UNC's The Claw Magazine Vol. 2 / Issue 2

a i r u a F a l y Ka is the girl on ice Did you pass an Avalanche Ice Girl on your way to class?

En Garde!

UNC ‘s Fencing Team

Spring Breakin’ bank?

Colorado staycations for the poor college student

Love and Theft Campus reaction to spring concert

Not Literally UNC’s YouTube sensations on Game of Thrones, Doctor Who and Harry Potter

Sweet Treats from Greeley’s Batter Up Cakes VOL. 2 / ISSUE 2

Greeley’s sweetest little secret

SPRING 2014

About the Claw FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

JB’s Drive-In is open for business, the weather can best be described as sun, snow, repeat and students everywhere are wistfully checking their planners over and over again. It must be spring at UNC. And as the seasons change, so does The Claw.

Strictly speaking, The Claw hasn’t had a themed-issued.

We’ve preferred to cover what’s happening on campus and around town as it is, not how it might work best packaged together. However, things in this issue just seemed to flow together; like how spring goes with spring break and the spring concert. Speaking of which, we have pieces on both of those inside these pages.

We’re highlighting unique student athletes with our cover story on Kayla Fauria, the Colorado Avalanche Ice Girl involved with the UNC Figure Skating Club.

Our story on UNC’s Fencing Club

and their rapier wit is a great compliment that showcases all the talent we have at UNC. If sports aren’t you thing, maybe nerd culture is. This issue features another accidental-but-perfect pairing: cosplaying and Internet fandoms.

Former UNC students Ginny and Dana went on to find stardom via YouTube by singing about “Harry Potter,” “Game of Thrones” and Disney. They dress up like fictional characters, and so the UNC cosplayers we feature in this issue.

Of course, none of these wonderfully mixed and matched stories could be possible without our staff, to whom I owe every possible thanks for their work. The spirit of the Oscar’s is still ringing in me, so I will spell it all out.

To everyone listed on this page, but especially Kaitlin, Alex, Katie, Dakotah and Natalie: Thank you for your excellent work this year.

Thank you to our writers, ad reps and our blossoming PR team.

Thank you to our faculty adviser.

And ditto to Steven Josephson, who has been a constant flow of advice and support. But most of all, thank you. Thanks for picking us up and supporting your student media.

We want to hear from you. Please stay in touch and let us know what you’d like to see in our online summer issue out in May.

Biz Gilmore

Staff

Editor in Chief: Biz Gilmore Managing Editor: Katie Langford Copy Editor: Nikolas Wagner Graphic Design Chief: Dakotah Intriglia Photography Chief: Natalie Stacker Advertising Director: Alex Farmer-Waters Assistant Ad Director: Kaitlin Sorensen Writers: Rachel Bailey Lindsey Carrier Anna Friedman Shelby Foster Gina Gresko Janay Harris Mollie Lane Katie Langford Taryn Leinweber Sawyere Monson Allison Okita Zant Reyez Daniel Rocha Natalie Stacker

Graphic Designers: Peter Arnegard Katie Langford Natalie Stacker Photographers: Emily Carr Katie Langford Ben Stivers

Ad and PR Reps: Ashley Biggers Lindsey Carrier Taylor Hill Dawn Hoffman Carlton Lawrence Sammy Lee Amanda Mulnix

Editorial Adviser:

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Editor@uncclawmagazine.com Dr. Lynn Klyde-Silverstein UNCOEntertainmentMag @UNCClawmagazine Office: Candelaria Hall 1375

CONTENTS Spring 2014 Volume 2 Issue 2 The Girl on Ice

On the Cover:

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Kayla Fauria supports the Colorado Avalanche as an Ice Girl.

Spring Breakin’ Bank?

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Not Literally

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From UNC students to YouTube stars.

Love and Theft

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Staying in CO over break? Feel like you’re on vacation.

Which one of the country duo did Taylor Swift write about?

Some people can’t believe/UNC we got a fencing team.

The stuff of Greeley’s sweet, sweet dreams.

En Garde!

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Batter Up!

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Around Campus:

Greeley’s Best First Date Spots When in Rome

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UNC Chamber Choir is off to the Vatican for spring break.

The (Road) Rules Tips for the bike savvy.

Costume + Play = Cosplay

Bountiful Baskets

A Day in the Life

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UNC English professor Nic Brown.

Student Lifestyle:

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Cosplay? ‘Cause play

Rock star turned professor

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18

Stories from a homeless shelter.

RA Recall

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Why some resident assistants are leaving.

Arts & Entertainment

Define: Something

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Around Campus

Roommate Confessions: True tales of the truly crazy

By Janay Harris If you thought living with your family was tough, you were in for a shock when you moved in with your college roommates. Some of us get lucky and others get the short end of the stick, but all of us have crazy stories of what happens when 20-somethings cohabitate. The Claw asked and you submitted stories that range from the awful to the hilarious, all of them so ridiculous that we couldn’t possibly make this up.

The Cave Men

“I used to live with five guys, and it was rough being the only girl. One sang Mariah Carey all day, hogged my movies and took up the living room to do his TapouT workout tapes. The rest felt like they didn’t have to clean up after themselves, causing a pile up of dishes and maggots to appear in a pan of old beans. Needless to say, I did not sight the lease for another year.”

The Shedder

“I had a roommate who would come back high and drunk all the time, and her extensions would fall out all over her ugly carpet. One night, she came back and threw up on that stupid carpet and didn’t clean it up. So I threw it away.”

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The Survivor

“My roommate was so wired on energy drinks from studying the night before our test, the next day she woke up and darted around the house singing ‘I Will Survive.’

Then on our way out of the door, it was literally so bright that she screamed and acted like the sun was burning us alive.

The funny thing is, we had been arguing all night about answers, and I was so stressed about the test but she was still able to make me laugh and feel much better. In the end, I think she made me do better.”

The Paper Trailer

“One weekend I got so drunk and thought it was a good idea to throw toiled paper around my dorm. I took all the toiled paper that was in my bathroom and rolled it around the floors of Turner Hal. The next day when I woke up, my roommates was furious because she brought the toiled paper and had to scoop it all up.

She moved up two weeks later.”

The Escape Artist

“One time my roommate broke off the bathroom handle and got stuck in there. He was in there for an hour before he finally crawled out of the tiny window into the snow. I still crack up trying to figure out how he fit through the window.”

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P + R O P S

To the School of Performing and Visual Arts for their production of Sweeney Todd. We’ve never been so pleased to be in the same room as a murderer.

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To the maintenence crews who got up early to keep campus usable during Snowpocalypse 2014.

We’d much rather get bruises from normal clumsiness, like walking into walls.

To the abysmal potholes on the 14th Avenue entrance to campus. We can hear our shocks weeping every time we drive to class.

F L O P S

To the worst part of small talk as a college senior: “What are you doing after you graduate?” Ninety percent of us have no idea, and we’re just as freaked out as we seem.

En Garde!

by Zant Reyez

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s spring weather slowly unfolds at UNC, students may begin to see serious sword fighting on their walk to class.

In order to get their name out, the University of Northern Colorado Fencing Club has crafted some creative ways to let students know fencing exists on campus. When the weather becomes suitable, the club, consisting of 10 members, will be doing their “Random Acts of Fencing.” Two members of the club will be around campus in full gear when one of them drops a glove on the ground. Once the other fencer picks it up, a bout breaks right on the spot. Their gear is made up a mask, fencing shoes and socks, knickers and fencing jacket.

This may look odd to some, but for club president Maria Zalessky, it will be just another day.

“I just kind of relax into it and realize that, you know, my body knows what to do. Like, I just need to seize the opportunity,” says Zalessky, a senior English major.

Fencing is a sport many people have only heard of but never watched outside of the Olympics. It’s a contest where the biggest and strongest participant does not always prevail, rather the quicker thinker walks away victorious.

“Fencing’s really a mental game. It’s been called moving chess in the past,” Zalessky says.

The Fencing Club first burst onto campus in the fall of 2012 and was officially charted last year. Zalessky says it usually takes a year before any club is charted, but for them it only took a semester due to gaining vast interest from students.

There are many forms of fencing, but Zalessky says the UNC club focuses on sport fencing. The hand that grips the sword is usually the fencers dominate hand, and the free hand stays out of harm’s way.

“If your backhand gets stabbed, you’re doing something really wrong,” Zalessky says.

One of the blades used in sport fencing is a Foil. The Foil blade is small,

flexible blade with a small circular protective hand guard.

The only way to score in a Foil dual is for a fencer to touch their opponent with the blade in target area, which is the torso, including the back, neck, and groin. The main strategy in Foil is to be aggressive and take the rightof-way. If there is a tie, the judge will determine which fencer had the rightof-way and award a point to that fencer. Touches outside of the target area-- in the arms, legs or face-- are called off-target touching. When this takes place, action comes to stop.

“It’s exhilarating,” says Sam Gall, a freshman criminal justice major.

“If you get the first point in a bout, it’s just such a mental downer for your opponent—that as long as you don’t lose yourself, you can use that against

Sam Gall prepares for a bout.

him the rest of the match.”

Gall has been fencing for over 10 years, so when he saw flyers about the club around his dorm, he says it was an easy decision for him to come check it out.

Despite being a freshman, Gall has an abundance of knowledge about another form of fencing, Sabre.

“It’s faster-- it definitely takes a more advanced fencer to do it,” Gall says.

In Saber, the target area is above the waist. Unlike Foil, if a touch happens outside of the target area, action does not stop.

From L to R: Ben Williams, Sam Gall, David Severson, Maria Zalessky, Austin Harris.

Gall says he’s a four-sport athlete, but that fencing is the most taxing out sport that he plays.

“Honestly, I can say it’s just as hard, if not harder, than some sports. It’s extremely demanding,” he says.

Whether it is a love of swords or just wanting to try something different during their time at UNC, at the end of their bouts, it’s all about the camaraderie.

“To be straight up, they’re a bunch of oddballs,” sophomore business major Austin Harris says. He added that the wide range of personalities makes the club even more enjoyable. He’s not alone.

“I wasn’t expecting to like the people that I stab, so much,” Zalessky says.

For any students who may want to pick up a sword and join, there are $100 in dues each semester. The dues allow fencers to rent equipment and partake in lessons the club periodically does in Denver. As for funding, the club receives allocations from UNC, but they must match them. The allocations are designated for tournaments the club competes in and other expenses.

The Club holds their practices at the Campus Recreation Center on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Photos by Natalie Stacker

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Best First Date Spots in Greeley

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sking someone on a date can be a nerve-racking event. What if you mumble something inaudible with massive amounts of food stuck in your teeth while you are asking them out? What if you’ve sat next to your crush in English all year, only to find out they don’t know who you are? Or what if they blatantly say no? Asking someone out on a date could potentially be a disaster.

OK, let’s skip the horrific endless possibilities and optimistically say you have the courage to approach your heartthrob fearlessly. The bravery has been reward-

Taryn Leinweber

ed, and the object of your affection says the majestic three-letter word everyone loves to hear: “Yes.” Phase one is complete. Now you are faced with the next big obstacle: Where to go for the first date? The dinner and movie date isn’t always a good idea--especially if the date isn’t going well, and you need to make a fast getaway.

The point of a first date is to simply get to know each other in a comfortable environment.

Don’t worry, The Claw asked your fellow Bears for the best date spots in Greeley.

1) Chipper Lanes

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ook no further than Chipper’s Lanes (2454 8th Ave) for a fun environment and plenty of activity for your first date. Bowling is a fun game you two can play together while getting to know each other at the same time.

Suggestion from Jonathan Hebrink, journalism and mass communications major

2) Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant

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re you 21 or older? Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant (825 9th St) serves good Tex-Mex food with even better margaritas. One marg will have your nerves calmed in no time. Careful, though. There’s a three drink maximum and because it’s the first date, you shouldn’t reveal your intoxicated self. Save that for the third date.

Suggestion from John Casillas, communications major

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Photos by Natalie Stacker

3) Istanbul Hookah

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f you’re looking for a relaxed environment and you enjoy the occasional shisha, Istanbul Hookah (630 26th St) is a winning place for a first date. There’s a great atmosphere and the low lighting provides a calm vibe.

You have your choice of sitting at a table or finding a secluded pillow-filled corner.

There’s also always background music, so you’ll avoid any awkward silences.

Suggestion from April Dunn, journalism and mass communications major.

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oes a comfortable environment with endless amounts of caffeine stimulants spark your interest? Zoe’s Café (715 10th St) is the place for you!

Chatting over coffee is another great first date. You can linger for hours or make an escape – Zoe’s is perfect for a quick exit if you and your date aren’t hitting it off the way you hoped. Simply down your coffee and say your non-existent cat needs to be fed (exit here). If your date is going well, this is a place you can hang out for hours sharing life stories.

4) Zoe’s Cafe

Suggestion from Madi Pozner, elementary education major.

5) JB’s Drive In

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ooking for an authentic drive-in experience? JB’s Drive-In (2501 8th Ave) is a delicious place to go on a first date. The atmosphere inside the diner is entertaining with walls lined with shag carpet and old school red telephones you pick up to place your order. The food includes old-fashioned burgers, fries, chili dogs, breaded shrimp and homemade root beer.

Steer clear of the liver and gizzards if you’re hoping for a little first date action. JB’s has been around since 1937, and restaurant around this long must be worth checking out.

Suggestion from April Dunn, journalism and mass communications major.

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Spring byBreakin' Bank?

Gina Gresko Fort Collins Museum of Discovery

This museum is offering fun events throughout the week of spring break. Take, for example, “Geek Week,” a week that focuses on different genres of media and books complimented with activities to feed your inner nerd. The Tuesday of spring break also marks the opening of the live animal exhibit which will have 15 different animals. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets prices are $9.50 and there is free parking.

Denver Botanic Gardens

This gem of nature is near Denver’s cityscape. Explore any of the four expansive gardens filled with lush, diverse plants life. The gardens specialize in innovating plants and structuring for drought tolerance in our dry Colorado weather.

You do not have to totally immerse yourself into the glory of nature, however, because the gardens also have free Wi-Fi. The gardens are open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and ticket prices are $12.50 for adults.

Denver Mint

Many take the Denver Mint for granted and have never taken the time to explore and learn about the history of our nation’s currency. Make a reservation ahead of time for a free, 45-minute tour. You learn about how the mint produces and circulates coinage all over the nation, how coins are made and the artists behind the coin designs. The Mint is open 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

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Pawnee National Grasslands Half the fun of the grasslands is the drive. Explore the countless antique shops in Ault along the way before you reach the huge expanse of grasslands. Whatever the weather, you can tour the feat of untouched nature by car, bike or horse. Bring supplies for a picnic for this day trip.

Adams Mystery Playhouse

Tucked away in the outskirts of Denver, the Playhouse provides a unique experience for guests with a something for everyone. There is a full bar, scavenger hunt, palm readings and buffet dinner. The tour de force is actively trying to solve a murder during your meal in this interactive show stuffed with entertainment. For dinner and a show, tickets run around $45 per person.

Celestial Seasonings Factory

This tea powerhouse has its headquarters in Boulder and offers free tours to learn how tea is made and shipped. Enjoy free samples of tea, a gallery of artwork from tea boxes over the years and indulge in the tea shop and café. Try to survive the infamous peppermint room, a great option for those who suffer from blocked sinuses. The factory is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

When In Rome Anna Friedman

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or 28 UNC students, spring break 2014 will be one to top the books.

While many students may be jetting off to Mexico or relaxing at home, the Chamber Choir will be singing their way around Rome.

It’s an opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime—if that. On March 17th, the choir will perform five pieces as part of the St. Patrick’s Day Mass at the Vatican.

Chamber Choir is made up of both music and non-music majors, who are hand-selected by director Jill Burleson Burgett. Those who are invited to join are expected to be musicians of the highest caliber and to learn entirely new styles of singing. Each member is a given large amounts of personal responsibility in the success of the group.

Their rehearsals, filled with the sounds of ancient, sacred music and upbeat spirituals, now include the excited chatter of the students choosing roommates and sightseeing plans. The itinerary includes trips to neighboring villages, tours of the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel and a lot of food.

This is not the first time Burgett will conduct a choir on international soil.

In 2012, Chamber Choir traveled to Austria for a prestigious competition.

The upcoming trip doesn’t include a competition, but rather a festival that will feature two other American choirs and three Italian choirs. The Festival of Peace and Brotherhood seeks to enrich the singers with a deeper sense of respect for the music they sing while bridging cultural barriers.

For many of the students in Chamber Choir, this is not the first time going abroad. Nicole Steketee, a senior music education major, traveled with Chamber Choir to the competition in Austria and has gone overseas with the opera program.

“I honestly get excited every single time I travel,” she says. “Once you experience traveling to a new country,

The Vatican

you want to see more.”

The choir has recently been featured on Denver’s 9News, where they sang a piece by Italian Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina.

They performed the same piece “Sicut Cervus” at the UNC Performing Arts Gala and have been rehearsing it since Burgett informed the choir they were headed to Italy.

Why all the buzz over one piece? Not only is the Chamber Choir singing abroad, but students will be singing in the cathedral and castles where the music was actually composed. Soon, the choir will spend an afternoon singing Palestrina’s music in the very church it was commissioned in.

“This trip is an incredible opportunity for my students,” Burgett says. “It’s brought incredible amounts of prestige to our university already. People are really paying attention.”

One student in particular is going to experience something very special: his original composition will be part of Mass at the Vatican. Patrick Rooney, a senior composition major, wrote a

modern setting of an ancient hymn and will get to hear his composition ringing in one of the most beautiful, well-known cathedrals in the world.

“I don’t think people understand how hard we had to work to get this opportunity,” Burgett says. “I had to contact someone at the Vatican, send recordings and repertoire lists just to get us considered to sing.”

The choir will be performing during Lent, and Burgett says that the music had to be carefully selected for the occasion. For example, none of the music they will be performing has the word “Alleluia,”-- a Hebrew word used to praise-- in it, as Lent is considered to be a very solemn time, and the word is celebrative.

It took a lot of compromise, but Burgett finally found common ground with the Vatican officials. After receiving the all clear, she broke the news to her unsuspecting students.

“When I found out we would be singing in the Vatican, I didn't even think Dr. Burgett was serious,” Steketee says. “Once I realized she wasn't kidding, I freaked out. We're singing during Mass at the Vatican...It's a music major's dream.”

They’ve jumped through hoops, spent countless hours rehearsing and made all of the payments. All that stands between the UNC Chamber Choir and a spring break trip of a lifetime is about a week of school and a very long plane ride.

UNC’s Prima Performing Live on 9News

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VOTE

Student Senate Elections April 8th - 10th Voting to be held in the University Center or from any hard wired UNC computer.

Contact Garrett Royer at Garrett.Royer@unco.edu for any questions or visit our website at: www.unco.edu/studentsenate.

Student.Voice@unco.edu Like us on FB: UNCO Senate

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Professor Profile

Nic Brown

By Zant Reyez

Rock star? He’s been one. Published author? Indeed he is.

Been on the “Tonight Show?” It’s old news.

Oh, and he schmoozed with Morgan Freeman. No biggie.

University of Northern Colorado Assistant Professor of English Nic Brown has experienced quite the variety of events in his life, but he says teaching and hearing new ideas from UNC students is the experience which gives Brown the most elation.

“You know what, man?

I think I’d be a teacher no matter what,” Brown says.

“Even with the drumming and the writing, I was always into the idea of teaching even since I was young.”

Brown was born in Boston, but grew up in Greensboro, N.C. As he grew up in the southern town, so did his musical ambitions. When he was in middle school, he and three other friends formed the group Athenaeum, initially to perform at their middle school dance. The name, which means library, cemented the label of “nerds” on them, Brown says.

Brown was the drummer and the last of the group to graduate high school. Once he got his diploma, the group packed their gear in a van, left the tobacco fields of North Carolina and went on tour.

“It was awesome. It was amazing,” says Brown about the tour life.

Athenaeum released a self-titled album (often called The Green Album) independently in 1995. In 1996, Athenaeum was signed by Atlantic Records. Their song “What I Didn’t Know” off the album Radiance hit no. 14 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and peaked at no. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998. Athenaeum put out two more albums, a second self-titled album (The Blue Album) in 2001 and Hourglass in 2002. Brown left the group in 2001.

In order live out the rock star life, Brown had to put going to Columbia University in New York on hold. The school let him defer for a few years in order for him to fulfill his music contract. Brown says it was the “luckiest day” when he called the Ivy League school and found out he was still enrolled. Brown moved to New York to study writing at Columbia.

Brown continued drumming, working as a session drummer at RCA records.

His “Tonight Show” appearance came in 2003, drumming for performer Ben Lee.

“Even with the drumming and the writing, I was always into the idea of teaching even since I was young.”

In New York, Brown was not just slamming his sticks on drums: he was writing short stories as well. He sent those stories to graduate schools and got accepted into one of the oldest and most prestigious writing schools in the country: the Iowa Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa.

“I was in class with Pulitzer Prize winners and MacArthur Fellows. It was a very heavy experience because that’s the place for young writers,” Brown says.

At Iowa, Brown continued to work on a collection of short stories called “Floodmarkers” that he started as an undergrad and that he used as his thesis. “Floodmarkers” centered on Hurricane Hugo, which devastated South Carolina in 1989.

Today, Brown continues to work with professional musicians. Last summer Ben Folds Five, a band also hailing from North Carolina, asked Brown to do the treatment for their music video “Sky High.” Brown says the group is a fan of his writing and thought the idea of lending his ideas to the video would be fun.

His professional and personal life came together to form memorable story on Aug. 21, 2008. His wife Abby was in labor with their daughter when his agent called informing the new father he had a book contract for “Floodmarkers” and his other novel, “Doubles.”

Last year he was awarded the John Grishman Fellowship.

Brown says the fellowship is a huge honor for writers in the south. He spent the year on the University of Mississippi campus, writing his new book “Life Drawing,” which is scheduled for release in 2015. Brown stayed in a house in close proximity of the estate of famous author William Faulkner.

Somewhere between writing his book and taking in the historic south, Morgan Freeman happened. A friend had invited Brown and Abby over for dinner.

“I went into the kitchen--Morgan Freeman was sitting there drinking a martini,” Brown says.

Brown says Freeman asked him about the book he was working on, and later on in the night, Brown said Abby and Freeman became “fast friends.”

From Boston, to tobacco road, to NYC, and teaching at UNC since 2010, Brown has covered a lot of miles in his life so far. But no matter how far he travels from Ross Hall, the affection he has for the UNC students never fades.

“I love the students at Northern Colorado, it’s true. It sounds totally cliché,” Brown says.

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Student Lifestyle Not Quite Mile High

UNC’s marijuana breakdown: No, you’re not allowed to get high on campus

By Shelby Foster Jan. 1 marked the start of a new era in Colorado, one that makes the sky a bit hazier than before: Colorado residents who are 21 years of age and older are legally allowed to purchase and possess up to an ounce of marijuana at a time Colorado voters resoundingly supported a vote on Proposition AA to tax recreational marijuana. A state-imposed sales and excise tax of 25 percent on recreational marijuana will fund public schools and marijuana enforcement efforts. Sixty-five percent of voters were in favor of the tax, but others see the tax as an encouraging further illegal activity.

“I see the positive benefits from taxing marijuana, but I think taxing it to this extent is only going to fuel the black market,” says Sontasia Salo`mon, a junior environmental studies major.

Local business owners are hoping that far more good will come from the tax.

“In my opinion, if implemented correctly, selling recreational pot could pull the state out of debt, increase tourism and put more money into schools. I think it’s unfortunate the city

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doesn’t see it that way,” says Dino Bonacasa, co-owner of Bear Necessities Adult Smoke Shop in Greeley.

There may be statewide debate over the new law, but as for change on the University of Northern Colorado campus, you won’t see any.

“Nothing will change as it relates to our policies.

As has been the case, marijuana and illicit drugs are not allowed on campus,” says Nate Haas, UNC’s director of university news and public relations in an email interview.

Because of the strict regulations, being caught with marijuana at the university is still punishable, according to school policy. Students had many different views on the amendment. Some side with the school, saying the university isn’t a good environment for drugs to be flourishing in.

“I see the taxing benefits for schools and the government, but I think legalizing marijuana sends the wrong message to the nation and to the youth of our state,” says Daniel Diaz, senior sociology major.

“We don’t want people looking at our state as a mecca for drugs. We also

don’t want kids to see marijuana like alcohol and start abusing it at a young age.”

Others side with the majority vote, saying since it will be legalized and taxed, they intend to freely exercise their rights.

“Majority voted to put these laws in place, and we have the right to put them to use. I think the benefits of being able to tax marijuana and regulate it outweigh the risks,” said Taylor Burgum, junior anthropology major. “This also allows the government to bring a black market industry into the light.”

Live in Concert

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By Biz Gilmore

armer weather means boots and daisy dukes coming out of hiding for the spring concert at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion. After the University Program Council announced the billing of county duo Love and Theft with opener country singer-songwriter Craig Campbell, there was a predictable ruckus on social media.

UNC Confessions exploded into a conflicted flurry of posts.

Posters ranting against country were volleyed by posters who were so over people complaining about the concert.

Country fans, foes and the simply ambivalent all squared off in a big ole’ flame war.

The UPC could never bring a universally-adored star to UNC; that’s impossible. But the polarity is interesting.

Personal preferences aside, what do we know about the spring concert musicians?

By name, Love and Theft is seemingly contradictory in nature.

“Love” and “theft” together implies a crime of passion. It’s also the title of a folksy/bluesy/country album folk legend Bob Dylan put out in 2001. The phrase also serves as the short title of the follow book available on Amazon for $16.07: “Love & Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class.”

Namesake sources are purely speculation at this point, but if they were externally influenced at all, it’s more likely to have come from the former.

Originally a trio formed in 2006, Love and Theft is now composed of Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson, who split vocals and both play the guitar. One of their biggest hits is the single “Angel Eyes” off their self-titled album, which has been on the Billboard Country Airplay chart for 20 weeks, rising and falling between a peak position of 32 and its presstime spot of 77.

The band toured briefly toured with Taylor Swift in 2008.

That year People Magazine broke a story claiming Barker Liles was the inspiration for Swift’s infatuation-laced song “Hey Stephen.”

Campbell hails from Nashville. He’s had considerable success on the Billboard country charts with “Outta my Head,” which spent 54 weeks on the Country Airplay chart, peaking at No. 15.

His cover of Lorde’s “Royals” made him a TMZ feature in November. That crossover cover could potentially ease the woes of Lorde fans that circulated a rumor that the Kiwi pop sensation would be gracing campus.

Campbell has a personal connection with northern Colorado: his wife.

Mindy Ellis Campbell, a singer who met Craig when she moved to Nashville, Tenn. to pursue country stardom, is a hometown girl. She grew up in Loveland and, according to her website, has played the Greeley Stampede.

The spring concert is Sunday, March 29. Tickets are $10 in advance for students, $15 on at the door. Community tickets are $25. All tickets can purchased at unco.edu/tickets.

Photo by Jeff Lipsky

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Cosplay 101

From the Japanese: Kosupure (cozz-pu-ray)

by Natalie stacker

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ou’ve probably heard of the term “cosplay” at least once or twice on the Internet. Perhaps you have a friend who cosplays, or maybe you’re the one who is the cosplayer.

Either way, it’s a growing hobby not only in the United States but also the world.

So what exactly is cosplay? It’s a term originally from Japan that comes from the combining of “costume” and “play,” and has, thanks to the Internet, made its way to the US in recent decades. It essentially means to dress up as a character from a TV show, movie, game or anything else you can think of. For some people, cosplaying is just about wearing the costume, while for others it’s more like embodying the character and becoming them.

“[Cosplaying is]

like Broadway, only without the singing and dancing.”

- Genae Gerardi

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Some people spend thousands of dollars on their cosplay costumes to make them as accurate as possible, even using materials that the costumes would have been made out of in that universe or time period.

No doubt, cosplaying is not a cheap hobby, but the prices can be reasonable if you know where to get the outfits. If you’re handy with a sewing machine, making your costume may be a good option because materials can be inexpensive but the process obviously takes time. If your talents are in other things, perhaps asking for a commission by someone whose strong point is in sewing might work best for you. Another way to go is

simply buying them online but these prices may be higher than you’re willing to pay because they are usually shipped from China. “[Cosplaying is] like Broadway, only without the singing and dancing,” says UNC alumni Genae Gerardi.

Gerardi says she enjoys cosplaying because it allows her to be someone else without changing herself.

“Cosplaying brings the characters you love to life while it’s also very versatile,” she says. “One day I can be a princess and the next a vampire hunter. The possibilities are endless.”

Since it originated in Japan, many believe that cosplay is limited to only Japanese anime (short for animation), movies and games, while others have a more loose interpretation of the word. Haru Prellwitz, a junior Asian studies major, points out that cosplay doesn’t mean “anime play;” it means “costume play,” which opens it up to any character – real or fictitious.

“It’s not just a Japanese thing. You could even cosplay a celebrity,” he says.

When Prellwitz tells people that he is a cosplayer, reactions can be anything between confusion, contempt and awe. Often people who react negatively do so because they lack accurate information about the type of people that cosplay and exactly what they do. There is no stereotypical cosplayer; they come from all walks of life and all have different passions within the hobby.

But sometimes outsiders of the community take a very narrow-minded view of it. Prellwitz says he’s heard cosplayers called “weeaboo,” a name for nerds who are obsessed with Americanized Japanese culture and anime in particular.

While this is not an insult, it isn’t a compliment either.

Gerardi is like-minded but isn’t too concerned about what others think of her when they see her in a costume having a good time. She says that reactions vary depending on her

Haru Prellwitz poses as Pikachu from the “Pokémon” games and anime.

location. For instance, when she is at a convention, she fits in with the hundreds of other cosplayers there, one of the purposes for conventions in the first place.

Conventions serve as open environments for costume lovers of all kinds.. Some are anime conventions, where the focus is on Japanese animation, while other conventions are directed towards comic book lovers.

These conventions often include cosplay competitions and a variety of panels. These panels are usually discussions about various subjects that have to do with the focus of the convention - for example, a comic convention (comic-con) might have a panel on the effect of superheroes on society. Conventions also usually have special guests that can include anime directors and voice actors as well as foreign bands.

So if you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to be Spiderman or to run around dressed like Pikachu, remember that cosplay offers you the chance to be wanyone-- but most importantly, it allows you to be yourself.

Advice for those thinking about cosplaying and/or going to a convention: - There’s basically a con for everyone so first find one that suits your interests.

- Start off simple so you can get a feel for what it’s all like before you start investing a lot of money.

- Don’t worry about being the best - focus on having fun and you’ll have a more memorable experience.

- Be open to meeting new people - you never know who you’ll meet at a convention.

- Prepare to be amazed as you get to interact with your favorite characters and maybe meet a few celebrities at a panel.

Another of Genae’s cosplays, Peter Pan.

Genae Gerardi as Kuranosuke from “Princess Jellyfish”

Genae, again, as Eve of Adam and Eve. Photos by Natalie Stacker.

Upcoming Conventions: - Anomaly Con ( March 28-30) - steampunk - StarFest ( May 2-4) - sci-fi - Denver Comic Con (June 13-15) - comics - Nan Desu Kan (September 12-14) - anime 15

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s a crowd of hockey fans chants for their team, the atmosphere at the Pepsi Center is electric. Seeing players slam into the boards and skate as fast as they possibly can to try and score a goal really gets Colorado fans up and on their feet. But in order to have a thrilling game continue smoothly, there are Colorado Avalanche Ice Girls to get the job done.

As the whistle blows the players all crowd back to their benches, the Ice Girls make their way onto the ice. A cool chill of wind blows in their faces as they elegantly resmooth the ice with shovels. Within a few minutes the game is back into play with the crowd screaming seemingly louder than ever.

Meet UNC student Kayla Fauria.

She is a junior majoring in sports and exercise science. Her home town is in Palatine, Ill., suburb of Chicago. Fauria says she’s had a love for ice skating since she was 3 years old. Her passion for ice skating first emerged in the Chicago

Kayla Fauria Photo by Michael Martin

Figure Skating Club. She has been skating competitively for seven years, competing with her club’s synchronized skating team back in Illinois.

Her passion for the sport did not stop when she came to UNC. She is currently a coach at the Greeley Ice Haus, helping kids discover their own love for the sport that’s been a big part of her life. Fauria is also involved with the UNC figure skating club, which helps UNC students learn the fine art of figure skating.

What else could she possibly do with a sport that she loves?

How about work for the Colorado Avalanche? Not only is Fauria a full-time student, coach and competitive skater, but she’s also an Avalanche Ice Girl.

Although they do occasionally perform on skates during game intermissions, the Avalanche Ice Girls aren’t your typical pro-sports cheerleaders. Their main function is to clear the ice for the Avs during breaks. Clean, smooth ice is a lot

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Becoming an Ice Girl is not a simple task. The “Girls” must know how to ice skate and do various turns with grace and elegance. Fauria says that at the time of try outs she was in Vail with one of her students at a competition, so she had to submit a video audition. Of the 70 women who auditioned, only 21 were offered interviews. Out of the 21 who were interviewed, only 12 were chosen.

“Besides being able to just be on the ice, the best part is going to hospitals visiting children and doing community service. Performing and teaching kids how to skate is a plus,” Fauria says.

Fauria says that being a fulltime student, coach and Ice Girl is very time consuming. Fauria says that it is indeed very hard to manage time, but is doable. She says it is very important to have a

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planner and make sure you plan every little thing out.

Fauria says that her busy schedule is worth it for the experience.

“This is a once and a life time opportunity that incorporates my love for ice skating. The older I get, the less and less I have the time to be able to skate. The Ice Girls helped me incorporate more skating in my life,” Fauria says.

Fauria attributes her time with the

Ice Girls as playing a significant part in shaper who she is today.

“I have always been fairly shy and being an Ice Girl gave me the confidence in myself to be more outgoing and have the courage to try new things and meet new people,” she says. “I have met so many amazing and inspiring people who… made me realize how important the little things really are.”

Photos by Natalie Stacker

Community center Homelessness and home cooking are not two words that are usually put together, but walking through the doors of the Guadalupe Community Center in Greeley, the two seem to go hand in hand. The entire first floor smells like dinner—meatloaf, mashed potatoes (the homemade kind!), cornbread and vegetables, to be exact— and it’s mouthwatering.

It’s five o’clock, and the men, women and children who call this place home have started trickling through the doors. The foyer feels modern, and it could even be mistaken as a hotel-- except here, checking in for the night means a breathalyzer and a bag search, not putting down a credit card.

The Guadalupe Community Center, located at 1442 North 11th Ave., is a transitional living community for women, men and families who are homeless and trying to get back on their feet. Unlike other shelters that often offer temporary housing on a night-by-night basis, the residents at Guadalupe apply to live here, and can stay for up to four months.

Single men and women live in dormitory-style rooms, sleep on bunk beds and share communal bathrooms. Fam-

ilies— married couples or single parents with children— get their own rooms, each housing up to six people. There are six family rooms, and when the shelter’s full, (it usually is) those families share three bathrooms.

The shelter itself is three stories, with a full kitchen, a dining room, laundry facilities and a chapel. There’s a resource center with nine computers on loan from the High Plains Library District and a pool table. The conference room is used for classes like finance, , cooking, parenting and stress and anger management.

In many ways, living at the community center is a lot like living with an extremely generous, extremely strict parent.

Every morning, residents must be awake by 6 a.m.

Breakfast is at 7 a.m., and everyone must be out of the building by 8, either at work or at school, except for those

Volunteers Dorothy Eckas and Ethan Leffler of Faith Lutheran Church in Greeley help prepare dinner for the Center. Residents are served three meals a day as part of the Center’s transitional program.

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r serves up hope

with special permission to stay during the day.

“We’ve literally had women staying here while pregnant, go to the hospital, have the baby and come back here with the baby,” volunteer coordinator Verna Recor says. “What she needed was to rest and heal, not to be out in the world with a newborn.”

Recor’s description emphasized an important part of the center’s goals. While rules here are non-negotiable and removal from the program is a real possibility, the staff and — volunteers are much more than rule enforcers. Every one re of them is invested in seeing these men, women and famal- ilies leave with a stable income and living situation, and they’re willing to extend grace with the understanding that no one here, whether staff or resident, is perfect.

Debbie Nault works at the Center’s front desk from 4 p.m. h to midnight. She does everything from answer the phone to organize family-style resident meetings, which allow the g staff and residents to talk about changes and problems at the Center. ke At 5 p.m., she’s doing both. nt.

Nault gets a phone call from a man who’s homeless and wants to stay at the shelter. She repeats his information to a co-worker who looks him up on the Weld County Sherriff se Department’s website. The man has a criminal history, and he must appeal to the Center’s board before he can apply to live here.

Nault tells him he can still sleep here tonight— the Center offers limited overflow housing during the winter for homeless men. They come at 10 p.m., sleep on cots in the dining room and get breakfast before leaving at 8 a.m. with everyone else.

As Nault switches between answering phone calls and filling out paperwork, her coworker, Kenny Davis, keeps an

e

-

Photos and Story

by Katie Langford

eye on the front door. As each resident comes back for the night, he checks their bags, administers a breathalyzer and runs a metal detector over their clothes.

A single mom comes in with her two daughters, and she’s carrying grocery bags with nonperishable snacks and a 20-count snack pack of Doritos. Every Wednesday, residents are allowed to bring snack foods into the shelter and store them in the kitchen.

Davis banters with her while he looks through her things.

“Most of these people are here for a couple months, and they start to feel like family,” Davis says. “You try to keep it light, so if you have to reprimand them, you’ve got that relationship to fall back on.”

Davis says the bag search and breath test routine was uncomfortable at first, but they’re an important part of the shelter’s program.

“It’s awkward at first, but it’s necessary—it keeps the whole milieu safe,” Davis says. “Some people feel violated, you know, but I’d rather find out someone’s carrying something with a wand than putting my fingerprints all over it.”

Giovanni Flores, a graduate student at UNC, walks into the office at 5:30 p.m., already apologizing that he can’t stay too long tonight. Flores first got involved at the Center for his senior project as a sociology major at UNC. He’s been volunteering ever since, and he says he’s happy to help out in any way he can.

“The staff here goes through a lot, a lot more than people think, and living here is not easy. It’s hard on everyone,” Flores says.

It’s easy to look the Guadalupe Community Center and see the challenges. It’s very existence acknowledges that sometimes, life presents far more hurdles than could ever be expected.

But just below the surface, it’s obvious that the essence of this place is hope. Whether it’s providing a warm meal, a comfortable place to sleep or being surrounded by a support system, the Guadalupe Community Center is in the business of second chances, and everyone—from the residents to volunteers making dinner—is sold out for the cause.

The exterior of the Guadalupe Community Center, 1442 North 11th Ave. in Greeley.

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RA

RE

CA

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have heard about many RAs who are let go or put on probation for things that do not make sense,” Wallin said.

Wallin speculates that the problems within the department reflect a lack of appreciation on the behalf of supervisors and department heads.

“I would like them to focus on their staff a little bit more,” Wallin said. “With the addition of the counselor-in-residence position they are definitely trying to make that aspect better, but I still get the vibe that RAs, as well as diversity mentors, don’t feel like the department cares.”

Butts said that the residential staff does what they can to make UNC the best place for students and RAs. “Certainly we at the department strive to keep the morale up across all positions. We constantly try to boost morale. We encourage folks to speak to out to the staff,” Butts said. “My door is always open.”

Robinson suggests what could better the department as well.

“If I could change one thing about the department, there would be more current RA input when it came to the hiring process,” Robinson said. “I experienced things during the hiring process that baffled me. People that I thought would be incredible RAs were turned down, while completely inadequate people were hired and eventually fired anyway. There should be more weight placed on the recommendations and comments from current RAs.” From complaints of stress, feelings of inadequacy and frustration about politics, the RA job can be a toxic one.

Past and present employees are calling for change to make the position what it once was – the reason why both Robinson and Wallin applied in the first place: to have fun and create a stressfree learning and living environment.

na

o esk Gr

cided to apply knowing she could do better.

Her complaints include the anxiety and often unseen political turmoil of the position.

“My biggest problem with the position is overall treatment of the RA staff and the inconsistencies there,” Robinson said. “Depending on your supervisor, favorites were chosen and expectations were drastically different per each RA. I never felt that I was a ‘student first.’ It was closer to ‘RA first and you better be a good student too.’

So much of my staff was stressed out to alarming levels the majority of the time which spurred all the political drama. It eventually just became an unhealthy environment.”

Robinson soon realized her mental health was at stake and decided to leave the position.

“I decided not to continue with the position because of the stress of the job,” Robinson said. “The nature of the position is stressful and that is to be expected. However, the politics that came with the job became too much for me to handle mentally and emotionally.”

Current RA Terrell Wallin, a senior journalism and philosophy major from Denver, shares some of Robinson’s sentiments but his drive to better student life has kept him going.

“I do this job for the residents that I get to interact with and do a lot of awesome things for,” Wallin said. “I wanted to get involved in a job that allowed me to help other students navigate college, but to also provide fun, educational experiences.”

Wallin acknowledges the tension that the position brings that has at times led to his own frustration.

“Two different scenarios occurred during my experience as an RA where I felt as if I had handled things properly and appropriately, but both times I was scrutinized or implicated as part of the problem,” Wallin says.

That scrutiny allows for a seemingly unattainable level of expectation that Wallin can see reflected in his peers.

“A lot of people, especially the people who leave, do not feel respected by the department,” Wallin said. “Some of us feel like expendable commodities and others feel as if we are constantly under scrutiny from the department. I

Gi

In the dead of night, your cell phone lights up with a blinding screen and blaring honking. You hit buttons randomly out of grogginess until a voice frantically demands you answer the phone. You have one of the biggest tests of your college career in what is now a mere four hours. You were attempting to use those last few hours as a much-needed and deserved study break, but it looks like you will instead be heading off into the never-ending, expansive pages of your test purely fueled by coffee because who knows how long this emergency will take.

The job of a Resident Assistant is a stressful one. As some of the unsung heroes of campus, you are considered and expected to be on the clock 24 hours a day and usually seven days a week. If an emergency happens, you must be one of the first to respond. No excuses.

With this added responsibility to being a student, maintaining a desk job and attempting to have a decent social life, things pile up. Some RAs are cracking under the pressure and choosing to leave the department.

“Our return rate is pretty positive,” said Montez Butts, UNC’s Director of Residential Education, in a phone interview with The Claw. “We have over 160 student staff, we have about 95 RAs. Last year we had 51 percent return and then this year—we’re currently recruiting-- and 58 percent of our staff is staying on.”

Butts said that turn over can be expected in any position, and they when people do leave their post as an RA, it could be for many reasons. Some people have landed internships; others may choose a different position.

“Generally, it’s because people have moved up and on. We always encourage people moving up,” Butts said.

This stress of the position, however, has failed to be the biggest recent complaint of past and present RAs. The complaints are about frustrating politics and desperate calls for change in the department that go unanswered.

That is what is keeping RAs awake at night. And sometimes that call in the middle of the night is a coworker needing to vent.

Kelley Robinson, a senior business marketing and management major from Thornton, talks proudly of her past veteran status as an RA of two years. Her start in the position arose from anger at her RA, and thus she de-

Photo by Natalie Stacker

For All Your Health Care Needs • Visit the STUDENT HEALTH CENTER • Open weekdays 8-5 Monday thru Friday • Open Saturdays 11-3 starting October 13

• We accept and bill most all insurances • All students are welcome • Walk-in clinic – Cassidy Hall • 19th Street and 10th Avenue 21

Arts & Entertainment

App Store Addiction: The smart phone games we can’t put down

Small Fry Recomended by Biz Gilmore You are literally the smallest fish in a seemingly never-ending ocean. Despite the many other fish that push you around or get in your way (not to mention the malicious jelly fish that sting you and barracudas that mow you down), you are the single-minded object of desire for a big monster of a shark. Throughout the game he chases and terrorizes you with dreams of making you a snack. It’s no bother, though, for your cheery little fish. Not content with the “just keep swimming” dreams of other fish, you aim a little higher—a lot higher. In Small Fry, you tap and hold the screen to dive deeper or jump higher above the surface to catch bubbles that bounce you up all the way into outer space, where you dodge asteroids instead of sharks. It’s a whimsical, fun, no-stress game that lets you zone out when you need it.

Frozen Free Fall

Recommended by Gina Gresko Based on the recent Disney movie, “Frozen,” this game is the baby of Bejeweled and Candy Crush. With the help of Anna and Elsa, you travel through different scenes from the film. Switch around brightly-colored gems on the playing board to match colors and rack up the points. The longer strings of like-colored gems you can connect, the better bonus gems you can use. There are plenty of levels and different power-ups for you to explore and you even get a chance to choose between Anna and Elsa to see who

Armando Silva’s mural of Albert Einstein stares down passersby on the corner of Ninth Avenue and Seventh Street. Visit www.artmandosilva.com for more info. Photo by Natalie Stacker. helps you more on your journey through Arendelle. Watch out for the set amount of lives, as they will deplete faster than you would think. Disney’s attempt of infiltrating the addicting games realm has certainly affected many so far as it is available on nearly every operating system. Looking for a place to forget your homework for a bit? “Let it Go” and look no further.

Now Playing: The Claw’s staff playlist

Name

DotA Best of 2012 Pop Mashup Drunk In Love (feat. Jay-Z) One Minute Gleam State I’m In

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Artist

Basshunter Anthem Lights Beyoncé Krewella Ume NEEDTOBREATHE

Album

LOL Anthem Lights Covers BEYONCÉ Play Hard Monuments Rivers In The Wasteland

So You Ride a Bike…

How to Be Accident and Ticket Free

By Daniel Rocha

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s the weather warms, streets and sidewalks will soon be zooming with bikes, blades, skateboards and scooters. Since Greeley is a bicycle-friendly community, many students are choosing to bike on roadways to get around town on the approximately 85 miles of bike lanes.

Josh Romero-Perry, a senior geography major and staff member at Outdoor Pursuits, has been bike commuting on roads for three years. He said he’s seen an increase of students in Greeley using the roads over that time. Additionally, over 750 bikes were rented last year from Outdoor Pursuits through the Blue Cruisers Program.

Those who choose to ride on the streets have extra precautions to take before sharing their route with cars and trucks. Safety and law enforcement are the most important things to consider when riding a bike on the street.

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, there are several official bicycling laws to abide by. The most important law for students is that bicyclists have the same rights as motorists and must follow the same traffic laws, abiding by traffic lights and road signs.

“If I want drivers to treat me like a car, then I should treat myself like a car,” says junior business management major Tyler Ellison. “If I’m not willing to abide by the laws, then I don’t blame them for not wanting to treat me as a car.”

Drivers can sometimes be oblivious to bicyclists, and it’s no joke that cars and trucks can do far more damage to a bike on the road.

Ellison recalls a time when avoiding the rules of the road put him in a dangerous situation. He was riding in the wrong direction on a one-way road after a night studying at Zoë’s --Tyler Ellison of Café in downtown Greeley. He figured going the wrong direction was safe because there was little traffic, but when a car pulled onto the road he was forced to make a quick turn to avoid getting hit.

He has since added lights to his bike to make himself more visible at night.

As much as students don’t want to get hurt while riding on the roads, they certainly don’t want to fork up money for not following the rules. Because bicyclists have the same

“If I want drivers to treat me like a car, then I should treat myself like a car.”

rights as motorists, they can also receive the same consequences from law enforcement. Yes, that means bicyclists can get ticketed.

Any person who violates Colorado bicycle laws commits a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offence. Law enforcement officers must complete a traffic report concerning any

Photo by Ben Stivers | The Mirror injury that involves a bicycle on the roadways, even if such accident does not involve a motor vehicle.

According to UNC Parking Services, campus police can issue a $15 violation for riding in dismount zones, obstructing traffic, failing to obey traffic signs and failure to yield right-of-way to pedestrians; a $30 violation for exceeding speed limits on campus streets; and a $50 violation for careless riding, acrobatic riding and riding in buildings.

Those who repeat offences are also subject to a $50 fine, and UNC police are allowed to ban them from riding on campus.

If you’re one of the students graciously waiting for the snow to clear so you can ride your bike to and from class, or if you’re the one already bundled up and on route no matter the temperature, do yourself a favor and know the rules.

More information about sharing the road can be found at BicycleColorado.org. News about Greeley’s bicycle community can be found at GreelyGov.com/GreeleyBikes.

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Not Literally “P

eace. But not literally.”

That simple sign off from Neil Patrick Harris in his role as the villainous Dr. Horrible in Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible’s SingAlong Blog,” inspired the name of Ginny DiGuiseppi, Dana Ritterbusch and Erik Tande’s YouTube group Not Literally.

The name exemplifies not only the spirit of parody-- the group’s specialty-- but captures the spirit of the fandoms they are passionate about.

Not Literally is best known for their music videos from fan powerhouses across multiple dimensions like Harry Potter, Disney, Doctor Who and Game of Thrones.

DiGuiseppi and Ritterbusch, both

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previous UNC students, met in 2009 while working at the Renaissance Festival. DiGuiseppi, who began making videos on her own, quickly let Ritterbusch and Tande in on the magic and it has only grown from there.

One of their earliest videos, a Simon and Garfunkel “Sound of Silence” parody called “Walk of Shame” set in the Harry Potter universe, was clearly filmed on Center Campus; the garden-looking area in front of Carter Hall should be easily recognizable to UNC students as Ginny and Dana walk and sing about a Slytherin girl’s morning-after walk back to the dungeons after a regrettable hook up with a

Gina Gresko

Gryffindor.

The group stayed in the Harry Potter fandom for a while, filming house songs and the web series “Ask Hogwarts.” They’ve since moved on to other fandoms. Just so you know how much they get into it: they parodied Disney’s “Mulan” and “The Hunger Games” at the same time. From “Doctor Who,” to “Game of Thrones,” Not Literally sets the standard for YouTube parady.

The Claw was able to sit down with both Ginny and Dana to get the inside scoop on their group as well as their views on current fandom obsessions.

A Day on Set with Not Literally

ith their shared love of “Game of Thrones,” Not Literally is making a mini-series spoofing the show.

A buzz of excitement is omnipresent throughout the house in this Denver suburb. From the outside, it looks like a regular house. Little does anyone know that inside it is bursting with ideas, potential and cameras determined to share light and creativity with the world. Not Literally is making their next video.

Ginny transformed her parents’ home into a studio for several weeks in order to film their latest installment of the “Game of Thrones” series. Makeup was done at the kitchen counter. Cast members who were willing to go to extremes to portray their roles used the hall bathroom to shave beards and cut hair. Ginny’s childhood bedroom was made into a medieval hearth where the majority of the filming took place. Burning candles filled the room with a tangible smoke that added to the mystery and authenticity of the set.

Actors paraded around in costume, testing out different accents to mimic their intended characters. Pop tops snapped and then fizzed as cans of energy drinks are downed by the cast and eventually littered the kitchen surfaces. Creative freedom is encouraged by all those involved as ideas are thrown out.

“Quiet on the set” are powerful, silencing words that work as a credo to quiet the house to whispers and tip-toes in an instant. Regardless of the locale of the filming, everyone is a professional and passionate about nearly every fandom possible. Conversations jump from “Doctor Who” to “Pokemon” to Disney. Fan theories are discussed with the seriousness of politicians debating international affairs.

“This is absolute insanity,”says a passing cast member says, as he dodges other actors who have their hands full with props and costumes. . Throughout the filming, a safe space is formed where ideas can transgress. Strangers from across the country become friends as fandom allegiances form and opinions are shared over an energy drink and a make-up touch up.

Not Literally hopes the “Game of Thrones” series will go viral in April. For more on Not Literally, visit not-literally.com.

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An Interview About The Group:

The Claw: Tell me about your group name.

Ginny: It was pretty early on that we decided we wanted it to be a company. We were coming up with a lot of referential stuff and came up the very light Dr. Horrible reference.

Dana: We went through a ton of potential names. One of them happened when we were getting to the point of silly tired and we almost decided on Velociraptor. It’ is surprisingly hard to name something like this. It took several days.

Claw: How do you come up with the ideas for your videos?

D: It is not so much when you are watching the source material, but when you are driving around in your car and hear a song. The song happens first and then something happens to line up syllabically. Usually what will happen is we will leave voicemails for each other with the idea in them.

G:Yeah we would have a ton of voicemails like, ‘What if we did this song’ and then we would sing some of the words we came up with and then it would die down and we’d be like, ‘call me back?’

Claw: Do you just happen to watch the same shows and movies or do you introduce each other to them?

G: I’d say it is a little bit of both. There are a lot of shows we have picked up simply by being in the culture.

D: Everyone was getting on us for not including “Supernatural,” for example, so we almost rock-paper-scissored it and then I took it and now I am addicted.

About Fandom:

Claw: What shows do you religiously follow?

Both: “Game of Thrones.”

D: For me there is also “Supernatural” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Claw: Do you have a favorite fandom?

G: Disney.

D: No, I don’t.

G: I would say “Games of Thrones,” but I have had some conflict there.

D: I am really struggling with this question.

G: You said “Supernatural” once but then you said “Game of Thrones” a week later.

D: Yeah, I have this affliction where when I get into something, I get really into it. I can switch gears with my mood. I think my fandom is fandom.

G: You’re a fan of being a fan. Disney is mine because I have never consistently been a part of a fandom for so long. My desk at work is probably disgusting and people probably think I’m four because there is so much Disney stuff on it.

D: Well, if it has to do with Phillip, (from Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty”) I’m in.

Claw: What is your favorite movie?

D: I can answer this one, but not my favorite TV show.

G: I can answer this if it was split into genres like favorite musical movie or favorite comedy.

D: What is my favorite movie, Ginny?

G: Oh gosh, I should know this…is it…is it “Clue?”

D: Yes! Now you can never say you don’t know me.

G: I don’t know what mine is but it might be “Shaun of the Dead.”

D: That’s a good answer.

G: It could possibly be “Toy Story,” but I don’t know.

Claw: Marvel or DC? D: Marvel.

G: Marvel. Except Wonder Woman is my favorite superhero, so she just needs to be defect over to Marvel.

D: If she defected to Marvel, it would be one giant movie of her punching Tony Stark in the face.

G: That would be awesome.

Claw: So Dana, one of your biggest obsessions is Pinterest. Your online biography says you want to be the living embodiment of Pinterest. What does that mean?

D: If I could be paid to drink wine and be on Pinterest, I would do it. I am really excited to be a mom one day and have super cool play room and do really cool crafts.

Continued on next page

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About Doctor Who:

G: I used to watch “Doctor Who” but I kind of lost it in the last year or two. I haven’t been liking it recently.

D: I’m still going to watch it because people will want to talk about it and I want to be able to converse on our page, but I feel the same. I’m not looking forward to it.

Claw: Who is your favorite doctor?

Both: Tennant.

Claw: Does that have anything to do with how Tennant left? And the shock of him leaving?

G: No, because I like Matt Smith and it isn’t his fault. For me it is Steven Moffat’s fault. Ten is my doctor, but I want to show Nine (Christopher Eccleston) some love, too, because he never gets recognition. But Tennant all the way.

Claw: So what is it like working with the professional Matt Smith impersonator (Matt Elliot)?

D: He is such an angel.

G: It’s funny because when he is in character, he looks so much like Matt Smith, but when we pick him up from the airport you never think, ‘Oh my gosh that’s Matt Smith.’ He really enters it with his movements.

D: He has a weird confidence thing, too. He is convinced when he does something, everyone will hate it and it wasn’t good enough. But I agree when he is on as 11 he physically changes.

G: He picks up this confidence as Matt Smith. But you’re right, when it’s done he is convinced he did something wrong.

About Harry Potter:

Claw: So Dana identifies as a Slytherin and Ginny identifies as a Ravenclaw. How do you believe you belong in your respective houses?

G: Dana’s is more of a story than mine. Right when I was first reading the books, I knew I was a Ravenclaw.

I’m a book worm and I love learning. I love linguistics and grammar rules, so I knew. Dana was convinced she was Gryffindor, which is not rare. I know a lot of current Slytherins who thought they were Gryffindors. We were talking through it and I was like, ‘I don’t know if that’s true,’ and I think you got upset Dana.

D: Well, it’s rough because in the book [Slytherins] are painted with such a narrow brush. So in terms of the book, they are evil.

G: But really they are people who are going to do what it takes to get what they want. They are motivated to get to the end they want and they are driven to success. The fact that you used a guide on “Pottermore” took you out as a Gryffindor. That was the moment when you had to come to terms with it.

D: Yeah, she asked me if I used a guide and I was like, ‘Well yeah, I’m a Slytherin.’

G: Yeah, that was the turning point. It was the same way that people come to terms with being a Hufflepuff, but there is once again a severe misrepresentation or lack of representation. The “what the hell is a Hufflepuff?” joke is getting old. That’s why we did that Hufflepuff video to say that they matter.

D: I think pre-“Sorted This Way” (Not Literally’s Hufflepuff pride video) there wasn’t a ton of vocal house pride for them.

G: There was in individuals, but there wasn’t a lot of media dedicated to Hufflepuff in a total non-sarcastic matter. I liked our video because people say they felt really bad about being a Hufflepuff until then. People say it is ridiculous to take your house sorting so seriously, but it is about your identity and to believe you have these core traits that you may not have could be shocking.

Claw: What do you think your Patronus would be?

D: I am still pretty confident with my answer. I have considered changing it based on animal preference, but it’s not me, so I would say otter. Not because of Hermione, just because of me. Based on coolness of animal, I would say octopus.

G: Can you picture an Patronus as an octopus? It would shoot out of your wand and just splat on the ground.

D: It would face suck dementors! It’d be cool.

G: I don’t know what mine would be.

D: Maybe a flock of birds?

G: I think I mentioned that as being cool, but I don’t know if it is me. It might just be cool to command so I don’t know.

D: If I could control one it’d be a face-sucking octopus. Awesome.

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Bountiful Baskets 50% vegetables 50% fruits 100% healthy. › ‘ŽŽ‹‡ ƒ�‡

Step 1: Log on Step 2: Pick up Step 3: Chow down

One of the most daunting tasks I have faced as a college student is trying to eat healthy and affordably. All too often, I walked away from the grocery store with bags full of unhealthy, microwaveable meals because the healthy options just aren’t affordable. Fortunately, an easy solution exists for this problem. ‘ „‡ •’‡…‹Ď?‹…ǥ –Š‡ •‘Ž—–‹‘Â? ‹• ÂŠÂ‡ÂƒÂŽÂ–ÂŠÂ›ÇĄ ƒˆˆ‘”†ƒ„Ž‡ ƒÂ?† „‘—Â?Â–Â‹ÂˆÂ—ÂŽÇŁ ‘—Â?–‹ˆ—Ž ĥÂ?‡–•Ǥ › Â?‘–Š‡” •—‰‰‡•–‡† –”› ‘—Â?–‹ˆ—Ž ĥÂ?‡–• „‡…ƒ—•‡ •Š‡ Â?Â?‘™• Ž‘˜‡ ˆ”‡•Š ’”‘†—…‡ „—– Šƒ˜‡ ƒ –‹‰Š– „—†‰‡–Ǥ ‘—Â?–‹ˆ—Ž ĥÂ?‡–• ‹• ƒ Â?ƒ–‹‘Â?™‹†‡ ˆ‘‘† …‘‘’‡”ƒ–‹˜‡ ƒ˜ƒ‹Žƒ„Ž‡ ‹Â? ‡Ž† ‘—Â?–›Ǥ – ‘’‡”ƒ–‡• ‘Â? ƒ •‹Â?’Ž‡ ’”‹Â?…‹’Ž‡ǣ ͡Ͳ ’‡”…‡Â?– ÂˆÂ”Â—Â‹Â–ÇĄ ͡Ͳ ’‡”…‡Â?– ˜‡‰‡–ƒ„Ž‡• ƒÂ?† ͳͲͲ ’‡”…‡Â?– Š‡ƒŽ–Š›Ǥ ‘—Â?–‹ˆ—Ž ĥÂ?‡–• ‹• ƒŽ•‘ ͳͲͲ ’‡”…‡Â?– ƒˆˆ‘”†ƒ„Ž‡Ǥ ‘” ̈́ͳͺǤ͡Ͳǥ …‘Â?–”‹„—–‘”• …ƒÂ? ‰‡– –™‘ „ƒ•Â?‡–• ˆ—ŽŽ ‘ˆ fresh produce. ™‘ ‘—Â?–‹ˆ—Ž ĥÂ?‡–• ’‹…Â?nj—’ Ž‘…ƒ–‹‘Â?• ƒ”‡ ‹Â? …Ž‘•‡ ’”‘š‹Â?‹–› –‘ Ǥ Š‡ Ž‘…ƒ–‹‘Â?• ƒ”‡ ƒ– –Š‡ Ď?‹”‡ •–ƒ–‹‘Â?• ‹Â? ƒ–‘Â? ƒÂ?† ‘ŠÂ?•–‘™Â?ÇĄ ™Š‹…Š ƒŽ–‡”Â?ƒ–‡ hosting pick-ups each week. If you’d like to purchase a basket each week, that Â?‡ƒÂ?• •™‹–…Š‹Â?‰ ˆ”‘Â? ƒ–‘Â? –‘ ‘ŠÂ?•–‘™Â? „‹™‡‡Â?Ž›Ǥ

– –ƒÂ?‡• Ž‡•• –ŠƒÂ? ͳͲ Â?‹Â?—–‡• –‘ „‡…‘Â?‡ ƒ …‘Â?–”‹„—–‘”Ǥ ‹Â?’Ž› ‰‘ –‘ „‘—Â?–‹fulbaskets.org and follow the steps to sign up. Once you become a contributor, ›‘— …ƒÂ? Ď?‹Â?† ™Š‹…Š Ž‘…ƒ–‹‘Â? ‹• †‡Ž‹˜‡”‹Â?‰ –Šƒ– ™‡‡Â?Ǥ Š‡ ™‡„•‹–‡ ‹• ‘’‡Â? ‘Â?days and Tuesdays for contributors to purchase baskets. Pick-ups are always ‘Â? ƒ–—”†ƒ›•Ǥ ÂŽÂŽ ’‹…Â? —’ ‹Â?ˆ‘”Â?ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ ‹Â?…Ž—†‹Â?‰ –‹Â?‡•ǥ †‹”‡…–‹‘Â?• –‘ ’‹…Â?nj—’ locations can be found on the website.

Traditional baskets are randomly put together depending on what’s available seasonally. I usually only get a traditional basket because it provides enough fresh produce to last at least two weeks. However, there are additional options to choose from to make each basket unique. “Add-ons� to a traditional basket make it even more plentiful with a selection of loaves of bread, jars of coconut oil, cookies, themed vegetable packs.

Whatever is in season or on hand could end up in your box. Add-ons up the price for your basket, but it’s less expensive than purchasing the extra items at the store. One week I chose to add a Mexican-themed vegetable pack for ̈́͸Ǥ Â? ƒ††‹–‹‘Â? –‘ Â?› –”ƒ†‹–‹‘Â?ƒŽ „ƒ•Â?‡–ǥ ”‡…‡‹˜‡† •‡˜‡”ƒŽ ’‘—Â?†• ‘ˆ ‡š‹…ƒÂ?nj–Š‡Â?‡† ˜‡‰‰‹‡• ƒŽŽ ˆ‘” ƒ ‰”ƒÂ?† –‘–ƒŽ ‘ˆ ̈́ʹ͜Ǥ͡ͲǤ – ™‘—Ž† Šƒ˜‡ …‘•– Â?‡ ™‡ŽŽ ‘˜‡” ̈́͡Ͳ ƒ– ‹Â?‰ ‘‘’‡”•Ǥ Š‡ ˆ—Â? ‘ˆ ‘”†‡”‹Â?‰ ˆ”‘Â? ‘—Â?–‹ˆ—Ž ĥÂ?‡–• …‘Â?‡• ˆ”‘Â? ’‹…Â?‹Â?‰ —’ ƒ „ƒ•Â?‡– ƒÂ?† „‡‹Â?‰ –‘–ƒŽŽ› •—”’”‹•‡† „› ™Šƒ– ›‘— ‰‡–Ǥ —”‡ǥ •‘Â?‡–‹Â?‡• ‰‡– ƒÂ? ‹–‡Â?

don’t particularly like, but other basket-buyers are usually willing to trade.

Also, there’s usually something in the basket I have never had before. Last —Â?‡ǥ ’‹…Â?‡† —’ ƒ „‘š ™‹–Š •–”ƒÂ?‰‡njŽ‘‘Â?‹Â?‰ ƒ–—”Â? ’‡ƒ…Š‡•Ǥ Š‡› ™‡”‡ ÂˆÂ”Â‡Â•ÂŠÇĄ delicious and totally new to me. Í´Íš

27

It’s Always Something

by Rachel Bailey

T

he idea is simple: pay $10 and receive a package. However, the contents are unknown until it arrives. It’s a mystery; you don’t know what you’ll receive, just that it will be something.

Somethingstore.com is a website that sells packages of randomly-selected items from its warehouse. The company operates much like Overstock.com or Ross, receiving leftover items from manufacturers and businesses who cannot sell certain them.

I found myself asking more people about the website after a conversation with classmates. A friend of mine chimed into the conversation with

excitement.

“I’ve heard about this site before, and I think it’s awesome,” said Blake Scurto, a senior communication studies major. “It would be perfect for a secret Santa exchange or white elephant gift.”

I gave it a go. I read everything, from the information page to the frequently asked questions. I had my own doubts about the concept and wanted to make sure everything checked out.

A page on the site called the “Something Tracker” shows pictures of items recently mailed out to addresses in the United States. Naturally, only the best and most expensive-looking items are shown, four per day. Once I finished my research, I entered my payment and shipping information, completing my purchase.

My package took several days to leave the warehouse then several more before it arrived. Frankly, I had forgotten about it before it arrived. It was like sending a present to myself, especially since I had no idea what it was going to be.

I was slightly disappointed by the size of the padded envelope that

arrived. I had built up this idea in my head that a large box would arrive containing something interesting and different. This idea came after hearing from a classmate that his friend received a box full of sponges and a cat scratching post.

In the envelope was a small, drawstringed black velvet bag.. I opened it to find a long string of crystal-like beads strung together with a black cord, fastened at the end with a silver button. A bracelet long enough to wrap around my wrist three times. The simple, yet somewhat elegant look would be nice for a dinner out or to a special event.

I could not help but still feel a little disappointed. I did tell myself when I ordered a something that whatever I received, I only hoped it would be useful, so I can’t complain.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and would easily do it again, assuming I have $10 to spare. With the upcoming wedding season or the year-round set of birthdays, giving an anonymous gift from Somethingstore.com would be an interesting way to spend less and still give something fun and unique.

When I heard about Somethingstore.com, I could not resist the urge to give them the measly ten dollar bill sitting in my bank account. They say that the item you receive will be worth at least ten dollars, so what did I have to lose? When I received my package, I eagerly opened it expecting something I could at least use. In that small and cushioned package was a scarf.

Now it was a nice scarf, but when I saw all of the items previews on the website, I expected to get something I would be able to use in my life. This scarf was definitely not something that I would have purchased, and was clearly designed for a female’s wardrobe. Due to a lack of gender specific options, you really have no idea what you will receive, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.

-Dakotah Intriglia

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Batter Up Cakes

Downtown Business

By Katie Langford Photos by Natalie Stacker

B

atter Up Cakes is the definition of a hidden gem. It’s tucked away in the basement of 802 9th St. in downtown Greeley, and from the sidewalk it looks closed—only the window sign inviting passerby to “Come on in!” reveals that the bakery is open for business.

Down a flight of stairs and through a creaky door, the bakery could be mistaken for owner Jerri Jantz’s living room. The lower-level location lends to coziness, not claustrophobia, and combined with a fireplace, comfortable chairs, free Wi-Fi, coffee and baked goods within arms reach, it’s easy to see how customers could stop by for a moment and end up staying for hours.

Jantz says that’s exactly how she wants her customers to feel: right at home.

“We want everybody to feel welcome here, that they can just come in and hang out and play games,” she says.

Before opening Batter Up in November 2011, Jantz worked in dentistry and took cake decorating classes on the side. As more and more people asked her to make cakes for them, opening a bakery seemed like a better and better idea.

But before opening their doors, Jantz and co-owner Dan Mandt went through a year of paperwork and licensing, as well as business counseling from the Small Business Development Center.

“It’s a very scary thing to open up your own business. You have a lot of responsibilities… it’s scary, but it’s also been a really fun process. I’ve met so many wonderful people, we have a great crew here, so in that aspect it’s definitely been worth it,” Jantz says.

The bakery employs two bakers and four decorators, and they produce custom cakes, desserts and pastries for walk-in customers. Almost everything is made fresh daily, and best sellers include cake truffles, cupcakes and sticky buns.

Jantz says her favorites depend on the day, but right now it’s German chocolate cupcakes, blueberry swirl cupcakes and éclairs.

The flow of walk-in business depends on the week and the weather, but Jantz says their bakery is gearing up for graduation season, which can bring in anywhere from 30 to over 100 orders for custom cakes.

After the cake-baking flurry subsides, Jantz says she’s always sad to see Greeley empty of college students during the summer.

“We can always tell when you’re gone,” she says. “We love the college students coming in, and I want people to know it’s comfortable, that they can come in and just be themselves.”

Batter Up Cakes is open Monday from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Tuesday – Saturday from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. For more information about ordering custom cakes and other treats, visit www.batterup-cakes.com.

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