Volume 25 issue 6 September 26, 2002

Kaplan announces hiring freeze
John R. Crane
The Metropolitan

Metro has been put under a hiring freeze and will have to return at least $3.3 million back to the state, Metro President Sheila Kaplan said in her convocation speech at the Tivoli Turnhalle Sept. 19.

The freeze, imposed by Kaplan, will apply to staff from janitors to administration and will also affect full-time, tenure-track faculty. The hiring of part-time and temporary full-time faculty will continue, Kaplan said in a memo to administration. The freeze, effective Sept. 18, will remain throughout the 2002-2003 academic year.

The hiring freeze is to offset the budget strain of the $3.3 million rescission to the state, after $151.9 million from the state budget was rescinded by executive order of the governor. However, the governor’s Office of State Planning and Budget announced Sept. 20 that the state will need to slash an additional $388 million to balance the budget.

That may mean Metro will have to give more money back to the state.

"If the state continues to absorb budget shortfalls in the same manner as before," Kaplan said in the memo, "Metro may be required to reduce its general fund allocation by 12 percent or more."

Metro’s general fund for 2002-2003, which was $45.5 million before cuts were made, is money from the state based on student enrollment from the previous year. The $3.3 million, or 7.3 percent, rescission was a result of the original $151.9 million reduction, leaving Metro with $42.2 million. With the latest numbers coming from the OSPB, Metro’s next budget cut could surpass $7 million, Kaplan said in the memo. That is twice the original amount Kaplan announced in her speech, and would leave Metro’s general fund at approximately $38.5 million.

Though Metro will be paring its budget according to state economic trends and imposing a hiring freeze, students will barely notice any disruptions in the rhythms of their school routine, said Michael Barnett, Metro vice president for administration and finance.

"Hopefully, the hiring freeze will be invisible to students," said Barnett. "Will services suffer? I don’t think so."

Services, which include admission, counseling and tutoring, have had vacancies for a while and have fared well, Barnett said. Services will continue to do their best to take care of students, Barnett said.

"Our emphasis is to have qualified people in classrooms to teach," Barnett said. To accommodate an increasing Metro student population, Kaplan exempted part-time and full-time temporary faculty from the hiring freeze. Metro’s enrollment grew from roughly 18,500 last year to 19,400 for 2002-2003.

Regarding how much more money the state will request from Metro as a result of the latest budget shortfall, Barnett is practicing a policy of watchful waiting.

"The state legislature will have to decide where the money’s going to come from," Barnett said.

After the $3.3 million rescission, Metro’s 2002-2003 budget, including state funds and tuition and fees, comes to approximately $79 million.

Fifty-six percent goes to instruction, which includes faculty and department heads. Twelve percent goes to academic support, which consists of the library and technology support for faculty. Services like admissions and tutoring get 12 percent. Institutional support such as administrative offices, their presidents and vice presidents, get 12 percent. The remaining 8 percent of Metro’s budget goes to maintenance and upkeep of the campus.
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Author speaks on diversity
American Muslims up against negative stereotypes, author says
Ian Neligh
The Metropolitan

Of the many issues facing American Muslims post 9/11, negative stereotypes in the media is the greatest, according to author Asma Gull Hasan.

Hasan, author of the book "American Muslims: The New Generation," spoke to a group of over 100 in Tivoli 640 Sept. 18. Hasan, 27, is a first-generation American Muslim born to Pakistani parents. She was born in Chicago and grew up in Pueblo, Colo.

One of the great things about living in America is its huge diversity, said Hasan. People who live here come from all over the world. Many have lived here for generations, while others are more recent immigrants often times seeking religious freedom. In Hasan’s book, which was published before 9/11, she stresses that one of the greatest challenges facing America was and still is overcoming stereotypes.

"Before 9/11, the average American found that Islam was the least understood religion and the most disliked," said Hasan. "Something like 70 percent of Americans said, ‘I like Islam the least out of all the religious groups that there are, even though I know nothing about it, I like Islam the least.’ Our neighbors were looking at us like, ‘How can you be American and Muslim?’"

Within Islam there are different sects but no single leader, Hasan said.

She said that because there is no single spokesperson to come out against 9/11 and say it goes against Islam, the media is claiming the Islamic community has not said enough publicly about the events of 9/11.

"I want to tell all of you that this idea is really a media fabrication," said Hasan. "I think Muslims have been very vocal and have been very strongly condemning 9/11. However, because the media doesn’t cover it, we don’t see it on TV 24-7, and we don’t read it in our papers."

She said she had Muslim friends who organized marches against the terror attacks.

"TV stations don’t cover those themes, newspaper writers don’t cover them, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t happen," Hasan said.

American Muslims as a group have been through a lot since 9/11, she said. They have been though everything the average American has gone through: the feelings of being targeted and victimized. In addition, they have had to deal with the question of how someone who said they belonged to the same Islamic faith could take and use their religion to do something bad.

"I, as a Muslim, am more committed to the war on terror, I would argue, than the average American," said Hasan. "It’s not just a war for my country, but it’s a war for my religion as well for my faith. I don’t want the terrorist manipulation of Islam, their version of Islam, to prevail over what we have in America, which is the freedom to practice the type of Islam we feel is correct.

"We don’t have Osama bin Laden or al-Qaeda telling us how to practice Islam here in America," she said.

Hasan said that in her opinion, the media coverage of Muslims has come in different phases. Before 9/11 she says, that the media portrayed Muslims or people who claimed to be Muslim as terrorists.

"I think when people heard Muslim they assumed that person was either a terrorist or that they oppressed women," said Hasan. "If it was a female Muslim, she must be oppressed. We definitely had these ideas of what we thought Islam stood for and who Muslims were."

Hasan says the first wave of media coverage after 9/11 focused on what happened and who the victims were, said Hasan. The next wave started a few days later and was interested mostly in answering the questions: Why do they hate us? What would make people want to target Americans? Is there anything in Islam that says it is permissible to do terrorism?

"I think that was a really good period; it was a period of education. This wave in the media was a very healthy one, because we were all talking about who are Muslims what does Islam really mean? What does it stand for?" said Hasan. "That lasted til about November last year and yielded to the third wave, which we’re still stuck in."

The third wave, she said, is back to the stereotype. The answers attained in the second phase were almost too complex, she said, so the media and the public decided they did not want to learn any more.

The mindset is "Let’s go back to the ‘Muslims are bad, Islam is inherently violent, how do we get rid of all the Muslims in the world,’" Hasan said.

People need to be aware that when they reading or watching a news story, it has been packaged for public consumption so that the target audience won’t change the channel, she said.

"The next time you hear something negative about a group, think: ‘now, is this really happening, or is this something that the media is telling me is happening,’" said Hasan.

"One of the media stereotypes I can probably talk about is the idea that Islam is inherently violent, do Muslims totally approve of violence? Of course that is not the case," said Hasan. "There is Islam the religion captured in the Koran and the sayings of the prophet Mohammed, and then there is Islam the culture. Wherever there is a Muslim in the world, there is a culture that effects how they interpret their religion."

Muslims are from all over the world, Hasan said, and each of them grow up with a culture that is independent and different from the religion of Islam.

"I grew up with the Islam religion, but I also grew up in Colorado with Colorado culture, with American culture," said Hasan. "For those of us whose parents immigrated, we got a chance to leave behind a lot of that culture that was against Islam and have a chance to really practice Islam the religion as it’s truly meant to be without culture affecting the religion."

Many of the negative things that are heard about Muslim culture can be attributed to specific cultures and customs in different countries around the world, she said.

Hasan spoke about the 2001 case of Safiya Husaini, a Nigerian Muslim woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for allegedly committing adultery. Husaini is from Sokoto, one of 12 Nigerian states that operates under sharia, or Islamic, law. She was sentenced after she gave birth to a child out of wedlock. Husaini’s sentence was later overturned on a technicality.

"There is nothing in Islam or in the Koran saying a woman in Nigeria committing adultery should be stoned," said Hasan. "However, it’s a part of Nigerian culture and Nigerian attitudes that over the years have evolved and have been used to interpret Islam," she said. "Now, a Nigerian Muslim living here in America is away from that culture and can say: ‘I’m going to practice Islam truly the way it’s meant to be practiced, the way it’s expressed in the Koran and not have my culture dictate.’

"I think all of us Muslims have been reached out to by an American in a positive way, and I think it shows all of us how open-minded Americans are, how tolerant we are, and how it will take more than terrorism to kill that American spirit of tolerance, open-mindedness and reaching out to other people," Hasan said.
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Auraria offers childcare
Rami Wilder
The Metropolitan

Open to all parents on the Auraria campus, the Auraria Child Care Center offers an education to children while allowing parents a chance to attend classes. The ACCC is currently filled to capacity for most age groups.

" The mission of the Child Care Center is to provide a good education for the children, but primarily to help students attend school," said Gina Hamelin, director of the ACCC.

The ACCC is operated by the Auraria Higher Education Center, which oversees operation of the Tivoli as well as many other campus programs. Funding for the center is primarily covered through the tuition charged to parents, but additional funds come from the AHEC Facility and Bond Fee that is charged to Metro students.

The cost of childcare is based on a sliding scale determined by the income of the parents. According to Hamelin, the costs are a lot lower than other non-profit or for-profit childcare centers that promote education.

Metro State students are also eligible for 10 to 30 percent savings based on income and other qualifications. Further savings are available due to a grant received by the center a year ago. These savings are adjusted based upon the number of students enrolled but can be as much as a 50 percent reimbursement. This makes it possible for low-income Metro students who meet certain enrollment criteria to receive as much as 80 percent off childcare fees.

Campus students are given preference over others and only after the students’ needs have been met are openings made available to Auraria staff and faculty. When all campus needs have been met for any age group, the center allows parents from the community to enroll their children.

Based on enrollment figures, it is estimated that 75 to 80 percent of the 300 children at the center come from campus students. Faculty and staff bring in about 15 to 20 percent of the children, while roughly 3 percent are brought from others in the community.

The education offered at the ACCC is structured in daily lesson plans created by the teachers. Additional support for teachers is offered by a speech therapist that is available three days a week. Auraria campus students also play a key part in the operation of the center, comprising about 75 percent of the staff.

Gina Hamelin described the Center’s teaching plans.

"We have broad year-round goals, and the lesson plans are the steps to get there. Lesson plans usually revolve around a theme, like community helpers," she said.

Currently, all classes are full except for the pre-kindergarten, which still has openings for 4-year-olds. There is no official secondary care center when classes fill up, but students who need other options can get information about referral services.

Any parents who are interested in sending their children to the Auraria Child Care Center are encouraged to call and arrange a tour of the facilities. The Auraria Child Care Center is located at Ninth Street Park and Colfax Avenue and can be reached at (303)556-3188.
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Honors Program aids students, plans activities
Travis M. Combs
The Metropolitan

Membership in organizations like the Honors Program can help to provide a more rewarding college experience for interested students. The Metro Honors Program offers its 100 members various educational opportunities as well as a wide degree of flexibility and control over their program.

Educational honors programs are a national phenomenon, with organizations operating at most colleges and universities across the country, said Dolph Grundman, history professor and director of the Honors Program at Metro.

"One of the responsibilities of these programs is to make a contribution to the intellectual environment of the campus," Grundman said. "The Honors Program is designed for students who want to have a richer college experience than just coming to campus, taking classes and going home."

Within the program, students can choose to participate in many activities including annual conferences and travel opportunities.

"Our trips to Ireland and our Honors Club are really the key methods by which we try to develop a sense of community," said Grundman.

This sense of community is also experienced by its members in more informal classroom settings. The program offers its students specialized honors courses where smaller class sizes encourage more group discussion and participation.

"I enjoy the class size," said Travis Nicholson, an Honors Program member. "The class sizes are smaller. They offer a more personal relationship with the professors."

The program also offers opportunities to participate in the student-administered Honors Club, which plans social and academic events.

One such event is the upcoming Fifth Annual Honors Program Conference. The event, titled "Media and Society," will take place Oct. 9 and 10 in the Tivoli. It will showcase guest speakers from the field of professional journalism.

"The thing I’m most proud of is the conferences," Grundman said. "This is something that is generated by the students."

"We put together the conferences," Nicholson said. "We title all the panels, we locate all the speakers, we’re dealing with all the red tape involved."

Although the conferences can take up a large amount of time and energy, the Honors Club also schedules other events and activities, including the construction of a lounge located in the Honors Program’s office.

"All the events in the Program’s calendar we put together," said Nicholson. "The student members put together the lounge, including moving in the furniture, tables and chairs."

The Honors Program members have also enjoyed traveling to Ireland with the cooperation of Magee College, which is located in the city of Dairy, Northern Ireland.

"Through the program we’ve also made it possible for 37 students to go to Ireland to gain exposure to some historical experience," said Grundman. "That’s something we would never do 10 years ago. Now we’ve gone three times."

"What I encourage colleges as a whole to do is to find different ways for students to stop and smell the roses. To find a place to hang their hats," Grundman said. "What we are trying to do in the Honors Program is to create a small college within the larger institution."
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news briefs

Workshop to help deal with shame around sexual orientation

Jamey Collins will speak about the dynamics of shame in the gay community in the workshop "Dealing with Issues of Shame Around Sexual Orientation." The workshop will be held from 11 a.m.- 12 p.m. Oct. 1 in Tivoli 320 C. Participants will have the opportunity to understand the dynamics of shame, how it is passed on and how to avoid it.

Collins is a certified Imago relationship therapist, certified spiritual counselor and a nationally recognized writer and workshop presenter. He is a writer for the Out Front and speaks publicly about shame to the GLBT community. Collins also has a private psychotherapy practice with offices in Denver and Boulder.

For more information, contact the Metro counseling center at (303) 556-3132.

Raising awareness about people with disabilities

Doug Smith will facilitate a workshop exploring the unique challenges confronting people with disabilities. The workshop, titled "Disability as a Diversity Issue," will take place Sept. 26 from 2 to 3 p.m. in Tivoli 642.

The purpose of the workshop is to increase both public awareness of disability issues and sensitivity toward the needs of disabled people. The workshop will include an informative workshop followed by a discussion of the topic.

For more information, call the Metro State College Counseling Center at (303) 556-3132.

Metro seeks student input in national tobacco survey

Metro is participating in the national project The Tobacco Use and Attitude Survey. They are seeking students’ views on tobacco. As an incentive, the names of three respondents will be drawn at random and awarded a $200 gift certificate to Best Buy.

To participate in the survey, go to www.thehealthsurvey.com/tobacco/login.asp and enter Metro46991 as your Login ID.

If you experience problems logging in, email help@outsidetheclassroom.com.

All information is confidential, and a student’s name will never be associated with any information provided on the form.

Participants with questions can contact Dr. Lyn Wickelgren, chair of the MSCD Human Subjects Review Committee at (303) 556-3028.
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police briefs

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

The glass in the front of a vending machine was reported broken at 6 a.m. on Sept. 22. The ice cream vending machine had been out of order and was located in the Arts Building. There were no signs of any attempt to break into the money side of the vending machine, only the ice cream side. Police are investigating.

TOTAL LOSS: unknown.

Scanner was used with great frequency

A Metro employee reported a Uniden Bearcat Scanner stolen from the Metro Office of Publications in the Tivoli Building at 1 p.m. on Sept. 14. The scanner is one used to listen to radio frequencies. Police have no leads or suspects.

TOTAL LOSS: $350.

Thief had window of opportunity

A male Metro Student reported his car broken into on Sept. 19 at 3 p.m. His Grey Nissan truck was parked in lot B and was broken into through the passenger side window. Police have no leads. Items stolen include: Alpine Stereo: $300, Metallica CD: $15, and a dayplanner containing vehicle registration, ID cards, etc.:$40.

TOTAL LOSS: $355.

On a serious note

A Metro student, who is unknown to the public, was reported kidnapped from Sept. 16- 23. Due to the seriousness of the case and the victim’s wish to remain anonymous, many of the details are unknown. The suspect has been identified by the victim, but is still at large.

Tip o’ the week

A few things to keep in mind if you think you are being followed:

•Notice the person following you— Actually turn around and make eye contact. This will make them realize that you cannot be taken by surprise.

•Turn— It works in every car chase movie. Take corners, walk a different direction, whatever it takes, until you are positive the person is following you.

•Go to a populated place— Like in gangster movies where "the mafia won’t do a hit in a public place," the stalker more than likely won’t do anything to you in a busy place like the library or Tivoli cafeteria, among other places. Once there, contact campus police at 303-556-3271.

•If you are ever worried about getting around campus, campus police offer escort services. Call (303)556-2000, or after hours (303)556-3271.

-Eric Skougstad
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Despite promise, race turns nasty
Walter Gant
Staff Columnist

Off-year elections are coming up and Colorado will play a serious role in the way this country is shaped. As most of you know, Wayne Allard vs. Tom Strickland has already been played out in 1996. The winner then, by a thin margin, was Allard. This time around, a lot more is at stake. The prize, in essence, is control of the Senate. Right now, the Democrats have a one-vote margin and thus have majority. Since this race is considered to be so close, lots of money is being spent to ensure someone a victory.

With so many issues to discuss, the two men have spent their time trying to connect each other to some corporate fall off. Anything they can do to, basically, keep people from raising the real issues. You know the issues that most people care about, like education, healthcare reform, and homeland security. Typical mudslinging is taking place when, just earlier last month, they both swore to run a nice campaign. We all know that wouldn’t happen; so, we sit and wait for them to say something that is really relevant to our daily regimen.

I think there are two issues to discuss when talking about this race. The main one would be the control of the Senate. The issue becomes bigger when you take into account that the Republican Party already controls the House of Representatives, and the President of our country is a Republican. We will definitely see a lot of Republican ideas forced through the house. That will almost be a blow to democracy. You can’t have a bunch of people who all think alike really running everything. There will never be room for debate because everybody would already know how they will vote. Also, they will be able to get the judges that they want into the Supreme Court. With so many judges hinting at retirement, this will be a big issue in next year. If they get the judges, then they control the law. Thus, if you control the law, then you control the people.

The other issue that must be clearly examined is campaign finance reform. The two candidates have spent a combined $5 million on this campaign. That basically means that, even if you wanted to, there is no way you can compete with them. Five million dollars is a lot of money. Money brings influence and influence means power. Nobody mentions this really; but that amount of money spent on an election for Senate already alienates them from their voters. Most of us won’t spend $5 million in a lifetime. I can’t imagine what either one of them has said that’s worth $5 million. All that really means is that regardless of anything else the power will be in the hands of the rich. The poor will be left there to be ridiculed and have all the laws of the lands applied to them.

My take on this is a simple one. The primary reason this race matters is because of the Senate issue. It reminds me of the presidential election two years ago. I’m still picking the lesser of two evils. It doesn’t matter which way I vote, because I’m still getting the shaft in the long run. Neither of these men could maintain a week living the way I do. Yet one of these men will be elected to speak for me. It’s not fair, but it’s politics. The main thing to recognize, is this: If you don’t vote, your opinion doesn’t matter. If you want to do something, get out and vote and try to change the world how we see it. Regardless of anything else, this race will impact us for a very long time.
Allard vs. Strickland: The Prize, in essence, is control of the Senate.
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Meet new people at Tivoli’s ‘Club-Hub’
Josh Pacheco
Staff Columnist

Can’t find any entertainment on campus? Well have I got some news for you. There is a gold mine of fun sitting right under each of our well educated noses located on the third floor of the Tivoli Student Union building. And other than the student identification card that you waited so patiently in line for at the beginning of the semester, it’s free. Yes folks, I am speaking of your beloved yet sometimes overlooked Club Hub.

The Club Hub has a place for you whether you are looking for a club that is head-and-foot above the rest like the Flying Objects Club or whether you are looking for a group of genuine friends like the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.

As you enter into the Club Hub the glowing attendant tosses you a shinning smile and it is hard to forgo the energetic atmosphere that has been set up by each individual inside.

For some students the Club Hub is not only a place to find a social dynamic in our sometimes methodical lives, but it is as much a part of their college experience as tests or book bags. It is important that we do not over look the social aspect of college. Sure we possibly shouldn’t stare at it for too long, however it is a very important aspect of the college experience.

Sure there are those of us out there that do have a little trouble meeting new people, I’ll be the first to admit that I am not naturally a social butterfly. However us unrelatables still need a place to fit in and the Club Hub is a place that makes that dream possible. Am I speaking to the masses, yes. Am I speaking to the individual, yes.

Every year I hear students that complain about how our campus is unsocial or how they wish that they could go to a university where they can "Party". Yes, even I have fallen into that pity trap a few times. However, there is hope for you thrill seekers; you just have to look a little harder for it.

The Club Hub is also for the most part run by students, as you will most likely get to know their faces when you check in and ask for your grand tour.

Once inside there are plenty of interesting clubs to choose from, Learn to cut a rug with the Dance club or hang out with the Muslim Student Association or learn how to save a buck with the finance club.

The Club Hub is a fun and exciting place to meet students that you have things in common with. There are literally dozens of clubs just waiting for a new recruit just like you, so next time you are on the third floor stop in and ask the attendant to help you find a club.
Yes, even I have fallen into that pity trap . . . there is hope for thrill seekers.
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Letters to the Editor
‘The Gadfly’ is a ‘Blowfly,’ incoherent of history

Dear Editor:

I am writing this letter as a response to Brian Reed’s "The Gadfly" column in the Sept. 19, 2002 issue of The Metropolitan.

"The walls of the fair city of Béziers were the first to fall, and the massacre that followed was up to that day unparalleled in European history… seven thousand [killed] in the Church of Mary Magdalene alone, to which they had fled for asylum; and when the empowered legate in charge was asked whether Catholics should be spared, fearing some of the heretics then might escape… he replied… "Kill them all, for God knows his own." - Joseph Campbell in Occidental Mythology

"Let us not forget the lives that have been spent defending this great country — currently and in the past. Stand tall: ‘Kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out.’ " — Brian Reed in The Metropolitan, Sept. 19, 2002

In the former passage, Joseph Campbell recounts one of the highlights of the Albigensian Crusade of 1209; in the latter, Brian Reed expresses his desire for a repeat of the indiscriminate slaughter. Of course, I’m sure that he did so unwittingly, being ignorant of the origin of the phrase; still, he has the comfort of echoing George W. Bush’s Sept. 16, 2001 comment that this "crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while." Indeed, he echoes Bush in more ways than one, as no doubt Dubya too was ignorant of the cultural and historical implications of his word.

Few Americans today know much about the centuries of racial and religious warfare commonly known as the Crusades. Evan S. Connell wrote about them in tortuous (pun intended) detail in Deus Lo Volt! Chronicle of the Crusades, telling the horrific tale of a period of history characterized by ragtag armies of peasants, criminals, and so-called prophets, suddenly forming and setting out across the countryside, raping, looting, burning, and murdering in the name of God. Most such armies set out with the expressed purpose of "liberating" the Holy Land (aka Jerusalem) from the Muslims; most failed and settled for murdering local populations of Jews.

A few Crusades — including the Albigensian Crusade — did not take the high aim of slaughtering Arabs, but chose victims closer to home: heretics within the Church. The lesson here is that if you’re not with us, you’re against us (echoing Bush once again); and if so, God help you, because we’re going to impale, burn, rape, and bomb you to hell. It helps, of course, if you’re not Caucasian; pagans and heretics are so much easier to identify when their skins are dark. It is astounding to me that Reed in the same statement asks us to honor those who have died in defense of their country, and then negates the value of all life by advocating that we kill indiscriminately. In his next paragraph he goes on to mock the deaths of John F. Kennedy and Christ — the first, a former president of "this great country," and the second, the religious inspiration for the western world. But then, why should this inconsistency bother me, when he begins by quoting Scarface: "No women and children." What then does he think of the thousands of women and children killed directly by the bombing in the first Gulf War — and the hundreds of thousands dead as a result of sanctions? Perhaps he feels as did the crusaders: "God wills it!"

Reed is certainly entitled to his incoherent, ridiculous, and offensive opinion, but for God’s sake, this paper doesn’t have to print it. Obviously, Reed fancies himself a gadfly, goading people into something or other; I would say, rather, he is a blowfly, laying his putrid eggs in any convenient corpse.

Joel Tagert
Metro freshman
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Letters to the Editor
Civil Disobedience gave ‘The Gadfly’ his rights

Dear Editor,

Upon finishing your letter I asked myself, "Was this one of the guys who was out assaulting Arabs, and Arab looking people?" I imagine that you also were one of the ignorant people who called for Afghanistan and the Middle East as a whole to be "turned into one big glass parking lot". Or perhaps you were one of the people calling their congresspeople to have all the Muslims rounded up in internment camps ala World War II.

I honestly hope that you don’t ever do any sort of international travelling, because you’re what alot of people would call an ugly american. You are precisely what people in other countries have pictured in their minds, when asked of Americans. A chest thumping, flag waiving, rude and uneducated ugly american.

It is attitudes like yours that our leaders capitalize on when getting us involved in un-winnable wars.

Those of us not paranoid and hunting people like rednecks squirrel shooting, resort to civil disobedience. Through civil disobedience, youre not speaking with an english accent, because of civil disobedience your grandmothers, mother, aunts and sisters can vote, because of civil disobedience as a child you weren’t working in a sweatshop 60 hours a week. Because of civil disobedience you don’t have to be conscripted into the military, to fight and die in a pointless and un-winnable war. And because of civil disobedience preserving it, you have the freedom to send your innane musings to our school newspaper.

Mike Duran
MSCD Student; Political Science Major, bleeding heart liberal and practioner of civil disobedience
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The Gadfly
Brian P. Reed
Opinions Editor

"I celebrate myself,

And what I assume you shall assume

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you . . . .

Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,

Missing me one place search another,

I stop some where waiting for you"

-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

I, too, am celebrating myself outside of Jefferson, CO at approximately 10,000 feet. The air is cool, the wind alarms me as I cast yet another lure to the unsuspecting trout. I am alone and at peace and now, have successfully bagged my limit. I quickly return to my "other" abode, clean my catch and proceed to devour my maps for hunting season later this month.

I am at peace with myself for the first time since assuming the arduous task of returning to school and getting certified for teaching.

And, then it happens . . .my serenity is broken. As I prepare for a restful night and the coming day, I turn on the late evening news. Some psycho has kidnapped 3 children in Pagosa Springs–time to (I think) prematurely prepare for hunting. I know Pagosa Springs is just around the corner and quickly try to write down the make, model and license of the minivan. Could I be so lucky–and him not–if I saw him?

And, then, another bump in the road to my tranquil evening. The information I am writing down is interrupted, by yet another disgusting television segue (a commercial). Two, back to back, "bullcrap," political commercials for Strickland and Allard. I am enraged. How are these two the only "legitimate" options for Senate this year? Why are they so negative? Do both of these rich, self-righteous, self-serving bastards really think we like either one of them or that they have "pulled one over on us"? This is purely an insult towards our state and its citizens. For Christ’s sake, "write-in" a friend, father or grandma’s name (or even, "Bug’s Bunny)" for this political position. Good God! It’s like trying to decide which gonad I would rather lose.

After cleaning the television of vomit, I silently ascend the stairs to my bed, thinking . . . I sure wish I could take the little porcupine in my ponderosa pine home with me and throw the little varmint into bed with them. Concubines versus porcupines could be more apropos for their next set of expensive, daunting, and insulting commercials.

And, I finally grow weary and fall asleep thinking about: my dogs, my family, porcupines, Mr. Whitman, and the inner beauty of this great country and I sleep until dawn. And, more importantly, I think, why, but for Kathy Sabine, do I ever turn on the damn television?

p.s. I’ve been misunderstood. . . . .
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Mailbox:
The Metropolitan
900 Auraria Parkway, Suite 313
Denver CO 80204

e-mail: grubbs@mscd.edu
phone: 303.556.2507
fax: 303.556.3421
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Secretly entertaining
Metro’s theater Program takes on The Secret Garden
Jenni Grubbs
The Metropolitan

Metro Theatre director Marilyn Hetzel has a secret: How she pulled together a 23-member cast, professional scenery and lighting directors and numerous technical backstagers to produce The Secret Garden, a Broadway musical based on the novel, two weeks shy of the normal production time without sacrificing quality or professionalism.

Most of the credit, she said, goes to the cast and crew members who put in the time and energy.

"We are aiming for as professional quality as possible," Cookie, as the cast calls Hetzel, said. "The cast is very dedicated and mature."

The cast, in turn, extends the credit to the director.

"Cookie’s been a great director," said Sean Cochran, a Metro philosophy/theatre double major who plays Ben. "It’s been good working with (the cast) and her. We challenge each other and inspire each other to take the show to the next level. It’s a good mix."

"Cookie runs a very professional show," said Kim Luckie, a Metro student who plays Mrs. Medlock. "She is teaching us how to handle ourselves in a professional environment. It is really good preparation for those of us who will go on to professional careers."

Even with long hours, Luckie said, the cast is exactly where they want to be.

"When you put this many hours into it… five hours a day, four to six days per week, everybody who’s here really want to be here."

Stage Director Jose Retureta, a Metro speech major, said that even with the shorter time-frame, they have kept on schedule and gotten the work done. He said one of the most important things that has happened is that everyone has memorized their lines.

"The cast flew to get off the book," he said. "We haven’t had to prompt very much. Everyone has a good commitment to the show. It has made my job fairly easy."

"This play cast is very much like an excellent sports team–they worked together very well," Hetzel said.

The Secret Garden tells the story of Mary Lennox, a lonely little girl who is sent to live with her uncle Archibald in Yorkshire after being orphaned by a cholera epidemic in India. He is still grieving over the loss of his beloved wife Lily who died 10 years earlier during childbirth and distraught over the condition of his bedridden son. Archibald casts a dark shadow over the manor until Mary discovers a secret garden that had once belonged to Lily. By nursing this garden back to life, Mary somehow restores life to her grieving uncle and his sick son.

For most of the cast this was a very challenging play in terms of their roles.

This is especially true for Markus Warren, Laurie Edson, Cochran, and Daniel Langhoff. They play, respectively, Archibald, Mary, Ben (the gardener) and Neville (Archibald’s brother and doctor).

The show is full of multi-level characters, Edson said.

Warren’s character, Archibald, is a grief-stricken hunchback widower with a seemingly-crippled son. He said that while a lot of the cast was having fun, he would appear distant and unhappy to them.

"But I’m not distant or unhappy; I’m just in character," Warren said.

Edson had the challenge of playing a character 14 years younger than herself. Mary, the character she plays, is 10. Edson is 24.

"Some days she’s hard (to play); some days she’s easy," Edson said, "but it’s always tough to keep up with her."

Langhoff plays Neville, a character that has grown accustomed to the life he was forced into and must re-adapt when Mary comes to the mansion. Neville is Archibald’s brother and is the doctor that permanently cares for Archibald’s son. Archibald is the older brother who inherited everything, while Neville must play second fiddle and live off his brother. He is used to his life and does not like it when it is threatened.

Cochran is playing Ben, the gardener, a character many times his own age. For him, it was difficult crossing generations to find and develop his character.

But the challenges of character development have been worth it to the cast, as they unanimously declare this to be a wonderful, great play that will surprise the audience for how good it is.

"It’s flat-out entertaining and stunning visually," Retureta said. "If nothing else, you’ll come out of this entertained."

"This show speaks to everyone who has ever felt lost, downtrodden or trapped," Langhoff said. "It shows rebirth can happen if you just let it. It’s very powerful–positive thinking overcoming the incredible odds."

"It’s a spirit-builder for anybody," Edson said.

But most of all, it has been fun for the cast and director, and that shows in their individual performances.

"It’s been a blast," said both Luckie and Langhoff.

Hetzel said the they have all experienced "the fun of hard work and creative ideas… of putting the polish on the performance."

At the rehearsal where they put the whole show together for the first time, Edson said, "We were so tired (from working so hard) that the entire cast couldn’t stop laughing. We had earned it."
‘It’s flat-out entertaining and stunning visually. If nothing else, you’ll come out of this entertained.’
-Jose Retureta,

The Secret Garden stage manager

More Info:

What: The Secret Garden, a Broadway musical

When: Oct. 3,4,5,10,11,12 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 13 at 2:30 pm.

Where: Eugenia Rawls Courtyard Theatre, King Center

Tickets: $15 Adults, Metro student free with valid ID, Other students

& seniors $8. For tickets and reservations, call (303) 556-2296.
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A.L.U.C.
A LOOK AT URBAN CULTURE
Armando Manzanares
The Metropolitan

The three-day festival brought independent film, performance poetry, music and graffiti art to Auraria. A Look at Urban Culture gave a peek into the world of hip hop; the music, the art and the culture inspired by urban life.

It began with a live band from San Francisco who also showed indie films during their performance.

The next day offered the poetry slam event. For those who do not know what a poetry slam is, it is the competitive art of performance poetry. It puts a dual emphasis on writing and performance, directing focus to not only what the poets are saying but how they are saying it.

The last day was an outdoor exposition of DJs, rappers, breakdancers and graffiti artists coming together in support of establishing a presence and acknowledgement of Denver’s urban culture.

A.L.U.C. was sponsored by The Community College of Denver Student Life office and organized by several highly-motivated students wanting to exhibit urban culture from CCD. All the events of the festival were free and open to the public.

Urban culture and the music, poetry and art that comes from it is deeply expressive and emotional. All too often the art is passed off as crude inscriptions of sorts on surfaces that are meant to deface and irritate people.

Hip-hop, graffiti art and performance poetry are art forms to be recognized and dealt with.

To follow Denver’s scene of hip-hop, graffiti art and other happenings visit Freshsites.com, a web site that offers local resources and access for those interested in the aspects of urban culture.
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Metro shocks No. 9 Regis
Donald Smith
The Metropolitan

For the first time all year, the Metro women’s soccer team was greatly tested, but they still passed with flying colors. In matches that proved last season’s anomaly is nothing more than a fable, the Roadrunners upset No. 9 Regis University, the reigning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champions, and Southern Colorado by 2-0 scores in games played Sept. 20 and Sept. 22.

After a season in which they won only two conference games, Metro has improved to 7-1 overall and is the only undefeated RMAC team with a 5-0 conference record.

"It is such a turn around with players and coaches," senior Meghan Sanders said. "Just the overall feeling going on and off the field. It’s so much fun to win."

With its win over Regis, Metro cracked onto the national scene with a No. 16 ranking in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas Poll. The Roadrunners also moved up from fifth to second in the Midwest Regional rankings. Regis (6-2, 4-1 RMAC) dropped out of the top 10, to a No. 20 national ranking.

"Beating them boosted us up and proved to everyone in the conference that we weren’t winning by a fluke," senior captain Janelle Brandt said.

Before its match against Regis Sept. 20, Metro head coach Danny Sanchez felt some of the Roadrunners’ offensive statistics were jaded, because they’ve played mediocre teams. This time they were facing a team that on paper was equally matched with the Roadrunners. Both entered with identical 5-1 records and with winning streaks on the line. Regis had won its last four, Metro its last three. Plus, both had past RMAC player-of-the-week selections in Metro’s Melissa Miller for offense and Regis’ Nicole Meyer for defense. Both came into the game with players who could put the ball in the net, Amy Leichliter led the Roadrunners with seven goals and Kate Murphy led the Rangers with four goals, and both teams were playing for first place in the RMAC.

But last season’s conference champions had a title and a team that featured three of the four pre-seasoned favorites to win player-of-the-year awards (Murphy: offensive player of the year, Meyer: defensive player of the year and Taresa Cavaliere as co-goalkeeper of the year.) Intangibles aside, only the area between the goal posts would decide the outcome, and as Chris Berman of ESPN is accustomed to saying, "That’s why they play the game."

The game was back and forth in the first half, until junior midfielder, Louise Kjellquist set up Miller, giving the forward enough space to prove she would be the better player of the week on this day. Miller put it by Cavaliere for the first goal of the game and her third goal of the year

The goal seemed to go unnoticed by the Rangers as they returned to a physically bruising style of play, but it wouldn’t last long. Six minutes later, the Roadrunners decided to buy insurance early. Sophomore Elin Otter was a State Farm agent–"like a good neighbor"–as she pounded in a pass from senior Jenelle Brandt, giving the Roadrunners a 2-0 lead, which was all that was required as the Roadrunners held on to knock off the Rangers 2-0.

When asked about her goal after the game Melissa Miller replied, "We scored it early, we put it down their pants… it felt good!"

The Roadrunners then would have to turn around and play Southern Colorado Sept. 22. The Thunderwolves may not have been ranked, but they finished second in the RMAC last year and were confident, because their goalie, Nadia Fercha, was coming off a week in which she hadn’t given up a goal in 180 minutes.

That streak only lasted another 22 minutes, as Leichliter stole a pass and took off past everyone to score a breakaway goal that put Metro on the scoreboard first.

Leichliter wasn’t done. She dealt the fatal blow in the second half when Miller delivered a beautiful lead pass that she handled in stride, turned on the speed and fired another breakaway goal into the back of the net.

"Amy’s working really hard for us," Sanders said, "and she is getting us goals, and she is in the right place at the right time. You couldn’t ask for a better forward, that is for sure."

Freshman Mandy Allen was responsible for both shutouts against Regis and Southern Colorado, and was recently named RMAC defensive player of the week. Allen leads the conference with three shutouts this season.

"(The wins) shows how much we improved and shows how much potential we have for the rest of the season," Allen said. "....It’s still a whole team effort, everybody’s out there working 110 percent and with everybody working as hard as possible, goals come."

In the past weeks the Roadrunner women have been almost foreshadowing their own success as many of the players and even the head coach have said things that have been contributing to the win column this season.

Kjellquist said at earlier in the season if the more experienced players set good examples and displayed leadership then the younger players would catch on and contribute as well. Surprisingly, Kjellquist said this comment during Leichliter’s scoring frenzy. And Sanchez has stated the team’s goal is to play in the RMAC Championship Tournament and has placed heavy emphasis on the conference games.

So to make a long story short, the Roadrunners have talked the talk and walked the walk. They will try to extend their winning streak to six games in a non-conference match against the University of Northern Colorado 4 p.m. Oct. 1. UNC (5-0-1) is ranked 11th nationally.

ROADRUNNERS ON TAP
Volleyball
Sept. 27 vs. Nebraska-Kearney 7p.m. Auraria Events Center

Sept. 28 vs Fort Hays State 7p.m. Auraria Events Center

Women’s Soccer

Oct. 1 vs Northern Colorado 4 p.m. Auraria Field

Men’s Soccer

Sept. 28 at Regis University 4 p.m.

WEEKEND RESULTS
Sept. 20

Volleyball def. Colorado Mines 26-30, 30-24,30-27, 30-27

Women’s Soccer def. Regis University 2-0

Men’s Tennis def. Western State 9-0

Women’s Tennis def. Western State 9-0

Sept. 21

Volleyball def. Chadron State 34-32, 30-23, 22-30, 30-20

Sept. 22

Women’s Soccer def. Southern Colorado 2-0

Men’s Soccer lost to Fort Lewis College 3-4 (ot.)

Sept. 23

Men’s Tennis def. Colorado Christian 9-0

Women’s Tennis def. Colorado Christian 7-1
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Butler’s surfing days in backseat
Eric Eames
The Metropolitan

An impeccably thin-trimmed goatee that wraps around his chin; an even tan and brown hair dipped in bleach blond; warm-up pants that stop at his grapefruit calf muscles; and a rare keyboard smile.

Metro goalkeeper Eric Butler came into the athletic office looking nothing like a soccer player. He doesn’t even look like a goalkeeper. He looks like he should be in a drop-top Jeep with a surf board strapped in the backseat, where the ocean breeze is the AC and the lapping waves music. Butler, though, prefers rock.

Eric "Butts" Butler used to be one of the beachcombers in Southern California, near his hometown in Placentia, Calif., 30 minutes outside Los Angeles. A lonely body boarder in the moonlight before sunrise, the beach was often all his.

"I was kind of a beach bum when I was growing up," Butler said. "I get there before school sometimes, right at 4:30 in the morning….Out there, there wasn’t too much to do but hang out with my friends at the beach and play soccer. I think my parents said that one time they spent 72 straight weekends in a row watching me play soccer. It was a year round event."

Now in landlocked Colorado, where there is little sand and fewer beaches, Butler has switched to surfing on snow-covered mountains. But the senior probably won’t be doing any snowboarding this year. Not after a suffering a tear in the articular cartilage in his right knee, which will put him on the bench for the rest of this season. Butler had surgery performed on the knee Sept. 18 and is expected to be out six to eight weeks.

Butler is, perhaps, the Roadrunners’ best goalie of all-time. He is Metro’s career leader in saves (222), shutouts (12.5), wins (22) and goals against average (0.81). In 2000, he set a school record with 8.5 shutouts and last year was the best goalie in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 0.90 goals against average, which tied the school record set by assistant coach Mike Najar in 1990.

"I ultimately would like to win a national championship," Butler said. "We see the basketball team has won two over the last four years. I think we want to follow that up and win one for ourselves. I think it is a realistic goal for next year."

Fortunately, Butler won’t lose his senior eligibility and will play next year after the NCAA allowed Butler to redshirt the rest of the season due to the severeness of the injury and the fact that he has only played in four games.

While he should be back in full force next year, the Metro men’s soccer team will most certainly miss Butler’s talents and leadership this year. In three games since the injury, the Roadrunners have given up nine goals. Butler’s one-year absence might cause him the most pain as it is sure to bring on a cloud of guilt while on the sidelines.

"It’s hard to sit back and watch these guys play," he said. "But I’m a captain this year, so I can’t exclude myself from the bunch. I need to still help with things even though I’m not playing."

Butler has bounced back before. After breaking his right tibia in a freak play during his freshman year at Mater Dei High School, Butler came back twice as strong as a sophomore year. He also started receiving scholarship offers from several colleges.

"He was one of the top goalies in Southern Colorado," Metro head coach Brian Crookham said. "And Southern Colorado is the hotbed right now for soccer, they are producing the best players. He was part of the Olympic Development Program there, which says a lot about a player, places him in the top echelon right away."

It was on a grassy patch of a soccer field, not the beach, where in 1998 then men’s soccer assistant coach Jim Titus spotted Butler in a high school tournament near San Diego.

"He came back and said, ‘We have to have that guy,’" Crookham said. "And we were in a situation that we needed to get him. We needed a starter and felt like Eric had the potential for somebody that can play for four years here."

It was the city atmosphere that attracted Butler to Metro.

"When you are going to new places this is pretty much the pinnacle for Division II soccer," he said. "It’s right downtown, you got a good program, people are great, the school is great."

In addition to his hands, Butler can also open up space for instant offensive rushes with his booming drop kicks. Butler says he can launch a ball anywhere from 60-70 yards and has yet to rule out becoming a place kicker in football.

Despite practically owning the 192 square feet that makes up the goal box, being the final ingredient who keeps teams from making the finishing touch is a lot of pressure. He’s given up 69 goals and each one has made him a bit moody.

"Sometimes you can brush it off, but when it shouldn’t have happened I get pretty mad and I get mad at myself and I get mad at other people," Butler said. "I probably need to relax, but in the end I’m the last one back there, so when a goal gets scored you look to me as the person that should have kept it out."

Overall, Butler comes off as a perfect example of negative feedback to some. He has a vibe surrounding him that isn’t very appealing to those that know him. But Crookham, his teammates and his girlfriend Courtney Varra testify that he isn’t as detestable as he seems.

"I think I just come off as arrogant or cocky sometimes and people will take it the wrong way," Butler said. "I’ve actually been told quite a few times that I can get pretty cocky. I’m actually a pretty nice guy."

As for the rest of him, Butler’s looks are rather deceiving.
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Volleyball wins despite misguided journey
Eric Eames
The Metropolitan

When junior outside hitter Jessy Roy saw the snow that reminded her of her homeland in Quebec, Canada, she knew they were lost and that bus driver had gone too far north from the drought cracking up the western plains.

The morning after Metro’s volleyball team beat the Colorado School of Mines in four games (26-30, 30-24, 30-27 and 30-27) Sept. 20, they were expected to arrive at Chadron State College (Neb.) around 2:30 p.m. for a 7 p.m. match against the Eagles.

There are no tricks to the route. Take Interstate 25 north, hang a left on U.S. Highway 20, bada-boom, bada-bing you’re there. Apparently, the bus driver got it mixed up. Metro instead pulled into Chadron at 4:30 p.m., missing an essential 3 p.m. acclimatizing practice. It showed.

In a game as pretty as a service error, Metro thumped Chadron (34-32, 30-23, 22-30 and 30-20) in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action, to improve to 9-4 overall and 4-0 in the RMAC.

"I think she misread the map, so we got kind of lost and had to skip the usual practice we have before we play, but it wasn’t a problem," Roy said of the bus driver, adding, "First time we had a woman drive and we got lost. That’s not a good sign."

Woman driver jokes aside, with Nebraska’s landscape failing to flatter, anyone could get lost in the monotony and misdirection was the theme for Metro at the service line against Mines (0-12; 0-4 RMAC).

The Roadrunners’ 21 service errors in the match kept them from sustaining any kind of a momentum and kept the Orediggers in each game. Might as well start the game down 21-0.

"That’s just ridiculous," Metro coach Debbie Hendricks said. "There is no reason for us to have that many serving errors, even inside an aggressive mentality….We kept serving long and kept serving long and we had people serving the exact same serve, missing it the exact same way without adjusting it….I’m never going to accept 21 service errors in a four-game match. That’s 21 free points.

"The problem is we would do some nice things, run a couple nice plays offensively or make the big defensive play and then we step back and serve the ball into the net or serve the ball long. It is so devastating to your momentum. I don’t think people realize and sometimes I don’t think our athletes totally embrace how much (serving) affects our ability to play to our potential."

Despite hitting .375 in the first game, Metro lost 26-30 due to a rash of unforced errors. In the final games, the Roadrunners’ defense proved tough, amassing 17 team blocks and holding the Orediggers to a flat line hitting percentage (.000) in the final game. Newcomers Angela Golesh (16) and Andrea Highstreet continue to average double-figures in digs. Offensively, Roy led the way with 12 kills, while middle blocker Shawna Gilbert recorded a dazzling .769 hitting percentage with 10 kills in 13 attack attempts and no errors.

"When in system, with perfect passes and when you got all three options (both outside hitters and the middle blocker), it should be very difficult to stop a good middle game," Hendricks said. "Obviously, Shawna capitalized on her opportunities."

Hitting percentage in volleyball is like the batting average in baseball. Whoever is hitting better usually brings in the most points and wins. That theory held true for Metro in its defeat of Chadron (4-8, 1-3 RMAC).

Barely.

The Roadrunners swung at a .150 clip, while the Eagles hit just .140. "It wasn’t the prettiest (match) I’ve even seen," Hendricks admitted. "The ball control on both sides was sloppy."

Ultimately, Metro got the job done. Roy again led the way against Chadron with 16 kills and 21 digs.

Hendricks was happy to see the other outside hitters step up into the fray in teh absence of Metro’s best outside hitter Nicki Fusco, who is recovering from a sprained wrist. She was also happy to get back home on time.

"It is just one of those trips that you are happy that you have behind you," Hendricks said. "Although there are things that we have to take from it and learn from it, I’m not at all disappointed in our effort. I’m especially pleased that after an eight-hour bus trip to Chadron, our players got off the bus and got ready to play and that was all you could ask of them. It was a great mentality. I didn’t hear one complaint."
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New rivals pump up Metro’s juices
Eric Eames
The Metropolitan

The Metro volleyball team has already proven its mettle twice this year in big games. When a mountain needs to be toppled and emotions are running high, the team brings its hiking shoes. They’ve walked over then No.1 West Texas A&M Sept. 6, and No. 21 Regis University Sept.13 after losing to the Rangers in a five-game clash just six days earlier.

And while Regis is considered Metro’s No. 1 archrival, mainly becasue of tradition, Nebraska-Kearney makes its blood boil at different rate. Given past events, the Roadrunners key Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference home match against the 12th-ranked Lopers at 7 p.m. Sept. 27, has reached a much higher degree.

Kearney (13-1 overall) and Metro (9-4) share the lead for first place in the RMAC’s East Division with 4-0 conference records. That topic, however, is just a megabyte in Roadrunners’ hard drive. It was the Lopers who officially crashed Metro’s 2001 Elite Eight hopes into a windshield bug, ending the Roadrunners’ season in the Southwest Regional Tournament semifinals.

"We definitely remember that match and we are excited to see Kearney again," junior outside hitter, Jessy Roy said. "I want to compare this match to the match we played against West Texas. It’s something we are ready for and we are excited and we just can’t wait for it."

Rivalries can be bitter, but nothing seems more effective in developing and using human emotions to produce wins. So far Metro has achieved great results.

"Usually we bring everything we got on the court and usually it goes really well," Roy added. "For the returners that know Kearny and know what they did to us last year, this is the way we are thinking right now. We want to bring it."

Predicting which team will get the W is marginal, but one can’t help but compare statistics. The Lopers lead the conference in hitting percentage (.317) and in opponent hitting percentage (.121). They’ll come in with a well-rounded offensive attack too. Michelle Wemhoff (.387), Erin Gudmundson (.387), RMAC player-of-the-week Erin Arnold (.315) and Amber Shenk (.293) are in the top eight of RMAC leaders in hitting percentage. As a team, Kearney averages 16.07 kills.

When asked what troubles the Lopers’ hitters present, Metro head coach Debbie Hendricks said, "It presents a problem if you can’t key on any one or two players to contain. But I feel if we are disciplined defensively we should be able to contain, to some extent, every player. That’s not to say you are not going to have someone step up and make big plays, they are. They are going to have someone step up and make some big plays. We got to make sure that we are countering, have good ball control and stay in system."

The Roadrunners rank third and fifth respectively in hitting percentage (.229) and opponent hitting percentage (.185), but only have one player hitting over .300 Middle blocker Shawna Gilbert hits at a .347 percentage and collectively, Metro averages 15.37 kills a game.

The Roadrunners hope to get its best and most experienced outside hitter back in full form against Kearney. Nicki Fusco sprained her wrist in practice Sept. 19 and played in only three games last weekend. She leads the Roadrunners with a 4.12 kills per game average, but her status at press time was questionable. Still Hendricks likes her team’s chances.

"We have the ability to do just as much damage to them as they can do to us," Hendricks said. "So probably, as it always does with Kearney, it will boil down to who stays in system the most and who sticks with their game plan the best."

While Kearney clearly has the statistical advantage, Metro, with its tougher schedule, has the psychological edge. The Roadrunners have played five matches against teams ranked in the top 25. The Lopers have played just two matches against ranked opponents.

"They have started their season really good, but like I said they haven’t played anybody that has been a challenge for them yet, but us, so they will see what it feels like" Roy said. "It’s not (Colorado School of) Mines, it’s not Chadron (State), it’s Metro. Kearney has always been a good team, but they are beatable. We know they are. We are just going to do everything to beat them, especially because it is at home."

Metro can’t waste all its energy on Kearny. Fort Hays State (9-4, 2-2 RMAC) rolls in the very next day (7 p.m. Sept. 28). While losing senior outside hitter Elisa Arnold with a broken foot and other key players working through illnesses, the Tigers have quietly made noise in the RMAC East Division. They lurk in the shadows behind leaders Metro and Kearney with the best hitter in the conference, junior Andrea Logan, who averages 5.09 kills a game. Plus, the Tigers rudely ended Metro’s 18-match winning streak last year.

"I wouldn’t call them a sleeper, especially after the way they thumped us last year," Hendricks said. "We’ve know all along that Fort Hays was going to be a quality team this year, and we have been preparing since the first day for this to be one of our biggest match ups…. That is the toughest thing about this weekend for us, you can’t focus on one team. You’ve really got to focus on both."
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Questionable call costs Runners in overtime
Eddie K. Culp
The Metropolitan

The Metro men’s soccer team lost a key game to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival Fort Lewis 4-3 Sept. 22 in overtime and on what many consider a controversial call. The Roadrunners are now last in RMAC standings with a 1-4 record and a 2-4-1 overall mark.

After battling back from a 3-1 halftime deficit to force overtime, Metro received a red card just 6:15 into the extra frame. Fort Lewis’ Kyle Frederick and Metro’s Chad Pearson jawed at one another as they jockeyed for position away from the ball. According to officials, Pearson was holding on to Frederick’s elbow giving the Skyhawks a chance to seal the game with a penalty shot.

Bernardo Costa took the shot against Metro’s Zach Franklin, who had been stalwart in the second half making two saves and allowing no goals up to that point. Costa fired a bullet to the left side of the goal and Franklin dove flat out. The crowd gasped as the ball nicked off of his fingertips giving Fort Lewis the win and momentary bragging rights.

"It’s interesting that a call of that magnitude was made away from the ball at such a crucial time in the game," Metro head coach Brian Crookham said.

Although the defeated Metro squad was disappointed about the loss the young team’s spirits remain high and they believe they are learning with each game.

"We never seem to make the same mistake twice," Crookham said, "which is promising for the rest of the season because the more focused you are then the more you will win."

The Roadrunners realize that if they make it to the RMAC tournament anything can happen. In the meantime, they will be chomping at the bit to get a second chance against the Skyhawks.

Fort Lewis (2-4-1, 2-3 RMAC) started the game with a blistering pace, scoring on Frederick’s unassisted goal just 51seconds into the contest.

Before Metro could blink Fort Lewis had ripped off two additional goals, well on their way to a romp. The Skyhawks’ faithful cheered their team on as they too settled back to enjoy the cake-walk over the hated rival. Well, someone forgot to inform the Roadrunners of their demise because true to their spirit, the team showed relentless tenacity and determination to score three unanswered goals.

The first goal came from senior Johnathan Gillie, who received an assist from Blake Carson, then blasted a bulls eye into the back of the net.

The momentum turned in Metro’s favor quickly in the second half as Zack Cousins squeaked a nubber past the Skyhawks’ goalkeeper. Finally, Metro tied the game when Michael Abeyta launched a missile that found its target. Metro out-shot Fort Lewis in the second half 10-6 and really controlled the game after the Skyhawks’ fast start.

The Roadrunners play at Regis (1-2-2, 1-1-2 RMAC), 4 p.m. September 28. Metro is looking forward to the contest and is not taking Regis lightly despite a poor record this season.

"Its going to come down to who is most disciplined and which team can grind it out for the entire 90 minutes," Crookham said.
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