documentaries are supposed to have and create an out-of-place, overly artsy tone. Despite its aesthetic flaws, Romántico is an interesting look at a side of the illegal immigration issue not often seen by the general public.

PULLOUT SECTION

reel world “

10 • METROSPECTIVE

1.18.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit snifﬁng glue.

”

– STEVE MCKROSKEY in AIRPLANE!

Shirley, you want to buy this reissue Airplane! Don’t Call Me Shirley Edition 87 minutes $12.99 By Adam Goldstein goldstea@mscd.edu There’s a newly released DVD that revamps a classic comedy with commentary, deleted scenes and interviews. A DVD? What is it? It’s a shiny disc programmed with movies, but that’s not important right now. What is important is Airplane! The Don’t Call Me Shirley Edition, Paramount’s 25-plus year anniversary edition of a comedy milestone. Directors and writers Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker broke new comedic ground in 1980 with Airplane!, their ﬁrst big-budget ﬁlm. Their Dadaist foray reveled in the ridiculous, poked fun at every B-movie convention and included a host of quotable lines. What’s more,

the film introduced a new brand of post-modernist comedy and inspired an untold host of imitators. The Don’t Call Me Shirley Edition details Abrahams’ and the Zuckers’ inspiration for the farce and highlights the mechanics of its production with in-depth interviews and commentary. One of the most surprising factoids to emerge from the hours of added features is that the film was inspired almost wholly by a 1957 B-movie. Although many tag Airplane! as simply a spoof of ’70s disaster films like Airport, the plot, music and dialogue are based largely on Zero Hour!, a film that features a main character named Lt. Ted Stryker and a plot that relies on poisoned airplane food. The clips and sound bytes from Zero Hour! included in the commentary help to enhance the humor of its spoof. The extra features also include interviews with most of the surviving cast members, who all seem to express similar memories of misgivings at the filmmakers’ daring and outlandish brand of comedy. As Peter Graves, the stern, steadfast character actor who played the pilot, recalls, “I

read the script … and it was some of the most tasteless comedy I’d ever seen.” Along with fellow B-movie heavies Leslie Nielsen and Robert Stack, Graves’ inherent seriousness helped to further enhance the underlying parody of the film. Along with the commentary and interview clips, “The Long Haul” edition of the film features outtakes and cut scenes. Among these clips, no real gems stand out, and most of the editing choices make sense. Still, their inclusion adds depth and is sure to please hard-core fans of the film. The added commentary and clips are secondary to the appeal of the film, which retains all of its freshness and shock value. Though many of the film’s lines have become catchphrases among film fans, they have lost none of their power. Airplane! remains the holy grail of modern comedy, and its innovation stands out from its imitators. Surely, this DVD is a worthwhile buy for casual and hard-core fans alike. It is, and don’t call me Shirley.

INVITE YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING OF

THURSDAY, JANUARY 25 AT 7 PM PLEASE STOP BY

THE METROPOLITAN OFFICE 900 AURARIA PKWY., DENVER

TODAY TO RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY PASS FOR TWO. ONE PASS PER PERSON WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

THIS FILM IS RATED PG-13. PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED. Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13. Passes are limited and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. No phone calls, please. Limit one pass per person. Each pass admits two. Seating is not guaranteed. Arrive early. Theatre is not responsible for overbooking. This screening will be monitored for unauthorized recording. By attending, you agree not to bring any audio or video recording device into the theatre (audio recording devices for credentialed press excepted) and consent to a physical search of your belongings and person. Any attempted use of recording devices will result in immediate removal from the theatre, forfeiture, and may subject you to criminal and civil liability. Please allow additional time for heightened security. You can assist us by leaving all nonessential bags at home or in your vehicle.

IN THEATRES JANUARY 26

timeout “ THE METROPOLITAN • 1.18.07

METROSPECTIVE • 11

‘It’s snowing still,’ said Eeyore gloomily. ‘So it is.’ ‘And freezing.’ ‘Is it?’ ‘Yes,’ said Eeyore. ‘However,’ he said, brightening up a little, ‘we haven’t had an earthquake lately.’

Everyday Blues

”

– A.A. MILNE

Adam Goldstein • goldstea@mscd.edu

This Day in History 1.18.07 Today’s Birthdays

French philosopher Montesquieu – 1755 Pooh creator A.A. Milne – 1882 Rotund comedian Oliver Hardy – 1892 Large-eared heartthrob Cary Grant – 1904 Actor Kevin Costner – 1955 Drunkard comic Dave Attell – 1965 Hockey great Mark Messier – 1961

On this day... I’m looking through you... 1896 – The ﬁrst X-ray machine is exhibited in New York City. Twenty-ﬁve cents is the fee to use this miracle of technology that allows an inner view of the body without the messy and cumbersome drill.

DTU

Joe Nguyen and Conor Drummond • nguyejos@mscd.edu • cdrummon@mscd.edu

All that jazz, all that opera... 1944 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York welcomes a new genre, as jazz giants Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden ﬁll the stuffy hall with syncopation and swing. Usurped opera stars vent their frustration in the wings, shooting spitballs with aplomb.

Beans don’t burn on the grill… 1975 – The Jeffersons, a sitcom that features a character from All In the Family, debuts on CBS. The exploits of George and Weezie serve to break social and racial barriers in pop culture, as well as to give the term “honky” a new prominence in popular parlance.

Across 1- Cupola 5- Falls short 10- Female horse 14- Holly 15- Gandhi’s land 16- Melody 17- Trigonometric function 18- Angered 19- Drinks slowly 20- Polite behavior 22- West Pointer 23- Give up 24- Lump of earth 26- Nest of a bird of prey 29- Worth repeating 33- Sudden convulsion 34- Money bag 35- Hairpiece 36- Message symbols 37- Martini garnish 38- Possess 39- Room within a harem 40- Use a soapbox 41- Horse locks 42- Mosaic flooring 44- Away 45- Rider’s command 46- Tibetan oxen 48- Port near Hong Kong 51- Appointment planner 55- Dash 56- Brief romantic affair 58- On top of 59- Travel 60- Devilfish 61- Tear down 62- Stiff bristle 63- Entreaties 64- High level of satisfaction Down 1- It may be compact 2- Potpourri 3- List from which to choose 4- Bodily exertion 5- Discharged 6- Licorice-like flavoring 7- Without much effort 8- Falsehood 9- Melancholic 10- Ancient fortress in Israel 11- Dry and waterless 12- Matured 13- 3:00 21- Abound 22- Pigeon coop 24- Bend 25- Diet successfully 26- Horse race venue in England 27- Lyric poem 28- “M*A*S*H*” name 29- Capital of Ecuador 30- African sir 31- Alcohol processor 32- Excrete 34- Public square 37- Rice-like grains of pasta 38- German princely family 40- Main Hawaiian island 41- Bring into existence 43- “Hotel ___” 46- Seaport in the Crimea 47- Collection of maps, Titan of Greek mythology 48- Sounds like a kitten 49- Sheltered, nautically 50- Pious platitudes 51- Unit of force 52- Iridescent gemstone 53- Exude slowly 54- Human leg joint 56- Mischievous fairy 57- Indian dish Crossword reprinted courtesy of bestcrosswords.com. Solution for puzzle can be found at http://www.bestcrosswords.com/. (Solution is under Jan. 14 puzzle).

12 • METROSPECTIVE

1.18.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.18.07

METROSPECTIVE • 13

Photo courtesy of the Bug Theatre

Clockwise from bottom left: Brian Colonna in the Buntport’s revival of Something is Rotten. Scott Ferrara as Katurian and Douglas Harmsen as Ariel in the DCTC’s production of The Pillowman. The Buntport Theater performs a weekly onstage sitcom, Starship Troy. Diana Dresser stars in the Bug Theatre’s production of Theresa Rebeck’s comedy Bad Dates. Photo courtesy of the Buntport Theater

Photo courtesy of the Denver Center Theatre Company

Denver theater in bloom A guide to the city’s best onstage offerings

The Denver Center Theatre Company Denver Center for the Performing Arts 1101 13th St. (303) 893-4100 www.denvercenter.org To wrap up its 2006-2007 season, the Denver Center Theatre Company will present an Elizabethan tragedy, a modern take on Eastern fantasy and a morbid view of modern psychosis. The theater company’s spring productions, 1001 and King Lear, will pull their inspiration from well-established dramatic sources, while The Pillowman will rely on a contemporary and controversial motif as its central source of action. Director Anthony Powell will bring playwright Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman to the Ricketson Theatre in a production that will run from Jan. 18 to Feb. 24. McDonagh’s drama hints at the link between creative brilliance and mental disturbance, as the interrogation of a writer reveals a disturbing connection between his art and a series of grisly murders. The production will feature DCTC players Scott Ferrara, Lawrence Hecht, Douglas Harmsen and David Ivers. Playwright Jason Grote’s 1001 draws from a template of classic myth and allegory to address quintessentially contemporary issues. Using variations from A Thousand and One Nights, Grote’s text explores the innate tensions and conﬂicts in a modern relationship between a Jewish-American man and an Arab-American woman. Director Ethan McSweeny will lead a freshman cast through this provocative and layered work. 1001 will run from Jan. 18 to Feb. 24 in the Space Theater. The DCTC’s creative director, Kent Thompson, will follow last year’s production of Measure for Measure with one of Shakespeare’s best-known tragedies, King Lear. The bard’s epic exploration of power, loss and familial betrayal will be brought to life with set designer Ralph Funicello’s tiered set, which encompasses the diverse locations of the play. From England to North Africa, Lear’s vast kingdom will be condensed onto a single stage in the Stage Theater. King Lear will run from Jan. 25 to Feb. 24. Students with valid IDs can buy tickets for $10 to select performances. For regular ticket rates and show times, call the Denver Center’s box ofﬁce or log on to its website.

– Adam Goldstein • goldstea@mscd.edu Photo courtesy of the Buntport Theater

The Buntport Theater 717 Lipan St. (720) 946-1388 www.buntport.com The Buntport Theater will draw on their skill for iconoclastic, wry and just plain silly humor in a revival of Something Is Rotten. The play follows Julius, Harold and George as they seek to mount one of the theater’s omnipresent warhorses, Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Following in the spirit and approach of Titus Andronicus: The Musical, Buntport drenches a theatrical standard with their inimitable acerbic view and ﬂawless comedic timing. The Buntport players will also maintain their commitment to biweekly improvised humor with their new live sitcom, Starship Troy. Though the Buntport retired their well-loved Magnets on the Fridge series last season, Troy keeps the dynamics and spirit of the onstage adventure alive. This season’s sci-ﬁ sitcom centers on a quirky crew of space voyagers with a motif straight from Star Trek. The revival of Something Is Rotten will run Fridays and Saturdays Jan. 19 to Feb. 3, with a general admission of $15, or $12 for students and seniors. A new episode of Starship Troy will be performed every other Tuesday and Wednesday until May 23 with an entrance fee depending on the audience member’s luck in a game of chance. The prices range from $5, $6 to $7.

– Goldstein

The Bug Theatre 3654 Navajo St. (303) 477-5977 www.bugtheatre.org Classic drama and contemporary comedy rule the stage at the Bug Theatre this spring. Bad Dates, written by one of today’s most popular female playwrights, Theresa Rebeck, is a comedy about single parenting and the dating world. Set in modern-day New York City, the show is an insightful and light-hearted look at the Romanian mob, raising a teenage daughter and a severe love of shoes. Bad Dates, which ran off-Broadway, opens Jan. 19 and runs through Feb. 25. Edward Albee’s Pulitzer-winning drama Seascape presents a thought-provoking look at aging, life and moving on. The story

focuses on a middle-aged couple relaxing on a beach. When they meet another couple, suspicion and tension rises. Ultimately, the couples ﬁnd common ground and discover the mutual need and respect they have for one another. Seascape opens Mar. 10 and will run through Apr. 15. Tickets for Bug productions are $20 for the public, and $15 for students with a valid ID. Special events are held on Thursdays, including Girl’s Night Out on Jan. 25 and Feb. 8 and a wine and cheese mixer on Feb. 1. Tickets for each special event are $25, a fee that includes the show. For more information, including production dates and times, call the Bug Theatre at (303) 4775977.

– Chelsey Emmelhainz • cemmelha@mscd.edu

The Paragon Theatre 1124 Santa Fe Drive (303) 300-2210 www.paragontheatre.com The Paragon Theatre Company’s 2007 spring season will kick off with a production by one of theater’s most celebrated playwrights, Emmy and Tony-award winning writer Terrence McNally. McNally’s comedy, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, traces the unlikely romance that develops between Frankie and Johnny, a middle-aged pair of nobodies. Through a series of ordinary circumstances, they begin to feel a poignant need for each other in their everyday lives, beyond the casual parameters of a one-night stand. Frankie and Johnny opens Feb. 10 and runs through March 10. Following Frankie and Johnny will be the world premiere of How We May Know Him by Paragon resident Ellen K. Graham. In this dark comedy, a gated community is thrown into chaos by the antics of a charming oddball who moves into the quiet neighborhood. Full of humor, wit and some mistaken identities, How We May Know Him gives new insights into what we think we know about ourselves and others. The show opens April 21 and will run until May 19. Shows by the Paragon take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. at the Phoenix Theatre, 1124 Santa Fe Drive. Tickets for any performance are $19.00 for general admission and $15.00 for students and seniors.

– Emmelhainz

THE METROPOLITAN • PAGE 14 • MEGAN CARNEAL • MCARNEAL@MSCD.EDU

audioﬁles

Upcoming shows

18 Wheeler Jan. 20 12 Volt Tavern 7514 Grandview Ave., Arvada 8 p.m. $5, 21+ A strong shot of rockabilly-laced whiskey chased with some heavy-metal-ﬂavored beer could either leave some praying at the altar of the porcelain gods or lead to a night of raucous psychobilly led by three infamous drunks known as 18 Wheeler.

Megan Carneal • mcarneal@mscd.edu

Le Ballet Just a band and their will to survive. Shadow Work, from left, Matt Smith, Ethan Sahker, Jason Smith, Toby Crisp and Jason Lycan.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Thackeray

Shadow boxers

By Shannon Yoshida syoshida@mscd.edu Shadow Work may be at the bottom of the heap in the music industry, considering they have no label, no first album and no show manager, but then again, that is where even the biggest bands started: the basement. Being in a local band in Denver, or any city, is less glamorous than one would imagine. “We’ve had to fire people, we’ve had people quit on us, we have to invest in merchandise, and groupies are few and far between,” said Metro student Ethan Sahker, the band’s bass player. Musically, Shadow Work strays far from softness and predictability and strides right into the heavy side of things. Toby Crisp’s drums provide the initial pulse, while Sahker rounds the sound out with his intense bass. The band is able to retreat from vigorous, fast-paced riffs into slower breakdowns that are tight and uniform. The most powerful surprises come when the rhythm is broken to make way for a verse or a solo, or the drastic tempo changes in the midst of a perfect pocket of a song. Not to mention that lead singer Jason Smith’s screaming and singing makes seducing the crowd look easy. One of the most impressive aspects of Shadow Work is that no one member is in the limelight more than any other, because they’re all fluent with every instrument the band uses. The band emphasizes that their music has a message, defying the misconception about

heavy metal just being noisy instrumentals and screaming. Shadow Work’s journey has been all but easy, and they have encountered their fair share of setbacks. In the past year they’ve had to fire their rhythm guitar player because, Sahker said, “he stifled the song-writing process.” The hunt for a new member followed, and Jason Lycan was discovered on Bandmates.com. After auditions and tryouts, they welcomed him into the group. The five-piece metal outfit went on to play the Localpalooza show at the Gothic and put on a performance that clearly surpassed those of the other groups playing. Shortly after the impressive show, their lead singer abruptly quit after a bad practice, leaving Sahker, Lycan, drummer Crisp and guitarist Matt Smith to search for yet another singer. In the group’s opinion, singers are the hardest members to find – besides groupies, that is. Sahker, through mutual friends, found Jason Smith. “Me and Ethan were actually in our very first band with Jason, back in seventh and eighth grade, so we had some history,” Crisp said. Jason Smith had just been released from prison and was looking for some inspiration and a new direction. Now that all the voids were filled, Shadow Work could finally move forward, and within a few months of practicing with their new additions, they began playing local shows again.

However, new bandmates mean new songs and new lyrics. “Lyrics always come from personal experience. I wish there was a more effective muse than personal pain, but pain is the all-time muse,” Jason Smith said. Two new songs are “Cast It Down, Tear It Away,” which is about revolution, and “The Hollow Effect,” which is about Jason Smith’s prison experience. Shadow Work affects the daily lives of its members constantly, more so than any job or hobby. “Without the music and without my band, my life would be very monotonous and melancholy, but this gives me an outlet,” Crisp said. “I’m in the best moment of my life right now,” Matt Smith said. “I’ve got my new baby girl, Melody, I’ve got my wife, I’ve got the best band in the world. I’d live and die for this shit. This is what it’s all about.”

For more information on Shadow Work check out http://myspace. com/shadowwork

Jan. 26 Lifespot 7562 S. University, Centennial Doors 7:45 p.m., show 8 $7, all ages Intertwining electro-funky beats and monotone vocals, Le Ballet rivals bands like She Wants Revenge and The Killers. The local band has the sound to compete, but has yet to break into the big time. People have been fascinated by the lackluster voices mixed with wild piano, Moog-style synthesizers and high-energy drums.

Cassie Hood • hoodc@mscd.edu

Blackalicious Jan. 26, 27 Fox Theatre 1135 13th St., Boulder Doors 8:30 p.m., show 9 $20 in advance, $22.50 at the door, 16+ on Jan. 26, 21+ on Jan. 27 Blackalicious, unlike some rap acts, is inspirational and positive, rather than violent or demeaning. Hailing from the West Coast, the group formed in the early ’90s, putting out three records and two EPs. Expect a lively performance from this respected group, with original beats accompanied by an underground ﬂare.

Shannon Yoshida • syoshida@mscd.edu

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.18.07

AUDIO FILES • 15

Meditating with drum drills and piano scales Adam Goldstein goldstea@mscd.edu

freeplay

As a kid, I was never any good at sports. I preferred to spend my after-school hours listening to my parents’ vinyl or cassettes, poring over the liner notes and imagining myself as the front man for Blind Faith, Crazy Horse or Led Zeppelin. My stint on a community soccer team was laughable and brief – I didn’t last a full season, and I never bothered to claim the trophy that was the perfunctory, participatory prize for every member of the team, no matter how uncoordinated. Happily, my enlightened parents recognized my innate interests, and after I failed at soccer, they decided to enlist me in an extracurricular activity that would prove more durable. I was 14 when I started taking guitar lessons, and I immediately warmed to the discipline of learning an instrument. I dutifully memorized the chords, imitated the licks and played along to my favorite records. Every week, it was as if I had an hour’s worth of formal meditation time, studying tablature and strumming along with Hendrix, Zappa and Frusciante, among others. When I stopped attending lessons at the age of 18, I had gained more than the ability to play guitar. I had gleaned a tactile tool for self-expression. No mat-

ter where I traveled or lived for the next nine years, I always had a guitar strapped to my back. In foreign climes, six strings were my ultimate communicator. In new cities, familiar pop tunes were my guaranteed icebreakers. At home in Denver, I wrote songs and played coffee-shop gigs. The four years of lessons had given me an invaluable outlet for creativity. Recently, I decided to sign up for piano and drum lessons, ultimately hoping to gain proficiency in the instruments and to round myself out as a musician. My nostalgia and inspiration melded, bringing me to the same neighborhood music school where I’d spent so many hours growing up. After a little more than a month studying both instruments, I find that I listen to all kinds of music in a deeper way. I drill myself daily on piano scales and drum beats, incorporating the melodic and rhythmic precepts I’ve applied so long to the strings and expanding them to new contexts. The genius of familiar musicians from Debussy to Buddy Rich is suddenly more vivid. My formal meditation sessions have returned, and with the aid of devoted, talented instructors, I find myself looking at creative expression in new, expanded ways. Suddenly, I find myself forming piano and drum lines for songs I’d written on the guitar. Last month, as I walked out of my second drum lesson, I felt the same mixture of surging excitement and innate creativity that had marked my Wednesday afternoons as an adolescent. I ran into my old guitar teacher in the hall, and I told him I was tackling two new instruments. “That’s the great thing about music,” he said. “You never stop learning.” As I tapped my legs rhythmically with two drumsticks, I had to agree. I’ve found a new way to appreciate and create music. And I’m still a horrible soccer player.

Black Flag Nervous Breakdown (SST Records, 1987) By Billy Schear wschear@mscd.edu In 1978, mediocrity reigned supreme in the music industry. The Bee Gees ruled the airwaves and somewhere in North Carolina, Clay Aiken was born far beneath the bubble gum. However, in Redondo Beach, Calif., an EP was released that to this day makes listeners’ hair stand on end and their ﬁsts clench in anger. From the moment Greg Ginn hit the ﬁrst power chord on “Nervous Breakdown,” the album’s title track, it was evi-

spotlight! emo teeters on the edge of its 9th life Damien Rice 9 (Warner Bros., 2006) By Cassie Hood hoodc@mscd.edu

The emo scene must have been founded as a conspiracy between the tycoons at Kleenex and hair-dye companies. Fashion and music have fused into a single idea of “coolness.” The reality, though, is that the sound lacks substance, and the look lacks individuality. Unfortunately, the scene has bled into other genres of music, infiltrating the minds of alternative country and folk fans alike. It is cool to be emo, and Damien Rice, at first listen, appears to be the quintessential emo god. It would be simple to pass Rice off as another sad bastard that needs to cheer up, but his overpowering voice commands more attention than that. With most emo music, the lyrics sound like they come from a teenager’s journal, dripping angst and shallowness, but Rice’s are poetic and full of imagery. His newest release, 9, explores the entire spectrum of human emotion. Opening with “9 Crimes,” a journey through cheating minds, the album captivates from the beginning. The melancholy piano music drags and falters at points, but when Lisa Hannigan sheepishly declares her pain, and Rice pours out his regret, the song pulls the heartstrings in every direction, and on some level everyone can relate. Instead of nasally, whiny vocals, Hannigan and Rice have majestic, full voices. “Rootless Tree,” however, is chock-full of hatred and indignation. A relationship has ended, and all the anger that has built up finally slipped out of Rice’s mouth and onto this album. A playful violin sings muffled in the background, bringing awkwardness and tension to the song. Rice’s tone rises along with the violin until both near their breaking points. The drums, simple as they are, provide a solid tempo that encourages one’s head to bounce along. The album’s weakness, “Sleep Don’t Weep,” is 21 minutes of noise accompanied occasionally by Rice’s gentle voice. It has a promising start that matches the caliber of the rest of the album, but when Rice stops singing there is nothing but mind-numbing, high-pitched noise. Compared to the rest of 9, the song is a disappointing end. As a whole, the album is a fantastic journey from heartbreak and happiness to disdain and uncertainty, resulting in Damien Rice and his accompaniment releasing a glimmer of hope into the otherwise drab, macabre world of emo.

dent that music would change forever. Even without hindsight, one could easily tell that the blister-popping guitar work and neurotically violent lyrics would be nothing less than divine inspiration for future generations. Formed in 1976, Black Flag was largely the brainchild of Ginn, who remained as the band’s only constant member through several changes of personnel. Nervous Breakdown also showcases the vocals of a young Keith Morris, who, upon leaving Black Flag in 1979, formed the Circle Jerks. Black Flag’s music may not be extremely fast-paced, but its intensity is always felt. With low-quality, but sincere, production and feedback that makes your sinuses leak, every track hits like a bullet to the brain. The lyrical content of each track is, at its core, simple and somewhat irreverent. Yet a poignant ﬂow guides its power. Despite being primarily considered a hardcore punk band – many say one of the ﬁrst – Black Flag is reminiscent of early hip-hop in spirit in that their sound comes from the street: guttural and raw with a hint of criminal indecency. Basically they taught suburban white kids that it’s okay to be angry and hostile as long as your soul is grounded. Nervous Breakdown can be downloaded in its entirety at http://7inchpunk.com. Listen wisely, as criminal instincts may be aroused if proper precautions are not taken.

Download Black Flag’s Nervous Breakdown at http://www.7inchpunk. com/?m=200603

Every week, Freeplay will cover the best free albums and EPs to be found on the World Wide Web

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.18.07

NEWS • 17

By Michael Godfrey mgodfre3@mscd.edu The Ofﬁce of Student Activities has teamed up with Apple once again to host iMovie Madness, a Metro-wide moviemaking contest for students who want to explore the brave new world of video-editing software. The festival kicks off on Jan. 25 with an informational meeting held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Tivoli 320, where students will be issued digital video cameras and Apple laptops. Students will also be given a quick tutorial in Apple’s iMovie software. For one week, teams of up to four Metro students will be given the chance to create and ﬁlm a three-minute movie on a theme that will be revealed at the kickoff meeting. The contest is part of Metro’s homecoming

Course Proﬁle

AAS 2200: Politics and Black People PROGRAM: African and African-American Studies COURSE DESCRIPTION: One of the more popular courses offered by the African and African-American Studies department this semester, it examines historical and present-day black politics as a vehicle for positive change for America’s black population. The course may also be taken for political science credit and satisfies a multicultural requirement. It is worth three credits. SYLLABUS: Derrick Hudson, associate professor of international relations and African studies, is teaching the course this semester. He emphasizes black politics after the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. “After voting was firmly established, there was a shift in black political power,” he said. Hudson said that he focuses on the gradual elections of black mayors into offices across the country following the act. This semester, he will be talking about former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, whose memoirs will be released as Wellington Webb: The Man, the Mayor and the Making of Modern Denver in midFebruary. “This course really helps someone appreciate how African-Americans have viewed the political process throughout history,” Hudson said. PREREQUISITE: Satisfaction of level-one math requirement and either ENG 1010 or completion of level-one communications requirement.

celebrations taking place during the last week of January. Other activities include a penny drive and a mashed potato diving contest. This year marks the second year of the contest. Last year students competed to create a movie that reflected the theme of Metro’s 40th anniversary. The contest ended, as it will this year, with a red carpet premiere of the 10 best films. “I helped make a movie for the contest last year, and it was a blast,” Tye Olmested said. “We only had a week to create, film and shoot three minutes of film, it was intense.” Students interested in the iMovie contest or any of the other homecoming activities planned during the week of Jan. 22-26 can go to Metro’s Homecoming 2007 events page at http://www. mscd.edu/~alumni/homecoming.

Madness descends on Auraria

iMovie Madness 2007 Rules and guidelines

• Movies may not contain material protected by copyright law without permission from the copyright holder.

• The ﬁlm must be completely edited in iMovie, using original footage shot by the team.

• Teams cannot have more than four members and all must be Metro students.

• The movie may be about anything, but if the content is deemed inappropriate it will be disqualiﬁed.

• Each team may only submit one movie. Team members must complete all production of the movie.

• Judges will use a number of criteria to determine winners, including overall concept, screenplay, creativity, cinematography and music. Illustration by Andrew Howerton • ahowert2@mscd.edu

s t n e d u t S o r t Me

Awards Apply for these

Outstanding Student Awards For 2006 and 2007 Graduating Seniors!

For those seniors graduating in August 2006, December 2006 or May 2007 Be recognized for your superior academic achievement, leadership and service to the college in academic or student services departments and in the community.

Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges For Juniors and Seniors! Be recognized for your outstanding academic service and achievements. Because you’ve worked so hard to complete your degree and demonstrated superior academic achievement, leadership and community service, you owe it to yourself to apply for these awards!

How to apply: • Go to http://www.mscd.edu/~studlife/StudLifeHome.html and click on the Page Links for “Outstanding Student Awards” and/or “Who’s Who” to download application forms and learn more. Specic criteria are found on each application form. • Submit your completed form(s) for both awards to the ofce of your major department by Friday, February 16, 2007. • For more information, call the MSCD Ofce of Student Life at (303) 556-3559.

The application deadline is Friday, February 16, 2007 in the office of your major department

THE METROPOLITAN • PAGE 18 • MATTHEW QUANE • MQUANE@MSCD.EDU

Insight “

”

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. – MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Adam Goldstein • goldstea@mscd.edu

ZÖE WILLIAMS williamz@mscd.edu

Bulls on parade

Ditch the meat, beat the heat Walking in the territory of moose, caribou and French-speaking lumberjacks, I recently spent a week exploring eastern Canada. Though I didn’t expect to see Québécois stereotypically huddled into villages of quaint igloos, I was surprised to arrive at a climate that would not sustain such contrived structures. While snow continued to blanket the streets of Denver, parts of North America that would normally enjoy similar occurrences waited through heat and rain for ﬂakes that did not come. Though the area’s ski industry has been suffering, it’s the least of our worries. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Organization reported 2006 as the warmest year on record and documented last month as the fourth-hottest December since 1895. Some will likely refute that this is a symptom of global warming. Regardless, the world’s best interest is to prepare for what might be, regardless of how unsavory it may seem. For those still in search of a resolution for 2007, might I suggest a lifestyle of decreased carbon emissions? Unless you’ve been living in a cave, under a rock or perhaps in your parents’ basement, you probably know that the fossil fuels used in transportation are contributors to greenhouse

EMILE HALLEZ ehallez@mscd.edu gases. In turn, you traded in your H2 for a moped, or your moped for a bicycle. In other words, you’ve been doing your part ... right? Transportation aside, there is another way to reduce carbon emissions: Ditch the meat and eat your veggies. The amount of water and energy required to produce animal products dwarfs that of plant-based foods. A 2005 study at the University of Chicago, Diet, Energy and Global Warming, found the average American expends about the same energy in transportation as in getting food to his or her table. This is important – most of the energy used in food production, processing, storage and transport comes from fossil fuels.

The average American diet annually contributes 700 kilograms of atmospheric carbon dioxide more than a vegan diet of equal caloric intake. That is roughly a third of the carbon dioxide produced by driving a mid-size car more than 8,000 miles. The animal industry is also responsible for increased levels of methane and nitrous oxide in the air. Diets including animal products result in an average of 800 additional kilograms of carbon dioxide-equivalents emitted per capita. But not all plant-based diets are equal. Types of produce vary by their production-energy input to caloric-output ratios. Tomatoes, for example, are 60 percent energy-efﬁcient, while oats are 500 percent. Anything less than 100 percent efﬁcient should be considered energy-wasting. Beef production is about 1 percent. To be fair, I should point out an energy-expenditure shortcoming of the animal-free diet. Vegans typically live longer than meat-eaters, consequently using energy – fossil-based or otherwise – in the extra years they enjoy. This expenditure is likely not more than the excess of consuming animals in a lifetime, but who really wants to live longer in a world with melting icecaps, drowning polar bears and an arctic without igloos?

SERVING THE AURARIA CAMPUS SINCE 1979 EDITOR IN CHIEF Cory Casciato • casciato@mscd.edu MANAGING EDITOR David Pollan • dpollan@mscd.edu NEWS EDITOR Geof Wollerman • gwollerm@mscd.edu ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS Lou Christopher • achris25@mscd.edu Josie Klemaier • jklemaie@mscd.edu OPINIONS EDITOR Matthew Quane • mquane@mscd.edu ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITORS Andrew Flohr-Spence • spencand@mscd.edu Emile Hallez • ehallez@mscd.edu FEATURES EDITOR Adam Goldstein • goldstea@mscd.edu

ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITORS Chelsey Emmelhainz • cemmelha@mscd.edu Joe Nguyen • nguyejos@mscd.edu MUSIC EDITOR Megan Carneal • mcarneal@mscd.edu SPORTS EDITOR Eric Lansing • lansing@mscd.edu PHOTO EDITOR Jenn LeBlanc • jkerriga@mscd.edu COPY EDITORS Jeremy Johnson • jjohn308@mscd.edu Taylor Sullivan • tsulli21@mscd.edu Joel Tagert • tagert@mscd.edu ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Donnita Wong ADVISER Jane Hoback

The Metropolitan is produced by and for the students of Metropolitan State College of Denver and serves the Auraria Campus. The Metropolitan is supported by advertising revenue and student fees, and is published every Thursday during the academic year and bi-weekly during the Summer semester. The Metropolitan is distributed to all campus buildings. No person may take more than one copy of each edition of The Metropolitan without prior written permission. Please direct any questions, comments, complaints or compliments to Metro Board of Publications c/o The Metropolitan. Opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of Metropolitan State College of Denver or its advertisers. Deadline for calendar items is 5 p.m. Thursday. Deadline for press releases is 10 a.m. Monday. Display advertising deadline is 3 p.m. Thursday. Classified advertising is 5 p.m. Thursday. Our offices are located in the Tivoli Student Union, Room 313. Mailing address is P.O. Box 173362, Campus Box 57, Denver, CO 80217-3362.

Spending January in Denver is enough to send me to a commune in Oregon seeking refugee status. While Colorado has made giant leaps from its Old West reputation, the arrival of the National Western Stock Show sends the state drifting back toward Kansas. The National Western Stock Show’s website is flagged with a logo inviting visitors to “Come meet the most magnificent creatures on Earth,” alluding to a disingenuous reverence for the animals that are paraded, sported and sold throughout the event. The fate of the animals involved in the stock show is one of great suffering and disrespect, all in pursuit of profit and entertainment. Animals such as cows, pigs, goats and various birds exhibited at the stock show are judged for the meat they will produce for human consumption while being paraded in front of a panel of judges and then piled into a truck and shipped to slaughterhouses for the “carcass phase” of the event. They are not treated as living beings, but as products for human pleasure. The safety and welfare regulations in place only mandate that animals have water in their pens and are not handled by devices that cause swelling, pushing the demented imaginations of handlers to craft ways to ensure that the last days of an animal’s life are truly miserable. Rodeos are the most brutal display of inhumanity at the stock show. Cows, horses and calves are subjected to electrical prods to make these domestic and human-friendly animals act wild. Flank straps are tied tightly at the base of the rib cages of horses and bulls to make the animals struggle to free themselves from the painful treatment. This is what puts the “buck” in bucking bulls and broncos. Horses have broken their backs, necks and legs during this “sport.” Rodeo viewers get excitement out of animals fleeing, struggling and eventually suffering excruciating and potentially fatal pain. The stock show is an open display of how we cruelly take what we like from nonhuman beings without consideration or remorse. Each cow, chicken, pig, horse, duck or other animal involved in the stock show is a living, breathing and feeling creature, victimized by our passion for the pain of the powerless. What can be said of a culture that not only condones but celebrates this sadistic and macabre exhibition of the human capacity to cause immense suffering to the innocent? Is this really a sign of a decent civilization?

THE METROPOLITAN • PAGE 19 • ERIC LANSING • LANSING@MSCD.EDU

Sport

DID YOU KNOW... Kylee Hanavan was named the NCSAA/Adidas Women’s Soccer Division II Collegiate National Player of the Year. Hanavan led Metro to two Division II championships in three years.

– HANAVAN CAREER STATS ON PAGE 21

Moore is better from bench Backups play huge role in wins against Cowboys, Mustangs

JEREMY JOHNSON jjohn308@mscd.edu

By Eric Lansing lansing@mscd.edu It was a recipe for annihilation. The men’s basketball team was ranked second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in scoring offense with 80 points per game. New Mexico Highlands was ranked second to last in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 85 points per game. Those stats held true for the No. 12-ranked Roadrunners as they obliterated the Cowboys 108-77 in conference play Jan. 12 at the Auraria Events Center. Metro shot an amazing 57 percent from the field, including 52 percent from 3-point range, to fuel an offensive juggernaut that saw four Roadrunners score in double figures. Every Metro player that stepped onto the court scored at least two points and grabbed at least one rebound as the ’Runners won their fifth straight game. “We had a really good week of practice,” Metro head coach Brannon Hays said. “This was one of our best weeks of practice. We took our practice and put it into our game tonight.” Forward Michael Bahl led the way with a spectacular first half performance that saw the team captain score 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting, including 5-for-5 from long range. Bahl finished the game with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Bahl wasn’t needed much in the second half, as the Metro bench played valuable minutes in the blowout. “It was just one of those games,” Bahl said. “I’ve been working hard all week, the team has been working hard all week. I have to give credit to the guys who found me open.” The Cowboys actually scored the game’s first two points when guard Anthony Fuller received a great assist from forward Steven Sanchez in the opening four seconds. Metro forward Jesse Wagstaff hit a 15-foot jumper to tie the game at 2-2, but Fuller came right back to hit a jumper of his own to give the Cowboys the last lead they would ever see in this game. The Roadrunners reeled off a 36-13 run that put the lead at 21. The lead got to 25, but the Cowboys scored the last eight points of the half to cut Metro’s lead to 17. Then 6-foot-8-inch forward Jarbarry Moore came alive for the ’Runners and scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half, including three dunks that brought the crowd to their feet. “It felt good, especially since I didn’t play in the first half of the season.” Moore said. “So I’m just getting into my game right now. You should look forward to more things from me.” Moore had been sidelined with injuries since

Senseless violence ends with senseless death

Photo by Jeremy Billis • jbillis@mscd.edu

Western New Mexico’s D.J. Nicolas, right, blocks a shot by Metro’s Willison Price, left. It was one of the few shots that didn’t go down for the Roadrunners as they defeated the Mustangs 78-67 at the Auraria Events Center. Price contributed six points and seven rebounds for Metro in 12 minutes of play. the season started and with his great play in the paint as well as his range from 3-point land (3for-7 in the game), he looks to be a great asset to the team. “It’s nice to see him get a couple dunks out there,” Bahl said. “He has tremendous talent, and it’s just a matter of time. It’s his ﬁrst year in the program, and I hope to see more of that from him.” Metro’s lead got as high as 33 points, and much of which was due in part to the bench, who got some much needed experience that could be useful down the road when the starters may need rest or if injuries start to pile up. Hays said the bench guys were great in practice this week and that they are starting to make

See MEN’S Page 20

Jan. 12 vs. New Mexico Highlands

Total

New Mexico Highlands Metro

35 42 77 52 56 108

Leading Scorers: Metro: Bahl 19, Carrington 17 NM Highlands: Fuller 26, Lambert 17 Leading Rebounders: Metro: Wagstaff 6, Coulibaly 6 NM Highlands: Fuller 7 Jan. 13 vs. Western New Mexico Western New Mexico Metro

35 32 37 41

Total 67 78

Leading Scorers: Metro: Bahl 21, Burgess 13 Western NM: Jackson 20, Clarkson 14 Leading Rebounders: Metro: Coulibaly 9, two tied w/ 7 Western NM: Taylor 5

Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams is dead at the age of 24. The electric and oft-eccentric second-year player was gunned down just hours into the New Year. It was the ﬁrst news I heard upon waking New Year’s Day. I, like so many others, immediately sought answers to the tragedy. Why did it happen? Where? When, exactly? Who did this awful thing and for what reason? But there were no answers, only nonsense, numb responses from family, players and coaches, and cheap conspiracy theories from the public. Later that night at a local pub, I listened to some of the conspiracy theories as people discussed the Broncos game, Williams’ performance and any possible reason for a hit on the local athlete. I thought back to Andres Escobar, the Colombian soccer star who was shot and killed just days after scoring a goal in the 1994 World Cup that cost the Colombians a world title. People were angry and saddened, as they should have been. An old friend of mine, a biker and mechanic the size of a defensive lineman, had just found out, and his eyes swelled up with tears. “What a sad thing to have happen,” said a woman next to me. “I just hope that we, in the United States of America, haven’t gotten to a point where we shoot each other over a football game.” She was decked from head to toe in Broncos gear. The sad part is the shooting wasn’t about football at all. I am in no way condoning the dangerous world of sports gambling, nor am I condoning violent reactions to athletes’ mistakes. But cases like the more than 10-yearold Escobar murder made it all too clear to the world that one of an athlete’s many obstacles in life and in sports includes low life mobsters who proﬁt heavily off professional sports and threaten all those that stand in their way. Alas, it seems there is no conspiracy theory that includes the mob in the Williams case. Williams played a relatively good game against San Francisco, and any number of other factors could have been blamed for the Broncos’ futility that day. No, in the end, it wasn’t mobsters but only

See JOHNSON Page 21

20 • SPORT

1.18.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

Women work wonders in blowout wins Metro’s 56-point win over Cowgirls gives bench time to play

How do you score 99 points when your leading scorer is out with a knee injury and your best player is still recovering from shoulder surgery? You call on your teammates and the women’s basketball team used every one of them in a 56point blowout over New Mexico Highlands Jan. 12 at the Auraria Events Center. “I thought the key tonight was we were really focused, and we got off to a quick start,” Murphy said. “It was a great effort by our kids. We have worked hard on rebounding, we have worked hard on shooting, and we are trying to be unselfish.” “We need to be willing to give up self for the team,” Murphy adds. Cossandra Bratton, Metro’s scoring leader with 12.2 points per game, was out with a knee injury, and Paige Powers, the team’s only All-RMAC player, hasn’t entirely recovered from her surgery. However, 12 of the 13 players that suited up for the Roadrunners scored at least one point and grabbed at least one rebound each. Four of those players scored in double figures, including freshman Rae Bean, who scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds. “One of her teammates said that she had to work a lot harder in practice against the older (teammates) than she did in this game,” Murphy said. “That was evident as she became more confident after she got more touches. It was a really nice booster for her, as she has to battle just to save face in practice. She gets beat up a lot, but she is definitely not the same player she was back in August.” Bean has played sparingly this season, never scoring more than four points. But she took advantage of her time on the floor and made it known that Metro has great players on the bench. “It’s unbelievable,” Bean said about being able to contribute to her team. “We really tried to send a message to the league saying we’re here, we’re not going anywhere, and we are going to take it to you every time we play.” The blowout began with a 20-4 Metro run in

the first 10 minutes of the game. During the run Rianna Harris lit up the stat sheet with three rebounds, four points, three assists, a block and a steal. Harris, who started because of Bratton’s injury, finished the contest with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. Metro continued the onslaught, outscoring the Cowgirls 22-4 over the next six minutes to take a 42-8 lead. Murphy then began bringing in the bench players to give them some significant minutes. Players such as Bean, Stephanie Sauter, Carolyn Dennee, Paula Bruzewski and Dana Berge all got into the game and did not disappoint, keeping a 30-plus point lead in the first half. In the second half those same players, having played less than minute per game earlier in the season, came out blazing and helped extend the lead to 40 points in the first three minutes and then to 50 at the 16:23 mark. The bench outscored the entire New Mexico Highlands team 44-43. Megan Johnson went 3-of7 from downtown, scoring nine points and adding five assists. Sauter finished the game with seven points and five rebounds, while Denee had four points, four rebounds and three blocks. Despite all the offensive fireworks in the win, Murphy was most impressed with his team’s defense, which outrebounded the Cowgirls 56-38 and forced 32 turnovers that led to 33 Roadrunner points. Metro also recorded 25 offensive boards they converted into 28 points. The following night, Metro had to face a Western New Mexico team that had defeated two RMAC opponents in a row including the muchheralded Regis team. The Mustangs snuffed the Rangers 78-73 Jan. 6 in Lakewood. But the Roadrunners relied on a great performance from Ashley Mickens to spark the Metro offense in a 62-46 victory Jan. 13 at the Auraria Events Center. Mickens carried the team early by scoring the game’s first four points and bringing a ton of electricity that didn’t show up in the stat sheet. “It feels really good to sweep the weekend, especially since we lost to Western (State),” Mickens said. “It was good to bounce back as we pulled out the win, but I definitely think we could do a lot better. A win is a win, but we could have a better performace.” With the two wins, Metro’s overall record improves to 12-3 and a 5-2 in the RMAC. The ’Runners will play host to Colorado School of Mines Jan. 19 at the Auraria Events Center.

SCHEDULE

Colorado School of Mines

By Eric Lansing lansing@mscd.edu

Men’s Basketball 7 p.m., Jan. 19 Auraria Events Center

Women’s Basketball 5 p.m., Jan. 19 Auraria Events Center

Regis University

CU-Colorado Springs

Nebraska-Kearney

Chadron State

7 p.m., Jan. 26 Auraria Events Center 8 p.m., Jan. 27 Colorado Springs

7 p.m., Feb. 2 Auraria Events Center 7 p.m., Feb. 3 Auraria Events Center

5 p.m., Jan. 26 Denver

6 p.m., Jan. 27 Colorado Springs

5 p.m., Feb. 2 Auraria Events Center 5 p.m., Feb. 3 Auraria Events Center

Photo by Jeremy Billis • jbillis@mscd.edu

Metro’s Paige Powers looks for an open teammate while being tightly covered by Western New Mexico’s Crystal Smith. Metro’s defense held the Mustangs to only 46 points in an RMAC win.

Women’s Basketball Box Scores Jan. 12 vs. New Mexico Highlands New Mexico Highlands Metro

16 27 48 51

Total 43 99

Leading Scorers: Metro: Harris 21, Sinclair 14 NM Highlands: Utsey 11, McElrath10 Leading Rebounders: Metro: Harris 11, Torp 7 NM Highlands: Utsey 8, Uzoh 6

Jan. 13 vs. Western New Mexico Western New Mexico Metro

19 27 33 29

Total 46 62

Leading Scorers: Metro: Mickens 19, Johnson 12 Western NM: Manley 12, Lewis 9 Leading Rebounders: Metro: Mickens 9, Harris 7 Western NM: Roberts 11, Lewis 8

MEN’S • Bahl scores 21 points in win Continued from 19 practices highly competitive. He also said that it is important and nice to have an opportunity to give them quality minutes on the ﬂoor. Along with Moore, forward Willison Price provided from the bench with 11 points and grabbing four rebounds. Guard Joe Ciancio was perfect from downtown, shooting 3-for-3 to score nine points, while guard Terrell Burgess added nine points and seven assists when spelling fellow guard Marquise Carrington. Fuller led the way for the Cowboys, scoring 26 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Guard Anthony Lambert had 17 points, and forward Eddie Abreu put up 13. The next night wasn’t as easy as Metro rallied from an early deﬁcit to take out the Mustangs of Western New Mexico 78-67 at the Au-

raria Events Center. Bahl once again led all scores with 21 points and led Metro from eight points down in the ﬁrst half to a two-point lead by halftime. The Mustangs cut the lead to one point with seven minutes to go, but Bahl hit a 3-point shot to put the score at 66-62, and then extended the lead with two free throws. Moore put the ﬁnishing touches with an easy layup, grabbing his own rebound to put it back in after missing two easy tip-ins. Western New Mexico actually outshot Metro 48 percent to 45 percent but the Roadrunners outrebounded them 38-29. The win gave Metro their sixth straight victory. The wins give the Roadrunners 13-2 overall record. Metro will host Colorado School of Mines Jan. 19 at the Auraria Events Center.

21 • SPORT

1.18.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

9 1 #Kylee Hanavan

Eagle-eye vision

Hanavan broke Metro’s singleseason record with 20 assists.

NSCAA/Adidas Women’s Soccer Division II National Player of the Year

2006 Career

Peak conditioning

Hanavan started every game she played in her three-year career at Metro.

Feet of lightning

Games 25 75

Hanavan led the RMAC in goals in 2006.

Goals 23 80

Assists 20 46

Points 66 206

Shots 125 385

Pct 18.4% 20.8%

Three-time NSCAA/Adidas All-American Two-time RMAC Player of the Year Daktronics Midwest Region Player of the Year

Hanavan scores again as Division II player of year Metro’s all-time leader in goals and assists receives top award By Jeremy Johnson jjohn308@mscd.edu Metro forward Kylee Hanavan capped a stellar collegiate soccer career when, on Jan. 10, the senior was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas Women’s Division II Player of the Year. The accolades came on the heels of Hanavan’s and Metro’s second national championship in three years. During the three seasons she played starting forward with the Roadrunners, Hanavan set many school records while being named to the All-American team for three straight years. “I think it’s well-deserved,” Hanavan said.

“But I really think it shows the depth of the team and that it’s not an individual achievement, but a team achievement.” Hanavan led Metro to national titles in 2004 and 2006 and, in 2005, took the ’Runners to the Elite Eight, where they were eliminated in an overtime shootout. Hanavan led the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2006 in points (66), goals (23) and assists (20) en route to her second conference Player of the Year award. Her 20 assists set a Metro single-season team record. “It’s a ﬁtting way to cap her career,” head coach Danny Sanchez said. “In particular, it reveals a lot about our program overall, to have our players recognized like that.” Hanavan was honored Jan. 13 at the NSCAA/ Adidas annual All-American luncheon, held in Indianapolis. “It was awesome being there,” Hanavan said. “It was great seeing everyone, in all ages

of soccer, away from the ﬁeld and getting along, and getting the awards they deserve.” The luncheon honored national players of the year for NCAA Division I, II and III, along with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics junior college participants. Dowling College’s Morten Jensen was named the men’s Division II Player of the Year, while Notre Dame’s Kerri Hanks and Joseph Lapira won the Division I women’s and men’s honors, respectively. Laura Koontz of Wheaton College and Dana Leary of Williams College won the women’s and men’s honors in Division III, respectively. Aside from winning a national championship, Metro accumulated a long list of other accolades this season. Along with Hanavan, seniors Rachel Zollner and Kira Sharp earned ﬁrst-team All-American honors this season, and sophomore Nicole Cito was named second-team All-American.

Zollner received national regard in November when ESPN The Magazine named the goalkeeper to their Academic All-American team. Sharp earned a spot in the limelight by scoring a pair of game-winning goals in the ﬁnal two games of the playoffs to lead Metro to their second national championship. “A lot of times you don’t get individual recognition if your team isn’t playing well,” Sanchez said. “Awards go hand in hand with the team’s success. Winning enables the players to be recognized for their individual efforts.” Hanavan leaves Metro as the all-time career leader in points (206), goals (80) and assists (46). “I never thought anything about it,” Hanavan said. “Every day I just played the best I could and tried to win it for the team. The national championships just kind of came with it.”

JOHNSON • Tragedy could force athletes to be unfriendly to fans Continued from 20 wannabe gangsters, thugs with something to prove. Perhaps something was said at the club that night between some strangers and the saddened athlete. Perhaps, pondering his lost season and his team’s lost opportunity, Williams dismissed some punk in a way that hurt his already fragile and weak ego. Perhaps that same thug responded in the only way he knew how – with senseless rage. The worst part is that Williams was another tragic addition to an alarming trend of athlete shootings in metropolitan Denver, a trend that has included Denver Nuggets guard Julius Hodge and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter.

Even though we look up to athletes as a sort of city royalty, Denver’s kings of sport are more accessible than most. Having worked in the service industry of downtown Denver for nearly all of my 10 years here, it is common to see athletes rubbing elbows with fans at bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Athlete or not, the whole incident brought attention to the mindless violence that is plaguing Denver. I, for one, wouldn’t be surprised if athletes become more and more distant from their communities because of it. Those that maintain a relationship with their community are likely to be increasingly skeptical of all fans. As a plethora of athlete interviews

and ESPN documentaries have revealed, many athletes are now armed for just such occasions. Williams seemed like a really good guy. He had a wife and children. He had spirit and a sense of humor coupled with the desire and determination to win. Williams, it seems, lived life deeply and with purpose. French author Anais Nin once wrote: “People living deeply have no fear of death.” It must be hard to live deeply and without fear of death when the toll of celebrity alone can carry a death sentence.

Photo by Heather A. Longway-Burke • longway@mscd.edu

Mary Mandujano writes a message at Darrent Williams memorial, which she attended with her husband and three sons Jan. 6 at 11th Avenue and Speer Boulevard