Photo by - Joshua Lawton An unidentified man sits handcuffed after being involved in a car chase across campus streets. Auraria Police searched both vehicles involved after a witness said he saw a gun, a large quantity of marijuana was found. Police did not release the names of the suspects at press time, but did say that they had no connections to campus.

A car chase involving two cars and three men ended at Auraria campus on Tuesday, where Auraria Police handcuffed the men and pulled what a witness said was a pound of marijuana out of one of the suspect’s car.

“All the sudden they come racing up and I wasn’t sure what was going on, and then they popped out of their car and the cops came behind them,” said Metro student and witness Dan Anglin.

He said the it looked as though one of the men jumped out of the car with a gun, but after Auraria Police searched the Ford Expedition they had found a pound of marijuana, but no gun.

When Auraria Police pulled the marijuana from the vehicle, Anglin said it looked like a pound or two.

“I was a good 100 feet away,” Anglin said.

One of the drivers told Auraria police he chased the other car from 11th  Street and Harvard Street to Auraria campus.

“They picked the wrong place for this, I mean there’s people everywhere,” Anglin said.

Auraria officer Leonard Peete said the crime was too premature to comment on.

Anglin said he appreciates the Auraria police presence in crime situations such as the one that took place on Tuesday.

Photo by - Joshua Lawton Auraria Police place two unidentified suspects under arrest for possible marijuana possession after a car chase with another car ended between the Parking Transportation Center and Tivoli parking lot April 8.

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Photo by - Shannon Davidson University of Colorado at Denver graduate Wassim Alsubhi demonstrates for a Safety for Peace Initiated Ordinance for the May Denver election. This was only one part a protest that took place at the flagpole April 3. Other speakers raised concern for the Iraqi people. About 50 people took part in the protest.

Fears concerning possible suspension of the civil liberties of Arab and Muslim Americans as well as the intentions of the Bush administration regarding the war in Iraq were heatedly addressed in the latest anti-war protest on Auraria last Thursday.

Internment camps for the placement of Arab and Muslim Americans, reminiscent of the internment camps of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II, is a real possibility in a social climate of fear and mistrust during war time, said closing speaker Rania Elkhatib, a Metro student and member of both the Arab and Muslim Student Alliances.

“If there was another terrorist attack by someone of my ethnicity, religion or my group, what would end up happening was and what is currently now in place is a system for interning us, an internment camp,” said Elkhatib. “Literally, internment camps like the Japanese in World War II.”

In her emotionally charged speech, Elkhatib, a Palestinian, spoke about her own experiences of being displaced from her home as a young girl

“How angry do I have to get about this?” said Elkhatib at the protest held at the campus flagpole. “How does anyone threaten to take me out of my own home? I’m a Palestinian, and I’ve been taken out of my home before and I’m not going to be taken again.”

Elkhatib said that this fear of persecution has kept Arab and Muslim Americans from  speaking out against both the Bush administration’s policy regarding the justness of the current military action in Iraq and the events of 9/11.

“What was felt at 9/11 was felt around the world, especially by the Arab population,” said Elkhatib. “Especially by the Palestinian population, who knows what it feels like when a bunch of civilians get killed for no reason.”

Elkhatib said that, though tragic, the events of 9/11 are often over-shadowed by the hundreds of thousands of deaths of Iraqis, a result of United States led sanctions against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq for over a decade.

Photo by - Shannon Davidson University of Colorado at Denver freshman John Lahendro demonstrates his feelings about President George W. Bush and the Iraqi Freedom War during an anti-war rally held at the flagpole April 3. Lahendro stated," The war is completely wrong. The people need to let their voices be heard."

“I want you to take a moment and think about the 3000 people killed in 9/11 and I want you to think about the 500,000 children under five years old who died from the sanctions on Iraq. 500,000!” Said Elkhatib.

Questioning the motives behind the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq, Elkhatib said that control over the region’s oil and not the liberation of the Iraqi people were the reasons for the war, and that the removal of Hussein is the only obstacle toward that end.

“I want you all to know right now that this war is a big mistake,” said Elkhatib. “And even if we win this war it’s not going to help anyone unless we stay in the country and help rebuild. I don’t think that’s why the United States is there. Iraq sits upon the second largest oil supply in the world, and that’s why we are at war right now.”

Elkhatib’s speech, as well as others, came under fire from members of the crowd who spoke out in favor of both the United States’ military action in Iraq and the Bush administration’s decisions and policies regarding the safety of America from possible future terrorist attacks.

Though respectful of the protester’s right to speak out against the war, Mario Falinio, a Criminal Justice major at Metro, said that supporting the troops in Iraq necessitates support of the presidential decisions, which guide the armed forces.

“The bottom line is, they say well, I want peace, I support the troops and I want to see them get home,” said Falino. “The problem with that is that in order to support the troops you have to support the government that is giving them their orders.”

Falino said there is a misconception regarding wide-spread opposition to the United States invasion of Iraq more than three weeks ago, in which the action is regarded as an act of aggression among several international governments.

“They think that we’re some governmental bogeyman, and it’s not that way at all,” said Falino.

“It makes me made mad,” said Brian Kuatz, a Criminal Justice major at Metro, regarding the anti-war demonstration. “It disrespects the veterans who fought for this country, fought for the rights, for the people who stand here and bad-mouth us going to war. If they don’t like it, I believe they should just leave.”
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Photo by - Joshua Buck MetRadio station manager Justice "DJ Fisk" Jackson, left, poses in the broadcast booth, along with Marcus Washington, vice-president of Black Student Alliance, April 8. MetRadio plans to broadcast on FM waves in the near future along with their regular online services.

MetRadio, the student-run radio voice of Metro, will soon be able to be heard by anyone with an FM radio on campus as long as they’re not too far from the Tivoli.

“You’ll be able to pick up the radio station from within the building, and just outside of the building,” said Doug Conarroe, director of Student Publications, the office that manages MetRadio.

Conarroe said the radio will be able to be heard less than 50 feet from outside the building, depending on where listeners are, but it will depend on what direction the wind is blowing.

Some internal wiring of the broadcast system, called a Radiating Cable FM System, has already begun inside the Tivoli. According to the system’s manufacturer, LPB Communications, Inc., radiating, or “leaky,” cable uses a special stranded cable that looks much like television coaxial cable. There are no requirements for FCC licensing, and it is in compliance with FCC rules, as long as it doesn’t cause any interference to licensed broadcasters. FM broadcast frequency for MetRadio hasn’t yet been determined.

“That will be determined once the equipment is installed and the tests are done,” Conarroe said. “The FCC is not involved. There are rules you are expected to abide by, but they don’t have participation in that.”

MetRadio has been broadcasting since September 2001, but has only been available over the Internet via live streaming from the MetRadio website (http://www.metradio.org), or by tuning in to cable channel 27 on campus. Conarroe hopes this will supplement how students listen to MetRadio.

“I did the research and determined what would and wouldn’t work,” Conarroe said. “This is a project that I’ve been working on since I got here two years ago. It’s taken this long to get to this point.”

Getting to this point took generating interest as well as funds.

“When (Conarroe) first approached me with the idea, I asked him, ‘Well, what’s it going to take?’ and he said ‘Consistency,’” said Justice Jackson, the current station manager, who has worked with Conarroe on this project for the past year. “We have to have DJs here consistently playing music to be able to justify this.”

To maintain that consistency, Conarroe said the station has a goal of providing 24-hour programming, and also purchased new studio equipment that will automate programming, allowing students to prerecord shows for broadcast around the clock.

Conarroe submitted a Supplemental Request for Spring 2003 to ask the student advisory board for the nearly $3,500 required for the FM broadcast equipment, cabling and required support and installation. The request was approved and equipment was ordered over spring break.

Once this system is launched, the station’s next goal is to expand to the Central Classroom building, then eventually reach listeners campus-wide.  To do this, the signal that originates at the Tivoli would be distributed building-to-building using the existing Cable TV system, then broadcast within each building from the radiating cable. The cost would be about $2,000 per building for that expansion.

“My goal is to make it so talked about and so well known that it pushes the need,” Jackson said. “I think the need is there. I’ve been to a couple of campuses back east, like Georgia Tech, and it’s like the central command of their campus is the radio station. I feel we just have to create a situation that calls for one. As a recruiting tool, it’s a good idea to have a station here for people who may be deciding, Do I want to go to Metro or do I want to go to CU? They might be a Communications major or they might not, they may DJ or just be into radio and this could be the deciding factor.”
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To compensate for Metro’s nearly $11 million budget shortfall, students could see tuition increases up to 10 percent for the 2003-2004 school year.

 “Not raising tuition would mean fewer classes offered, which may increase the

time a student (takes to) obtains their degree,” said Student Trustee Harris Singer in an email to students.

 Singer also said without an increase, students would face less qualified faculty and a decrease in academic and student resources.

A 10 percent tuition increase would raise tuition approximately $96 per 12 credit hour semester for each student and compensate for about $3.7 million of the budget shortfall.

Michael Barnett, Metro’s director of administration and finance, said that the President’s office will make a recommendation for a tuition increase in the Board of Trustees May meeting. He added however, that due to the constantly fluctuating condition of the state’s budget, it is still too early to tell what amount will be suggested.

Metro State is funded by three sources: state funds, tuition and student fees. State funds cover approximately two-thirds of the cost of tuition for a student with residency status. Tuition is what the student actually pays the college and student fees are used to fund organizations and student activities.

“As a student, I wouldn’t like to see tuition increased,” said Metro student Robin vanAtten, “but it’s the cost of one book. If it means the courses I need are offered when I need them, I’d pay it.”
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“The classified staff serves many jobs,” said President of Classified Staff Council Jim Becker. “Classified employees perform the nuts and bolts operations of the school.”

Metro’s administration laid off 26 classified employees, or 10 percent of its present staff, during and after spring break.  This is considered the first wave, according to Becker.

Metro’s Vice President of Administrative Finance, Michael Barnett said that he won’t know how much money will be saved by the layoffs until the whole process is completed May 22.

“Hopefully, no more employees will be laid off,” said Barnett.

Many classified staff members are eligible to replace another employee, Becker said.  Employees who are eligible, based on performance and seniority, could move into other classified positions that have not been eliminated instead of taking the separation incentive. 

“It is the bumping chain process that will continue until the people who have no retention are gone,” Becker said.

Currently 10 out of 26 are bumping.

“My biggest concern is the effects the layoffs will have toward Multi-cultural and African American studies; all administrative support has been laid off.  Same with International Studies  Abroad programs, and the adviser for international students has been laid off as well,” said Becker.   “There is no reorganization of those positions that has been acknowledged.”

C. J. White, chair of the African American Studies Department, said the department is still in place even though there is one layoff and two full- time  faculty retiring.  He’s not sure however,about the future of the department.

White and Akbarali Thobhni are the two employees retiring  from the African American Studies Department and the employee position that was eliminated bumped another faculty position in another department.

The African American Studies program is going to continue. Layoffs are the result of budget cuts, not program cuts, said Joan Foster, dean of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

“At the time being, the elimination process is over, as far as I know,” said Foster.

“Am I safe, am I not safe?,  Am I here or am I not here? There is a great deal of insecurity among the classified staff,” said Becker. “I don’t know about my job; I’ve been here four to five years and, most certainly, I could be bumped.”
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The outcome of two Supreme Court cases deciding the fate of affirmative action will not affect students applying to Metro, according to college officials.

“Since Metro is an open- enrollment school, affirmative action doesn’t play a role in admissions,” said Metro spokeswoman Cathy Lucas. Lucas said while maintaining a diverse student and faculty population is important, the college’s admissions guidelines dictate any student 20 years old or older must be accepted.

But the two cases before the Supreme Court, Brutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, could affect affirmative action rules in most colleges and universities as well as in the workplace. The two cases began in 1997 when three white applicants, Jennifer Gratz, Patrick Hamacher and Barbary Grutter were rejected by the University of Michigan and its law schoolthe University of Michigan and its law school rejected three white applicants, Jennifer Gratz, Patrick Hamacher and Barbary Grutter. The three filed class action suits charging the university’s admission preferences for black, Hispanic and Native American applicants violates violated the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The case has drawn strong opinions both on campus and nationally.

“(Affirmative action) was necessary when it started, but right now it’s becoming irrelevant because blacks are being let in,” said Community College of Denver student Anton Arnt. But University of Colorado – Denver student Jennifer Sprangers said she feels affirmative action is still relevant.

“I think it was needed before to even out chances,” she said. “It’s still a good thing. I felt at one point it would have worked against me as an Asian American. My peers have gotten scholarships because of their background, but I don’t feel disadvantaged.” Shawn McKee, who graduated from Northwest Missouri State, said he doesn’t believe in using affirmative action as a quota system, but said he believes affirmative action is still necessary.

“I agree with affirmative action because I think they need to do whatever they can to get rid of social biases,” he said. “I agree that you shouldn’t discriminate against white students or black students. If you had a community where 80 percent of the population is black and 80 percent of your staff is white, that would not be right. You shouldn’t have x number of people who are white and x number of people who are black. It should be representational.”

The Supreme Court’s decisions in the cases is are expected to be made before July.
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Arrests on campus

A Metro student was arrested on an outstanding warrant in West Classroom at 11:38 p.m. April 4.

A person with no campus affiliation was arrested on an outstanding warrant on Speer Boulevard and Kalamath Street April 4.

 Thefts continue to increase on campus

A Metro student reported a theft April 4 in the Science Building. The student had left her shoulder bag on the main counter in the Metro biology office.

When she returned to retrieve it five minutes later, it was missing. Total loss, including the bag and its contents: $64.

There are no suspects or leads at this time.

A University of Colorado at Denver student's car was broken into in Tivoli Lot B April 2. The passenger window of her vehicle was shattered and the student's purse, car stereo and CDs were taken. Total loss: $200.

There are no suspects or leads at this time.

A student reported his bike stolen from a bike rack at 1100 block of  11th Street April 3.

Total loss, for the mountain bike and cable lock: $2,230.

There are no suspects or leads at this time.

A Community College of Denver student reported a theft at the Child Care Center April 1. The student's daytimer Daytimer had been left unattended for a brief moment. Total loss for the daytimer: $35.

There are no leads or suspects at this time.

A Metro employee reported equipment stolen from West Classroom March 31. An Omni Tech Computer and an Hewlett Packard Scanjet scanner were taken. Total loss, for the computer equipment: $1849.

There are no suspects or leads at this time.

A Metro student reported a theft from Central Classroom March 31. The student's wallet was taken from her back pack.

Total loss, including wallet and contents: $285.

Another Metro student reported a wallet taken from a bag in the Central Classroom.

Total loss, including wallet and contents: $30.

There are no suspects or leads at this time.

- Andrea Terrones
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