April 26, 2012
Volume 34, Issue 31
www.metnews.org
Serving the Auraria Campus for 33 Years
TheMetropolitan
Denver’s new university
A closer look at Metro’s new branding, name • story page 3
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signs Metro’s name change bill into law April 18 in the new Student Success Building’s lobby. After more than four years, Metropolitan State University of Denver was chosen to be the new name of Denver’s newest university. Photo by Seth Baca • sbaca22@mscd.edu
MetroSpective Holy Guacamole! Avocados for breakfast • 10
AudioFiles Get familiar with Portugal. The Man • 12
MetSports Pitcher Aubree Maul having a spectacular season • 17
TheMetropolitan April 26, 2012
MetNews
3
Hick signs bill giving Metro new name
Megan Mitchell mmitch46@mscd.edu
Metro students graduating this spring will receive the first degrees donning the new name: Metropolitan State University of Denver. Gov. John Hicklenlooper and several supporters and sponsors of the name change bill made history April 18 in the Student Success Building by granting Metro the long-awaited title of university. The governor signed SB-148 amid a crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic Metro students, faculty and alumni just after 3 p.m. “Metro State is a remarkable asset to the entire state of Colorado,” Hickenlooper said. “Currently, there are over 24,000 students enrolled in Metro and over 75 percent of the Metro alumni live in metropolitan Denver. Clearly, Metro deserves to be recognized as a university.” In his red Metro State T-shirt, Hickenlooper amused the audience when he used half a dozen pens to sign the two bills. Metro President Stephen Jordan estimated that it was about three letters per pen. “Good thing I have a long name,” Hickenlooper joked. As he signed the last letter of his name, a Roadrunner banner with “Metropolitan State University of Denver” was unfurled from the top of the main staircase. “This is the beginning of a new era for Metro State,” Jordan announced to the explosive crowd. The name change legally goes into effect July 1. Metro administration will now begin the process of changing the university’s signage across Auraria over the summer. One of the first items to be addressed is Metro’s website, MetroConnect and student emails. Cathy Lucas, associate to the president for marketing and communications, said that a committee of students, faculty and alumni will be formed and appointed to discuss the new logo for Metro including typeface, design and even options for nicknames for the university. A mass email was sent to Metro students and affiliates April 23 to poll for the most popular domain name for the new website, which will launch July 1. The three choices are msud.edu, metrostatedenver.edu and msudenver.edu. The survey closes April 30. According to Lucas, the ap-
Gov. John Hickenlooper applauds with a crowd of hudreds of Metro students, faculty, and alumni after signing SB-148, Metro’s name change bill, into law April 18 in the Student Success Building lobby. Photo by Seth Baca • sbaca22@mscd.edu
Gov. John Hickenlooper, left, congratulates Metro President Stephen Jordan with one of the pens used to sign SB-148, Metro’s name change bill. Photo by Rachel Fuenzalida rfuenzal@mscd.edu
pointed committee is nomination based and will work closely with the Board of Trustees and Metro administration to develop a new logo and seal for Denver’s newest university. Metro alumni who are interested in having their diplomas reprinted with the new name will need to wait a little longer. “The alumni association will be working on a marketing campaign for that,” Lucas said. “There’s a cost involved in printing new diplomas, so they’re looking at potentially a fundraiser that would allow for al-
ums to maybe pay for the diploma if they choose, and then maybe donate to a scholarship.” Hickenlooper also signed SB-045 at the celebration April 18. The bill requires that the Colorado Commission on Higher Education collaborate with colleges and universities to notify eligible students that they can receive an associate’s degree while earning their bachelor’s degree if they’ve fulfilled certain curriculum requirements. “I always have been a supporter of Metro and I always will be,”
Metro President Stephen Jordan speaks at the Metro bill signing ceremony. Gov. John Hickenlooper signed SB-148 into law in front of hundreds of students, faculty, and alumni. Photo by Steve Anderson • sande104@mscd.edu
Hickenlooper said. “This is one of the greatest schools, not just in Colorado, but in America, and we
appreciate how hard you all work.”
4 April 26, 2012 MetNews TheMetropolitan
Preliminary election results are in Brad Roudebush wroudebu@mscd.edu The preliminary results for Metro’s 2012 general elections have been released with a record number of students contributing their votes and voices. Nearly 8 percent of Metro’s 24,000 students voted this year, more than tripling the turnout of the 2010 general election, when only about 600 voted. Last week, 1,912 students cast online ballots to elect a new Student Government Assembly president, vice president, three Student Trustees, two Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board representatives and 10 senators. Students were also able to vote on fee increases to extend the RTD pass and to reopen the Phoenix Center at Auraria to Metro students. The election commission is in the process of verifying the results of election. “As of right now, it is all unofficial,” said Election Commission Chair Amy Murlowski. There were several alleged campaign violations committed by candidates, and investigations and hearings are ongoing. Any appeals of the results must be made to the election committee within five
days of the end of the election. “The issues [with violations and complaints] are not consequential,” Murlowski said. “They were mostly posting violations and it wasn’t anything major. There were some posters up in the wrong spots.” She said the elections went well, but were not without issues. Results of the referendum regarding approving changes to the SGA’s new constitution will be thrown out. The wrong constitution was posted on the SGA’s website for the first two days of the election. According to Murlowski, the first two days saw the largest number of votes cast. It is currently unknown when the new constitution will be voted on. The $2 fee allowing Metro students to access the Phoenix Center unofficially passed with 991 votes. The Phoenix Center’s services were not available to Metro students this semester after the SGA did not act on a similar fee increase last year. Students will still have use of RTD services after all three institutions on campus voted resoundingly in favor of a fee increase. The fee increase will be capped at $74 per semester for the next year. Metro students did vote down a referendum which would have
raised the intercollegiate activity fee by $5.45. The increase would have helped launch a women’s golf team at Metro. There were concerns among some that without a fee increase for intercollegiate athletics, Metro would not be in compliance with Title IX. According to Metro Sports Information Officer Andy Schlichting, Metro’s reinstatement of women’s softball in 2008 fulfi ls the requirement, but another women’s sport must be added soon. Additional reporting by Nicholas Roper, nroper@mscd.edu
Metro Student Government Assembly presidential candidate Jason Dirgo checks the results of Metro’s 2012 general elections April 23 in Tivoli. Photo by Steve Anderson • sande104@mscd.edu
Projected election results Executive ticket Jeffery Washington/ Scott Hirsbrunner
852
Laura Noe/ Anthony Sylvester
446
Jason Dirgo/ Munique Bozeman
281
No Response Write-in
582 21
Student Trustee Jesse Altum Andrew Murray Simon Ayesse No response Write-in
508 333 290 757 24
SACAB Nina Dadabhoy No response Write-in Senators Clair Tralles Britta Hurula Erienne Romaine Ian Brown Tonne Elliot Brogan Davy Patricia Ordaz DeAngelo Liberatore Fabien Vivier Joe Boss
887 992 33 619 616 616 594 577 560 550 522 505 490
Phoenix Center Yes 991 No 640 Intercollegiate Athletic Department Fee Yes 636 No 1018 RTD fee increase Metro Voters Yes 2866 No 383
Two for one? 1. Did you transfer to Metro State from Aurora, Denver or Front Range Community College before earning your associate’s degree? 2. Did you earn at least 15 credit hours toward an associate’s degree? 3. Have you since earned a total of at least 70 credit hours? If so, you may qualify to complete your associate’s degree while earning your bachelor’s degree.
Learn more at
www.mscd.edu/registrar/student/reversetransfer
TheMetropolitan MetNews April 26, 2012
Roadrunners give back to community Megan Mitchell mmitch46@mscd.edu Metro’s “One World One Water” campaign has spilled into many campus projects and organizations this year, the most recent being Auraria’s third annual Roadrunners Give Back Day April 21. In the past, Roadrunners Give Back Day was organized outside of Metro and in partnership with Comcast for their annual Comcast Cares Day, which began in 2001.
Metro took over planning the event for its students this year by appointing new director of special events in Student Activities, Brooke Dilling, to tailor the project to more campus-specific goals. Dilling and her committee choose to tie the project to the OWOW campaign to commend the opening of Metro’s new OWOW Center for Urban Water Education and Stewardship. “We reached out to a variety of community agencies that have
a focus on water to see if they had any projects that we could partner with,” Dilling said. “Some of the direction came from Tom Ceck, director of One World One Water here in Denver.” Ceck got Metro involved in The Greenway Foundation’s national trash inventory campaign, which several independent organizations participated in April 21 in Confluence Park and the South Platte River in Englewood. “You literally pick up the trash
Comcast employees and Metro students spread mulch in a parking lot island April 22 on Auraria. Metro students and faculty teamed with Comcast employees to help with landscaping and trash clean up around Denver. Metro State participated in the Roadrunners Give Back Day in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Comcast Cares Day and Earth Day around the country. Photo by Steve Anderson • sande104@mscd.edu
while someone is recording how much trash is in different places along the river,” said Erika Church, assistant director for Metro’s OWOW center. “The idea is to figure out where people are hanging out and where there may need to be more cleanup.” Volunteers combed the banks of the river, picking up anything inorganic and recording what it was, how much of it was found and where the greatest concentration of pollution was found. “For example, if they find that the majority of refuse they pull out is cigarette butts along the river and in the water, they would target their marketing toward smokers in that area,” Dilling said. Alicia Hamilton is the Colorado state coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s trash collection project. She has worked on the campaign for the past three years and was in Confluence Park recording collected debris April 21 with a group of volunteers from the Downtown Aquarium-Denver, the Deep Blue Sea Foundation and the Ocean Conservancy in Washington D.C. “[The records] go into a data collection report, which allows the EPA to track what kind of activity is leading to what kind of debris,”
Hamilton said. “For Colorado, they’re able to identify that a lot of the debris that makes its way into waterways is from recreation. Approximately 200 Metro students were split into three site groups, two along the river and one onsite at Auraria doing general landscape. According to Church, the most popular projects for students were cleaning the rivers. “We just wanted to help out, it doesn’t really matter what we do,” said Metro junior Canaan Lee, who was doing landscape work around campus with his girlfriend and sister. “I wanted to give back to the school because it’s given me so much and I wanted to show my gratitude.”
SPJ Photo Award The Metropolian photographer Rachel Fuenzalida is the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2011 national winner for General News Photography for a Four-Year College/University. Her photograph was featured on the cover of The Metropolitan’s June 23, 2011 issue titled “Denver Shows its Pride in Style.”
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6 April 26, 2012 MetNews TheMetropolitan
Water-inspired sculpture drops on campus Megan Mitchell mmtich46@mscd.edu Denver sculptor Rik Sargent pauses to connect with his 1.5 ton bronze “One World One Water” sculpture moments after its permanent installation in front of the Student Success building April 18. The massive piece was commissioned and donated by Valerie Gates. It spent six months on display at the Bozeman Public Library in Montana before moving to Auraria in time for the Metro name change bill signing ceremony. The water drop shape is engraved with hundreds of tiny details that depict 20 habitats, 100 animals and industrial water users. The ground around the installation will be shaped like ripples from its base. “The thought on the piece is one world one water, it’s unity through diversity,” said Sargent. “This is the thing that I love so much about Metro University — the unity of your student population. I think that piece represents, for me, a real respect for the Metro community and the diversity that’s there.” In conjunction with the open-
Photo by Seth Baca • sbaca22@mscd.edu
ing of Metro’s OWOW Center for Urban Water Education and Stewardship, a new Pilot Water Studies minor will be introduced in the curriculum this fall.
“It’s a symbol the represents that realness of this program, Sargent said. “This isn’t just a fly-by night opportunity, this is a real commitment that the school has
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made to a program that will last for many years and hopefully enrich a lot of lives. The whole water renaissance is quite extraordinary of our time.
The sculpture will be formally dedicated May 2 at 4:30 p.m. “It’s the fulfillment of the circle. It finally came home and I couldn’t be happier,” Sargent said.
8 April 26, 2012 TheMetropolitan
InSight
Death of Dick Clark recalls a simpler time of innocence “…Rock ‘n’ Roll is here to stay/ it will never die It was meant to be that way/ though I don’t know why Rock ‘n’ Roll will always be/it’ll go down in history…” —Danny and the Juniors, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Here to Stay” (1957) Last week, Dick Clark, often called “America’s oldest teenager,” died of a heart attack at age 82. Thinking of Clark made me nostalgic for 1957 — the year Clark’s “American Bandstand” was one of TV’s hottest shows and must-watch fare for teens while introducing Rock ‘n’ Roll to a huge and mainstream American audience. For most Americans, “Bandstand” was the first place they saw rock artists like Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets, James Brown, Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers. Years later, Clark’s “Bandstand” gave major boosts to the Mammas and the Papas and Madonna. And if the performers were lip-syncing their records on the show, nobody cared. The heyday of “Bandstand” was 30 years before most students on this campus were born, but the magic of YouTube can help bring back the music, clothes and feel of a simpler time of innocence that some of us can actually remember. Guys danced in jackets and ties on the show — with hair that featured “ducktail” cuts or piled-
high pompadours. Girls, who were not called rapper-tag “hoes” and “bitches” — wore tight wool skirts with pony tails and pointy sweaters to stoke already-racing teen hormones. Tunes about teen romance were often sappy, but at least showed some respect for women that’s mostly missing now. And if Ricky Nelson was a sanitized version of Elvis — whose risque touch of white trash was part of Elvis’ appeal — squeaky-clean Dick Clark convinced lots of wary parents that Rock ‘n’ Roll couldn’t be all that bad for their kids. Clark had a long career after Bandstand, that included hosting Times Square soirees on New Year’s Eve from 1972 on. For me, though, Dick Clark will always be preserved in the amber of early American Bandstand. Tunes from that era buzzed in the back of my mind when, last January, I walked into Dr. Gregory Walker’s “Real History of Rock ‘n’ Roll” class (PMUS 3852) in the Tivoli. It seemed less a historical perspective than a memoir of music that took in the ‘50s Rock ‘n’ Roll I listened to as a teen. The class, still in progress, exceeded expectations. Most of it turned on what I thought I knew, but didn’t. As legendary Baltimore Orioles coach Earl Weaver once said, “it’s what you learn after you already know it all that matters.” Tracing the roots of rock from turn-of-last-century blues and jazz
to “Swing” era sounds (Glen Miller and Bennie Goodman in the 1940s, along with young Frank Sinatra) to “hillbilly” music that was the forerunner of “country” all set the stage for ‘50s Rock ‘n’ Roll. It was followed by the “British Invasion” of Beatles, Stones and others, prior to late ‘60s Psychedelia/Acid Rock and subsequent musical genres. From the “Folk music” era onward, Walker’s class covered a chronology of my own life. I spoke to the class about rock “festivals” I’d been to: Woodstock II in 1993; the “Summer Jam” that drew nearly 500,000 to Watkins Glen, New York in 1972 and even the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 when Bob Dylan was jeered for abandoning unamplified guitar in favor of singing with a backup band. Scanning the class of 20-something students, I could see the window shades of interest closing. Some had barely heard of Dylan; maybe the Beatles. Elvis was as ancient as Sinatra. I felt seriously old and “out of time,” to use a Stones’ line, and even more so in later classes when I noticed that — during musical clips played on the big screen – I was the only one tapping my feet. Out of time and out of sync. Disco I recall vividly – and not simply because the 1978 “Saturday Night Fever” movie with John Travolta took place in my Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, neighborhood. But when we moved from Punk and Heavy
Editor-in-Chief Megan Mitchell: mmitch46@mscd.edu Managing Editor Daniel Laverty: dlaverty@mscd.edu News Editor Brad Roudebush: wroudebu@mscd.edu MetroSpective Editor Nathalia Vélez: nvelez@mscd.edu
J. SEBASTIAN SINISI sinisi2@msn.com Metal to Post-Punk and Hip-Hop; to rappers like Snoop Dog, and Dr. Dre, I grew less and less in touch while the students got more and more into it and began showing some passion that had been missing all semester. With their new enthusiasm, the kids instructed me. Among other epiphanies, I began to think of Rap and Hip-Hop as maybe a bit more than noise blaring from the next car when I’m stopped at a red light. The affable Walker’s class also repeated a lesson I’d learned in many other Metro and UCD classes as a late-in-life academic freeloader milking what I call “the GI Bill for seniors.” For all of their short memories, minimal attention spans and addiction to communication toys, “the kids” - to borrow a line from The Who’s Roger Daltrey, - “are all right.” And maybe that process of continued learning, even after you know it all, is the whole point of education — higher or not.
‘My kid would never do that,’ — Of course your kid would do that Ever since I was a child, I’ve been told what to do and what not to do. Most of time, I didn’t listen much. The other week, I was watching Dateline on NBC, which featured a segment entitled “My Kid Would Never Do That.” In this particular segment, NBC news reporter Natalie Morales took unsuspecting children and tested how they would react in dangerous situations with strangers using actual scenarios convicted child predators have used to target children. Dateline recorded the scenarios and screened them while the children’s parents watched via hidden camera. Hired actors try to trick their cherubs in setup situations using the known tactics of child predators. You all know the tactics I’m talking about, too. Enticements that include candy or a trip in a
white unmarked van with dark, tinted windows to Disneyland. And let’s face it: kids are easily tricked. Especially when promises of puppies, candy and ice cream are involved. The children in the show were usually tested in groups, all by the same actor who is persistent at trying to trick them. Sometimes, the groups of targeted kids were all the same age, sometimes they were mixed ages. When the children were tested in the company of a child who was older than they were, the older child would usually recognize the “stranger danger” and remember the lessons their parents had taught him or her. However, when the test was conducted with only the younger children (ages 7-10) present, they would sense that something wasn’t right, but were still easily duped by the actor. In one of the scenarios, 8-year-
old twins Maya and Dallas are working on a poster supporting U.S. soldiers inside a canopy-style tent, rigged with cameras, in front of a building, with no adult supervision. Then, they hear the unmistakable sound of an ice cream truck headed their way. Just as any child would, the twins are immediately excited upon hearing the alluring music. Soon, an actor pulls up in an ice cream truck and begins to ask the children what they are doing. The kids explain their task and the actor tells the children that he usually gives out free ice cream to kids who do nice things for the troops. The children’s ears and faces perk up at the mere mention of free ice cream, like a dog that hears its master shaking the bag of dog food in another room of the house. Both kids seemed reluctant at the actor’s first attempt to ruse
MetStaff
them, but then he offered to let them to check out the inside of Luke Powell lpowel18@mscd.edu his ice cream truck and let them turn on the music. Maya and Dallas follow the actor to the back of the truck and hop right in, then begin to check it out. The parents stare in disbelief as their children do the unthinkable. All this got me thinking about how dumb kids are and how many times a parent or another parental figure needs to tell a child not to do something. Otherwise, chances are the parents will be ignored and do exactly what their parents thought they would never do. You hardly need a Dateline special to tell you that.
Assistant MetroSpective Editor Steve Musal: smusal@mscd.edu AudioFiles Editor Wesley Reyna: wreyna1@mscd.edu Assistant AudioFiles Editor Ian Gassman: igassman@mscd.edu Sports Editor Ben Bruskin: bbruskin@mscd.edu Copy Editors J. Sebastian Sinisi Christin Mitchell
Kate Rigot Luke Powell
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The Metropolitan accepts submissions in the form of topicdriven columns and letters to the editor. Column article concepts must be submitted by 1 p.m.. Thursdays and the deadline for columns is 9 p.m. Sundays. Columns range from 500 to 600 words. Letters to the editor must be submitted by 5 p.m. Mondays to be printed in that week’s edition. There is a 500-word limit for letters to the editor. The Metropolitan reserves the right to edit letters for formatting and style. All submissions should be sent by e-mail to themetonline@gmail.com. The Metropolitan is produced by and for the students of Metropolitan State College of Denver and serves the Auraria Campus. The Metropolitan is supported by advertising revenue and student fees and is published every Thursday during the academic year and monthly during the summer semester. Opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of Metropolitan State College of Denver or its advertisers.
MetroSpective
TheMetropolitan April 26, 2012
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Dystopian futures: new trend in literature
Auraria Writer’s Week speaker talks about new novel J. Sebastian Sinisi sinisi2@msn.com With the “Hunger Games” movie, based on Suzanne Collins’ young adult novel, now ensconced as one of the hottest cultural phenomena of the year, future “dystopias,” or the bad-dream opposites of idyllic utopian societies, have become all the rage, at least for the moment. This makes the work of Colorado science-fiction author Paolo Bacigalupi, who spoke at Auraria April 4, and whose new novel, “Drowned Cities,” appears May 1, quite timely. In lieu of relationship angst, Bacigalupi presents a future world whose younger citizens must use cunning strategies to survive and cope with ongoing shortages of water and basic services. City infrastructures have gone to hell, suburbs are in ruins and rural food production serves to profit the few. Meanwhile, unchecked global warming is the cause of the
Photo Courtesy of Night Shade Books
“drowned cities” running from Washington, D.C. to New York coastal areas. And anarchy is only avoided through sinister security forces who appear in different guises, but all assure that the ruling-class “haves” maintain control while “have-nots” barely get by. The dystopias he describes in two previous novels and a short story collection could come to pass if we persist with the same policies while ignoring very-evident realities, Bacigalupi said in Tivoli Turnhalle during a talk sponsored by the Metro and CCD English departments and several other campus groups. “We can anticipate consequences,” he said. “But if we stay on our present path, we will see these scenarios.” Ignoring realities in favor of half-baked superstition or theology has now spread to high levels of American government, Bacigalupi said during a Q&A session. “Last year, I was in Austin, Texas, for a book-signing event while
Texas was in one of its worst droughts — more than 100 days of no rain — in its history,” he related. “But, while dismissing climate change as barely a ‘theory,’ there was Texas governor Rick Perry (an early front runner among Republican presidential candidate hopefuls this year) taking part in a group praying for rain at the Texas capitol.” Bacigalupi, 39, lives in the Colorado Western Slope town of Paonia; home to the High Country News periodical that has been an environmental voice for decades. After graduating from Oberlin College in Ohio, he lived in China, New York City and elsewhere to gain a worldview that’s hardly local. Success as a writer, which didn’t come until his 2009 book “The Windup Girl,” didn’t come easily. “My wife was beyond supportive,” Bacigalupi said. “She didn’t even laugh after my first four novels were rejected by publishers.” Published by Night Shade Books, “Windup Girl,” which deals with bio-engineering in a world where fossil fuels are no longer available, was named Paolo Bacigalupi, who spoke at Auraria Writer’s Week April 4, has a new novel, “Drowned one of the ten best novels Cities” appearing May 1. Photo Courtesy of Bacigalupi of 2009 by Time magazine. It won the coveted science for political entities always at war. The landscape of “Pump Six” fiction Hugo, Nebula, Crook, The enemy can change overnight recalls a future world seen in BritCampbell and Sturgeon Memorial and the fruits of technology are ish sci-fi master H.G. Wells’ 1895 awards. His subsequent “Pump deliberately withheld as an addi“The Time Machine,” where books Six” collection of stories also drew in libraries have also crumbled and tional control device by the ruling critical accolades, while his young classes. civilization has devolved to a suradult novel, “Ship Breaker, “ was Robert Heinlein’s 1961 “Strangface race of passive, pleasure-seeknominated for the National Book er in A Strange Land” describes a ing “Eloi,” who are bred like cattle Award. theocracy ruling America — to be eaten — by the brutish In the “Pump Six” story, Man“Solutions,” said Bacigalupi, underground race of “Morlocks” hattan is threatened by a sewage“won’t come from technology, who do all the work. overflow epidemic because no one but from social change.” He’s also Often entertaining and with a can fix failing pumps that are more wry sense of humor, Bacigalupi’s hopeful that needed change will than a century old. The technology work builds on a long tradition of come from young people who and repair manuals are long forhaven’t bought into the “technofuture dystopias. Aldous Huxley’s gotten and bureaucratic incompefixes” earlier generations have 1932 “Brave New World,” presents tence makes matters far worse. failed with. a caste society — Alphas on top, Meanwhile, students at Colum- Epsilons at the bottom — where bia University only want hedonisunpleasantness can be avoided tic pleasure. Books are crumbling by taking a drug called “soma.” to dust and an elderly widow of a George Orwell’s “1984,” written deceased faculty member observes in 1948, has a need for constant that students seem to be “getting citizen surveillance, extending to dumber all the time.” thought control by “Big Brother,”
10 April 26, 2012 MetroSpective TheMetropolitan
Food truck goes green with avocados Levine use disposable containers for the customers, but all of their prep and cookware is reusable. Avocados from Mexico came Avocados aren’t usually conup with the idea for the contest, sidered a breakfast food, but local but Mikes2Kitchen is assisting food truck Mikes2Kitchen and with the promotion through social importer Avocados from Mexico networking. are trying to change that. To participate, contestants “We want to help incorporate must tweet a picture of their vegetables into the most imporavocado torta, a kind of Mexitant meal of the day,” said Mike can breakfast sandwich, from Levine, co-owner and manager of Mikes2Kitchen to @Guacgrl with Mikes2Kitchen. Although avocathe hashtag #GoodMorningAvocados are technically a fruit, many do and they’ll be entered to win. A people think of them as a vegrepresentative with Avocados from etable. Mexico will randomly select three Mikes2Kitchen and Avocados winners per week throughout April from Mexico are partnering up to receive a prize of $100. for a contest to get people excited “We wanted to work with a about pairing avocados with their great restaurant that could easily coffee in the morning. add an avocado breakfast item Levine met fellow co-owner to their menu,” said Samantha Coacci, a representative from Avocados from Mexico. Mikes2Kitchen serves tortas and tacos for breakfast as well as po’ boys — baguette sandwiches — and tacos for lunch. Their locations throughout the day are listed on their website, mikes2kitchen. com, and on their Twitter and Facebook pages. “Mikes2Kitchen is one of the most popular food trucks in Denver,” Coacci said. “They have a mouth-watering menu and a large fan base.” Mike Carlin prepares breakfast at Auraria in the mobile restaurant, Mikes2Kitchen, April 19. Jennie Grimes, a Photos by Jessica Cuneo • jcuneo2@mscd.edu
Caitlin Sievers csievers2@mscd.edu
and head chef of Mikes2Kitchen, Mike Carlin, while working in La Jolla, Calif., in 2000. Carlin is from Kansas and Levine grew up in Texas. They both wanted to put down roots somewhere with more approachable people. “We wanted to get back to where people are a little more down to earth and friendly,” Levine said. Levine and Carlin had friends living in Denver and had their food cart made in Parker in 2010. They’ve been operating in Denver 12 months a year ever since. They try to keep their operation sustainable. Carlin and Levine are hoping to convert their truck so they can use old fryer grease to run their generator. They currently recycle their old grease. Carlin and
Mike Levine hands off breakfast as Mike Carlin cooks in the background in their mobile restaraunt.
grant writer at the Colorado AIDS Project and one of the prize winners, said she enjoyed her meal at Mikes2Kitchen. “I had a delicious veggie taco
with fresh avocado on top,” Grimes said.
Filmmaker screens environmental documentary Steve Guntli sguntli@mscd.edu Independent Filmmaker Jennifer Redfearn visited Auraria April 18 to screen her Oscar-nominated short documentary, “Sun Come Up.” The film tells the story of the Carteret islanders, the world’s first environmental refugees. “Sun Come Up” follows a group of young islanders as they journey to the nearby Bougainville Island to plead their case and find new homes. Displaced from their remote island home off the coast of New Guinea by rising ocean levels, the native population of roughly 2,500 people must look for land on nearby islands. The documentary was screened in the former Starz Theatre, and was sponsored by the Metro English Department. Redfearn followed her Auraria showing with an
Jennifer Redfearn, left, meets with Dr. Vincent Piturro and Academy Award winning director Daniel Junge before screening “Sun Come Up” at Auraria April 18. Photo courtesy of Dr. Jim Aubrey
engagement at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where the film was shown with commentary from curators. Redfearn was first alerted to this story through a humanitarian alert about the Carterets. “It was the first time I’d heard of the Carteret Islands,” Redfearn
said. “I couldn’t believe that people were being displaced by climate change. It struck me as an incredibly important story to tell.” Redfearn and her filmmaking partner, Tim Metzger, shot the film in six weeks. An additional year was needed to translate the dialogue and edit down the nearly
100 hours of footage into a 38-minute film. When the film was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Short Documentary category, it focused some muchneeded attention on the plight of the Carteret islanders. “When it was nominated, we put together a [fundraising] campaign in between the nomination and the Academy Awards,” Redfearn said. “We encouraged people from around the United States to throw screening parties with the intention of raising funds for the islanders. Those went through Oxfam New Zealand, and they used them for the relocation sites.” While the funds raised for the islanders have been hugely beneficial, Redfearn insists that she didn’t make the film with the express intention of aiding their cause. “That wasn’t my initial inten-
tion. My initial intention was to educate, to tell a story,” Redfearn said. “It wasn’t until later that I realized the film could be used to give back to the community.” Dr. Vincent Piturro, Metro’s cinema studies professor, introduced the screening, and praised Redfearn’s film. “Film scholars tend to separate films into two categories: great films and important films,” Piturro said. “It’s rare that a film can be both, but ‘Sun Come Up’ is both great and important.” Redfearn is hard at work on her next project, which will document a blind cinema club in Havana. “The film follows the growth of the cinema club, but also three remarkable blind people whose stories intersect at the cinema,” Redfearn said. “It’s a story about art and cinema and imagination and perception.”
TheMetropolitan MetroSpective April 26, 2012
11
Japan study abroad trip to bridge cultures Ryan Smith smitryan@mscd.edu Attending college has traditionally been seen as the presumed way for a person to advance their potential to find success. Although success is a relative term, it is most often linked with money and personal achievements. Savannah Powell, however, measures success by the positive effects she has on other people’s lives. Powell is the acting field supervisor for an upcoming study abroad program led by Dr. Rebecca Forgash, a professor in Metro’s anthropology department. The class, Cultural Communication and Identity, consists of a two-week trip in May and June to several locations in Japan — Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa — designed for students to explore a wide variety of topics, from cultural identity studies to supporting education in the face of discrimination. “Travelling always expands people’s awareness. This particular trip is interesting because of [a
few things like] the ongoing debates over the presence of the U.S. military in Okinawa, which people there are very divided over. We’re going to get to see both sides of it authentically; it’s not going to be my view or Dr. Forgash’s view,” Powell said, contrasting this experience with a typical classroom experience. Powell says the trip and the chances for interactions with Japanese people will give students an “honest, unbiased representation of the culture and the people. It’s going to be a very genuine experience. It’s not going to be touristy — it’s going to be very real, and it’s those kinds of trips that are Savannah Powell advertises a fundraiser to fund meaningful.” the student abroad trip to Japan. Powell plans to make a Photo by Ryan Smith • smitryan@mscd.edu short documentary film, to be Japanese to some degree, but some titled “Journey Japan,” followdon’t speak the language at all. ing the students’ journey through Originally planned for last the country, their volunteer work year, the trip was delayed by the there, and their interactions with tsunami that hit northern Japan Japanese college students. She said March 2011. The tragedy has given that some of the students who the trip an added purpose, espewill participate in the trip speak
cially for Powell. “We’re not going to be in the area the tsunami hit, but there’s still work to be done in [other parts of Japan] as far as helping rebuild,” Powell said. Although the details aren’t yet set, she plans to incorporate several volunteer projects into the trip. She also plans to give a presentation about community involvement and volunteer work at several stops on the trip, “because that’s something that has always been a big part of my life and education.” Powell, 27, is a 2009 Metro graduate, and was one of those rare students who knows exactly what they are interested in studying before enrolling. With the help of Metro’s Individualized Degree Program, Powell tailored a major that fit her specific interests: Social Justice and International Cross-Cultural Awareness, with emphases in women’s studies, Asian studies, and indigenous studies. Having done service work prior to enrolling at Metro, Powell knew
what she wanted to study but not how to study it. “When I came to college, I had already been in AmeriCorps in the [Volunteers in Service to America] program for two years, so I knew I wanted to do something involving social justice and communityoriented work,” Powell said. “But I didn’t know how to translate that academically.” Powell now works as Forgash’s research assistant in the anthropology department’s Ethnography Lab. She’s particularly thrilled to be helping lead this study abroad trip, because she shares Forgash’s exact research interests and hopes to someday teach at the college level and lead study abroad trips just like the one she’s helping lead now. A Japan-themed fundraiser for the trip will be held at 7 p.m. April 28 at the Back Hall Social Club, located at 23rd Ave. and Clay St in the Higlands neighborhood. Additional reporting by Kate Rigot.
Chew on this: Two tasty posole stew recipes Kate Rigot krigot@mscd.edu
This week’s featured ingredient, posole, involves a process invented by the Aztecs, called nixtamalization, that converts ordinary corn kernels into something much more extraordinary. The end product, which looks like giant mutant corn kernels with no skins on them, is a dense, chewy treat with an almost meaty texture that will fill the emptiest of bellies. Usually called “hominy” by English-speakers and “posole” (poh-SOH-lay) by Spanish-speakers, in Colorado you tend to see “posole” favored, even by English-speakers. In addition to being delicious and comforting, posole is also easy to prepare, healthy, and generally super-cheap. While some cooks insist on cooking dried posole for hours until it becomes the soft, edible chunks required for eating, I find that canned posole is really not bad at all, and doesn’t taste “canned” like many canned vegetables do. Although there are many different variations, in traditional Mexican cooking, you generally slow-cook posole with pork or other meats, onions, and chilis for a while, but I find that you can
whip up a pretty decent posole stew out of canned posole and a few vegetables and beans in under 40 minutes (or less if you’re really in a hurry). You can also try adding posole to chilis and other soups and stews. It’s a great value — one 30-oz. can usually runs about $2, and it can be pretty filling.
Quick-and-Easy Posole Stew
Serves 4-5 This recipe is a take on authentic Mexican posole stew, but with a few shortcuts to make it quicker. 1 lb. leftover pork roast or other pork meat (not ham), or chicken meat 2 – 3 oz. dried red chilis – preferably ancho, guajillo, or pasilla 2 cups hot water 1 T. vegetable oil or bacon grease 1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 T. dried oregano, preferably Mexican oregano 1 tsp. cumin (opt.) 1 30-oz. can of posole, or about 2 ½ cups cooked dried or frozen posole 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or water 3/4 tsp. salt 1. Shred the meat or cut into 1-in. cubes and set aside.
2. Place the chilies in the hot water and soak for 20 minutes, while preparing the next ingredients. 3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan until sizzling. Add the onion and sauté until translucent and somewhat browned. Add the garlic, oregano, and cumin (if using) and sauté for 1 minute more. 4. Drain the posole and add it to the pot, along with the 4 cups of stock or water and the salt. Strain off about one cup of the soaking water from the chilies and add it to the pot as well. Add the meat. 5. If you have time, simmer the stew for up to 3 hours to let the flavors meld, but a half an hour will get it done. 6. While the stew is cooking (but at the beginning of the cooking time), puree the chilies with the rest of their liquid in a blender, or drain and mince them very finely with a sharp knife. Add the puree or the chopped chilies to the stew. *If you don’t have time to deal with dried chilies, mince one to three canned chipotle chilies (depending on how spicy you want it) and add in with the garlic. Or, substitute a few chopped fresh red chilies and sauté with the onions.
Posole One-pot Meal
Serves 6-7 True story: I once made a version of the following recipe, for a dozen shivering people, over a campfire at the top of a mountain,
using equipment and cans of food that had been carried up by mules — and all while under a severe budget. Needless to say, it was a hit, even among the uninitiated. You can vary the amounts of vegetables or beans in here, or just use up some of your leftover vegetables. 1 T. vegetable oil or bacon grease 1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely 1 poblano pepper or green bell pepper, cut into strips ½ zucchini, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 – 4 canned chipotle chilies, minced 2 T. dried oregano, preferably Mexican oregano 1 tsp. cumin (opt.) 1 15-oz. can whole or stewed tomatoes ½ 15-oz. can corn (or ~1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels) 2 15-oz. cans black or pinto beans (or one of each) 1 30-oz. can of posole, or about 2 ½ cups cooked dried or frozen posole 1 tsp. salt 4 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled (opt.) chopped cilantro (opt.) crumbled queso fresco (opt.) 1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the pepper strips and zucchini and sauté until vegetables
are starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes. 2. Add the garlic, chipotle chilies, oregano, and cumin (if using) and sauté for 1 minute more. 3. Add the tomatoes, corn, beans, posole, and salt, and about 5-6 cups of water (enough to cover all the other ingredients plus about an inch extra). Simmer partially covered for about 45 minutes (more if you have time, to let the flavors develop), until the liquid is somewhat reduced and the stew is less soupy. 4. Serve topped with bacon, cilantro, or queso fresco.
Where to get posole King Soopers canned: 30 oz. - $1.99 dried: 12oz. - $2.29 frozen: 32 oz. - $2.19 Lowe’s Mercado (1320 S. Federal Blvd., the old Avanza Market) canned: 29 oz. - $1.49 frozen: 32 oz. - $2.28 Sometimes you also see fresh homemade posole at farmers’ markets. Ocassionally, you even see it at Metro’s food bank. Also, if you want to try to make your own raw posole from scratch, try the recipe in “Wild Fermentation” by Sandor Ellix Katz.
12 April 26, 2012 TheMetropolitan
AudioFiles
Sounding Off
Portugal. The Man’s constant shift Wesley Reyna • wreyna1@mscd.edu Member changes, stolen equipment and difficult recording sessions might cause the break-up of some bands, but for the oddly punctuated Portugal. The Man, it seems like these are the tumultuous conditions under which the band thrives. While their style of music would be classified as indie-rock, few bands have explored as many facets of the genre. To hear bassist Zachary Carothers tell it, one would think that the group — which signed with Atlantic Records in 2010, has toured the world and released six full-length albums and nearly as many EPs — is just warming up. “We’re just now starting to figure out where we really want our band to go,” Carothers said. “But we’re concentrating a lot more on song structure, on progressions, melodies, and really being very intricate as far as what we choose to do.” In March, Carothers and the rest of his bandmates started recording new material in a secluded studio located on a pecan orchard in El Paso, N.M. Currently, the group is taking part in the “Jagermeister Tour,” which will bring them to Denver’s Ogden Theatre May 5. The day before Portugal. The Man’s tour began, the group announced the departure of its keyboardist, Ryan Neighbors, who had been with the group since 2008. Just a few days into tour, the band abruptly fired their new drummer mid-show, leaving Carothers, and guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, John Gourley, as the only original members. The group has seen more than six members come and go since Portugal. The Man began in 2004. Portugal. The Man has built a large fan-
Met’s music picks
base across America and Europe by touring endlessly and releasing a steady stream of ever-improving albums. Denver fans have consistently supported the group. “Oddly enough we have more friends in Denver than anywhere else in the country — in the world I guess — besides Alaska and Portland, our two homes. Every time we roll through Denver, it’s pandemonium there,” Carothers said. The group is still touring in support of their latest effort In The Mountain In The Cloud, their first release on Atlantic. Writing and recording the album didn’t come as easy as the group’s previous albums. “I don’t know what was going on, but we weren’t playing well, we weren’t writing well, and we weren’t getting along with each other. Every difficulty that you could possibly imagine, we were going through. It was a struggle,” Carothers said. After recording sessions in El Paso, N.M., New York, San Diego, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., the group finally finished the album in Seattle with producer Casey Bates. Though Atlantic never put pressure on the group, the members wanted to live up to their own expectations. “We look at their roster and see names like Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin and stuff. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and we knew [recording] was a pretty pivotal moment in our career and it still is,” Carothers said. “It was good for us to have a taste of difficulty in there.” After performing at Lollapalooza in 2011 — a highlight for the group — their van and trailer, which contained all of the bands equipment, was stolen. Some of the
Zachary Carothers, left, and John Gourley are the only constant men left in Portugal. The Man
equipment was later recovered with the help of fans, through social media and the group received a fair amount of support from various musical instrument companies. The group has seen its share of ups and downs. Apart from equipment thefts, member changes and recording challenges, the grueling tasks of the music industry have posed a challenge to artists for years. “I never see friends anymore and you can’t keep a girlfriend to save your life,” Carothers said. “My grandpa’s funeral was a few days ago and I couldn’t make it. It’s a lot of sacrifice and that’s a thing that a lot of people don’t get.” While it looks like a glamorous lifestyle, the reality for most bands trying to garner a fanbase as they travel along America’s highways is far more humbling. Portugal. The Man’s early days were no exception. “I love the fact that I rolled around with a 30 lb. bag of rice and we would pull over at rest stops and unplug the soda machine to plug in a rice cooker, because that’s all we could afford for months on end, [but] it’s really nice to see all that stuff is starting to pay off,” Carothers said. The life of a touring musician can be a struggle, but that doesn’t mean that it
Photo courtesy of Portugal. The Man doesn’t also have perks. “At Bonaroo last year, John [Gourley] and I got to hang out and listen to music with Neil Young in his Cadillac for about an hour. I have to say that’s about the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” Carothers mused. “I grew up listening to Neil Young all day in my house, so I was texting my Dad, [he] was proud.” It’s hard to imagine Neil Young inviting every budding musician that he meets into his car for impromptu listening sessions. Rather, it would seem likely that Young sees that Portugal. The Man has a promising career ahead. Fans may get to see new material performed live on the upcoming tours, catching a glimpse of what lies ahead for the everchanging and always-morphing group. “We still want to make pop records but we want to make interesting pop records. With any material we’re doing it’s going to be a little punk-rock, a little bit thrashy, but catchy [with] a lot of energy,” Carothers explained, mentioning that, when it comes to the new album and the future of Portugal. The Man, he’s really excited. “They’re the best songs we’ve ever written,” Carothers said.
out of 5
The Right Now Gets Over You
Trampled by Turtles
Ian Gassman • igassman@mscd.edu
Luke Powell • lpowell18@mscd.edu
On The Right Now’s self-released album, Gets Over You, which dropped April 10, frontwoman Stephanie Berecz sounds so strong. With hints of the best ’90s R&B singers (Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige) and a big helping of Joss Stone, Berecz is a literal powerhouse of sultry soulfulness. The effort’s intro track, “I Can’t Speak for You,” has Berecz crooning out some empowering advice to women everywhere: “I know what he has done, curtains have been drawn, been treating you cruel, acting like a fool, girl you should be gone.” The rest of this album’s mainstay material conveys more emotional, relationship-based drama. Little tales about lies and betrayal are woven throughout this 11-track effort, as backdropped by the seven, funky-ass instrumentalists that carry this Chicago-born band. In “Tell Everyone the Truth,” Berecz belts about calling out an unfaithful lover — one who has been cheating on his wife to be with Berecz, which is clearly uncool. Throughout that track specifically, the guitar is snappy, the organ is entrancing, the horns are fluid and the rhythm section is tight as ever. So, while Berecz’s voice is damn alluring, The Right Now is the type of full-on band that can draw any middle-of-the-road pop fan to the dark, sexy side of neo-soul.
Stars and Satellites
Trampled By Turtles have been bringing us excellent bluegrass since 2004, but their sixth, most recent release, Stars and Satellites, is an exception to their great body of work. Compared to the past fiddle-filled albums, this effort is a gloomy mess. The first track, “Midnight On the Interstate,” starts out slow and rather sleepy. Speed is a tricky element with string bands. It can be their greatest asset or their worst enemy. Fast songs are easy to like, because they are what listeners gravitate toward — an uptempo song just easily grabs an audience’s attention. And although a slow song can give a string band some substance, the majority of the songs on Stars and Satellites are too sluggish. It appears that frontman Dave Simonett sacrifices the usual boot-tapping tempo in the name of composition. On most tracks, Simonett is trying to advance the subtly of the quintet’s composition. In a sense, the songwriting is deeper throughout this album, but it takes some time to get into. Yes, admittedly, the songs that are slow aren’t horrible, it’s just that the majority of these tracks are riddled with sadness, not an interesting level of energy.
TheMetropolitan
AudioFiles
April 26, 2012
13
cHeck it out
A collector’s take on vinyl holiday Wesley Reyna • wreyna1@mscd.edu Every third Saturday in April, music fans and record collectors all over the world celebrate Record Store Day, a sort of musical Easter, complete with a hunt for vinyl. As its online bio states, Record Store Day started in 2007, “as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA and hundreds of similar stores internationally.â€? The first official year of Record Store Day was celebrated in 2008. This year, I made it out to five local record stores before I depleted my allotted budget. I’d love to say that my search for vinyl ended when I found everything on my list, but unless one has an extremely short list, it’s likely a few items aren’t going to get crossed off. Like thousands of others, I woke early April 21 (9 a.m. on a Saturday is early for the average record collector) and headed out to brave the crowds in search of the limited vinyl records and CDs being released throughout the day. Most of these special records were released by some of my favorite
musicians in support of independent record shops all over the world. What most audiophiles were looking for couldn’t be found at Wal-Mart or a Best Buy. For instance, you can’t buy the White Stripes’ single 7-inch called “Hand Springs� inside Target and you can’t download the mp3 on iTunes. Instead, only record stores that meet the Record Store Day requirements can participate. According to the Record Store Day website, a participating store is defined as a “stand alone brick and mortar retailer whose main primary business focuses on a physical store location, whose product line consists of at least 50 percent music retail, whose company is not publicly traded and whose ownership is at least 70 percent located in the state of operation.� My first Record Store Day was in 2009, and it was a paralyzing affair. Having studied the list of scheduled releases beforehand, I set out with realistic expectations but, as a student, I didn’t have much cash and I had to choose when I found too many rare records.
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On Record Store Day, April 21, shoppers sift through shelves of rare, limited-edition records.
Photo courtesy of Sun of the Sun In the end, I had to decide which ones I could afford. This year, my plan was different and so was Record Store Day. Having set aside a larger budget and more time to browse, I was prepared for the challenges of years past, but this year was a whole new beast. In 2009, the smaller the record shop, the smaller the crowd. Such was the case with Atomic Records on South Broadway. The masses at Twist and Shout, Denver’s largest independent record store, had swelled up dramatically from last year and the whole store had a different vibe. It took me a while to place it, but something felt different about Record Store Day 2012. The event itself seemed commercialized — less like a celebration and more like a “Black Friday� for record collectors. In years past, free champagne was handed to patrons who smiled excitedly as they browsed the shelves to the tune of
exclusive live performances or DJ sets. Now quickly diminishing supplies were worsened by long waits in line. And this year, there was little fanfare like stickers or slip-mats for record players. Not that I went for the freebies, but the extras made me feel like it was a holiday. This time around I was excited to see families with children that cried in line as they waited with handfuls of 7-inches. I was happy to see the older baby boomers, picking through the exclusives before eyeing the costly LPs that sat up on the wall. I hope I see people like this next year, but I also hope to see the things that I missed this year. Record stores have a chance to take back some of the territory they’ve lost to digital retailers. They shouldn’t focus on profit, they should just focus on luring in vinyl-centric shoppers. Of course, they only have one day out of the year to shine, so they better spin it right.
TheMetropolitan April 26, 2012
15
MetSports
Tennis tangles at RMAC tourney
Women’s season ends, men advance as No.3 seed
Angelita Foster amayer1@mscd.edu Zee Nwuke znwuke@mscd.edu Metro men’s tennis defeated Montana State University-Billings 5-1 and earned third place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament April 21 at Gates Tennis Center. The women fell 5-2 to Colorado Mesa in their third place game and ended the tournament in fourth. The Roadrunner teams started off the tournament strong, both winning over Colorado State University-Pueblo. On the men’s side, the Roadrunners came out on fire. The doubles matches were first, and Metro swept CSUP 3-0 before getting the 5-0 shutout. The women mimicked their male teammates and got the 5-0 sweep over CSUP. “This is my senior year, so this is it for me,” said senior Lucio Cangiano after the sweep. “I was motivated. This is my last tournament.” In the second round, both teams again ended with the same result, but this time the ’Runners were on the losing end of 5-1 matches. The Lady ‘Runners lost to University of Nebraska-Kearney while the men’s team lost to Western New Mexico. The women started off leading in doubles but couldn’t hold on for the win. Metro’s No. 1 doubles team junior Alicia Holm and senior Nadia Khamis lost a 7-6 lead to Vanessa Gunawan and Heather Connolly who came back to win 9-7. Holm met top-ranked Gunawan again in No. 1 singles and lost 6-0, 6-2. “It was hard for me to get my motivation up after doubles because I’ve played her before and she’s tough, but you have to forget the loss and refocus,” Holm said. The men’s squad lost two out of their three doubles matches to Western, and the rest in singles, to conclude the 5-1 loss. “[Western’s] a great team,” said head tennis coach Beck Meares. “We knew it was going to be tough, but we just had to go out there do what we could do, and control what we could control.” After those matches, both teams fell into the losers bracket where third place would be the best
Roadrunner Schedule: April 26 - May 1
Baseball: Baseball heads to Golden for a four-game series against Colorado School of Mines April 27-29.
Softball:
Metro junior Gabriel Vlahos backhands a shot April 20 at Gates Tennis Center during the RMAC tournament as his doubles partner senior Lucio Cangiano looks on. The duo won all three of the matches they took part in over the weekend, and were the only members of the men’s team to record a point for the ’Runners against Western New Mexico, winning 8-5, in the team’s second round match. Photo by Rachel Fuenzalida • rfuenzal@mscd.edu
Softball begins their quest for an RMAC tournament championship in the first round of the tournament April 26 against Ft. Lewis College. The game is at Regis University, and the tournament lasts through April 28.
Tennis: The men’s team has the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Central Region and will face No.2 seed University of Nebraska-Kearney April 30 in Kearney.
Roadrunner sophomore Jonathan Evangelista focuses on a shot during the RMAC tournament April 20. Metro took third place at the event, which was held at Gates Tennis Center, and Evangelista helped his team by recording victories in both singles and doubles play in first round matches against Montana State Billings. Photo by Rachel Fuenzalida • rfuenzal@mscd.edu
they could finish. The men took advantage and won the match 5-1, and the women settled for fourth place in the 5-2 loss. “This was a tough tournament and this [Mesa] loss puts us in a tough spot because now we don’t control our own destiny,” junior Marianne Evangelista said. The men’s team, however, had a polar
opposite reaction after their third place match. “It was a big result for us to beat Montana State,” junior Jonathan Evangelista said. “It looks good for us right now because it puts us in a good spot for regionals.” Both of those statements proved to be prophetic, as the teams found out April 24 that the
men’s team would be advancing to NCAA Tournament’s Central Region to pursue a national title while the women would not. The men earned the No. 3 seed in the central region and will play UNK in the first round, April 30 in Kearney, Neb.
Track and field: Both the men’s and women’s team will compete at the Mines/ UCCS/Metro/Chadron Quad Meet in Golden April 27.
16 April 26, 2012 MetSports TheMetropolitan
Dawkins safely steps away from safety After 16 years, we say goodbye
The Denver Broncos finally have a good chance of making it past the second round of the playoffs this year with quarterback Peyton Manning and maybe even a shot at being Super Bowl Champions. But the team will have to take its chances without Brian Dawkins. Dawkins, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, has decided to retire. And even though Denver/I will be sad to see him go, it’s probably the right decision. Dawkins is a 38-year-old NFL safety, which is ancient when compared to the average age of the other players in the league. But that doesn’t mean he can’t deliver a hit at his age. Dawkins has always
all too familiar with and sometimes it’s best to know when to quit while you’re ahead and on top. That’s what Dawkins has done. Throughout his career, Dawkins has been selected to the Pro bowl nine-times, All-Pro six-times, 2004 NFC Champion (2004), a member of the 20/20 club (20 sacks and 20 interceptions in a career), as well as NFL 2000 AllDecade Team. Although few safeties have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dawkins should have no problem getting his name immortalized in Canton, Ohio. I hope his retirement is as enjoyable for him as watching him play was for me.
Dawkins’ Career
• 16 seasons in the NFL • 26 sacks • 37 interceptions. • 9x Pro Bowl • 6x All-Pro • Byron “Whizzer” White NFL Man of the Year (2008) • Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team •NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
Brian Dawkins called it a career April 23 when he announced, via Twitter, that he was retiring from the NFL after 16 years in the league. Dawkins played his first 13 years with the Philadelphia Eagles and his last three were spent with the Broncos.
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Luke Powell lpowel18@mscd.edu
been known for being a ferocious hitter, as well as a player who could take a ferocious hit. The 16-year veteran told The Denver Post that he wanted “retire one year too early rather than one year too late.” I’m sure the thought of playing one more year toyed with his mind during the past couple of months, especially after Denver signed future Hall of Fame quarterback, Manning. With Manning behind the ball, the chances of the Broncos winning the Super Bowl is even greater. And that’s just one title that Dawkins doesn’t have. But Dawkins did come close in the 2004 season while he was playing with the Philadelphia Eagles, but the Eagles ended up losing to the New England Patriots 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX. The occupation of being a professional athlete has its limits. The main one being the massive amounts of wear and tear on the human body. All too often a player’s season or career can change in a second because of an injury. That is something Dawkins is
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TheMetropolitan
MetSports
April 26, 2012
17
Aubree is Mauling opponents, classroom Angelita Foster amayer1@mscd.edu
Metro junior Aubree Maul has accomplished a lot this softball season. Maul was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference softball Pitcher of the Week three times and was named to the second-team Academic All-RMAC. In the classroom, Maul has a 3.44 grade point average. She is seeking a degree in hospitality, tourism and events and says that after graduation she would like to go to culinary school. On the field, Maul has a 18-7 pitching record this year with a 3.34 earned run average. She has complied 118 strikeouts in just under 150 innings, and she has held batters to a .256 batting average. Maul has also does damage as a batter this season, hitting 11 homeruns with a .270 batting average. She also has 30 RBIs. “Aubree is a quiet leader and I think she leads by example on the field,” softball head coach Kristi Lansford said. “I am excited that she is coming back next year. She is one of those ‘yes coach’ players that will do whatever we ask her to do.” Maul attributes her work ethic to her father.
“My dad taught me that if you are not working hard it is not going to pay off,” Maul said. Maul has taken that lesson and run with it. When Maul started her career at eight-years-old, she was the only girl on her baseball team. She then switched to softball when she was 10 and began to play competitively. Maul played firstbase on the varsity team her freshman year at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colo. During her sophomore season, Maul moved to left field where she helped her team win the 5A state championship. “I have always been a pitcher, but when I got to high school the team already had some good pitchers, so I worked hard where they put me,” Maul said. In 2010, Maul was recruited by then Metro head coach Jen Fisher to play firstbase. She was one of the top freshman softball players in the RMAC, batting .311 with 28 RBIs, 20 runs scored, and four home runs. It was a big year for the young player, and it all came to fruition when she had two hits against No. 19 Angelo State at the College World Series. “That was probably the biggest
Metro junior pitcher Aubree Maul is having a tremendous season pitching with an 18-7 record including 17 complete games. She can also handle the bat, hitting .272 with 11 homeruns. Photo by Christopher Morgan • cmorga37@mscd.edu
day of my life and is something I will never forget,” Maul said. For Maul, that game was both the best and worst memory of her career because they played in the College World Series, but lost. In 2011, Maul was named Academic All-RMAC honor roll and preseason All-RMAC. Her highlight on the mound that year was a complete game shutout, including eight strikeouts, against New Mexico Highlands. She has continued her dominance on the field and in the classroom by again being named to the RMAC All-Academic team in 2012. Metro sophomore catcher Kelsey Tillery has known Maul since middle-school and agrees with Lansford that Maul has a quiet way of leading the team. “She doesn’t really say much, she comes in when we need her to, she hits when we need her to hit,” Tillery said. “She is by far the best hitter on the team and the best pitcher.” Whether she’s verbal or not, clearly Maul’s skill set and leadership have won over her teammates and coaches, and have helped win numerous games for the ’Runners over her remarkable career.
SAvE MonEy.
Register full time! 3 Part-time students pay for EACH credit hour
3 Full-time students pay the SAME for 12-18 credit hours
REgiStER Full tiME to:
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18 April 26, 2012 MetroSpective TheMetropolitan
TimeOut This
Week 4.26
Auraria’s Got Talent 4 – 7p.m. Tivoli Turnhalle Showcase your talent. All types of acts welcome, from dance to singing to comedy to acting, the possibilities are limitless! Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners! Open to all students & staff who register.
4.27
Rockies vs. Mets Across 1- Course 5- Guide 10- Asta’s mistress 14- Buck follower 15- Blot out 16- Just ___! 17- Restrain 18- Have dinner at home 19- H.S. exam 20- Auth. unknown 21- Practice session 23- Nocturnal bird 25- Genetic material 26- Blue-green algae 31- Step 35- Gal of song 36- Autocratic Russian rulers 38- Aconcagua’s range 40- Queens stadium 42- Mine prop 44- Came down to
earth 45- Melodies 47- Histological stain 49- Turkish honorific 50- Compassion 52- Very large 54- Small island 56- Silent assent 57- Disregard 62- Gyro meat 66- Island in central Hawaii 67- Buy alternative 68- Winglike parts 69- Org. 70- Stuns 71- Nada 72- French summers 73- Eye sores 74- Fellas
Down 1- Tailless rodent 2- Give ___ for one’s money 3- Bull 4- Informal chat 5- Unmatched 6- Dies ___ 7- Narrow strip of wood 8- Bendable twig, usually of a willow tree 9- Occupant 10- Sleeps briefly 11- Greek peak 12- Actual 13- Do one’s part? 22- ___ avis 24- Buddhist temple 26- Gal Fri. 27- Book about Nineveh 28- Coeur d’___ 29- Back of the neck 30- Shaft shot from
a bow 32- Bambi’s aunt 33- Opponent of Ike 34- Condescend 37- Scarf 39- Adult male deer 41- ___ Lingus 43- Very large woman 46- Beat it! 48- Cpl., for one 51- Cedes 53- “Constant Craving” singer 55- Pay for 57- Gone by 58- Subterfuge 59- Half of zwei 60- Resembling a maze 61- Aha! 63- Baseball family name 64- Numerous 65- Apians 66- Fannie ___
Texts From Last Night I swear 95% of pictures on my phone are from drunken nights I don’t remember with me doing a peace sign alone in somebody’s bedroom. Ohhh, that’s true. Babies are only fun when you’re high. Otherwise, they’re the worst kind of people. I’m trying to pinpoint the moment when “don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” became bad advise.
6:40 p.m. Coors Field
Starting at $5
4.28
Rapids vs. Chivas USA 7 p.m. Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Starting at $22
4.29
Aurora’s 121st Birthday Party 1 p.m. Aurora History Museum 15051 East Alameda Parkway
Come celebrate Aurora’s 121st birthday with the Aurora History Museum and your friends! There will be games, cake, activities, face painting, and entertainment Free
4.30 Forbidden Bingo 7 – 9 p.m. Maloney’s Tavern
BINGO HAS HIT LODO! Final Blackout game win a $50 Maloney’s Gift Card! Free
5.1
Cinco De Mayo Celebration 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. All campus outdoor spaces Join in the celebration of all that Mexican culture has to offer, including food, music, crafts and fun. Free
5.2
Ukulele Sing & Strum-aLong 5 p.m. Children’s Museum of Denver
Swallow Hill Music will bring the ukuleles and a few simple songs to teach the whole family. $6-$8
My Life Is Average Today, my cousin and I went to the costume shop in search of a “Where’s Waldo” costume for him. The storekeeper couldn’t find it anywhere.... You’re good Waldo. MLIA In science we were going through the tests we last did and the teacher was holding them up... On the back there was one with a three eyed dino-pig eating a stick figure... All my friends burst out laughing and look at me. MLIA The other day my teacher’s cell phone went off in class, she told us not to worry as it was probably just her cat, then went back to teaching. HerLIA On Howmanyofme.com, I discovered that there is one person in the United States with the name of ‘Stupid Face’. Score one for the parents.
Today in History 4.26 1564 - William Shakespeare is baptized. 1937 - The ancient Basque town of Guernica in northern Spain is bombed by German planes. 1968 - Students seize the administration building at Ohio State University. 1986 - The world’s worst nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl power plant in the Soviet Union. 1994 - Nelson Mandela wins the presidency in South Africa’s first multiracial elections.