Volume 33, Issue 2 - Aug. 26, 2010 by Met Media

August 26, 2010, Vol. 33, Issue 2

Serving Auraria for 31 years

Online >> http://themet.metrostudentmedia.com

THE THE

ETROPOLITAN METROPOLITAN Traditional family fun

Low wire performer Fletcher Runyan practices juggling outside the Zoppè Italian Family Circus tent Aug. 21 before the evening show at Mile High Market Place. The circus was founded more than 160 years ago in Italy by Napoline and Ermenegilda Zoppè after they fell in love in Hungary and ran away to Italy to be together. Today, Giovanni Zoppè, a sixth generation clown, is one of the leads of the show. The one-ring circus tours around the country and offers classic acts such as acrobatics, equestrian showmanship, cainine capers, clowning and (in this show) contortionists. • B2 Photo by Leah Millis • lmillis@mscd.edu

NEWS

Science in session

Three years and $111 million later, new Auraria building is ofﬁcially open •A3

SPORTS Softball says farewell to most winning coach • A15 Don’t be fooled, fantasy football a full-time gig • A21

METROSPECTIVE Oblio’s Arrow ever-changing arrangement • B6

A2 • NEWS • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

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A3 • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN “The health care debate found us swapping twin propagandas created in separate but parallel labs forming in the sources of our news and the vaunted opinions of whom we trust”

EWS

- BEN WIEBESIEK • INSIGHT • on A11

Now open for science GABRIELLE PORTER • NEWS EDITOR • gporter8@mscd.edu

By Ashley Moreland amorela1@mscd.edu

More than two-and-a-half years after ground was broke and $111 million later, the part-new, part-renovated Science Building ceremonially opened Aug. 20. More than 300 people gathered at the Science Building courtyard for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication. According to Joan Foster, dean of the school of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the addition added 197,000-square feet to the existing 142,000-square feet of the original Science Building. The building houses Metro, UCD and CCD science and math classes. “This is more than just a science building; it’s 197,000-square feet of promise, potential and commitment,” said Barbara Weiske, Auraria’s interim executive vice president for administration, at the dedication. Weiske said the project was always destined for success because of all “the people who remained dedicated during challenging times.” The construction faced various obstacles, including a cut in state funds. Weiske went on to thank Gov. Bill Ritter, Mayor John Hickenlooper, State Treasurer Cary Kennedy and the senators and representatives who sponsored the “project-saving bills.” Ritter, Hickenlooper, Kennedy, Rep. Joe Rice and Rep. Mark Ferrandino were in attendance at the ceremony. One of the project-saving bills was Senate Bill 233, which allows the state to issue Certificates of Participation to help fund higher education construction projects in the state. Ritter signed the bill into law May 12, 2008 at the site of the Science Building, which at the time was a huge hole in the ground. Ritter said the hole was a metaphor for higher education in Colorado, and higher education and projects like the Science Building need to be high priorities. “Imagine if we just said ‘It’s a downturn, it’s a tough economy, we don’t have capital development money, and so we’re not going to finish the math and science building,’” Ritter said. “What a failure that would have been for us in terms of living up to the promise of kids who rely upon this higher education in Colorado.” Kennedy agreed and said it symbolized the critical lack of higher education funding in the state, especially for math and science projects. She said it was crucial they find a solution quickly — labs in the old Science Building were being closed because of chemicals and poor ventilation. “Now, the students who come

INDEX INSIGHT ... A11 METROSPECTIVE ... B1 SPORTS ... A15 TIMEOUT ... A10

WEATHER 8.25 • Sunny High: 86/Low: 53 8.26 • Sunny High: 92/Low: 54 8.27 • Partly cloudy High: 94/Low: 61 8.28 • Chance of rain High: 90/Low: 61 8.29 • Chance of rain High: 91/Low: 61 8.30 • Mostly sunny High: 88/Low: 59 8.31 • Mostly sunny High: 90/Low: 60 9.01 • Partly cloudy High: 92/Low: 61 By Kendell LaRoche

FROM LEFT: Community College of Denver President Karén Bleeker, State Tresurer Cary Kennedy, Gov. Bill Ritter, President and CEO of the Downtown Business Partnership Tamara Door, Metro President Stephen Jordan, Interim Chancellor of UCD Jerry Wartgow and Interim Executive Vice President for Administration Barbara Weiske cut a ribbon at the opening ceremony for the new science building Aug. 20. Photo by Steve

Anderson•sande104@mscd.edu

through these doors are going to have a modern, 21st-century facility,” Kennedy said. “They have better use of space, state-of-the-art equipment and a building that is a model for the nation in its energy efficiency.” Representatives from each of the three schools spoke at the event: Karén Bleeker, president of CCD; Rob Cohen, vice chair of Metro’s Board of Trustees; and Jerry Wartgow, UCD’s interim chancellor. They said the new building allows for growth in the departments, economic development and shows the state’s commitment to supporting higher education. “If you think about the economic development and the times that we’re in, that also makes sense that one of our economic clusters is life sciences and sciences and bio sciences,” Cohen said. “And again, it makes sense that we have a facility like this so we can take students and teach them and create jobs, because that is what will ultimately come out of this building.” The process Planning for the Science building began in 2006, according to Ken Ross, Facilities Management director for Auraria Higher Education Center. He said renovation and a new building were desperately needed because the building, which was built in 1977, had an outdated ventilation system. Foster said she used to advise pregnant women to not take classes in the building’s labs because they were harmful to their health. “Imagine telling your students,

‘sorry, we won’t have organic chemistry lab this week because it’s no longer safe for you to be in the lab,’” Foster said. In addition to the dangerous conditions, a new building was also needed to accommodate the growing math and science programs. According to Foster, Auraria has seen a 250 percent growth since the original Science Building was built. Metro alone has 2,500 students in these programs, which is a 21 percent increase from 2005. Construction of the new building began in December 2007 but was put on hold in March 2008 when the state cut the proposed funding ($50 million) in half. However, two bills, Senate Bill 233 and Senate Bill 118, were signed into law in May, which helped to fund the project. SB 233 allowed the state to issue Certificates of Participation to higher education construction projects, and SB 118 contributed 50 percent of mineral lease revenue to the institutions to pay back the COPs. The project faced another problem in March 2008 when asbestos was found after breaking ground on the site. The addition was finished in November 2009, and classes began meeting in spring 2009. The official opening of the building was postponed, however, due to winter weather and, according to Cathy Lucas, associate vice president of communications “the time wasn’t right [until the beginning of the fall semester].”

The renovations to the new building are scheduled to be complete in December, and the total cost of the project is estimated to be $117 million, according to Ross. State-of-the-art facility The construction added 13 new labs for Metro alone and four undergrad research labs, according to Foster. Because of the additional space Metro has 84 sections of biology labs this semester, which is a 33 percent increase from last year. “Having all the things the science school need in one building, it’s going to create a more exciting place for students to learn,” Ross said. Nate Wieland, a UCD electrical engineering major, is taking Electronics II and Linear Systems Theory in the new Science Building this semester. Although he hasn’t spent much time in the addition yet, he likes it and thinks it was greatly needed. “I had classes [in the old building three years ago],” he said. “It was pretty dank.” Lucas said the new building is a beacon for the campus and shows that “Metro State is on the rise.” “What we’ve done has greatly improved the facilities for our students,” Foster said. “We’re serving more students; we’re reaching the economic needs of the Denver area.”

FEATURES Find out how to make a healthy choice from the campus vending machines

NEWS CCD and UCD share plans for campus newswpapers.

MUSIC Hair metal review. The Scorpions and Cinderella come to town.

CORRECTIONS In the Parking story on page A3 the full name and title for Mark Gallagher, Director of Parking and Transportation at AHEC was missing. In the photo caption on page A5, Student Trustee Kat Cammack’s name was mispelled. In the Back-to-School fall sports review on page A17, Madison McQuillliams name was mispelled. To notify The Metropolitan of an error in any of our reports, please contact Editor-in-Chief Ashley Moreland at amorela1@mscd.edu

A4 • NEWS • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

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DID YOU KNOW? A jiffy is an actual unit of time — 1/100th of a second • THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • NEWS • A5

Cooperation stressed to stem campus crime

Communication, year-round bicycle cops part of plan By Antonio C. Valenzuela avalen10@mscd.edu

Auraria experienced a heightened amount of crime and violence during the last year. From Feb. 16 to March 8, there were more than five reported assaults; seven attempted or successful robberies, including multiple cases involving deadly weapons, and two break-ins at Campus Village. Auraria Police Chief John Mackey said he feels the problems were unrelated and not necessarily part of a larger trend of increasing violence. The police department is working on facilitating faster communication and response.

“We feel those were isolated incidents, and we believe the Auraria Campus is a safe place and we aim to keep it that way,” Mackey said of the violence in February and March. According to Mackey, there has been a concerted effort to use other departments and personnel to be the extra eyes and ears for the police on campus. The police department has met with other departments to instruct their employees to be helpful observers who can contact the police regarding campus crimes. Mackey said he has made an intentional effort to streamline the means of communication across campus. “We have increased communication with the several other personnel departments including parking, AHEC (Auraria Higher Education

Center), and janitorial staff, that equal over a 100 people; all with radios,” Mackey said. Maintenance coordinator Tony Medina confirmed meetings between the Auraria Police and AHEC to increase the communication lines between departments, “I know meetings were conducted and a memo was sent out for facilities management to instruct our employees of the new communication measures,” Medina said. Mackey also spoke about two other measures taken by the department to help ensure the safety of students on campus: working with RTD commissioner John Tarbert to change some police procedures. Mackey said he met with Tarbert to implement a system that will alert RTD’s drivers and to sound messages

Police Blotter

DUI’s

Thefts

8.18 An officer responded to a call concerning a motor vehicle theft. Metro student Sarah Stammer had parked at a metered parking near South Classroom. After putting her keys on the ground to look through her purse she walked away from her locked 2001 Jeep Cherokee. When she realized she left her keys she came back to find her car missing.

on light rail trains. These messages would be the same as the alerts sent out through MetroConnect, Mackey said. “Like the guy making threats — previously we might not have caught him. Now we have people watching for incidents like this and taking descriptions,” Mackey said of the man who was arrested after threatening Community College of Denver Financial Aid staff members Aug. 24 in South Classroom. “So we were able to catch the suspect, and he is now in the Denver City Jail.” Mackey said sometimes patrol cars impair the ability of officers to respond to calls on campus. Because the campus is relatively small, he implemented bike cops on campus year-round. Before, bike cops were only out seasonally, he said.

8.19 An officer responded to a call concerning a theft. Metro student Mason Franklin had parked in the Tivoli Auraria Parking Structure and left his passenger side window slightly open. Upon returning to his car he noticed his wallet had been moved and there was $160.00 dollars missing. There are no suspects or leads in this case.

Possession 08.01 Sean Kannegieter was arrested at 950 10th St. for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia. According to the report, he was defiant with the police and also was charged with interference. Kennegieter has no affiliation to Auraria.

This month at Auraria there were six routine traffic stops that resulted in DUI arrests. 8.01 Arrest at Speer Boulevard and Larimer Street 8.08 Arrest at 12th Avenue and Speer Boulevard. 8.11 Arrest at Speer Boulevard and

“The squad cars sometimes are hard to maneuver across campus, and we think bikes make it easier for officers to get across campus quickly,” Mackey said. The MetroConnect alert system to inform students of threats is in place, but Mackey said it’s ultimately up to him to decide what incidents qualify to be sent. The incidents on campus were publicized through student and local media, and some students said the incidents made them more aware of measures needed to feel safer on campus. “I still feel safe on campus. There are enough people around, and I feel like maybe those were freak accidents that made people more aware of safety on campus,” UCD student Kate Porter said. Larimer Street 8.13 Arrest at 8th Avenue and Walnut St. 8.14 Arrest at Speer Boulevard and Larimer Street 8.15 Arrest at 12th Avenue and Larimer Street. AURARIA CAMPUS POLICE DEPARTMENT 303-556-5000

Alum gives back to Metro electrical engineering department Graduate donates $10,000 grant By Alex Baskett abaskett@mscd.edu A $10,000 grant was presented to the Metro State College Electrical Engineering Technology Department Aug. 20, on behalf of an alumna. Lisa Moder, who was voted 2010’s Test Engineer of the Year by Test and Measurement World magazine, designated $10,000 to Metro as part of her award. Moder graduated from Metro’s Electrical Engineering Technology program in 1990 and is now a senior test engineer for EchoStar Technologies in Englewood. The announcement was made in the April issue of the magazine. National Instruments sponsored the grant. “I owe the launching of my career to Metro State,” Moder said. “They were the one’s who guided me and taught me everything I know.” In a ceremony that preceded the ribbon cutting for the new Auraria Science Building, Moder displayed a plaque she received and the issue of Test and Measure World that featured her face on the cover, noting that they even “made her the centerfold” before she handed an oversized check to Metro President Stephen Jordan and Metro Department of Engineering Chair Richard Pozzi. The grant, sponsored by North-

ern Instruments, is not the only money the Electrical Engineering Technology program has had at its disposal. The department also received funds that allowed them to equip each of its labs with Smart Boards and a total of 98 new computers. “Every computer in all of our labs has been upgraded to brand new equipment,” said Pozzi. “[The new computers] now outperform most every one on campus.” “I would love to buy a spectrum analyzer,” Pozzi said, speaking of how to best use Moder’s grant. He said he hopes the new equipment will better train students to follow in the career footsteps of their newest benefactor. The spectrum analyzer is a device used in the telecommunications field to test signal and track interference. Pozzi hopes to give student more access to technologies currently used in the fields they are seeking jobs in. The engineering technology department has been growing steadily over the last decade, more than doubling its number of full-time students from less than 100 in 2001 to about 250 this fall. In that same time period, the engineering faculty went from four full-time instructors to nine according to Pozzi. The department is also in the process of applying for two accreditations, one from the Colorado Com-

mission of Higher Education and the other from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. “That’s one more tick on the resume,” said Pozzi of the accreditations. “Students are getting an education that will get them a job.” His department has been placing 50 to 80 percent of their graduates in jobs or graduate degree programs over the last five years. The check presentation directly preceded ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Science Building, attended by Mayor John Hickenlooper, Gov. Bill Ritter and more than 300 others. Moder’s moment, however, was not overshadowed. “What a great honor for you; what a great honor for us,” Jordan said. Additional space and technology are primary needs for the Engineering Department, according to Zsuzsa Balogh, Civil Engineering Technology coordinator. Engineering rooms have specific electrical needs, limiting which spaces can be used. Currently the Department of Engineering Technology is housed in South Classroom and shares space primarily with CCD. Balogh expects those needs to continue after the proposed renovation of the South Classroom within the Auraria Higher Education Center Master Plan, but a time line has not yet been set.

Lisa Moder, a Metro alumna, shows off the article written about her in Test and Measurement World Magazine naming her Test Engineer of the year to a crowd Aug. 20 in the Auraria Science Building. Photo by Caitlin Gibbons • cgibbon4@mscd.edu

A6 • NEWS • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

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out privileges and can be prepaid for the semester in cash or by a monthly charge to your credit card. With the pass, you may park in either Lot A, B or W. The pass is valid only in A, B & W, and in-and-out parking is subject to availability.

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• NO IN AND OUT PARKING ALLOWED (except in Lot E: See attendant for details). • Place the parking receipt face-up on the dashboard, so the number and date stamp are visible from outside the vehicle. • Display only the receipt purchased for the current day. • If lot is unattended, use quarters or bills ($1, $5 or $10 only) in the machine. • Campus ID is required to park in Lot R. • Report machine malfunctions immediately to Parking Services, 303-556-2000, to avoid being ticketed. • Carpool rates are available in Lot E ($2.50), and Lot R ($4.50). Two or more persons of driving age must be in the vehicle to be eligible for the carpool rate. • Faculty/Staff business-related in-and-out pass is available: please contact Parking Services at 303-556-2003 for more information. • Lot H upper section $1.50 per half hour or $5.50 all day. Lower section $4.50 all day.

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FYI: Colorado is the only state to have turned down the Olympics — Denver declined to host the Winter Games of of 1976 • THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • NEWS • A7

Faculty promotes Ethiopian literacy Metro builds partnership with grade school, university By Paul Zastrocky pzastroc@mscd.edu Wide-smiling children stare down from the walls at passers-by from brightly-hued photographs in the Auraria Library. Scenes of the classrooms and the barren desert landscapes of Adowa, a town in rural Ethiopia, are pictured in the Ethiopian Photo Exhibit, on display Aug. 1–31. The photos are from a recent trip a group of Metro staff made to

Ethiopia to establish bonds with a university north of the capital, Addis Ababa. During their trip, even more opportunities were unveiled to them. The group that visited Ethiopia consisted of James Aubrey, a professor of English and cinema studies; Akbarali Thobani, director of international studies; Scott Houck, a videographer from the Center for Academic Technology; Mary Ann Watson, a professor of psychology; and Layton Curl, an associate professor of psychology. Axum University in Ethiopia signed a partnership agreement with Metro in March when five Metro faculty members visited an area of Ethiopia already holding strong ties with Denver. Although the primary goal of the expedition was to work with

Metro history professor, Tian Xiansheng, takes in the Ethiopian Photo Exhibit in Auraria Library Aug. 19. The gallery shows a group of Metro staff members who made a trip to a university north of Ethiopia’s capital. Photo by Luke Powell • lpowel18@mscd.edu

Axum University, the Metro faculty members found they could assist the city in more ways than they expected and could also give Metro students new opportunities to study abroad. “It’s not the usual charitable project that’s meant to uplift people from poverty. This is more contributing to the building of the middleclass in Ethiopia,” Aubrey said. During the trip, the group visited an old battlefield where the Ethiopians defeated the Italians in 1896. On the battlefield, they came across an edifice made from tree branches. When they peeked inside the simple structure, they discovered around 100 elementary school children having class. Thobani said he found the government considered it too remote a location to give it funding or priority. Thobani asked officials what it would cost to build a standard concrete block school with a library, similar to other elementary schools in the region and was given a $25,000 estimate. He received permission from Metro President Stephen Jordan to start a fund raising effort at Metro to raise the money. “If every Metro student gave one dollar, then we’d have it,” Aubrey said. The Metro group also worked on networking with Axum University, which has 8,000 students as of 2010. Only two of the people on staff hold a Ph.D., one professor and the vice president of the University. Most of the teachers are baccalaure-

ate and masters degree holders. Metro’s goal in signing the partnership agreement is to help build the academic credentials and the structure of the place as well as to stock the library and help finish the buildings, according to Aubrey. A book drive held in May yielded 10 tons of books that are being shipped over this month to help stock the library at Axum University, Aubrey said. Books aren’t the only things being shipped to Ethiopia. Stuart Monroe, a professor of computer information systems, is leaving soon to spend a year teaching at the university, Aubrey said. Since the group returned from Ethiopia, Thobani succeeded in landing a State Department grant for almost $25,000 to send 10 Metro students and two Metro faculty members to the university for two months during the summer of 2012. The Office of International Studies will be recruiting people for the 2012 trip this fall semester, Thobani said. The selected students will take an anthropology course and an African history course. Both courses will be taught by the two Metro professors on the trip. Amharic, the native language in that region of Ethiopia, will be the third course taken by Metro students, and will be taught by one of the current Axum faculty members. One of the objectives of the U.S. government is to promote the study of less commonly-taught “critical languages,” Thobani said. Other than

Amharic, they include languages such as Arabic, Hindi and Pashto. As well as networking with the local university and school systems, Watson and Curl conducted a study comparing happiness in Ethiopia and in U.S., and will be releasing a set of educational videos of their findings, Watson said. Watson and Curl were able to gather more than 100 hours of video footage and interviews in their research. Three short films covering three related topics are in the works: happiness, the positive psychology of what creates happiness in different cultures and a video exploring the differences in happiness between wealthy and non-wealthy cultures, Watson said. “You’d think that the wealthier cultures would be more happy, but that’s not always the case,” Watson said. “What creates the meaningful life? People who are altruistic and get involved in projects, like the Ethiopia project, will say that they have much more meaningful lives.” Ethiopia is slowly growing and becoming more modernized. One of the biggest problems facing Ethiopia is illiteracy. Only 32.7 percent of the current population is literate, according to Ethiopiareads.org, an organization aimed at increasing literacy rates in Ethiopia. A benefit dinner and silent auction will be held Oct. 24 at Strings Restaurant to fund the elementary school building project.

Women see benefit in UCD self-defense class

Two-day course focuses on rape awareness

By Nick Roper nroper@mscd.edu

A basic self-defense and rape protection awareness class for women will be held Sept. 18–19 at the Anschutz Medical Campus. The UCD Police Department is offering its Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) system to limited faculty and staff as well as to all students and the general public, as long as they are women. The Auraria Police Department used to offer the program as well, but due to low interest it has not been offered in a few years, Detective Jason Mollendor said. Officer Lynn Whitten, the trainer for the course for the UC Denver Police, along with three male officers, will be teaching, which runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. Whitten said one reason the

program is limited to women only is because of the level of contact involved in the physical training in the course. “I believe having these classes is a good thing because it is a way to instruct women on how to protect themselves,” said Metro senior Rebecca Love. “However, the length of the class is a little daunting.” Whitten said although the class is lengthy, it’s necessary to do the subject justice. “It is a lot of time, but there is a lot of information. We start the first four to five hours with lectures and the next 12 hours or so is all physical training,” Whitten said. The lectures cover topics such as risk awareness and societal attitudes. “Many women have been taught that is not OK to be rude and say no. We teach them it is OK and empower them to be able to make decisions with the resources they have,” Whitten said. The program started in 2001 and was 12 hours long. In 2002 the program’s hours were increased to 16 because participants were asking

for more time, Whitten said. The program teaches women selfdefense techniques for any situation, whether it is an unwelcome touch at the bar or something more serious. The technique is introduced to the class, then practiced over and over. While there is a lot of grueling work to be done in the class, Whitten said “muscles remember with repetition” so when someone is faced with a dangerous situation “they don’t even have to think, their muscles just react.” Women also have the opportunity to practice their new skills on male instructors who are fully padded. The instructors will simulate situations women may find themselves in to get their adrenaline pumping, Whitten said. The course also uses props to demonstrate how to properly use pepper spray. Metro junior Teresa Petroski said she felt she would benefit from the preparation and training for emergencies in such a class. “I don’t feel safe at night on campus, so I’m always watching

who’s around me. I think I could absolutely benefit from a class like that,” Petroski said.

“Many women have been taught that is not OK to be rude and say no. We teach them it is OK and empower them to be able to make decisions with the resources they have.”

-OFFICER LYNN WHITTEN

While the class is open to the entire student body, the general public and some faculty and staff, spaces are limited to 20 women per class, and the deadline for registration is Sept. 15. “Women feel more comfortable when there are no men in the class. One in four women are victimized by rape, and it is harder for them to open up and talk about their experience when there is a strange man in the

class,” Whitten said. There are also men’s R.A.D selfdefense classes available throughout the year, although they are not aggression defense classes but rather resisting aggression defense classes. Whitten said typically they try to offer the men’s course two week after the women’s, and there is an overlap in the instructors who teach both. “To be honest, it is nice to see a class being offered that provides the necessary tools to women with which they can protect themselves,” Metro sophomore Coire Geare said. Geare said he felt men should be given the same opportunities to learn about rape defense. “I think it would be equally beneficial for men and women, even if they split the class up into two groups after a while,” Geare said. The R.A.D. program offers lifetime free practice courses for no additional charge for those who have already completed the program. To learn more about R.A.D, visit ucdenver.edu/police.

A8 • NEWS • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

LateStarting

Classes Extended at

Locations Campus Fall 2010 METRO SOUTH • 303-721-1313

5660 Greenwood Plaza Blvd., Greenwood Village 80111. Near Orchard Road and I-25 located in the Triad North Bldg. Directly across from the Orchard Road Light Rail Station. Parking is free!

DEPT #

COURSE TITLE/CREDITS

CRN # DAYS/TIME

DATES

ACC 2020 CPD 190X CPD 2300 CPD 2310 CPD 2320 CPD 2360 CPD 390B EDU 4300 HSP 4290 JRN 4890 NUT 2040 PHI 1030 SPE 1710 SPE 4300 THE 4300

Principles of Accounting II (3) Women’s Leadership (1) Time Management (1) Stress Management (1) Self Esteem (1) Multi-Level Wellness (1) Financial Planning for Women (1) Acting Like a Teacher (2) PTSD Counseling (1) Social Documentary (1–12) Introduction to Nutrition (3) Introduction to Ethics (3) Interpersonal Communication (3) Acting Like A Teacher (2) Acting Like a Teacher (2)

54756 56128 56130 56129 56132 56135 56127 56492 56083 56163 54895 54914 54966 56493 56494

10/23–12/18 9/25–10/2 10/23–10/30 10/9–10/16 11/6–11/13 12/4–12/11 9/11–9/18 10/9–10/30 10/1–10/2 9/27–10/30 10/23–12/18 10/23–12/18 10/23–12/18 10/9–10/30 10/9–10/30

S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. FS, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. W, 6 p.m.–8:45 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m.

METRO NORTH • 303-450-5111

11990 Grant Street, Northglenn. Near I-25 and 120th located in the City Wide Bank Building. Parking is free!

DEPT #

COURSE TITLE/CREDITS

CRN # DAYS/TIME

DATES

CJC 3350 CPD 2300 CPD 2310 CPD 2330 CPD 2350 EDU 3000 EDU 4700 EDU 4700 HSP 4300 MUS 1000 SPE 1010 THE 2210 THE 4220

Juvenile Justice (3) Time Management (1) Stress Management (1) Assertiveness (1) Career Evaluation Workshop (1) Introduction to Education (1) Substitute Teacher Workshop (1) Substitute Teacher Workshop (1) Emotional Response to Terrorism (1) Introduction to Music (3) Public Speaking (3) Introduction to Theatre (3) Creative Dramatics for the Classroom Teacher (3)

56353 56804 56143 56145 56144 56577 56299 56786 56244 56479 54967 56204 56377

10/23–12/18 11/6–11/13 9/25–10/2 12/4–12/11 10/9–10/16 9/27–10/30 9/13–9/15 9/18–9/25 9/24–9/25 10/23–12/18 10/23–12/18 10/23–12/18 10/23–12/18

S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. MW, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. FS, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. S, 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m.

Green Team cleans national park

THIS JUST IN: The IRS has an official plan for collecting taxes after a possible nuclear war •THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • NEWS • A9

Metro student among interns working for environment By Benjo Morales bmorale3@mscd.edu

Metro sophomore Myriah Montoya can move boulders at 13,000 feet, literally. But not without the help of her teammates from Groundwork Denver’s Green Team, which worked at Rocky Mountain National Park Aug. 2–18. Groundwork Denver is a nonprofit organization that works with the community to improve the environment as well as promote health and well-being. Specifically, the Rocky Mountain Green Team is an answer to problems of national-park relevancy. Groundwork Denver’s general premise is to get teens and young adults from urban areas involved and employed through environmental projects, according to Executive Director Wendy Hawthorne. Montoya, 19, has been with the Green Team since mid–June this year. She transferred from CCD to Metro this semester. She has also traveled to San Francisco, parts of Europe, Guatemala, and Trinidad and Tobago on mission trips. “Rocky Mountain National Park worked out really well. And I think that Myriah’s experience with her international work through her mission trips helped her to be comfortable in that camp culture and within that group setting,” said Groundwork Denver Youth Program Director Shane Wright. “We didn’t just work at Rocky Mountain for three dedicated weeks, we also lived up there. So we had a camp-culture that was set up, and she was a leader; not just out in the field … she kept the morale up, and she was able to smile and have fun and relax.” Montoya’s father is a fire science teacher at (Career Education Center) Middle College and she found out

Metro sophomore Myriah Montoya holds a sapling Aug. 24 at Auraria. Montoya interned at Groundwork Denver’s Green Team working at Rocky Mountain National Park this past summer. Photo by Steve Anderson•sande104@mscd.edu about the Green Team when Wright was a guest speaker at one of his classes. “It just kind of fell in my lap. I showed up to the little speech that Shane (Wright) gave. I just loved it. The position was just for me,” Montoya said. According to an Aug. 15 press release from Groundwork Denver, The National Park Service is concerned about the low number of visitors; the youth’s lack of involvement and interest with nature and the lack of visitor diversity. That’s where the Green Team comes in. The Green Team is a diverse group of 10 students that includes three students from South High School who are originally from the Congo, and Montoya, who is Native American, Italian and Spanish.

They spent three weeks at Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park to help with trail restoration, re vegetation and diversification. “The first week we worked with re vegetation. Anything that was ruined or destroyed by construction or people walking, we’d go and replant. They grow it in the greenhouse, and then we would take it and replant it,” Montoya said. “The second week, we worked on trail work, rebuilding walls and carrying boulders. It was crazy.” Besides the community service aspect, the Green Team works to connect youth to nature. “This is the first year we’ve done a Green Team of that age range (18– 24). We got a younger team the last three years of 14–17 year olds but this is the first time we’ve done the

older team,” Hawthorne said. “Particularly, this older team has this partnership with Rocky Mountain National Park as a way to engage these youth; young adults really.” The decreasing number of visitors to national parks and budget cuts are hurting Rocky Mountain National Park. “Most parks have a lot of budget cuts and don’t have the staff that they need to keep up that park because they don’t get many visitors,” Hawthorne said. In addition to improving and maintaining Rocky Mountain National Park, the Green Team also helped with visitor diversification. “The park visitation is homogeneous. It’s very white,” Hawthorne said. “Hardly any people of color visit the park. If they don’t figure out

Women Needed

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how to engage the wide spectrum of Americans in the parks, they’re not going to be relevant and there won’t be the people, the votes or whatever it takes to keep the parks operating. “So [the national parks] are really interested in diversifying their workforce (and) diversifying visitations. And that’s one of the reasons they’re funding programs in urban areas to have urban youth work in the park so they can connect them with those potential jobs and see what the parks are all about. So that’s another important factor for them as much as getting this work done,” Hawthorne said.

ally Sexu e? v Acti

A10 • NEWS • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

A11 • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

NSIGHT

"Injuries [and] just life in general. Life gets in the way sometimes; life gets hard." —METRO JUNIOR XENIA FLORES • SPORTS • A19

Texan survives bumps to bloom I have said, since I was a young girl, I would never leave my home. What would I do without my family and everything I have grown to know? I knew San Antonio like the back of my hand. You could blindfold me, take me to a random point anywhere in the city, drop me off and I could find my way back home. Now 23, here I am in this enormous city feeling completely lost, but I am determined to make Denver my home away from home. There comes a time in everyone’s life when they start to realize things have changed, are going to change or something needs to be done in order to change for the better. Most people like to start out small by doing a little self-makeover. Get some new clothes, new hairdo, you know, the usual. Well, that’s most people; I decided to makeover my life in a brand new city to start over with the right foot forward. I felt as though my life wasn’t going in the right direction, and possibly my priorities were a little out of whack, so I knew I needed to change. I made a few calls, got the arrangements together and within a month

of making my decision I was up here. It only took two weeks for me to get a job, then I got accepted to my dream school (at the time), and then got engaged to a wonderful man. So far so good. Its incredible how one small detail, like where you live, can put your life into perspective. Changes, whether you choose to make them or not, will always reveal some bumps that need to be ironed out. Turns out that job I got made me realize I didn’t want to be an art teacher, which worked out for the better since I couldn’t afford the Vera Wang price tag on my education that Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design was demanding I pay. This little bump has led me to Metro and to change my major to photojournalism, leading me to The Metropolitan, the greatest opportunity that I have been given so far. It has always been my belief that everything happens for a reason, and I also believe that these series of events within the last year prove that to be true. The hardest thing I have learned

CELESTE MEDNANSKY cmednans@mscd.edu through doing all of this is that you must believe in yourself and what you are capable of doing. I admit that I am not a very positive person and I have horrible self-esteem — all the more reason to take my advice. Get out there and go for it; do what you want to do, and if it doesn’t work out try something different. The main thing is don’t let life discourage you. I am a planner to the core, but if need be, I will go with the flow. As the expression goes, “the only person stopping you — is you.”

Hearty hello to you, cranky goodbye to St. George Welcome back! Especially to those of you whose “final” semester — prior to the Grail of graduation — may have been five, six or more years in the making. Yours was not a bumpless ride with classes serving as occasional interruptions from goofing, in various states of sobriety. It’s well-known that many Metro — and UCD and CCD — students work more than one job to pay the freight and may have families to look after. Sans the spiffy cars that cost lots more than those driven by faculty, as do undergrads elsewhere (CU-Boulder maybe?), a lot of you ride RTD and enjoy the mixed blessing of living at home with your folks. All of you — on the undergrad economic “B” and “C” list that nobody is trying to pimp a Porsche to — deserve a salute and commendation. When you do graduate into an uncertain work force, you’ll have a better sense of the value of your education and the work that went into getting it. Without the whiny sense of automatic entitlement that still lingers in selected segments of folks your age. Nor will you be like the Americans in Paris during the halcyon 1920s, of whom F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “They know the price of everything. And the value of nothing.” That said, we can now talk baseball. Believe it or not, this is still the proper season of baseball, despite the All Broncos/All the Time media blitz that starts with the NFL draft in spring and is completely out of control when exhibition (the NFL insists on calling them “preseason”) games roll around in August. While the over-hyped Broncos have yet to win in meaningless preseason, the Rockies may not be quite dead in terms of a playoff spot. But they’re on life support. This season’s post-All-Star game free-fall might be blamed on injuries to key pitchers, Todd Helton’s bad

back and an offense often incapable of driving in men on base. But there’s also a front office that hates to spend money. After a long drought that saw a massive fan exodus, management got lucky with home-grown talent in 2007 and has been coasting ever since. Each year, the summer trade deadline comes and goes while the Rockies’ management sits on their thumbs, to put it politely. A 21 wins in 22 games streak that put the Rockies in the 2007 World Series never happened before (the 1958 Yankees came close) and may not happen again in our lifetimes. Playoff contenders don’t come about by magic, either. At the other end of the spending spectrum was New York Yankees’ owner George Steinbrenner. Strange things happen when highprofile political, show biz or sports people die. Steinbrenner, who left us in mid-July, combined both of the latter. “The Boss” steered illegal campaign contributions to President Richard Nixon in 1972, while a mere Cleveland shipbuilder. He was later banned from day-to-day baseball operations for engaging sleazy characters “detrimental to baseball” back when baseball had a real commissioner, not an indecisive puppet named Bud Selig. Along the way, he was one of the more obnoxious characters ever to occupy an owner’s box — against some stiff competition. In death, Steinbrenner became an instant saint. It took nearly a week for both Nixon and President Ronald Reagan, whose canonization credentials seemed slight, to achieve media sainthood after their departures. Steinbrenner’s elevation was instant. Former players, associates and owners were trotted out not to bury Caesar, but to praise him. Billy Martin, who Steinbrenner hired and fired as Yankees’ manager five times, is long dead and unavailable for comment. But nobody asked

J. SEBASTIAN SINISI sinisi2@mscd.edu Dave Winfield or Ricky Henderson, whose careers suffered while working as well-paid hands on Steinbrenner’s farm. Reggie Jackson, who survived endless meddling from the micro-managing Boss, wasn’t consulted either. And by the time the Yankees’ Brain Trust combined to screw manager Joe Torre three years ago, Steinbrenner was out of the day-today loop. To be fair, The Boss never used the N-word to describe some of his players or say Hitler was “misunderstood,” as did one-time Cincinnati Reds’ owner Margie Schott — who was also banned from baseball for a time for those intemperate remarks. Steinbrenner got the hook for assigning a known gambler and sleazebag to tail Dave Winfield and dig up some dirt on the slugger. The Boss signed Winfield to an outrageous-salary contract to touch off an early round of inflated free-agent signings. Winfield disappointed in the ’81 World Series and was forever after on Steinbrenner’s shit list before being shipped to the Toronto Blue Jays. There, he prospered a decade later. It’s not nice to speak ill of the dead. But maybe the canonization committee ought to reconvene.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Financial aid needs facelift Trading financial aid war stories is a right of passage for college students. Did you hear about the one where they lost your paperwork, only to find it a week later after your parents drove several hundred miles to sign new forms? Or how about the one where you called the office, only to reach a never-ending automated system, spent an hour on hold, only to get disconnected without speaking to someone? Or the favorite, and one of the more common, the e-mail from the Financial Aid office telling you two entirely different things within the span of two paragraphs, or even sentences. These aren’t big fish stories; they are actual accounts from Metro students. According to Metro’s Office of Institutional Research, 13,916 students applied for needbased financial aid in the 2009-2010 school year. Of those, 11,008 were determined to have financial aid. Ninety-five percent of them were awarded some sort of need-based aid, scholarships or grants. That means 10,466 people needed to deal with the Office of Financial Aid. The peak times for the office are inevitably the weeks leading up to the start of a new semester and the first few weeks after it starts. The line stretches into the main hall of Central Classroom and moves at what seems to be a snail’s slowest pace. When you finally reach the magic desk to receive help, a student hourly employee is likely to greet your frustration and perhaps direct you to a different office to address your inquiry. The problem seems to be, not all student employees are trained equally. The staff members, 22 are listed on the office’s website, are rarely the ones students deal with at the desk. The financial aid process in and of itself is cumbersome at best. FAFSA forms are about as fun as an unsedated visit to the dentist chair for a root canal. After the forms are complete, the waiting game kicks in, and inevitably there are more forms to fumble through. The rub isn’t the long line. It isn’t the paperwork. It’s the frustration of being bounced around from office to office and getting conflicting answers to your most dire of questions. The solution? Well short of free education for all, the simplest answer is more training for the sake of cohesion. Need to find out when your dollars will hit your account? No problem! Wondering if they have received all your paperwork? Pow, answer! What does the hold on your account mean? You betcha! This is not to say students aren’t receiving answers to their queries, but to say the same answer from two different people in the same office ought to be the same. Thanks for dolling out the dollars, but let’s work to the day when there are fewer headaches associated with it.

A12 • INSIGHT • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

Take it to the

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ETROSPECTIVE METROPOLITAN People, culture and entertainment

August 26, 2010, Vol. 33, Issue 2

Online >> themet.metrostudentmedia.com

P.J. "Peach" Walsh, of Denver, spins poi (ball and chain) lit on fire July 18 at Confluence Park in Denver. Every Sunday during the summer, fire spinners, accompanied by a drum circle, gather in the park and perform for a crowd. Photo by Steve Anderson•sande104@mscd.edu

LIGHTING UP THE NIGHT By Steve Anderson sande104@mscd.edu

ire juggling, beer, a pungent smell of marijuana and the sound of drums fill the atmosphere at Confluence Park. Here you can find an informal gathering of fire dancers showing off their daring skills in front of a crowd of teenagers and young adults. Every Sunday and Thursday night as the sun goes down during warm summer nights, a group of dancers and drummers gather near the Platte River to express themselves artistically by juggling fire. » CONTINUED ON B3

FEATURES

LIFESIZE LEGOS

MUSIC

Check out the first in a series of emcees who haven't made it » B7

The 16th Street Mall welcomed families and lifesize LEGO games to the Pavilions Aug 20–22. » B2

Anja Franke, 2, of Denver, tosses a giant dice Aug. 22 at the LEGO Games Summer Tour. Photo by Mark Farnik •

mfarnik@mscd.edu

Dacia Johnson Features Editor djohn205@mscd.edu

On the Record • BRITNEY SPEARS How Britney's music helped one student find himself » B7

Megan Mitchell Christin Mitchell Matt Pusatory Asst. Features Editor Asst. Features Editor Music Editor mmitch46@mscd.edu cmitch39@mscd.edu mpusator@mscd.edu

B2 • METROSPECTIVE • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

BEHIND THE NUMBERS ... of LEGOs 52: The total years LEGO has been in business. 62: The amount of LEGO bricks every person in the world could have if shared equally. 5 billion: The amount of hours children worldwide spend playing with LEGOs each year. 400 million: The amount of people worldwide who have played with LEGOs. 400 billion: The amount of LEGO bricks that have been produced since1949. 7: The amount of LEGO sets sold worldwide every second. 36,000: The amount of LEGO bricks produced per minute. 2003: The year LEGO made diﬀerent skin colors for LEGO characters. 2.9 million: The amount of bricks it took to make the world’s longest LEGO construction at 5,179.8 feet. www.neatorama.com

Playing with blocks The LEGO tour provides kids and parents with life-sized games and lots of LEGOS Megan Mitchell mmitch46@mscd.edu The Denver Pavilions were transformed into an 8-year-old’s dream playground Aug. 20–22 during the LEGO Games 2010 tour. Hundreds of children crowded the sidewalks for their chance to play life-sized versions of 10 new, dynamically constructible board games launched by LEGO last April. The three-day free event invited families to participate in interactive puzzle tournaments and trivia competitions where LEGO games and limited-edition merchandise were given as prizes. Visitors stopped through the game tents to play and duel each other with adapted models that were 10 times the size of the actual game boards. Other attractions included a sixfoot tall 3D LEGO sculpture of Minotaurus, the evil temple guardian of Minotaur Maze — one of the new customizable games where kids can build their own boards, players and rules. “I like that concept,” said Valerie Slich, 44. “The children are able to use their imaginations and create what they play.” Adults and children alike filled out entry slips guessing how many little rainbow bricks it took to build

Minotaurus for a chance to win a family four-pack of tickets for an all-expenses-paid weekend to LEGOLAND Park in California. Max Sarkissian, 8, was sitting on the curb with his aunt, Caitlin McConaughy, 25; brother Sam, 3; and best friend, Charlie Ingham, 6, waiting in the line to step into a life-size Minotaurus game. “I said there was 4,020 in the monster,” Max said, turning around to eyeball the giant bull statue where dozens of people were scribbling out their best estimates on a small podium. “I just got here, and I think it looks pretty cool. I want to try everything they have.” “I heard about it on the radio and thought it would be a fun event for the boys,” McConaughy said while Sam snuggled his face into her hip. “This little one guessed one two three four five six — a great number.” On the main stage, LEGO game masters and organizers held head-

to-head heats every 45 minutes between teams that signed up early to compete for the coveted board games. The LEGO Crushers and LEGO Lightning were among the teams that faced off to play three mini games, including LEGO dice hopscotch where kids try to roll their team’s color in order to move themselves across the board. “This is probably one of the most successful events we’ve had so far,” said Chicago native Parker Heaps, 23, LEGO Games’ head game master. “We have tons of LEGO fans that have come out here today and lots of really great families and fun people to play with.” The LEGO commercial tour began in Baltimore during the Fourth of July weekend. Since then, four permanent members of a marketing team hired by LEGO have traveled across the country in their enormous, candy-colored trailer of childhood bliss.

“Every job I’ve had, I’ve always worked with kids,” Heaps said. “They’re really fun, especially the LEGO fans here today jumping in and playing. They’re excited and really great.” Parker and his road mates will also put on the LEGO Experience Tour next year, and they will create new and interesting ways to connect the legacy of LEGO to kids today. Along with introductions on how to play the board games, the LEGO crew distributed pamphlets of fun ideas for kids and parents including a mini snack cookbook that suggests recipes for treats like Delectable Dominos (graham cracker based), and Scorekeepers Pencil which is constructed out of Bugles and string cheese. “Today is the hottest and craziest day so far,” said event worker Lyric Raub, 37, on Aug. 22. “I think it’s thrilling for the kids and they’re obviously loving it.”

will. I realize that there are two components to live a healthier lifestyle and to lose weight: diet and vigorous exercise. Outside of eating healthier, people are trying to get their hands on the latest exercise fad. Unfortunately, what’s considered a fad does not necessarily work. There’s only one program that comes close to being the ultimate fitness revolution. That, in my opinion, is P90X, available on VHS and DVD. In the past, I’ve purchased DVD workout programs like Turbo Jam and Hip Hop Abs in hopes of getting in better shape. They’re ineffective garbag, to say the least. In retrospect, I should have purchased P90X the first moment I decided I wanted to lose weight and get

in better shape. P90X is a godsend. With the programs I mentioned earlier, the problem was that after a while, I got bored because they were hokey, gimmicky, easy-to-follow programs, and the easy way didn’t work. So, I decided to purchase P90X. The program, which was created by fitness guru Tony Horton, uses an advanced training technique called muscle confusion, which mixes up different workouts for every week in order to burn fat and build muscle. The program includes five strength training routines, using weights or resistance bands, cardiovascular workouts, jump training and kenpo karate. It also includes two core workouts and a yoga workout and general stretching. Each workout is between 45–90 minutes.

I’ve noticed changes first-hand in my body. My muscles grew in size, I became more toned, my cardiovascular system improved immensely and I’m in better shape. Since training my body beyond my comfort zone, I started consuming healthier foods, which is the other part of the equation in living healthy. Granted, I was not able to transform my body from head to toe in 90 days like a lot of people on the infomercial were able to do, but I realized that it’s OK to continue to do this beyond the first 90 days, especially if you have significant weight to lose. Go at your own pace in the program, but try to push yourself at the same time. I realized that it will take five to eight rounds of being on the program to get the results I want. I’m in my third round, and I will not

quit. My point in all this is to let you know that if you are skeptical about P90X, don’t be. This program is the real deal and is probably the best investment I’ve made. If you want to lose weight, get toned, muscular, lean or completely ripped, this is the program that will help to achieve your dream body. Is it easy? No. Is it expensive? Yes, around $120. However, if you want to improve your health and well-being, you have to challenge yourself and build muscle to get in better shape. That’s the idea behind P90X. For more information go to beachbody.com.

Krista Townsend, right, points out a Lego character to her son Zach Townsend, 5, while they admire a display at the Lego Games Summer Tour at the Denver Pavilions on Aug. 22. Townsend said Zach and younger brother Kieran are ‘obsessed with LEGOs,’ and the family drove down from Fort Collins to see the exhibit. Photo by Mark Farnik • mfarnik@mscd.edu

No pain no gain, P90X proves to improve Wellness Woes Guest Columnist By Matt Hollinshead mhollin5@mscd.edu

For years, I have struggled to not only maintain and/or lose weight, but I have also struggled with the social stigma of being overweight or out of shape. Believe me, it’s a problem for every one of the 190 million and counting overweight or obese Americans today. What most people seem to think is that there should be a magic pill to solve all their issues, but it doesn’t work like that, and it never

THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • METROSPECTIVE • B3

Local fire spinners light up Denver » Fire continued Warming up with glow sticks and hula-hoops, they soon switch to their arsenal of choice, fire props, which range anywhere from staffs to swords to fire whips. The crowd varies each week depending on weather, but it is still a chance for these artists to present. “It’s a great opportunity to perform in front of a large crowd,” said Moloch, a Denver resident and experienced spinner. “I have learned the difference between fire art and performance art since starting.” More than 10 years ago a professional company of fire spinners practiced in an old Denver warehouse. “It was a little more organized,” said Houston Holick, a four-year spinner and a regular on Sunday nights. “They were not able to light up in the warehouse, so they would come down on Sunday nights and bring their drummers so they could teach and practice.” Since then, it has developed into a Sunday night hang out. Holick was introduced to fire spinning from an ex-girlfriend who was part of a fire tribe in Colorado. Now, it’s a hobby and is part of a troupe that performs at Nevada’s Burning Man Festival every year. “I sat safety for a while, [then] figured I could do it too. Many performers like Holick do it for a hobby or perform in a troupe. “Almost everyone that comes down starts out as a hobbyist,” Holick said. “There are a few of the performers here that do gigs on the

Megan Mitchell mmitch46@mscd.edu A growing genre of eco-art and exhibitionism is popping up all over Denver, enriching and inspiring our ideas of being green. I think this cultural wave of advertising environmentalism is positive because it supplements Denver’s proactive reputation for green industry with art that implants conservationism into society. I find eco-art to be an uplifting, forward leap into the future. It makes me think of a place where green lifestyles are embraced beyond T-shirts that boost the wayward beliefs of quasi-environmentalists who are Adam Kemis, of Boulder, is lost amongst streaks of spinning fire as he performs in front of a crowd vaguely aware of the importance of Aug. 15 at Confluence Park in Denver. Photo by Mark Farnik • mfarnik@mscd.edu recycling. This movement of eco-art also side but nothing as a professional the poi, the twin chain and ball. It the only public venue we have unless speaks to a generation of politically career.” Fire spinning is popular in is by far the most common.” Holick it’s a private party where they hold conscious artists that propagate the places like San Francisco where there said. “In our fire performance troupe the permits for us,” Holick said. usefulness, beauty and normalcy of Although the group takes a lot are opportunities to make a living. we have done flaming color guard environmentalism in all aspects of It’s growing, Holick explained, and it flags and flaming parasols.” Routines of risks performing in a place such as life. depends on the size of the metropoli- are mostly impromptu, but if you are Confluence Park because it’s a public I envision a green artist to be a working with a fire troupe you are park and there is no regulation from tan area. special breed of activist who venpolice, it is something that is excitFire spinning is done in rhythms practicing that specific dance. tures far beyond the studio to plunge Fire spinning is common on touring to watch. Whether it is building and is often accompanied by a drum their brushes to the canvas and procircle. It was used as a way of telling ist beaches, in circus acts and festi- muscle like the traditional dancers duce a call to action that resonates stories and developing muscles in the vals like Nevada’s Burning Man fes- of New Zealand and Hawaii or exdeeper than posters and commerarms, wrists and hands. Although tival, but anywhere else a fire permit pressing artistic talents through percials. not traditionally done with fire, the is required, which limits practice and forming, fire spinning brings people Sandhi Schimmel Gold is one of together to enjoy the talents of the Maori poi, used by the Maori people performances. these brilliant people. Her abstract, “They (the fire department) are spinners. of New Zealand, is the closest thing green collection titled “Mosaic Porusually a little reluctant to give fire to fire spinning. traits” is showing now until Aug. 31 “The most common fire prop is performers permits, so this is actually at Translations Gallery at 1743 Wazee St. in Denver. When I walked into Gold’s exhibit I was awestruck — not in the usual way where I gawk at the seismic creative talents of artists that UCD, wanted to use poetry to convey have cultivated their craft to minda message. numbing levels of perfection. No. “Poetry is a different style of art,” This was moving to me, beyond envy said Curshion Jones, a Metro student and basic amazement. and Hakim’s opposite in the play. Her mosaics are stunning, to be “This play exemplifies it’s not right sure. Their life-like glare is enchantto misuse women,” Jones said. “It’s going and mystifying, and once I crept ing to open a lot of people’s eyes.” in closer to study their intricacies, I Jones, who plays a mentor in the was stopped in my tracks. play, guiding Hakim on the path away Gold utilizes only recycled and from promiscuous behavior, said all of non-toxic materials in her portraits, the cast members wrote their own posuch as junk mail, which she hand ems for the show. cuts into her incredible color pat“Performance poetry is a refreshterns. ing and captivating way to engage I feel immense respect for a peran audience on such a heavy topic,” Metro senior Hashim Hakim, left, practices his lines for “I Didn’t son capable of illustrating relevant Hakim said. “When it comes to prickThink” with fellow actor and Metro student Curshion Jones issues from materials considered ing the conscience of a person people August 24 in the Tivoili. Photo by Luke Powell • lpowel18@mscd.edu trash. Her strikingly detailed landtend to shy away from looking in the scapes, portraits and motifs to show mirror. So I use my real life personal an obstacle in life, I write about it to the continuous usefulness of all experience and poetry to engage the do,” Hakim said. Hakim is reaching out to students share my experience with someone things. audience.” It almost goes without saying Poems make up a majority of the to help them understand the conse- who may be going through something that the importance of green techplay’s dialog. Using real life experi- quences of their behavior. He believes similar.” nology and sustainable habits is ences Hakim gives an emotional and students have a sense of false adultboundless. I think the efforts of Denpowerful performance. Throughout hood when they begin college. ver artists to assimilate and popular“The idea of making decisions inthe play you see Hakim struggle with “I Didn’t Think” ize different perspectives and motiva“higher and lower” versions of him- dependently sort of gratifies the ego,” tions for the same goals of respecting Hakim said. The play was written to self. 5 p.m and 7 p.m. Aug. 27 the earth are progressive and beauti“It’s like I am listening to an angel make people think before they act. Tivoli Turnhalle ful. “When I reach and overcome and a devil both telling me what to

Metro poet performs from experience By Dacia Johnson djohn205@mscd.edu The Tivoli Turnhalle will be transformed Aug. 28 to house a poetry play of a whole different frequency. Directed by Metro senior Hashim Hakim, “I Didn’t Think” is a poetry play about how a young man’s promiscuous ways affect more than himself. The Black Student Alliance and Hakim’s Metro club, Hip Hop 4 Dummys, are putting the play together in an effort to invoke AIDS awareness. “[There is an] alarming rise in the divorce rates, and HIV, in particular in the black community,” Hakim said. “These are touchy issues and poetry coupled with humor can help take away the sting.” Hakim is a producer, co-writer and is a lead actor in the play. “This poetry play is based on my true experiences with neglecting women.” Hakim said, “I didn’t come into the importance of respecting a woman until the karma and disrespect came back to me in ways that I care not to share or revisit ever again.” Hakim and the cast of 11, mainly students and alumni from Metro and

From a tilted head

B4 • METROSPECTIVE • August 26, 2010

August 26, 2010 • METROSPECTIVE • b5

THE metropolitan

Aug. 27 4 p.m. & 7 p.m. Aug. 28 1 p.m., 4 p.m. & 7 p.m.

From right, Blaine Belshe, 7, laughs with his mom Susan while watching the Zoppè Italian Family Circus Aug. 21 at Mile High Marketplace. Photo by Leah Millis • lmillis@mscd.edu

Aug. 29 1 p.m. & 4 p.m. $13 per person and includes Marketplace admission and free parking. Kids 11 and under enter free with paying adult. Tickets are available at www.milehighmarketplace.com or via phone at 303-289-4656 or at the gate.

“It’s our family’s tradition. We like to meet our audience and welcome them into our home ...” – Giovanni Zoppé Giovanni Zoppè changes his shoes at the Zoppè Italian Family Circus tent at Mile High Marketplace Aug. 24. Photo by Leah Millis • lmillis@mscd.edu

Family business is all fun, games

Giovanni Zoppè gets help from his daughter, Chiara, 7, while applying his clown makeup in their family’s trailer behind the Zoppè Italian Family Circus tent at Mile High Marketplace Aug. 24 before going to the Denver Children’s Hospital to perform. Photo by Leah Millis • lmillis@mscd.edu

The Zoppès stop in Denver for two weekends during their tour to give a taste of an Italian circus By Christin Mitchell cmitch39@mscd.edu Take an Italian family and give them a clown, a one-ring circus with big top tent that seats 500 people, a pinch of sawdust, nearly two centuries of performing experience and let it cook for an hour or so. That’s the recipe for the Zoppé family’s Italian circus, and it has yielded seven generations of circus performers. Since 1842, the Zoppé family has shown the true meaning of circus, starting in Italy and spreading to the rest of Europe and then to America. Outside of the ring, the Zoppé’s are a normal family, finding time to spend together at Boondocks Fun Center. “We are pretty mellow,” said sixth-generation performer Giovanni Zoppé, who plays the character Nino. “We do come out, but for most of us our favorite time is in the ring.” For Giovanni, in an Italian circus “family is first and foremost.” Currently, he is traveling the U.S. with his wife and two kids, as well as his mother and siblings. Most of them have been performing “since birth,” including Giovanni’s

10-month-old son who first appeared in the ring with a clown, Napoline, and an equestrian bal- ling brothers who offered him a spot in a movie. lerina, Ermenegilda, according to the Zoppé fam- Alberto only left for America after the Ringling at just four days old. The Zoppés don’t use exotic animals because ily’s website. Alberto Zoppé inherited the circus brothers agreed to loan an elephant to the ZopItalian circuses came before those animals were almost 100 years later. Known for his eques- pés to help their circus in his absence. Alberto was featured in Cecil B. Demille’s, placed in the ring. The family keeps tradition trian skills, he drew the attention of the Ring“The Greatest Show on Earth,” which won from their costumes right down to the sawan Oscar, as well as four other circus-centered dust they perform on. movies. He stayed in America and produce “A traditional circus works on sawdust,” circuses for Ringling, until he brought the Giovanni said. “We always take some from Zoppé circus to America. Despite his death each place we perform and put it in a jar.” in March 2009, his children Giovanni, Tosca Before each new show, the Zoppés toss and Carly have continued the tradition. that sawdust mixture into the new ring, “He was the creator,” Giovanni said. “He spreading a little history before making it. was circus. He’s why we do what we do now.” “The sawdust probably has a couple Before and after the show, the Zoppés generations in it,” Giovanni said. “After we mingle with the audience, slap high-fives and are done performing [at Mile High Marketthank the guests for coming. place] we will take some of that sawdust “It’s our family’s tradition,” Giovanni too.” said. “We like to meet our audience and welThere are members of the group, “guest John Whather, Giovanni Zoppè’s brother-in-law, come them into our home.” artists,” as Giovanni calls them, who have plays the accordion for a crowd Aug. 21 before Abby Coven attended the night show Aug. performed with the family but are not part performing in the Zoppè Italian Family Circus tent 21 at Mile High Marketplace with her family of it, like the contortionist and wirewalker. at Mile High Market Place. Photo by Leah Millis • lmilfor the second time. Last year, she heard about The nearly 170-year-old circus started lis@mscd.edu

it through a group for mothers. “It’s a really family-friendly show,” Coven said. “It’s really accessible for kids.” Accessiblity is just the beginning, the seats are ring side. The Zoppé’s enter the ring from the entrance of the tent, allowing the crowd to see and even touch them. The tent, which took six years for Giovanni and his father to design, is smaller and more intimate than other big tops. “No one sits more than 20 feet away from ring,” Giovanni said. “It increases the way people see the show. The top of it has a fiberglass film, and below that is an exhaust fan that pulls hot air out of the tent, which is different from American big tops.” The brand new tent, which made its debut at Mile High Marketplace, is named Venico, following the Italian tradition of naming the tent after the region of the family’s origin. “The name of tent, yes, it is part of the past,” Giovanni said. “But it is part of the future, with it being named after my son.”

Giovanni Zoppè shows off his young son’s talent as he dangles from a broom handle held by Giovanni’s brothers outside the circus tent before the show on Aug. 19, at the Mile High Marketplace. Photo by John McEvoy • jmcevoy@mscd.edu

B6 • METROSPECTIVE • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

Sounding off

Oblio’s Arrow dispels genre Oblio’s Arrow may be Denver’s most ever-changing band. Steven Lee Lawson and Will Duncan formed a musical bond as teenagers and after 10 years of playing around Denver they’ve recycled titles and members but finally settled on a six-piece band. However, the former duo won’t budge on their affinity for old Americana and, oppositely, experimental rock. Their album, Plain Old American Mess, documents emotion while their live shows capture the band’s eclecticism. There are only three shows left with the current lineup and after that, Lawson and Duncan will be reworking things. The Metropolitan talked to the two friends and their bandmate, Brendan Heberton, about what comes next. Interview by Ian Gassman • igassman@mscd.edu

FROM LEFT: Steven Lee Lawson, Will Duncan, Ian Douglas-Moore, Bryce McPherson, Brendan Heberton and Jason Fox Photo courtesy of Oblio’s Arrow IG: What works best about the current lineup? SL: We pretty much asked all of our old friends to play with us. So, I have Jason Fox. I was like, “Hey, buddy, you’re going to learn the steel guitar.” He was like, “OK.” So we went to get this piece of crap. It was called a “Harmonia” Lap Steel for $100, and we split it. Now, Ian Douglas-Moore is a “jack-of-alltrades” kind of guy, as far as music goes. So we were like, “Hey, you could do the bass; you got great rhythm, blah, blah, blah.” Then, Bryce McPherson, he was the overlap. He started playing guitar about the time of the Nuclear War EP, which is our most rocking [album]. [Brendan] played the banjo. It just kind of became a big party. BH: That was the beginning of 2008. So this group has been together for two-and-a-half years. SL: At first, we were kind of awkward when we very first started, cause we were like, “What? What’s going on here?” But now we’ve kind of gelled into this super-group. I think tour helps out a lot. Turning you into a well-oiled machine of rock. IG: Who is leaving the band? What will you try to do once he is gone? SL: [Ian, the bassist,] is moving to Berlin … somewhat indefinitely. So, now, the band is going through another change; we don’t know what.

BH: And, Jason [Fox] is going on a four-to-six month journey, as well. WD: I don’t know. We’ve been talking about that concept. Because I’m tired, I don’t want to teach another bassist our tunes, yet. I’m kind of over playing shows because musicians don’t get paid and we don’t always bring out as many people as we’d like. We played on Radio 1190 to promote a [Moe’s Original BBQ] show, and we were paid $50. There’s no support system for local music. So, I’m a little burned out. I love playing shows; it’s the best thing in the world. SL: Second to recording. IG: So, if both of you have any new material, will it be recorded? WD: Steve and I, [along with] Brendan and Bryce, we’re all going to do some recording stuff and get new material down; rehearsing occasionally. I think Steve is going to play with me at Lost Lake on Monday nights. SL: Every Monday. So, that’s how were going to do the show thing. Every Monday. 10 p.m. IG: How many shows are left before Ian and Jason leave? WD: Three. BH: Denver Does Denver. WD: Yeah, Denver Does Denver. A house show. Then, on the 3rd of September, which is Tin Horn Prayer’s album release party at the Three Kings Tavern. SL: They’re really good. They’re kind of folk-

punk, I guess. IG: The songs on the full-length [album] seem to span across different places and time periods. What helps your songwriting to flourish? WD: This album — I’ve experienced a lot of death recently, in the past four or five years. But I like writing political songs. I think Americans forget that what they do counts. So yeah, a lot of my tunes are about death, and a lot of my tunes are about the plight of the low, middleclass American that doesn’t really have a voice. I like stories. I like writing. But I like making people feel uncomfortable, too. IG: Like taking listeners out of their element? WD: Yeah, not writing anything “straight,” really. SL: [I write] with lots of emotion … and imagery. Half of the time, I’m not even sure what my songs are about. But, I kind of hide behind that “artist” thing that it’s up to the listener to really decide how it relates to them and what the hell it means. IG: All of you seem to be at home with experimenting. Which artists help influence this process? SL: We all kind of agree. I like a cross-section of old, good country like Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson and Gram Parsons. Townes Van Zandt we all agree upon. So you’ve got that country element. But then you have the classic rock element … the next area I’m really interested in is indie

rock. Speaking for myself, that’s where I draw the most influences from those three genres and time periods. WD: I love Tom Waits; I love Beck. One of my favorite albums of all time is Mellowgold. I grew up with a lot of classical music. My mom’s a singer and my dad’s a musician, so, there’s that childhood thing. I like Sparklehorse a [lot], I can’t write like him, though … I really like old, old blues. They’re all true songs. SL: It’s cool because we can push a lot of genres. We’re really like a rock band that is acting like a country band. You don’t want to confuse us with alternative-country, whatever [laughs]. IG: So, you three don’t like that genre? WD: We like country music; we like rock-androll music. BH: But we’re not alt-country.

Denver Does Denver w/ Flobots, Houses, Paper Bird and more 6 p.m., Aug. 28 @ Meadowlark, $12

MORE UPCOMING SHOWS By Matt Pusatory • mpusator@mscd.edu

The Budos Band 8 p.m., Aug. 26 @ Larimer Lounge, $5

New York’s The Budos Band brings some serious funk and soul. The 10-piece instrumental outfit creates jams that wouldn’t be out of place on a Shaft movie soundtrack in the ’70s. On Aug. 22 The Budos Band will bring their vintage vibes to The Larimer Lounge. The band has released three LPs most recently Budos Band III, to critical acclaim. The albums feature songs built on a strong foundation of groove, with heavy basslines, intricate percussion and a solid horn section. It all comes together as a classic funky sound that shouldn’t be missed. The intimate Larimer Lounge should be a great venue for the hot and sweaty dance party that is sure to ensue, even if the 10 members of the band have some trouble jamming onto the tiny stage.

CommFest

1 p.m., Aug. 28 @ Promenade on Platte, $1

Promenade on Platte will play host to CommFest. The daylong festival Aug. 28 will feature food, drinks, local DJs and bands. For just a dollar you can enjoy eight hours of tunes. Better still, that dollar will go toward the Prodigal Son Initiative, a charity dedicated to inner-city youth. Headlining the show is A. Tom Collins, the five-piece band fronted by the former Machine Gun Blues vocalist, features a piano, horns, stand-up bass and drums. With Collins’ distinct vocals, the band harkens to the jazz troubadour era of 1970s Tom Waits. They put on a fun energetic show without the aid of guitars. Also playing is Astra Moveo and indie rockers Brothers O’Hair. Rounding out the show are DJ Uplifter, DJ Segue and Affirmed, who are bound to add their own flavor to an excellent day of music.

THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • METROSPECTIVE • B7

PHoTo fLASHBACK Scorpions

THE undERgRound fiVE EMCEES You SHouLd KnoW By Antonio C. Valenzuela • avalen10@mscd.edu As a child of the 1980s and life-long fan of hip-hop I have compiled a list of the top five emcees who never achieved what their talent and potential should demand. For the next five weeks The Metropolitan will count down my top five selections. In the era of A&R control, marketing schemes, big budget, tax write-off artists and corporate-controlled hip-hop, not all the most naturally gifted artists achieve the most commercial successes. In fact, in most cases if the most talented artist doesn’t have the right agent or accept the terms of a “slave deal,” the artist never achieves the mainstream resources available to a major-label artist. Judging an artist by lyrical ability, natural talent, cleverness, original content, rhyme pattern and delivery, many artists who possessed these superior emcee qualities should ascend to the commercial success that would mirror their natural ability, but oftentimes they don’t. Papoose is a prime example and number five on our list. The Bedford-Stuy, Brooklyn, N.Y. native first blew into the underground scene with help from “The Drama King,” DJ Kay Slay. Pap, the self-proclaimed Thug-a-cated soldier, got his first shot with the Drama King by standing outside the Hot 97 radio station pushing his mixtapes to the DJ. Being persistent paid off, and Kay Slay played his song “Alphabetical Slaughter” on-air, which generated a serious underground street buzz. Papoose, whose name was given to him by his Native American grandmother because of his resemblance to a Native American child, went on to work with DJ Kay Slay on several mixtape projects and created several underground hit songs like “Sharades,” “Moment of Silence,” “Menace II Society,” “Russian Roulette,” “Hustle Hard” and many more. He released more than a dozen mixtapes from 2004 to 2006. In 2006, Papoose announced via his website he had signed to the record label Jive, after a heated bidding war between labels, for a reported $1.5 million. Although this should have been his big break with a major label, the signing never produced an album and he left Jive in 2007. Papoose is unique in that his delivery is quite distinguishable. Lyrically, his concepts in songs are unmatched. For example, a song describing the hip-hop police is properly entitled “Sharades.” Inspired by Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap and Rakim, Papoose’s lyrics are complex, witty, educated and opinionated, appealing to the New York hip-hop listenership. The Brooklyn emcee has made several appearances on mainstream artists’ songs like the Busta Rhymes’ anthem “Touch It” and even was able to secure a spot on the posthumous 2Pac album Pac’s Life. Pap definitely can out spit 95 percent of rappers on the radio, but is a star who never was given his proper shine.

The Rayne Storm 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and fridays The undercurrent 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Sundays, 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Saturdays Klaus Meine, lead singer for world-famous hard rock band Scorpions, shakes his signature tambourine at the camera during their performance at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield Aug. 17. More than 5,000 fans came out for the band’s final show in the Mile High City as part of their Get Your Sting and Blackout farewell tour, which also featured fellow glam-rockers Cinderella, who are touring for the first time since 2006. A complete review of the concert can be found online. Photo by Mark Farnik • mfarnik@mscd.edu

Scorpion Snapshot Formed: 1965 Hometown: Hannover, Germany Biggest Hit: “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” Scorpions have sold between 100 and 150 million albums worldwide

dJ Causeaphekz Mix Show 10 a.m.– 12 p.m. Thursdays The Matty g Show 10 a.m – 12 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays Suicide Sunglasses 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and fridays The Jingle-Jangle Show 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays

Roadrunning At the Mouth 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and fridays

By Benjo Morales • bmorale3@mscd.edu

can high schools operated quite differently from my old high school back home. I felt sequestered and lonely my freshman year. Then, as I became accustomed to my new education environment and as I slowly unfolded, my personality came out. But I still didn’t have any friends. Halfway through my sophomore year, Britney was released. With it came a little song called “I’m a Slave 4 U.” All hell broke loose when she decided to shed her bubblegum pop skin, and her music headed toward a more mature, sexier sound. I remember turning on my old hand-me-down radio and tuning in to Radio Disney. Her song, “I’m a Slave 4 U,” came on, and I recorded it on a cassette tape. Then, for about two months, all I listened to was my recorded copy of that song. I became beyond obsessed. The Britney album connected with me on a different level. That album is filled with sex, transformations from being a girl to a woman and how she felt at that moment in her life. Coincidentally, I was at a confused stage in my life, too. I was transforming. I was still in the closet without any friends, and I was still getting used to being in Colorado. Also, right about this time, I went through puberty in a high school environment. It was rough. I felt awkward, and I didn’t know where to fit in. Britney and Britney got me through that era.

The Modern Music Experience 10 a.m.– 12 p.m. fridays

Student Activities Show 2 p.m.– 4 p.m. Saturdays

on THE RECoRd Britney Spears helps deal with culture shock A lot of people diss Britney Spears because she is a fake. She lip-syncs at her concerts, and her personal life is pretty much a hot mess. But why do so many other people, like me, love her? I’m a Britney fan not because she is the best singer in the world. This may sound silly, but I’m a Britney fan because her third album, Britney, shook me out of my culture shock. You might wonder how a pop album can change anyone’s life. Well, let me give you a little background information. The moment I realized I was gay was when I finally successfully raised my left eyebrow. I was 10. I did not dare to say it out loud, nor did I dare to raise that one eyebrow again. I still lived in the Philippines where Catholicism is the religion, and being gay is worse than the Original Sin. I kept hidden in the closet for several years after that realization. I moved to Colorado in 2000 when I was 12, going on 13. I’ve been obsessed with Britney’s music since she came out with ... Baby One More Time. Now, there I was, on the verge of my teenage years on foreign land without any friends. How depressing. But I marched on and decided to see the intercontinental move as a positive change. After all, I was only 12. What did I know? Sooner than later, I quickly learned that Ameri-

On Aug. 26, 1995, Ronnie White of the Miracles died at age 57 of leukemia. White wrote the Temptations’ hit “My Girl’’ with Smokey Robinson.

Thrash Time 4 p.m.– 6 p.m. Wednesdays and fridays in My Humble opinion 4 p.m.– 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays underexposed 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays

Britney Spears • Britney Britney taught me to be more confident, that it’s OK to be who you are. It’s OK to be up-front about how you’re feeling at that moment. She felt rebellious and sexy. I felt like it’s OK to be me. So I got over my shyness and starting coming out of my shell. And, just like that, I made my first friend. But as far as the coming out of the closet goes, that had to wait a couple more years.

Vinyl Addiction 6 p.m.– 8 p.m. Sundays The Blender 6 p.m.– 8 p.m. Tuesdays Electronic infection 6 p.m.– 8 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays

B8 • METROSPECTIVE • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

PARKING CHANGES • Tivoli Lot: Now Daily Fee • TAPS Parking Structure: Now Visitor Parking

Effective

August 9 2010

Tivoli

Ninth Street

$6.00 all day No validations

ound) (Westb kway r a P ria Aura d) stboun ay (Ea w k r a ria P Aura

TAPS $1.50 half hour $8.00 max (Auraria ID) $10.00 max (no Auraria ID) Authorized validations accepted

Tivoli Lot Daily Fee

Tivoli Auraria Parking Structure (TAPS) Hourly Rate

Tivoli Student Union (TV)

THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • INSIGHT • A13

Discussing health care waste of breath I can’t talk about health care reform anymore, with anyone else. It isn’t because I think the issue is trivial; anyone who has picked up a newspaper in the last six months knows enough to be deeply worried. It isn’t because I lack an opinion; health care reform is the primary reason I vote. It isn’t because I can’t fathom the opposition; unlike the issues of gay marriage or labor union card check, both Democrats and Republicans started on a sound perspective and a legitimate concern for the future. No, I lost my voice on health care because I lost my will to push another civil conversation into the chasm of the culture wars. Don’t reach for your dictionary. The culture wars are an obsession of the airwaves, where the definition of culture is malleable to the needs of the talking heads and subject to whatever interpretation raises the volume of the debate. In this climate, the Fox News philippics blend seamlessly into the howling screeds of MSNBC and the tin-eared befuddlement of CNN. And the madness of cable news can hardly compete with the hyperbolic realities springing up on the strange planets of talk radio and the blogosphere. But none of this is new. Why did it take the health care debate to finally break my political spirit?

Surprisingly, the fatal shot didn’t come from a congressman or a news outlet. It was over the summer, during the natural rhythm of questions and conversations with friends and family, that I finally encountered the feeling of airlessness at the middle of this debate. This summer, there was a crouched caution, a muted tone and a clipped cadence in the voices of friends and family where before, the dialogue on politics was loud and boisterous, sometimes pointed but always naturally curious. The curiosity has vanished, replaced by the rote recitation of respective party talking points. And I caught myself pacing in the same caged stance as I talked past the people who disagreed with me. We weren’t trading facts or statistics or even sound bites. The health care debate found us swapping twin propagandas created in separate but parallel labs forming in the sources of our news and the vaunted opinions of whom we trust. What went wrong? This can’t be described with the word polarization. That old chestnut was obliterated long ago from overuse and could just as easily describe a gym class picking teams for a game of kickball. No, we’re certainly in a distant landscape beyond polarization at this point. And the culture wars are no longer contained to harmlessly splitting hairs on “Merry Christmas” versus “Happy Holidays.”

So what were the culture warriors supposed to accomplish? Can either side honestly say at this point? Was it just to catch that ultimate boogey man, a Maximilien Robespierre for the social revolution? Communism, capitalism, Christianity, atheism, academic elites, Bible-Belt fundamentalists, Walmart, Microsoft, rock ‘n’ roll, rap music, steroids, single moms, the neoconservatives, the CIA, the U.A.W. (United Auto Workers), etc., etc., etc., The list of potential Robespierres dragged to the guillotine by both liberals and conservatives in the current reign of terror goes on and on. But each time we drop the blade, it isn’t their heads in the basket. For the last 20 years, the opposition to Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama have been giddy at the prospect of a single figure that could be blamed for everything that went wrong. If we could impeach him, they thought, or make him resign, or drive him in shame into the wilderness of history, we could finally have the peace and progress that everyone wants. But it’s like a bad horror movie. Whenever the audience thinks the monster is dead, it opens its eyes and lurches back to life to run for president again. So here is my solution, and we’ll start small: Let’s stop the retrospective for the 1960s at Woodstock. Instead of a single news cycle separating

the ruby anniversary of 1969 and the diamond jubilee of 1960, let’s move on to the lava lamps and bell bottoms of the next decade. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that the choleric mood of the nation is the responsibility of the baby boomers. It is has become fashionable to accuse the boomers of self-destructive narcissism, but these charges are inherently hypocritical for every generation raised since the dawn of television. And like I said, we are NOT accepting applications to fill the vacancy at the committee for public safety. If you don’t believe me, scare yourself for a moment with the job description. “To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is barbarity.” –Robespierre, 1794

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A14 • SPORTS • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

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THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • A15

PORTS

“This play exemplifies it’s not right to misuse women.”

-CO-LEAD ACTOR AND METRO STUDENT CURSHION JONES • FEATURES • B3

Farewell Fisher JOSIAH KAAN • SPORTS EDITOR • jkaan@mscd.edu

By Josiah Kaan jkaan@mscd.edu

In 2008 the Metro Athletic Department reinstated softball after the program disbanded following the 1990 season in which they went 26-16. To run the freshly referbished program, Metro brought in Jen Fisher from Otero Junior College, where she created a power-house program that racked up 355 wins and seven consecutive Region IX Coach of the Year awards. Fisher picked up at Metro where she left off at Otero, guiding the Roadrunners to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference domination. But, after three years and a staggering 125-36 record, Fisher, the winningest coach in Metro history, stepped down from the Roadrunner head coaching duties to accept a head coaching job with Division I school Colorado State University. “It was my pleasure to work with some of the most wonderful coaches, administrators and student-athletes in all of Division II and the NCAA,” Fisher said in a comment on GoMetroState.com. “The past three years have been unbelievably enjoyable for me, and I will miss the people the most.” The loss of Fisher was felt through the softball ranks, but may be the most concerning to the seniors of the team. “At first, I was a little shocked,” senior left fielder Jennessa Tesone said about Fisher’s departure. “[They] need her at a [Division I] school. We were so lucky to have her.” Tesone came to Metro after a semester at Pima Community College, joining Fisher for her inaugural season as the head coach. Tesone flourished in Fisher’s system, earning All-RMAC honorable mention and being named to the RMAC All-Tournament team in her freshman year of eligiblity. The talented outfielder enjoyed continued success under Fisher, earning third-team All-RMAC honors her sophomore season. In 2010, she had a break-out season, hitting 19 home runs and 62 RBIs on her way to being named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Daktronics All-Central Region second team and NCAA All-Tournament team. “I actually heard early,” Tesone, a member of the 2010 College World Series team, explained. “We heard little rumors from people from CSU because we’re friends with some of the girls at CSU.”

SIDELINE THIS WEEK

8.28 Volleyball

6 p.m. vs. Alumni Match

8.29 Women’s Soccer

Noon vs. Alumni Game Men’s Soccer 2 p.m. vs. Alumni Game

SAY WHAT? “[I] definitely [want] All-American [honors] and everything from here on out in cross-country, then automatically qualifying in track and getting to that next level of being an All-American.” CROSS COUNTRY JUNIOR XENIA FLORES, A19

NUMBERS

3 Projected conference finish of the Metro

Metro softball head coach Jen Fischer stepped down Aug. 20 to accept the Colorado State University head coaching position in her hometown of Fort Collins. File photo by Steve Anderson • sande104@mscd.edu Although Tesone found success under Fisher, she knows the former coach’s move to her hometown of Fort Collins was the best decision for her. “Who wouldn’t take a D-I offer that pays twice as much,” Tesone said. “It just kind of sucks because it was our senior year and we had her from the beginning.” In her three years at Metro, Fish-

er may have been known best for the big numbers that her team put up week in and week out, but it was the little things that made Fisher so successful. “All the little details she made us do — wearing hats, tucking in our shirts everywhere, cleaning the field,” Tesone said about Fisher’s dedication to small aspects of the game.

“It was the little stuff that made us so good.” As the all-time winningest coach in Metro history, Fisher left the program in good hands as former assistant coach Vanessa Becerra was named as the interim head coach Aug. 24. See FISHER on A21>>

men’s soccer team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference coach’s poll. The team finished third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last season with an overall record of 11-7-3 and failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. Women’s Soccer, A17

Men’s Soccer, A19

Fantasy Football, A21

A16 • SPORTS • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

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It takes 3,000 cows to produce a season’s worth of footballs for the NFL. • THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • SPORTS • A17

’Runners season kicks off at Auraria Field By Matt Hollinshead mhollin5@mscd.edu In preparation for the 2010 season, the women’s soccer team hosted exhibition play at Auraria Field against Western Nebraska Community College Aug. 20 and Laramie Community College the following day. The exhibition games did not count toward the Roadrunner’s record, and as a result there was no score kept in the game. The two games marked a new beginning for the incoming freshmen, including midfielder Becca Medina, who already likes what she’s seeing on the field. “I expect to win a lot and to get to know the girls very well,” she said. “I [also] expect the seniors to [lead the team].” Senior midfielder Madison McQuilliams also has high expectations for the team, even though former players like Becca Mays and Becca Maloney are gone. “Our biggest expectation is winning a national championship,” McQuilliams said. “That’s what it is every year.” Even though losing Mays is a significant blow offensively, McQuilliams feels optimistic Metro can still be an offensive powerhouse this season. “It’ll be hard attacking with offense [without Mays], but I think we have a lot of willing and able players that will be able to do that,” McQuilliams, a 2009 second-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference member, said. After coming off their mindboggling 21-1-2 record in 2009, which was chiefly due to their highpowered offense as well as their superb defense and goaltending, the team has trained vigorously to be prepared.

Aubrey Fondy sprints past Laramie County Community College’s defense Aug. 21 at Auraria Fields. Photo by Floyd Brandt • fbrandt@mscd.edu “I think we always have to expect that,” McQuilliams said about last season. “That’s what you have to expect [when] playing at Metro State.” Head Coach Adrianne Almaraz also has high expectations for her squad this season. “I just hope that we continue to do well,” the third-year head coach said. “We’ve been training very well for this preseason. We’ve just got to try to keep everyone healthy.” Almaraz went on to say that although the team may not know what is in store for them, they must be pre-

pared for all possible situations. “You never know what’s going to happen every single year,” Almaraz said. “You never know [when] injuries [will happen], but that’s why we’re always fighting.” Metro is still pondering the question of who the team leader, or leaders, will be. “I think every senior is expected to take a leadership role,” McQuilliams said. “I’m definitely excited to do that.” Almaraz said she is expecting the same thing from the seniors.

“I hope that they step up and become leaders, not just [as] vocal leaders, but leaders on the field that work hard every single practice, every single game,” she said. “I’m very pleased.” Regardless of who will lead the team, Almaraz also wants the freshmen to receive significant playing time and experience on the field. “[I expect them] to step in, come in right away and do as much as they can,” she said. “We’re just ready to get things going.” Medina remains hopeful that the

team can build off the 2009 campaign and use it as motivation this season. “I definitely hope that we can win a lot of games,” the freshman said. “It’ll definitely help the chemistry on the team.” With a strong nucleus of players coming back, along with newcomers, there’s no reason for them to underachieve. “I’m excited for the upcoming season,” the senior said. “We have a lot of good freshmen, so I’m excited about that.”

Metro ice hockey team seeks redemption and recognition By Scott Bassett sbasset4@mscd.edu The Metro club ice hockey team began last season ranked in the top 10 of the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Western Region but faltered during the second half, team president Turner Bahn said. They throttled their way to four straight wins before the fall semester ended, but lost key defensive players to eligibility restrictions before spring, he said. “We scored enough goals to win hockey games, but we just didn’t stop enough,” Bahn said. The team lost their last 14 games to finish the season 5-23-0 overall. They plan to combat double-digit losses and roster depletion by holding a three-part tryout series from 10:15 p.m. to midnight Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 at the Apex Ice Arena in Arvada (13150 W. 72nd Ave.). Poten-

tial players must be Metro ID-holding students, pay a $50 fee and come prepared with full gear. Last year, around 50 skaters showed up to try out, Bahn said. He hopes for a good showing as defensive woes continued for Metro after their best defensemen transferred schools this season. The urgency to find the best players, with an obvious emphasis on the defensive side, leaves Bahn no choice but to go hard on everybody throughout tryouts. “Guys that made the team last year aren’t guaranteed spots on the team this year,” he said. Kyle Buhanick, an assistant captain, made the team three years through tryouts after tranferring from The UCD to Metro strictly to play hockey. “We want to get the best players and the players that are gonna work

hard and be a good fit on the ice as well as off,” he said. Tryouts will consist of a short shooting drill to test the goalies with the majority of the time spent scrimmaging. “We find that we can pick out the best players by a game situation than people skating around cones,” Bahn said. “I think that’s the best way to pick the best players out of a bunch.” Buhanick grew up playing hockey in Vail but quit playing for a few years following a leg injury. Not only did making the team fill that void, but he said the team structure helped him get better grades, too. “I found out Metro had a team, and I was just jonesing to play so I transferred over and, clearly, it’s been the best thing for me,” he said. Although playing hockey is suicide to a social life, Buhanick said the team atmosphere makes all the differ-

Club ICE Hockey Tryouts What: Ice Hockey Tryouts When: 10:15 p.m., Aug. 31–Sept. 2 Where: Apex Ice Arena* Athletes trying out for Ice Hockey should bring $50 to cover insurance fees and rink time, and should arrive early to fill out necessary paperwork. * Apex Ice Arena is located at: 13150 W. 72nd Ave. in Arvada.

ence. For younger players, especially, it means new friends and good discipline. “It’s almost like a fraternity where you come in and you’re hanging out with this group of guys four, five days a week, so I definitely think

it’s good for them and, overall, it’s just good for the whole comradery of being in college,” Buhanick said. See HOCKEY on A21>>

A18 • SPORTS • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

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Mike Tyson holds the record as the youngest fighter to win a heavyweight title. • THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • SPORTS • A19

Hard work pays off for Metro runner By Josiah Kaan jkaan@mscd.edu

In the vast world of collegiate athletics, it is easy to forget about the student side of the athlete; although it dictates whether the athlete can play their sport. In the 2005 Samuel L. Jackson movie Coach Carter, Jackson plays the role of a coach who stresses the student side of student-athletes in an impoverished California high school. “These are student-athletes,” Jackson’s character Coach Ken Carter explains to an angry group of parents after benching his team for breaking an academic contract. “Student comes first.” Much like the student-athlete theme of Coach Carter, Metro crosscountry and track junior Xenia Flores (pronounced Senia) has fully embodied the definition of student athlete. “Athletes kind of have this stereotype that we’re just athletes; we’re not students, or we don’t go to class,” Flores, who is majoring in criminal justice and minoring in Spanish, said. “[Whether you’re] not so fast or the fastest person on the team, school does matter.” On July 29, Flores was named to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association indoor and outdoor track and field All Academic team. In order for athletes to qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, student-athletes must maintain a 3.25 grade point average and meet NCAA Division I Indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standards or have participated in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships. “The award is called the AllAmerican Academic team,” crosscountry and track and field Head

Flores Stats HEIGHT: 5’ 5” DATE OF BIRTH: April 16, 1990 CLASS: Junior HOMETOWN: Brighton, Colo. HIGH SCHOOL: Brighton High School Metro cross-country and track runner Xenia Flores. Photo by Steve Anderson • sande104@mscd.edu Coach John Supsic said. “It’s a combination of having above a 3.25 GPA and have qualified for the national meet. Whether you’ve automatically qualified for it or if you have qualified on a provisional basis, you can be selected as a member of the team.” Flores not only met the requirements but blew them out of the water, earning a 4.0 GPA and not only meeting the provisional standard necessary but also breaking her own school record. “[It was] pretty sweet, obviously,” Flores said about breaking her own school record and qualifying. “We all knew it was going to be my breakthrough race. Of course I wanted to qualify, but it was just pretty sweet to qualify provisionally.” On April 16, Flores met the provisional qualifying time at the Mt. SAC

Relays in Walnut, Calif., running a 5K race in 17:32.97 and breaking her record by about a minute. “It’s a testament to how hard Xenia has been working in the classroom and on the track,” Supsic said. “It’s an amazing accomplishment to show all of her hard work has paid off, to not only qualify provisionally for Nationals but to also be a school record holder in multiple events.” As a captain on the team Flores led the team by example, not only striving to better herself on the track but also putting in as much effort in the classroom, Supsic said. “I was team captain last semester, so I felt like I had to fulfill both roles to have people take me seriously,” Flores said about working hard on and off the track. “Everyone works hard here, so we definitely

have that standard.” Flores attributes her hard work to her family and teammates and said that a lot of the success the team has seen hasn’t necessarily come from talent but also hard work. “In running, some people have talent and some people don’t,” Flores said. “We’re not the most talented [team], but hard work definitely proves that [it will] take you to the next level.” Flores’ proudest achievement so far in her two-year career has been placing eighth at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference meet, but she has bigger aspirations than that. “Getting eighth at RMAC’s last year was pretty cool, especially because we hosted the meet,” Flores said. “[I] definitely [want] All-American [honors] and everything from

here on out in cross-country, then automatically qualifying in track and getting to that next level of being an All American.” While Flores’ work ethic has overcome a lot, there are a few intangibles that have the potential to get in the way of her goals. “Injuries [and] just life in general,” the junior said. “Life gets in the way sometimes, life gets hard.” While facing adversity is sure to be a part of the 2010 cross-country season, Flores’ coach and teammates are sure that her strong work ethic will come through in the end. “She is a very well-rounded person, and her work ethic is in all walks of her life,” Supsic bragged about Flores. “I can’t say enough about her. She’s a very talented athlete, and it’s a pleasure to coach her.”

Men’ s soccer use scrimmages to fine tune team for season By Kate Ferraro kferraro@mscd.edu After completing two scrimmages Aug. 20 and 22 against Western Nebraska Community College and Hastings College at Auraria Field, the Metro men’s soccer team is ready for the upcoming season. Even though NCAA rules prohibit keeping score and posting the results, Head Coach Ken Parsons said the Roadrunners are at a higher level than at this point than last season. “The players came in this season, and they did a really good job preparing themselves physically, as far as fitness. I thought the recruits that have come in are doing a good job. I think they were very well prepared for the college game,” Parsons said. Metro was picked third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Confer-

ence preseason coaches’ poll, behind Colorado School of Mines and Fort Lewis College. Midfielder Steven Emory said he believes the team doesn’t really need to adjust anything, other than getting used to playing with new players. “We have a lot of young guys now, so just keep practicing, keep playing together and it’ll come together, and hopefully it will work for the season,” Emory said. Emory is a senior this year and was named Preseason Player of the Year. The Fort Collins native earned the honors last season, as well as RMAC Player of the Year and Central Region Player of the Year. Emory wants to lead his team by working hard and hopes his teammates will follow his positive attitude and work ethic. He is hoping to have a good senior year while guid-

ing the Roadrunners to the NCAA Tournament. “Steven [Emory] is a great leader as far as experience and what he does on the field,” Parsons said. “He’s a guy that’s a good communicator, as well. The captains are kind of a segue between the players and the coaches, and I think he does a good job articulating the game.” The men’s team added nine players to their roster: five freshman, one sophomore and three transfers coming from Division I schools. Redshirt freshman Andrew Mejia is one of those Division I recruits. Mejia, a Littleton native, attended the University of San Diego for one year and redshirted as a freshman. He came back to Colorado because he wanted to be closer to home. “Great pick up for us,” Parsons said of Mejia. “He’s a player that had an opportunity to play at a Di-

vision I school. Unfortunately, for him, things didn’t work out there. But fortunately, for us, things didn’t work out there for him because we picked up a great player.” Mejia said he thinks the squad is working hard and is heading in the right direction. “I think we got a good team,” Mejia said. “I think we should be able to get pretty deep in the NCAA Tournament and maybe win RMAC.” Along with Mejia, Morgan Maestas and Stephen Zipprich transferred from San Diego State University and Santa Clara University, respectively. The Roadrunners will begin their regular season on the road in North Dakota Sept. 3 and 5 against the University of Mary and Upper Iowa. They will come home for a five-game home stand starting Sept. 10 against Seattle Pacific.

But first they will play their annual alumni game Aug. 29 at Auraria Field. “It’s always fun because you get to see the guys you played with before, and it’s a good time,” Emory said about the alumni game. “It’s a competition because they want to beat us, and they want to see who’s coming out, so it’s a lot of fun.” The NCAA also prohibits the players and coaches from commenting on any specific part of the scrimmage, according to Andy Schlicthing, Metro’s Sports Information Director.

A20 • SPORTS • AUGUST 26, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN

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The NFL began as the American Professional Football Association in 1920 at a Canton, Ohio car dealership. • THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • SPORTS • A21

Hockey hopeful for improved season Fisher

leaves for CSU

Forward Dan Golden attempts to dive in front of a puck as part of a defensive drill during practice Jan. 12, 2009. Club Ice Hockey is holding tryouts Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at Apex Ice Arena in Arvada. File photo by Mark Farnik • mfarnik@mscd.edu <<HOCKEY continued from A17 After the team sets their 23-man roster, each member must pay a $1,700 player fee, which goes toward chartered busses and hotel rooms for away games, uniforms, ice time and other costs. The team budget for the 2010-11 season is $41,000, Bahn said. Balancing the budget is less staggering than actually being recog-

nized, though. “A lot of people don’t even know there’s a hockey team [at Metro],” Bahn said. The Metro team began in 2000 without much hype or organization before Bahn took over six years later. He since created a five-player board of directors that splits administrational work equally and tried his best

to gain recognition for the team. “I want to make sure that we run it like a real organization,” he said. With more help, Bahn doesn’t have to stress about booking hotels and ice time, but rather focus on the upcoming season. This year, they’re scheduled to play two games at the Pepsi Center against The University of Denver and Mesa State.

But the end of this season marks the fifth and final year of Bahn’s eligibility. He knows it will be bittersweet, but he’s ready to go. “I think I’m more excited than anyone because it’s my last season and I want to get going and start playing games,” he said. “But everything is coming together, which is what I’m looking for.”

Treat fantasy football like a job By Scott Bassett sbasset4@mscd.edu

My fantasy football team was so bad the first few weeks of last season that I aptly re-named my squad “THE BED CRAPPERS.” I blamed Matt Forte, my supposed stud running back, and his sophomore collapse for my woes, but in the end it was my fault. A few of those one or two point losses were avoidable, but I didn’t start the right players, make the right trades and on and on. And on. My team and I lived up to our name and, while I’m too embarrassed to disclose the final record, let’s just say that I had a very high pick in this year’s draft. Maybe I didn’t put New Orleans enough efquarterback fort into Drew Brees was a it. Fantasy fantasy stud last season. football is

first two rounds, but try the magazine section at to score an elite receiver The Tattered Cover for early in a PPR league. a slew of great books. 3. Don’t be too cauThis year, I used The tious. I made an insane Sporting News’ guide. trade in the first year of It worked fine, but some our league, but I ended up of the information was winning out (and snatchoutdated so be sure to ing the championship by find current issues. SCOTT BASSETT one point). Oh, the brag2. Know the rules. It sbasset4@mscd.edu sounds simple, but make ging rights. If a player goes on a hot streak, like a job and, to succeed, it takes a sure you know your don’t be afraid to trade lot of time and dedication. Sounds league’s scoring syshim. More times than not, corny, but it’s not all cake and ice tem. ESPN.com’s league you get good value out favors running back cream. of it. Take caution statistics, Either way, if you want in rookies, though. but other Texans wide to win it all this season, They can be great adl e a g u e s , reciever Andre consider these tips: Johnson had a ditions, but even the like mine, 1. Research, read, rebreak-out year most promising ones use the peat. This is one of those last season. take time to acclimate “point per good problems to have: you to the league and if reception,” can never absorb enough they’re early picks, or PPR, information from scouting format, which gives they play for a bad team. reports, position rankings Whether you miss the playoffs wide receivers and and blogs. I trust ESPN.com soft-handed backs or win the league, it’s because you by default, but there are the edge. This will made the moves to get there. Be plenty of others. Before Titans running back your draft, look at the Chris Johnson may be affect your draft, confident, but don’t crap the bed. too. The general “Draft Kits” on ESPN, the back your team rule is to draft two NFL.com and fftoolbox. needs. solid backs in the com. Also, check out

<<FISHER continued from A15 “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to lead these young ladies,” Becerra said on the Metro Athletic Department website. “I’ve had the privilege of coaching under one of the best coaches around and am excited to continue the great tradition coach Fisher has started.” The transition from Fisher to Becerra should be a smooth one, as the new interim coach has had an extensive relationship with her mentor, Tesone said. “[Becerra] has been with coach Fisher for four years and she has played under Fisher,” Tesone said. “Her and coach Fisher were the only ones that really ran practice. We looked at coach Becerra as a head coach, pretty much, too.” Tesone also said that unlike Fisher’s move from Otero to Metro, in which players followed Fisher to Denver, there are no plans for players to leave the ’Runners for the Rams. “The people that have been with her for so long [are] almost going to be graduating,” Tesone said. “So, we don’t want to take that risk of going to another school and having credits not transfer. Everyone I know is going to stick it out here.” With the move from the Roadrunners to the Rams, Fisher returns to her hometown where she played softball, basketball and tennis at Rocky Mountain High School while being named the school’s female athlete of the year in 1990 (ironically the same year softball disbanded at Metro). After playing softball at Creighton University and Colorado School of Mines, Fisher finished her degree at CSU in 1997 with a bachelor’s in mathematics.

FISHER’S METRO STATS • Winningest coach in school history (125-36) • 2010 CaptainU NCAA Div. II Coach of the Year • Two-time RMAC Coach of the Year • Coached team to two RMAC Tournament Championships and RMAC regular season titles. • Restarted the softball program in 2008 after an 18 year absence.

IMEOUT

SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

A10 8.26.2010 THE METROPOLITAN

BEST OF ONLINE Across 1- Basic 6- Cure, in a way 10- “___ and hers” 13- Island off Venezuela 14- Winglike parts 15- Flaw, so to speak 16- Weeping 17- A pitcher may take one 18- Absent 19- Icicle site 20- Attractive 22- Period of the year 24- Mouth stuff 28- Musical composition 31- Hackneyed 32- Try to pick up 34- Neighbor of Leb. 36- Mongol tent 37- Small amount 38- Baby’s ring 41- ___ Grande 42- Corrida cries 44- ___ Aviv 45- Hood-shaped anatomical part 47- Egg-shaped

49- Prescription 51- Comment 53- Fall 56- Unsubstantial 59- Greek island in the Aegean 61- Hindu princess 64- Assns. 65- Young male horses 66- Gator’s cousin 67- Bundle 68- Less than lively 69- Invoice abbr. 70- Dog-powered snow vehicle 71- Horse locks Down 1- De-intensify 2- Neighborhoods 3- Blandly urbane 4- Side by side 5- Put Down 6- Saltworks 7- Sleep like ___ 8- Whip 9- Quizzes, trials 10- Hesitation 11- 401(k) alternative

12- Eye infection, pig house 15- Ambush 20- Poem of 14 lines 21- Test area 23- Smoke deposit 25- Accustom 26- Miscellany 27- Choir member 29- Name 30- Baseball bat wood 32- Cleave in two 33- Steel girder 35- Belonging to a king 37- Entrance 39- Alway 40- Engrossed 43- Lacking movement 46- Dense white opacity of the cornea 48- Before 50- Brought about 52- Door handles 54- Breakfast fruit 55- ___ Dame 57- Orsk’s river 58- Eyeball 60- Grounded fleet

WEEK {PREVIEW} Thursday/ 8.26

Metro’s 45th Anniversary Celebration 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tivoli Commons Free Yonder Mountain String Band and Leftover Salmon 9 p.m. Red Rocks Ampitheater $80

Friday/ 8.27

Sunday/ 8.29 Rockies vs. Dodgers 1:10 p.m Coors Field

Monday/ 8.30

Fresh City Life: Freestyle Knitting 5-7:30 p.m. Denver Central Library Free Boulder Green Drinks 5:30-8:30 p.m. ReSource Yard Free Snacks, beer and live music provided.

Saturday/ 8.28

Wednesday/ 9.1

Green Route Festival 2-9 p.m. River North Art District $12 in advance, $20 at the door A street party to promote local restaurants and entertainment venues that utilize environmentfriendly practices.

My life is average

Dude totally calling you out on watching when harry met sally on netflix on demand on april 8th.

Today, my friend and I went to the Harry Potter theme park. We met two guys talking in fake British accents and acting like Hogwarts students. They asked us to be their dates to the Yule Ball. I’ve never heard a better pick up line.

If he starts “inventing” things cut him off. The last thing he invented was chocolate chip green beans and he destroyed my kitchen Throwing up while listening to pandora radio. Don’t tell me my life doesn’t have theme music. The extent of my physical activity is running from the cops. She was having a seizure right in front of you, and you asked, “So there’s no more donuts?” We raised our shot glasses and you screamed out “TO MY DAD FINALLY GOING TO REHAB!” Just watched a guy fight a garbage can then pee on it, screaming “I told you to listen to me the first time!!” San Francisco, I’ve missed you.

So I got home today to get a friendly welcome from my brother. He walks out the front door and says “Hey dork” while wearing a Batman costume. Yesterday, I played twenty three games of go fish with my four year old cousin. He won every single one. Today, me and my friend were discussing telemarketers. I explained that I usually just hang up, and he said: ‘I ask them what colour underwear they have on. They hang up on me. Today I saw a pair of identical twins calling each other ugly. Note: Best of Online entries are not edited.

WEIRD NEWS

Everyone has a grandparent who would do anything for them. Like Richard Heritz, he planned to visit his grandson in jail and bring a gift — 20 grams of marijuana. Well, he tried to, but someone tipped off state troopers and he was caught trying to smuggle the narcotics. Heritz , 85, was arrested at the Warren Correction Institution in southwestern Ohio before he could get to his grandson, Gregory. Now, Richard faces up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine if he is convicted of attempting to convey drugs at a detention facility and possessing criminal tools. Gregory will not face additional charges for the incident and is scheduled to serve eight more years; maybe the two will be cellmates. -Courtesy of comcast.net

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Tuesday/ 8.31

I Don’t Think 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tivoil Turnhalle Free

Denver Does Denver 6 p.m. The Medowlark Bar $8 A battle of the bands with a vulgar twist.

61- Nipper’s co. 62- Chair part 63- “As if!” 65- Engine part

Texts from last night

Career Services New Student Open House 1–5 p.m. Tivoli 215

Donald Lipski’s artwork “Psyche” dangles above onlookers in the Lobby of the Auraria Science Building August 24. Photo by Luke Powell • lpowel18@ mscd.edu

THE METROPOLITAN • AUGUST 26, 2010 • A23

CLASSIFIED Classified Info Phone: 303-556-2507 Fax: 303-556-3421 Location: Tivoli #313 Advertising via Email: wongd@mscd.edu Classified ads are 15¢ per word for students currently enrolled at Metro State. To receive this rate, a current Metro State student ID must be shown at time of placement. For all others,

Progressive Fundraisers Needed Telefund needs phone fundraisers for the Democrats, the environment, pro-choice rights, GLBTQ rights, & other progressive causes! Leadership opportunities and full-time positions available as well. Excellent communication/reading skills required, political/organizing experience preferred. Must pass background check. 12-40 Hours per week Afternoon / PM / Weekend shifts

Top callers earn $14–$16/hr. To apply, call Matthew at 303-894-0456.

www.telefund.com

the cost is 30¢ per word. The maximum length for classified ads is 50 words. Pre-payment is required. Cash, check, VISA and MasterCard are accepted. Classified ads may be placed via fax, email or in person. The deadline for placing all classified ads is 3 p.m. Friday for the following week. For information about other advertising opportunities, call 303-556-2507 or go to http://themet.metrostudentmedia.com for current information.

Services THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE Experience the benefits of therapeutic massage. Feel how massage therapy helps balance the physical and mental stress of being

a student. Student discount - $35 for a one hour massage with valid I.D. (limited time only). ITP Majors encouraged! April, Registered Massage Therapist 303-894-0853 (office located in Wash Park) 8/26

COLLEGE NIGHT $1 Drafts! $1 Games! $1 Shoes!

Wednesdays at 8pm ELITCH LANES

3825 Tennyson • (303) 447-1633

4600 Hale Parkway, Suite 490 Denver, CO 80220