Volume 25 issue 4 September 12, 2002

Changes all around
Panelists talk about civil liberties, homeland security in wake of 9/11
Megan Ehlers
The Metropolitan

It has been a year since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and changes that affect the campus, the country and the world have taken place. Some of the changes were discussed in a symposium presented by the University of Colorado at Denver’s Political Science Department Sept. 9 in the King Center. The symposium, titled "A New America: Changes in Politics and Public Policy Following 9/11," featured six panelists who spoke on a variety of topics.

SEVIS and the Patriot Act

Several of the panelists spoke about the Patriot Act, passed Oct. 26, 2001, which, among other things, gives federal agencies unprecedented surveillance rights and requires that an improved tracking system for international students be implemented by Jan. 1, 2003.

The tracking system is known as the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS. SEVIS is an Internet-based system that will track and monitor foreign students and will provide current and accurate information to government agencies, according to the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s Website. It will replace two outdated mainframe databases separately maintained by the INS and the Department of State.

SEVIS will keep track of, among other things, a student’s name, place and date of birth, country of citizenship, current address, degree program and field of study, number of credits completed per year, and whether any disciplinary action has been taken against the student due to criminal conviction.

The INS has until Jan. 1, 2003, to have SEVIS up and running. Schools must comply with SEVIS by Jan. 30, 2003, said Mary Anne Krohn, Metro’s International Student Adviser.

SEVIS has been in the works for years, Krohn said, but "9/11 pushed its implementation forward at an accelerated rate."

Expecting schools to be in total compliance with SEVIS’ Patriot Act-mandated deadline of the end of January is "totally unrealistic," she said.

While the climates at the INS, State Department and at schools have changed, she said, the students have stayed the same.

"It’s the same students, and their feet are being held to the fire, rightly or wrongly," she said. "It’s low-level chaos right now."

The Patriot Act minimizes judicial supervision of law enforcement’s requests for surveillance. If the agency requesting the surveillance order says that it is "relevant to an ongoing investigation," a judge must approve the order, symposium panelist Mark Silverstein said.

Silverstein said he was concerned that the Patriot Act trampled civil liberties. The new rights given law enforcement agencies had long been on the Bush administration’s wish list, he said.

"It’s like they took advantage of a country still reeling from these attacks," said Silverstein, legal director of the Colorado branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Patriot Act also makes it easier for the government to access a person’s sensitive financial records, student records or even mental health records without showing probable cause, he said, all of which might violate civil rights.

Preventing Terrorism

The prevention of future terrorist attacks was another topic covered in the symposium.

"We want to change the laws without stepping on people’s civil liberties," said former FBI agent and panelist Sue Mencer. Mencer, executive director of the Colorado Department of Safety, outlined the state’s plan to divide the state into seven districts. The districts include the six districts of the State Patrol and a seventh district made up of the five Denver metropolitan counties.

The Department of Safety will check each district to see how well each can deal with an attack by a weapon of mass destruction or an attack on the district’s infrastructure, she said.

Mencer dealt with terrorism for 10 years while with the FBI, and for two years made daily trips to the World Trade Center. She took the Sept. 11 attacks very personally, she said.

"I thought 168 dead was unbelievable in Oklahoma City," she said, referring to the 1996 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. "Three thousand is unreal.

"Think of how many lives have been impacted," she said, noting that Jason Dahl, pilot of Flight 93, had lived on her street in Littleton.

She said that she hoped that federal and local law enforcement agencies would be better able to share information in the future. The FBI tends to over-classify information, Mencer said. While at the bureau, she had never shared information with local agencies, she said, and now that she is at a state agency, the FBI will not share information with her. The lack of cooperation needs to change, said Mercer.

"We learned Sept. 11 that whatever we had done before wasn’t enough," she said.

Race Challenge

Arab-Americans have seen increased challenges in the year since the attacks, and the symposium discussed the issue.

Panelist Amin Kazak, a CU-Denver professor in the Political Science Department, spoke on the "burdens and challenges of the post-Sept. 11 environment" for Arabs living in America.

Many Americans blame Islam for the attacks and assume that all Arabs in the United States are Muslim, Kazak said. In fact, 77 percent are Christian, and only 23 percent are Muslim, according to U.S. Census data.

Nearly half of Arabs in the United States come from Lebanon, he said, and less than 1 percent come from Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries mentioned frequently in media coverage of the war on terror.

Suspicion of Arab-Americans existed well before the Sept. 11 attacks, Kazak said.

"Discrediting Arabs is nothing new," he said. "It goes back 50, 60, 70 years. It’s the same bottle of wine, different table."

Kazak offered suggestions for Arabs in the United States. Arabs must work together with a clear idea of what they want to accomplish, he said.

"The biggest mistake is when we forget our identity," Kazak said. He urged Arabs not to forget their identities.
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Traffic light timing adjusted for crowds
Police strive for safety in crosswalks for pedestrians, motorists
Ian Neligh
The Metropolitan

The record-high enrollment of this fall semester has increased the amount of traffic congestion on Auraria Campus, putting both drivers and pedestrians at increased risk.

The Auraria Police Department asked the traffic engineering department on campus to readjust the timing of the traffic lights at the Seventh and Walnut and Seventh and Auraria Parkway intersections in order to improve traffic for both pedestrians and drivers. Now when students use the crosswalk, the pedestrian light comes on seven seconds before the light changes.

"Our enrollment is the highest it’s ever been, and there are a lot more cars and people on campus this fall," said Auraria Police Chief Heather Coogan.

"With all of the traffic it’s hard to get across the street. It takes four feet per second for a person to cross the street when the light has changed. Obviously a car takes less time than that," she said.

"We are working on traffic safety. Mostly we just want to tell the people to use the crosswalk. It will give you more time to cross the street."

Traffic engineering will do a study on crosswalk timing at Seventh and Lawrence Way, Seventh and Curtis, and Seventh and Colfax to see what they can do to improve the campus traffic congestion.

"We are running these traffic counts right now, looking at how bad the traffic lockdown is, how long the waits are," said Coogan. She says that it’s important to emphasize that the walk signal will not come on unless the crosswalk button is pushed.

Coogan wishes to remind students that there are accidents where people drive on the Light Rail tracks trying to beat the train. She says that students should pay attention, because the last thing they want is for anyone to get hurt.

"We haven’t had very many problems," she said. "We’ve had one accident already with the Light Rail. We really haven’t had anything too serious, and we would like to keep it that way.

"Tuesdays and Thursdays are our heaviest days, and typically we are full by eleven," she said. "That’s when we have our highest volume of people in classes. This is when we get the big backup. If you see that, come to the other side of Seventh. It’s where we have more parking," Coogan said.

Coogan also warned that the bicycle thefts that occur on campus happen more frequently when students use cable locks to secure their bicycles.

"We would certainly like to suggest to the students that if they are going to ride a bike and park it down here, that they use the kryptonite locks, not the cable ones because they are so easily cut," Coogan said.
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Art program to change
Art major to split into two categories, Metro to seek accreditation
John R. Crane
The Metropolitan

Curriculum changes in the Metro art program were unanimously approved by the Metro Board of Trustees Sept. 4.

The restructuring was proposed by art faculty eager to meet standards set forth by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The approved changes, which will take effect in Fall 2003, include splitting the art major into two categories – art studio concentration and art history/theory/criticism. Other changes for art majors include extending the present 66-hour art course requirement to 78 for a bachelor of fine arts, a five- to 10- hour foreign language requirement for a bachelor of arts, and added area concentrations for an art education degree.

Changing the art history/theory/criticism from a BFA to a BA is the only part of the package that must go to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education for approval.

"Our present standards originated from a 60’s and 70’s teaching model which is now outdated," said Dennis Chamberlain, assistant professor and chair of the art curriculum committee at Metro. "Changes in art have occurred since then."

The push for an updated curriculum meeting NASAD standards has been going on for three years, with talks of change among art faculty members.

Chamberlain said he reviewed art curricula from 30 NASAD member schools across the country, like the Chicago Institute of Art, Kansas City Art Institute and Virginia Commonwealth University. The University of Denver is the only NASAD member in Colorado.

With the prospect of Metro gaining membership next fall, Chamberlain said it has been a long, hard road.

"The accreditation process is very time-consuming and intense," Chamberlain said.

Indeed, another reason so few Colorado schools have met NASAD requirements is the demanding curriculum. Rocky Mountain School of Design was recently denied membership.

Many other Colorado schools have tried and failed to meet NASAD approval, said Cheryl Norton, Metro vice president of academic affairs.

Under previous standards at Metro, some students were getting BFAs in art with an emphasis in art history, which is "not correct," Chamberlain said.

With the BFA given to art studio concentration and a BA awarded to an art history/theory/criticism concentration, students will be able to focus on their favored area. The BFA will be more hands-on, and the BA will deal more with theory, where the foreign-language requirement will come into play.

Students focusing on theory are more likely to go to graduate school, where foreign-language proficiency will help, Norton said.

Questions regarding the new standards were raised at the board meeting.

Board member Mark Martinez said he wanted to know if current students will be required to switch to the new program next fall.

"Most students will choose the new curriculum to expand their knowledge," Norton said to the board. There will be no requirement for a switch, however, Norton said.

Other requirements added to the curriculum will be nine new concentrations in the art education major. Concentrations in sculpting, ceramics, painting and drawing will be available. Whatever concentration the student chooses, he or she will have to take beginning courses in the other eight concentrations to be exposed to every aspect of art.

"The curriculum is designed specifically to enhance the graduate’s ability to teach art in the public schools," Norton said.

Besides meeting NASAD approval, the program revisions come on the heels of a Colorado initiative to re-evaluate education programs at all levels across the state.

With increases in technology, all schools, from primary through college, are looking at changes to adapt to those increases where appropriate, Norton said.

Some art students at Metro graduate to become web designers, photographers, professional artists, museum directors and teachers, Chamberlain said. With many graduates becoming active members of the surrounding community, it is no wonder that enrollment in Metro’s art program has increased 60 percent since the fall of 1997, growing from roughly 500 to 800 students.

"Our students go to area high schools to teach, getting the message to their students," Chamberlain said.

At the board meeting Sept. 4, some board members voiced concerns about how Metro art students would handle the 12 credit-hour increase in the art studio concentration.

"We reduce the flexibility of students leaving in four years," said board treasurer Alex Cranberg. Some students may have to stay an extra year if they decide later to major in art, Cranberg said.

"There’s got to be a level of responsibility for the student," Martinez said. Some students are more decisive than others, and the board should not let undecided students dictate course requirements, Martinez said.

"The quality of the degree improves greatly," said board member Patrick Wiesner. "That’s worth a lot."

There will be no cost for the curriculum changes.
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Blood donations lagging
Jamay Liu
Brown University

(U-WIRE) PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A year after the rush to donate blood following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, blood reserves are at a critical low, according to the National Blood Data Resource Center.

Though blood banks witnessed the "largest turnout in first-time donors in modern history" after Sept. 11, a year later, fewer than 8 percent of those first-time donors have returned, said Stephanie Millian, a representative for the New England American Red Cross.

According to the National Blood Data Resource Center, blood donation levels returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels by the end of December, and 2002 did not witness an increase in blood supply, despite a rise in demand.

This current blood shortage may be partly due to media coverage of a surplus in blood after Sept. 11, said Marian Sullivan, director of research at the National Blood Data Resource Center.

The American Red Cross reportedly collected so much blood in 2001 that unused units had to be thrown away. Blood centers across the nation tried to avoid surpluses by placing caps on collections, and many donors were turned away from blood drives.

"After Sept. 11, a lot of people saw donating blood as the only way they could help," Sullivan said. "But the reality is, not much blood was needed – as we all know, most of the victims died. A little was needed, but not that much."

The amount of blood collected in 2001 exceeded the amount collected in 2000 by approximately 1 million units. Twenty-six percent of the total amount of blood collected was concentrated in the 10-week period following Sept. 11, according to NBDRC data. Because each unit of blood has a shelf life of 42 days unless it is frozen, some of the blood collected after the terrorist attacks expired before it could be used, Sullivan said.

"It is important to know that it was the blood collected before Sept. 11 that was used for the victims of the attacks," Prosnitz said. "It was those who understood the importance of donating blood prior to Sept. 11 who are the real heroes for the victims."

However, Prosnitz said, "while Sept. 11 was an enormous tragedy, there are tragedies every single day," and the blood collected after the attacks helped victims of all kinds of tragedies.

Sullivan speculated that there are other factors contributing to the current blood shortage.

The shortage may be due to a 5 percent to 10 percent increase in the demand for blood each year, caused by a shift in the age structure toward older age groups as people live longer and a large portion of the population is in the older age group, as well as an increase in medical procedures that require blood, Sullivan said.
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Obituary

W. Thomas Cook

W. Thomas Cook, a Metro broadcasting professor of 37 years, died Wed., Sept. 4, after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 69.

Cook was born in McCook, Neb. He got his teaching degree from Colorado Teacher’s College in Greeley and taught at schools in Kansas and New Mexico.

Cook was hired at Metro in 1965 as one of 30 full-time professors. The student body was 1,189 at the time.

"Tom knew everyone and their family. He would talk to you for hours on end and take a genuine interest in what you had to say," said Catherine Curran, co-worker and family friend.

Cook established at Metro the first broadcasting curriculum in Colorado and is credited with the establishment of a strong broadcasting internship program in which thousands of students have participated since 1968.

For his efforts in education, he was awarded with several Distinguished Service Awards and in March 2002, Cook was the first educator to be inducted into the Colorado Broadcaster Pioneer Hall of Fame. He was proud of the fact that he was able to combine what he called the "best of two worlds" throughout his career: the real world of broadcasting and the academic world of education.

A celebration of Tom Cook’s life was conducted Sept. 9 at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, 18901 E. Hampden Ave. in Aurora.

"It was Tom Cook’s belief in me that has helped me to push through the tough times as my first year as a reporter," said former student Estella Estrada at the celebration.

"I learned more about advising from sitting at my desk and listening to Tom advise from his office than I ever did anywhere else. He really cared about the students," Professor Emeritus Gary Holbrook said while giving the eulogy. "He affected thousands of students, and his resiliency in life and to serve the students was unmatched.

"I will always regret not taking Tom up on his lunches. He always wanted to give back to the broadcasting community, when in reality it was us, the broadcasters, who should have been giving more to Tom," said broadcasting associate Ed Sardella..

W. Thomas Cook is survived by his wife Ruth; sons Mathew, Mark and Michael; daughter Michelle; brother Morris; and seven grandchildren, three nephews and one niece. A scholarship fund has been established, and donations can be made to the NATAS Heartland Chapter: (303)722-0916, 1255 W. Virginia Ave., Denver, CO 80223.

- Jim Becker
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police briefs

Palm pilot grows wings

A palm pilot was stolen from Cody Cooper, University of Colorado at Denver student, while it was briefly left unattended in one of her classes. Reported missing was the Compaq palm pilot: $332, the case for the palm pilot: $18.99, a stowaway keyboard: $94.99, an expansion pack: $86.00, and a memory card: $36.00. Total loss: $567.98. Police have no leads.

Two bikes stolen

(maybe they eloped?)

Arya Indrathama, Metro student, reported his Magna mountain bike stolen on Sept. 4. A few days earlier on Aug. 30, John Uribe reported his Huffy bike stolen.

Indrathama’s bicycle was stolen from a bike rack on the Auraria Campus pedestrian walkway. Reported missing was the bike: $100, and the lock: $30. Total loss: $130.

Uribe’s bicycle was stolen from a bike rack at the Tivoli. Reported missing was the bicycle: $300, and the lock: $12. Total loss: $312.

Police have no leads in either case.

If you see the stolen vehicle – DUCK!

Angel Blanco and his son, Richard, reported their white 1983 Toyota Landcruiser stolen Aug. 31. It was stolen from parking lot "E."

Inside the vehicle were three shotguns, three 12-gauge and one 20-gauge. They had barrels ranging from 28" to 30". Though the guns weren’t loaded, Blanco said there were about 500 shotgun shells in the back seat.

The Landcruiser was valued at $5,000. The value of the shotguns was unknown. Total loss: A lot.

Two Jacksons, two Lincolns missing.

Nicole Blake, a Community College of Denver employee, reported the theft of $50 on Sept. 4. At 9:45 a.m., Blake left her office in CCD Student Life. When she returned at noon, the money was gone from her desk drawer. The money belonged to CCD. There were numerous people in the area. Police have no leads. Total loss: $50.

Police Pamphlet tip o’ the week

Mark all your valuables with not only your name and phone number, but with a code, like your state and driver’s license (i.e. CO 94-123-4567) and note where you put the code. If the item is recovered in another state, they can look at the number (which is universal) and there won’t be any doubt that the item is yours.

Eric Skougstad
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The courage to make our voices heard
Josh Pacheco
Guest Columnist

At the dawn of the one year anniversary of 9/11 and in the midst of military action in Iraq, America is at the staging point of a truly unprecedented time in history. Now more than ever, America is at a point that will either make or break us as a nation. We are at such a sensitive period that we are literally making an identity for ourselves as each day passes.

Will America stand up for the ideals we hold dear to our hearts, such as our country, our family, and our lives, or will we sit back as if we are helpless to be of any significance to the state that our nation is in? The National Anthem, which we hold near and dear to our hearts, asks a simple yet profound question: "Oh, say, can you see…?"

In the first few years of the new millennium, our country is off to an inauspicious start. But, as American citizens, one fact remains – we need to stand up for what we believe in and, when we stand, we need to speak to what we want our country’s identity to be.

Boldness and courage are two virtues for which our nation is noted. There was a day not long ago when the American people were not afraid to speak out against war because they were not afraid to let their opinions be heard. Now is the time for that courage again. If you have a voice, let it be heard.

I’ll be the first to admit that, at times, we can feel like we have no voice in our communities. However, we must present this problem to ourselves in a fashion that will demand a resolution. Could it be that we have no voice because we are not speaking? Or could it be that we are afraid to be heard? Or worse, that no one is listening? I feel that if we do not speak up now for what we want our country to represent in the future, whatever it may be, then it will end up representing just what we stood for – nothing. And that, my friends, would be a great tragedy.

All leaders operate within a framework called a paradigm. It is within this paradigm that we must make changes. We must hold dear the vales we have in life if we ever expect to keep them. I am reminded of a parable I once heard: When gold is refined it is put into a kettle and heated to extreme temperatures until boiled. Then the impurities rise and can easily be skimmed off the top after it is cooled. Is America pure? Absolutely not. However, we must start working on our own belief systems and our own values. Then, after that work is done, our country will be cleansed.

Denver, you have a voice. Metro, you also have a voice. And to the individual reading this column right now, you have the biggest voice of all. In hopes of waking up even a single person to break the mold of silence and speak out about whatever he or she believes, and in order to help shape the identity that our country is taking on, I charge you with this: We need to be bold and we need to ask ourselves the question that I posed before. "Do I really hold my right hand over my heart when I sing, ‘Oh, say, can you see…?’"

Now more than ever, America is at a point that will either make or break us as a nation.
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Letters Policy

The Metropolitan welcomes letters of 500 words or fewer on topics of general interest.
Letters must include a full name, school affiliation and a phone number or e-mail address.
Letters might be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.

Mailbox:
The Metropolitan
900 Auraria Parkway, Suite 313
Denver CO 80204

e-mail: haraburd@mscd.edu
phone: 303.556.2507
fax: 303.556.3421
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El Grito – a cry for solidarity and unity
Armando Manzanares
The Metropolitan

Sept. 15 through Oct. 16 marks Hispanic Heritage Month, an acknowledging and recognizing of Hispanic ethnicity's (Latin decent) collectively in the United States. Auraria campus will contribute to this by offering events and lectures from academic departments, campus and local organizations.

Additionally, Denver will host several events coinciding with the start of the month while celebrating El Grito. El Grito is a celebration of defiance and self-determination to have your existence be determined by you yourself – not by foreign imperialist control.

El Grito

On Sept. 16, Mexicans all over the world celebrate Mexico's independence from Spanish rule.

As with this country, Mexico was first inhabited by indigenous peoples. They made up great and advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Teotihuacan, the Toltec, the Maya, and of course the dominant and vast Aztec Empire.

After the discovery of the Americas, one of the dominant Latin American colonizers Spain, carried out expeditions to find gold and other riches in the New World. In 1521, about 500 Spanish soldiers arrived on the shores of Mexico. At this time, the Aztecs had created a great empire that ruled all of Mesoamerica. The Spaniards pursued their ambitious conquest of the the Aztecs lead by Hernan Cortes.

With the help of previously indigenous nations currently under Aztec domination, the Spaniards captured the last Aztec emperor and overthrew the reign of the Aztecs. They began three centuries of Spanish rule. They called the new colony Nueva España (New Spain).

The years that followed were devastating. The Spanish conquerors brought with them diseases unknown to the natives and principles that were completely alien.

Colonial society in Mexico during this time was highly stratified. Spaniards born in Spain occupied the higher echelons, followed by Criollos, those born in Mexico from Spanish parents; Mestizos, the mixed-blood offspring of Spaniards and Natives; Indios, or Native Indians; and Negros, or African slaves.

Each socio-ethnic group had varying rights and duties. Discontent steadily grew, especially amongst the Criollos, who were treated as second-class subjects to the Spanish crown. It was the Criollos that ignited the independence movement.

After France invaded Spain in 1808, the Mexican counterpart of the Spanish descendents found this circumstance as an opportunity to pursue independence from Spain.

1810 saw the insurrection against Spain. Lead by Miguel Hidalgo y Costillo, the parish priest of Dolores, several co-conspirators initiated Mexico's struggle for freedom from Spanish rule. It began with Hidalgo's now famous Grito (Cry for Freedom) from their church in Dolores (currently Dolores Hidalgo), Mexico, Sept. 16, 1810, while ringing the chruch bells. The struggle continued until 1824, taking some 600,000 lives.

El Grito is the celebration of the pursuit of liberty, equality and democracy. It literally means the cry for independence, independence from Spanish colonial oppression.

In Mexico on this day virtually every major plaza re-enacts El Grito. Streets, houses, buildings and automobiles are decorated in the colors of the Mexican flag; green, white and red.

The celebration is taken seriously. Traditional foods are served, like antojitos, various types of finger foods, Mexican candies, and a punch made of seasonal fruits. Guacamole and chips are also a part of the celebratory eats.

In the United States, many celebrations of culture and heritage take place throughout the year. It is important to keep continuing these celebrations. In the midst of the one year anniversary of 9/11 and the passing of the Patriot Act, it is important for all cultures to take part in other cultures’ celebrations.

Transition El Grito from a cry for independence to a cry for solidarity and unity. Join the city as we take part in celebrating this magnificent culture and heritage. Enjoy the food, the drinks, the dancing and the culture.

You might become enlightened by looking at this culture. One fully immersered within another. One that has silently and humbly integrated itself while retaining its culture, its celebrations and its self-determination.

HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH EVENTS

• Fiestas Patrias Celebracíon will take place at Civic Center Park Saturday, Sept. 14 - 15 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is free.

• 9th Annual "El Grito de la Independencia Festival" will be at the Universal Lending CityLights Pavilion at Pepsi Center. The event is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 15, 2002 from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. and is free.

• Beyond Chicanismo Oral History Project: Metro Dept. of Chicana/o Studies along with several other departments will host speakers, councils and a conference:

- 9/18 Abelardo ‘Lalo’ Delgado

- 9/25 - 9/26 Sisters & Youth:

Forgoing Paths for Resistance Conference

- 10/2 Lauren Watson

- 10/16 Colorado Migrant Council

To get specifics of these events contact the Dept. of Chicana/o Studies @ (303) 556-3124.
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Welcome to New York

Sept. 11, 2001 affected the entire nation in many different ways. One year later, the nation is still figuring out how to deal with the immense loss — of life, property and even freedoms.

No where is that loss felt greater than in New York City. New Yorkers have had to deal with the sight of Ground Zero, the dust of Ground Zero, and the knowledge that Ground Zero exists in ways the rest of the nation can only hope not to imagine.

Here is what we now know about what happened in New York City one year ago and what has happened since:

• Nearly 3,000 people died; maybe more

• Half of the victims have been positively identified

• 2,733 families have received death certificates

• Nearly half of the death certificates were issued without remains at the request of families, who wanted to file claims for life insurance or charity benefits

• Names of those who died have been posted at the World Trade Center Site, not including the 10 hijackers

• The names include: 343 firefighters, 23 police officers and 37 officers for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the WTC owner

• The Ground Zero clean up was declared completed May 30

• Construction workers have already laid new subway train tracks — the first refurbished city subway is scheduled to reopen this weekend

Metropolitan photographers Shannon Davidson and Joshua Lawton travelled to New York City in July 2002 to capture the spirit of the city as the anniversary of 9/11 approached. They found a city in transition, but a city that was moving on.
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Setting a new standard
Eric Eames
The Metropolitan

In the past couple years, Devon Herron has read the reports about an ebullient blue-eyed female from Spokane, Wash., with sunshine-touched brown hair and a tender touch.

The first time this woman burst onto the Metro sports scene was in 2000, when with 1,419 assists she won the Division II individual assist title and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman-of-the-Year award.

"She came in and earned a starting spot as a freshman and has never let it go," Metro volleyball coach Debbie Hendricks said.

Two years later, this woman continues to amaze. She has statistical mavens at Metro scrambling to rearrange the record books, placing her on top. Even threats on NCAA Division II annals exist.

Somewhere along the way Herron completely forgot that this woman, now the best setter in Roadrunner history, is indeed the one in the mirror.

Before its second match in the Colorado Premier Challenge (Sept. 6), Herron needed 51 assists to break Metro’s all-time assist record. She got 60, as the No. 19 Roadrunners upset then top-ranked West Texas A&M University (now ranked seventh nationally in the most recent poll) in four games.

"It’s nice, but it’s not the biggest thing in the world to me," Herron admitted while clutching the ball that senior teammate Bonnie DeLaughter killed to give her career assist No. 3,305, one more than the previous record held by Jennifer Drees. "Still, it’s one of those nice memoirs to have and talk about,"

During the weekend (Sept. 6-7) tournament, Herron averaged 13.94 assists in 17 games. As of Sept. 7, she was well on her way to four grand, with 3,434 assists in 252 games.

"It’s a wonderful accomplishment for a setter that is only two weeks into her junior year," Hendricks said. "She is going to absolutely alienate the record. And obviously it couldn’t have happened on a better night."

Beating No. 1 West Texas sent Herron’s emotions cartwheeling as a dream came full circle.

"I’ve been waiting to play West Texas for two years, since I came to Metro," Herron said. "I’ve been dreaming about it, because they are always No. 1 and they are always at the top. Me getting that record had nothing to do with that win at all. It was every single person out there on the floor."

Some of the credit for Herron’s success goes to the great combination of outside hitters and middle blockers she has worked with, like Marina Bazana, Diana Marques, Mei-Rong Lu, Michelle McBurney and junior Jessy Roy. The group has piled together more than 3,000 kills from Herron’s hands.

During matches, a studied cool prevails the court crafty setter, who likes watching Jeopardy and is the team’s quarterback. All plays run through Herron, who must read the defense, go opposite of it, keep the fast-tempo offense in high gear and listen to teammates as they ask for the ball. With cotton hands and candy passes, Herron’s deliveries are near perfect. There is no use in asking her how she does all this in a matter of split seconds, any more than asking Kobe Bryant how he jumps so high. It seems built into her–a setter’s gene.

Presently, the Division II all-time record of 12.81 assists per game, held by Drees, dwarfs in comparison to Herron’s 13.63 career average. At that current pace, she is set to finish her four-year career with 5,861 assists, good for 13th all time. Leah Dennie tops the charts with 7,080 career assists for Air Force from 1988-91.

"She has done a complete turn around," said junior college transfer Beth Vercic, who was reunited with Herron this year. Minus the two years Vercic spent at Spokane Falls College, both have been playing together since the eighth grade, including four years at Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash. "I mean, she was always one of the top setters in the Greater Spokane League in Washington, but now she has just blossomed. She runs the offense. She sees the blockers. I think she is just mature. She’s just matured into herself."

Of course, Vercic wasn’t around in sixth grade when Herron’s fondness for stuffed elephants started. She still collects them wherever she goes. It’s the only way she can remain a child without anyone knowing about it.

Opps. Just forget that last part.
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Metro topples Hendricks’ former team
Eric Eames
The Metropolitan

Day One

When Metro volleyball coach Debbie Hendricks saw West Texas A&M on the schedule, she was like an Enron employee with all the vexes. That means she had an ever-present sense of foreboding. Metro, with eight new players is, after all, largely inexperienced, a work-in-progress team. No. 1 West Texas, meanwhile, returned a solid cast of tested players, including two All-Americans in Shannon Stroud (first team) and Kendra Morgan (second team) and All Southwest-Region middle blocker Jess Anne Fernandes.

"I was actually very wary of the match when we put the pools together," Hendricks said. "I knew we were going to have a lot of new people on the floor, so I was wary of us playing West Texas in the second of the season. As it turns out, it was fine."

Out of the shadow of doubt and frustrations was born the Roadrunner volleyball team during the Colorado Premier Challenge (Sept. 6-7) hosted by Metro and Regis University. Metro knocked off the No 1 team in the tournament and now has an 5-4 record and a No. 19 national ranking, dropping three spots, after winning two and losing two in the Premier.

Metro senior Nicki Fusco, who averaged 5 kills and 3.94 digs per game during the tournament, and setter Devon Herron were named to the All-Tournament team.

In the highly anticipated that pitted Hendricks against her former team for the first time since she returned to coaching in 2000 after a one-year absence, the No. 19 Roadrunners found themselves as they buffaloed top-ranked West Texas 30-27, 13-30, 30-19 and 30-19 on Sept. 6.

With a textbook display of the three-part harmony–passer, setter, hitter–that makes up ball control, Metro overwhelmed the Lady Buffs (6-2) in the last two sets. Fusco led the way with 23 kills and 13 digs. Jessy Roy recorded 17 kills and 23 digs. Beth Vercic added 13 kills, while ball control specialist Andrea Highstreet had 13 digs. In the process, Herron’s 60 assists in the game moved her above Jennifer Drees as Metro’s all-time assists leader (see story above).

"The most exciting part of it is, not so much beating West Texas," Hendricks said, "it’s what I told the team earlier today. Some nights we have our outside hitters playing well, some nights our middle is playing well, some nights Devon is off, but somewhere along the way it’s all going to come together. We are going to turn that corner, because it’s been kind of frustrating to this point....I think we turned the corner tonight."

Days before the Premier, Metro lost its home opener (Sept. 3) in five sets to the University of Northern Colorado (9-0), who ended up capturing the Premier Challenge title and climbed 16 spots in this week’s poll to a No. 6 national ranking.

In its first Premier match, Metro’s already black-and-blue confidence took another battering. This time then No. 12 Central Missouri State University (6-3) did the bruising as Metro lost 22-30, 27-30, 30-22 and 26-30. The Roadrunners lone game win was convincing, but was only a spark in a yet to be refined engine.

"We are not quite consistent enough with our system, and that is where the difference is," said Fusco, whose 24 kills and 17 digs seemed irrelevant to the Roadrunners’ miscommunication problems that led to a paltry .177 match hitting percentage. "It’s not that we are not trying or not doing anything about it, it is just that we are still trying to mold together and when it clicks that is game three and that is what we are striving to be like the whole time."

After the Central Missouri game, Metro headed to the lost-and-found and returned with focus, some swagger and more than enough intensity to flatten West Texas.

The Roadrunners stockpiled 66 kills and out hit the Lady Buffs .260-to-.067 in games one, three and four. The team’s added motivation stemmed from Hendricks’ past; she coached at West Texas from 1993 to 1998.

"We really wanted to do it for her," Herron said. "That’s what we talked about before we went out there, was that we wanted to win it for her, because she had coached there for so long and that makes it such a big deal and we knew that it would mean so much to her."

"We don’t think this loss is going to kill us, but it hurts," said Lady Buff coach Tony Graystone, who served as Hendrick’s assistant at West Texas in 1997 when the Lady Buffs won the Division II national title and in 1998.

"You never have in your head who you are coaching against," Graystone added. "It is just how do you find a way to stop the other team and we couldn’t do it."

Day Two

After winning 1-of-2 matches in day one, Metro headed to Regis Sept. 7 to play in the silver pool for day two of the Premier Challenge. They quickly picked up where they left off, depositing unranked Northern Michigan 30-22, 23-30, 30-22 and 30-21. Herron recorded a season-high 64 assists, while Fusco (21), Bonnie DeLaughter (14), Vercic (13) and Shawna Gilbert (12) each hit double figures in kills. But there were plenty of blemishes, particularly in game two, to keep the team humble.

"Beating the No.1 team is an awesome win in the books, but we got to start a new day and we have to try to represent ourselves again," Vercic said. "Last night was a great confidence builder for us, but we’ve got to go from beating the No. 1 ranked team and move up from there. We can’t look down to others and play to there level."

Metro couldn’t quite rise to Regis’ level in the Silver Championship Match. They lost in five-sets (26-30, 30-14, 22-30, 30-26 and 7-15) as the Rangers’ tough defensive front plagued the Roadrunners. No. 21 Regis (4-3), blocked 34 attack attempts by Metro and hit an absurd .615 in game five.

Everyone thought the match was over by game four, though.

Down 24-14 with pesky Ranger fans mocking them, the Roadrunners staged a comeback that pointed to its heart and will.

They quietly scored seven unanswered points, before Sarah Jackson put Regis up four at 25-21. Metro kept coming and tied the score at 25-25, then took a 29-26 lead on three straight Regis errors, before Gilbert completed the retort with a spike.

"That was amazing," Regis’ acting head coach Michelle Buckner said. "That was the best volleyball I’ve seen played all year. Our kids weren’t playing bad, it’s just we couldn’t do anything. Metro was serving tough, they were aggressive, they just kicked our butt in the last part of the fourth game."
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Soccer road warriors
Donald Smith
The Metropolitan

The Metro women’s soccer team went 1-for-2 this weekend, taking a heartbreaking loss from No. 7 Incarnate Word 2-0 at Auraria Field, Sept. 6.

After the home-opening loss, the Roadrunners regrouped, re-oiled and regained its scoring machine-like presence. The team drove over to Lakewood two days later and took its disappointments out on Colorado Christian University, beating them 3-1 to improve its overall record to 3-1 (1-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference). The win also kept the Roadrunners undefeated on the road this season.

But the score doesn’t always reflect the game. Even though Metro lost to Incarnate Word, the Roadrunners out-shot (23-to-9), out-played and out-hustled the Crusaders by creating numerous opportunities in front of the net; getting break-away chances and several corner kicks that lead to two shots that rang off the crossbar in front. The Crusaders first goal came in the opening minutes of the game.

Undaunted by its first loss under new head coach Danny Sanchez, the Roadrunners and sophomore transfer Melissa Miller took care of business in the first half against Colorado Christian. With two shots, Miller struck for two goals against the Cougars, becoming the fourth player to score two or more goals this year. Amy Leichliter (four goals), Jodi McGann (two) and Joslyn Brough (two) are the others. Leichliter, a freshman, added her fourth goal of the year in the second half against the Cougars to help the Roadrunners preserve its third consecutive road win and its first of what looks like many Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victories this season.

"Although we were disappointed in the result on Friday, we played well, so we had confidence going into Sunday’s game," Sanchez said about the win against Colorado Christian. "We realized it was a conference game, so it was really our most important game up to date for the RMAC standings and to get a win on the road against a quality opponent right off the bat was big result for us. I think we went into (that) game with confidence and deserved to win....The difference between the two games is that we finished our opportunities on Sunday."

The Roadrunners have jumped to a great start this season, out shooting all of its opponents 2-1 and also creating more opportunities in front of the net. Metro’s 3.25 goals per game average is second best behind Adams State’s first ever women’s soccer, which is averaging 3.97 goals a game. Metro is strong defensively as well and has only given up four goals, while scoring 13.

Metro has out-played everyone they have faced offensively and defensively in the past four games. But now its season will become harder and the games will be more important as they get ready to face Mesa State (1-0-0) on Sept. 13 and Fort Lewis (0-1-0) on Sept. 15. With just 13 RMAC games remaining, every game matters in the standings.
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Men kickers headed in wrong direction after promising start
Andrew Lam
The Metropolitan

Entering its third game of the season Sept. 6 with a 1-0-1 record that included a 2-2 tie against defending Division II champions Tampa University, the Roadrunners looked like a much stronger team than they were last year. But following its home opener against Colorado Christian University and later after playing Colorado School of Mines Sept. 8, Metro had fallen to 1-2-1, a record that resembles the exact opposite of what they are trying to accomplish this year.

Even more troubling, the Roadrunners started the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference season in the cellar at 0-2.

In the first conference game of the season, Metro played host to Colorado Christian. The Cougars got only six shots off, but scored first when Brad Palik redirected a corner kick six minutes into the game. Metro spent the next 84 minutes trying desperately for the tie. But with only ten shots, three each by senior Jimmy Zanon and junior forward Alex Grecu, Metro gave itself little chance, despite three Cougars being ejected in the second half, which forced them to play eight men against Metro’s 11. Cougar goalkeeper, Chris McClellan, made several key saves with mere minutes to go to close the deal. Metro keeper Eric Butler had two saves and allowed one goal.

"We did exactly what we said we wouldn’t do," Metro head coach Brian Crookham said. "We gave them a goal so they didn’t have to play."

Two days later the Roadrunners suffered another defeat,4-2, this time against the sixth-ranked Colorado School of Mines. Metro sophomore Blake Carson scored his third goal of the season off of a penalty kick, less than two minutes into the game.

The Roadrunners held the lead until the Orediggers tied it with 18 minutes left in the first half. Grecu got the lead back, scoring two minutes into the second half. Grecu headed the ball in off a free kick from junior Corey Gonzalez. Fifteen minutes later, Metro lost the lead for good, with Mines senior midfielder Eric Talburt scoring his second goal of the game.

Mines broke the tie 24 seconds later for a 3-2 lead, and scored its third unanswered goal of the game with less than eight minutes to go in the game.

Possibly the only highlight of the weekend for Metro was Butler’s 222nd career save, putting him atop the list for all-time saves in Metro men’s soccer history. Butler’s two saves against Colorado Christian gave him 217, three short of former goalie Steve Babby’s record of 220, set in 1997. Butler finished the game against Mines with fiv saves, breaking the record with 15 games still left in the season.

Metro will play University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Sept. 13.  With a similar record (both teams are 0-2 in the RMAC), both teams have had like seasons. Colorado Springs and Metro have played catch-up the last few games. Either one or the other is bound to pull ahead.

With 222 career saves, senior goalie Eric Butler now owns every career goal keeping record in the Metro men’s soccer annals.
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