Car chase ends at campus, Auraria police test emergency plan » A3 Serving The Auraria Campus Since 1979
Vol. 30 No. 2
http://www.mscd.edu/~themet
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2007
RTD fares up for debate Public given chance to weigh in on possible rate hike » A7
school of
ROCK
Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu
The Hartdegan Agenda, a local band, perfomed Aug. 21 in The Tivoli Commons. Students were welcomed back to school with a festival that featured live music and vendors offering funnel cakes, necklaces and more. The semester started Aug. 20 and ends on Dec. 8. Aside from bands and shopping, students were greeted with long lines, no parking and cancelled classes.
50 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO SURVIVE THE SEMESTER » B1 « PLUS: Dinner, dancing and DVDs » B3
SPORTS »
No. 1 ranked Men’s soccer
shoot for RMAC title »A13
metro THE METROPOLITAN « A3 « AUGUST 23, 2007
»FACULTY CONFERENCE KICKS OFF SEMESTER »A5 »RTD RAISING THE RATES »A7 »INSIGHT: READ THIS TEXT MESSAGE »A19
ANDREW FLOHR-SPENCE » NEWS EDITOR » spencand@mscd.edu »
METRO NOW THIS WEEK »
Friday 8.25
The Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board meets at 2:30 p.m. in Tivoli suite 329. Topics include: • What will take Freshens place in food court. • Promoting Masterplan. • Liquor licence for Cimarron. • Activities at “Block Party.” The meeting is open to the student public. SACAB is located in the Tivoli suite 314. Stop by the office or call at 303556-4589.
Wednesday 8.29
The Faculty Senate will meet from 3:50 p.m. to 5:15 in Tivoli suite 320 A and B. The meeting is open to the public. The new version of Pay for Performance will be discussed. The Faculty Senate is located in Central Classroom 303. For more information call 303-556-3905 or stop by the office.
LOCAL HEADLINES 25 YEARS AGO » August 23, 1982
Solidarity group protests peacefully in Warsaw - Rocky Mountain News PLO evacuates Lebanon, lands in Cyprus. - The Denver Post More loan money than ever available - The Metropolitan
THE COLD FACTS » Rolling away
During the school year Auraria uses an average of 1,200 rolls of toilet paper per month.
THE MET REPORT:
Anchor auditions coming on August 31 at noon in Studio B. Looking for help for the student run TV newscast. Learn to be an anchor, photographer or behind the scenes worker. Come by Tivoli 313 or check out metreport.com
Car chase ends at Auraria City worker injured as Arby’s robbery ends in collision By GEOF WOLLERMAN gwollerm@mscd.edu For a couple of hours last week, the northeast corner of campus resembled a scene from a Hollywood action flick – minus Bruce Willis or any huge explosions. Shortly after 11 a.m. a silver sedan crashed into a city of Denver parking service van and came to a halt at the edge of parking lot R near the athletic fields, according to Westminster Police spokesman Trevor Materasso. The crash ended a high-speed chase that began in Westminster after the sedan and its two passengers were identified as being involved in the robbery of an Arby’s restaurant that same morning, he said. The driver of the sedan, Ishmael Travis Mousley, was arrested at the scene and taken to Denver Health Medical Center to be treated for injuries, Materasso said. As of press time, Mousley remained in police custody in Adams County on a $750,000 bond, according to an employee with the Adams County Sheriff’s Department. The driver of the city van was also taken to Denver Health Medical Center for treatment. The second passenger, who was later identified as Darren Martin Pihl, allegedly fled the scene by cutting through campus. Auraria was locked down for about an hour while police searched for Pihl, according to Deputy Auraria police Chief John Egan. A handgun and ammo were recovered from near the crash, and Pihl was arrested the next day at an apartment in Aurora.
The lock down Because the chase and subsequent accident happened in such a short period of time, the Auraria police didn’t find out anything was going on near campus until they saw the news coverage on TV and heard calls for assistance on the police scanner, Egan said. A Denver Police Department sergeant, at the time of the crash, asked the Auraria police to lock down the North Classroom building and to evacuate its first floor, Egan said. But, as Egan pointed out, it’s impossible to lock down a building and evacuate it at the same time. So the Auraria Po-
Photo by AMIE CRIBLEY/acribley@mscd.edu
Police officers stand near a wrecked Dodge sedan on Aug. 17. Two suspects used the vehicle as a getaway car in a midmorning Arby’s robbery. The high-speed chase involving both Westminster and Denver police ended in parking lot R at Auraria when the suspects car hit a Denver Public Works van. One suspect was immediately arrested while the other fled on foot. He was later arrested. • If building alarm or official notification sounds, evacuate building. • Do not use elevators. • Take personal belongings (keys, wallets, etc). • Secure any hazardous materials or equipment before leaving. • Follow directions given by emergency personnel and/or Auraria Campus police officers. • Gather 500 feet from the building unless otherwise instructed. • Assist persons with special needs. • For persons with restricted mobility: utilize safe zones (i.e., balconies, patios, stairwells).
Car crash site
lice locked most of the campus’ buildings automatically and then had to go around and lock a few others by hand, Egan said. It was the first time the campus had ever been completely locked down, he said. Auraria officers were also asked to secure the west side of parking lot R while Denver Police searched the lot for the second passenger. “(Denver Police) thought the suspect might be hiding in the lot under a vehicle, so they secured the perimeter until they had the chance to bring some dogs in and search the area. They checked every car and the suspect was long gone,” Egan said. The lock down implemented
new procedures that are a part of the campus’ new emergency plan, which is officially due out sometime this coming semester, Egan said. The plan is essentially a reaction to the recent Virginia Tech tragedy and other similar episodes where schools have been caught unprepared to deal with dangerous situations. “Hopefully, that will never happen,” Egan said, referring to Virginia Tech, “but we have to be prepared for it.” Overall, the lock down was successful, Egan said, but it did allow the Auraria police to determine what kinks in the emergency plan still need to be worked out – such as commu-
nication problems and the logistics of locking doors manually. “It was one of those things that we decided, ‘Well, let’s go for it. Let’s see if it works.’ And I’m glad we did, because we found some problems,” Egan said. While the emergency plan won’t be rolled out until it has been approved by all three schools, starting this semester, every classroom on campus will have a quick guide that tells students what to do in a variety of different situations, such as a bomb threat or what to do with a suspicious package. • David Pollan and Andrew FlohrSpence contributed to this report
THE METROPOLITAN « AUGUST 23. 2007 « METRO « A5
Teachers fall into the semester Faculty congregates to discuss campus issues, learn tricks of trade over fried dough balls, a chocolate fountain and school-spirit trinkets By ANDREW FLOHR-SPENCE spencand@mscd.edu Just after 1 p.m., it was time for the chocolate social. Carrying under one arm a cardboard box with leftover T-shirts and water bottles emblazoned with the Metro logo, Spanish professor Lunden Macdonald walked briskly into the lobby of the King Center where a crowd of mingling professors stood, drinking coffee and talking. Macdonald, co-director of the fall development conference planning committee, looked toward the banquet tables decked in white with the chocolate fountains surrounded by strawberries, pretzels and fried dough balls, and she turned to co-planner and faculty senate member Vonda Knox. “Didn’t it all turn out beautifully?” she asked Knox. “It really did,” Knox replied. As co-director of the planning committee, Macdonald said she is happy with how things turned out. She was responsible for ensuring the faculty’s fall development conference, a sort of educational back-to-school day for the teachers, held on Aug. 15, and which
SOME OF THE EVENTS AT METRO’S FALL CONFERENCE Conflict resolution strategies
Teachers shared resources on mediating student conflict and improving academic achievement. she said worked without a hitch. Sponsored and planned by the faculty senate, the fall conference aimed to bring the professors up to date on faculty issues and offered a chance to learn new skills, giving the faculty a chance to get back into the swing of things. Topics of the seminars included, among many others, an explanation of the new pay-forperformance proposal currently being negotiated with administration on how to protect against ID theft, how to use Podcasting in the classroom and even a session on how to reduce student conflict. After breakfast at 8 a.m., the faculty attended three hours of seminars in the morning and then received a catered lunch, where keynote speaker Joe Blake, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the future of higher education. The future, he said, would see an alliance between higher education and small business. Blake, whose office in lower downtown overlooks the campus, said Metro looks like an island from his window. He said Metro needs to distinguish itself
Pay for performance
Faculty discussed merit pay, or compensation based on achievement, in the latest pay for performance proposal.
Travel to China: Experiences of two Metro faculty
Faculty shared their experiences of international travel and of attending the International Nursing Education & Leadership Conference in China.
Hispanic Serving Institution
Metro discussed what is and what is not considered discrimination, and focused on Metro’s future as related to the Chicano community.
The human voice as a vehicle for translational learning
A model was presented for collaboration between an arts course and a science course.
Teaching with primary sources
Faculty shared tools for acquiring, downloading and sharing digital primary source materials. from the area around it and reach out to Denver’s business community. Reaching out to as many groups as possible was the point of this year’s fall conference, Macdonald said. “The community aspect was really key,” Macdonald said. “We really want this to be interesting for everyone.” This year’s event, entitled “A Campus Conversation on Becoming
an Engaged Community,” was intended to include as many people as possible. Starting with the initial email calling for volunteers, the planning committee made sure to include not only full-time professors, but also part-time professors, staff members and administration, Macdonald said. “The question we wanted people to think about was how do we all work together – how does Metro work
together with the greater Denver Metro area,” Macdonald said. All day she and co-planner Vonda Knox had their hands full. With close to 400 attendees, the conference was the biggest ever. “We were really amazed by the response,” Macdonald said. “It was a really good atmosphere –people are full of the beginning of the semester energy.”
Pregnancy center aids students facing surprise conceptions “Option counseling” can provide unbiased choices By AMY WOODWARD awoodwa5@mscd.edu The surprise of an unexpected pregnancy can add stress and uncertainty to a student’s life unparalleled by term papers and tests, and Auraria provides resources for students facing such circumstances. Although the majority of college campuses in Colorado offer sex education and birth-control methods, they also offer “option counseling” for women seeking information about adoptions and abortions. Ten percent of all college women become pregnant each year, states College Area Pregnancy Services, a San Diego pregnancy-counseling center. Further, 34 percent of teenage girls and young women will become pregnant before age 20, and 80 percent of these pregnancies will be unexpected. The Alternatives Pregnancy Center at the Auraria campus has been serving students for three years. It offers counseling and referrals tailored to the individual’s choice. “We look at parenting, adoption and abortion,” said Rachel Keener, client services director at the Alternatives Pregnancy Center. “The choice is up to her, and whatever choice she
makes, every choice is a hard one.” The University of Denver, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University also offer option counseling for unintended pregnancies at campus health clinics and local counseling centers. People are starting to look more at the woman and the difficulties she will face with an unplanned pregnancy, Keener said, noting that discussing pregnancy options appears to be more acceptable as the times have changed. Many counseling centers do not promote adoptions and abortions, nor do they condemn those options. “We don’t … recommend abortions, but we also recognize these choices,” Keener said. “We are helping women make the best choice for their life.” Patty Kintzingrn, a registered nurse at the Women’s Clinic on the CU-Boulder campus, said she wasn’t comfortable discussing the importance of campuses providing option counseling, but noted that some counseling is essential. “I think it’s important that college campuses have someone to counsel these people,” Kintzingrn said. Keener sits at a table with alter-
Photo by ANDREW BISSET/abisset1@mscd.edu
The controls of an ultrasound machine at the Alternatives Pregnancy Center located on 14th and Blake streets. A division of the center sits in Auraria’s St. Elizabeth’s Church. The center provides students with “option counseling” for pregnancies. native information in the Tivoli every Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Services at the Alternatives Pregnancy Center, which also offers pregnancy tests, are free, and walk-ins are welcome from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays. The center, which is a division of the Alternatives Pregnancy Center on 14th and Blake streets, is located in St. Elizabeth’s Church. To schedule an appointment, the center can be reached at (303) 623-0860.
34 percent of teenage girls and young women will become pregnant before age 20, and 80 percent of these pregnancies will be unexpected COLLEGE AREA PREGNANCY SERVICES
THE METROPOLITAN « AUGUST 23. 2007 « METRO « A7
DNC WATCH »
367 days remain before the first day of the 2008 DNC Tree Planting Event
The Denver Democrats are sponsoring an event at 9 a.m. on Aug. 25 that will allow volunteers to canvass the neighborhood around Federal Boulevard and 6th Avenue and plant trees in Barnum North Park. “We are working with the Mayor’s Greenprint Denver in an effort to plant a million new trees in Denver by 2025,” reads a statement on the group’s website.
Countdown party
House District 7B will raise money at 5 p.m. on Aug. 25 for the Democratic Party by charging patrons admission to a party 365 days before the DNC. This is also an attempt to recruit volunteers for the DNC and Denver’s Get Out the Vote effort, www.denverdems.com states. The event will be at Founder’s Green, on 29th Avenue. Tickets are $20 per person, $30 per family and children 12 years old and younger are admitted free.
“Re-create ’68”
The group Re-create ’68 aims to capture the spirit of the 1968 DNC protests in Chicago. The group will host two events concurrent with the DNC, Aug. 25 to 28, 2008: the Festival of Democracy and Days of Resistance. The Festival will be an array of “free music and performing arts, free food and free institution building and political training,” the group’s website states. Days of Resistance is scheduled to be a series of daily protests. “Each protest will focus on a symptom of the disease of an imperialist, capitalist, racist system as seen in our communities,” the group states.
Photo AMIE CRIBLEY / acribley@mscd.edu
Metro student Erica Anderson waits for a train Aug. 21 after her first day of classes. RTD is holding public hearings about proposed fare increases.
RTD may raise sticker price By EMILE HALLEZ ehallez@mscd.edu The price Metro students fork over for the tiny Regional Transportation District stickers on their identification cards is likely to go up in 2008. But before RTD does anything rash, the company wants to sit down and talk it over with its customers. In a series of public hearings set to discuss proposed light rail and bus fare increases going into effect in January for cash tickets and Fall 2008 for college passes, RTD is seeking public comment that could affect the proposed fares. College passes paid for through tuition fees would increase for the 2008-09 school year. Metro students currently pay $32 per semester for RTD service. “We hear from people that they don’t like having to pay more,” said Scott Reed, a spokesman for RTD. Increased fuel costs, decreased sales tax revenues and “steady increases in demand for (Americans with Disability Act) services” necessitate fare increases, Reed said. “Sales tax collections have come in below projections. “Public input is important … it’s compiled and presented to the RTD board of directors before changes are made,” he added. “I don’t think it’s fair,” said Metro freshman Christina Zamora. “In the long run, students bring in more business.” Zamora said students using RTD service often bring paying riders with them on downtown outings, thus increasing ticket sales. Some students view RTD’s increased operating costs as a valid case for fare hikes. “It’s a legitimate cause” to provide more service for disabled riders, said Metro freshman Andrew Perez. “There’s not many options they have.”
RTD fare hearings Aug. 23
Littleton City Center Community Room 2255 W. Berry Ave.
Holiday Inn Denver International Airport Telluride Room 15500 E. 40th Ave.
Aug. 27
Colorado Free University Ballroom 7653 E. 1st Place Westminster The MAC 3295 W. 72nd Ave.
How Denver RTD fares compare to public transportation costs in other U.S. cities Cost of undiscounted one-way local tickets:
Denver
Chicago
New York
San Francisco
St. Louis
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Phoenix
(RTD) $1.50 light rail or bus lines
(Metropolitan Transportation Authority) $2.00 subway
(Metro St. Louis) $1.75 bus, $2.00 rail
Aug. 28
Tivoli at Auraria Room 320 Longmont Senior Center Rooms D and E 910 Longs Peak Ave.
All hearings scheduled for 6 p.m. Comments can be sent to RTD via e-mail in lieu of attending a hearing. Comments can be sent to farecomments@RTD-Denver.com and must be received by Aug. 31.
(Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) $1.75 rail or bus lines
Portland, OR
(Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon) $1.70 bus and rail lines
“The higher the amount of service, the higher the base price.” RTD SPOKESMAN SCOTT REED While some fares are increasing by as little as 25 cents, RTD has not indicated how much college passes would cost. “There would be a proportionate fare increase for the various types of passes,” Reed said. The price the college pays for its passes is based upon the amount of service available at the campus. Not all colleges pay the same amount for passes; costs are
determined based on the number of rides students are likely to take and the lengths of those trips. “The higher the amount of service, the higher the base price,” Reed said. One-way light rail cash fares run from $1.50 for a local ride to $20 for a trip to Denver International Airport. Under the proposed increases, local tickets would shoot up to $1.75, and tickets to DIA would cost $22.
(Chicago Transit Authority) $2.00 bus or rail lines (Bay Area Rapid Transit District) $1.40 rail lines (L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) $1.25 bus lines (Valley Metro) $1.25 bus lines (light rail project in development)
Milwaukee
(Milwaukee County Transit System) $1.75 bus lines Though RTD could alternatively decrease the amount of its services to attenuate its operating costs, fare increases could offer a less dramatic impact on the public, Reed said. “When we look at the possibility of making service cuts, that’s the last thing anybody wants … because those who rely on our service the most” are the most impacted, he said. The series of 15 hearings began on Aug. 15 and runs through Aug. 28. The next meetings are at 6 p.m. on Aug. 23 at the Holiday Inn Denver International Airport and the Littleton City Center. A meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Aug. 28 in the Tivoli in Baerresen Ballroom, Room 320.
THE METROPOLITAN « AUGUST 23. 2007 « METRO « A9
METRO MINUTE
WELCOME BACK,
Great Scots!
take a break
The entrepreneur and new president of the revived DeLorean Motor Co., Stephen Wynne, will be bringing back the DeLorean in a limited production sometime next year, the Associated Press reported on Aug. 20. The retail price will be set at $57,500 for this exclusive sports car, and hopefully Wynne will have a little bit more luck with the company than the creator of the “Back To The Future” automobile, John DeLorean.
Democracy Now After six months of a new government in Bangladesh, and no sign of a return to a democracy as promised, students began rioting at three different campuses on Aug. 20 in the name of political reformation. More than 150 students and at least a dozen police officers have been injured so far, in a two-day riot that began as a peaceful protest. Two other Bangladesh military governments in the past have collapsed under protests held by students.
By CORA KEMP ckemp4@mscd.edu
During the Welcome Festival on Aug. 21, senior Jacqueline Harlow browses merchandise from the vendors in between classes.
GRADUATING? Attention! All Potential Fall 2007 Degree Candidates All Students Who Will Have Completed All Degree Requirements by the End of Fall Semester, 2007:
War in Iraq death tolls According to a separate death count conducted by the Associated Press, 3,707 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in March 2003, as of Aug. 21. Army 1st Lt. Jonathan W. Edds, 24, was killed Aug. 17 after insurgents attacked his vehicle in Baghdad. Suicide bombers killed an estimated 500 people Aug. 14 in a coordinated attack in northern Iraq. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus continue to stand before Congress and argue that U.S. troops are going to need more time in Iraq, the AP reported on Aug. 21.
Penis platter new at Chinese restaurant Many Chinese restaurants are known for their unique and often times extreme delicacies, and a new restaurant in Beijing is no different offering a platter of tasty wieners on their menu. These aren’t ballpark franks though, instead they are a variety of animal genitals including Russian dog, ox and tiger penis, unusual delicacies that are popular for their nutrition. Snake penis is also featured on the platter (did you know snakes have two penises?), as well as donkey penis, which is said to be good for the skin.
Contact Us Got a tip? Call us at 303-556-3423 or e-mail to awoodwa5@mscd.edu
1 Must file an Application for Graduation in the Office of the Registrar (CN105) by Friday, August 31, 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 September 28, 2007 in order to remain a degree candidate for this semester.
4 Monitor the Fall 2007 Graduation/ Commencement Website on MetroConnect throughout the semester.
METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE of DENVER
THE METROPOLITAN « A10 « AUGUST 23, 2007
insight SECOND THOUGHTS
How the quarterback became the receiver
SGA SPEAKS » “We’ve spent a lot of time talking about it and right now we’re really just trying to identify what the source of some of these complications are and what steps can be taken to fix them ... At this point we’re really trying to not make it a students-versus-financial aid kind of thing. We want to work with (financial aid), because I’m sure they are feeling the pressure from this, too.” – Andrew Bateman, vice president of Metro’s Student Government Assembly, regarding the complaints he has received from students about problems with their financial aid.
Illustrated by ANDREW HOWERTON » ahowert2@mscd.edu Written by The Metropolitan staff
POLL POSITION » SLASHDOT.ORG
Aug. 20; 18,636 votes What is your political affiliation? MODERATE: 13 percent LIBERAL: 22 percent CONSERVATIVE: 12 percent LIBERTARIAN: 22 percent SOCIALIST: 9 percent COMMUNIST: 2 percent ANARCHIST: 7 percent * Percentages do not add up to 100.
A BIGGER VIEW » ESPN.COM
Re: Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick’s guilty plea “With a pile of dead dogs and criminal charges he has agreed to plead guilty to, Michael Vick has no ownership of the sporting world. Worse, he has no ownership of his future, having sold that and his reputation down the river in exchange for some low-class bloodsport thrills. He’s all but helpless.” -Pat Forde
Three years later, Pueblo has pride I came to Denver three years ago to attend Metro. I wrote then, “Denver is a city of extremes. Whether it’s a football game, a rain storm, or a shopping spree, Denver does it the only way it knows how - big.” I had spent my childhood in Pueblo, a town of about 90,000 (a third the size of Aurora) and Denver was always the “big city.” I was beside myself. I was lost. When I go back to Pueblo, like I did last Saturday night, I like to drive around town in the evening and survey everything that changed. It’s quiet. And the summer nights are always comforting. Some of my happiest memories in Pueblo are from similar evenings. Vita Bella, the restaurant I used to work at, is now The Venue. The costume shop has closed; the coffee shop I haunted is gone, too. And the Riverwalk – Pueblo’s crown jewel – is expanding even more. It was at the Riverwalk where I found Pueblo’s Gay Pride celebration. While it wasn’t the city’s first official Pride celebration, we could say it was the first more-than-official celebration organized by the Southern Colorado Equality Alliance. Prior to this year, Pride was put on by a few activists in the city, with little if any information being spread to the larger public.
I didn’t know what to expect of Pueblo’s Pride. Pride in Denver is officially a week-long event, and unofficially a month long. There are multiple social events, huge parties, big DJs, and of course all of Civic Center and the surrounding blocks are crammed with homos, queers and allies alike for two days. By no means is it the biggest and best Pride celebration in the states, but according to multiple sources, it ranks pretty awesome. Sort of like the city itself. But back to Pueblo. As I drove down Main Street from the Mesa Junction I saw a group of fags sashaying. One was wearing green bellbottoms, and another was wearing an Abercrombie shirt. I knew I was heading in the right direction. And so is Pueblo. There is no doubt in my mind that a bigger and more public display of Pride is good for the city and all of Southern Colorado. For so long, Pueblo’s gay scene has been reduced to a bar, The Pirate’s Cove, and a few “freaks” here and there. When I graduated high school in 2004, there were only two students out. But from what I gather now, there are more than a gaggle. Sadly, there are two sides to every story. While more queer youth (and adults) are able to come out in a portion of the state that could be
NIC GARCIA ngarci20@mscd.edu classified as simple and close-minded, there is a greater chance for hate. Just ask Anthony Hergesheimer, a Pueblo Centennial High School student, who was attacked – just for being gay – this spring by his classmates. And this problem just isn’t in Pueblo; queer youth across the nation face harassment from their schoolmates. One student in the Bronx in New York was quoted in The New York Daily News on Aug. 21 as saying, “When I came out in my school, at lunchtime, somebody threw an apple at me. It was just this big fight between all of us, and I got blamed for it.” But back to the good news: Pueblo did a pretty good job of getting a Pride together. Sure, it was just a row of booths like the gay men’s choir, a church and the chain lady who sells
handmade jewelry, but it was a good start to something wonderful. To be honest, I didn’t talk to anyone. I was shell-shocked. No, it wasn’t because there wasn’t a drop of alcohol to be found, even though Stoli vodka and Coors are regular points of interest in Denver’s party. Nor was it because in the amphitheatre across the river there was a group of dancing fags singing hymns to Jesus… which sort of freaked me out. It was because this small gathering of people was exactly what I was missing while growing up in the Steel City. Maybe that’s why I was so lost when I came to Denver. Because, even in a small town like Pueblo, I couldn’t find myself. Not to sound too gay, but that Kelly Clarkson song rings pretty true right about now. “Trying hard to reach out/ But when I tried to speak out/ Felt like no one could hear me/ Wanted to belong here/ But something felt so wrong here/ So I prayed I could break away.” Luckily for me, Denver allowed me to break away. And luckily for the next generations of Pueblo gays, they’ll have something wonderful to look forward to every August, to help them find their way to Pride. And there’s nothing extreme about that. Or maybe, in a good way, there is.
metrospective
THE METROPOLITAN » B1 » AUGUST 23, 2007
JOSIE KLEMAIER » FEATURES EDITOR » jklemaie@mscd.edu
50. WEST CLASSROOM HAS THE MOST COMPUTERS OF ANY BUILDING ON CAMPUS AT 173 TOTAL (MAC AND PC). 49. THE NAME OF THE GUY SINGING AT THE FLAGPOLE IS ANTONIO. 48. THE GARAGE, LOCATED NEAR THE NORTHEASTERN CORNER OF THE TIVOLI, IS A QUIET STUDY ONLY LOUNGE, GOOD FOR CATCHING SOME Z’S. 47. MASTER THE METROPOLITAN’S TIMEOUT PAGE. 46. PARIS ON THE PLATTE AT 1553 PLATTE STREET 3102 IS A POPULAR ALTERNATIVE TO THE OFTEN CROWDED CAMPUS COFFEE SHOP, OFFERING HIGH-SPEED WIRELESS AND COFFEE ROASTED IN HOUSE. 45. METRO’S OFF-CAMPUS CENTER FOR VISUAL ART, OR CVA, LOCATED AT 1734 WAZEE STREET IS AN INTERACTIVE LAB FOR STUDENTS AND THE COMMUNITY AND OFFERS AWARD-WINNING CONTEMPORARY ART. 44. THE BIGGER THE STUDENT ACTIVITIES POSTER, THE BETTER THE POSSIBILITY OF FREE FOOD. 43. THERE ARE TWO HIGH-QUALITY HD FLAT SCREEN TELEVISIONS IN THE BASEMENT OF THE AURARIA LIBRARY, AIRING NETWORK NEWS IN THE HOME OF THE MET REPORT’S RECORDING STUDIOS AND EMMY AWARDS. 42. THIS FALL’S “MUSTHAVE” COLORS ARE CRANBERRY AND PURPLE, ACCORDING TO THE METROPOLITAN’S RESIDENT GAY, NIC GARCIA. AND THEY JUST HAPPEN TO COORDINATE WITH METRO’S SCHOOL COLORS. 41. CLOSING A CHECKING ACCOUNT IS JUST ABOUT AS EASY AS OPENING ONE WHEN YOU GET A FREE PIZZA FROM ONE OF THE NUMEROUS BANKS THAT MARKET TO STUDENTS ON CAMPUS THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER. 40. “I’M ALREADY A MEMBER” AND PRETENDING TO TALK ON YOUR CELL PHONE: BOTH GOOD WAYS TO AVOID ENVIRONMENT COLORADO REPRESENTATIVES. 39. TAKE A GEOLOGICAL EXCURSION IN THE DINOSAUR TRACKS MUSEUM LOCATED IN THE BASEMENT OF ST. CAJETAN’S. 38. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FREE TWO-HOUR PARKING ON RIO COURT, JUST SOUTH OF CAMPUS. 37. BICYCLE THEFT IS THE NO. 1 CRIME ON CAMPUS. BIKES MUST BE LOCKED UP AND PARKED IN DESIGNATED AREAS WHEN NOT IN USE AND IF YOU RIDE IN THE WRONG AREA, YOU WILL BE CAUGHT BY AURARIA POLICE. 36. READ THE METROPOLITAN FOR ALL THE BIG EVENTS HAPPENING ON AND OFF CAMPUS. 35. WHEN THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL AND YOU’RE CUTTING ACROSS CAMPUS, CORRIDORS THROUGH WEST CLASSROOM, THE ARTS BUILDING AND PLAZA BUILDING PROVIDE A WARM BREAK FROM THE RAIN OR SNOW. 34. WHEN THINGS GET STRESSFUL, TAKE A CALMING STROLL THROUGH THE EMMANUEL GALLERY. 33. DO NOT FEED THE SQUIRRELS. THEY GET PLUMP ENOUGH OFF EINSTEIN BRO.’S BAGELS’ GARBAGE. 32. PETE’S ARENA PIZZA’S HAPPY HOUR STARTS AT 5 P.M. WITH $1.75 BOTTLES AND CANS.
CLAP YOUR HANDS. 31. RELAX BETWEEN CLASS AT SIGI’S POOL HALL IN THE TIVOLI. 40. SHUT OFF YOUR CELL PHONE BEFORE GOING INTO CLASS, SERIOUSLY. 29. ANOTHER FASHION TIP FROM NIC: GIRLS GET A GRIP ON A CLUTCH, THE BIG-PURSE BACKLASH. BUT A TOTE IS A HAPPY MEDIUM. 28. IPODS AND LIGHT RAIL TRACKS DO NOT MIX: LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING. 27. USE YOUR METROCONNECT E-MAIL TO COMMUNICATE WITH FACULTY OR WATCH YOUR GRADE SUFFER. 26. DON’T WEAR GREASY SWEATS TO CLASSROOM. 25. WAIT UNTIL WEEK TWO TO GET YOUR BOOKS. 24. IF YOU GET TO CAMPUS AFTER 9 A.M. SPORT THE PROPER FOOTWEAR. 23. READ THE METROPOLITAN FOR THE LATEST CAMPUS NEWS. 22. ST. FRANCIS’ ATRIUM IS ONE OF, IF NOT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SETTINGS ON CAMPUS. LOCATED ON THE EAST EDGE OF CAMPUS ON ST. FRANCIS WAY, IT’S AWARDWINNING DESIGN PROVIDES A TRANQUIL SETTING FOR YOGA AND OTHER PROGRAMS HELD THROUGHOUT THE WEEK BY THE HEALTH CENTER AT AURARIA. FOR A COMPLETE SCHEDULE, VISIT HTTP://WWW.MSCD. E DU /STU DE NT/ R ESOU RC ES/ HEALTH/HEALTHYMOVES/ OR VISIT PLAZA 150. 21. THE BEST, PUREST WATER FOUNTAIN IS LOCATED NEXT DOOR TO PLAZA ROOM 109, ACCORDING TO THE METROPOLITAN PHOTO EDITOR AMIE CRIBLEY 20. GET A TUTOR. 19. EAT YOUR VEGETABLES. 18. TO GRAB A CUP OF SOME OF THE BEST COFFEE ON CAMPUS AT EINSTEIN BRO.’S BAGELS, GET IN LINE A DAY EARLY. 17. APPLY FOR A JOB AT THE METROPOLITAN. 16. BEST BATHROOM TO GET SOME PRIVACY: SECOND FLOOR OF THE PLAZA BUILDING. 15. THAT GUY NEXT TO YOU IS NOT HOMELESS, HE’S YOUR CLASSMATE. 14. THE JEWS FOR JESUS ARE REALLY CHRISTIANS, WE THINK... 13. READ THE METROPOLITAN FOR THE BEST SPORTS COVERAGE. 12. IT’S ONLY OK TO BUM A CIGARETTE ONCE A SEMESTER. 11. IT’S OK TO BUM A LIGHT YEAR ROUND. 10. ANOTHER FASHION TIP FROM NIC: DO NOT WEAR CROCS TO CAMPUS. KEEP THEM IN THE GARDEN. 9. USE THE LIGHT RAIL, YOU’RE PAYING FOR IT ANYWAY. 8. TEXT BOOKS ARE EXPENSIVE, GET USED TO IT. 7. CREATE YOUR OWN STUDENT ORGANIZATION, YOU ONLY NEED THREE OTHER STUDENTS TO DO IT. 6. THE BEST PLACE TO CHECK OUT HOT GUYS IS NORTH CLASS ROOM. 5. THE BEST PLACE TO CHECK OUT HOT GIRLS IS, WELL, PRETTY MUCH ANYWHERE. 4. PACK A LUNCH IF YOU DON’T WANT AN UPSET STOMACH. 3. A SHOT BEFORE FINALS WON’T HELP YOU ACE THE TEST. 2. THERE IS NOT A SECRET SEX DUNGEON IN THE BASEMENT OF THE TIVOLI, IT’S IN THE MET OFFICE. AND THE NO. 1 SECRET TO SURVIVING AURARIA IS TO READ THE METROPOLITAN.
50
SECRETS TO SURVIVING AURARIA
timeout
B2 » METROSPECTIVE » AUGUST 23. 2007 » THE METROPOLITAN
CROSSWORD
August 20 puzzle from www.crosswords.com. Solution available on the website.
WHERE IS THIS?
Be the first to e-mail us the correct location, and you’ll receive a prize! Lucky you! Each week’s winner will also have their photo printed in the following issue of The Metropolitan. Send e-mails to jklemaie@mscd.edu.
LAST WEEK’S WINNER:
ACROSS 1. Wagers 5. Ornamental fabric 9. Manila hemp plant 14. Area of 4840 square yards 15. Purim month 16. Hickory-nut 17- Baht spender 18. Purchases 19- Caller 20. Upper part of the soil 22. Column in the form of a man 24. Shed feathers 25. Run away from a debt 26. Impregnate with iodine 29. Discontinue 31. Room 32. Latvian, e.g. 33. Female pronoun 36. Wreath of flowers
SUDOKU
37. Salty Mideastern body 40. Young dog 41. Printing widths 42. Harp relative 43. Icon 45. Spring up 47. Beard type 48. Neck scarf 51. Distribute, with “out” 52. Goes back on 54. Elevating 58. Surrounded by 59. Inert gas 61. Threesome 62. Pond insect 63. Similar to 64. Monetary unit of South Africa 65. War horse 66. “___ grip!” 67. Singles
DOWN 1. Sheet of matted cotton 2. Reflected sound 3. Snare 4. Caused by an earthquake 5. Likely to change 6. Mature 7. Small low island 8. Previously 9. Orchard items 10. Act properly 11. Pueblo Indian village 12. Ecclesiastical rule 13. Concerning 21. Seeped 23. Overjoy 26. Wight or Man 27. Amenable 28. Raised platform 29. Nucleus of a regiment 30. Otherwise 32. Inlets
33. Petty quarrel, ejected saliva 34. Enormous 35. Fencing sword 38. Best of a group 39. Garlic sauce 44. Conductor 45. Get back for 46. Tattered 47. Australian lizard 48. Packs tightly 49. Pardon 50. Battery terminal 51. Legal right 53. Obstacle 55. Oil-rich Islamic theocracy neighboring Iraq 56. Baseball team 57. Deities 60. Supplement, with “out”
Andrew Bateman, 22, is a junior pursuing a double major in theater and psychology. Bateman is also the vice president of Metro’s Student Government Assembly.
CUT CORNERS
metropolitan staff and andrew howerton
MASTER PLAN
geof wollerman and andrew howerton
puzzle courtesy of www.websudoku.com
getout
THE METROPOLITAN « AUGUST 23. 2007 « METROSPECTIVE « B3
Q: Why don’t cannibals like clowns? A: Because they taste funny. eat » Kiva
Thursday 8.30
» 3090 Downing St. » Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. » Sunday Brunch 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
»ATB at The Church
scene » Thursday 8.23
» 2008 Colorado Firefighter Calendar signing and more at Rise, 1909 Blake St. » Miss Nine at The Church, 1160 Lincoln St.
» Besides the yummy and unique southwestern menu, Kiva offers two thing every college student needs: cheap food and booze. The average lunch and dinner entree is $7.95. And their happy hour at 4 p.m. features the blue KivaRita (beer and wine, too) for $2 with a complementary taco bar.
Friday 8.24
drink » Johnson Cocktail
» DJ Icey and Reza at Vinyl
» 2 oz. Rum » 1 oz. Blackberry Brandy » 8 oz. Sprite » Pour the blackberry brandy and rum into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well, and strain into a highball glass. Top with chilled Sprite, stir briefly and serve!
» SUMMERTIME X-1 at The Church » Inland Knights at Vinyl, 1082 Broadway » Luke Solmon at Two AM, 1144 Broadway
Saturday 8.25
Courtesy www.atb-music.com
Do you and your BFFs have the hottest hang out? Do you and the guys know where the best parties are? Let The Metropolitan know, and we’ll feature your night on the town here! Contact Nic Garcia at ngarci20@mscd.edu, and let him know about your favorite hot spot.
on campus »
in theaters » War
» Rated R » Starring Jet Li, Jason Statham, Steph Song » An FBI Agent seeks vengeance on a mysterious assassin known as “Rogue” who murdered his partner. What unravels next is a vortex of guilt and betrayal.
on dvd » Code Name: The Cleaner
» Rated PG-13 » Starring Cedric the Entertainer, Nicollette Sheridan, Lucy Liu » A man who loses his memory finds himself in a new and dangerous life in this comedy thriller. Jake (Cedric the Entertainer) is a janitor who is stricken with amnesia. While Jake trys to regain his memory and identity, he is convinced he’s a spy trying to ferret out a ring of underground arms dealers. When Jake is thrown into the world of intrigue, he gains an unlikely ally in Gina (Lucy Liu), an actual U.S. intelligence agent who is on the case.
LEFT: Mike Rogers, art major, and Nicole Termeer, nursing major, chill Aug. 21 in the shade of the Arts building on campus. TOP: Students could be seen toting bags full of books that were purchased at the Auraria Bookstore on Aug. 21. BOTTOM: Students who hoped to get their IDs quickly were out of luck as the ID line filled two of the main hallways on Aug. 20.
B4 » METROSPECTIVE » AUGUST 23. 2007
THE METROPOLITAN
AUGUST 23. 2007 « METROSPECTIVE « B5
Seeing
Starz
Denver comedians come to the Tivoli’s Starz FilmCenter to rip into Barbarella and prepare to face the Trekkies and Pamela Anderson Lee. BY JOSIE KELMAIER » jklemaie@mscd.edu
R
umors have been floating around American and English film circles that our beloved bad girls Lindsay Lohan and Drew Barrymore are vying for the most coveted title role in a remake of a cult classic: “Barbarella.” But not until three Denver comics can rip the film from its science fiction/soft porn cradle and place it on its rightful platform of uninterrupted, crude comedy. In a style pioneered by the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” comedians Matt Vogle, Harrison Raines and Chris Atencio, who perform regularly at Denver’s Comedy Works, sit in the back of the theater at the Tivoli’s Starz FilmCenter with microphones and sound effects, giving bad movies their comedy debut through commentary. “It’s such a different show from anything else that’s out there, it’s its own unique thing,” said Vogle, who, along with Raines and Atencio, has been tearing apart cult classics at the Starz FilmCenter for the past three months as part of the Mile High Sci-Fi series. The material that spews from a sex-crazed Jane Fonda in “Barbarella,” making its debut at the Starz FilmCenter at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 24 and 25, lends a new, unique perspective on a plot that Vogel said can be dubbed no less than the brainchild of a few screenwriters and a few more bottles of tequila. “Barbarella” stars Jane Fonda in the title role, as a soldier sex-fiend hired by the President of Earth to defeat Durand Durand (yes, that’s where the band got the name) on a planet where a new sin is created every second. Barbarella heroically and famously fornicates her way to victory. “They are doing these films a service, they are saving them,” said Keith Garcia, the program coordinator at the Starz FilmCenter. Past films of the Mile High Sci-Fi series include “Flash Gordon” and “Escape From New York.” While the crew of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” relied on B-list science fiction films littered with fishing string and giant blood-thirsty rabbits, the Mile High Sci-Fi series picks films that were at some time more mainstream, feeding off clichés and the audience’s fa-
Barbarella stars Jane Fonda in the title role, a soldier sex-fiend hired by the President of Earth to defeat Durand Durand on a planet where a new sin is created every second. Barbarella heroically and famously fornicates her way to victory. » miliarity with the film. “People come in with a preconceived notion of the movies,” which is useful but not necessary, Vogel said. The Starz FilmCenter, a prime theater, shows “films as art,” according to its website. It even changes up the atmosphere in the theater for Mile High Sci-Fi, Vogel said, allowing Radio Flyers of Dale’s Pale Ale to roll up and down the aisles during the show. After Vogel, Raines and Atencio introduce the film and hand out door prizes, the atmosphere becomes pretty relaxed, though additional heckling from audience members is discouraged, Vogel said. “Come and let three professional comedians do all the work for you and just enjoy what they do for the movie,” he said about the experience. Mile High Sci-Fi plans to continue the series through the fall and September’s film will be hand-picked by voters online until Sept. 1 at www.milehighscifi.com. The nuggets up for next month include: “Anaconda,” a 1997 film starring Jennifer Lopez and Ice Cube; “Star Trek II: The Wrath of the Kahn;” “Baby Geniuses” and “Barbed Wire” starring the freshly-augmented Pamela Anderson Lee. So far, the Trekkies are leading the vote. Vogel said he hopes, should the “Kahn” win, that they come with open minds. “And hope they don’t bring their pewter dungeon and dragon figurines and bludgeon us with them,” he said. Vogel is rooting for the Star Trek film, he said, “because you can only make so many jokes about blondes and big boobs.” The remainder of the series, which will be picked by Mile High Sci-Fi, will be “bottomless” films, thick with plot and lines ripe with vulnerability. “Exorcist” is tentatively planned for October.
Images curtosey of Starz FilmCenter
What’s going on? What: Mile High Sci-Fi presents Barbarella Where: Starz FilmCenter When: Friday and Saturday, 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $8.75 general admission Vote for September’s Mile High Sci-Fi film at www.milehighscifi.com.
Want More? Starz FilmCenter’s fall lineup includes the reknowned Denver Film Festival, $2 beers and the only place in Denver to see pet zombies. This is just a sample of what’s in store. Check out www.denverfilm.org/starz.cfm for more information.
<< Coming soon: The King of Kong: a Fistful of Quarters A documentary that follows a middle school teacher and a mogul on their quest for the ultimate competitive title: Donkey Kong champion. Starts September 14.
TWO-FOR-TUESDAYS $2 admission, $2 popcorn, $2 drink specials with valid student ID
<< NOW SHOWING: Fido A technicolor housewife hires a zombie in a golden age when they’ve been tamed. Her son names him Fido. Here he is mowing the lawn. Then he eats the neighbors. Bad Fido.
audiofiles
THE METROPOLITAN » B6 » AUGUST 23, 2007 JEREMY JOHNSON » MUSIC EDITOR » jjohn308@mscd.edu
»A WHOLE BUNCH OF MAD NOISE »B7
half notes
Don’t mess with Texas: Other noteworthy bands from Austin »
UPCOMING SHOWS » Friday 8.24
Steve Miller Band w/ Gregg Rolie Band and Groove Hawgs
Butthole Surfers
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 9 p.m. $50-$66 All Ages
Alternative Rock/Punk
Meat Puppets
ALL CAPITALS w/ Killfix, Oliver Future and The Knew
Alternative Rock/Punk
Junior Brown
Bender’s Tavern, 9 p.m. $7, 21+
Alternative Country
Friday 8.31
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Apples in Stereo Fillmore Theater, 7 p.m. $15, 16+
NEW RELEASES TUESDAY 8.21 » Tegan and Sara
Electric Blues Photo courtesy of www.mob.com
Where’s that...metal thingy...that you use to...dig food? You mean a SPOON? The Austin natives bring cocktails and charisma to the table with their latest album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.
NEW RELEASES TUESDAY 8.28 HEY LADIES... Beyoncé
IRREMPLAZABLE Columbia/Urban Records www.columbiarecords.com www.urban-records.com
Loretta Lynn
Number 1’s MCA Nashville www.mcarecords.com
Edith Piaf
The Best of the Little Sparrow Varese Sarabande www.varesesarabande.com
For new music releases visit: www.newmusictipsheet.com
Blues/Rock
A SPOON-ful of baby talk New Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga album better than jar of mashed mixed veggies
The Con Sire Records www.warnerbrosrecords.com SEE AUDIOFILES AUG. 30 FOR FULL ALBUM REVIEW
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
By JEREMY JOHNSON jjohn308@mscd.edu In a town well-known for its music scene and its intolerable heat, SPOON is arguably the hottest musical act out of Austin, Texas, at the moment. Riding the crest of two of their more formidable albums, Gimme Fiction and Kill The Moonlight, SPOON is serving up a hot new blend of indie rock and Brit pop (though they’re not British) that sometimes borders on brooding. Although it sounds like baby talk, SPOON’s sixth album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, is probably the most mature album of the band’s 13-year career. It’s an understandably common phenomenon for bands to get better, not just with age, but with the sense of confidence that comes from a couple of hit records. And though the irony doesn’t fail us, on the disc’s fourth track, “Don’t You Evah,” frontman Britt Daniels reminds us a little of what the view is like from the top: “Bet you got it all planned right/ Bet you never worry never even feel a fright/ Bet you got it all planned right/ Never think to worry never even feel a fright.” SPOON certainly planned this album right by bringing into the studio a gaggle of musicians, including reggae artist Mikey Dread and the Tosca String Quartet, to create a truly rounded sound full of horns and cellos, among others. Aside from the four-man front that is SPOON (Daniels on vocals, Jim Eno on drums, Eric Harvey
The album is a bit brief but certainly precise in its message and sound. The lovelorn (Britt) Daniels’ songwriting shows that he has a real feel for the human condition. on piano and Rob Pope on bass), 12 other individual musicians appear on Ga. The result is a more naturally layered sound that really can’t be recreated by synthesizers. In essence, there’s nothing better than the real thing. For example, Ron Blake (trumpet), Jason Freese (saxophone), and Francisco Torres’ (trombone) joint effort on horns transform the song “The Underdog” from a cruel rebuttal to sedentary and mediocre living to a textured and heartfelt ballad full of soft life. The combination of Billy White’s flamenco guitar and Mike McCarthy’s Japanese koto create a great, numbing harmony that is apropos to the song “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case.” The only lyrics to this song, about blowing one’s mind with a little white line, are “It’s just my Japanese cigarette case/ Bring a mirror to my face/ Let all my memories be gone.” In the end, it’s not the lyrics but the koto that makes the music.
There is indeed a somber and sardonic tone to the album, but the tempo shifts with songs like the third (“Cherry Bomb”) and the ninth (“Finer Feelings”) tracks. The latter sounds heavily peppered with Clash/Joe Strummer/Mick Jones appeal and, furthermore, samples old Clash friend Dread. (From Here To Eternity: Live features a version of Clash cult classic “Armagideon Time” with Dread on backup vocals.) The album is a bit brief, but certainly precise in its message and sound. The lovelorn leadman Daniels’ songwriting shows that he has a real feel for the human condition. And as it turns out, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is making it big just in time for SPOON to stir it into their regular set when they co-headline the Monolith Festival Sept. 14 and 15 at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison. (See The Metropolitan on Sept. 6 for a full festival preview, or visit the festival website at www.monolithfestival.com.)
THE METROPOLITAN « AUGUST 23. 2007 « AUDIOFILES « B7
Top 20 Hip-Hop Chart courtesy of CMJ New Music Report
Hip-hop’s mad genius makes a jazz noise
ARTIST
ALBUM
LABEL
TW
LW
1
1
Blue Scholars
Bayani
Rawkus
2
3
Madlib
Yesterdays Universe
Stones Throw
3
2
Bumps
Bumps
Stones Throw
4
9
DJ Mayonnaise
Still Alive
Anticon
5
11
Budos Band
The Budos Band II
Daptone
6
4
Yung Mars
Yung Mars
Self-Released
7
12
Brother Ali
The Undisputed Truth
Rhymesayers
8
6
DJ Jazzy Jeff
Return Of The Magnificent
BBE Rapster
9
8
Zeph and Azeem
Rise Up
Om
10
13
Beastie Boys
The Mix-Up
Capitol
11
7
Theory Hazit
Extra Credit
Supperrappin’
12
-
Shape of Broad Minds
Blue Experience [EP]
Lex
13
31
Common
Finding Forever
Geffen
14
10
Marco Polo
Port Authority
Rawkus
15
-
Copperpot
WYLA?
EV Productions
16
16
Pharoahe Monch
Desire
SRC
17
17
Mr. J. Medeiros
Of Gods And Girls
Rawkus
18
23
Compilation
Art Don’t Sleep Presents From L.A. With Love
Epic Fader
19
14
Breakdown
Social Studies
Saving Grace
20
15
Lifesavas
Gutterfly: The Soundtrack
Quannum
By CLAYTON WOULLARD cwoullar@mscd.edu While the madman behind the boards is more hip-hop, the bands behind the glass are far more jazz and funk. Madlib has discovered and recorded them one by one throughout his career. But these bands weren’t discovered in bars and clubs. Instead, Madlib encountered these immense talents in the depths of his own imagination. He offered them his skills and thus collaborations were born. Yesterdays Universe: Prepare For A New Yesterday is a compilation of new tracks from these groups, 10 of whom have never been heard before. Madlib has been making this genre-bending music with the highly-improvisational jazz troupe Yesterdays New Quintet since 2000. Over time, members put out solo projects with new groups, such as Sound Directions, Monk Hughes & The Outer Realm and the Otis Jackson Jr. Trio (Madlib’s birth name). But aside from creating new monikers for his faux groups by releasing this as a compilation, he’s provided a platform for the unique styles of each group to shine through, with the playing styles and personality of each instrument sounding unique, creating an illusion that only further lends to Madlib’s genius. Many of the bands play in tribute to freejazz artists such as Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra and Miles Davis, whose “Bitches Brew” is covered with modern flare by the Otis Jackson Jr. Trio. Meanwhile, groups Kamala Walker & The Soul Tribe, Suntouch and Ahmad Miller offer up deliciously spaced-out jazz-funk. While this album sounds like a product of ’70s jazz fusion, every track is orchestrated with Madlib’s unique hip-hop sensibilities, which are more noticeable on tracks such as the Trio’s “Free Son” – which is perfect for nighttime parties
DETROIT COBRAS » in the jungle – and Ahmad Miller’s soulful and crunchy “Sunny C.” Although improvisation dominates this album, every note and rhythm are in their right places. Even on the more frenzied tracks, such as “Bitches Brew” and the cacophony of the Young Jazz Rebel’s “Slave Riot,” it’s evident there is a method to Madlib’s madness, even if it’s up to the listener to find the order amongst the chaos. That’s why Yesterdays Universe is best experienced with an open mind and a pair of studio or noise-canceling headphones. Not that it’s a chore to listen to, but only then can you wrestle with every intricate note, sporadic rhythm and odd instrument or sound. And these songs are so rich and layered, as with most all of Madlib’s productions, that this album is one to listen to more than once. Yesterdays Universe is a high mark for Madlib’s career, and an important hip-hop record for taking the genre in directions it’s rarely pushed. The same might be said for its impact on jazz, but jazz purists might raise a stink about that. Nonetheless, if your ears are feeling adventurous, take them on a journey to the future and discover the past.
Friday 8.24
Bluebird Theater $12, 21+ A dozen years and over a dozen male band members later, leadwomen Rachel Nagy (vocals, piano) and Mary Ramirez (guitar) of the Michigan-born Detroit Cobras are as deadly as ever. The Cobras are touring to promote their new album Tried and True, released in April of 2007. This gritty retro/garage-rock band holds true to their hometown moniker, and Nagy’s raw and heartbreaking vocals add a new twist to standard 1950s and ’60s rock ’n’ roll and various Motown classics that include their hit “Cha Cha Twist,” a cover of the Brice Coefield song made famous by Chubby Checkers. Visit the Detroit Cobras at www.myspace.com/detroitcobras or www.detroitcobras.org
THE METROPOLITAN « AUGUST 23. 2007 « INSIGHT « A11
WU? UR MY BFF TLK2UL8R XOXO The following is a text message I sent to a friend the other day: “The more I think about it the more I realize the social implications of the text message and therefore must opine about it.” The fact is I’m a text message junkie. I rarely talk on the phone to anyone these days, including my mother (unless I’m calling for cash). And it’s no surprise that so many people are abandoning traditional forms of communication. Texts are easy in so many ways because they are written on their own terms, they can be replied to or not replied to at your leisure and texts offer the sender a moment to ponder the message they’re about to send, thus avoiding potential diarrhea of the mouth. My friend (we’ll call her Ann) and I are prime examples of the evolution of the text message and it’s implications on society, especially day-to-day relationships. We send anywhere from 20 to 30 texts back and forth
a day, while we may only talk on the phone three times all week. “I love text messaging,” she told me one day. “It’s a way for people who have confrontation problems to further avoid any real confrontations.” Not exactly a sound endorsement, for sure. Not to mention, texts are time consuming. A girl once dumped me via text. The process took all of the afternoon and much of my evening. And there is more and more proof to the detriment of the text message visible in everyday life. People text while they walk through a crowded campus, bumping into anyone who gets into their distracted path. Then there’s the text driver. According to a recent AAA poll, 50 percent of accidents are due to drivers being distracted while behind the wheel. Of those 50 percent, nearly half of them were due to text messaging. And no Bluetooth technology is going to solve
IN RESPONSE »
Hey, EU! Mind your own business
Pudgy chief deserves removal from post I see you people are still up to your old nonsensical parading and printing of crap. I’ve been back on campus one day and already been wrought with displeasure and hatred for your publication. At least you’ve got the gay guy, Nic, back. He may be able to add some humor to this dull act you produce. I wrote for you once. Yes, I admit it. I was misplaced on the sports beat and forced to cover Hockey bouts and strange athletic outdoor programs no one seemed to notice or care about. It’s inconsequential, I know, but my point is that back in those confused times I requested a position on your insight page and have come to find that you’ve filled it with some lying, cheating, pudgy faced rip-off of a character. His name is Pollan and I recommend you fire him immediately. He’s useless to you if your goal is to better your paper and your integrity. - Jimmie Braley, jbraley@mscd.edu
CORRECTION » In the opinion column entitled “Grim tales of Metro’s future,” the Student Government Assembly’s yearly budget was incorrectly reported. They receive approximately $181,000.
The state of Texas is making preparations to carry out it’s 400th execution. Since the Supreme Court lifted a ban on capital punishment in 1976, there have been 1,090 executions in the United States. Texas has carried out more than a third of those. As a Texan, I am not proud of this fact. In fact, it makes me shiver with disgust and disdain. I am not an advocate for the death penalty by any means. I believe that all murder is wrong. Whether you consider it “just” or not. I am also ashamed that a man born in Connecticut claims to be a Texan and brings shame and degradation to the Oval Office, but then again who hasn’t? But I am not here to talk about how much I despise the current president or how I feel the death penalty is immoral and should be abolished. I want to touch on an issue that I read about: the European Union has involved itself in Texas politics. As reported by the BBC, the EU called on Rick Perry, governor of Texas, to get rid of the death penalty. “The European Union strongly urges Governor Rick Perry to exercise all powers vested in his office to halt all upcoming executions and to consider the introduction of a moratorium in the state of Texas.” Seriously? This must be a joke. Does the EU not have more important things to worry about on their side of the world? Apparently not. The statement continued: “There is no evidence to suggest that the use of the death penalty serves as a deterrent against violent crime and the irreversibility of the punishment
JEREMY JOHNSON jjohn308@mscd.edu that problem any time soon. Then there’s the issue of the breakdown of the English language. (I’m not privy to the ways of foreignlanguage text, but I have to assume the same lingual deterioration is as much an issue abroad as it is in English-speaking nations.) Nowhere is this more evident than at the Webopedia website (www.webopedia.com; keywords: text message abbreviations) where the site lists definitions of thou-
DAVID POLLAN dpollan@mscd.edu
Does the EU not have more important things to worry about on their side of the world? Apparently not. means that miscarriages of justice, which are inevitable in all legal systems, cannot be redressed.” While I agree with this statement 100 percent, it still baffles me that the EU would worry about what’s going on in Texas when it has plenty of other issues to address. Were there not riots in Europe last summer because minority groups feel disenfranchised? Has Turkey not evolved enough to be included in the club, or is it because they are brown that Europe won’t let them in? Stop being such backwoods bigots and let Turkey in. What’s that you say? Why is a Texan involving himself in our business? My point exactly.
sands of text acronyms, including classics such as LMAO (laughing my ass off), TMI (too much information), OMG (oh my God) to the more elaborate and seemingly useless YWHNB (yes, we have no bananas) and NIFOC (naked in front of computer). That last one is particularly useful and, for the record, I am NIFOC right now. But like it or not, texting has become an integral part of the social structure. On the first day of the semester, I overheard a young man on his telephone say to the person on the other end: “Do you text?” Obviously the young gentleman prefers texting to talking and, no doubt, the person on the other end – and everyone else in our fine nation – best get hip to it soon, lest they be ostracized from the global community altogether. With that said, HAND (have a nice day), GB (God bless) and SYS (see you soon).
Are there not countries in Europe that have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting an unjust and unnecessary war to occupy the Middle East? You want to influence policy. Break away from the United States and pull your troops out of the quagmire. If the U.S. loses the support of its allies, it might force the U.S. to re-evaluate the whole situation. The list can go on and on. My point is that the EU has much more on its plate than to involve itself with Texas legislation. The governor responded to the EU’s bold and ballsy suggestion in true Texas form. Actually, his spokesman Robert Black responded by saying: “Two hundred and thirty years ago, our forefathers fought a war to throw off the yoke of a European monarch and gain the freedom of self-determination. Texans long ago decided the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes against our citizens. While we respect our friends in Europe...Texans are doing just fine governing Texas.” Or more simply put, piss off and mind your own damn business. I hate to quote Scripture, but it seems relevant in this case, so here it goes. “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” That’s from Luke 6:42. Don’t Mess With Texas!
THE METROPOLITAN Since 1979
EDITOR IN CHIEF DAVID D. POLLAN dpollan@mscd.edu MANAGING EDITOR Geof Wollerman gwollerm@mscd.edu NEWS EDITOR Andrew Flohr-Spence spencand@mscd.edu ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS Emile Hallez ehallez@mscd.edu Amy Woodward awoodwa5@mscd.edu FEATURES EDITOR Josie Klemaier jklemaie@mscd.edu MUSIC EDITOR Jeremy Johnson jjohn308@mscd.edu SPORTS EDITOR Eric Lansing lansing@mscd.edu ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Zac Taylor ztaylor2@mscd.edu PHOTO EDITOR Amie Cribley acribley@mscd.edu ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Cora Kemp ckemp4@mscd.edu DESIGN EDITOR Nic Garcia ngarci20@mscd.edu ILLUSTRATOR Andrew Howerton ahowert2@mscd.edu COPY EDITORS Candace Shorty shorty@mscd.edu Sara Whitney stevesar@mscd.edu Clayton Woullard cwoullar@mscd.edu DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Dianne Harrison Miller 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 monthly 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. Tivoli Student Union, Room 313. P.O. Box 173362, Campus Box 57, Denver, CO 80217-3362.
Upset by what you read in the Insight pages? Want to have your opinions heard as well? Think you have what it takes to be in print? Send in your letters to the editor or volunteer to write as a columnist. Direct e-mails to dpollan@mscd.edu, or come by Tivoli 313 and fill out an application. Columnists of all persuasions and walks of life are encouraged to apply.
THE METROPOLITAN « A13 « AUGUST 23.00 2007
» VOLLEYBALL ALUM CONTINUES SUCCESS» A15 » SOCCER STAR SHAUN ELBAUM NETS PRESEASON #1 » A15 » LANSING: FANTASY FOOTBALL TIPS » A17 » MEN’S SOCCER STARTING LINEUP » A17
sports
ERIC LANSING » SPORTS EDITOR » lansing@mscd.edu »
SIDELINE
THIS WEEK » Thursday 8.23 Volleyball
7 p.m. at Florida Southern
Returning seniors pine for glory
Friday 8.24
By ZAC TAYLOR ztaylor2@mscd.edu
12 p.m. at Findlay 4:30 p.m. at Abilene Christian
The Metro men’s soccer team is ranked No. 1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this year gaining an overwhelming six-of-eight firstplace votes. Head coach Ken Parsons was quick to add that preseason polls “are worth the paper that they are written on.” Meaning that until Fort Lewis is beaten, Metro is still Parsons’ “number one” in the RMAC. This year, Metro is ready to become the top conference team and a powerhouse throughout Division II. To do this, Parsons won’t be shying away from top teams, evidenced by playing the first game of the season against 3rd-ranked West Florida. “We want to compete,” Parsons said on his tough opening schedule. There is a reason, however that Metro was voted to win the conference this year. With the loss of only one key player, forward Antonio Porras, and a great entering freshmen class, the team looks dominating on paper, based on the talent at all positions. A sports theory reads that offense wins games, but defense wins championships, and most every Metro player agrees their defense is at the heart of this team’s success. Center back and co-captain Andrew Donnelly remarked the defense is “solid.” Senior defenders Donnelly and Garrett Sadusky form the core of a talented group of fullbacks supported by returning sophomore defenders Brad Gorham and Pat Laughlin. Tough senior midfielder Mark Cromie, who grew up playing rough Northern Ireland soccer, adds to a Roadrunner’s defense that will take the team far. The scoring ability of the ’Runners may be the only questionable area after the departure of All-region player and Metro’s career points leader Porras. Many of the questions may be answered with forward Shaun Elbaum returning for his senior season, earning RMAC Preseason Player of the Year. Elbaum finished only two points behind Porras for the team lead in points, but looks to close in on Porras’ records with his ability to fire balls into the back of the net. Junior midfielder Kellen Johnson will be taking Porras’ position at middle forward in the upcoming season, which is his natural position, giving him more op-
Volleyball Soccer
Womens 5 p.m. at West FL Mens 7:30 p.m. at West FL
Saturday 8.25 Volleyball
1 p.m. at Hillsdale
Soccer Womens 5 p.m. at Georgia Southwestern Mens 7:30 p.m. at Georgia Southwestern
Wednesday 8.29 Volleyball
7 p.m. vs University of Mary at Auraria Courts
SAY WHAT? » “Preseason polls are worth the paper that they ‘re written on.” -Men’s soccer coach Ken Parsons said on his team being ranked No. 1 in the RMAC.
DID YOU KNOW » Julie Green-McFarland, preseason All-RMAC and Metro volleyball player, ranks eighth all time at Metro in career kills with 1,121, seventh in attack attempts with 3,020 and ninth in kills per game with a 3.63 average.
NUMBERS GAME »
68
Number of consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season games Metro women’s soccer have played without a loss, dating back to Oct. 26, 2001 against Regis.
2007 Men’s soccer schedule »
Upperclassmen carry high aspirations after key losses from rivals
at #3 West Florida Aug. 24, 7:30 p.m. vs. Georgia Southwestern Aug. 25, 7:30 p.m. at Regis Aug. 31, 5 p.m. at #11 Midwestern St. Sept. 2, 7 p.m. vs. #2 Fort Lewis Sept. 7, 5 p.m. vs. Mesa St. Sept. 9, 2:30 p.m. at CSU-Pueblo Sept. 14, 4:30 p.m. Photo by AMIE CRIBLEY/acribley@mscd.edu
Roland Mott saves a goal Aug. 16 during a scrimmage at the Metro soccer fields. Soccer balls lined the field during practice as the team passed and dribbled the balls preparing for their opening weekend against West Florida Aug. 24. portunities to score goals after more assisting duties from the wing. Philip Owen, an offensive midfielder, is another one from the senior class who will be able to pick up Porras’ slack and increase on his four goals and three assists from last season. Of course goals only matter if someone in the net is preventing the other team from scoring as well. Ryan Vickery, who started in goal last year, will be doing so again this year, but as an improved goalkeeper. “I’m more confident and I will play how I know I can,” Vickery said. He said he feels he has really improved his speed and footwork, which will help him to prevent the lackluster starts that halted his starting role in midseason. With a solid defense in support of Vickery, he shouldn’t have to worry about too many dreadful performances. The talented class of freshmen breaking in at the college level, led by Preseason Colorado Freshman Ste-
ven Emory, will be able to make some immediate impacts as well. And although Parsons maintained that he is pleased with how deep this team is, none of the freshmen will be put under pressure by starting week in and week out. Parsons is now prepared to “get out of the shadow of Fort Lewis,” after losing to the Skyhawks four times last season, including a 2-0 loss in the RMAC championship and a 3-0 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He admitted that playing as the No. 1 team comes with added pressure and “top to bottom any team (in the RMAC) is beatable.” That includes his Roadrunners. To win in the toughest conference in Division II, Parsons and his team have been preparing since the whistle blew at the end of last season. “The seniors will tell you they’ve been preparing for this season since freshman,” Parsons said. He said he has been preparing
at UC-Colorado Springs Sept. 16, 1 p.m. Check out full schedule at gometrostate.cstv.com
MEN’S STARTING LINEUP » PG. 17 right along with them after joining the ‘Runners four years ago. In his fourth year, he plans to bring the freshmen he started with to the top. He smiled as he said he has “everything in place a year earlier than he had planned.” Parson said his best team yet isn’t afraid of battling the top teams early and often, as the schedule indicates. The 2007 men’s soccer team is a deep and talented force in Division II soccer this year. The preseason RMAC poll is just a piece of paper, but on that paper, this team looks unbeatable.
THE METROPOLITAN « AUGUST 23. 2007 « SPORTS « A15
Metro alum a success after volleyball Former Roadrunner finds life with husband, kids, marketing career By ERIC LANSING lansing@mscd.edu Becky Ellgen came off the volleyball court Aug. 18 at the annual alumni game and flopped into a chair on the bench next to former Metro volleyball head coach and current Metro athletic director Joan McDermott. Ellgen looked as if she just finished a long day of practices, just like the ones she had to endure in 2000 when current Metro head coach Debbie Hendricks pushed her through two-a-days. But Ellgen is just as competitive now as she was seven years ago, as the alumni team, who lost three in a row in a best of five series with the 2007 squad, screamed for one more chance at the younger athletes. Ellgen and the rest of the ageless former volleyball players took full advantage by defeating the younger squad 30-22. “It’s great to win that fourth one, because we love being able to say that we still have what it takes to come out and play like that after not training,” Ellgen said. Ellgen only played two years as a setter for Metro’s volleyball team, but witnessed a transformation that saw her team go from a 10-31 record in her junior year to posting a 219 record in her senior year – under a first-year head coach – returning only four players and competing for a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship. “It was definitely hard,” Ellgen
said on adjusting from one coach to another in two seasons. “I started out with Jenelle Duvall as my coach, and in my senior year Debbie Hendricks came in, and that was fantastic. She really turned the program around and (my senior year) ended on a very good note. I just remember it being very intense, very hard and very fun.” One game that stands out in Ellgen’s mind comes from the 2000 season, when her unranked Roadrunners defeated 10th-ranked University of Northern Colorado, before it became a Division I team. “I think we dropped the first two games, and then we won the last three,” Ellgen said. “I just remember it being just phenomenal, being my senior year. That is when everyone jumped off the stands and they just went crazy. But it was a lot of fun.” Hendricks said Ellgen was one of those players who was necessary for the team to succeed under a coaching change, while learning a new system and having to be a leader, even though she wasn’t a starter. “Becky was strong in her mentalities, and she brought the right mentality to the spring as we kind of developed a system,” Hendricks said. “Becky did not end up winning the starting spot. She lost it to Devon (Herron), who was a freshman, but she had the best work ethic and challenged the other side of the floor at every practice.” Herron, who also was a setter, later became one of the all-time great Metro volleyball players, winning All-American honors in 2002 and 2003. After Ellgen graduated with a marketing degree in 2000, she found a job with an advertising agency and
“I think she is what we all would want to have in every athlete as far as her work ethic, committment, loyalty and dedication...” DEBBIE HENDRICKS ON BECKY ELLGEN then went into marketing for a software company called JD Edwards. After a few companies acquired JD Edwards, Ellgen went from marketing software to publishing. “I work for a magazine called Colorado Biz Magazine,” Ellgen said. “I do all the events, the marketing and I do the video for them as well. So, I still use my degree which is really rare.” Ellgen is in her second year of marriage and has two step children who are seven and nine years old. Ellgen said she loves returning to Auraria Courts for the annual alumni game; she gets a kick out of seeing old players and putting what’s left of her skills to the test. Ellgen is only one player out of many talented volleyball stars that have graced Metro’s campus, but that setter, who had to play behind an All-American in her senior year, encapsulated what a team athlete should have in her game, according to Hendricks.
Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu
Former Metro setter Becky Ellgen sets up a teammate Aug. 18 at the annual alumni game at Auraria Courts. Ellgen last played volleyball for the Roadrunners back in 2000 when she helped the team reach a 21-9 record in her senior year. “I think she is what we all would want to have in every athlete as far as her work ethic, commitment, loyalty
and dedication to the team, and not just for her personal agenda,” Hendricks said.
Metro soccer senior ready to put best foot forward in ‘08 ‘Runners’ top goal scorer has high aspirations for team to win conference By AUSTEN ROSENTHAL arosent3@mscd.edu Metro senior soccer forward Shaun Elbaum played a large role in Metro’s 14-7-1 record last year by scoring 11 goals and 25 points as a junior. This year, he goes from playing second fiddle to last year’s point leader Antonio Porras, to being named preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference player of the year. In 2007, Elbaum tied for third in the RMAC in goals scored and tied for fourth in overall points scored. In the last two years, he’s scored 28 goals and 63 points in 42 games played. “It’s a real honor to be picked preseason player. It shows a real respect
from the other coaches in the league, I just hope I can live up to the expectations and receive the award at the end of the year,” Elbaum said. This is the first year Elbaum has been nominated as preseason player of the year, although he has many other accolades to his record. In the past two years, he has received AllMidwest Region second team honors. In high school at Denver South, his team was 34-1-1 and won three league championships in his four seasons. Metro head coach Ken Parsons said he is the best pure finisher on the team and makes their attack successful. “My favorite part of soccer is winning, of course, and scoring goals. As a striker it’s my job to put the goals in the back of the net and it’s always a good feeling when that happens,” Elbaum said. This will be Elbaum’s third season
“As a striker, it’s my job to put the goals in the back of the net and it’s always a good feeling when that happens.” SHAUN ELBAUM
with Metro after transferring from Campbell University in North Carolina. “Campbell was just a small Division 1 school in a very small town. I think it was a little bit of a culture shock for me being born and raised in Denver,” Elbaum said. “I just couldn’t get used to small town life and I knew that Metro State was a great opportunity for me.” Coming back to Denver and playing for Metro was an easy transition for Elbaum. He is an explosive attacker with size and speed, and standing at 6-feet tall, he has the physical ability, speed and skills needed to be a forward. In his final collegiate season and final semester of school, he said he really hopes the season goes well. He said they have a lot of returning players and a lot of new freshmen joining the team. He said he believes Metro can win the regular season
conference title and the RMAC tournament as well. To maintain a high regional and national ranking, Metro must do their job beating conference opponents like Fort Lewis. Fort Lewis won the conference last year, but begins the season with a brand new coach and has lost some talented players, leaving the door wide open for Metro. As for Elbaum’s future plans, there are a few possibilities. He is graduating in December and is going to give professional soccer a try, he said. As for a career after soccer, he is not too sure, but coaching soccer is something he mentioned he might do. The Roadrunners start out with four away games this season but check out Shaun Elbaum and the other men’s soccer players at the Auraria field on Sept. 7 for their home opener against Fort Lewis.
THE METROPOLITAN « AUGUST 23. 2007 « SPORTS « A17
2007 METRO MEN’S SOCCER STARTING LINEUP
2
13 1
4
21 GS, 1 asst.
3
9 GS, 1.49 GAA
18 GS, 1 goal, 1 asst., 3 pts
24
22 GS, 1 goal, 2 asst., 4 pts
DEFENSE
9
Kyle Borkowski Defender 11 GP, 1 asst., 1 pt
Philip Owen Midfielder 22 GS, 4 goals, 3 asst., 11 pts
Mark Cromie Midfielder 19 GS, 2 goals, 6 asst., 10 pts
23
Andrew Donnelly Defender
Garrett Sadusky Defender
OFFENSE
7
15 GP
Brad Gorham Defender
Ryan Vickery Goalkeeper
6
Joey Duran Defender
Shaun Elbaum Forward 18 GS, 11 goals, 3 asst., 25 pts
Wynne Mason Forward 22 GP, 6 goals, 4 asst., 16 pts
11
Kellen Johnson Midfielder 19 GS, 5 goals, 3 sst., 13 pts
Splitting time has running back owners splitting hairs In the early days of fantasy football, there was no such thing as a tworunning back system. In those days, you didn’t have to worry about running backs carrying the ball inside the 20-yard lines and get spelled for a larger back who can bull rush the last two or three yards for the touchdown. But in today’s world, the twoback system gives those starting running backs time to rest, to keep their legs fresh for the entire game and the entire season. So as fantasy football owners, we have to adjust and learn to find which backs are still reliable to own on our teams, despite the time they split with another running back. So for the 2007-08 season, Lansing will tell you who is worth having and who is worth leaving alone. Julius Jones and Marion Barber: At the start of the 2006 season, Jones was the outright starter and looked for a breakout season in his third year as a Cowboy. However, rookie Barber came in and stole Jones’ glory by scoring 16 touchdowns. The pattern seemed to be that Jones ran the offense into the Red Zone, but Barber was the man who crossed the goal line for the touchdowns. In most 2006 drafts, Jones was picked in the first three rounds and Barber was drafted in the last rounds for handcuffing purposes only. I myself took Barber in the second to last round and reaped the benefits of oft-injured Jones and actually won a fantasy
championship with Mr. Barber as a starter. The 2007-08 season will bring little to no difference as Jones, who did run for more than 1,000 yards, will move the Cowboys up and down the field and Barber will take over within 20 yards and put the points on the scoreboard. If you’re a yardage league, take Jones, but as most fantasy leagues, touchdowns are the moneymaker, so draft Barber first as he will score 10-15 touchdowns for his/her respective owner.
ERIC LANSING » lansing@mscd.edu
Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush: The Saints had Bush fall into their laps in the 2006 draft and use his playmaking ability while still allowing McAllister to run wild on opposing defenses. This two-back duo put up monster stats for the Saints and ran them all the way to the NFC Championship game. McAllister ran for 1,057 yards and scored 10 touchdowns while grabbing 30 receptions. Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, burst onto the NFL scene to rush for 565 yards while scoring six touchdowns, but excelled as a receiver grabbing 88 catches for 742 yards and eight touchdowns. So you may ask Lansing, who do I draft? Well, both are starter capable to help any fantasy team, but it really depends on your scoring system. Point-per-reception leagues are going to draft Bush as their stud, while yardage leagues may opt for McAllister. One
thing to keep an eye on is McAllister who has a history of injuries. But Bush has the most upside for fantasy points, so grab him with a late first round or second round pick. Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew: I am not too shy to boast about my 2007 fantasy football championship and Jones-Drew was one of those players who carried me to that trophy. Jacksonville’s offense is one that revolves around the running game and
will use up to three running backs if necessary. Taylor is known for hitting the bench with injuries, so take that into consideration on draft day. In 2006-07, however, Taylor did start 15 games and ran for 1,146 yards, but only ran across the end zone four times. Jones-Drew was the 5-foot-7inch quick back who hit pay dirt by scoring 13 rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and one kickoff return for a score. Jones-Drew did average 5.7 yards per carry and is one Taylor injury away from entering elite status. Draft Jones-Drew before Taylor as he will still get the bulk of the touchdowns and is an above average receiver out of the backfield (46 catches in 2006-07). Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood: If you have the option, don’t put too much stock in either of these running backs as the Michael Vick fiasco is going to hurt this team more than it will help them. Dunn, who is a 10-year vet, is getting on in years, but is still quick and can find the holes. Norwood produced well coming off the bench for Dunn and averaged 6.4 yard per carry in 99 attempts. But with Vick gone and Joey Harrington starting for an offense with no passing game, defenses are going to bring eight to nine men to
the line of scrimmage to force Harrington to beat them through the air, which will limit the production for both backs. If you have to choose, go with Norwood who is young and has huge upside for a starting fantasy back. Tatum Bell and Kevin Jones: Now you might be saying, “Lansing, Jones probably won’t even see the field in the first few weeks of the season and Bell will be the lone man in the backfield for a while, so is this even a debate.” It absolutely is as the fantasy football season is 17 weeks long, so before you go out and draft Bell just because he is playing in Week One, check out these facts first. Although Bell ran for more than 1,000 yards in 2006-07, he only scored two touchdowns, and under the Mike Shanahan running scheme, underachieved and fumbled the rock on too many occasions. But Jones, before his season ended after a foot surgery, produced monster stats by rushing the ball and catching balls from the passfirst Detroit Lions offense. If you are in desperate need of a running back now, draft Bell. But in my 2007 fantasy draft, I selected Jones in the later rounds in hopes that in case one of my top tier running backs goes down with an injury, Jones will already be producing and will make me, and hopefully you, look like a fantasy genius.