Volume 30, Issue 15, Nov. 29, 2007 by Met Media

Serving The Auraria Campus Since 1979

THE METROPOLITAN Scientific setback Vol. 30, No. 15

Thursday, November 29, 2007

http://www.mscd.edu/~themet

Initial $50 million request for building project may get chopped » A3

Photos by STEPHEN SWOFFORD/sswoffo1@mscd.edu

A sign on one of the 183 new Pepsi machines states the obvious Nov. 27 in the West Classroom. The Auraria Board of Directors recently agreed with Pepsi to a five-year contract with a five-year renewal option. According to school officials, the revenue from the new machines – which includes a $150,000 signing bonus – will go back into student bonds. » A5

pepsi pops coke Metro’s basketball teams ready to roll

SPORTS »

METROSPECTIVE »

» A14, 15

A new guide to giving thrifty gifts » B4

metro THE METROPOLITAN » NOVEMBER 29, 2007» A3

» AURARIA TAKES THE PEPSI CHALLENGE »A5 » QUITTERS WANTED »A7 » INSIGHT: PRIMARY IMPORTANCE »A11

ANDREW FLOHR-SPENCE » NEWS EDITOR » spencand@mscd.edu

METRO NOW

THIS WEEK »

Friday 11.30

The Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board meets at 2:30 p.m. in Tivoli suite 329

Monday 12.3

• The Student Government Assembly Executive meets at 4 p.m. in Tivoli suite 329

Tuesday 12.4

• Hanukkah begins at sundown

Wednesday 12.5

• The Student Government Assembly Senate meets at 4 p.m. in Tivoli suite 329

THE METROPOLITAN 25 YEARS AGO »

December 1, 1982

Safety snarls stereo headset trend • New portable radio-cassette players blamed for traffic incidents, could be banned

Manufacturers, society face price of protection • Rash of copy-cat crimes involving poison aspirin has $100 million price tag for producer

THE MET REPORT »

This week’s top stories: • Pepsi products • World AIDS Day • Women’s Bean Project • Child abduction attempt • Basketball season start-up

Check out Metro’s own student-run TV newscast at: http://metreport.mscd.edu

Corrections

In the Nov. 1 article “Student Court rules not to boot SACAB member” the Student court only found part of the summer attendance policy unconstitutional.

Illustration provided by Baumberger Studio

Illustration of the renovated and expanded Science Building due to break ground on Dec. 7. The project has suﬀered a possible setback after the Oﬃce of State Planning and Budgeting cut the funding for the building in half leaving a $30 million shortfall. The groundbreaking and construction will go forward as planned.

State zaps project’s funds Ground breaks on new science building while boards face dilemma By DAVID D. POLLAN dpollan@mscd.edu Construction of a new science building at Auraria faces a possible funding setback after the Ofﬁce of State Planning and Budgeting cut proposed funding in half and made the building a lower priority on its list of construction projects. “Our board unanimously thinks this is unfair, and we will do everything we can to mitigate this dilemma,” said Maria Garcia Berry, a member of Metro’s Board of Trustees. Berry also serves on the Auraria Board. “We will work very hard to get the legislature not to do this.” The budget plan for the expansion and renovation of the Science Building, put out by the Auraria Higher Education Center, was approved by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and ranked fourth on the CCHE priority list for higher education capital construction projects, which was then sent to the OSPB. The OSPB decided to allocate

only $25 million of the proposed $50 million for the project and dropped it to No. 21 on the list of construction priorities. The project totals an estimated $111 million. The project has received more than $32 million from the state and $3 million from an Auraria Foundation grant. Auraria had requested an additional $50 million for the 2008 ﬁscal year from the state legislature and would request the remaining balance of about $26 million from state legislators in 2009. “What the state seems to be saying is that every single building that any institution comes forward with for state money better have some component of self-support,” Metro President Stephen Jordan said. “This either needs to be gift fund-raising or debt capacity paid for through tuition or fees.” The OSPB was unavailable to comment on the matter. If the proposed budget stands, Auraria would have to come up with $30 million to fund the completion of the project. “I don’t think we can go magically raise $30 million,” Berry said. It is unclear at this time how much of the $30 million Metro would have to come up with versus

the other two institutions at Auraria, as those discussions have not taken place, according to Dean Wolf, AHEC’s executive vice president for administration. Metro will occupy about 50 percent of the new building, and Jordan said he wasn’t sure, but the University of Colorado might not be supportive of having to drum up funds for a shared building. “What we’re told is that the (CU) regents are not lobbying for the science building, so they have not put it on their priority list, so we don’t know where they’re at on it,” he said. “They have put the two new buildings that are CU buildings only — the business school and the architecture school — on their priority list to lobby, but not the science building. So, we’re not quite sure what they’re prepared to do.” Jordan and the Metro board will do anything possible to get the building built, and the board is very adamant about its completion, he said. If it is to be a shared building, then each institution should pay its own proportionate share. If forced to come up with the $30 million, Metro would have to raise tuition and student fees, something the board is reluctant to approve. The

option to look for private funding is not viable because Auraria is such a small entity and the amount needed is so large, Berry said. Jordan said Metro has nowhere near the capabilities or resources to raise large amounts of money compared to schools such as the University of Colorado at Boulder. There is not much of an alumni base at Metro and a very small developmental staff in terms of fundraising. This is why, according to Jordan, the money needed may be more than that of other, larger institutions. “We just don’t have the infrastructure, or the history, or the donor base to raise money like the research universities,” he said. The only solutions for Metro are putting the ﬁnancial shortfall on the students or going into debt. “If one had to collect all the money at once, at $30 million, we would be looking at $1,000 a student,” Jordan said. Each of the institutions has the authority to issue bonds for buildings, and if bonds were issued over a 20year period, it would only be a $50 increase in student fees, he said.

SCIENCE Continued on A4»

A4 » METRO » NOVEMBER 29. 2007 » THE METROPOLITAN

Sex oﬀender banned from Auraria campus By JAMES KRUGER jkruger1@mscd.edu

Auraria police banned a registered sex offender from Auraria after he admitted to approaching a 6-year-old girl Nov. 15. According to police, Ian Michael Troutman, 26, approached the girl on the playing ﬁelds located on the east side of the Tivoli and asked her to leave with him. The girl’s father saw Troutman speaking to his daughter and called police. Police identiﬁed Troutman by matching descriptions of an individual seen frequently using the library to descriptions given of the suspect. Auraria police Detective Jason Mollender and a detective with the Denver Sex Assault

Unit questioned Troutman. Mollender said Troutman refused to continue speaking with detectives after he admitted he had spoken with the girl. No charges were pressed against Troutman, but he was issued a “banning letter” prohibiting him from setting foot on any property owned or operated by the Auraria Higher Education Center, which includes Metro, CCD and UCD campuses. “Banning letters are for people that are not students, faculty or staff. If people cause trouble on campus or pose a danger to our students or staff we permanently ban them from campus so they cannot return,” Mollender said, adding

that Troutman would be immediately arrested and pressed with trespassing charges if he is seen on Auraria again. Denver resident Scott Gilmore, who has a 3-year-old daughter that attends the Auraria Early Learning Center, said that despite the incident he feels Auraria is an extremely safe environment for children. “You can have predators anywhere,” Gilmore said. “There’s only so much that you can do. We just have to identify them (sex offenders) so we know where they are.” If Troutman is located or seen on campus, Auraria police have advised people to contact them immediately at (303)556-5000. Courtesy of Auraria Police Department

Michael Troutman

SCIENCE » Auraria plans for contingency Continued from A3

Want to graduate on time? Want to graduate early? The University of Northern Colorado is offering online and on campus classes for non-UNC students during its Interim Session. This winter break, whether you’re visiting Grandma in Grand Forks or soaking up the sun in San Juan, you can continue your studies and get a few steps closer to earning your degree. Learn more at:

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“(The cut in funding) leaves us with few options other than taking on debt.” However, the proposed budget by the OSPB is not set in stone and still needs to go through a number of legislative processes, Wolf said. The Auraria Board will go before the Capital Development Committee of the state legislature on Nov. 29 to present its case for the $50 million. Wolf said it is his understanding that the CDC is supportive of the project. The CDC will then re-prioritize construction projects and make its recommendation to the Joint Budgetary Committee. “The Joint Budgetary Committee has tended to follow recommendations from the Capital Development Committee,” Wolf said. “So, there’s still hope.” The JBC will send a proposed budget in the form of a legislative bill to the governor’s office, where it can still be vetoed, something Wolf thinks is unlikely to happen. But in the event that nothing changes, AHEC is in the process of preparing a contingency plan. “We are thinking of a contingency plan, but to stay on schedule we are proceeding as if the request is being honored,” Wolf said. Construction is still scheduled to break ground on Dec. 7, Wolf said, adding that as of now there is enough money to complete its first phase. The project is expected to be complete by fall 2010, but if the funding does not come through as planned, the completion date would be pushed back by at least a year. There would also be about a $5 million increase in the total cost of the project, Wolf estimated. AHEC is focused on purchasing any equipment that will be needed because that is the aspect of the project that will see the highest rate of inflation, he said. The finished expansion and renovation will add about 200,000 square feet to the existing building and would provide much needed space for the science programs on campus. Antiquated electrical and mechanical systems will also be upgraded. The building will house the science programs of all three institutions and have stateof-the-art labs and facilities, and will also provide additional office and classroom space. “This building is long overdue,” and “is absolutely critical to the continuing vitality of our campus,” Berry said.

THE METROPOLITAN « NOVEMBER 29. 2007 « METRO « A5

Faculty votes on bonus pay options By ANDREW FLOHR-SPENCE spencand@mscd.edu Metro professors have until noon Nov. 29 to vote on a plan for awarding bonus pay that would change the way they are evaluated each year and, if they score high enough, could reward them with a sum of money. Proposed by the Board of Trustees, (which says the extra pay would encourage teachers to do a better job), the pay for performance plan, or P4P, has faced criticism from faculty members who say that several other problems, including the differences in the level of teacher salaries, or equity and parity, need to be addressed ﬁrst. “(Metro) President (Stephen) Jordan has really made some progress with equity within the institution, but the salaries are still low with exception of the business school,” said English professor Gene Saxe, who is the faculty’s representative to the trustees. Saxe said that in 2006 the trustees boosted the pay of the teachers that were lagging furthest behind, but much work needed to be done. More than $2 million has been set aside from the school’s budget to fund the bonuses, but Saxe said when

compared to the nearly $45 million faculty payroll, the money would not go very far. “There needs to be substantial progress made (on equity) ... and this (P4P) is not a salary improvement program,” he said. According to the ﬁrst part of the plan supported by both faculty and administration, the teacher evaluation system would change from the current A – F grades to a three category system, and the cost of living increase added each year to the teacher’s salary would be in line with the raises the state gives all employees. The professors would be scored in four areas – teaching, advising and student support, college and community service, and scholarship – and those who do something extraordinary in one or more area and did not lag behind in any other area would then qualify for the bonus part of the plan. There are three levels of money for exceeding standards in the four categories, and ofﬁcials have estimated the awards could be between $2,000 and $10,000 per teacher. The money would be paid out over the course of the following year. To make the plan a reality, a number of changes have to be made, such

as amending the school handbook, reworking the student evaluations and dealing with the rules governing how teachers are reviewed and promoted. Changes made in the past to such important areas, Saxe said, have often taken more than a year to get passed. The pay for performance plan, if approved by the faculty, would begin in January before any of the corresponding changes had been made. Saxe said because so many other areas were affected by the change that still needed to be resolved, the teachers were being asked to assume that all the promised changes will be completed. “They are asking people to take things on trust and now, that’s OK,” said Saxe, who has taught at Metro for 41 years. “But it will depend entirely on how much trust the faculty have for the administration and the committee.” Saxe repeated several times during the interview that he did not want to be misquoted as attacking the plan, Jordan, or the many people had worked very hard on the plan. “They have all tried to work very responsibly, and they have all worked very hard on the plan,” he said. Other members of the faculty, however, have been quite vocal about their opposi-

tion to the plan. History instructor and president of the Metro State Faculty Federation, Ellen Slatkin said she worked all year to inform her fellow teachers about what she says are problems with the plan. She also said she respects the amount of work the P4P committee and others have put into working out this compromise, but the MSFF maintains that not only does the inequity in salaries need to be dealt with before any plan for bonuses is implemented, but that the entire system of merit bonuses will end up encouraging the teachers to work on special projects, while they neglect the day- to- day duties. Slatkin said studies done at Stanford and Harvard indicate that pay for performance is not always effective in raising productivity and has been known to harm teamwork by over-emphasizing competitiveness. “We’ve hired a lot of brilliant professors in the last few years,” Slatkin said. “But under these conditions, I think we could lose a lot of them.” Jordan said he is very aware that ﬁnding the best possible teachers depends on Metro offering a competitive salary to teachers, which he said is largely decided by the market. He said bringing wages in line

with comparable schools is exactly what he is trying to do. “The truth of it is some people in some professions get paid more than other people in other professions,” Jordan said. “There are clearly some disciplines where the starting salaries are much higher than in, for instance, the liberal arts.” Jordan said the administration has spent adequate time trying to amend the major differences in pay. He said he understands the concern of faculty on the subject of trust and many of the handbook and other small changes that need to be made are minor and are not items that should delay the plan. The work that everyone involved had put in the last year and a half has done a lot to show how committed the sides were to an agreement. Jordan reiterated, however, there were other ofﬁces such as Student Affairs and Technology that needed attention and that as president he had to think of everyone’s needs. “There is a limit on what we can do,” Jordan said. “There are a whole bunch of other issues that we have put on hold while we address this issue … and the board has hired me to make some difﬁcult decisions.”

Pepsi replaces Coke on campus to boost revenue By JEREMY JOHNSON jjohn308@mscd.edu Auraria administrators recently faced the same old question that’s been plaguing America’s soft drink connoisseurs since the turn of the century: Coke or Pepsi? Effective Nov. 26, in coordination with unanimous decisions by the Auraria Board of Directors and the Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board, Auraria officially switched from Coke to Pepsi products and vending machines. “The Coke agreement had expired, so we went out and solicited for different proposals,” Finance and Program Director of the Student and Auxiliary Services Dave Caldwell said. “(The proposal) was brought to SACAB for review and they decided to move forward with negotiations and take it to the Auraria Board.” After comparing other college vending contracts, the board agreed to a five-year initial term with a five-year renewal option with both Pepsi and collaborating food vendor Canteen. “(The board goes) through a whole bid process and considers the different bids offered,” Division Director of SAS Barb Weiske said. “There’s a lot of variables that are considered including the product line, product service and revenue.” Weiske added that the revenue goes directly back into the student bond and helps to offset student fees. Along with a $150,000 signing

bonus and an additional bonus of $20,000 per year beginning the second year of the contract, Auraria will receive a commission of 23.2 percent on snacks and 55 percent on beverages. Auraria’s snack commission is nearly 5 percent higher than the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University. Beverage commissions are comparable to CU and higher than those of CSU, though the latter receives $885,000 from Pepsi in athletic program funding. Despite the revenue increase, some students aren’t buying into the switch. “It’s not even that they got rid of the Coke products,” senior biology student Melodi Wood said. “They only have (Pepsi) in bottles – plastic bottles. And we don’t have a plastic recycling program on campus, which I think is an issue.” Although the change ofﬁcially took place Nov. 26, many of the 183 vending machines on campus were traded out during the Thanksgiving holiday break. Like the Coke machines before them, the Pepsi models offer the typical assortment of soft drinks, including soda pop, juice, sport drinks and water. What sets the new machines apart is their built-in credit and debit card readers, located on the front of the machines. “That was a big highlight,” Weiske said. “It really became an issue of loose change versus credit and

Photo by JEREMY PAPASSO/jpapasso@mscd.edu

Cole Cronk, a Metro junior, buys a Pepsi from one of the new machines Nov. 27. The decision was made by the Auraria Board of Directors to change all Coke machines on campus to Pepsi. The new vending machines will continue to oﬀer the regular assortment of soft drinks, juice and water with a new feature that allows payments with credit and debit cards. debit cards. That seemed to be the biggest factor with the students.” Weiske also added that if the vending machine credit card readers are popular, the change might be made to vending machines campuswide. But, alas, convenience will cost you … about a quarter. Most of the new Pepsi machines offer 20 oz. drinks at $1.25, compared to the previous Coke price of $1. “The price is a little higher but I

like (the Pepsi machines) because of the whole credit card thing,” Metro music education student C.J. Garbo said, while sipping on a vitamin water that once sold for $1.25 but that now costs $1.50. “It’s nice to have vending machines that take cards because there’s only, like, three ATM machines that I know of on campus, and I’m never near any of them.” So debit, credit or cash, it seems

the big blue machines really are the next generation of vending on Auraria, not only in product, but also in convenience. Still, the decision of Coke or Pepsi is ultimately up to the consumer, and Coke products are still available in the Tivoli food court and Quick Zone convenience store. “It doesn’t really matter to me,” human services Metro student Elyse Hughes said. “Whichever is available.”

THE METROPOLITAN « NOVEMBER 29. 2007 « METRO « A7

Thank you for not smoking at Auraria By AMY WOODWARD awoodwa5@mscd.edu Tobacco users put out their cigarettes and spit out the last of their tobacco chew to meander into the multicultural lounge and browse through informative pamphlets on how to quit smoking during the American Cancer Society’s 31 st “Great American Smokeout” event. A handful of organizations offered their services to help educate Auraria’s smokers and chewers about new and innovative ways to help quit tobacco. “It is very nice to give them resources,” said Billi Mavromatis-Jacobson, health educator at the Auraria Health Center. “We have things that we didn’t use to have.” Mavromatis-Jacobson explained that tobacco is as addictive, if not more addictive, than heroin, and users need something powerful to help them. “You need to give these people the skills to quit smoking … quitters are good here,” she said. From an online journal to encouraging text messages and e-mails, more organizations are helping tobacco users quit through the World Wide Web like ﬁxnixer.com, which helps potential quitters personalize a “quit plan” for themselves. “We’ve heard feedback that ﬁxnixer was more helpful than the patch,” said Ryan Raisch, a street team member for advertising and marketing agency Cactus Marketing that is contracted out by the Colorado Health Department. Raisch said that

WHERE TO GO »

• Colorado Quit Line You can visit their website at:www.tobaccofreecolorado.com or call 1-800-QUITLINE • www.ﬁxnixer.com • Auraria Health Center

Photo by GREG DAILY/gdaily@mscd.edu

Wearing a sign on his back that reads: “Save the human, Great American Smokeout today,” David Muniz, a junior at Metro, dances Nov. 15 to raise awareness for the Great American Smokeout. smokers who want to quit smoking via ﬁxnixer can plan to be tobacco free in 21 days. Student volunteers and staff from Metro and the University of Colorado at Denver counseling centers were present to enlighten students about free counseling services they offer throughout the school year. Omar Montgomery, director of Black Student Services at UCD and a professor for the African and Afri-

can-American Studies Department volunteered during the Smokeout. He said he wanted to be active in organizations like the “Great American Smokeout” to communicate the harmful increase in tobacco use among blacks. “Smoking is really bad and a problem in the African-American community,” Montgomery said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that the prevalence of cigarette smoking among Af-

rican Americans puts them in second place in the nation for tobacco use with Caucasians following closely in third place. Native Americans and Alaska Natives share the dubious honor of highest smoking rates. Metro student Chris Todd has been smoking for six years and said he tried to quit smoking cold turkey, but failed at his numerous attempts. He said he came to the event to “hopefully” quit smoking. “I deﬁ-

nitely want to stop smoking,” Todd said. “So my throat doesn’t hurt in the morning.” “Quit kits” were provided filled with sunflower seeds, chewing gum, toothpicks and a no tobacco-no nicotine chewing blend for people who prefer to chew, one of America’s oldest habits. Tobacco use in the Americas dates back to A.D. 600 to 900 from the Mayan Indians in Mexico. For religious and medical purposes, the Native Americans of North America smoked tobacco until it officially became a cash crop in 1612 of the European settlers in the first American colony of Jamestown, Va., according to healthliteracy.worlded.org. Presently, the CDC reports an estimated 438,000 deaths each year in the U.S. due to cigarette smoking. More deaths are caused by smoking than HIV, illegal drug and alcohol use, suicides, murders and car accident injuries combined.

Students look to other resources for professor ratings By JOSIE KLEMAIER jklemaie@mscd.edu During the past few weeks of classes, Metro professors put students to the test — the test of faculty evaluations. Students are asked to fill out the evaluations toward the end of each semester to evaluate the performance of the professor and the effectiveness of the course. The results are available to the students to view online. However, especially with emerging outside online professor rating sites like www.ratemyprofessor.com and www.myspace. com’s Professor Grading, some students find the evaluation results difficult to decipher or useless. “They’re confusing and very vague,” said Metro junior Aaron Robinson, 25, who has tried to log on to view the online evaluation results, which currently run through fall 2006. To view the evaluation results, students must log onto their Metroconnect accounts and click on

the “My services/Registration” tab. There, they will find a menu item titled “Faculty Evaluations,” where they can choose the semester and professor or class section for which they would like to view the results. Only the results of the first four questions asked on each evaluation are posted, as they are the only universally asked questions. Students are allowed to see the complete results of the evaluations at the Office of Institutional Research in Administration Building Room 500. “The way we present the evaluations is not understood by most people,” said Metro Student Government Assembly President Aaron Wylie. Wylie has supported the reform of the evaluation process and posting for the past couple of years, as it was part of his campaign platform last spring. He said he believes that there is not enough information given to students about why they should look at the posted results and how to do so. “It is in our best interest to have the best evaluation process or people

will go elsewhere (for professor evaluations),” he said. Other sites like www.ratemyprofessor.com and www.myspace.com have attracted numerous reviews on Metro professors. To “grade” a professor on www. myspace.com, students must have an account with the site. Account holders can anonymously give a professor letter grades A through F in areas such as lectures, homework, tests, fairness, grading and accessibility, and an overall average grade is posted. At www.ratemyprofessor.com, reviews can be viewed by and administered by anyone, and the areas of evaluation include easiness, helpfulness, clarity, rater interest, and there is even an option to say whether or not the professor is “hot” (just for fun, the site says). Both websites allow comments to be posted and are relatively unregulated, with the exception of the option to ﬂag abusive language. At www.ratemyprofessor.com, which is sponsored by MTV Networks, profes-

“It is in our best interest to have the best evaluation process or people will go elsewhere (for professor evaluations).” AARON WYLIE, PRESIDENT OF SGA sors are given the chance for rebuttal, if they are registered with the site as a certiﬁed professor. Metro marketing professor Darrin Duber-Smith calls these online professor ratings sites “word of mouth evaluations,” and the ratings posted on them include only outliers, or students who are extremely happy or extremely upset with a professor. While he doesn’t dismiss these forms of evaluation, he cautions students against relying on the extreme opinions. “The results that the school puts together are statistically signiﬁcant,” he said. Metro English professor Tat Sang So is on the Faculty Senate committee that is looking at the review of Metro’s faculty evaluation process. “The

questions are phrased poorly,” he said about Metro’s current system. “The questions reﬂect a trend in social science from 20 years ago.” So said that evaluations should be administered differently in the classroom. They are typically handed off to a student volunteer at the end of the class period. The professor is required to leave the classroom, and student volunteers don’t always read the instruction, So said. One thing that So, Duber-Smith and Wylie agree on is that students should look to as many outlets as possible when searching for information on a professor and take the faculty evaluations they take in class seriously. “We do value their opinion,” So said.

THE METROPOLITAN « NOVEMBER 29. 2007 « METRO « A9

FROM THE STREET» Who would you vote for if the presidential election was today?

Karrick Crozier

“I don’t know about a particular person, but I will go with the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has better candidates. I think I’m leaning a little toward Obama.”

Rochelle Baum

“It’s definitely between Hillary and Obama. I’m leaning more toward Hillary. I read one of her autobiographies, and I like her views on health care.”

Everett Adams

“I don’t know. I don’t feel like I know them yet. I’ve been kind of a hermit lately, working on school stuff. I lean toward the liberal side.”

Sarah Bredenberg

“I don’t know. I’m not into capitalism. It’s kind of like voting for the lesser of two evils for me. I know that ignoring the system doesn’t help change it. But I think you have to follow it 24/7 to really know people’s motives.”

Eric Hackett

“I have no idea. I haven’t given it a lot of thought. All seem to be pretty good candidates so far.”

Photos by DAWN MADURA/dmadura@mscd.edu

Some Things In Life Are Free…

Free Lunch with Tour RegencyStudentHousing.com

303.477.1950

Hispanic Serving Institution Task Force November 30, 2007 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. • St. Cajetan’s Should Metro State strive to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI)? What does this U.S. Government Designation mean to Metro State? What time line is Metro State considering for HSI status? 8:30 a.m. 9 a.m.

Coffee and Networking Welcome

President Stephen Jordan & HSI Co-chairs Dr. Luis Torres and AVP Judi Diaz Bonacquisti

Subcommittee Presentations and Reports:

9:15 – 9:30 a.m.

Assessment Report:

9:35 – 9:50 a.m.

Recruitment, Retention & Student Development:

Co-chairs: Derrick Haynes & Dr. Larry Worster Co-chairs: Skip Crownhart & Dr. Elena Sandoval-Lucero

9:55 – 10:10 a.m.

Public Relations Report:

10:15 – 10:30 a.m.

Campus Climate Report:

10:35 – 10:50 a.m.

Faculty & Staff Development / Grantsmanship Report:

10:55 – 11:10 a.m.

Curriculum Development Report:

11:15 – 11:30 a.m.

Fundraising for HSI Initiatives:

11:15 a.m.– 12:15 p.m. 12:15 – 1 p.m.

Co-chairs: Dr. Ramon Del Castillo & Cathy Lucas Co-chairs: Dr. Joan L. Foster & Kate Ashley (new co-chair) Co-chairs: Dr. Arthur Campa & Debra Clark Chair: Eric Dunker & Dr. Tat Sang So Dr. Joan L. Foster, Dean, Letters, Arts and Sciences

Feedback and Recommendations from the public Subcommittees meet – lunch for attendees

Students and the public are invited and comments are encouraged at this meeting. Learn what the HSI Task Force is planning for Metro State.

THE METROPOLITAN » NOVEMBER 29, 2007 » A10

insight SECOND THOUGHTS

Spin the bottle, anyone?

A BIGGER VIEW » Re: Middle East Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both weak leaders who need maximum backing from the United States, Arab leaders and other major countries to make serious compromises. It is encouraging that 49 countries and international organizations, including Saudi Arabia and Syria, came to Annapolis, Md., yesterday to bless the effort. The refusal of Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, to shake hands with Mr. Olmert was a worrying reminder of how far many Arab countries still have to go. The prince did clap politely after Mr. Olmert’s speech. The Syrian representative did not. The guest list was notable for those left off: Iran and its allies, the militant factions Hamas and Hezbollah. A credible negotiation may help persuade those violent spoilers to rethink their obstructionism or persuade their backers to rethink their allegiances. In his opening speech, President Bush, assured Israel and the Palestinians that “America will do everything in our power to support their quest for peace.” We hope that he means it — and that he makes that clear to all those White House aides who keep extolling the virtues of not getting too involved. If there is any hope of pulling this off, Mr. Bush and his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, will have to invest their time, their reputation and their best armtwisting, including offering bridging proposals to nudge both sides beyond their longfixed positions. There’s no chance at all if Mr. Bush goes back to the sidelines. — THE NEW YORK TIMES, Nov. 28, 2007

Illustrated by ANDREW HOWERTON » ahowert2@mscd.edu Written by The Metropolitan staff

Sundays, holidays for the weak Sunday is by far the most intolerable day of the week. Any working person knows that putting up with other people on Sunday will take every last bit of stamina from the body and transform a decent person into an unattractive little creep. This has been proven time and again, but there is no way to stop it. Sunday will inevitably come, and the only thing we can do is prepare ourselves for the worst. I was watching the Broncos and General Motor ads put shame to the once proud sport of professional football while I reflected rather critically on Thanksgiving and Christmas and Sunday. It seems that they are all the same thing in varying degrees. We just experienced another Thanksgiving, and Christmas is right around the bend, but Sunday assaults us once a week, every week. We are generally allowed to take personal days on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there are too many Sundays for the capitalists to make it a designated day off. I would like very much to be able to hide in my basement every Sunday until it is over. It is like an ominous drought of human consciousness, and if you’ve ever watched people on a Sunday, you would know what I mean. In truth, there is really no evi-

dence that I’ve seen to suggest that these days are anything but laughable hoaxes. They are like bait on the end of the proverbial fishing pole of capitalism, and every so often, the fat cats standing on the bank decide to cast. And when they do, regular, every-day people turn into miserable fiends. It is much like fish attacking the worm, and just as the fish cannot seem to understand that the worm is attached to a string controlled by someone who has obviously manipulated the situation, people in America don’t seem to recognize the string attached to their worm either. They simply chase and bite. And why not? Imagine a Christmas where everyone you knew decided that Jesus probably wouldn’t condone the mindless spending and greed that the holiday represents, and instead resolved to boycott the purely American tradition of buying a whole lot of shit for made-up reasons. Christmas would be like Sunday and you would all be obliged to kick back with your families and receive nothing for it but the pleasure of their company. Those fat-cat fishermen who have become so accustomed to being the only people in the world who can truly “celebrate” Christmas would be devastated, and I would cry with a sort of religious joy.

JIMMIE BRALEY jbraley@mscd.edu Andy Rooney was on television reiterating the fact that Christmas is a sick joke, in his own words of course, but he insisted that it’s a time to enjoy the merry companionship of your family, which is true. But why eat the goddamn worm, Andy? Why indeed. Anyone who stands up to Christmas, however, is as doomed as anyone who stands up to Sunday. Perhaps Andy got too old and decided it wasn’t worth it. Thanksgiving is merely a hypedup Sunday with a history, but that elementary school story about pilgrims and Indians is only a farce. It is more likely that a bunch of pilgrims captured some wayward natives and forced them to eat a sacrificial turkey and pretend to like it. It is a day to celebrate our country’s rape and destruction of the Native American ethos by making oneself

into as much of a glutton as possible and giving thanks that we never got caught. In fact, I would wager that all of this originated on a Sunday. There is no hope for anyone on Sunday. Your football team will lose, the news reporters will lie, the police will pull you over, the liquor store will be closed, your friends will be depressed and you’ll realize that you still need to pay the rent. Radio stations will play worse music than usual, and you’ll be looked down on like a trashy drug addict if you don’t greet the morning dew and go to church. If you have to work on Sunday, your only concern will be how to avoid killing yourself. Sundays come with regularity though, and there’s not much anyone can do about it but hide. But the holiday season is now upon us, and we must find a way to cope. There is no doubt that millions of people will go out and spend too much money, but perhaps that’s what makes them happy. It is a fraudulent and irresponsible happiness, but people seem to have an uncanny ability to make their brains think it’s real. I cannot fault them for that, but I do pity them. In any case, have a happy holiday season, however you choose to cope with it.

B1 » THE METROPOLITAN » NOVEMBER 29, 2007

JOSIE KLEMAIER » FEATURES EDITOR » jklemaie@mscd.edu

Open up to a diﬀerent way of giving B4 »

Dreaming

of a blue, blue Christmas with Velvet Elvis B7 »

B2 » november 29. 2007 » the metropolitan

timeout

Q: Why does Santa have three gardens? A: So he can Ho! Ho! Ho! Crossword

ACROSS 1. Dulls 5. Pueblo Indian village 10. On top of 14. Geographical expanse 15. Small house 16. California wine region 17. Pertaining to the Isle of Man 18. Doppelganger 19. Stuff 20. Able to use four languages 23. Snare 24. Paving material 25. Courtyard 28. Embrace 31. South American ruminant 35. Ancient Greek god 37. Arrest 39. One circuit 40. Think about

Sudoku

44. Meadow 45. Indian dish 46. Splinter 47. Type of pitch 50. Hanoi holiday 52. Very hard mineral 53. Affirmative reply 55. Acquire through work 57. Principality in central Europe 63. Child’s toy 64. Hand woven wall hanging 65. Digits of the foot 67. Fencing sword 68. Sierra ___ 69. Need a scratch 70. Immediately following 71. Quizzes, trials 72. Birthday treat; DOWN 1. Block up 2. Oil-rich nation

Nov. 29 puzzle from www.crosswords.com. Solution available online.

3. Course list 4. Growing on rocks 5. Capital of Ghana 6. Ruler of the Islamic world 7. Ancient Greek coin 8. Prefix for small 9. Concerning 10. Straighten out 11. Graph prefix 12. Iridescent gemstone 13. Where some vets served 21. Waggish 22. Guy’s partner 25. Buckets 26. Suspension of breathing 27. Sum 29. Sam, e.g. 30. Gangster’s gun 32. In play 33. Large drinking bowl 34. Mimicry

36. Advanced in years 38. Student’s convey ance 41. Use, consume 42. Attentive, warning of danger 43. Living in the open water 48. Grommet 49. Fairly dry, when describing champagne 51. Occupant 54. Biblical verb 56. Donkeys 57. Easy stride 58. Holly 59. Family portrait? 60. Greek god of love 61. Very small quantity 62. Bottle part 63. Lair 66. Female pronoun

cut corners

geof wollerman and andrew howerton

Master plan

geof wollerman and andrew howerton

WHERE IS THIS? Be the first to e-mail us the correct location and receive a free ticket to the Starz FilmCenter! Lucky you! Each week’s winner will also have the chance to have their photo printed in the following issue of The Metropolitan. Send e-mails to jklemaie@mscd.edu with “Where is this?” in the subject line.

puzzle courtesy of www.websudoku.com

now showing at the starz filmcenter LUST, CAUTION

FRI 4:25, 7:30

GONE BABY GONE

FRI 4:45, 7:10 , 9:30 SAT 12:05, 2:30, 4:45, 7:10, 9:30 SUN 12:05, 2:30, 4:45, 7:10 MON-WED 4:45, 7:10 TH 4:45, 7:10, 9:30

THE LIFE OF REILLY

FRI (4 :55), 7:25, 9:30 SAT 12:30, 2:25, 4:55, 7:25, 9:30 SUN 12:30, 2:25, 4:55, 7:25 MON-WED 4:55, 7:25 TH 4:55, 7:25, 9:30

CONFESSIONS OF A SUPERHERO ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

FRI 4:50, 7:20

VANAJA

FRI 4:40, 7:05, 9:20 SAT 12:00, 2:20, 4:40, 7:05, 9:20 SUN 9:20 MON-WED 4:40, 7:05 TH 4:40, 7:05, 9:20

FRI 5:00, 7:45 SAT (12:15), 2:20, 4:35, 7:00, 9:120 SUN (12:15), 2:20, 4:35, 7:00 MON-WED 5:00, 7:45 TH 5:00, 7:45

THE METROPOLITAN « NOVEMBER 23. 2007 « METROSPECTIVE « B3

Students reﬂect on Metro’s study abroad Well-traveled tips on breaking beyond the boundaries of Auraria by Rita Wold, rwold@mscd.edu » Metro student Jennifer Strotman said her study abroad to Galapagos Islands last summer still brings a smile to her face. She recalled one “snorkel” afternoon where she swam within a few feet of a green sea turtle for several minutes. “It is one of the most memorable moments in my life,” she said. “Words �really don’t give her (the green sea turtle) justice.”�� Metro offers three options for students to study abroad: Metro faculty organized programs, semester programs and programs through other institutions. Faculty-organized programs are usually short and take place during summer and winter breaks. Metro sponsors a London Semester each January through March and the Guadalajara Program for 10 weeks each fall, spring, and summer. Other semester programs vary by department and year. More research is required of students who decide to attend programs through other institutions. “Our ofﬁce will help that student get enrolled in that program,” Dr. Akbarali Thobhani, the director of Metro’s Language and Culture Institute said. “The student takes the burden of making the arrangements and making sure that they are aware of what is involved in that.” Thobhani suggests that the best way to begin the study abroad process is narrowing choices down to one country. “They range in disciplines covering the whole spectrum,” he said. “We

To Study abroad, students ... ... are required to complete forms evaluating the entire process, including the academic credit they will receive, health precautions and ﬁnancial aid. ... must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 and one semester completed at Metro. Patarino suggests that students wait until their junior year to do a program because “they have a better understanding of what they are doing.” ... who classify as ﬁnancial aid dependent have a $1,000 more in loan eligibility and independent students have $2,000 more. ... should check to be sure the instructor has a budget set for the trip, Strotman advises.

Photo from a study abroad in Spain, courtesy of Michelle Box.

have a very wonderful program offered through the Biology Department that looks at the environment in Central South America.” Metro student Michelle Box who went on two studies abroad, Santiago de Compostela in Spain for a month and Cuernavaca, Mexico for two months. Box recommends making an effort to become friends with native persons of the host country and said showing respect for the country is important. “Never put down the country you are in, in front of the locals,” she said. “You may think that in the U.S. the food is better, the showers are hotter or the buses are cleaner etc., but keep it to yourself. You are there to experience another way of life, not judge it. “ Metro student, Brian Giulieri, still keeps in contact with his host mom from his summer

study abroad in Hyeres, Paris. The four-week program with French professor Alain Ranwez “was the best thing I have ever done,” Giulieri, said. “I had a more authentic experience than if I had done it by myself because when you travel as a tourist you are not expose to as many indigenous elements of the culture,” he said. Rachel Patarino, the institute’s study abroad adviser, can help students decide what country might be the best place for them to visit. “If they say ‘I just want to get out the country,’ I will sit them down and help them focus on where they want to go,” she said. A great study abroad experience depends on the student. “If they’ve done their research, they know what to expect,” Patarino said. “Study abroad is becoming a very impor-

Milestone movies of 2007 Falling on the heels of 2006, one of the best years for movies in recent memory with films such as The Departed, Children of Men, Little Miss Sunshine and Pan’s Labyrinth, film in 2007 has largely been a mixed bag. If nothing else it was a year for trilogies. Unfortunately, the most anticipated (Spiderman 3, Shrek the Third and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End) were subpar at best, but maybe it was to be expected since the final film of a trilogy is often a stumbling block. The exceptional finale this year was The Bourne Ultimatum, although its shaky camera technique divided audiences. The best-represented genre of the year was the suspensethriller. Zodiac, Vacancy, No Country for Old Men and Breach were all notable titles and deserve praise. Knocked Up led the comedies followed by Juno, Ratatouille and The Simpsons Movie. The return of several great directors and their independent fare, such as William Friedkin’s experimental Bug, David Cronenberg’s Russian gangster film Eastern Promises and Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead mixed things up. The action genre didn’t fare as well. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse took a risk as a double feature and should be praised for its style, but Live Free or Die Hard and Transformers merely gave audiences a fun way to waste two hours. The best action film was a comedy, Hot Fuzz. Poking fun at genre conventions, Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) creates some of the year’s most inventive action sequences. The albatross around the neck of the action genre was the narcissistic and shockingly boring 300, which became hugely popular despite its paper-thin plot, hammy acting and uninteresting action scenes. The glimmer of hope for 2007 is the month of December with the release of several curious movies including Grace is Gone, I am

For more information visit http://www.mscd. edu/~mdl/studyab.htm. tant aspect of higher education,” Thobhani said. “Many institutions are moving in the direction of requiring or creating more opportunities for students to study abroad.” Students are required to participate in a 15hour orientation that will prepare them on safety, worse-case scenarios, culture and language components before their trip. “I think it is important for everybody to know study abroad programs are a tremendous opportunity to learn more about the world we live in and to learn more about what people think about us as Americans,” Giulieri said. “They will be surprised in what they ﬁnd out.”

by David Strungis, dstrungis@mscd.edu »

Legend, The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson’s War, There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd and Cassandra’s Dream.

is sweet, sharp, funny and moving, plus it features a great cameo of Rainn Wilson.

Highlights of 2007

No End in Sight

No Country for Old Men

Charles Ferguson’s documentary should do nothing less than boil the viewer’s blood with its clear and level description of the events that led the U.S. into the current quagmire in Iraq. Featuring interviews with professionals, journalists and policymakers such as Gen. Jay Gardner, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Colin Powell’s former chief of staff, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, No End in Sight explains why the conﬂict in Iraq has degenerated into such chaos.

As perfect and well-made a movie as you’re likely to see this year. The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, return to top form with this adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy book of the same title. Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across a lot of money after a drug deal goes wrong on the Texas-Mexico border and ﬁnds himself on the run from the merciless Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). It is both a gripping suspense thriller and a meditation on violence in a society on the decline.

Knocked Up /Juno Unexpected pregnancy comedies, one from the male and one from the female perspective, deliver in 2007. In Knocked Up, 20something stoner Ben (Seth Rogen), lucks out when he goes home with the beautiful and successful Alison (Katherine Heigl). Basic rules of safe sex go out the window during their one-nighter, and weeks later, a pregnant Alison confronts him with the prospect of fatherhood. Producer-director Judd Apatow (Superbad and The 40-Year-Old Virgin) has found a niche as the maker of crude, raunchy comedies about male maturity, responsibility and growing up. Meanwhile, for the girls, savvy 16-year-old Juno (Ellen Page) is thrown a curveball when dealing with an unplanned pregnancy after one night with her awkward friend Paulie Bleeker (Micheal Cera). Deciding to give her baby to childless couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Gardner), Juno ﬁnds herself in a situation that is way beyond her maturity level. Juno

The Lookout Screenwriter Scott Frank’s (Out of Sight, Get Shorty) directorial debut follows Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a once talented hockey player whose life is destroyed after a car accident leaves him with a brain injury. Struggling through everyday life, he takes a job as a janitor at a bank and becomes caught in a planned heist. Fans of Gordon-Levitt’s Brick should also enjoy The Lookout.

Zodiac Director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room) has built a reputation as a technical virtuoso by making provocative and gripping suspense-thrillers. In his latest, he showcases his talent by crafting a subdued, by-the-numbers police procedural about one of the most notorious killers in American history. Spanning over three decades, featuring numerous characters and a wealth of technical evidence, Fincher makes Zodiac comprehensible, interesting and suspenseful the whole way through.

BX » MONTH 00. 2007

THE METROPOLITAN

Do it yourself » by Rachel Beieler, rbeiele2@mscd.edu»

s Denver gets dusted with snow, skeleton-bare trees get wrapped in lights and students start burning out, it’s obvious the holiday season has arrived. For most people this means a time to rack up the credit card debt, get swallowed by mall crowds and circle endlessly in parking lots looking for that precious spot. According to the National Retail Federation, more than 147 million shoppers hit stores this past ‘black Friday,’ spending on average $348 per consumer. That’s a lot of cash to be chucking toward friends and family in order to express that fuzzy holiday feeling. This year, many Auraria Campus students are choosing to create their own holiday gifts, using their talents to put a homemade touch on what they’ll be putting under the tree. Metro’s Healthy Moves program offered a free class to students on how to make organic bath products Nov. 17. Many students jumped at the opportunity to learn about the soap-making process and how to create handmade gifts without spending the big bucks. The soapmaking students agreed that doing something fun in the comfort of your own home is far better than standing in mall crowds. There are many roads a do-it-yourselfer can take, besides soap, to make a quality holiday gift. “I like to do it old school with macaroni snowflakes, my parents don’t really care in a sentimental standpoint, but they think its funny, and they still keep them,” Metro biology student Gabe Guel said. If breaking out the pasta seems a bit too juvenile this year, perhaps locating a craft store can teach you to become a clever gift-giver. Fancy Tiger, a DIY boutique, supplies everything from an average ball of yarn to paper crafts and pottery materials. Owners Matthew Brown and Jaime Jennings find many college students are taking an interest in crafts to get creative and save some money this holiday season. “Not only can we sell the supplies, but we can teach you how to use them,” Brown said. Fancy Tiger holds a holiday gift series on Thursdays that focuses on a different craft each week until Dec. 6. “There’s a lot of people who want to make a scarf but don’t know how — or how to make candles. In these classes, we can explain how.” Dec. 1, Fancy Tiger will be hosting Denver’s first alternative craft fair called Holiday Homemade in which one can browse a plethora of handmade jewelry, fabrics and other cunning crafts. “There will be about thirty different crafters with one-of-a-kind items to sell. There’s also going to be a ‘make and take’ craft area if you choose to make your own gift,” Jennings said. People can choose to make things like hand-sewn journals and aromatherapy spritzers. The craft scene has taken off, and “screen print logos, hand silk screen rub-ons and embroideries are very popular this year,” Brown said. The holidays are right around the corner and being a do-it-yourselfer can be time-consuming. “There’s tons of things that you could make that are pretty quick to do — aromatherapy candles and hand sewn toys and ornaments don’t take much time to make,” Jennings suggested. Plastic Chapel, a shop off Colfax that primarily sells vinyl designer toys, is offering a new product that’s a DIY project. Munnies, or a cute blob of plastic, is a blank slate for an artistic do-it-yourselfer. Munnies come in black,

MONTH 00. 2007 « BX

Holy craft!

Buy it yourself » by Josie Klemaier, jklemaie@mscd.edu »

white and glow-in-the-dark and cost around $25. In each Munnie box, there is a secret accessory such as angel wings, or a briefcase. “(Business) is really picking up now that it’s the holidays. Munnies are deﬁnitely one of the popular items,” Dea Webb, co-owner of Plastic Chapel, said. Plastic Chapel has only been at its Colfax location for ﬁve months, and many customers are still discovering its vast amount of artistic toys. “We were off Broadway for two years — I know a lot people haven’t found us here,” Webb said.

DIY on (web)site Drawing a blank when trying to ﬁnd ideas for a quirky yet festive DIY gift can be problematic. In that case, these websites have excellent content and have crafters reaping the beneﬁts.

www.diynetwork.com This site lists hundreds of ideas to choose from with stepby-step instructions, lists of materials and videos. The holiday gift ideas are simple and cheap to create — with a little hot glue and some elbow grease, a fantastic present can be developed.

www.holiday.vons.com

Photo by DAWN MADURA/dmadura@mscd.edu

The Mega Munny is a do-it-yourself doll made for adults. The idea is to buy it blank and customize it with with acrillic paint in any design to suit the owner. It can be purchased at The Plastic Chapel on Colfax Ave.

Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu

Perry prepares to put the oats in a coﬀe grinder and make a soothing oats and milk bath.

Vons, or Safeway, is offering an abundance of holiday gift ideas that go no further than buying a few groceries. This site shows how to make colorful centerpieces out of fruit, candy cane vases and the art of making candy sushi with half a powdered donut and some Swedish Fish.

ven the craftiest person can get bogged down, and there’s nothing worse than wrapping up a half-finished gift with an “IOU a real present” tag on it. Therefore, it just might be necessary to stay creative by taking advantage of someone else’s do-it-yourself abilities. Users at Enter Etsy, the cuter-than-Craigslist alpha website of the handmade market, range from buyers to sellers of everything from high-quality artisan jewelry to recycled plastic-bag bags. The online craft mall quality of Etsy is nothing like the terrycloth, angel doll-infested warehouse Grandma dragged you to on the weekends. Though Etsy has its share of dollhouse furniture and tissue pouches, it offers an abundance of some of the most unique, skillfully-made and diverse handmade crafts the world has to offer — that’s right, the world — and those tissue pouches are more than likely to be made out of designer fabric or duct tape. What makes Etsy the perfect solution for the creative gift giver this holiday season is that it is sure to have something for everyone that they have never seen before, and the shopping experience is ten times more enjoyable than the real-world, non-virtual, germ-infested mall. Esty’s homepage offers just about every possible way to browse through it’s thousands of sellers around the world: the Geolocater allows buyers to scour the globe to catch glimpses of seller profile photos, which usually feature an image or item from their shop; the Treasury showcases featured items handpicked by members; a sprawl of spider webs blooms in Connections, where buyers and sellers can see who else shares their taste; the Time Machine posts the latest items to be released by sellers; and of course, there are also the traditional searches by category, color, seller, top sales and those which are featured daily by the geniuses behind the website. Because the website serves as a liaison between buyers and sellers, much like that other, lowercase e site, buyers should be aware that there could be a little extra time involved for shipping. Each shop has a profile in which the seller details their quirks, accommodations and standards. The great thing about the Geolocator is that it allows buyers to research wares made by folks in their area or the area where the receiver of the gift lives, which could cut down on shipping time. Already salivating, looking for the closest computer and cup of coffee? We’ve done some of the grunt work for you. Poring over the tons of talented Denver crafters on Etsy, we pared them down to a few favorites. But if you don’t see anything that fits your gift list, just type “Denver” into the Geolocator and reserve a good hour to pine over the amazing wares that are close your mile-high doorstep.

Splurge »

www.make-stuﬀ.com

INV/ALT design Invaltdesign.etsy.com

This site has a great feature that displays how you can recycle your trash into amusing and impressive gifts. Garden hose wreaths, picture frames and ornaments made out of scratched CDs and potpourri holders made out of plastic pop bottles. The list is endless. Under formulas and remedies, this site shows how to create your own soaps, lip balms and even toothpaste. Most of the materials this site requires can be found lying around your house, trash or fridge.

The name stands for invention alteration design, and owner-designer Angela Schwab has covered each of those bases with her mind-bending snap cups. Each cup comes with a snap, making it attachable to whichever mate it’s suited for: handle, another cup, or a glass stem. The pieces demonstrate their sculptural abilities best in sets, which start at $200 and a single cup with a handle or stem runs $50. A great gift idea for a collector of modern, functional art.

Daniel Miller danielmiller.etsy.com

www.ducttapefashion.com

For the war history buff, veteran or airplane enthusiast in your life, Daniel Miller will draw up a custom graphite drawing of a photo or plane of your choosing in action, or check his amazing current collection, which romances World War II bombers in all their glory. Pieces range in price from $225 to $240.

Although this site is primarily for people wanting to buy duct tape creations, it has good ideas of what all can be created out of a roll of tape. If $6 for a duct tape wallet doesn’t strike your fancy, this site offers brightly colored and glow-in-the-dark tape to make your own.

Spare change » Vital Industries Vitalindustires.etsy.com

www.craftbits.com Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu

This site incorporates crafts for people with no artistic talent but also adheres to the experienced crafter. Projects such as peppermint candy spoons are easily done with little effort while more complicated projects like crocheting and knitting patterns are available.

Perry lets the alkanet root seep into the seasame oil to give it a red tint. The mixture can be used in your bath.

You may have spotted some of Vital Industries’ work around town. Their T-shirts decked in large screen prints of bicycles or vintage biker chicks are sure to catch your eye. But, the prize for most unique gift goes to one of their coolest items: toilet tank decals. The scuba diver is not only appropriate, but also affordable at just $10.

Presents for Pirates Presentsforpirstes.etsy.com Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu

Catherine Perry explains how to use the strainer that works as a tea bag for your bath.

Take the hearts of them captive with Presents for Pirates’ “Yo Ho Ho” handmade Christmas cards for $6 each.

B6 » THE METROPOLITAN » NOVEMBER 29, 2007 JEREMY JOHNSON » MUSIC EDITOR » jjohn308@mscd.edu

» ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, DEBBIE HARRY’S GONNA GET YOU... » B7

half notes

UPCOMING SHOWS » Monday 12.3 The Cult w/

Action Action, The Cliks and The Knives

6 p.m. @ The Fillmore Auditorium $35, 16+

Thursday 12.6

VHS or Beta w/ The Chain Gang of 1974

8 p.m. @ The Bluebird Theater $13, 16+

Saturday 12.8 Ozomatli w/ Lifesavas

9 p.m. @ The Ogden Theater $25, 16+

Iron and Wine w/ Arthur & Yu

audioﬁles

Garage rock gives you The Hives By EVAN LUTHYE eluthye@mscd.edu For a band largely credited for reviving the genre of guitar rock, The Hives have added a funkiﬁed disco décor to the otherwise gritty sound for which they’ve become so well known. That’s not to say that The Hives have entirely left the garage out of their brand of garage rock in their new record The Black and White Album. In fact, Black and White’s ﬁrst track, the radio single “Tick Tick Boom,” is a revved up and audacious anthem in which Hives’ dapper lead singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (all Hives members perform in matching suit and tie) reminds listeners: “Yeah I’ve done it before/ And I can do it some more/ So what are you waiting for?/ Yeah!/ I was right all along!” Like a ticking bomb, the album explodes into a barrage of three-minute, pounding tracks that leave the listener with a delightful case of whiplash.

The Hives’ songwriting (supposedly done by “sixth member” Randy Fitzsimmons,

who some suggest doesn’t really exist) continues to ﬂourish as the band combines the tight composition of ﬂuid drum beats reminiscent of Brit band Blur with heavy, grinding guitar riffs. But by the eighth track, The Hives have taken a decidedly different turn, blending dancehall and disco beats with their dry and often grandiose wit, both of which are heard in the self-gratifying “T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.”: “Allow me to give you a clue …/

We rule this world/ This is our world.” And while The Hives’ brand of lyrical boastfulness may come off as a little high-handed, their coy goofiness keeps their dancing feet planted firmly in the genre of kitsch. Seeing as how Black and White manages to cater to both head bangers and those prone to wearing hip-huggers, it seems the charming Swedish fivesome really does rule the world or the dance floor. At the very least, The Hives remain the best-dressed kings of garage rock as we know it.

9 p.m. @ The Paramount Theater $23, All Ages

Alicia’s keys aren’t so catchy in ‘As I Am’

Tuesday 12.11

By DESIREE CLARK dclark67@mscd.edu

The 6th Annual Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Extravaganza w/ The Detonators 7 p.m. @ The Fillmore Auditorium $38.75

Friday 12.14

Dinosaur Jr. w/ Hate Fuck Trio and Awesome Color 9 p.m. @ The Ogden Theater $25, 16+

SEE MORE UPCOMING SHOWS, B7

Alicia J. Augello-Cook is a mouthful for a 23-time music award winner. So Alicia changed her last name to Keys, a pun upon the fact that she is a musical puppet who understands the technical and beautiful music that the keys of a piano provide when played skillfully. The art of playing a piano while singing is represented professionally by only a handful of musicians, including Elton John, Billy Joel, Nora Jones and of course Keys, to name a few. It takes diligence, excellent handleg coordination and the ability to understand music, to let it inside you, into your brain, hands and heart. Because of those very skills, Keys has had much success with her past two albums, Songs in A Minor and The Diary of Alicia Keys, selling over 25 million copies and earning nine Grammys. Her newest album, As I Am, follows in the same direction of Joss Stone’s Introducing Joss Stone and Jill Scott’s The Real Thing, showcasing how she has changed since her last album release in 2003. As I Am focuses on love and relationships, an ongoing theme on many artists’ albums. All of Keys’ songs are divided into three categories: happy love songs (“No One,” “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” and “Teenage Love Affair”), angry breakup songs (“Go Ahead,” “Lesson Learned,” “Wreckless Love,” “I

Need You” and “Where Do We Go From Here”) and empowerment (“As I Am,” “Superwoman,” The Thing About Love,” Prelude To a Kiss” and “Tell You Something”). All 13 songs are easy to understand but even easier to forget just moments after listening to each track. “No One” is the ﬁrst single off As I Am. It’s catchy, and it almost makes you want to jump off your unattached butt and ﬁnd “the one” as it describes the bliss that can be found within a decent relationship. The opposite of “No One” is “I Need You,” which describes the awful feeling of a new breakup, leaving you with that sense of doom and the sensation of not being able to breathe. The song is undoubtedly depressing. All of her other songs are promising in some ways but do not fully reach the potential that Keys has brought us twice before. The only memorable song is the aforementioned single, which makes it not so coincidental that it was re-

leased before the actual album, securing a spot on the Billboard charts. Catchy songs do not always come from the most talented artists. Keys surely understands that but, despite her talent, there’s no real hook on her latest effort. Perhaps As I Am is ex-

actly what it says and should be taken at face value. The songs and music created by Keys are a message to her audience that she has changed along with her musical style. In order to appreciate Keys’ new musical effort, you must accept her as she is.

Photo courtesy of www.walpapergate.com

Alicia Keys pities the fool that doesn’t listen to her coming-of-age album As I Am. Keys’ third album showcases her more strident side.

THE METROPOLITAN « NOVEMBER 29. 2007 « AUDIOFILES « B7

What was HOT and what was NOT in 2007

MORE UPCOMING SHOWS: THE QUEEN AND THE KINGS half notes – By Jeremy Johnson, jjohn308@mscd.edu

By DESIREE CLARK dclark67@mscd.edu

Just because she sang a disco ditty about a “Heart of Glass,” don’t let Deborah Harry’s delicate demeanor fool you. The pop-punk idol remains tough as nails and continues to make some mean music, including her latest release, Necessary Evil. Although the record has yet to garner much commercial success, the former frontwoman for ’70s New York City club pioneer Blondie has chosen to go red on top as she hits the road to promote her ﬁrst new album in well over a decade. And on Dec. 1, she brings her show to the Bluebird Theater, along with upand-coming artist Kristoffer Ragnstam. Despite the mediocre reviews of Harry’s solo efforts, be sure to put on your dancing shoes, cross your ﬁngers and hope she’s still got a little platinum left in her.

As the end of the year approaches, a general recap of the best and worst albums of 2007 needs to be provided. Although there have been many decent, rock-your-head-off albums, there have also been some bad apples (you know, the ones that cause the cashier at the record store to give you a dirty look while ringing you up). Since there’s a year’s worth of albums to choose from, the list will be narrowed down to just four of each category.

Blondie w/ Kristoffer Ragnstam

Saturday, Dec. 1 @ The Bluebird Theater 7 p.m. $20/$30, All Ages

The four best albums of 2007 are: 4. Linkin Park’s Minutes to Midnight It’s been said that they have changed their music style, but they have also gained more fans. Minutes to Midnight is one of the best selling albums of 2007, making it a shoo-in for this list. 3. Kanye West’s Graduation This album is easy to understand, and there is a reason for its position on the Billboard charts. Many different people can relate to Graduation, as West was extremely calculated when writing his lyrics. 2. Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga This band has been together since 1994 and had a rough 10-year span, until getting major recognition for Gimme Fiction in 2005. It’s a great choice for an indie rock album, and it’s guaranteed to satisfy your urge to mellow out.

These hometown favorites are quickly becoming kings of what they call the Queen City of the Plains. We here at The Met just call it Denver. Either way, The Swayback’s indie/ ’80s sound is full of high-energy guitar rock, from lead guitarist William Murphy, that blends seamlessly with lead singer Eric Halborg’s Hendrix-cool lyrical crooning. And drummer Marijn Bolster keeps ﬁne time on drums in The Swayback’s brand new cover of Velvet Underground’s heroin anthem “Waiting For My Man.” These up-and-comers recently garnered national attention in Nylon Magazine’s 100 New Homegrown Bands, so The Swayback are nearly guaranteed to put on one helluva good show, at one heckuva cheap ticket price.

w/ The Hot I.Q.’s

Saturday, Dec. 1 @ The Old Main (University of Colorado), 8 p.m., $10, 16+ AND

w/ Kingdom of Magic and Sleeper Horse

Saturday, Dec. 23 @ The Hi-Dive, 8 p.m., $5, 21+

Do you still miss him? Do you think you see him during the holidays, looking through scarves or drinking coffee in a shop or crossing busy streets? Do you believe The King lives on? Take the blues out of your blue, blue Christmas and go see Chris Barber perform as the young and charismatic Velvet Elvis at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret, a den of decadence and delight located under the historic Daniels and Fisher in the heart of downtown Denver. Velvet Elvis delivers all the classics, from The King’s handsome heyday to the days of jumpsuits and fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Not to mention, Velvet Elvis has got the same moves that got Ed Sullivan’s tie in such a bunch, way back when. So bring Grandma along, too.

The four worst albums of 2007 are: 4. Hilary Duff ’s Dignity It’s known that she isn’t the best singer or songwriter, but at least her past albums were fun to listen to (even if they are in your guilty pleasures pile). But there’s no dignity to be found in Duff ’s latest loser. 3. Avril Lavigne’s The Best Damn Thing The album is fun and very ’80s (the song “Hey Mickey” might cross your mind more than once), but it’s just not the angry Avril everyone has grown to love. This album is far from being the best damn anything. 2. The Last Goodnight’s Poison Kiss They claim to not be a Christian rock band, but it is very clear by their album cover and song lyrics that they are. They whine about everything, and it’s evident they try to accomplish the sound of indie rock band The Killers by using strong keyboards, but they miss entirely. 1. Britney Spears’ Blackout It sucks. No explanation needed.

Velvet Elvis’ Blue, Blue Christmas Show

Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 23 @ Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret 7 p.m. $20, All Ages (TICKETS ARE LIMITED) These seminal Denver punks play fast, loud and with stinging wit, singing about everything from booze to broken hearts to the Good Doctor, Hunter S. Thompson. Should make for a perfect ﬁt when they team up with Frontside Five and Forth Yeer Freshmann to bring in the New Year at Three Kings Tavern on Broadway.

King Rat w/

Frontside Five and Forth Yeer Freshmann Monday, Dec. 31 @ Three Kings Tavern, 9 p.m., $10, 21+

2Pac

Best Of 2Pac Part 1: Thug, and Part 2: Life Interscope Records www.interscope.com

David Bowie

David Bowie Box Set Sony/BMG www.sonybmg.com

Daft Punk

Alive 2007 Virgin Records www.virginrecords.com

Eazy-E

Featuring ... Eazy-E Priority Records www.priorityrecords.com

Godsmack

Good Times, Bad Times: 10 Years Of Godsmack Universal Republic Records www.universalrepublic.com

The Swayback

1. Joss Stone’s Introducing Joss Stone This awesome album features special appearances by hip-hop artists Lauren Hill and Common. Stone has a classic voice and extraordinary song writing abilities.

NEW RELEASES » TUESDAY 11.27 IT’S CHRISTMASTIME IN COMPTON ... AND JUDY GARLAND’S THERE!

Jay-Z

American Gangster Acappella Def Jam Records www.defjam.com

Wyclef Jean

Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant Columbia/Urban Records www.columbiarecords.com

The Libertines

Heroes: The Best of The Libertines Rough Trade Records www.roughtraderecords.com

N.W.A.

Straight Outta Compton (Rerelease) Priority Records www.priorityrecords.com

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall and Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy! at the London Palladi Geffen Records www.geffen.com

The Traveling Wilburys The Traveling Wilburys Collection (Vinyl) Rhino Records www.rhinorecords.com

For new music releases visit: www.newmusictipsheet.com

THE METROPOLITAN « NOVEMBER 29. 2007 « INSIGHT « A11

Primaries set stage for future Metro students have a lot to lose in next year’s presidential election. And if you want to find out exactly how much, pay attention to the upcoming state primaries. For those of you not familiar with politics, think of a state primary as the presidential playoffs. Although primaries start next January, most states hold theirs on the first Tuesday in February and registered Democrats and Republicans vote on the candidate they want for their party nomination. According to a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is the favorite Democrat, leading Sen. Barack Obama by 27 points and John Edwards by 35. Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani leads the Republican candidates, but not by much. Former Tennessee senator and “Law & Order” star Fred Thompson is less than 10 points behind Giuliani. And less than 5 points behind Thompson there is essentially a three-way tie between Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. The war in Iraq, immigration and education are three relevant issues Metro students should consider before supporting one of these candidates. The war in Iraq is important to the entire country, but particularly to students since it is fought by college-age men and women. According to the Army website, the average age of soldiers is 22 years old.

All five Republican candidates listed above support the war. Giuliani, who relies heavily on his role as New York City Mayor after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 for support, would be committing political suicide to denounce the war effort. Both Thompson and McCain voted to go to war in 2002 and still support U.S. involvement. Romney supports the war because he does not see any alternative to establishing stability in the Middle East. And Huckabee hedges his bets by saying he wants to wait and see how it goes next year before deciding when power in Iraq should be transferred to the Iraqis and if troop withdrawal is prudent. On the other hand, all three Democratic candidates oppose the war. Both Edwards and Clinton voted to go to war in 2002 but now say that was a mistake. Obama alone has taken an anti-war stance from the beginning. However, Edwards is the only candidate who supports an 18month timetable for troop withdrawal. Clinton and Obama both suggest a more conservative approach to the war and have refrained from setting an end date. As Metro continues its work to become a Hispanic Serving Institution, the question of how soon the school will reach a 25 percent Hispanic student population will depend on the next U.S. president. As an HSI, Metro will be eligible for grant money that will improve the school for all students, not just Hispanics. All three Democrats support immigration reform and creating

ROBERT FISHER rfishe18@mscd.edu a pathway to citizenship for immigrants both legal and illegal. Although Clinton and Obama voted in favor of the 2006 Immigration Reform Bill, they also both voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which approved the creation of 700 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Republican candidates tend to speak of immigration in terms of national security first and not citizenship. Republican sentiment on the issue is mixed; McCain was one of the co-sponsors of the 2006 Immigration Reform Bill but is taking a more conservative approach now. Republican candidates Giuliani and Huckabee support a “conservative” path to citizenship that includes penalties and fines for people in the country illegally and strict adherence to the English language for all immigrants. According to the Office of Financial Aid, undergraduate students are currently allowed to borrow up to $45,000 from the U.S. Government in student loans. Graduate

students are eligible for nearly twice that amount. Although students can apply for grants and scholarships as well as private loans, most students find that they are thousands of dollars in debt when they graduate. All three of the Democratic candidates want to see schools receive additional monies to improve the country’s education system by reducing the dropout rate and the achievement gap. But only Clinton and Obama have come forward with a plan to increase the paltry tax credits now available to college students. And only Clinton has put forth a plan to reduce the paperwork and time involved with filling out the FAFSA as well as work on improving community colleges. Both Giuliani and Thompson follow a classic republican outlook on education: it should be up to the states (and the parents) to reform the issues faced by schools today. No Republican candidate has said he will increase tax benefits for students. I suspect most students would vote a Democratic ticket, but according to Cindy Lowery, president of the Denver Young Democrats, and Eileen Mahoney, political director for the Denver Metro Young Republicans, each organization has the same number of active members. As a student and someone who believes in improving our educational system, and in particular Metro, I will be watching the state primaries to see which Democrat I will vote for and which Republican I need to fear next November.

Van Susteren, Fox miss big picture Unless you watch the Fox News Channel on a regular basis, you probably don’t remember who Natalee Holloway is, what island nation she disappeared from or why we cared about her in the first place. Fortunately, anyone who feels left out of the loop can tune in nightly to Fox’s “On The Record with Greta Van Susteren”, and she’ll remind you all about it. Holloway, a Mountain Brook, Ala. high school student, disappeared while on a graduation trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba hours before she was supposed to board a plane back home. That was more than two years ago. Watching Van Susteren, however — who has zealously refused to let the story go — viewers may get the impression that nothing of consequence has happened in the world since. Unfortunately, a recent development in the still-unsolved case threatens to vault the story back into the media limelight: the re-arresting

of three men previously suspected in Holloway’s disappearance. And if the men are indicted, it will be a journalistic payday for Fox’s dogged veteran commentator. There is one compliment I begrudgingly pay Van Susteren: she’s tenacious — which is an understatement. In keeping with Fox’s modus operandi of downplaying the war in Iraq while hyping the latest on Lindsay Lohan, Van Susteren latches on to banal bits of news like a rabid dog going after the postman’s leg. Known to keep stories alive (and in some cases completely resuscitating them) well after the rest of the country has moved on, Van Susteren constantly pushes the media-saturation envelope, rehashing stories until they resemble nothing more than so much sound bite-driven drivel. The Holloway story is no exception. In fact, in the end, it may prove to be Van Susteren’s crowning achievement — the exposé that finally proves her meddlesome mettle. But even if this happens, the real

GEOFF WOLLERMAN gwollerm@mscd.edu tragic story will unfortunately go unreported. What could be more important, you ask, than avenging the life of a pretty, previously unknown white girl? How about avenging the lives of the more than 12,000, according to the National Crime Information Center, active missing persons ages 1821 right here in the United States? Or the tens of thousands of women worldwide who are kidnapped yearly by the sex trade — of which, Fox’s criminal experts speculated, Natalee may have been a victim?

Yes, it’s tragic that a young girl was snatched so suddenly from a life she had yet to really live. But Holloway is hardly an isolated case. To treat her disappearance as the crimeof-the-century is to discount the nameless others — most of whom are no doubt darker-skinned than Holloway — who have fallen victim to the same fate. Van Susteren gets paid to champion victims and accuse their victimizers. As her show’s name indicates, she invites guests to tell their side of the story — to go, as it were, on the record. Unfortunately, no matter how many times she flashes that stupid cynical smirk, this practice rarely elicits the truth — much less the whole story. Perhaps what she needs to be doing, along with the rest of her Fox News cohorts, is looking at the bigger picture, asking the tougher questions and standing up for those who dream not just of going on vacation to Aruba, but of graduating or even going to high school in the first place.

THE METROPOLITAN Since 1979

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF David D. Pollan dpollan@mscd.ed NEWS EDITOR Andrew Flohr-Spence spencand@mscd.edu ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Amy Woodward awoodwa5@mscd.edu FEATURES EDITOR Josie Klemaier jklemaie@mscd.edu ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR Rachael Beieler rbeiele2@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 EDITORS Cora Kemp ckemp4@mscd.edu Dawn Madura dmadura@mscd.edu DESIGN EDITOR Nic Garcia ngarci20@mscd.edu ILLUSTRATOR Andrew Howerton ahowert2@mscd.edu COPY EDITORS Austin Corell acorell@mscd.edu Amanda Hall ahall35@mscd.edu James Kruger jkruger1@mscd.edu Debbie Marsh dmarsh8@mscd.edu DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Dianne Harrison Miller harrison@mscd.edu ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Donnita Wong wongd@mscd.edu 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.

sports

THE METROPOLITAN » NOVEMBER 29, 2007 » A13

»MEN’S BASKETBALL POISED FOR PLAYOFF RUN »A14 »WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHARGED WITH NEW COACH »METRO DROPS TWO GAMES IN FINAL MOMENTS »A17

»A15

ERIC LANSING » SPORTS EDITOR » lansing@mscd.edu

SIDELINE

THIS WEEK »

Friday 11.30

BASKETBALL Women 5 p.m. vs. Minnesota State Mankato in Omaha, Neb.

Saturday 12.01

BASKETBALL Women 7 p.m. at NebraskaOmaha Men 7 p.m. vs. Johnson & Wales at Auraria Court

SAY WHAT? »

“We just knocked the wind out of them. They couldn’t counteract anything we did, so they were pretty much giving up at the end. We were beating their press, and they really couldn’t stop anything.” - Stephanie Sauter, Metro women’s basketball guard, on the Roadrunners’ 17-0 run to secure the 71-50 win over St. Edwards Nov. 23.

DID YOU KNOW »

Senior Metro guard Paige Powers has 1,001 career points through the Nov. 24 game against St. Edwards. The total is enough to tie her for sixth all-time at Metro. In addition, she ranks second in 3-pointers made with 182 and in 3-point attempts with 429. She is also fifth all-time in assists with 228.

NUMBERS GAME » 83

Number of consecutive games the Metro men’s basketball team has made at least one 3-pointer, dating back to Jan. 28, 2005 against Nebraska-Kearney. So far this season, the Roadrunners have drained 69 from behind the arc and are shooting just under 10 per game.

18.8

Points per game for Metro guard Ashley Mickens.

Metro finds comfort in home wins Women’s basketball uses stingy defense, Mickens for back-to-back wins By ERIC LANSING lansing@mscd.edu Metro women’s basketball team forced 51 turnovers to come away with back-to-back victories against Eastern New Mexico and St. Edwards in the Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 22 and 23 at the Auraria Events Center. Metro’s defense helped spark two victories, grabbing 21 steals in the 70-61 win over ENMU and converting 21 turnovers into 29 points in the 71-50 victory over St. Edwards. “For the most part, everybody worked hard,” Metro head coach Linda Lappe said. “We got into passing lanes, we pressured and just kind of disrupted their offense.” The Roadrunners opened their home schedule against ENMU Nov. 22, and despite forcing the Zias to commit 17 turnovers that led to 15 points, Metro only shot 34 percent from the field on 10-of-29 shooting. But it was their defense that gave Metro a 33-31 point lead. “I thought our defense kept us in the game in the first half, especially when we weren’t scoring,” Lappe said. “We talk about that a lot: when you’re not scoring, you do whatever you can do defensively to get stops.” While Metro held ENMU to 38 percent shooting in the first half, the ’Runners were too aggressive at times as they committed 11 fouls that the Zias converted into 11 points from the free throw line. The offense eventually caught up with the defense in the second half as Metro went on a 17-7 run to extend their lead by 16 with a score of 68-52. The offensive explosion came from Metro point guard Ashley Mickens, who scored 16 of her 21 points in the second half. Lappe was impressed with her point guard’s play and said that her defensive-minded player’s performance was “much needed.”

“Defensively, she is always there,” Lappe said. “But tonight, offensively, she stepped in and knew her team needed something, and she went in and got it done.” Mickens was frustrated with her play as she picked up two fouls that kept her on the bench for the majority of the ﬁrst half but heeded her coach’s halftime call. “I really like to get in on defense, and those two fouls just really hurt my heart,” Mickens said. “So I got on the bench, and the coach said we needed to get it together, and with this team, anyone can pick it up, so I decided to do my share.” In the second game of the weekend set against St. Edwards, Mickens once again led the ’Runners with a

“Defensively, she is always there. But tonight, offensively, she stepped in and knew her team needed something ...” LINDA LAPPE, WOMEN’S HEAD COACH, ON ASHLEY MICKENS career-high 28 points, boosted by the timely shooting of Metro guard Stephanie Sauter, who hit six 3pointers to ﬁnish the game with 20 points. It was Sauter’s second 20-point effort of the early season, putting up a career-high 21 points a week earlier on Moorhead State. All 21 of her points came from 3-point land, and Sauter said she feels like every shot she takes is going to go in. “I just have some conﬁdence going into this season,” Sauter said. “It is always good when you hit a few down to begin a game. We shoot a lot

Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu

Metro’s point guard Ashley Mickens splits St. Edwards defense Nov. 24 in the second game of the Thanksgiving Classic hosted at the Auraria Events Center. Mickens scored 28 points on the Hilltoppers and added seven rebounds. Mickens won RMAC Player of the Week for her performances in two games. in practice, and it’s been a good start to the year.” Sauter’s sixth 3-pointer gave Metro a 64-54 lead, the largest for the Roadrunners up to that time, but it was the defense that finished out the victory by holding the Hilltoppers to zero points in the game’s final 8:18 of play. Lappe said it was fun for her to watch as her defense’s intensity stepped it up a couple notches to finish the game strong. Sauter said they just were the better team. “We just knocked the wind out of them,” Sauter said of the 17-0 finish. “They couldn’t counteract anything we did, so they were pretty much giving up at the end. We were beating their press, and they really couldn’t stop anything.” The two wins improve Metro’s record to 3-1 as the Runners look to extend their three-game winning streak in the UNO Classic Nov. 30 against Minnesota State-Mankato and Dec. 1 against Nebraska-Omaha in Omaha, Neb.

Metro women vs. Eastern NM (11/23/07 at Auraria) GAME SCORE 1 2 Total Metro.....................33 37 - 70 Eastern NM...............31 30 - 61 STATS: Metro: P A. Mickens....... 21 C. Bratton......... 15 S. Sauter............ 9 A. Torp............... 7 M. Sinclair.......... 6 A. Benson........... 5

R 2 6 5 6 4 2

Mines: P T. Fifer............ 14 T. Northcutt... 14 K. Bible.......... 8 C. Clay............ 7 L. Acker.......... 6 M. Kabrick..... 5

R 7 3 7 4 0 4

Metro women vs. St. Edwards (11/24/07 at Auraria) GAME SCORE 1 2 Total Metro.....................40 36 - 76 St. Edwards...............31 23 - 54 STATS: Metro: P A. Mickens....... 28 S. Sauter........... 20 C. Bratton.......... 8 P. Powers........... 7 A. Torp................ 6 R. Bean............... 3

R 7 4 3 0 4 4

Mines: P H. Tidwell.......15 C. Sumler...... 9 T. Bartosh...... 9 S. Head.......... 6 N. Etheridge.. 5 J. Saathoﬀ...... 4

R 3 5 1 9 3 0

A14 » SPORTS » NOVEMBER 29. 2007 » THE METROPOLITAN

MEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW

Deep roster, rising coach poised for season COACH BRANNON HAYS

2006-2007 SEASON RECAP

Last year: Metro interim head coach Hays was given the full-time head coaching job prior to this season. Hays led Metro to 28 wins last season.

Record: 28-4, RMAC: 17-2 Postseason: Won the RMAC tournament, lost to Minnesota St. Mankato in second round of the NCAA Tournament Key losses: Michael Bahl - F, All-RMAC East Division Honorable Mention, 27 GS, 11.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg Moussa Coulibaly - C, 30 GS, 6.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg Key addition: Lawrence Billings - C, played two seasons for Bakersﬁeld College, starts at center for Metro this season

JESSE WAGSTAFF: JR, 6-8, F Last year’s stats: 11.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.9 apg This season, the junior forward from Australia is Metro’s leading rebounder and a dangerous shooter from three point range.

MARQUISE CARRINGTON: JR, 5-11, G Last year’s stats: 12.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 4.7 apg The junior guard has led Metro in scoring this season with 13.9 ppg. He is one of the playmakers in the strong backcourt.

TERRELL BURGESS: SR, 5-10, G Last year’s stats: 7.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 2.9 apg The senior is the defensive part of the one-two punch Metro’s guards bring to the ﬂoor, leading the team in steals so far this year.

2007-2008 RMAC MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL EAST DIVISION WEST DIVISION 1. Metro (13) 13 2. Nebraska-Kearney 40 3. Colorado Christian 65 4. UC-Colorado Springs 99 5. Colorado Mines 105 (ﬁrst place votes), total votes

1. Fort Lewis (1) 31 2. Mesa State 60 3. CSU-Pueblo 71 4. Western NM 97 5. Adams State 117

STRENGTH: BACKCOURT With the return of last year’s starting guards, Terrell Burgess and Marquise Carrington, Metro retains the core of their backcourt play from last season. The defensive-minded Burgess already has 14 steals through seven games, while oﬀensive playmaker Carrington leads the team in scoring.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR.... DANIEL BASS: JR, 6-6, F Last year: 2.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 14 assists The forward has made a big impact this season, scoring 9.9 ppg through the ﬁrst seven games. It will be up to this big man to increase his rebounds per game to solidify a much needed presence in the middle.

WEAKNESS: POST PLAY The loss of two big men from an already weak inside team

HAYS ON BASS: “He’s really start- has left Metro with a potential problem in the paint. With ed to come up, he’s playing more minutes than last year in an expanded role.”

the departure of center Moussa Coulibaly, the Roadrunners have had to start newcomer Lawrence Billings, a junior from Bakersﬁeld College who hasn’t yet played the post in Div. II.

THE METROPOLITAN « NOVEMBER 29. 2007 « SPORTS « A15

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW

New coach brings same winning attitude 2006-2007 SEASON RECAP Record: 22-5, 15-4 in the RMAC Postseason: Lost in finals of RMAC Tournament to Regis, Lost in first round of NCAA Tournament to Regis Key losses: Rianna Harris - F, 6-0, 10GS, 10.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg Danielle Ellerington - G, 5-10, 30GS, 9.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg Head coach Dave Murphy - Record of 91-54 in five years

HEAD COACH LINDA LAPPE

Last year: Assistant coach and recruiting coach at CSU Lappe brings Division I coaching experience with her to Metro and has a full plate of talent from last season. Defense-heavy scheme should produce 20 wins.

CASSONDRA BRATTON: JR, 5-11, F

Last year: Second team All-East, 27 GS, 11.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg Bratton plays taller than her height, ﬁghting for rebounds at every chance, with a brilliant post game in the paint. She wil be playing taller centers and forwards, which will lead to foul problems all season.

ASHLEY MICKENS: SR, 5-7, G

Last year: Second team All-East, 24 GS, 9.8 ppg, 3.0 apg This point guard can do it all from scoring at will, rebounding on the oﬀensive and defensive boards and ﬁnding open teammates when she penetrates the lane.

MEGAN SINCLAIR: SR, 6-0, G/F

STRENGTH: DEFENSE Forcing turnovers and constantly clogging passing lanes will be the emphasis under Lappe. This will not only keep opponents from taking shots, but it will force them to take ill-advised shots, knowing the ball handler won’t have too much time to think about their next move.

Last year: 4.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 15 blocks, 37 steals Defensive captain will take it upon herself to lead the team under Lappe’s defense-heavy scheme. Sinclair’s success comes from constant pressure on the ball carrier, while coming over to help teammates.

2007-2008 RMAC MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL EAST DIVISION

1. Nebraska-Kearney (5) 25 2. Metro (5) 31 3. Regis (2) 43 4. Colorado School of Mines 90 5. UC-Colorado Springs 111

WEST DIVISION

1. CSU-Pueblo (2) 56 2. Fort Lewis 68 3. Mesa State 71 4. Western State 78 5. Adams State 118

(Number of ﬁrst place votes), total number of votes

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR.... ANNE-MARIE TORP SR, 5-10, F/G

WEAKNESS: HEIGHT There is no substitution for height and the women’s basketball team lacks plenty of it. They have one player over six feet, (Carolyn Denee at 6 feet 1 inch) and with the loss of senior Rianna Harris, who grabbed 6.0 rpg, rebounds will be hard to come by for this squad. Photos by Cora Kemp and Kristi Denke/ckemp4@mscd.edu, kdenke@mscd.edu

Last year: 8.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg Torp is every coach’s dream as she never seems to take a play off. She goes full throttle in practice and on the court during games. This not only keeps opposing defenses on their toes, but allows fellow teammates to feed off of her energy and tenacity. Torp has the range to make the long ball, while having the ability to knock an offensive player out of her rhythm.

LAPPE ON TORP: “She makes other people work hard, because they know if they don’t, Torp is gonna make them look bad.”

THE METROPOLITAN « NOVEMBER 29. 2007 « SPORT « A17

Metro comes up short in crunch time By ZAC TAYLOR ztaylor2@mscd.edu Metro dropped two close games, both defeats coming in the final minutes, during the Cal State Los Angeles Classic Nov. 23 and 24 in California. The losses drop the Roadrunners’ record to 3-4 on the season with only one game left before their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule begins. A 79-73 loss against California State Dominguez Hills was followed on Nov. 24 by a 71-66 defeat against the host team, Cal State Los Angeles. “Both those teams were more athletic than we were, bigger than us, and I thought our guys competed,” Metro head coach Brannon Hays said. “Now we just have to learn how to beat these teams … in the final minutes.” Against Dominguez Hills, the ’Runners had trouble fending off the Toros’ shooters, who made 52.9 percent from the floor. The opponent also exposed a lack of height on the Metro roster, as they were outrebounded 37-28 while giving up 12 secondchance baskets. Despite these shortfalls and only shooting 39.3 percent, the Roadrunners were able to stay in contention throughout. After trailing 37-31 at the half, Metro guards Marquise Carrington and Terrell Burgess stepped up their game, combining for 31 points and helping the ’Runners stay close to the Toros. After taking a 66-62 lead with

just more than six minutes remaining, the Toros’ skill and strength could no longer be contained. They went on a 13-2 run toward the final victory over Metro. “Cal State Dominguez Hills is very athletic and deep,” Hays said. “They have good shooters. They’re just a good team.” The following night, the Roadrunners took on Cal State Los Angeles, who came off a win the night before. Metro stayed competitive with the Eagles, but once again, the superior strength and skill of the home team was too much for the ’Runners in the closing minutes. “Cal State L.A. brought in three Division I transfers and are much improved from last year,” Hays added. Through most of the game, Hays’ players debunked the scouting report, keeping up with their opponent. The guard play of Metro once again took the forefront, totaling 38 points to lead the team scoring. The ’Runners came out and hit the boards harder then they did the previous night, but they still failed to reach 40 percent of their field goals. In the end, the more efficient shooting of the Eagles stole the game. The end of the weekend classic put Metro one game away from finishing their tough nonconference schedule, which winds down with Johnson and Wales’ Colorado team Dec. 1. “This year we have a much tough-

er schedule,” Hays said on his nonconference opponents. “Last year, the schedule was a lot easier, and we went through it pretty easily.” The conference schedule might bring some relief for the Metro team that has only played twice at home. Their ﬁrst two games are against Fort Lewis and Mesa State on Dec. 7 and 8, ranked one and two in the RMAC East Division, respectively. “The conference isn’t easy to win. Every game is going to be a dogﬁght in a sense — no ‘gimmies’ in our conference,” Hays said. “(Ft. Lewis and Mesa State) are always going to be battling for a conference title with us.” Thus having both at home will bode well for Metro as their home court has been very good to them in the past. Last year, Hays led the team to an undefeated 17-0 record at home. So far this year, they have only played two games at home,those account for all but one of their wins. “(Playing at home) doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed to win,” Hays said, “but we are going to play as hard as we can as a group to win the game.” It is the group concept that is at the heart of what Hays wants for his team this year as they try to take a deeper run into the playoffs. “(Our) strength is in the strength of the team,” Hays said. “Because of the strength of this group, I believe we can beat any (Division II) team later in the season.”

Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu

Metro guard Marquise Carrington goes up for a layup Nov. 16 against Langston at the Auraria Events Center. The shooting guard averages 13.6 ppg in seven games played while adding a team-leading 38 assists.

Women’s basketball ready to win in season of change By ERIC LANSING lansing@mscd.edu Metro’s women’s basketball team has a new coach, a new system and new players. But despite the many changes, the same winning tradition will continue, as the 2007-2008 season looks promising. After losing head coach Dave Murphy to retirement, Linda Lappe has taken over the position. A new coaching change can have a negative effect on players who came to Metro or played under Murphy’s tenure. “When you have a coaching change, pretty much everything is new,” Lappe said. “There’s a lot of new things: different personalities, different system, different offense and defense. But I feel like the team has done a really good job of coming together.” The players seemed to have responded well to Lappe, including senior guard Anne-Marie Torp, who played her ﬁrst season with Metro last year and is excited about the change because the coaching style is one she is familiar with. “Actually, the transition has been pretty smooth,” Torp said. “I’ve had coaches from (Colorado University), and that’s the kind of program that we’ve developed here with the same offense.”

With the offensive system already in place, it is the play on the defensive end that will be emphasized under Lappe’s regime. Metro was already a solid defensive team last year in holding opponents to only 60 points per game, which placed them third in the conference. “We’ve spent a ton of time on defense,” Lappe said. “We spend a huge majority of practices every day working on defense, whether that be defending cuts, getting in help side or where are we at when somebody drives. I think just all around, just down and dirty, we’ll do whatever it takes to get stops.” One of Lappe’s key players that will lead her defensive-minded game is junior forward Megan Sinclair. Sinclair, who was named as one of the team captains by Lappe, is known for her defensive abilities to block shots and grab rebounds. “As a captain, I just want to focus on getting my team ready for team defense,” Sinclair said. “We’re all conﬁdent that we have the help from our players and our team.” While the defense should keep opponent’s scores low, it will be the strength of the bench that will take this team further into conference and national tournaments. Production off the bench will be a huge element

Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu

Metro head coach Linda Lappe holds a quick pep talk with her players during the Nov. 24 matchup with St. Edwards. Lappe coached her team to a 76-54 win. this season as former All-RMAC player Paige Powers, 6-foot sophomore forward Rae Bean and 6-foot-1-inch senior forward Carolyn Dennee will spell the starters. “It’s pretty good,” Lappe said about the bench. “We’ll be able to play anywhere from eight to 11 or 12 (players) every single night. And most teams do because of the schedule and you play back-to-back nights. You can’t play your starters 35 minutes the ﬁrst night if you want them to be any good the second night.” Torp also enjoys the talent-ﬁlled bench, so that when foul trouble

arises, or if a key player is injured or fatigued, a substitution can be made without too much loss in production. “It’s nice to have those threats,” Torp said. “Especially the offensive threats that we can pull out of our cards and put that spark in. That’s what Paige brings to our team. Even when she is just on the court, (opposing defenses) know what she can do, and it helps open other people up too.” Powers had a rough 2006-2007 season where her points per game fell from 16 to 6.6, and she lost her starting point guard spot to Ashley Mick-

ens. Shoulder surgery played a huge part in Powers’ declined production last season and surgery was once again needed before this season, which keeps her shoulder sore after every practice and game. She is optimistic about the upcoming season and plans to give it her all in her senior, and ﬁnal, season as a Roadrunner. “It should be fun,” Powers said. “It’s my last year and I want to go out on top with a bang. I don’t have all the strength, but it’s getting there, and it shouldn’t be too much longer.” Sinclair played with Powers during her All-RMAC year and saw the frustration that engulfed her teammate last season. But she said she hopes Powers can regain that form that made her an impossible player to cover on the court. “We’re looking at Paige to get back to old Paige again this year,” Sinclair said. “She’s looked good in practice, and we’re excited to see what she can really do.” It can be hard to predict immediate successes with so much change in a program, but Lappe and her ’Runners looked primed for a solid season with experienced players, a stingy defense and a deep bench that should display a different star every night.