Volume 29, Issue 18, Jan. 25, 2007 by Met Media

THE

METROPOLITAN 1.25.07 • Vol. 29 No. 18 • http://metonline.mscd.edu • Serving the Auraria Campus since 1979

Confronting gang violence

PAGE 3

In the cold, cold night

NEWS

Metro student robbed near South Classroom PAGE 3

PULLOUT SECTION METROSPECTIVE

Local alternative artists get trashy at Center for Visual Art exhibit PAGE 14

SPORT Hanavan named national player of the year PAGE 21

AUDIO FILES

Heartless Bastards bringing their blues to the Bluebird PAGE 16

Photo by Jenn LeBlanc • jkerriga@mscd.edu

SUPER BOWL SPECIAL Lansing: Finally, a game worth watching PAGE 23 Johnson: Civil rights milestone NFL style PAGE 25

SPORT Metro men’s, women’s basketball strike gold vs Mines in RMAC action PAGE 23

MetNews

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

Lots jammed for Melo’s return

Student robbed in broad daylight By Amy Woodward awoodwa5@mscd.edu

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

Parking issues for students don’t fade with the sunlight, particularly when the Nuggets are in town. Entry and exit from the Tivoli lot is virtually impossible before and after the game. Carmelo made his return to the Nuggets squad on Jan. 22. The game marked Anthony’s ﬁrst match teamed up with Allen Iverson. The two scored 51 points in a victory against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Metro student Stephen Munce was assaulted and robbed near the South Classroom Building at 1111 W. Colfax Ave. between 1:45 p.m. and 2 p.m., Jan. 19, according to a bulletin released by the Auraria police under federal law. Munce received minor injuries and was later taken to St. Anthony’s hospital for treatment. The extent of Munce’s injuries is unknown, but he was released shortly after being admitted. The suspect is still at large and was described as a stocky Hispanic male. Munce’s wallet was stolen along with $45. If an assailant demanding money approaches a student, Cpl. Andrew Liska of the Auraria police recommends complying with the demands. “It’s your safety,” he said. “You can replace your money, you can replace your credit cards, you can replace your ID, but you can’t replace your life.” The best thing students can do is keep an eye on their property and not bring valuable items to campus that they are not going to use, such as credit cards. Students should also be aware of their surroundings, Liska said. “The bad guys are looking for folks who have their head down in a book and aren’t paying attention,” Liska said. “If you keep your head

See ROBBED Page 9

Gang violence raises tough questions By Geof Wollerman gwollerm@mscd.edu New statistics released by the Denver Police Department reveal an increase in gang violence. Speculation about the reasons for the increase – and what can be done to solve it – are as varied as the number of gangs that now call Denver home. Assaults involving gang members in Denver have gone up from 110 in 1999 to 146 in 2006. Also during that time 91 homicides involving gang members were reported, making up 18 percent of total homicides since 1999. One possible reason the city is seeing an increase in gang violence stems from many gang members who were put in jail during the 1980s and 1990s, according to Noah Fritz, a Metro criminal justice professor. “We’re now starting to see some of those people who have gang ties getting back to the streets of Denver,” he said. The problem can be described as cyclical

– due to inconsistent emphasis over the years on criminal enforcement – and does not necessarily point to problems particular to Denver, Fritz said. In the last 10 years, crime across the country has been down overall, and Fritz does not think Denver is more violent today than it was twenty years ago. Fritz, whose doctoral dissertation concerned gang activity in the Five Points neighborhood, pointed out that there are many other factors that can cause apparent increases in crime. When looking at statistics it is important to understand the point of reference and to be careful about drawing conclusions, he said. One of the reasons a big deal was made about 1993’s “summer of violence” was not that violent crime was necessarily up, but that crime against non-minorities was up, Fritz said. The media can also play an influential role when it comes to affecting local discussions about crime waves. For instance, if someone such as Darrent Williams had not been shot, people would probably not be

looking at the problem, he said. “Is it a hot topic now because it’s a Denver Bronco football player? That’s why we have this current dialogue now, to a certain extent,” Fritz said. “Nobody talked about it a year and half ago.” Sociology professor Jay Watterworth agreed. “I think that the publicity of high-proﬁle incidents like Darrent Williams has really focused attention on the issue,” he said. The gang violence issue has been building up for the last ﬁve or six years, Watterworth said. One thing that happens when the media gets involved is that special-interest groups use issues like gang violence to further their own

goals. Right-wing groups are beginning to link illegal immigration to the recent increase in gang violence, he said. “One of the compounding problems we have is an inﬂux of people coming in from Southern California,” he said about the rise in violence. Nancy M. Hoke, chair of the Department of Human Services, said she is aware of at least a dozen different gangs in Denver. “We have more gangs from other parts of the country than we’ve ever seen before,” Hoke said. “It used to be a couple of gangs, and now most of the gangs out there have a representative chapter here in Denver.” The Department of Human Services has an

See GANGS Page 9

Corrections: Jan.18 issue • Professor Sandra Doe’s college was incorrectly identiﬁed on page 3. She attended Doane College in Nebraska. • On page 6, Chicago Restaurant donated meatballs to St. Elizabeth Church.

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.25.07

NEWS • 5

Taking a step into native history New American Indian exhibit guides public through cultural past By Ruthanne Johnson rjohn180@mscd.edu About a mile east of the land where the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians camped along the Platte River in the 1800s, the Colorado History Museum held an opening celebration for their new American Indian exhibit. The exhibit, Tribal Paths: Colorado’s American Indians, 1500 to Today, picks up where Ancient Voices: Stories of Colorado’s Distant Past left off, representing the more recent stories of Colorado’s American Indians. Combined, the two exhibits span the lives of Colorado’s native community from 10,000 years ago to today. The opening ceremonies began at 10 a.m. on Jan. 19 and continued through noon with a crowd of people ﬁlling the large hall just in front of the exhibit’s entrance. “I think this is the biggest crowd we’ve had for an opening,” said museum security guard S. Vernell Crump, adding that the museum staff has worked hard on this project for the past ﬁve years. A procession of representatives of Cheyenne, Ute, Arapaho, Sioux and Navajo communities marked the opening of the ceremonies, followed by a traditional Native American invocation in English and Lakota Sioux to honor ancestors who survived hardships. Several tribal elders spoke in honor of their ancestors and in appreciation of the Colorado History Museum for telling the story of their people. Manuel Heart, chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of western Colorado, spoke of Native American hardships such as the Sand Creek Massacre, boarding school experiences and assimilation practices in Colorado during the twentieth century. “Forty-seven tribes were exiled from their lands in Colorado through events such as the Homestead Act and gold rush – the Ute in the mountains, the Cheyenne, Sioux and Arapaho on the plains,” Heart said. “Then there were

Photo by Jason Small • jsmall4@mscd.edu

The teepee cutaway shows what the inside of a Native American home might have looked like at the Tribal Paths: Colorado’s American Indians, 1500 to Today exhibit at the Colorado History Museum. The exhibit was a sequel to a previous exhibit and completes the story of Colorado American Indian history. the boarding schools, the assimilation and the churches which took our native religion away.” Heart said that some of the elders in attendance were direct descendents of those killed in Colorado’s Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and that the exhibit was important for them to heal. “As you go through the exhibit, I want you to feel empathy with the tribes, to put yourself there and see what they went through,” he told the audience. Kori M. Guy, a Metro political science professor, attended the opening in honor of her Navajo and Cherokee heritage. The boarding school exhibit brought a memory of her grandmother rescuing her from a boarding school somewhere in Michigan when she was only four.

$70 million

The amount the Democratic Convention Host Committee plans to raise.

An estimated

35,000 visitors are expected to come during the convention

The amount the Republican National Committee plans to raise for its 2008 convention in St. Paul.

trappers and settlers, the tragedy of the Sand Creek Massacre, in which more than 200 American Indians and U.S. soldiers were killed, and government policies on Indian removal to reservations. The last part of the exhibit shows American Indians living in contemporary society, touches on civil rights issues and shows the Sand Creek Massacre Healing Run. “The exhibit is important to our community, and I especially loved the video of young people doing the Sand Creek Healing Run,” Guy said of the last gallery. “It is like a replica or our oral tradition and important in our healing.”

2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver

$57 million 0

“When I saw those beds all lined up, I remembered. And then I noticed a large space around the display. Most of the other native visitors glanced in and walked quickly past,” she said, adding that although the display was difficult, it represented an important part of Native American history. The exhibit initially takes patrons to a gallery where a series of historic photographs of American Indians representing the 47 tribes with ancestral ties to Colorado flash on a wall screen. Viewers continue through galleries illustrating American Indian life prior to contact with explorers and settlers, the cooperation and conflict between American Indians and explorers,

Nearly

19,000 hotel rooms are being held for the convention

6 • NEWS

1.25.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

Learning to fly the fearless skies Denver-based airline offers help to those with flight phobia By Michael Godfrey mgodfre3@mscd.edu Metro students with a fear of flying have a new way to overcome their fear of the skies as the Colorado Ninety-Nines host a “Flight without Fear” course. Frontier Airlines and the Colorado Chapter

of the Ninety-Nines, which is a part of the International Organization of Women Pilots, are hosting the class in an effort to help people who want or need to ﬂy but are afraid. “This class has been lifechanging for many of our clients. Being afraid of ﬂying has hampered many people with their jobs,” said Metro student Bonita Ades, the instructor for the course. “I even had one student who went on to get her pilot’s license after the class.” Students involved in the eight-week course will study weather, safety and air-crew training

and even tour air-traffic control facilities and aircraft maintenance facilities for Frontier Airlines. The students complete the course with a graduation flight aboard a Frontier Airlines flight to Salt Lake City, encompassing all the techniques the students learned from the course. “One out of every six adult Americans is afraid of flying,” said psychologist Dr. Reid Wilson of the Anxiety Disorders Treatment Program of Durham, N. C. “A very small percentage seek out help for their fears.” People’s fear of flight can result from sever-

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.

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

METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE of DENVER

al different factors, added Dr. Wilson, including a past bad flight due to turbulence or an emergency during the flight. Many people are often afraid because they simply do not understand what to expect during a flight. “Sometimes a person will pass a fear on to their children,” Ades said. “ This is sad, but when you create a new flier, you create a whole family of fliers.” Classes begin Feb. 6 at the Frontier Airlines General Office and the cost for the seminar is $385, which includes the round-trip airfare for the graduation flight. Students interested in the course can contact Bonita Ades at Bonitaflys@aol.com. Illustration by Andrew Howerton • ahowert2@mscd.edu

Going Greek at Metro is more than a toga party By Lou Christopher achris25@mscd.edu Metro’s Greek community gathered Jan. 23 at the Tivoli Student Union to spread the word about sorority and fraternity opportunities on campus. With eight Greek-letter social organizations on campus and more than 100 members, Metro’s sororities and fraternities help Metro on campus and in the Denver area, according to Gretta Mincer, interim associate director of Student Activities. Sigma Lambda Beta volunteered weekly at Wyatt Edison Charter School tutoring and mentoring students. Sigma Sigma Sigma collected hats and gloves at the Auraria Library for children at Greenly Elementary. Lambda Theta Nu hosted a yearly regional leadership conference for middle-school girls to discuss the importance of going to college, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon will host a regional dodgeball tournament this February to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network, Mincer said. Some of the benefits of joining a sorority or fraternity on campus include forming a campus connection with other students, alumni networks after graduation and leadership development programming, according to Mincer. Joining a sorority is not only about being a part of a social club, but also about being part of a business, said Melinda McClain, a member of Phi Sigma Sigma. “We learn leadership through service,” McClain said. Some of the differences between Greek-letter communities at Metro and those at a more traditional college are that Metro’s provide no housing, require a smaller financial commitment and have no rush or recruitment week, Mincer said.

Got a news tip? News desk: (303) 556-3423 gwollerm@mscd.edu

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.25.07

NEWS • 7

Season of change upcoming for IT Security measures, climate survey, print policy introduced By Lou Christopher achris25@mscd.edu Metro’s Department of Information Technology recently implemented several new security measures and a print policy and was the first department to begin the Campus Climate Initiative. The security measures include stronger password requirements for MetroConnect and the Banner Web registration tool, and limiting access to sensitive data on Banner, according to George Middlemist, interim IT vice president. “It went better than expected,” Middlemist said about the password changes. “Everyone figured it out.” Middlemist said there were lessons learned and slight issues, however. MetroConnect and Banner users who changed their passwords did so at first by trial and error, as there were no specific instructions as to what characters the new passwords could contain. IT is now working with the Office of College Communications to create posters that will outline all the requirements for new passwords. Another security measure implemented was limiting access to sensitive data such as social security numbers. Middlemist said some departments, such as Financial Aid, must have access

to this data, but those who didn’t need access no longer have it. While still in the works, the IT print policy is also coming to realization. Middlemist said this semester would be the ﬁnal testing ground of the policy, and it will go into full effect during the summer semester. The policy places a print limit of 500 pages per semester on each student in Metro computer labs or anywhere else on campus a student must log in. Printing in color will put the limit below 500 pages. If a student goes over the limit, there will be no charge this semester, Middlemist said. He added that over the summer the charge would likely be 5 cents per black-and-white page over the 500-page limit and 10 cents per color page. Middlemist said the idea is not to generate income for IT. “I want students to think about it,” he said, referring to what and how much students print, so as to reduce paper waste and become more environmentally-minded. Middlemist said that if extra money were generated because of the program, it would be given to the student government to be used for environmental concerns on campus, such as the solar panel project. He added that the system could be tweaked for different majors and credit hours taken. Also new to the IT department is the introduction of the Campus Climate Initiative, a schoolwide program intended to be a proactive way to improve the campus climate and diversify

Photo by Amie Cribley • acribley@mscd.edu

Leslie Miranda recieves help from Olivia Milner on resetting her computer password at the West Classroom computer lab. Students and faculty were required to change their passwords per Information Technology’s new policies, which went into effect Jan. 3. the campus community, according to an e-mail sent by Metro President Stephen Jordan. IT will be the first program to undergo the initiative. “Maybe I’m just lucky,” Middlemist said about being the first department to be analyzed. Middlemist said IT had a specific need to be addressed and they were willing to be the first to tackle their issues, including a lack of gender

LOCAL TAKES, LARGER ISSUES

Student Government Assembly By Allison Bailey abaile19@mscd.edu

In its annual report for 2006, the media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders announced that at least 81 journalists died in 2006. The toll is the highest reported since 1994, a year that saw the death of more than 100 journalists, many of whom died in the genocide in Rwanda. Below are responses from campus faculty members about what the report means for journalism, journalists and the state of affairs in the world today.

“

Journalism can be a dangerous profession, especially in foreign countries where journalists don’t have the same freedoms that we do here in the United States. I really admire the professionals who work around the globe despite the dangers to bring information to people in specific countries and throughout the world. Without these brave journalists, others would not know about the corruption and the atrocities happening elsewhere. I don’t believe the Reporters Without Borders report has much specific effect on journalism students here at Metro State, since most students will get their first jobs close to home here in Colorado. However, we do have students who aspire to work in other countries. Metro State has journalism grads who have covered the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

”

– Deborah Hurley-Brobst, Metro journalism professor

diversity within the department. Middlemist said there is about a 4 to 1 maleto-female ratio in IT at Metro. “We want to make women feel like they are as much a part of the staff as anyone,” Middlemist said. He added he doesn’t just want the gender issue to be resolved, but for IT to come out of this with better working relationships and communication skills for everyone.

“

I do wonder if the image of Western journalists has been eroded in the last ﬁve to ten years with the increasing hegemony of the United States. Journalists are not seen anymore as independent and unbiased, but are actually seen to some extent more as inﬁltrators. And I wonder too about this tendency of the United States military to embed journalists, in which journalists have actually accepted right away as a good thing because that puts them right there on the front line. The problem with that is, of course, that not only are they more vulnerable or exposed, but they’re also more likely to be targeted because they’re actually being seen as part of the military, they’re not different from it anymore. I wonder if all these together play a role in why journalists are beginning to be less safe.

”

– Thorsten Spehn, UCD political science professor

Illustration by Andrew Howerton • ahowert2@mscd.edu

The Student Government Assembly met for the ﬁrst time after the winter break Jan. 17 to discuss, among other things, Senator Danielle Kelly, who will no longer be with the SGA because she is in violation of its attendance policy. Kelly has made it known that she intends to resign due to time constraints. The SGA would like to give her that opportunity, but they have been unable to reach her. If they can’t reach her this week to ask for her resignation, she will be removed from the SGA at the next meeting. This coming week the SGA will vote to approve an additional amount for the homecoming court budget. The SGA is sponsoring the homecoming court, which will comprise six people. At last week’s meeting the Metro cycling club asked for a $600 budget, which would allow them to host a cycling race in March. The SGA will vote on whether or not to approve the budget this week. In the next few weeks the SGA will meet with the Department of Information Technology to determine how to make the MetroConnect website more studentfriendly. At the meetings, the SGA will discuss what they like in other websites that might be integrated into MetroConnect.

8 • NEWS

1.25.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

s t n e d u t S o r Met

Faculty Proﬁle

Brenda Wright

Awards Apply for these

Outstanding Student Awards

Photo by Emily Mehring • emehring@mscd.edu

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

BACKGROUND: Brenda Wright, the director of Metro’s Writing Center, began teaching literature and composition courses at UCD and Metro in 1990. Prior to her tenure at Auraria, she worked for a cable television company, taught marketing, management and communications, and raised three daughters single-handedly while ﬁnishing her education. EDUCATION: B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder and M.A. in Humanities from UCD. INTERESTS: Wright loves 19th-century women writers and objectivist philosophy. She wants to travel all over Great Britain and visit the world of the Bronte sisters. Wright also enjoys spending time with her family and Halifax, her Yorkshire terrier.

For Juniors and Seniors! Be recognized for your outstanding academic service and achievements.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: When asked to be the director of the Writing Center, she was elated. Her ability to demystify the painful process of writing has consistently earned her high marks on faculty evaluations.

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

QUOTE: “Writing is the evolution of thought on paper and revision is the most important part of that act.” STUDENT QUOTE: “Ever since I took Advanced Composition, I have been a huge fan of creative nonﬁction,” Metro senior Traci Youngman said regarding Wright’s class.

Are you the FASTEST kid on the block? Try out for Metro State’s brand new Track Team! Contact Assistant Coach Sean Nesbitt (303) 556-5712 or snesbitt@mscd.edu for more information

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.25.07

Bustin’ those myths

Photo by Andrew Bisset • abisset1@mscd.edu

Above: The Discovery Channel’s MythBusters cast members Kari Byron and Grant Imahara answer questions from audience members in the Tivoli Turnhalle. Left: An audience fills the Tivoli Turnhalle for the MythBusters demonstration Jan. 22. The event was sponsored by UCD and Metro as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series. The event also featured showings of first- and secondplace winners in the MythBusters contest, in which students filmed themselves testing their own myths.

“ ” MythBusters is more fun than a science fair.

– STEPHANIE SEEVERS Earth Science teacher at Evergreen High School

Photo by Jason Small • jsmal4@mscd.edu

By Josie Klemaier jklemaie@mscd.edu Grade-school children built a potato gun, college students chugged gallons of milk in under an hour and others found creative new ways to build fires, all in an effort to participate in the Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by Metro and UCD. Daniel Koch, a UCD junior and mechanical engineering major, won first place in the MythBusters contest by confirming an old Boy Scout myth in his winning video, in which he ignited a fire using a flashlight battery and metal dishscrubbing pad. The contest, held Jan. 22, was attended by Grant Imahara and Kari Bryon, two cast members from MythBusters, the Discovery Channel program that tests many of America’s famous myths. Students from Auraria’s institutions were invited to enter a contest for the best amateur myth-buster videos, and the winning videos were shown at the Tivoli Turnhalle. Koch said that when he heard that Myth-

Busters was coming to Auraria, he “jumped on it immediately.” He said he heard his tested myth, that you can use a battery and a steel, aluminum, or copper dish-scrubbing pad to start a campfire, in the Boy Scouts. “We never could get it to work in Boy Scouts,” he said. “Through my physics classes, I found out what properties were needed to get it done.” The myth was confirmed when Koch successfully started a campfire “in twenty-degree weather in three feet of snow,” he said. The unofficial “Team SGA,” made up of Metro Student Government Assembly members Kevin Harris, sophomore, Christopher Boyd, senior, and Andrew Bateman, junior, came in second place with their myth buster, in which they challenged the myth that a person cannot chug a gallon of milk in under an hour. “The general consensus (about the myth) is that the fat content slows down the digestive process,” Harris said. The mixture of the milk and stomach acid also causes it to curdle, adding to the volume and digestive process. Bateman added that the average human

stomach cannot hold a gallon of liquid. Boyd busted the myth when he succeeded in chugging a gallon of milk in just under an hour. “I got a half-gallon down in the ﬁrst ﬁve or six minutes,” he said. “But then I had to start sipping.” The group conceded that some of their subjects could not hold all the milk down, and graphic scenes of them “giving the milk back” were included in their video. Also attending the event were ninth graders from Evergreen High School, who will participate in a MythBusters Expo later this semester because, according to Earth Science teacher Stephanie Seevers, “MythBusters is more fun than a science fair.” She brought some of her students to the event to participate and meet the cast of the show. Students Tim Patterson and Anne Martin tested the myth that a potato placed in the tailpipe of a car will build up so much pressure that it will shoot out. So they built a potato gun and determined that sweet potatoes pack the most punch.

NEWS • 9

GANGS • At-risk youth Continued from 3 at-risk youth program in place, and offers other classes that train interested students in helping at-risk youth avoid the influence of gangs, Hoke said. These classes often bring in actual gang members to talk with students about how difficult it is to get out of the gang lifestyle, she said. The city of Denver has not been that successful with deterring kids from gangs, but a program in Watkins, Colo. which takes kids off the streets for a couple of years, has had great results, Hoke said. “The kids that do the best are the kids that are taken out of the environment that’s supporting the gang life,” Hoke said. “Because it’s very easy to join a gang, it’s very hard to quit a gang. And so any program really has to change their social milieu plus give them the skills to live a comfortable, happy life without relying on illegal behaviors.” Hoke made it clear that it is very difficult to deter kids from gangs. “I’ve worked with some individuals, and what I find is often they come in here and they tell me for the first six moths why it’s impossible to get out of a gang, and I just listen. And then eventually we start saying, ‘Yeah, but where is this gang taking you? It’s taking you either to jail or death,’” Hoke said. “What I’ve found is a lot of kids would like to get out of gangs, they just don’t believe it’s possible.” Another factor in the influence gangs have is that they have become more of a business, rather than a social group for teens, Hoke said. Gangs offer a way to make money, which makes kids feel that they can live at a higher level from day to day. Very rarely do kids involved in gangs have long-term plans, she said. “There’s a lot of money to be made, and it’s very difficult when you have someone who is used to handling a lot and then put them in a position where they get $10 an hour. It just doesn’t feel right, and so we have to try to recreate the good things they got from gang life in an environment where they are not putting their lives at risk,” Hoke said. “These kids will be dead or in jail, and we have to find options for them.”

ROBBED • Safety first Continued from 3 up, walking with a purpose, looking around as you’re walking, the bad guys will usually leave that type of person alone.” Getting a good description of the attacker and which direction he or she left can assist police in quickly apprehending the suspect, Liska said. Students should also call the police immediately after a crime occurs, and if possible students should have the direct line for the Auraria police on speed dial in their cell phones. “If you can get folks there within the first five minutes, you stand a much better chance. Once a person has disappeared across Colfax, it’s going to be that much harder to find somebody,” Liska said. The Federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, or the “Clery Act” states that all colleges and universities across the United States are required by federal law to release information regarding crime on and around their campus. The Auraria police can be reached at (303) 556-5000.

metrospective Constructing imagery PAGE 14 Amorous vampires PAGE 12 Rhythmic Bastards PAGE 16

THE METROPOLITAN • PAGE 11 • ADAM GOLDSTEIN • GOLDSTEA@MSCD.EDU

PULLOUT SECTION

wordplay

12 • METROSPECTIVE

San Fran bloodsuckers in love By Clarke Reader creader3@mscd.edu

You Suck: A Love Story By Christopher Moore $21.95

The title of Christopher Moore’s latest foray into horror and humor is more than enough to make you stop dead in your tracks and take a closer look. You Suck: A Love Story is a brilliant combination of vivid characters, witty dialogue and some genuinely moving moments. Despite the title, the novel is not a relationship tome for couples stuck in a rut. It is about young love, but the lovers of the story are vampires in San Francisco. Thomas C. Flood has just been killed and turned into a vampire by his girlfriend Jody, herself a vampire for only a couple of months. She did not do it because she is evil or angry, but rather because she was lonely and wanted to share her world with Tommy. As would be expected, Tommy thinks loneliness is not the best reason to kill someone and turn them into a creature of the night, but that’s the price of love. Now the 19-year-old Tommy must not only navigate the dangers of being in a relationship, but he has to do it while ﬁguring out how to drink blood, use his new vampire powers and cope with the fact that he is forever sundered from the world and people he knew. Since he is 19, his hormones control his actions more than his brain, and a good amount of comedy stems from his immature course of action.

There’s a host of bizarre characters in the story, from the Emperor of San Francisco (a homeless man who wanders the city with his army of dogs) to Blue, a Las Vegas prostitute who dyes her entire body blue, capitalizing on the popularity of the Blue Man Group. The standout by far, however, is Abby Normal, a young goth girl who wants nothing more than to be a creature of the night like Tommy and Jody, and who becomes their willing “minion.” The character’s innate cynicism and wit is a high point of the prose. San Francisco plays a crucial role in the story with its various landmarks and seamy underbelly bringing out different aspects of the characters. You Suck is a sequel to Moore’s third novel, Bloodsucking Fiends, and overlaps with his most recent book, A Dirty Job. To get a full sense of the story, both should probably be read ﬁrst. Moore’s novels seamlessly fuse the unusual and the menial, and he exhibits a rare skill in making fantastical events plausible. To Moore, it all makes sense. The dialogue is brimming with humor, sometimes subtle, sometimes ﬂagrant and usually snide. What’s more, the cultural references dropped left and right make for some biting social commentary. For fans of the horror genre, comedy or a weird blending of the two, You Suck does the exact opposite of what its title says.

1.25.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

Author’s Corner

“

I just get bored with the world as it is. I’ve tried to write books without supernatural elements, but a few chapters in I just have to make someone ﬂy or feed something to a monster. Because, well, that’s much cooler than ﬁnding a parking space and other things that you have to do in reality.

”

– CHRISTOPHER MOORE on writing

Genetic branding and ecological marketing mark Next By Geof Wollerman gwollerm@mscd.edu

Next By Michael Crichton $27.95

Welcome to the 21st century, where talking monkeys are commonplace, companies can brand schools of ﬁsh and everyone blames their problems on bad genes. At least, that’s Michael Crichton’s vision of the near future. “This novel is ﬁction,” he warns readers, “except for the parts that aren’t.” Thus begins Next, Crichton’s newest novel, which delves into the brave new world of DNA and all its dark possibilities. Scientists have come a long way since mapping the human genome, and Crichton is convinced that genetics is going to be the explosive über-issue of Generation Y. Forget abortion and immigration: Thanks to genetics, parrots can do arithmetic. If there’s one thing Crichton has mastered over the years, it is how to make science sexy. Only in Crichton’s world do laboratory geeks become conniving, immoral criminals driven by

self-interest and profit. Not to say those folks weren’t already out there, but in the parallel universe that spawned Jurassic Park, shallow goals and manipulation are ubiquitous, and all the nerds are sexual deviants. In Next, science has never been as cool – or as ethically complicated. Glowing leatherback turtles are copyrighted, primate hybrids have trouble fitting in at school and teenage girls are hooked on fertility drugs. In one chapter, an advertising executive tries to convince a roomful of clients that genetically modified clouds that randomly form into corporate logos are the newest thing in marketing. “He had expected spontaneous applause for this dramatic visual,” Crichton writes, “but there was only silence in the darkness. Yet surely they would be experiencing some sort of reaction by now. An infinitely repeated advert hanging in the sky? Surely it must arouse them.” The clients are not aroused and are not interested in branding nature. In fact, it seems that most of the crazy scenarios that Crichton suggests are too far-out to ever be supported by

the general public. A dozen different stories, all vying for attention, play out in the book, and at times the novel reads more like a jumble of spiced up, reprinted news articles than a well-crafted, compelling narrative. Still, Crichton does bring up some interesting issues. What are the implications of patenting speciﬁc genes, or even entire genetic structures? If a hospital saves your life, does it have the right to use your DNA to produce new wonder drugs? If Crichton is right, the answers to these questions are right around the corner. For those hooked on Crichton – it’s not your fault, blame your genes – Next provides another ultrareadable installment of sexed-up futuristic doom and gloom. But for those hooked on great literature, it’s just brain candy: a quick read to tease the imagination, something to ﬁll the gap between that last great novel you could not put down and the one you will invariably pick up next.

timeout “ THE METROPOLITAN • 1.25.07

METROSPECTIVE • 13

Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others.

Everyday Blues

”

– VIRGINIA WOOLF

Adam Goldstein • goldstea@mscd.edu

This Day in History 1.25.07 Today’s Birthdays

Scottish poet Robert Burns – 1759 English writer Virginia Woolf – 1882 Bossa Nova pioneer Antonio Jobim – 1927 American blues diva Etta James – 1938 Pro wrestler Wayne Ferris – 1953 Clash alum Terry Chimes – 1955 Pop pianist and singer Alicia Keys – 1980

On this day... Phone home...

DTU

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

1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell join forces to form the Oriental Telephone Company, history’s ﬁrst telecommunications giant. The great-grandfather of Verizon’s “Can you hear me now” guy is the company’s ﬁrst employee.

An Emmy for your thoughts... 1949 – The ﬁrst Emmy Awards are presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club in California. Three-year-old Susan Lucci begins her lifelong quest to come in second.

You win some, you lose some... 1987/1998 – John Elway tastes the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat on the same day, 11 years apart. Despite a topnotch performance from Elway against the New York Giants in 1987, the Broncos lost. Finally, more than a decade later in 1998, the Broncos beat the Green Bay Packers to win their ﬁrst Super Bowl, clearing the way for Elway’s eventual deiﬁcation by Denver sports fans.

Across 1- Ashy substance 5- Jet-assisted takeoff, acronymically 9- Mouthpiece of a bridle 12- Geographical expanse 13- Consumers 15- Indifferent 16- Waterfall 17- Sir ___ Newton was an English mathematician 18- ___ Irwin, US Open winning golfer 19- Trellis 21- Erased 23- Makes a row? 24- Seed of a legume 25- Send back 28- Inspire 33- Removes wrinkles 34- Sharpen 35- Chieftain, usually in Africa 36- Destiny 37- Not once 38- In favor of 39- Paradise 41- Greek goddess of strife 42- Actor’s parts 44- State in the eastern United States 46- Break away 47- Large container 48- Em, e.g. 49- Delicate net 53- Impressive 57- Sheltered, nautically 58- Sudden impact 60- Ruin 61- A pitcher may take one 62- Off-limits 63- Expel gas or odor 64- Permit 65- Baseball glove 66- Religious practice Down 1- Cry out 2- La Scala solo 3- Pre-Easter season 4- Gum used as a food stabilizer 5- Drunk 6- Hardy equestrian creatures 7- Beverage commonly drunk in England 8- Toward the mouth 9- Fishing vessel, perhaps 10- Land in water 11- Nailed obliquely 14- King’s staff 15- Bind into a sheaf 20- Electrically charged particles 22- Wreath of ﬂowers 25- Angered 26- Wear down, physically or emotionally 27Highway stop 28- Motion picture 29- Singles 30- Plentiful 31- Exhausted 32- Uneven 34- German Mister 37- Most tidy 40- Fleets 42- “All The Way To ___”, song by REM 43- Tenth month of the year 45- Pallid 46- Jewish festival 48- Horse race venue in England 49- Public walk 50- Tropical plant 51- For fear that 52- Fraud 54- Animistic god or spirit 55- Single entity 56- Allot 59- Japanese sash Crossword reprinted courtesy of bestcrosswords.com. Solution for puzzle can be found at http://www.bestcrosswords.com/. (Solution is under Jan. 21 puzzle.)

14 • METROSPECTIVE

1.25.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

Reconstructing

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.25.07

METROSPECTIVE • 15

reality

Exhibition draws on tactile materials to tackle artistic visions

Above: David Zimmer’s “Winter #4; Photos Cast in Polyester Resin” on display at the CVA. The exhibit brings together artistic visions culled from ordinary objects such as soda cans and ramen noodle wrappers.

By Nicole Queen • nqueen@mscd.edu Photos by Rachel Crick • crick@mscd.edu

From left: Chris Ruppel, Jeff Ball and Steven Trujillo of Denver enjoy the work of photographer David Zimmer during the belated opening of (Real) Photographic Constructs at the Metropolitan State Center For Visual Art. The opening was rescheduled due to the holiday blizzard. The CVA is located at 1734 Wazee St. For more information call (303) 294-5207. Above: Jon Rietfors’ “Domino Effect,” C-prints in badge mounts on Coca-Cola cans.

At ﬁrst glance, a stack of Goodyear tires, a cluttered pile of Kool-Aid packets and antique keepsakes may appear less than intriguing, but put them into the hands – or eyes – of a photographer, and the most ordinary objects can be transformed into a whole new abstraction. The concept of constructing an environment using space, dimension and depth, as well as light and shadow, is beautifully showcased at the Metropolitan State Center for Visual Art’s current photography exhibit, (REAL): Photographic Constructs. During its belated opening on Jan. 18, the representation of alternate realities proved the show was well worth the wait and the weather. Gallery curator Jennifer Garner and assistant curator Cecily Cullen teamed up with the Colorado Photographic Arts Center to bring a mix of installation pieces and framed photography from Colorado and around the nation together under one roof. “It was important that we stayed within the theme and concept of the show – locally and nationally recognized,” Garner said. “The artists we chose encapsulated the theme.” In the ﬁrst room, local artist Jon Rietfors’ bright and deliciously fun visual commentary on consumerism gives pop art a new twist. Rietfors incorporates recognizable commercial products such as Coca-Cola cans, Cup o’ Noodles boxes and Kool-Aid packets with bright C-prints, or photographic prints made from a negative. The most interesting piece was composed of a vintage refrigerator door mounted onto a wall decorated with magnets resembling a woman’s body. “By placing a relevant image on these products, I am trying to cause the viewer to take a fresh look at otherwise everyday objects

and question the place these products have in our lives,” Reitfors explained on his website. The next room offers works by photographer Zeke Berman, who has been globally recognized as a veteran of the transformation of the everyday object into a totally new reality. Berman’s collection of gelatin silver prints from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s capture strategically placed objects to create a geometric three-dimensional illusion within the photograph itself. Parallel to Berman’s work is local artist and UCD alumna Gwen Laine’s interactive piece “Still life with will.” The piece is composed of 31 wooden boxes mounted on the wall. Each box includes a hinged door that can be lifted by the viewer to see what lies within. Some of the boxes contain nostalgic keepsakes, while others contain photographs of miscellaneous objects. Keeping with the theme of constructed space, Laine said, “Constructing the boxes and images within the box is the process of building something that evolves.” Laine’s calm, structured piece is actually an invitation into the memory of her mother, who has passed away, but is also intended for the viewers to reconsider their own memories. “In order for it to be seen,” Laine said, “the piece requires both physical and mental actions on the part of the viewer.” Susan Harbage Page’s mixed-media installation piece “Terms of Endearment” illuminates the walls in the following room. Transparent portraits of women from the past are hung from the wall and accentuated by ﬁve ﬂoor lamps. The silhouette of each woman projected onto the walls creates a warm yet distant feeling within the room. Harbage Page’s piece was not the only installation piece that lit up the show. Local artist David Zimmer’s “Winter #4”

sprawls across the back wall as a web of glowing glass jars holding photos of leafless trees cast in polyester resin. The lights flicker from bright to dim as a faint and eerie noise buzzes from the transformer on the floor. (REAL) also includes Gregory Crewdson’s intriguing threepart collection of surreal C-prints, all untitled. Crewdson leaves it up to the viewers to create their own stories from his photos. In one photo, a teen appears standing in the front lawn of a suburban house wearing nothing but a bra and underwear. In another, a boy reaches into the depths of a shower drain looking for whatever the viewers’ imaginations hold. Crewdson’s mysterious scenes create new ways to tell stories using everyday concepts. The last portion of the show is a three-part photo series by Bruce Charlesworth titled “Gift Triptych.” The photos, bursting with color, show the images of a carefully wrapped gift placed in the midst of tidy retro rooms. In the final room, artist Meridal Rubenstein showcases her multimedia montages “Joan’s Arc,” made from silk-screen prints, glass and paper, and “Three Missiles,” a conglomerate of serene gelatin prints framed by steel resembling church windows. “It’s a really interesting mix of works between installation pieces and black and whites, which is nice,” said Metro photography major Jordan Ourada. The exhibit was originally scheduled to open Jan. 5, but the bitter cold and snow forced the center to cancel and move the reception date to Jan. 18. The exhibit will be at the CVA until Feb. 23. The CVA is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

THE METROPOLITAN • PAGE 16 • MEGAN CARNEAL • MCARNEAL@MSCD.EDU

audioﬁles

Upcoming shows Action Packed Thrill Ride Jan. 25 Larimer Lounge 2721 Larimer St. 9 p.m. $5-10, free with comp ticket available at most record stores including Wax Trax and Independent Records, 21+ Bands should never take themselves too seriously. Bands that classify themselves as emo illustrate this point perfectly. Luckily, Action Packed Thrill Ride will never be accused of this sin. With as much action as a bottle of Jack and more covers than Britney Spears’ crotch, Action Packed is one ride you’ll never forget.

Taylor Sullivan • tsulli21@mscd.edu

Lucky Bastards Photo courtesy of www.theheartlessbastards.com

So these are the guys that killed Kenny. The Heartless Bastards, from left, Mike Lamping, Erika Wennerstrom and Kevin Vaughn. By Cassie Hood hoodc@mscd.edu Some people are lucky. The Heartless Bastards are three such people. Not long after the indie band’s formation in 2003, the band’s founder, Erika Wennerstrom, set up a small tour to New York and back to Cincinnati, with their opening show at a tiny bar in Akron, Ohio. With only 11 people in the crowd, it was the work of fate that Patrick Carney from The Black Keys was in the audience. They continued their tour to New York and got little in return other than $300 in parking tickets. The trio seemed ill-fated, but a week after they returned home to Cincinnati, they received an e-mail from Fat Possum Records, The

Black Keys’ label. The band played for a record executive, and he signed them right after. In February 2005, Stairs and Elevators was released, followed by All This Time less than a year later. The Heartless Bastards’ sound ventures from blues to alternative country while keeping a sarcastic, cynical attitude. Some songs are slow-moving, with the band drudging through each beat while Wennerstrom wails her heart out. Other songs are more forceful, as if screaming for attention in a world of muck and pain. Wennerstrom’s rustic vocals are reminiscent of old-timer Patti Smith’s. Whether she’s crying about her hard travels or proclaiming her strength, her voice nicely intertwines with the wah-enhanced guitar; both are raw and clas-

sic. It may have been a small coincidence that brought this band a lucky break, but their talent and unique sound brought them success. Luck had nothing to do with it.

The Heartless Bastards will play Feb. 2 at the Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave. Doors open at 8 p.m., the show starts at 9:30. Tickets are $11.25. 21+

True sounds of band worship BILLY SCHEAR wschear@mscd.edu

If you had told me as a small child that a brood of rotting corpses would one day rise from their graves and deliver unto me the most precious gift I have yet to receive, I would have called you a liar and a scoundrel. At the impressionable age of 17, I was invited into a wondrous world where zombies battled punks in a riotous struggle for the survival of both species. Despite having been released some 15 years prior, The Return of the Living Dead was not just another dated horror ﬁlm. For me, it was a way of life. It dictated much of

my early fashion choices and even my manner of speech, and its soundtrack turned me on to a plethora of awe-inspiring bands, the most important of which was none other than TSOL. In 1985, the year the ﬁlm was released, TSOL was on their second vocalist, Joe Wood, who also performed on the Change Today LP, the ﬁrst album of theirs I bought. I relied on that CD like an alcoholic relies on his sponsor. Every time I came near to jumping off the edge – usually due to a girl – that album acted as a

See TSOL Page 17

Dark Funeral Jan. 25 Bluebird Theater 3317 E. Colfax Ave. 7 p.m. $20, 16+ Representing Swedish Satanism in all its black metal glory, these boys don’t know the meaning of the word repent. They set God-bashing, apocalypse-obsessing and allout-sacrilegious lyrical themes against a cacophony of blazing guitar riffs and violent drum beats. If you can handle the raw power of Satan, then by all means go to the show and witness ﬁve grown men in makeup take themselves very seriously.

Billy Schear • wschear@mscd.edu

Suburban Legends Feb. 1 The Marquis Theater 2009 Larimer St. 7:30 p.m. $10 in advance , $12 day of show, all ages Get up, jump around and prepare for the ofﬁcial boy band of ska music. They dance, prance, throw their instruments, rant, rave, sing and sweat. Not only do they put on an entertaining stage show, but they can also actually play their instruments. The night promises to be full of good tunes, ﬂying objects and lots of people skanking their butts off.

Cassie Hood • hood@mscd.edu

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.25.07

AUDIO FILES • 17

spotlight! a new Vice for an old Squad By Megan Carneal mcarneal@mscd.edu

Vice Squad Deﬁant (SOS Records, 2006)

Nostalgia is like methadone. For the addict, it suffices when the real vice is unavailable, but it will never come close to the real thing. Defiant is the latest release from original punk rockers Vice Squad. The band dates back to 1978 with the formation of the group, led by possibly the most attractive female rocker in history, Beki Bondage. Since then they have put out four EPs and nine full-length albums, Defiant being the tenth. With a career spanning two decades, some changes in sound and style are to be expected. Bondage, whose voice was once an incredi-

TSOL • The genius, the madness and the grave-robbing gaiety Continued from 16

freeplay

restraint, a constant reminder that sadness is an emotion experienced by all and that there are other – if not creatively better – ways to deal with pain than to commit desperate actions. Change Today is poetry incarnate. If there were no other record I could listen to for the rest of my life, I would meet my demise without yearning for anything more. To me they were the quintessential band, with nothing to improve upon. Formed in 1979 in Huntington Beach, Calif., the True Sounds Of Liberty emerged in what was a small but willful underground movement. Hardcore punk by generic deﬁnition, they began their career as many in their genre did, by singing songs of political protest. TSOL, though, had a knack for setting themselves apart from the herd by ignoring the standards of others, their fans included, and embarking on a path of musical experimentation few of their comrades had the balls to travel. Ron Emory’s guitar work was mesmerizing in the way it

bly seductive mix of a schoolgirl pout and British aloofness, is now, as the title suggests, defiant. Maybe it was years of drug abuse, maybe it is just age, but her crystal-clear vibratos have been traded for something sounding like a strung-out Joan Jett. The painfully obvious change in vocals is hard to get over, especially for the die-hard fans, but with the more contemporary style of the band the ironically innocent vocals of the old Bondage would have been grossly out of place on Defiant. Vice Squad has always had a distinct pop sensibility, whether it was for the sheer catchiness of their songs or the then-futuristic but now-dated overuse of a synthesizer during their run in the ’80s. Defiant keeps that qual-

blended traditional punk riffs with an electric horror element. The bass lines pounded out by Mike Roche literally made my heart thump with every pluck of the string. The drumming of the late Todd Barnes was nothing short of miraculous, and to this day, his style is taught to students by hip drum teachers. When I finally got around to listening to their early work, it was the vocal styling of original front man Jack Grisham that secured TSOL’s place as my favorite band of all time. Passionate and romantic, Grisham’s lyrics ran the gamut from politics to relationships, from spies to necrophilia. They defined the word versatile. It later surprised me to find out that for fun, these boys actually would rob graves. Singing about sex with corpses is one thing, but to actually dig them up and pilfer whatever valuables they might have adds an element of credibility to your art. After Grisham left and Wood stepped up to the microphone, it was a fast trip to nowhere. After Change Today, the music gradually became listless and devoid of originality. Members began dropping out, eventually leaving the group without a single original member in its lineup. Then, in 1996, the still-living founding members decided to once again try their hand at writing music together. Often when these legendary acts get back together after years of inactiv-

Underworld Five Days of Heineken By Cory Casciato casciato@mscd.edu For more than 10 years, Underworld has produced some of the best electronic dance music the world has ever seen. But it’s just dance music, right? It’s faceless, disposable and, really, doesn’t it all sound the same? No way. Their sound is singularly distinctive yet deep and varied. They’ve never allowed themselves to become complacent or be pigeonholed by expectations. They can produce driving four-on-the-floor house/trance beats or chunky, funky chopped-up breakbeats with equal ease. They are just as adept at creating memorable, hook-filled tunes as they are at dance-floor-filling, fist-pumping Ecstasy anthems. They disprove the notion that electronic acts founder in a live set-

ity, especially in tracks such as “Don’t let the Bastards Grind You Down” and the title track, with call-and-response guitars in the latter and bubble-gum melodies in the former. It seems as if the only thing the band has carried with them over the years is the ability to make their tracks radio-friendly. Deﬁant is full of the nostalgic warm-andfuzzies, but should not, under any circumstances, be used as an introduction to Vice Squad. As any decent drugged-out degenerate would say, start with the hard stuff, and once a meaningful addiction has been achieved with the Vice, try Deﬁant.

ity, the results are nothing short of catastrophic. Typically the reunited bands fall into the trappings of trying to compete with contemporary music or trying to recreate the original sound that established their mythos. As their biggest fan and toughest critic, I am proud to say that TSOL fell into no such trap. Their last two albums, 2001’s Disappear and 2003’s Divided We Stand, showcased a true evolution in their sound without missing a beat. They picked up exactly where they left off with zero regard as to what modern bands were sounding like, living proof that punk will never grow old as long as you have something relevant to say. The end of 2006 brought many disappointments in music – James Brown’s death, Bow Wow’s ﬁfth album release – but for me, by far the most disappointing news was the announcement that once again TSOL has disbanded, with two members ﬂeeing California to pursue other career goals. I suppose all good things must come to an end, and like Seinfeld, I’m truly happy that they went out while on top instead of languishing until becoming redundant. For those who have never heard, or have heard but never fully paid attention, it is never too late to do as the band said: “Live your life, ignore heroes, fuck the system, wake up, silent majority, see the True Sounds Of Liberty.”

ting by consistently touring and building a reputation as an incendiary live act. On Five Days of Heineken, a concert recorded in 2005 in Amsterdam and recently released as an Internet freebie, Underworld is in near-top form. The two-hour set covers most of their hits, such as “Pearls Girl” and “Rez/Cowgirl,” as well as newer material. Several of the tracks are either unreleased compositions or heavily modiﬁed and retitled versions of older songs. The recording quality is excellent, with just enough crowd noise to make it clear this is a live set. Highlights include the opening track, “Darc,” an atmospheric track with a warm, organ-like bass line that oscillates up and down around the beat accompanied by intermittent splashes of guitarist Rich Smith’s spacey, Pink Floyd-esque guitar lines. Karl Hyde starts off singing in a straightforward, accessible manner but by the end of the song his voice is being ﬁltered and layered until it becomes just another textural element. On “King of Snake,” the duo produces a sinuous, muscular slice of driving beats, growling synths and chanted, percussive vocals. Another standout is the new song “You Do Scribble,” a trippy, frantic slice of breakbeats and ringing, resonant synthesizer tones. The other nine tracks are all excellent as well. For fans and the merely curious alike, this is a mustdownload. Just as they’ve done on their albums, hit singles and years of live shows, Underworld shows here that they are one of the best bands in the world, regardless of genre.

Download Underworld’s Five Days of Heineken http://www.underworldlive. com/index/archive/ audio/audio-2005/ audio-amsterdam-2005.html

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

THE METROPOLITAN • PAGE 19 • MATTHEW QUANE • MQUANE@MSCD.EDU

Insight “

”

Patriotism is the willingness to kill or be killed for trivial reasons. – BERTRAND RUSSELL

Adam Goldstein • goldstea@mscd.edu

EMILE HALLEZ ehallez@mscd.edu

Cut and rug

Electile dysfunction When I first noticed an official-looking letter sticking out of my mailbox, I thought that maybe I had won a sweepstakes. The large envelope took a bit of wrestling to remove, but I finally yanked it free and anxiously read the bold type – only to be disappointed. “Official Ballot Enclosed,” was written on the side. Another election? I was sure there must be some mistake. I thought it was probably the letter from the Denver Election Commission finally reaching me from last November, but, sadly, I was mistaken. Apparently, last fall’s Nov. 7 election was such a debacle that Auditor Dennis Gallagher and Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriguez decided radical action was warranted. The pair put their heads together and worked their political magic, and it was now time to vote for radical change. On Jan. 30, the enclosed ballot read, Denver would vote on whether or not to simplify the city’s election commission. Instead of three commissioners, the plan was to have one elected county clerk and recorder. The special election is being conducted purely by absentee ballot. The voter is expected to fill in the “yes” or “no” box, stick the ballot back in the return envelope, scrape together 63 cents in postage, and send it back to whence it came. For those too poor to pay the postage, or just too offended at being stuck paying to vote, the letter can also be dropped off at several locations. As I quickly read over the document, the burned-out old hippie that lives below me

ANDREW FLOHR-SPENCE spencand@mscd.edu emerged from his apartment. “You see that shit they’re trying to pull?” he asked, nodding at the paper in my hand. “The million-dollar computers failed them, 20,000 voters were disenfranchised, and now they reshufﬂe a bit at the top and call it good.” “I didn’t even know an election was scheduled,” I said, shrugging. “Yeah, well they don’t exactly scream it from the mountaintops,” he said enthusiastically. “They make it as difﬁcult as possible, so nobody votes, so they can have all the power.” “I don’t know,” I said, moving toward the stairs and away from him. “The mail-in ballot seems easy enough.” He mumbled something about not having enough goddamn stamps and went out the front door. Climbing the stairs, I laughed about the idea that a conspiracy might be behind the Denver election. Still, the idea that the ballot in my

hand would somehow lead to real change was also laughable. Replacing the present democratic and bureaucratic system of two elected commissioners and one mayoral appointee, the proposed reorganization would streamline the process, placing the responsibility solely on one commissioner appointed by the mayor. The idea was that the new election czar would have the power to crack his whip and get things done. “We need someone who’s going to be accountable,” Gallagher was quoted as saying. He assured us that “an election clerk will be more likely to want to make sure that the technology works.” This may be what voters want to hear, but something about “more likely to want to make sure” seems to lack any urgency whatsoever. What exactly does the number of commissioners have to do with the problem, anyway? If there was a conspiracy afoot here, it was a conspiracy of dunces. Denver has used the three-member commission since 1904. Was something different about this last election? Something, indeed. The technology was what fell apart, and the way people were trained to use that technology. The vote on Jan. 30 is a wild change in the leadership of Denver’s election system, but the real problem sits all the way at the bottom. Instead of spending $650,000 on another election in a futile symbolic gesture, the energy should be spent on making sure that the machines work and that the people know how to use them.

If America were a giant rug, George Bush would be a puppy – an ugly puppy, not yet housetrained, with a penchant for scooting on rugs. Objectors to capping troop deployment in Iraq, and to the war in general, are circling in political waters, dorsal ﬁns breaking the surface. While some have been bold enough to leap out, decrying a megalomaniac’s unmerited violence, most are lying low, leaving bystanders to guess their intentions. Like a captain going down with the ship, Bush has clung to a militant legacy, taking his crew of neoconservative rug-scooting pooches along. Congress knows this, and that’s why few want to make waves. But this is a bigger problem for the extra troops – Bush having promised 21,500 more – that started deploying last week. Many of them will not come home. Since there is no way to “win” in Iraq via immediate troop withdrawal, it is apparent that those speaking out are saying enough is enough. That’s the trouble with meeting Bush’s challenge; it can’t be done. Worse, it’s hypocritical – he begs us to get his own skid marks out of the carpet. The idea of success in any war is an ironic fallacy. This war, however, is special. Protestors have touted the “No more blood for oil” stance since the invasion began. Simultaneously, conservatives adapted their goal from counterterrorism to a humanitarian mission of Iraqi liberation. As tempting as these reasons seem, they are smokescreens for a fascist’s sick idea of saving face. In an open letter to the president, Ralph Nader recently wrote, “You say ‘where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me.’ You then quickly change the subject. Whoa now, what does it mean when you say the responsibility for mistakes rest with you?” In any democracy, a president should represent the people, not oppose their collective will. Recent polls show Bush’s approval rating is somewhere between the toilet and the water treatment plant. If the majority of the country disapproves of the war and of extra troop deployment, how does he justify pursuit of an impossible victory? Our only hope in the immediate future is to resist the apathy that has been characteristic of the past six years. Hiding idly behind a ﬂag is pathetic acquiescence. We can’t wait until January 2009.

20 • INSIGHT

1.25.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

The red badge of courage My first caper with radical feminism came from a gender-equality group called Sabotage. By this time, obsessive reading and pro-honesty parents had bestowed enough knowledge in me to prevent conversations about sex, violence and abortion from shocking me. Still, one aspect of Sabotage completely rocked my comfort zone. The women in this group would openly state that they were menstruating. For me, menstruation was known as my “period” – a monthly occurrence that was hidden from even my closest confidantes. I would panic if I had to write tampons on the family grocery list. I constantly feared being the snappy female during “that time of the month” or get accused of smelling because I was “on the rag.” In Sabotage, women were talking about cramps, using washable pads, debating the value of reusable sea-sponge tampons and addressing stigmas associated with menstruation. Men in the group listened and participated without a pause. These conversations happened as if menstruation were not unclean, smelly or disgusting. These folks acted as if menstruation were normal. Then I realized something. Menstruation is normal. There is nothing to hide. It is no more unclean or shocking than any other bodily function. People should not be any more reserved about menstruation than they should be about dental hygiene, especially since our aversion to discussing menstruation has created a market for products that are bad for the body, bad for the earth and personally degrading. Most women in this country use disposable tampons or pads – think Kotex or Tampax – to collect their menses. The average woman will use around 12,000 pads or tampons in her lifetime. These pads are made of pesticidedrenched cotton fibers treated with chlorine bleach to turn them a crisp and sterile white. This releases huge levels of dioxins, which contaminate waterways and poison wildlife. Additionally, chlorine bleaching creates rayon, a chemical that peels the mucous membrane away from the vagina, creating the conditions for illnesses such as toxic shock syndrome. As the icing on the cake, tampons and pads

TAYLOR SULLIVAN tsulli21@mscd.edu

A light failure

Illustration by Andrew Howerton • ahowert2@mscd.edu

ZOË WILLIAMS williamz@mscd.edu come swaddled like bundles of joy with applicators, wrappers, boxes and bags that will resurface in the throats of suffocated marine life and public water supplies. It can take as long as 300 years for a tampon applicator to fully decompose in a landﬁll. A monthly supply of tampons or pads costs around $4, for a total of $1,200 in a lifetime. Organic disposables will total up around $2,600. All that money is for exposure to poison and environmental degradation. I’ll take the cash, thanks.

Perhaps my greatest peeve with our cultural response to menstruation is the notion of “sanitary” products, which suggests that menstruation is dirty. While we’re at it, why not have sanitary underwear and jock straps? It is unsanitary to take a tampon, place it in a waste receptacle, have that emptied into a larger container, set that container outside for pickup and then dump it in a landfill. Washable alternatives simply require the user to wash the pad or sponge out with hot water and soap. It’s efficient, low-waste and much cleaner. Changing my attitudes and personal approach to menstruation not only led to conscious choices for environmental sustainability, it made me feel better about my body. Nowadays the only discomfort I feel around menstruation is cramping, which I learned to treat with teas and stretches. The website http://www.bloodsisters.org/ bloodsisters has an abundance of alternative menstrual attitudes and products. Ladies, go there, find alternatives that work for you and learn to go with the flow. It will change your life and your planet.

Andrew Howerton • ahowert2@mscd.edu

As the new semester starts, lines are where it’s at. Lines at the bookstore, lines in the food court, lines to get into classes and lines to get out, even lines for the bathrooms – unfortunately for me, three cups of coffee later. But the one line that can be avoided this semester? The 10-minute line to get your RTD stickers, those magical passes that gain holders admission to those other lines, light-rail lines C, D, E, F, G and H. Maybe all of you light-rail riders out there have noticed, but if not, apparently there just isn’t anyone checking passes anymore. According to an article printed last week in The Denver Post, when the length of operational rail doubled late last year, the number of fare checkers was cut in half. Back when there were only 16 miles of lines connecting central Denver with the Mineral station – or the edge of civilization as I see it – 10 handheld-computer-wielding sadists were employed to ride the trains all day, checking passes and writing tickets to those unlucky bastards who thought they could get away with buying the half-priced-elderly-handicapped-veteran pass. Now that the fancy new lines have opened up the gates of suburban hell to downtown, the ridership has skyrocketed, but the number of fare checkers fell to six. Six! Six people to cover the 35 miles of rail, the hundreds of daily train rides and the tens of thousands of riders. So now people don’t even have to try to cheat by buying the reduced fare tickets and feigning ignorance later. They just don’t buy tickets at all. A similar rail system is in place in Salt Lake City. They also operate on the “honor code” fare system but have 25 armed ofﬁcers checking fares for their 19-mile system. Lo and behold, they have about 1.7 percent of fare-evading riders. Before the new lines opened, RTD was clocking in at about 4.7 percent with a full force of fare checkers. Now, with the new lines and an estimated ridership of 60,000, who knows how many free rides Denver is giving away? More than when Mattie Silks ran the town, that’s for sure. If that 4.7 percent has stayed stable – which is unlikely since all the people I know who live in Southeast Denver are skeezy bastards – that means there are more than 3,000 people a day riding for free. The most disconcerting part of this equation is society’s inability to learn. If all the people from Parker and Aurora, Centennial and Lone Tree see that the ticket machines are basically optional, then eventually no one will be paying, even after new fare checkers are hired. Riots will ensue. People will be enraged. “It used to be free!” they’ll say. “I’ll tell you where you can shove that ticket!” they’ll say. My suggestion is that those RTD cops actually start doing something productive. The

See TAYLOR Page 21

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.25.07

TAYLOR • Catch a free ride on the light-rail, no one will stop you Continued from 20 Denver Post reported that RTD contracts out about 40 security guards from a private company, but because of union bitching, apparently they don’t have to do anything but tell people to take their feet off the seats – thank God they have guns for that – and keep the kids from Five Points from harassing the Pavilions crowd. I say that these guys are looking to show some authority, so let ’em. Nobody becomes a mall cop unless they get to actually use those handcuffs and wield that RTD badge. And as for RTD, whatever you do, do something. Denver just spent billions on this new system and you’re treating it like the moving sidewalk at DIA. How hard is it to train someone to use a hand-held computer? In fact, here’s a lead: Auraria parking has plenty of day-ruining ticket writers that you could recruit. Their blood runs cold as ice, which I think is what you’re looking for.

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 EDITOR Chelsey Emmelhainz • cemmelha@mscd.edu MUSIC EDITOR Megan Carneal • mcarneal@mscd.edu SPORTS EDITOR Eric Lansing • lansing@mscd.edu PHOTO EDITOR Jenn LeBlanc • jkerriga@mscd.edu DESIGN EDITOR Joe Nguyen • nguyejos@mscd.edu COPY EDITORS Jeremy Johnson • jjohn308@mscd.edu Taylor Sullivan • tsulli21@mscd.edu Joel Tagert • tagert@mscd.edu Clayton Woullard • cwoullar@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.

INSIGHT • 21

Denver’s delinquency dilemma By now everyone knows that Colorado, and Denver in particular, has a gang problem of massive proportions. A recent report released by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation stated that Colorado is home to 12,741 confirmed gang members affiliated with 110 street gangs. Of those, 8,811 confirmed gang members affiliated with 78 gangs live in Denver. The numbers are so staggering and disheartening they have many people wondering if another “summer of violence” is on the horizon. The Denver Post quoted Denver police Lt. Ken Chavez saying: “It could take just one incident. We could be one incident away from a perfect storm.” Hopefully, this is not the case, but hoping is not nearly enough. The gang problem in Colorado was brought to the forefront of people’s attention with the slaying of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams. The crime is suspected to be gang-related mainly because the car used in the drive-by shooting that killed Williams in the early hours of the New Year was registered to a member of the Tre Tre Crips, one of the 78 gangs in Denver. The murder of Williams was not the first of its kind; it just happened to be the only one to get media attention. In fact, from 1999 to 2006 there were 496 homicides in Denver, 91 of which were classified as gang-related. That’s 18 percent of all murders in Denver. The Denver Post reported that suspected gang crimes in Denver are up 35 percent since 1999, but the number of anti-gang officers has stayed relatively the same, floating between 37 and 45. Currently, there are 42 officers to 8,811 confirmed gang members in Denver. This is unacceptable. This has been a problem for too long, and it’s

DAVID POLLAN dpollan@mscd.edu only getting worse. Now is not the time to dwell on the past or how we could have prevented all of this; it’s too late for that. It’s time for the community to step up and start working toward ridding this city of these reckless thugs, whose only concern is committing heinous acts of violence. This form of domestic terrorism should at least be given more attention than it currently gets. The United States spends billions on fighting terrorism every year; why not spend a fraction of that fighting gang violence? The problem lies in the fact that these groups have been overlooked for years. There needs to be a major movement to prevent these kids from joining gangs and keeping them involved with school and sports. But that needs to start with those who have the power to create change. Where are the pro athletes and other prominent figures in the area? Why are they not speaking out or lending a hand? Their silence disgusts me. They are the leaders and role models for the community; it’s time for them to lend a helping hand to this growing problem. Who is on the front lines, you ask?

The Rev. Leon Kelly is, along with a few others. Kelly runs Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives, a youth advocacy center that provides alternatives to gang violence and gang activity. He has been doing this for 20 years, but he can’t do it alone. He sure as hell can’t do it without funding from the state or city and with a limited and insufﬁcient annual budget. He has such limited funding that he can only afford to keep two to three people on staff. Kelly does good work for the community in an area that needs more like him. So why won’t the city give his program funding? Why does the gang unit in Denver only get $3.6 million annually? Why are politicians more worried about immigration and keeping people out of the state than they are about keeping the people in this state alive? I’ll tell you why. It comes down to racism. It’s the same reason no one in the media ever bothered to look into gang crimes until Williams was killed. The reason is that the people getting killed and the crimes that are taking place happen in poor neighborhoods populated mostly by minorities. Wake up, Denver! There is a gang problem. If you were previously unaware of this problem, you are informed of it now. There are no more excuses for sitting around and doing nothing. The question now becomes: What are you going to do about it? Like my dad always said, knowing about a problem and doing something about it are two completely different things. We are all equal, and we are all here together. It’s time to start looking out for one another and making the streets safe for everyone. The time has come to create change, and that change begins with you.

Democratic extravagance falls on convention center Scientists at Duke University recently discovered that people’s altruistic actions are not controlled by the part of the brain responsible for self-gain and rewards. Instead, according to the study, “increased activity in the posterior superior temporal sulcus strongly predicted a person’s likelihood for altruistic behavior.” So what would you do with a cool $70 million? Would you give it all away? Maybe give a large chunk of it to people who need it more than you? Well, the Democratic National Party has $70 million to spend, and they plan on blowing it on one huge party known as the Democratic National Convention – and they’ll be blowing it

MATTHEW QUANE mquane@mscd.edu right here in our backyard. Obviously the Dems’ posterior superior temporal sulcus is underperforming. Should anyone drop that sort of cash on a

party? Hardly. Unless, of course, their extravagance outweighs their politics, which, in the case of the Dems, seems to be the case. Democrats may have talked big about their plans for the next two years, but their focus is deﬁnitely beyond that. While Bush’s ﬂying fortress of a regime is going down like the Hindenburg, the Dems are in no hurry to salvage the debris – after all, it isn’t their mess, although it will likely be their presidency come 2008. And that is exactly where their focus lies – the next presidency. If their focus were truly on policy, they would pump some of that DNC cash into policy. But $70 million on a party? They must be getting ripped off on the balloons.

How else can $70 million be spent?

®îé

Paying four years of tuition for Providing annual health care for

3,500

Metro students

Sources: Metro, USA Today and Toyota.

6,434 needy families

Buying Denverites

3,157 energy-efﬁcient

2007 Toyota Priuses

THE METROPOLITAN • PAGE 23 • ERIC LANSING • LANSING@MSCD.EDU

Sport

DID YOU KNOW... Women’s head coach Dave Murphy used to coach at UC-Colorado Springs during the 1998-2002 seasons. Murphy posted a 52-53 overall record in his time with the Mountain Lions, with his best season coming during 2001-02, when his team ﬁnished with a 19-9 record. That was his ﬁnal season before he came to Metro.

‘Runners’ revenge spills over on Mines By Eric Lansing lansing@mscd.edu Metro’s No. 11-ranked men’s basketball team used great pressure defense and another fantastic performance from guard Marquise Carrington to win their eighth straight game in a home victory against the Colorado School of Mines Jan. 19. Both teams were ranked in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in scoring defense, so it wasn’t going to be a high-scoring affair. It came down to which defense would press more, and it turned out to be Metro’s. The Orediggers were ranked first in the RMAC in scoring defense, holding opponents to only 61.6 points per game, while Metro was fourth at 66.4 per contest. The Roadrunners never allowed the Orediggers to settle into their offense, using a fullcourt press that forced 15 turnovers, including 11 steals. Metro converted those turnovers into 17 points. “We knew this was a big game,” Carrington said. “We wanted to rebound from last year when they broke our streak, so we felt like we owed them something. It’s good to get the win.” Carrington was speaking of the 47-game home winning streak that dated from Jan. 25, 2003 to Jan. 14, 2006. Mines came into the Auraria Events Center on Jan. 20, 2006, and ended the streak with a 69-65 victory in overtime. Another streak ended for the Roadrunners that day when their regular-season eight-game winning streak came to a close because of the Orediggers’ upset win. Metro held Mines to 18 first-half points and only 33 percent shooting from the field. The few times the Orediggers managed to pass half-court in the first half, the Roadrunners put constant

Jan. 19 at Auraria Events Center Mines Metro

Total 18 29

30 35

48 64

Leading Scorers:

M: Carrington 15, Bahl 14 Mi: Elseth 15, Mohr 8 Leading Rebounders: M: Moore 5, two tied w/ 4 Mi: Elseth 7, two tied w/ 4

Photo by Molly Kreck • kreck@mscd.edu

Metro guard Marquise Carrington, left, looks for an open teammate with Colorado School of Mines guard Robert Trujillo, right, guarding him at the perimeter. Carrington had six assists in the 64-48 victory. pressure on the perimeter, which led to poor 3point shooting, with only one basket in 10 tries. “We had to make a few defensive adjustments,” forward Jesse Wagstaff said. “We had to contest all shots, and we had to finish up the plays with rebounds.” Mines kept it close for most of the first half and pulled within three points at the 4:13 mark. Metro then scored the next 12 out of 14 points, including a 3-pointer by guard Benas Veikalas with 29 seconds left in the half. But Metro allowed Mines guard Franklin Ryk, who had a hand in Mines’ upset last year, to find an opening in the lane for an easy layup at the buzzer.

Metro carried an 11-point lead into halftime. Carrington led the way for Metro in the ﬁrst half by scoring nine points, dishing out three assists and grabbing one steal. The sophomore guard has been playing his best basketball as a Roadrunner in the past few weeks, including a 17-point game against New Mexico Highlands and scoring a career-high 22 points in a blowout win against Colorado Christian on Jan 16. “It’s more of my teammates,” Carrington said. “My teammates look for me, the coaches are helping me with my game and getting me into positions where I can make plays. It’s really not me, it’s the system.”

Wagstaff said that Carrington has been playing great basketball and is continuing to back it up each night. He added that Carrington does everything on the court for this team, including scoring, rebounding and finding open teammates on the floor. In the beginning of the second half, Mines figured a way around Metro’s full-court press and managed to cut the lead to six points after a jumper and a layup by forward Clayton Moores. The Orediggers made crisp passes to avoid the press, and once they got the basketball into the frontcourt, Mines found easy points in the paint with Roadrunner defenders still guarding the perimeter. Carrington came to the rescue in the middle of the second half. Carrington made a nice steal on Mines forward Ian Elseth and pushed the ball up the court to what appeared to be an easy two points. Mines guard Kyle Pape rushed back to make a play on the ball but committed an intentional foul that sent Carrington to the line for two free throws and gave Metro possession of the ball. Carrington drained the free throws, and on Metro’s next possession, Metro forward Jesse Wagstaff was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer. Wagstaff hit all three from the line, giving the ’Runners a 15-point lead.

See MEN’S BASKETBALL Page 25

Finally, the big game has the potential to be ‘Super’

ERIC LANSING lansing@mscd.edu It’s about time the Super Bowl came down to the teams that are supposed to be there. Super Bowl XLI will include the high-octane offense of the Indianapolis Colts versus the bone-crunching defense of the Chicago Bears. As a football fan I have watched every Super Bowl since the days before free agency, when

you knew it was going to be either the 49ers or the Cowboys in the big game. In fact, when those two teams met during the playoffs, you might have called those games Super Bowls, as the ’Niners versus the ’Boys were always more exciting to watch. The past few Super Bowls have showcased mediocre teams who seemed to have tripped into the big game almost by accident. The last meaningful game of the football season proved to be unworthy of the hype that leads up to the game through commercials, magazines, fireworks and the million of homes that apparently tune in … maybe because everyone else is doing it. Last season gave us the Seahawks against the Steelers. I couldn’t tell you the final score or the game’s turning point that gave the “Men of Steel” their fifth Super Bowl title. I can tell you I wasn’t impressed with either team’s performance in what turned out to be an uninspiring matchup. Don’t get me wrong; there were

some great story lines, such as the Steelers’ head coach, Bill Cowher, sticking his chin on the line for his first title in 15 years or the story of Jerome “The Bus” Bettis finally getting a ring after 10,000 yards of running rampant through the NFL. However, the game seemed to revolve around the miscues of the referees more than it did around the Steelers’ great defense holding down the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, Seattle’s Shaun Alexander. This season once again showed the grand parity of the NFL with no single team outshining the rest. There were a lot of teams who barely had winning records who snuck into the playoffs while even top teams such as the Chargers, Ravens, Eagles and Seahawks had problems that hurt them during the regular season and ended up hurting them in the postseason. The two best teams do not always prevail to the final game, and it can make for one-sided blowouts, as in the 48-21 bashing the Bucca-

neers gave the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII or the snooze-fest of Super Bowl XXXV, when the Ravens defeated the Giants in the only Super Bowl I ever fell asleep watching. This year is going to be different. We get to see the game’s top two teams in what may make for the best championship game … ever! We get to see the great story of Peyton Manning. A quarterback that has more records than a Beatles compilation, Manning has been dubbed the next Dan Marino because he hasn’t won the big game yet. Manning will face off against arguably one of the best defenses since, well, the last time “Da Bears” were in the Super Bowl. Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher led his defense against the NFL’s top-rated offense in the New Orleans Saints on Jan. 21 and forced them to turnover the ball four times while allowing

See LANSING Page 25

24 • SPORT

1.25.07 • THE METROPOLITAN

Metro steals show ’Runners continue RMAC dominance in blowout over Mines By Eric Lansing lansing@mscd.edu Metro forced 23 turnovers and got an allaround performance from guard Ashley Mickens to defeat Colorado School of Mines 63-49 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action Jan. 19 at the Auraria Events Center. “At the half we said we needed to be patient offensively and pick up our intensity,” head coach Dave Murphy said. “We had to turn up our energy and execute, and we did that in the second half. Ashley Mickens said ‘Follow me’ and really concentrated offensively and knocked down some great shots.” The Roadrunners’ defense was stifling all night in forcing turnovers, including 10 steals that led to 19 points. They also came away with four blocks and held the Orediggers to a dreadful 26.7 percent shooting in the second half. Both teams came into the game with threegame winning streaks and were ranked first and second in the conference in scoring defense. Metro was ranked first in allowing opponents to only score 58.9 points per game, while Mines only gave up 59.5 points per game. The first half was an exciting battle that featured nine ties and seven lead changes. Metro’s

defense was great in forcing 13 turnovers and coming away with six steals. Mines stayed in the game by outrebounding the Roadrunners 1813, including 12 defensive rebounds. The ’Diggers did not allow Metro to have second-chance points, which is one of the ’Runners’ strengths. Metro took a one-point lead on a Mickens free throw with 10 seconds left in the first half. Mickens missed the second free throw, and Mines guard Iva Tomova, who had 10 points in the first half, grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up to forward Blakelee Midyett. Midyett found guard Amanda Adams running the court and fed Adams a nice pass that led to an easy layup at the buzzer. The two points gave the Orediggers a 29-28 halftime lead. The ’Runners jumped out of the gate in the second half with a 15-foot jumper by guard Danielle Ellerington. The junior guard led Metro in scoring in the first half with eight points. The jumper propelled a 22-4 run that gave the ’Runners a 50-33 lead. “Danielle did a marvelous job at staying relaxed and letting the game come to her,” Murphy said. “She is always fired up to play. I really am proud of how unselfish we are offensively.” Mines got to within eight points when Tomova hit two straight jumpers at the 4:17 mark. Tomova led all Orediggers in scoring with 16 points but also lost six turnovers. Midyett put up 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the loss. Mickens did it all for Metro by scoring 13 points, pulling down nine rebounds, handing out

Photo by Molly Kreck • kreck@mscd.edu

Metro guard Ashley Mickens, left, tries to recover on defense while Mines forward Emily Dalton, right, takes it to the hoop. Mickens did have two steals on the night in Metro’s 63-49 win at the Auraria Events Center. six assists and even getting her hands on two steals. The conference victory gives the Roadrunners a 7-2 record in the RMAC and a 14-3 overall record. Metro hits the road to take on conference leader Regis Jan. 26 at Regis Fieldhouse. Regis will be no easy task for the Roadrunners, as they are tied with Metro for ﬁrst place in the conference. The Rangers also lead the RMAC in scoring offense (79.4) and are second in ﬁeldgoal percentage (.451). They have the leading scorer in the conference with senior guard Diana Lopez, who averages 17.6 point per contest.

Last year’s battle saw the two teams ﬁght it out for ﬁrst place in the RMAC, and the Rangers came out on top in overtime, 79-69, Jan. 24, 2006, at the Auraria Events Center. Jan. 19 at Auraria Events Center Mines Metro

Total 29 28

20 35

49 63

Leading Scorers:

M: Ellerington 14, Mickens 13 Mi: Tomova 16, Midyett 11 Leading Rebounders: M: Mickens 9, two tied w/ 4 Mi: Midyett 8, Pearson 7

INVITES YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING OF

BECAUSE I SAID SO

INVITE YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING OF

Tuesday, January 30 at 7 PM PLEASE STOP BY

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1 AT 7 PM

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PLEASE STOP BY

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THIS FILM IS RATED PG-13. PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED. Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13. Please note: Passes received through this promotion do not guarantee you a seat at the theatre. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, except for members of the reviewing press. Theatre is overbooked to ensure a full house. No admittance once screening has begun. All federal, state and local regulations apply. A recipient of tickets assumes any and all risks related to use of ticket, and accepts any restrictions required by ticket provider. Universal Pictures, The Metropolitan and their affiliates accept no responsibility or liability in connection with any loss or accident incurred in connection with use of a prize. Tickets cannot be exchanged, transferred or redeemed for cash, in whole or in part. We are not responsible if, for any reason, winner is unable to use his/her ticket in whole or in part. Not responsible for lost, delayed or misdirected entries. All federal and local taxes are the responsibility of the winner. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. Participating sponsors, their employees & family members and their agencies are not eligible. NO PHONE CALLS!

BECAUSE I SAID SO

in theatres February 2

BROTHERS FILM SCREEN GEMS AND GHOST HOUSE PICTURES AND COLUMBIA PICTURES PRESENT A BLUE STAR PICTURES PRODUCTION A PANG LINE “THE MESSENGERS” KRISTEN STEWART DYLAN McDERMOTT PENELOPE ANN MILLER AND JOHN CORBETT PRODUCER ANDREW PFEFFER COMUSIC EXECUTIVE STORY PRODUCERS J. R . YOUNG KELLI KONOP JIM MILLER BY JOSEPH LODUCA PRODUCERS NATHAN KAHANE JOE DRAKE BY TODD FARMER SCREENPLAY PRODUCED DIRECTED BY MARK WHEATON BY SAM RAIMI ROB TAPERT WILLIAM SHERAK JASON SHUMAN BY DANNY PANG & OXIDE PANG

IN THEATERS FEBRUARY 2ND

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.

THE METROPOLITAN • 1.25.07

SPORT • 25

Super Bowl a super score for civil rights movement

JEREMY JOHNSON jjohn308@mscd.edu When the rain of civil rights falls, it falls fast and with the fury, finality and finesse that have been displayed over the past six months by a pair of National Football League coaches named Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy. In March 1947, the modern, post-WorldWar-II NFL signed the first black football player – halfback Kenny Washington – to a professional football contract. Sadly, Washington’s short ca-

reer would forever lie in the shadows of a young Major League Baseball second baseman named Jackie Robinson. Signed into baseball very briefly after Washington’s football contract, Robinson, arguably, set the standard for sports integration. While many sports enthusiasts may argue about whether Robinson’s lightning infield glove was better than his booming bat, few give, or should give, a damn about whether one of baseball’s best infielders was black or white. There are arguments to be made about what makes up a historic sports-integration moment: heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson winning the World Championship in 1908, Jesse Owens single-handedly defeating Adolf Hitler and the entire Nazi regime on the track with four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Satchel Paige entering and dominating professional baseball at the age of 42, or even Willie O’Ree’s 1958 debut in the National Hockey League. There’s an awful racist joke I remember be-

ing tossed around the locker room when I was in high school: “What do you call a white guy surrounded by ten black guys? A quarterback.” Well, in Super Bowl XXII, Washington Redskins’ black quarterback Doug Williams threw for four touchdowns as the ’Skins routed John Elway and the Denver Broncos 42-10. The first winning black quarterback in history, Williams posted a 94.0 quarterback rating and was named the game’s MVP. And, frankly, Williams was little more than a placebo compared to black quarterbacks who followed, including Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, Steve McNair, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Vince Young, to name a few. In a game in which two-thirds of the athletes are black, black quarterbacks are still a minority but are quickly on the rise. One thing that cannot be debated is the influence of black athletes on our nation’s playing fields. It is certainly one field that has been leveled over time.

Now, just days away from Super Bowl XLI, it’s not just playing fields that are being leveled, but office politics and leadership roles as well. On Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, the New York Giants named Jerry Reese the general manager of operations. Reese, along with Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens) and Rick Smith (Houston Texans), became the third person of color to be appointed to the NFL’s highest role. Of the seven black head coaches in the NFL this season, two of them – Smith and Dungy – will face off in Super Bowl XLI. One game certainly cannot make up for years of prejudice, hate and discrimination, but it’s definitely a first down for the ongoing civil rights movement. Jackie Robinson once said: “I’m not concerned with you liking me or disliking me … all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” And, like it or not, blacks are now bound for glory on all levels of sport.

LANSING • Big game will bring big results on ‘Super Sunday’

MEN’S BASKETBALL • Carrington scores 15 in eighth straight victory

Continued from 23

just 14 points. The Saints averaged 25.8 points during the regular season, but the Monsters of the Midway held Drew Brees and Reggie Bush to two touchdowns with zero in the second half. With so many big names in this 41st celebration of the NFC-AFC showdown, such as Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, Adam Vinatieri, Urlacher, Olin Kruetz, Thomas Jones, Adam Ogunleye, Devin Hester and Nathan Vasher, this game should live on for many years as the way a Super Bowl is supposed to transpire. I know that millions of people will watch the big game for the 30-second million-dollar commercials or Prince’s halftime show. But don’t forget that there is a game to be played, a game that could live up to the hype and actually be Super.

’Runners a 15-point lead. The lead got as high as 21 points, and the victory gave Metro their eighth consecutive RMAC win. Their only conference loss came in their ﬁrst conference game against Mesa State back on Dec. 8. With only one game this week after eight straight wins, and their next game eight days away on the road, what does the team do to keep the momentum in their favor? “We need to keep focused,” Carrington said regarding what coach Brannon Hays told them with so much time between games. “He also said we need to enjoy the days but to be ready to go back at it on Monday. He said to enjoy because we have been putting in the work.” The win gives Metro a 15-2 overall record with an 8-1 record in the RMAC. Metro heads back to work on the road Jan. 26 at Regis and Jan. 27 at CU-Colorado Spring to continue conference play.

Past Super Bowl scores Super Bowl XL

Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10

Super Bowl XXXVII Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21

Super Bowl XXXVI Baltimore 34, N.Y. Giants 7

Super Bowl XXXIII Denver 34, Atlanta 19

Super Bowl XXXI Green Bay 35, New England 21

Illustration by Andrew Howerton • ahowert2@mscd.edu

Chicago Bears (13-3) 427 (T-2nd) 324.9 (15th) 205.1 (14th) 119.9 (15th) 255 (3rd) 294.1 (5th) 194.8 (11th) 99.4 (6th)

Total points for Total yards per game Passing yards per game Rushing yards per game Total points allowed Yards allowed per game Passing yards allowed per game Rushing yards allowed per game

Indianapolis Colts (12-4) 427 (T-2nd) 379.4 (3rd) 269.3 (2nd) 110.1 (18th) 360 (23rd) 332.3 (21st) 159.3 (2nd) 173.0 (32nd)

KEY MATCHUP

RMAC

MEN’S BASKETBALL EAST DIVISION

Conference Metro Nebraska-Kearney UC-Colorado Springs Colorado Mines Colorado Christian Chadron State Regis

Bears LB Brian Urlacher versus Colts QB Peyton Manning Urlacher will watch Manning’s eyes Manning comes equipped with a all game and keep Joe Addai in rocket arm and plenty of weapons in check. Injuries to defensive teamMarvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, mates will be too much to overcome. Dallas Clark and Addai.

EDGE: Colts

W 8 8 6 3 3 2 1

Overall

L PCT W L 1 .889 15 2 1 .889 13 3 3 .667 12 4 6 .333 8 8 6 .333 5 10 7 .222 3 12 8 .111 6 10

WEST DIVISION

Conference Mesa State Fort Lewis CSU-Pueblo Adams State Western State Western N.M. N.M. Highlands

W 7 6 6 5 3 3 2

L 2 3 3 4 6 6 7

PCT .778 .667 .667 .556 .333 .333 .222

Overall W L 11 5 14 4 10 7 6 10 8 8 7 10 2 14