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Opinions vary regarding concealed weapons on campus Jesse Byrnes jbyrnes@uccs.edu

Should people be allowed to have weapons on campus?

“I think, honestly, that’s kind of scary,” said Mikayla Brown, a freshman psychology student. “I don’t think that it’s even necessary for people to have guns on campus. I mean, you’re in a learning environment – there’s no reason to have a weapon.”

On March 5, the Colorado State Supreme Court struck down a gun ban for all University of Colorado campuses, overriding a 1994 policy instituted by the Board of Regents. The ruling allows anyone over the age of 21 with a permit to carry a concealed weapon onto any CU campus, including UCCS. “The position of the supreme court was that [the CU Regents] were operat-

ing above the law,” James Manley of the Mountain State Legal Foundation, who fought CU’s ban, told The Denver Post.

The court found that the university’s policy was in violation of the Concealed Carry Act (CCA), which the state legislation passed in 2003.

CCA allows concealed weapons permit holders to carry in “all areas of the state,” except some federal properties, public buildings with security checkpoints, K-12 schools and private properties if owners object to concealed weapons. The court held CCA higher than university policy, making the gun ban illegal.

In light of various school shootings across the country, many have differing opinions on whether the state supreme court made the right decision to allow individuals to carry concealed weap-

Photo by Nick Burns

Firearms are now legal for carry on CU campuses, says Colorado Supreme Court. ons on CU campuses.

Ken Stanton, a postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University, was working on his Ph.D. at Virginia Tech in 2007 when the shooting occurred. He said that he was uninterested in con-

cealed carry and had no background in guns or hunting before the shooting happened.

“I couldn’t care less about any ‘political’ issue,” Stanton said. “Now I realize that so-called ‘political issues’ are actually

very important life issues, often ones that are a matter of life and death.”

Stanton lost a friend in the shooting, Jeremy Herbstritt. “He lived upstairs from me in my apartment complex, and was honestly one of those

guys who would go out of his way to help anyone,” Stanton said.

According to a classmate that survived, Herbstritt was killed because he thought the shooter was a police officer and he jumped up to help, Stanton said.

Stanton thinks the Colorado State Supreme Court’s ruling was the right call. “As the court said, if the legislature (in the Colorado Concealed Carry Act) wanted to exempt colleges and universities from the other public agencies required to allow concealed carry, they would have said so,” he said. “Not to mention, the right to bear arms is an absolute right, and shall never be infringed.”

Eric Mote, a UCCS alumnus and one of the three plaintiffs in the law suit against CU, said that Continued on page 2...

Clyde’s summer expansion project will remodel outdoor patio Kaitlin Nelson knelson6@uccs.edu

Clyde’s, the bar and restaurant located on the first level of the University Center, is in line for a needed and innovative expansion.

Opened in September 2010, the popular campus pub seats about 90. Recently, though, that space has not been enough to keep up with the amount of students and faculty that enjoy eating, studying, watching television or playing pool at the restaurant.

“Clyde’s is super busy; [there’s] a lot of traffic in Clyde’s,” said Suzan Szpyrka, the senior associate vice chancellor of Administration and Finance.

To make room for more patrons, the outside patio area behind Clyde’s will be expanded over the summer.

The idea of an outdoor

Inside this

Issue

eating area in Colorado may not sound like the best idea at first, given the cool weather during most of the school year. To compensate and encourage use, the patio area will be heated.

“We’re going to have a little gas fire pit in there that students can sit around, and we’ll have external heaters that are designed for outside patios in Colorado, so that even if it’s a cool day, you can be out there and still be comfortable,” said Szpyrka.

There will be both food and beverage service for the addition with a fullservice wait staff, so customers don’t have to run back and forth to the bar counter to place orders.

Even though it is outside, smoking will not be allowed.

“It’ll be kind of nice, you can be out there on a cool November evening, the stars up in the sky

news

A day in the life of Mayor Bach page 2

and a little fire pit, sitting around having a conversation with friends,” Szpyrka said. “Doesn’t that sound great?”

The addition is estimated to open sometime in early November.

Construction will begin in the late spring or early summer.

The Overlook is also being remodeled, and is a higher priority due to size and need. The Clyde’s project will not begin until construction is underway for the Overlook.

Abbie Lewis, a marketing junior who works at Clyde’s, has an overall positive view of the expansion. “I think it would be kind of cool – cool location for outdoor seating,” she said.

Tara Burns, a sophomore in sociology, also saw the project as a good thing for the restaurant.

“I think [the expansion] is a great idea,” she said. Burns comes to

Clyde’s weekly, and some days, “it’s pretty packed.”

“It would be nicer if it was expanded,” she added.

Although most are happy with the general idea of an outdoor addition, some students still have reservations.

“That would be cool,

I guess. Is it going to take up our tuition?” asked Aura Kimmett, a junior in mechanical engineering.

“I think Clyde’s is pretty good the way it is now.”

Szpyrka said that both the Clyde’s patio expansion and Overlook remodel will be financed

through revenue received from food service operations on campus.

Logistics are also a concern. Lewis also said, “It depends on if we have to have waiters out there.

If we go full service, it’s going to make this place a lot crazier.” S

Photo by Nick Burns

With the new renovations, look forward to enjoying a fire on the patio.

culture “Salome” review page 5

opinion

sports

Ethics, government and the media page 8

March Madness page 11

News

Page 2

Breakneck pace, long hours define Mayor Steve Bach’s day

Photo courtesy of facebook.com/ColoradoSpringsMayorSteveBach

Mayor Bach at the media briefing on March 13.

Aaron Collett acollett@uccs.edu Reporter Aaron Collet was invited to follow Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach for a day. These are his observations from Tuesday, March 13.

The u-shaped table is filled with uniformed police officers. They’ve all been interrupted from running their lineups – debriefs on the previous day’s arrests. The 6-foot, 5-inch mayor has just stepped into the room.

Mayor Steve Bach visited the Sand Creek Police Department as part of an effort to meet and thank city employees for their service. He also wanted to get their input about what the city needed.

The visit to the police station was only a small part of the mayor’s day.

He also had a visit to Fire Station 8 – a visit that was cut short less than five minutes after arrival, when every single fireman left on a call.

That’s not an unusual situation though – according to Bach, the station is the busiest in the city. Not only that, according to firehouse.com, Station 8 is in the top 10 of busiest stations nationwide.

“I want to meet the people who actually do the work,” Bach said. Despite this desire, Bach is busy enough that he is not able to make as many visits to city departments as he would like. “It’s hard to find time,” he said.

The mayor starts out his day with meetings – with people ranging from citizen’s groups to the commanding officers of the military bases in town. On this day, Bach

not only had a monthly media conference, he also had to attend a portion of a City Council meeting.

On this particular occasion, his senior staff was able to take on most of the duties needed, and Bach left shortly after seeing his nomination for the Housing Authority committee confirmed.

Bach is still finding his feet after being elected as Colorado’s first strong mayor in a century. He comes from a business environment – one which encourages directness.

Politics is a different animal entirely, which causes him some frustration.

“The biggest problem is cutting through all the chatter,” Bach said. With so many different people clamoring for attention, the mayor strives to prioritize.

His relationship with the media has also had some rocky times. Before being elected, Bach had quite a bit of privacy in relation to the media.

Now, he must field Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests on a regular basis.

Though the requests are perfectly legal and legitimate, they nonetheless take up quite a few manhours to compile the information. As such, Bach has decided that whenever a CORA request is made, once the information has been gathered, it will be released to all the media outlets, rather than just the one making the request.

Bach’s commitment to the city workforce is even evident in the placement of his office. Since the previous mayor was a member of City Council, his office was in City Hall, along with the offices of all the other mem-

bers of the council. Since the mayor’s position is now separate, Bach had a choice: He can either move his office to a different floor of City Hall, or move to the administration building a couple of blocks away.

“It’s more important to be with the workforce,” he said of his decision to move to the administration building.

But the move is not without its downsides. “I don’t get to see council as much,” he said. Since Bach is not in the same building as the council, he is unable to “meet in the halls” and get to know the councilmembers in an informal setting.

Throughout his day, Bach talked about his plans for the city. “I like groups of three,” he said.

If you have too many individual pieces, Bach explained, you get spread too thin and can’t see which decision will matter the most.

This philosophy can be seen expressed in his Spirit of the Springs initiative, which has three goals: to celebrate and connect Colorado Springs, cultivate and future city government leadership and encourage citizen involvement with the city.

On this particular day, Bach finished with his daily work just before 5 p.m. Despite the breakneck pace, he said it was actually less busy than other days – not least because most of the focus was on the City Council meeting during the largest portion of the day.

As he begins packing his briefcase, Brenda Bonn, Bach’s personal assistant, comes in with some paperwork to sign.

“It never ends,” she says with a laugh. S

March 19, 2012

Concealed carry (continued from page 1) the Virginia Tech shooting was a key point making him consider his safety on campus.

“After the Virginia Tech massacre in April of 2007, I started questioning whether I was truly safe on the UCCS campus, or really anywhere,” Mote said. “It seemed like shooting massacres were becoming a way of life.”

Mote became involved with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) at UCCS, and in 2008 helped stage an empty-holster protest as well as gather signatures for a petition to present to the Board of Regents, asking them to rescind their policy on weapons prohibition.

Mote submitted the petition to the Regents and presented a speech about SCCC’s concerns.

“In my speech, I told the Regents that their antiweapons policy was in conflict with the Colorado State Constitution as well as the Concealed Carry Act of 2003,” Mote said.

“I informed them that the UCCS campus, which consists of 500 acres and more than 7,000 students, never has more than five campus policemen on duty at one time – sometimes as few as two.”

“Needless to say, the Regents did not share our concerns,” Mote said.

“They basically chuckled at us, took the petition, brushed us off and moved on to other business.”

After Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak and Chief of Police Jim Spice denied his request for special permission to carry a firearm, Mote, along with UCCS student John Davis and Anschutz Medical student Martha Altman, decided to file the lawsuit against CU. Despite the court’s ruling in favor of the three plaintiffs, many are still opposed to the idea of concealed weapons on campus.

“The Board of Regents has had a weapons policy in place since 1970,” said Ken McConnellogue, CU’s vice president for communication. “In the board’s mind, the discussion of whether we should

allow students to carry or not should have happened at the board level, and not been imposed upon the university,” he continued.

“We’re disappointed in the ruling, but it’s the law, and we’re going to abide by the law, and we’re going to determine how it’s best going to work on the campuses,” he added.

One UCCS student, who wanted to remain anonymous, has had concealed carry for two years and began carrying on campus the week the state overturned the ban.

While he supports concealed carry on campus, he cautions students to understand their weapon before they think about concealed carry.

“Someone who is new with their gun or guns in general could easily miss an armed assailant from even 15 feet,” he said.

“Adrenaline and the untrained hand could easily cause a student to hit another innocent student, or to miss the assailant entirely and draw the attention of the gunman resulting in their death. Is this CC owner willing to risk their life for others and follow through? Are they ready to face jail time/ lawsuits for an accident?”

Evan Shelton, president and founder of the UCCS club Students for Ammunition and Weapons Safety (SAWS), believes that education is the most important factor and agrees that there is not enough training that goes into getting a concealed permit.

To avoid confusion once police arrive, or to protect all involved, Shelton emphasizes a “draw, shoot, conceal” process.

“One of the basic things that you’re taught in a concealed carry class is, if you have the gun, one: It’s a huge responsibility, and two: You only pull that gun if you’re going to pull the trigger as well,” he said. “If you don’t feel confident to eliminate the threat or pull that trigger whatsoever, you do not pull that gun.”

“When you have concealed carry on a campus like this, you automatically reduce the threat,” Shelton said. “A criminal is not going to be coming into a campus where he knows someone might be carrying a gun.”

Shelton also points to that fact that UCCS has a large military presence, with veterans accustomed to high-stress situations.

Training aside, Shelton said that those causing problems with weapons are people that are not following legal channels in obtaining a weapon, and that “There needs to be more of a crackdown on the illegal purchasing of weapons.”

Josh Wolfaardt, vice president and co-founder of the club, agrees. Wolfaardt points to the Virginia Tech shooting as an example, since the shooter was not supposed to have a weapon due to a history of mental illness.

“When you look at someone who’s getting a concealed carry permit, it’s a very long process,” which includes four sets of fingerprints and an FBI background check, Wolfaardt said. “You’re going through training, you’re going through an extensive process before you’re given that privilege.”

“We recognize that most concealed carry permit holders are responsible gun owners who will exercise this privilege responsibly,” said Shockley-Zalabak in a public memo. “At the same time, we continue to believe that our campus police are in the best position to respond to any emergency situations.”

“If you believe that your safety is at risk for any reason, please contact the Department of Public Safety at 255-3111,” the memo continues.

“The Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling applies only to allow concealed carry permit holders to carry handguns on campus. The remainder of the Weapons Control policy, which prohibits other firearms, explosives, certain knives, and other dangerous weapons remains in effect.” S

Correction

The picture in the Best Kept Secret article on March 12 was of Ken Ball, the owner of Rocky Mountain Dogs ‘n Burgers. Ken Ball has owned that restaurant for five years.

News

March 19, 2012

Page 3

Sections of library restrict access to social media websites Lucas Hampton

lhampton@uccs.edu There are new zones implemented on 22 computers in the Kraemer Family Library that restrict access to websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube.

These “Social Media Free Zone[s]” were originally put up as a research project for assistant professor Rory Lewis. Leaving the project weeks before its initiation, the decision to implement the social-media-free zones fell upon the Library dean, Teri Switzer.

This addition to the UCCS library is only tem-

porary, and after receiving a semester’s worth of student feedback, Switzer will decide whether or not to make the addition permanent.

“We decided to continue because we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback,” explained Switzer.

If students attempt to access any of the restricted websites, they will be redirected to a survey concerning the social media restrictions.

The object of the project is to cater to those students who have previously been unable to find a computer when they had school work. Switzer said that too often, students are browsing Facebook or Twitter when “so many

of us have smart phones, [and] we get all that stuff on our phones.”

The new restrictions also serve as a motivational tool. Switzer admits that “it is not only students who have a hard time being self-disciplined and not going into their Facebook, it’s all of us.”

Switzer explained that only several years ago, “you walk into a library and you could hear a pin drop...and libraries are different now, it’s a hub.”

She went on to say that most libraries are doing the opposite of UCCS. “Libraries are embracing and promoting the use of social media.”

But Switzer assures

students that the library is not against social media.

“The library has a Facebook page; we hold contests on it.”

At the end of this Spring semester, Switzer will evaluate the student feedback and decide whether to remove the zones, keep them or expand them, so she advises students who feel strongly one way or the other to comment on the website (uccs. edu/~socialmediafree). S Right: Spencer Kokes is blocked from Facebook in one of the new social media free zones in the library.

Photo by Isaiah Branch-Boyle

Raphael Sassower strives to be a ‘public intellectual’ Lucas Hampton

lhampton@uccs.edu Professor Raphael Sassower usually opens the first day of his classes with a lecture on various reasons why students should drop his class.

This professor of philosophy has a reputation among many students; with an almost aggressive teaching style, his demand for student participation either works for students, or does not.

Sassower’s first experience as an instructor was at the Israeli officer training academy.

Native to Israel, he was required to serve a minimum of

three years in the Israeli military, and after four years as a paratrooper – seeing combat in the 1973 Yom Kippur War – he requested a transfer.

“I told them they could either transfer me, or jail me,” Sassower explained, “so they transferred me to the officer’s academy… [it was] the first taste I had of being a teacher.”

“I wanted to be a rancher,” said Sassower, and after being invited by a friend to the United States to visit, he passed up his dreams and went to Lake Forrest College, earning a B.A. in philosophy and economics.

Not long afterward, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at Boston University.

Photo by Robert Solis

Professor Raphael Sassower teaches philosophy.

Sassower is a professor in the philosophy department and is the head of the committee for the master’s in humanities program. He is also an entrepreneur, having created several notable, local businesses such as Kimball’s Theater and The Warehouse restaurant and gallery. He also writes a weekly column for the Colorado Springs Business Journal.

“I aspire to be a ‘public intellectual,’” he said, a term that he explained is more common in Europe; he said it is “someone who can use his training, knowledge and background to weigh in on public controversies or concerns.”

This sense of obligation to the community transfers into his classroom personality. After asking Sassower if he is aware of students’ opinion of him, he logs on to ratemyprofessor.com and begins reading the comments aloud.

Responses ranged from, “passionate and funny,” to “most arrogant person I have ever met;” some go as far as to say “he sounds just like Kermit the Frog…its uncanny.”

Overall though, students seem to approve of Sassower’s unorthodox teaching methods.

“I expect students to care and be engaged,” he said. “I try to weed out as much as

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possible, and sometimes it’s really difficult.”

Sassower challenges students to think, and so actively critiques student comments.

“Sometimes, somebody’s feelings get hurt.”

Beyond his critical exterior, Sassower commands enormous respect, and often shows students a very courteous side. On some rare occasions, when the planets are properly aligned, Sassower holds events at his

loft apartment that overlooks the Front Range, often inviting both students and professor.

Students who plan to enroll in one of Sassower’s courses should be warned: He expects a level of participation that challenges students to produce thoughtful insight that can be rationally justified, and any student taking his class for the first time is sure to have a memorable educational experience. S

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Culture

Page 4

March 19, 2012

Association of Future Teachers aims to improve literacy April Wefler awefler@uccs.edu

So your mom gave you all the children’s books she used to read to you when you were a kid. She said they had sentimental value and you could read them to your kids someday. Little does she know, you don’t plan to ever produce any germfactories.

So what do you do with the books? Drop them in one of the green donation boxes outside the ROAR office and at the library entrances.

The Association of Future Teachers (AFT) is hosting a book drive for Project Literacy on the Go. AFT is accepting donations of any children’s’ books, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

Project Literacy on the Go was started by Barbara Swaby, professor of education and a President’s Teaching Scholar.

The program helps provide books to children in low-income families.

“We wanted to contribute and support literacy,” said club president Jillian

Mathena. In order to help the program, AFT started a book drive on campus to collect donations.

The book drive is not the only way AFT has helped the community, though. In the past, the group participated in the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), an organization aiming to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

“A few members volunteered throughout the year – helped middleschoolers after school with confidence-building and academic assistance,” said Mathena.

Due to lack of funding, AFT didn’t get to participate in the program this year.

Other than participating in programs, members of AFT listen to presentations by faculty members and have various social events throughout the year.

“I’ve felt part of the campus life, and felt good contributing to the Colorado Springs and UCCS student community,” said Mathena.

She also added that

Photo by Ariel Lattimore

Brandi Davis (left) and Jillian Mathena (right) hope that the Association of Future Teachers Book Drive is successful. members can experience different aspects of education before entering the education program.

Additionally, they can help support education in Colorado Springs.

In fact, Mathena is currently student-teaching at Springs Ranch Elementary. She said it’s a lot of

fun, but also a lot of hard work.

Still, for someone who’s been president of AFT since the spring semester of her freshman year, she was prepared for the job.

“Working with club members and hearing their experiences, as well

as attending the presentations from faculty members, I felt prepared before I began my student teaching,” said Mathena.

Although education majors might benefit most from AFT, the club is open to anyone. Mathena pointed out that she’s gained great friendships

with people in the education field from being part of the club.

Students interested in joining AFT can send an email to aft@uccs. edu. The student will be added to the email list and will be sent emails of events or volunteer opportunities. S

Colorado Springs’

The Lennox House Local bed and breakfast stands the test of time Best Kept Secrets

Aaron Collett acollett@uccs.edu

While new houses are popping up across Colorado Springs, the Lennox House remains one of the few local fixtures that has a history dating back to the start of the city.

The yellow Victorian was built in the 1890s by John Lennox, one of the first settlers of Colorado Springs. It was a residence of the Lennox family’s until 1940 and became a bed and breakfast in 1997.

The residence has been converted into a five-bedroom bed and

The Lowdown What: The Lennox House Where: 1339 N. Nevada Ave. How much: Rooms start at $109 per night

breakfast, which is owned

by California residents Larry and Linda Linder, who purchased the house as a convenient way to visit their son Cameron while he attended the Air Force Academy.

The current innkeeper is a woman named Micki Coriell. She said, “I’ve been here about a year for the Linders, and we’ve seen business triple.”

The house is rich with history. Coriell said that of the three stained-glass windows in the house, the one in the kitchen is the one with the story.

Apparently, John Lennox, the builder of the house, was quite proud of the fact that he had been able to pay about $7,800 for the house.

According to the inflation calculator at westegg.com, that’s almost $190,000 today. Coriell said, “Older brother William wants to give a memorable housewarming gift, and commissions this stained-

glass window from Tiffany’s in Paris.”

After the house was finished and the window delivered, the two brothers were admiring their handiwork.

John mentioned how much he had paid to build the house.

Coriell said, “William lets slip that this window (those days, those dollars) was about $9,800.”

In other words, Photo by Alex Gradisher that one window cost more than Sunlight shines through a window in one of the guest rooms, giving the room a luxurious and the house itself. rustic feel.

According to Coriell, the four main rooms are Spring A view of Pikes Peak can a.m. Coriell refers to her window is now worth about Haven, Summer Escape, be seen from the Falcon’s cooking jokingly as “semi$250,000.

Autumn Retreat and Winter Nest and Spring Haven in gourmet”” as she does not The house has five Hideaway. addition to the view from have a culinary degree, bedrooms for guests, and The top floor is taken up the front sitting room. but did study under Chef each room has its own by a whole suite of rooms Breakfast is served every Amanda Greene in North season-themed name. The called the Falcon’s Nest. morning between 8 and 9 Carolina. S

Culture

March 19, 2012

Page 5

‘Project X’ is a contender for the ultimate party movie Ryan Adams radams3@uccs.edu Rating: With spring break coming up, students across campus are getting antsy.

School is getting tiresome, the weather is getting nice and frankly, everyone needs a break.

It’s time to do something fun with your life, and if you need an idea, here is one that only takes two words to explain: “Project X.”

If you haven’t heard, this documentary-style movie is basically a raunchy, raucous-filled comedy of three high-school wannabes who are determined to throw the biggest birthday bash of all time.

The movie takes place in Pasadena, where highschool senior Thomas (Thomas Mann) is turning 17, and his loudmouth friend Costa (Oliver Cooper) wants to throw him a party while his parents are out of town.

Thomas reluctantly agrees, and he, Costa and their hilarious friend J.B.

(Jonathan Daniel Brown) go out to get the party ready.

Thomas tells Costa to keep it small, but Costa doesn’t see eye-to-eye with that and ends up inviting basically the whole high school.

The whole movie from beginning to end is being filmed by the boys’ friend Dax (Dax Flame) and makes the film seem a little bit more realistic than a party of this proportion would seem.

Dax seems to get every little snippet of trouble the boys run into over the day,

VAPA student show entrances with Oscar Wilde’s ‘Salome’ Sara Horton shorton@uccs.edu Rating: Clad in black, actors writhe against one other on a dimly lit stage.

Chains rattle in the distance as hands run over limbs and contorted bodies.

This pre-show slowmotion tango is an aptly sensual introduction to Oscar Wilde’s drama “Salome,” a Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) student show produced with Theatreworks.

The play’s namesake, a princess of Judea played

by Jessica Parnello, develops an interest for Iokanaan, an imprisoned prophet (Ómid Dastán Harrison).

After he denies her advances, Salome manipulates her perverted stepfather Herod (Benjamin Bonenfant) to bring

The Lowdown What: Salome When: March 15-25 Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday matinees at 2 p.m.

Sundays at 4 p.m.

Where: Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater How much: Reserved, $12 Free for UCCS students More Info: theatreworkscs.org

her the Iokanaan’s severed head.

The show initially drags with a static pace but gains momentum shortly after Herod and Salome’s mother (Erica Erickson) are introduced.

Bonenfant’s energy reclaims any lost attention, and Erick- Image courtesy of victorianweb.org son’s furious “The Peacock Skirt,” an illustration attempts to by Aubre Beardsley, was designed for keep her hus- Oscar Wilde’s “Salome.” band’s wandering eye This scene makes Thefrom focusing too long atreworks warn that “Saon her daughter are as lome” is for mature audiamusing as they are un- ences, but it is still very relenting. brief and mild compared The mildly incestu- to how graphic nudity ous relationship between can be in live theater. stepfather and stepThe use of French, daughter is disturbing to the language in which watch, yet it maintains Wilde initially wrote the just enough interest to play, may be more offsee how Salome’s ex- putting. ploitation will end.

While the majority The show becomes of the script is in Engalmost hypnotic when lish, passages of French Herod has Salome dance are scattered throughout. for him, and the stage Each foreign syllable is transforms into psyche- pronounced beautifully; delic dance floor.

I only wish I knew what Musicians, who play words they combined to live backstage, accom- form. pany every shake of SaAlthough the French lome’s hips with the beat enhances the sensuality, of a drum and the aid of you will likely feel exelectronics, guitars, pia- cluded if, like me, you no, percussion and bass. opted to study Spanish The haunting sound- in high school. track contributes a dark, Thankfully, Wilde’s ethereal atmosphere to play, thick with his usual the production, espe- poetic prose, is still comcially during Salome’s prehensible in what has dance, which ends with been translated and can nudity. be enjoyed by all. S

and each time the trouble grows and the humor grows with it.

The whole point of having the party, according to Costa, was to “get the girls we could never get” and to be a “game changer” for parties in the future.

Over the night, as the party just seems to get bigger and bigger, and Thomas, a “loser” according to his dad, feels like a loser no more.

As the party grows out of control, the movie just gets crazier and even more hilarious. J.B. has some great one-liners, Costa acts

like the loudmouth that we knew he was and Thomas is a superstar whether he wants to be or not.

Combining these three characters, who seem like they are the cast of “Superbad” with a little role-reversal, along with the epic “Hangover”-like proportions of what is going on inside and outside Thomas’ house makes for one of the best party movies of all time.

“Project X” is one of those movies that college students will really love, but I wouldn’t advise bringing Grandma with

you.

The movie brings music to our ears when it comes to the type of humor that fills the hallways and classrooms around campus.

If you find yourself sitting around during spring break this year, whether that is on vacation or at home, I recommend you go see “Project X” and have the laugh of your life.

Except don’t be like all those high school punks that were in the theater with me and say you are going to have a party like that. We all know you aren’t. S

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Opinion

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March 19, 2012

Editorial

Separation of government and media: the ethical dilemma The topic of ethics is something that comes into play in any career field – that’s why there are entire classes devoted to it. When politics are involved, it becomes a serious issue. Unmistakably, these are the people that make the decisions that affect our futures.

In the recent student elections, the ethics of the presidential candidate, Stephen Collier, came into question when he was accused of using unethical tactics in his campaigning.

The accusers stated that he started his campaign before the authorized date, posting flyers in unauthorized locations and blurring the line of ethics by standing on the line that they weren’t allowed to cross while campaigning.

All of this was printed in the March 12 issue of The Scribe (uccsscribe.com).

Another question has since come to the attention of The Scribe – the inconsistencies in Collier’s campaign against fees. While his official campaign was against student fees in general, the question was raised as to why the flyers posted all over campus and the

one-on-one conversations he was heard having with potential voters during his campaign addressed only the $7 media fee and not the $80 Rec Center fee.

Those inconsistencies caused some to question his motives.

Obviously, this is an issue that is near and dear to our hearts, and one that we feel is our obligation to address.

Now, here’s where our dilemma comes in. As a newspaper, whose role it is to be a “government watchdog,” it is our obligation to report on situations that could affect the futures of students.

And here’s where it gets tricky.

Without the media fee to fund us independently from the SGA, The Scribe, along with the radio station, is forced to seek funding from the student activities fee, which is allocated by the SGA. What that means is we need to go to the SGA and ask them for the money we need, and it’s up them to either approve or deny our funding.

That’s like The Gazette or the Independent having to go before City Council

to ask for funding. What would their reporting on city officials be like if they had to do that?

And a student newspaper is no different. Over the years, Scribe editors have taken pause many times before running articles on SGA, knowing that those people had power over their money. We faced the same problem when deciding to run the article on ethical accusations on March 12. In the end, we decided the students’ interests were more important and that it was our obligation to run it.

But that’s exactly why the media fee is so important.

A newspaper should never have to question printing a story that students deserve to know about for fear of being shut down.

And yes, without student funding, the likelihood of The Scribe surviving is very low.

But let’s be fair, Collier has not explicitly been pushing to have The Scribe de-funded. When officially campaigning for Collier, however, Senator of Business Dmitry Gonchorov told a Scribe editor that The

the

Scribe should not receive any funding from SGA. The reasoning for the push against a fee funding The Scribe, according to Collier’s oral campaigning, is that people don’t read it, and he thinks we need to be more self-sustaining.

He also thinks we need to move into an online-only format. Whether that was part of his campaign against the media fee or not, voters took that as a reason against the media fee.

First – those of you who are reading this right now – does that mean you’re not people?

We track our readership numbers every week, and we can tell you – people read it. Granted, we would like those numbers to be higher, too, but we’re working on that. Whether you read it or not, the paper provides enough members of the campus population with information each week to justify its continued presence.

Regardless, what we’re providing at The Scribe (and radio) is not just a product. What we provide is a resource for students. We

create jobs, experience and portfolios for students interested in the fields of journalism, photography, advertising, business, graphic design and web design. We offer a platform for students to get their voices heard.

Second, an online-only format is something The Scribe has thought about, but we’ve decided it’s not best right now (and as per the referendum voted on in 2010, we will phase out the paper version by August 2015), and it is in no way a solution to the financial issue.

We need about $70,000 in funding just to function – and not a penny of that goes toward the cost of printing; we cover that with advertising sales (and yes, that does mean we are partially selfsustaining).

What that amount does cover is payroll for the approximately 30 people it takes to write, edit, photograph, layout and manage the content and operations each week, and various office expenses associated with running a business (our budget is public record, so if you want a more detailed

breakdown, feel free to stop

by The Scribe office, and we’ll gladly show it to you).

And those are the same costs that would be associated with an online-only format.

The bottom line is, taking away funding for the media is not in the best interest of anyone on campus – to include the administration (we can’t imagine they would be too keen on fielding the phone calls and dealing with the local, state and possibly national media attention if the student government were to successfully shut down the student newspaper).

So we’re forced to wonder – was any of this taken into consideration in the campaign against the media fee?

We at The Scribe, not unlike members of student government, are bound by an ethical code, which holds us responsible for serving the people. The management of The Scribe takes this seriously, and we would hope that future leaders of SGA will, as well. S -Scribe Editorial Board

cribe

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Opinion

March 19, 2012

Information overload and the pursuit of knowledge

Jesse Byrnes jbyrnes@uccs.edu The Information Age. The Computer Age. The Digital Age. Call it what you want.

Anything and everything you need to know is online – at your fingertips with the click of a button

or the swipe of a finger.

But at what cost do we enjoy this plenitude of data?

Information is ubiquitous. Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Pandora, Yahoo, news, celebrity gossip, email, chat – that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Google alone has more information at its disposal than a single person could utilize in a lifetime.

The free flow of ideas is entering uncharted territory, and if anyone knows the extent to which a person can become completely, delightfully enveloped in the Information Age, it’s me.

But advances in technology and the resulting plethora of data has its drawbacks.

It’s not just about obsessively checking your Facebook or being addicted to online platforms like Pinterest. It’s a communication mentality that fosters a different way of thinking – not even attitudinally, but neurologically.

“Simply receiving or finding a new piece of information – whatever it is – actually causes the release of dopamine in our brains,” says Nicholas Carr, author of “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains,” a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Dopamine is fundamentally a pleasure-producing chemical, Carr said, to the point that it encourages

that it was an insult. If I insult a group of people that you, unbeknownst to me, are a part of, I have insulted you regardless of my intention. My intention does not change the fact of my insult.

In response to this accidental insult to their faith, some of the Afghani people rioted, and two U.S. soldiers were killed.

This is unfortunate. It is a tragedy. It should not have happened. Knowing all of these things, Obama decided to head off further escalation of violence by issuing an apology for the original incident.

And his opponents promptly lost it.

Rick Santorum said, “I think it shows weakness.” Mitt Romney said that it “sticks in America’s throat.” In their opinion, it’s more important to show off how powerful we are than to admit when we have made a mistake.

In their eyes, any admission that we could error is letting the terrorists win.

That’s a pretty childish reaction.

When I was in school, there were bullies. And bullies were convinced that anything they did was right. Their reasoning was that, since the person that they were bullying couldn’t stop them, that automatically made the bully right. It appears that Obama’s opponents have not grown out of this third-grade mentality that

being wrong is a gateway to being weak. And that is categorically not true.

The admission of wrongdoing is not weakness. In fact, I would say that it takes a person of stronger character to admit wrongdoing and try to fix it than to simply deny that they did anything wrong.

Several of Obama’s opponents who are spouting these ridiculously childish reasons are his opponents in the presidential election. This is unfortunate.

These men who would be statesmen are acting like the third-grade bully that never, ever admitted he was wrong.

I can’t even call them men – these are overgrown children, who have never been forced to admit mistakes, and are now reaching for the highest political office in the nation.

That worries me more than a little. A president who cannot accept that he made a mistake will continue to make mistakes.

A president who continues making mistakes is a very, very poor excuse for a head of state.

I want a president who has strong character; a person who can admit to a mistake and change it.

I don’t expect to see any more accidental burnings of Qurans – a moral man has apologized for that mistake, and has promised to fix it. That’s good enough for me. S

Obama’s opponents act like childish bullies

Aaron Collett acollett@uccs.edu Apologies are for the weak. Accidents should not be apologized for.

Intent is magic – if you didn’t intend any harm, any harm that occurs is not your fault.

So say the opponents of President Barack Obama.

They are protesting his apology to the Muslim world for the burning of Qurans by the U.S. military.

Essentially, several copies of the Qurans were burned as part of a waste disposal project. Burning of waste by the U.S. military is common practice. In this case, several Qurans were accidently burned along with other waste. The White House says that it was an accident, and even the White House’s opponents say that it was an accident.

So, I believe that it was an accident.

The fact that this insult was not made on purpose does not change the fact

people to continue any activity that produced the initial surge – in this case, obtaining more information.

But what does constant bombardment do for our attention spans?

“As soon as you take in a new bit of information, through whatever screen you happen to be looking at, some other piece of information in your working memory has to leave ... in order to make room,” Carr said at a 2011 conference with “The Economist.”

When this happens, Carr said, you suffer a “cognitive overload.”

You’re never paying close attention or focusing on any single thing for an extended amount of time.

Carr believes this shortcircuits many intellectual processes, which require us to filter information and focus on a single thing.

Many, myself included, consider themselves competent multi-taskers.

“That illusion of competence is one of the things that worry scholars who study attention, cognition, and the classroom,” says David Glenn, a senior writer with “The Chronicle of Higher Education.”

“Students’ minds have been wandering since the dawn of education. But until recently ... students at least knew when they had checked out. A student today who moves his attention rapid-fire from

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text-messaging to the lecture to Facebook to notetaking and back again may walk away from the class feeling buzzed and alert, with a sense that he has absorbed much more of the lesson than he actually has.”

Class time aside, I’ll still check a dozen news sources a day and have an average of 10 tabs open in my Internet browser at any given time. But I’m starting to realize the necessity to filter information and focus on the important things.

Read books. Collect thoughts. Understand others. Put it all in perspective. Only then will the plethora of data turn into a wealth of knowledge. S

Something on your mind?

Write us! email the editor

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Life on the Bluffs

Campus Chatter

Kailey Hernandez khernand@uccs.edu

Photos by Robert Solis

Spring break is a time where college students can kick off their shoes and let their hair down. For the students of UCCS, spring break is more than partying with MTV in Panama Beach, Calif.

Crossword: Spring Break

Bring your completed crossword to the Scribe office (UC 106) for a prize!

Last week’s crossword answers can be found online at uccsscribe.com 1

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James Burge

4

Senior, communication, minor in marketing Are you looking forward to your spring break?

Yes and no. No because I have to take a spring break class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., which will be Saturday through Friday. I am, however, looking forward to not having to go to my regular classes.

Are you pleased with the amount of time you get to have for spring break?

No, just because a lot of the time some of us have to take class for spring break, so maybe two or three more extra days after spring break would be good.

March 19, 2012

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2 2 Panama City has thethe largest one Panama City has largest one of of these parades these parades one 2 Panama City has the largest 6 Top spring break destination 6 Top spring break destination of these parades within USUS within 6 Top spring break destination is your best friend forfor one Sleep is your best friend one Caroline Thao within US 8 8 Sleep of of these these 9 9 SitSit in in this and getget dragged behind this and dragged behind Senior, political 8 science Sleep is your best friend for one a boat. a boat.

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Invisible Joe

David Marino

Sophomore, psychology What about your spring break are you looking forward to the most?

I am a part of the track team and we have a meet at the end of the week of spring break, so I can’t wait for that.

Are you planning on using your spring break to train?

Of course, spring break is a great time to work on your fundamentals.

As a runner I have this whole time to train and this is a very critical time. Most kids will take their spring break and party in other states and that’s where they lose their fitness. That’s why they suck and we win.

Have there been any unpredictable predicaments you have found yourself in for spring break?

Oh heck yeah! All of a sudden my buddies will come up to me and say, “Let’s go for a drive,” and that’s when it happens. Our little drive will end up with us somewhere in Ft. Collins or Boulder. Once we were planning on taking the light rail to Denver and then next thing I knew we were in the cashier building on the top floor in one of their suites. S

Photo by Robert Solis

Still need some Bill Nye tickets? Invisible Joe may have a few left over. Just double check them since there have been reports that they are actually Justin Bieber tickets.

Sports

March 19, 2012

Page 11

Jeff Bakke uses made-up word, pig mask in coaching Tyler Bodlak tbodlak@uccs.edu

It is not uncommon to struggle with the meaning of the word “glarbtron.”

It’s a word as old as time itself, defined as both everything and nothing, as the universal pronoun from which life originated out of the depths of the primordial soup which blanketed the infant earth. For UCCS multi-event track coach Jeff Bakke, both the struggle (and lifelong quest) to understand this paradox began while he was still a student at Concordia College in Minnesota.

“At my old school, there was just kind of this word that spread all over campus. And no one really knew what it was or where it came from,” said Bakke.

“It had sort of just been around for a while and me and my friends helped spread it around a little.”

Since graduating from Concordia with a degree in education, Bakke has continued to spread the gospel of glarbtron, doing his best

to incorporate its principles into his coaching career.

As Bakke noted, few sports are as difficult to coach as the decathlon and heptathlon. Athletes have to be well rounded, able to compete in a variety of events ranging from middle distance running to the shot put. As a former decathlete himself, Bakke believes that he has discovered the key to multievent success.

“You want to work on every event, but you don’t want to train too hard, or you’ll get injured and performances will suffer,” he said. “Therefore, influenced by the glarbtron movement while at Concordia, I try to utilize the ‘everything and nothing’ training philosophy. We work on all the events, but we do so in a manner that places as little demand on the body as possible. Essentially, we work on everything and nothing at the same time.”

One way that Bakke says that he has attempted to utilize this glarbtronic approach toward coaching

Sport

s

has been through an offseason water sport regimen. The catch? Athletes must complete this regimen while wearing a pig mask (something Bakke actually did while attending Concordia).

“There have been some studies that have shown that this is a pretty effective training method, so when we get the chance, we try to implement pig watersport training,” Bakke said with a chuckle. “Wearing a pig mask actually enhances your proprioception, engages neurotransmitters and releases performanceenhancing molecules.”

These unique training methods have apparently been working. Under Bakke’s guidance, UCCS multi-athletes and jumpers have fared well against conference competition, including a national qualifying high jump mark set

by Seth Martin during this indoor season.

Additionally, multi-event athlete Brien Hopkins is a seven-time RMAC AllConference performer and national qualifier. Over the

Buzz

Linsanity wilting as of late Tyler Bodlak tbodlak@uccs.edu

Here in America, we love the underdog. We love to cheer for the little guy because it hits home, it makes us feel like we could be lucky to break away from leaving our couches and making it to the big stage. So it should come as no surprise that sports’ latest poster boy, Jeremy Lin, is one of these underdog stories.

The only problem is, these unbelievable stories often carry with them insane amounts of public pressure to perform.

America is often called a melting pot, but for Jeremy Lin, lately it’s probably been feeling more like a pressure cooker.

Two months ago, no one had heard of Jeremy Lin except for a tiny contingent of Harvard hoop fans (they exist?) and maybe his mom. But after a scintillating run in his first several games as the starting

point guard of the New York Knicks, all of that changed. Lin was the Tim Tebow of the basketball world, dominating SportsCenter and becoming one of the most popular figures in America.

Following the NBA All-Star break, however, it seems that the wheels have fallen off of the Linsanity bandwagon, but it doesn’t matter because no one is riding it anymore anyways.

You can look at the situation and find plenty of reasons for Lin’s fall from the stratosphere. The massive number of turnovers.

The return of Carmelo Anthony. The increased difficulty of the competition.

And the most obvious reason: Teams know who Lin is now. They know that he can’t dribble left and that his effectiveness largely hinges on his ability to run the pick and roll.

These are valid reasons, yes. But maybe we need to look elsewhere, as well.

Maybe a large part of the

true answer is that the pressure was just too great.

Jeremy Lin is still a good player, a point guard that would start for most NBA teams. But Lin’s rapid slide from hero to average Joe does serve as a reminder that we are quick to place sports stars on a pedestal.

We are quick to anoint them as the next big thing.

But when the going gets tough, we are as equally quick to forget them.

Jeremy Lin will be all right. He’ll probably still have a long NBA career.

But maybe next time an athlete bursts onto the scene from seemingly nowhere, we will be a little more hesitant to praise them. Maybe we will sit back, assess the situation and let them progress at their own rate. Maybe, as a sports crazed nation, we simply expect too much.

It’s time to let the sparks from these unlikely stories grow on their own, instead of stomping them out before they’ve really ignited. S

Photo by Alex Gradisher

Coach Jeff Bakke (center) times sophomore Jon Wright (right) as he crosses the finish line. Coach Tanya Pater (left) records times. last two years, UCCS has also had national qualifiers in the long jump, high jump, triple jump and pole vault. Watching and contributing to the continual improvement of his athletes is one of the most rewarding aspects of coaching for Bakke.

“We’ve had a really good season so far. We had conference indoors a couple of weeks ago and it’s

been really fun to see the improvement and that’s one of the best things about coaching,” he said.

As a current UCCS graduate student, Bakke would like to continue coaching, as well as become a teacher. Next year, Bakke plans to move to Norway to teach and coach at an international school. For now, though, he remains focused on coaching at

UCCS. It is a job he enjoys, despite the unique challenge posed by coaching such a wide variety of athletes.

“As our head coach likes to say, it’s like being the ringleader for a circus,” said Bakke. “There’s just all these crazy things going on. It’s pretty crazy. Pretty hectic. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.” S

Ryan Adams radams3@uccs.edu

“During March Madness, all of a sudden, everyone turns into an expert with their pick, usually going with top seeds and talking like they know what they’re doing, but usually don’t even come close,” he said.

“My theory is, why not pick way off the radar.

That way your bracket is unique, and if you even pick one really big upset, you look like a genius.”

Some students aren’t as serious as Vosler about March Madness, like freshman Jeff McFaddin.

He just likes seeing the upsets.

“I am not doing a bracket this year, but I love seeing the upsets,” he said. “I always love rooting on the underdogs and I think that is why the tournament is so popular.”

Bobby Moehlenpah, a sophomore, says having good success on a bracket really boosts his confidence. “My favorite part about March Madness is winning in all of the brackets I fill out, whenever I fill one out,” he said. “It

boosts my self-esteem and makes me feel better than all of the minions in the world,” he went on to say.

Vosler, a self-proclaimed college basketball “junkie” is really excited for the coming weeks; a period he believes gives March Madness its name.

“My favorite part about March Madness is the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament,” he said.

“You see everything from a 14 seed taking down one of your final four teams, to Gus Johnson’s (CBS basketball analyst) last second buzzer beater calls that gets your adrenaline pumping so much, you start running around your apartment not knowing why you’re doing it. It’s mayhem.” S

March Madness invades UCCS and students embrace it with big bear hug February is over and it is once again that time of year when America’s sports fans are infected with an incurable case of the madness. March Madness has officially arrived.

For those who aren’t exactly sure what March Madness is, it is the fourweek period from the middle of March until April 2 that determines the national champion of NCAA men’s college basketball.

Over the years, March Madness has made college basketball one of the most popular sports in the country. The “bracket” form lends itself nicely to betting pools; filling out an annual bracket has become a tradition for many sports fans.

With more than one quintillion possible bracket combinations, it is virtually impossible to perfectly pick the champion, or even the final four.

Sam Vosler, a junior at UCCS, has always taken March Madness seriously and this year is no different.

Sports the

Linsanity, page 11

cribe

March 19, 2012

UCCS golf team starts spring season off cold, looks to improve over next couple weeks

Ryan Adams radams3@uccs.edu

In recent years, the UCCS golf team has become accustomed to preseason hype. But much like last year, the Mountain Lions have failed to live up to that hype. Despite a lofty national ranking of 12 by the national golf stat polls, the team has failed to crack the top five in either of their first two tournaments of the season.

“Nothing special so far, it’s early and it takes us some time to get going,” said head coach Phil Trujillo. “Last spring I said the same thing, but we never got going.”

So far, the team has played in two tourna-

Photo by Ariel Lattimore Coach Phil Trujillo ments; one at the Saint Edward’s Invitational in Austin, Texas, and the other at the SoCal Intercollegiate Invitational in Newport Beach, Calif.

“The two tournaments so far have had strong fields with many of the top teams in the nation competing in them,” stated Trujillo.

“Most of these programs are warm weather schools

so they’ve had a jump on us with playing too.”

Although the competition has been stiff, both the players and Trujillo know the team isn’t playing up to its potential.

“We really need some of our guys to take the reins and put us in position to win,” he said. Specifically, Trujillo referred to two players who he believes have the ability to lead the Mountain Lions this year.

“We’ll need good play from fifth-year senior Mitch Buchner and ask our true freshman Patrick Skakel to step up. “These two guys are key to our spring success,” he said.

Though the early season funk is similar to last year, the team is much different.

The Mountain Lions have

lost three quality players who were all seniors and Trujillo says that has hurt the team a little bit.

“They put a lot of pressure on themselves to get us to the NCAAs and be a national competitor,” stated Trujillo. “This team is younger and needs to gel better with each other.

We just need to focus better and they need to understand the role that they play on the team.”

The Mountain Lions will have a short break before heading to Phoenix for their next event at the Grand Canyon Spring Invitational. The tournament will take place at Wigwam Golf Club on March 26 and 27. Trujillo believes the team has some work to do, but should be ready to go for the tournament. S

Photo by Alex Gradisher

Coach Jeff Bakke (right) times his athletes as they cross the finish line during an early morning practice. Left, freshman Lauren Roberts crosses the line. Story on page 15.

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