Board votes against ‘fiscal emergency’
Trustees request more information about state budget before declaring crisis
by Rob Moore
The Metropolitan

Metro’s Board of trustees’ tabled Metro President Sheila Kaplan’s motion to declare a fiscal emergency Feb. 5, but Kaplan insists the situation must still be taken seriously.

The trustees said they felt that to declare the 11percent rescission of state funds an emergency would be premature, in light of uncertainty over how Colorado state legislature will choose to balance future budgets.

“They needed more info concerning the state’s financial situation,” said Michael Barnette, Metro Vice President of administration and finance, who presented Kaplan’s declaration along with the Revised 2002-03 Metro Operating Budget and the Early Retirement Incentive Program to trustees at last Wednesday meeting.

The early Retirement Incentive Program was approved, and if embraced by eligible faculty the program could save the school as much as $750,000 annually.

Kaplan said she has heard back from 25 interested faculty members, but that number may not accurately indicate the overall success of the program.

 “Seeking information is not the same thing as requesting an early retirement,” Kaplan said.

Other budget adjustments initiated by Kaplan included, eliminating vacant staff and faculty posts, reducing allocations to the Auraria Higher Education Center and Auraria Library and the merger of Information Technology into the Division of Administration and Finance, which eliminated three associate vice president positions and one vice president position.

“We have to make tough decisions to protect the guts of the organization,” Kaplan said. “We cannot let this (state budget crisis) negatively effect teaching and learning.”

So far, Feedback to Kaplan has been supportive, praising her for her openness.

“We’re not sugar-coating it,” Kaplan said. “We’re just putting it out there as we know it, and people are pleased to be getting the information.”

Administrative Adviser to Student Government Assembly and Assistant Dean, Joanna Dueñas, said student fees also are a concern.

“We have a student fee agreement that was hashed out years ago regarding … how student fees would be spent,” Dueñas, said, pointing out that if essential programs are cut from the general fund, the decision could be made to finance them with student fees.
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SGA to spend $3,000 on team-building retreat
by Rob Moore
The Metropolitan

Metro’s Student Government Assembly approved plans last Thursday to attend a team building retreat in Glenwood Springs from Feb. 21-23. The two-day retreat is expected to cost the SGA nearly $3,000 from student fees, which has raised concerns with administrators.

“We have asked that they consider in-house resources that are nominal, if not free,” said Joanna Dueñas, Assistant Dean of Student Life and administrative advisor to SGA. “I haven’t seen the final proposal or plan to legitimize it to the students who are footing the bill for this.”

Missing from the retreat’s development process, Dueñas said, has been a formal proposal with a detailed breakdown of cost and purpose. Dueñas feels that by omitting that, SGA not only fails to justify the retreat, but also fails to demonstrate return of investment to their constituents who are paying for the retreat in the form of paid student fees.

“Any good and sound proposal demands accountability and rationale,” Dueñas said. “If I were going to spend $3,000, I would have to go to my dean to justify that expenditure.”

Dueñas also believe the retreat could easily be perceived as fiscally irresponsible due to the current budget situation on campus and throughout the state.

SGA president Brotha Seku said, “I ‘d tell her (Dueñas) to stay out of my business,” Seku said. “I don’t tell the administration where to go, when to go and how to go. Where do they go when they do their business meetings?”

SGA Student Trustee Harris Singer also defended the retreat, but understands that spending money in hard times always draws criticism.

“I can definitely see how spending money like this would come under scrutiny,” Student trustee for the SGA, Harris Singer said.

“This is being paid out of the SGA Account,” Singer said. “We have an operating budget that’s flexible of about $20,000 to $30,000 a year. This is coming out of our discretionary spending.”

Discretionary spending, Singer said, includes office supplies, tapes for recording meetings, paper for printing flyers for minutes and agendas and material costs of SGA activities such as the recent Tivoli Open House. At the end of a fiscal year, surplus funds in the SGA account are returned to the Student Affairs Board reserve accounts to be allocated into the following year’s programming budget.

“At this point we have about $10,000 left to spend,” Singer said. “This would, to us, be a good use of the money that we have left.”

Dueñas said, “If the rationale is ‘we have $10,000 so we should spend it,’ that’s not an adequate answer in light of the situation we are in now. A lot of the students they represent could never come close to affording this type of retreat. Have they talked to the students? Do they think this is the best way to spend this money, or is this perceived as a luxury?”

Dueñas questioned the timing of the retreat and points out that SGA elections are traditionally held in April, and that much of the current SGA will no longer be in office to benefit from this retreat.

“First of all, retreats have typically been at the beginning of the term,” Dueñas said. “Certainly they’ve had team building opportunities this year.”

Seku said training has occurred throughout the year, and made open reference to sessions of leadership training and conflict resolution, but insists this retreat serves a different purpose.

“I need a place to plan,” Seku said. “You don’t plan in the midst of you work. You go away from it.”

All thirteen members of the SGA administration are slated to attend the retreat. Seku said Faculty Adviser, Madison Holloway, would be accompanying them.

Singer said Glenwood Springs was selected for its close proximity.

The SGA hopes the retreat gives them an opportunity to work on goals and strategies identified during planning sessions held in January with Hollowa, and Percy Morehouse, executive director of equal opportunity and assistant to the president of Metro.

“We’ve been with them both on strategizing the ideas that we have,” Singer said. “Creating the budget, creating the strategic plan, accountability, and follow-through timelines on different projects we want to work on before the end of the year.”

Dueñas said she is not convinced this is the best use of student fees.

“We’re here to help advise students regarding how this whole money thing works, as well as the best way to use that money,” Dueñas said. “Maybe it is team building. Any time you have an opportunity to team build, that’s good. But $3,000? That’s a lot of money.”

 Seku said the SGA has been in constant struggle to gain the skills necessary to properly represent students, and what the retreat represents is their last push to accomplish the goals and objectives of SGA.

Seku also said the retreat will help the SGA create a greater sense of community and commitment to empower students and their right to have control over their education process, including budgets, curriculum and policy.
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GLBTQ summit returns to Tivoli
by Sarah DeVeaux
The Metropolitan

Following a 10-year absence, the Rocky Mountain Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Queer Leadership Summit is returning to The Tivoli on Feb. 14 and 15.

This will be the first gay/lesbian event on campus since National Coming Out Day in October of last year.  The two events, according to Auraria Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Student Services, are by no means alike.

 National Coming Out Day was a celebration for gays and lesbians, whereas the summit is an informational conference.

A flyer advertising the summit stated, “ The leadership summit will bring together student, community, political, academic and emerging leaders to grapple with issues inherent in any movement- building effort.” 

The summit will host several guest speakers, including Jennifer Vega, a state representative for the Washington Park area, said Karen Bensen, director of the GLBTSS office on campus. Jerry Callejo, regional coordinator for the Long Yang Club, a group for GLBT Asians, will also speak.

The keynote speaker will be Beverly Jenkins, a lesbian from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whom GLBTSS staff said they met at another conference a few months ago. Jenkins then persuaded them to let her speak at this convention. 

The biography on the BLBTQ Leadership Summit web site states: Jenkins founded the Building Bridges Conference, and was part of the People of Color Institute organizing committee.  Jenkins is also poet who was named “Change Maker” for 2002 by the Milwaukee based Shepherd Express.  Her latest work is entitled “ABRAXA.”    

Flyers for the conference were distributed to campuses state-wide, and at the University of Wyoming, High schools have also been notified about the upcoming summit, said the staff of GLBTSS.

 “The convention is expected to bring in 100 to 150 people,” said Metro Student Nico Baker, 22, who works at the GLBTSS office.

“This is not a 101 session for those who are interested in learning more about the gay/lesbian community,” Bensen said, “It is targeting GLBT students, but we hope allies will come.”

A flyer, available at the GLBTSS office, states, “The conference’s theme is ‘Celebrating the Whole Leader.’  The planning committee invites allies and GLBTSS community members alike to participate in this gathering of socially conscious and motivated leaders who are dedicated to making their communities stronger.” “Workshops will include many diverse topics such as:  dealing with racism in our communities, building strong, viable organizations, coalition building across groups…”  and many more. 

GLBT Student Services is the independent gay/lesbian organization on campus, and has a part time staff comprised of Metro and UCD students.  The three Metro students are Nico Baker, 22; Mishka Char, 22; and Julie Thomson, 26. Because it will begin at 1:30 pm on Friday, the event should not interfere with other students on campus.  The summit is scheduled to end at 4:00 pm on Saturday.

Conference attendees will be responsible for their own accommodations, but the GLBTSS office can be contacted for hotel suggestions. 

For students, staff, and faculty, the convention is $20 per person, and the Activist Institute is $10. For community members, the convention is $30, and the Activist Institute is $15.  For more information, go to their web site at www.lgbtqsummit.org or call 303-556-6333.

Denver board recommends ban
Smoking possibly to be barred in city restaurants, bars, nightclubs
by Joshua Brost
The Metropolitan

On Jan. 23, the Denver Board of Health voted 4-0 to “highly recommend” that the City Council pass a bill to update current public smoking laws, which means Denver could soon join numerous cities nationwide in stomping out cigarette smoking in public places.

The proposed changes would ban smoking in public places such as restaurants, bars and nightclubs, and would also ban smoking within 20 feet of building entrances and exits.

Feelings on the issue among Denver residents are mixed.

Danielle Parent, a nonsmoker from Denver, said that she supports the ban.

“I don’t like going out and smelling like smoke. I don’t like going to a restaurant and the nonsmoking and smoking sections are too close together. It’s like they’re the same section,” she said.

Parent said that she’d go out to eat more if the ban were passed by the City Council.

Nina Lemoi, another nonsmoker from Denver, said that she does not support the ban.

“To completely take it (smoking) away without compromise is completely wrong,” she said.

“It’s not that big of a deal to just go outside,” said Mariah Raiche, a smoker from Denver. Raiche said that she supports the bill and has no problem not smoking in public places. 

Others fear that Denver restaurants and bars will lose customers if the bill passes. “Smoking customers will go to the suburbs. You can drive 10 minutes in any direction from central Denver and be across the city line,” said Pete Meersman, president of the Colorado Restaurant Association. 

Meersman doesn’t think that a ban will affect all Denver businesses. “A lot of restaurants have already chosen to be smoke-free, those that haven’t probably have customers that smoke,” he said.

Meersman also said that smoking laws should be dealt with on a state-wide level rather than a “patchwork” of cities throughout the state.

Smoke Free Denver, a coalition of more than 30 anti-smoking organizations and a major supporter of the bill, was not available for comment.

Michelle Fatovic, a server at The Boiler Room, a restaurant and bar on the Auraria Campus, also thinks that business will suffer. Fatovic estimates that the vast majority of Boiler Room customers are smokers and fears that they won’t stay as long if indoor smoking were banned. She would prefer that the City Council consider more segregation of smoking and nonsmoking sections and better air filtration systems.

Dina Andrianakos, a manager at the Holly Inn, a restaurant in Southeast Denver, said that the ban could put the restaurant out of business.

All of our customers are regulars, it’s like Cheers, and they all smoke. They’ve all said that if they pass a law like this they’ll stop coming in. They’ll go somewhere where they can smoke, she said.

Colorado communities including Alamosa, Aspen, Boulder, Fort Collins, Louisville, Montrose, Pitkin County, Snowmass Village, Superior and Telluride have already passed similar nonsmoking laws.

The City Council has not yet announced when the final vote will be held on the issue.
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Police Briefs

Up in smoke

Two Metro student’s were arrested for possession of marijuana and public consumption at 10:48 a.m. on Feb. 4., both were caught on 12 St. and Lawrence.

Look out Speed Tracer

A 1999 silver Chevy Tahoe was involved in a traffic accident in the Tivoli Lot A at 11:49 a.m. on Feb. 4. A 1998 green Mercury Tracer backed into the Tahoe, which was leaving a parking space. The Tahoe’s left rear quarter panel was moderately damaged and the Tracer had minor damage to the rear bumper.

Not the kind of metal you want on your wrist

A Metro student was arrested at 12:31 p.m. at the Administration Building on an outstanding warrant on Feb. 6. Another Metro student was also arrested for an outstanding warrant on Feb. 7 on 10th St and Curtis.

Multiple arrests on campus

Andrew L. Majors and Stephanie Loose, no campus affiliation, were arrested at 9:45 p.m. in parking lot D on Feb. 5. Majors was arrested for possession of marijuana and Loose was arrested for an outstanding warrant.

Edward Bearrunner and Alvin Graygrass, both transients, were arrested at 11:41 p.m. in St. Francis Alley on Feb.7. Bearrunner was arrested for public consumption and disturbance. Graygrass was arrested for public consumption and loitering.
- Andrea Terrones
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Metroopinion

Who the heck was St. Valentine?
Josh Pacheco
The Metropolitan

Once upon a time, there was a hideous man named Claudius-II who was the newly appointed emperor of Rome.  Claudius’ empire had become larger than it had ever been.This was cause for trouble because it was constantly under attack by neighboring civilizations.  Rome suffered greatly from these attacks and needed more and more men to defend it.  As well as a threat from the outside, the Roman Empire suffered from internal chaos caused by high taxes.  As a result, Rome needed more and more soldiers to defend it from the inside out.

As a solution, Claudius issued an edict which completely banned marriage within the empire. He felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, would not make good soldiers. 

Hearing this, our hero, Valentine, a bishop, met young lovers in secret locations and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony, only to be caught by the emperor.  The emperor was impressed by Valentine’s dignity and conviction and attempted to convert him to the Roman Gods.  This would save him from certain execution.  Valentine, however, refused to recognize the Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully. 

On February 24, 270 AD Valentine was martyred and became a saint.

It is  rumored that while Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius.  The jailer had a blind daughter.  And, because of Valentine’s miraculous faith, he was able to heal her.  Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper and wrote a farewell letter to the jailer’s daughter,  which he signed, “From Your Valentine.”  A  phrase that still  holds true today.

What a great story!  In an age where a forty-dollar bouquet of roses and reservations at an expensive restaurant is the norm for a couple on Valentine’s Day, what moral can we capture from our friend, Valentine?  The lesson is pretty simple: St. Valentine’s Day is not an obligation, but a chance to show those we love that they are loved.  Mr. Valentine gave the Romans the chance then and he still gives us the chance today. 

I’ll be the first to admit that it is easy to make Valentine’s Day complicated by going overboard on red-velvet boxed chocolates and gigantic stuffed teddy bears.  But, what is important, is that you recognize that you have someone special in your life and are happier for it. 

Don’t get me wrong.  Going to great effort to make V-Day special is a nice way to show affection, and I think that nothing gives more pleasure than knowing you made your loved one’s Valentine’s Day a special one.  Just don’t overlook the most important thing: You have each other!
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Sue vet on behalf of pet
Melissa McGuire
The Metropolitan

Burger, fries and a soda comin’ right up…

But, while you‘re waiting, what do you think about that new law the Colorado legislature has proposed regarding a pet owner’s right to sue for emotional damages?  It’s a Republican-sponsored measure that would allow pet owners to sue their veterinarians and other persons who might abuse the owner’s pets.  The maximum dollar amount is a mere $100K. And that, as any pet owner will tell you, is not enough to compensate for the loss of their pet.

I am appalled that our legislature is even considering this bill.  Now, I am absolutely positive that the legislative branch of government has nothing better to do than make our lives more difficult and confound the populous with ridiculous  laws. 

Imagine for a moment, a pet-owner who considers her little “Bichon Frise” a member of the family. She takes the doggie to the vet and the vet says, “I’m sorry, your dog has terminal, pancreatic cancer.  It would better to euthanize her than to let her suffer.”  Ok, great.  So, Our Lady of Sorrow puts down her dog. Only after this procedure, she thinks, wait a minute… the new law says I can sue anyone who abuses my dog! 

Guess what? The vet gets sued, most likely loses (because it is an emotional issue, the loss of this dog) and adjusts his rates to cover the cost.  The next person  (like, say, me) who comes in with a cat that needs to be spayed, thus helping reduce the number of strays and lost pets destroyed every year, has to pay a lot more now.   It’s, like, FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS! to get my cat spayed.  Okay, I’m  exaggerating, but only by a factor of about 50. Anyone think this couldn’t happen?  Just keep this in mind: a lady recently won $72K from a furniture store because her unruly son got in her way causing her to trip.  Her claim:  the furniture store did not have a PA system announcment that children should be kept under control.  True story.

The average number of pets destroyed in Colorado over the last several years, according to an insider at the Denver Dumb Friend’s league, is about 25,000.  Due, in part, to the cost of neutering.  Some pet owners do not really care one way or the other whether their pets are spayed or neutered, and others believe that their pet has the right to choose whether or not to mate.

If members of a family have full reproductive rights, then shouldn’t family members be able to inherit money?

Yep, there is actually a law on the books in Colorado (and 13 other states) that allows a pet owner to leave their estate, money and real property to their pet.  What the hell were they thinking? A Last Will and Testament, by its very nature, by the clauses contained therein, are supposed to indicate that the individual is of sound mind, right?  I mean, really. Correct me if I’m wrong, because that is what I have always heard.

Some questions:  Are we really going to let someone leave their money to Spunky Cat?  What’s the cat going to do with it?  Go to Aruba on a deep sea fishing adventure?  Come on!  How sane is a person who leaves their money to an animal?  An animal cannot even conceptualize the purpose of money.  My cat could care less if I left it the $39.04 I’m currently worth.  What’s my cat going to do with a check?  It would be better off if I had a provision in my will to send it to a no-kill shelter, and left the money to the shelter.  See? That makes more sense!

Well, once again, I’ve talked all through your coffee break. Hey, go hit the books! Maybe,  someday YOU can make the laws in this country. Please, just remember to be sane, for my sake and my cat’s.

What’s the cat going to do with it?  Go to Aruba on a deep sea fishing adventure?
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Candy and Kleenex on V-Day
Jenni Grubbs
The Metropolitan

For me, Valentine’s Day is a day of hope, anger and many Kleenex.

Dating has always been a really hard thing for me, but who doesn’t have a hard time with it?

Yet, on Valentine’s Day, I really become aware of my singleness. It surrounds me as I realize that no one will buy me candy or flowers, that I have no one to wear that special little somethin’-somethin’ for.

I usually get through this ordeal by watching tons of sappy movies that I use my economy size tissue box up on.

I buy my own candy, and, hey, I know what kind of candy I like best and who doesn’t want an excuse to hit the Godiva at Park Meadows or Cherry Creek.

Being a “big girl” isn’t easy this time of year. I consider myself a fat activist, of sorts; but when the air is full of love and I’m all alone, I can’t help but be down on myself for being fat.

Yes, fat. I am. I admit it and announce it. I don’t consider it a bad thing. Is it too much to ask for someone to feel the same way and feel something about me?

I have a lot to offer to someone. I’m a smart, mobile student with a good job potential who is passionate and friendly. (At least, I think I am.)

Valentine’s Day may  be over-commercialized and trite, but I hope that some year I will get to celebrate one in style. That’s my little girl dream and the reason why I keep watching all those romantic comedies that Hollywood keeps churning out because people like me (girls who are single and overweight) need that fantasy.

Why is it that the girls in those movies are never overweight? Why can’t a “real” girl get the guy (or girl, as it may be)? I would like some evidence besides My Big Fat Greek Wedding that a normal, not-necessarily beautiful and skinny girl can be happy romantically.

I would like Valentine’s Day (and Hollywood) to be more representative of the love-thing as a whole.

Instead of celebrating the beautiful, perfect relationships of beautiful, perfect people that rarely exist outside of the movies, it should celebrate people’s capacity to love, in whatever form that takes. Valentine’s Day should be for best friends, sisters, pets, lovers, all of it.

Until Hallmark and Russell Stover catch up with that utopian fantasy I’ll continue to hope for some romantic time of my own and spend my own money on candy and Kleenex. and wear that little somethin’-somethin’ just for myself until I have someone who’ll appreciate it, and me, for me.
I would like Valentine’s Day to be more representative of the love-thing as a whole.
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‘Heightened alert’ means something
José Rocha
The Metropolitan

Is it something to be taken seriously?  I would sure hope so.  But to what extent do we take it?  In no way should we start digging our backyards up and constructing bomb shelters—many learned the cost of that lesson after the Cuban missile-crisis.  But the alert would be best taken to the extent of reality.  A reality that can be titled with the date 9/11/01.

Not too long ago, violent terrorists attacks sparked a world of issues, leaving a lingering reminder that haunts our very well being today.  From biological threats of Anthrax in the mail to planes crashing into buildings, etc.,  we need not let our guard down.

So, when President Bush raises the homeland security alert status to high, we would be best to direct our attention towards terrorist threats.  Though this nation may have succumbed to comfort before the attacks, we need not stray back into the arms of safety.  For these are the times we live in, and for many of our older generation, it is a reminder of living in a not so perfect America that feared these threats before. 

We mustn’t stop living our daily lives! That’s what the terrorists want.  But by educating ourselves and increasing our awareness, we begin to fight terrorism in our own way.  Terrorists are not as hungry to hurt without the element of surprise.  Our awareness can serve as a deterrent to terrorism.  Not only does it serve to be better prepared, but also, our vigilance appears to be more predator than prey.
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Letters to the Editor:
Reader thinks Auraria anti-free speech
Dear Editor,

The anti-sidewalk chalking policies of the AHEC (Auraria Higher Education Center) are simply more proof that the Aururia campus has been seized by anti-free speech business fascists.

Colleges and universities across the nation are non-controlled by the capitalist business dictatorship.  they calculate that if they can capture the minds of college students, they will continue to maintain and expand their system of domination and exploitation over the rest of society. 

The AHEC and it’s anti-free speech policy, hopes to supress the truth about the business schools—that they are simply student brainwashing factories teaching the use of capitalist manipulation and power tactics to be employed against regular working people.

If students wish to receive a proper education they must demand to know the identities of the anti-free speech AHEC members.  Names, phone numbers and addresses should be printed in every issue of the three Auraria campus newspapers.  Reporters should attend their meetings.

-John Cassella

(Ed. Note:  Auraria does not have an “anti-free speech” policy.  It is, however, illegal in the State of Colorado to deface others’ property.)
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The Gadfly
Brian P. Reed
Opinion Editor

When the going gets wierd,the wierd turn pro.
-Hunter S. Thompson

Splendid, my friend!  And you?  I just overheard at the “water cooler” that many consider me some conservative, right-wing, war hawk.  Beat still, Mr. Limbaugh.  Kiss my ass!

Although I may have suggested or mentioned blowing off the heads, then urinating on the corpses of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, I have never, ever, condoned the killing of innocent people (although, in this case, all means are justified for a justified end).  This being said, I walk with head held high . . . and, now I segue . . . .

I’ll be the first to raise my weapon against the guilty of September 11.  But I must admit, the biggest “Jackass of the Year” medal goes to our president, George, who has, through the creation of the NSA and the Patriot Act, annihilated the foundation of the Fourth Amendment.  We have been put in a position to piss away our “freedom” dollars without any hope of continued or resurrected sustenance.  We will die like dogs trying feverishly to lick what remains of our constitutional rights.

My friend, trust me.  For instance, when confronted by an “official” with a weapon, always answer, “NO!”  As Mr. Gonzo the Great has noted, “NO” means “NO.” 

For example: •If pulled over by an “official”  and asked “Do you know you were speeding?”  Answer,  “NO.”

•If asked, “Did you know that these skid marks suggest that you were traveling 125 mph in a 45 mph zone?”  Answer, “NO.”

•If asked, “Do you have a license and proof of insurance?”  Answer, “NO.”

•If asked, “Is this your car?”  Answer, “NO.”

•If asked, “Did you know that our state requires seat belts to be worn at all times?”  Answer, “NO.”

•If asked, “Did you know that it is illegal to carry an open container of alcohol?”  Answer, “NO.”

•If asked, “Did you know that it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon?”  Answer, “NO.”

•If asked, “Is that your gun?”  Answer, “NO.”

•If asked, “Is that gun loaded?”  Answer, “NO.”

•If asked, “Do you know that you have been drinking, carrying alcohol and are currently sitting at the end of a dead end street at the top of a hill in a totalled, uninsured $40,000 BMW with a small automatic handgun in the passenger seat?”  Answer, “NO.”

Just hope you get lucky and have a beautiful officer who believes you and is willing to drive you home without writing a single ticket.  Trust me, my friend.  I know.
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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: grubbs@mscd.edu
phone: 303.556.2507
fax: 303.556.3421
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Metroactive

Met People
Breaking the chains of oppression
Well-rounded professor opens doors of opportunity for Chicano/as
by Jonathan Kuenne
The Metropolitan

If you haven’t yet met a professor here at Metro who is an activist, published poet, leader, excellent teacher, and who is also Chicano, you are about to.  Meet Ramon Del Castillo. 

Ramon, who was included in the spy files, has been an activist since 1973. 

“I met and interacted with several activists and was very influenced and touched by their work and their sense of social justice,” Del Castillo said. 

Ramon served on the board of directors of English Plus––the social reform to defeat Amendment 31.  Prior to the elections, polls showed great support for Amendment 31.  Ramon played an important role in the defeat of this amendment by educating the community about its downfalls. 

“I’ve been writing poetry since 1973, more serious since the later seventies,” Ramon said. “I had been influenced by many poet-activists that came out of the struggle of the ’60s.” One of those poet-activists is Metro professor Abelardo Delgado.

In addition to creating opportunity through activism, Ramon continues to open the doors for young poets in the community once a month .

Ramon is a published poet and uses his leadership abilities to host a community event named Passing the Baton, which has been meeting for the past four years. 

“It’s a bunch of local poets coming together and sharing their work––inviting anybody and everybody to come and read,” he said. “We always try to get youth there.  A lot of students that come are asked to do their work in their schools.  I hope that we help them find themselves in poetry.”

Ramon has been a professor in the Chicano/a studies and sociology departments at Metro since 1983. He also teaches non-profit management at Regis University. 

“I always knew I wanted to teach and I always knew that the first day I stepped into a Chicano Studies class that it was something where my passion would be driven.  Chicano/a studies has been my ultimate passion,” Ramon said during an interview last Wednesday. 

Del Castillo grew up in Wichita, Kan., where he graduated from high school and attended a semester at Sacred Heart College.  He left after one semester to work in a packing house.

“I then transferred to Wichita State University, dropped out from culture shock, then got my draft papers a few days later,” he said. 

Fortunately, Ramon was not thrown into the front lines. 

“I stood stateside, I lucked out,” Ramon said. 

He would later use his draft experience to give back to the community. 

“I ended up doing my first master’s degree on social sciences. My area of concentration was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Chicano Vietnam Veterans,” Del Castillo said, “I felt like it was a way of giving back.” 

Ramon said statistics show that about two out of every 10 Chicanos will earn a bachelor’s degree, one of every 10 will earn a doctorate. However, Ramon didn’t stop with just one master’s, he continued on and earned a second M.A. in public administration. He received both degrees from CU-Denver. 

“I wanted a doctorate––I knew that,” Ramon said. 

At the time Ramon was planning his doctorate, there were very few Chicanos in the school of Public Affairs.  But Ramon took up the task to earn his doctorate, and once again open more doors of opportunity.  He became that one Chicano out of 10 to earn his doctorate, which was in Public Affairs. 

Ramon remembers the single moment that he decided to continue his education. 

“It was snowing cats and dogs,” Ramon said.  It was the first night of class at the University of Northern Colorado; Ramon was in his Chicano studies class. 

“I remember that first class intellectually opened up my mind.  I knew from that point on that this would become my passion.  I walked home and meditated because my car broke down—my car didn’t irritate me because I had been thinking so much,” he said. 

That single moment would change Ramon forever; it inspired Ramon to open doors of opportunity for others. 

For the future, Ramon plans to continue writing, seek out happiness through social justice, and to change lives. 

Ramon Del Castillo— activist, published poet, leader, and excellent teacher—has opened doors of opportunity for many, and will continue to do so. 

Fact Sheet

Favorite Restaurant: Chico’s Restaurant: Wichita, Kan.

Favorite Vacation Spot:

Mexico City

Favorite Pastime: Writing poetry

Favorite Actor: James Edward Olmos

Favorite Actress: Sally Fields

Favorite Movie: The Hustler

If I had one million dollars I would: I would start a non-profit social justice and leadership institute.

Pet Peeve: Shooting pool

Favorite Band: Santana, and (solo) Frank Sinatra

Favorite Season: Spring

Favorite Holiday: Cesar Chavez holiday

Favorite Book: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

“I Also…

•Played intercollegiate pool, and represented Metro in statewide tournaments in 1982 and 1983”

•Have won several poetry contests”

•Was a past Rocky Mountain News columnist ” for three years

•Have one son, Andres, and two grandchildren, Marcos and Isabelle.”

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Ancient Sounds
by Jonelle Wilkenson Seitz
The Metropolitan

David Wheeler, who will be featured in this month’s Music at Metro’s Artist Series, believes that breadth of experience is essential in appreciating and understanding classical Japanese music.

The three types of events that make up this month’s series of classical Japanese music reflect this philosophy.

“We felt a need to break out of the ‘academic’ approach,” Wheeler said of himself and his partner in the series, Yoko Hiraoka.

The series includes hands-on workshops, a lecture-demonstration and a recital.  The workshops and lecture-demonstration were held on Feb. 10, and the Artist Series recital, An Evening with Japanese Music, is scheduled for Feb. 20.

Wheeler has studied Japanese music since 1977.  He earned a master’s degree in musicology from the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music in 1985.  Hiraoka owns the Koto Music Institute of Colorado and has taught at Naropa University and the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Both Wheeler and Hiraoka have performed extensively in the United States and Japan. 

Wheeler and Hiraoka shared their expertise and experience directly with students who participated in the workshops.  The artists gave group lessons on the basics of two traditional instruments, which they brought with them for the students to use.  Each student chose to learn to play either the shamisen, a lute with three strings, or the shakuhachi, a bamboo flute. 

Wheeler notes that although the workshops and lecture-demonstration are a good way to introduce people to the basics of a foreign music, he and Hiraoka believe that a more complete approach allows for a stronger connection with their audiences.  Wheeler and Hiraoka expect that the recital, which will feature them performing classical works from the Noh theater tradition, will be the final step in making that connection.

Noh theater is a highly-stylized performance genre that incorporates elements of dance, drama, music and poetry.  It developed into its present form during the 14th and 15th centuries.  The recital will feature elements of a Noh play by the prolific playwright Zeami (b. 1363).  While the Artist Series is focused on music, it is the theatrical element of the performance that motivates the Wheeler and Hiraoka in their quest to share their art.  Wheeler notes that the theatrical element of Noh theater allows the audience to leave the academic world for the world of the drama onstage. 

“In this altered context, the audience can experience and appreciate unfamiliar music with a more welcoming mindset,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler and Hiraoka will perform An Evening of Japanese Music on Thursday, Feb. 20, at the Recital Hall in the King Center at 7:30p.m.  Tickets are free for Metro students, $5 for other students and seniors, and $10 for everyone else.
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The resurrection of a promise
by Travis Combs
The Metropolitan

Stating that no apologies would be given for what he was about to say at the Twentieth Black World Conference, keynote speaker, Dr. Oscar Joseph, a native of Denver, said the members of the African American  communities have lost the promise to both themselves and each other.

“Somewhere along the way we lost the promise,” said Joseph, whose address: “The Soul of Black Folk” was held in room 320 of the Tivoli Building, Feb. 4th.

“The promise to support and encourage each other, the promise to embrace our young people, to come back and have a place for them to serve.”

Joseph spoke on theories proposed by scholar, activist and pan-Africanist, W.E.B. DuBois, who wrote, The Souls of Black Folk, in the early part of the twentieth century.

“Within the African American culture there, was this group that would go out and learn and educate themselves and bring back that knowledge,” said Joseph, who received his Bachelors degree in Education from Northwestern University and his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Illinois. “Not everyone can go to Harvard. Not everyone can go to Jackson State Mississippi (or) Northwestern University, but there is a group within us that must go out and educate and learn everything you can learn and bring it back to the community.”

Emphasizing the need to bring useful tools and knowledge back home (on both a familial  and a societal level) in order to raise the overall condition of African American communities, Joseph explained the need to regain a sense of connection within these communities.

“The souls of black folk, disconnected, troubled, disenfranchised, looking for leadership,” said Joseph. “The souls of black folk struggle for economic prosperity, to stand and be counted, to be encouraged, to be acknowledged, to be honored.”

Joseph also spoke of his own personal account of being a first generation college graduate and the rewards and responsibilities that came from that position.

In his own life, Joseph felt the call of duty to come back home to his childhood home of Montebello. Coming to realization of a promise he had yet to fulfill, he left his teaching career in Chicago and came back to Colorado, where he now holds the position of a Professor of Education at the University of Colorado at Denver.

“It felt like something was missing, something was still urging me, something that was waking me up in the morning and saying this is not your home, don’t get too comfortable, you need to go,” said Joseph. “I believe in the preservation of my society and nation, so I had to do it. Somebody had to go. The promise I had made. The promise I would come home.”

According to Joseph, the transference of his knowledge to the members of his community would enable the continuation of African American society to future generations.

“We lost the promise, go home son”, said Joseph, paraphrasing his father. “Go home and bring back what you have learned so we can survive for another 300, 400, 500 years.”

Joseph embellished the idea that betterment of African American communities as a whole, rests within individuals within those communities to take personal responsibility for the of both their own life as well as those of their loved ones.

“It’s in your hands alone,” said Joseph. “It is in your hands to resurrect the promise. You promised yourself you’d get an education. Get that. You promised you take care of your little brothers and sisters. Do that. You promised to do whatever it takes to be one mind, body and spirit.”
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Human rights focus at thesis
by Kristi Starns
The Metropolitan

Metro student Anthony Deland was seen on campus last week with a black gunnysack over his head, hands tied behind his back, sitting cross-legged on a straw mat in the middle of the Metro student art gallery.

Deland exhibited his paintings of Genocide victims in the gallery to fulfill the requirements of his Fine Arts major, and to raise public awareness of human rights.

“Forgotten people minimized in our society, need a medium of representation. Art has become this medium, a voice for the forgotten,” said Deland in his Artist’s Statement.  He hopes his work and activism will cause change and be “a voice for the voiceless.”

All of Deland’s paintings have stark, gray backgrounds with victims painted in bright red, making the images more powerful, according to Deland.

“I wanted it to be about these victims,” he said of his work, which is based on found images of ethnic cleansing from all over the world.

All BFA majors exhibit their work before they graduate, and Deland wanted to go beyond just showing his work. On the last day of the show he decided to prove to himself and others just how far his devotion to human rights goes.

For more than six hours, he was tied up in the gallery.

“I think he finds it really important to take a day out of his life to experience that, because to him it’s not that much of a sacrifice,” said Metro student Shannon Webber. “It’s just to understand that this is a reality.”

Webber and Deland are members of Amnesty International, which has a chapter on campus.

Deland and all students graduating with a BFA degree rather than a BA, show their work at the gallery in order to gain experience, and to have an oral critique by a faculty committee, said to Jennifer Garner, who teaches the class for the BFA thesis exhibitions.

At least one or more students show their work each week of every semester.
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Go Speed Racer
by Elena Brown
The Metropolitan

Racer 116 was excited and nervous. You could hear it in his voice. But you also heard confidence. You knew he was ready; but more importantly, he knew.

“Yeah, I think I’m ready for it,” he said.

                                                  Last  year he was in the Intermediate/Advanced category. This year he has moved up to the top status: Elite.

But just because you’ve trained, gotten better, and in your gut you know you’re ready- doesn’t mean ‘It’ is ready for you.

He  is  Alton Clark, the assistant director at Metro State’s Veterans’ Upward Bound program and an advisor for Metro’s Black Student Alliance

“It” is the 2003 Expert/Elite Giant Solomon qualifying race held at Whistler-Backcomb Mountain in Canada.

“I’m just trying to get down here without dying,” he said, jokingly.

Clark, 52, a Colorado native and Metro graduate, was disqualified in his first run. And though he lost a ski on the course, he never lost his smile.

“Hey, maybe God’s trying to tell me something,” he said.

Clark began skiing in 1968, and for more than a decade he has been an active member of the Colorado-based, Sippers-N-Sliders ski club. Last year he moved up from the Intermediate/Advance to Elite racer for The National Brotherhood of Skiers (a.k.a. the Black Ski Summit).

The goal of the NBS is to develop and place a minority on the Olympic team. The Chicago-based organization, founded in 1973 by Ben Finley and Art Clay, now has 84 clubs in 73 cities. The NBS held its 30th anniversary Feb. 1 - 8 in Whistler, Canada. The bi-annual event is filled with races, dances, an outdoor picnic and themed parties. Over 3,000 registered members attended the summit.

Despite the outcome of this year race, Clark still enjoys racing and skiing.

“At least I’m alive!” He shouted on his way to his final run.
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Metrosports

Five-game win streak
by Eric Eames
The Metropolitan

Well, well, well… Look at what we have here: A microwave rivalry.

The Volk Gymnasium on the Colorado Mines campus was filled with the kind of passion and intensity that chucks common sense aside. Emotions reached full flame in the final eight seconds when the Orediggers pulled within four points after trailing 33-17 to the No. 9 nationally ranked Metro men’s basketball team at halftime.

Both head coaches either barked orders or bellowed at the referees or hotly reminded the scorekeeper to start the clock.  And when Mines forward, Justin Buckmaster followed a missed shot to make the score 61-57 Metro, the Orediggers’ student section staggered and held their heads and arms in astonishment, as the Roadrunners put Mines in a 16-point hole.  

“We really didn’t think we had the game won going into halftime,” Metro junior Luke Kendall said. “We knew what we had to do. We knew that their shooters were going to come out and throw it up. We just had to take their punches and keep rolling with them.”

With the second-best defense in Division II, the Roadrunners held off Mines (who usually average 84 points a game) for a 63-60 thrilling victory Feb. 8.

In a 54-41 win at Colorado Christian the previous night, Metro’s defense was, again, second to none.

All four of Metro’s returning starters were the center of attention at all points of the game at Mines. Senior Patrick Mutombo led the way with 19 points, Kendall scored 15, point guard Clayton Smith ran the show with five assists and three steals, and Lester Strong spotted 11 rebounds.

These same veterans have played in so many stress-filled games they now take them in stride. After being fouled off the inbounds following Buckmaster’s basket, Kendall strode to the free-throw line and didn’t bat an eyelash. The preseason All-American honorable mention iced the game with two swishes, making Stephen Bahl’s three at the buzzer for Mines mean nothing but a great foreshadow for their next meeting on Feb. 22.

Generally, rivalries in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference are slow-cooked over the years and have a semblance of balance to them. Even though they haven’t beat Metro in 11 games, the Orediggers (15-6; 9-4 RMAC) sudden rise to the top of the conference standings after 12 straight losing seasons, makes them a legit threat. Plus, Mines has Bahl, the RMAC leading scorer who averages 23. 2 points along with a handful of three-point shooters who have hit 38 percent on the year combined.  Mix in the 1,127 fans —770 more than last year— that percolated to a boiling point in the small, dimly lit Volk Gymnasium where the adrenaline rush hit full tilt, creating an instant rivalry.

“They’ve been playing well this year and they have that pride, where you don’t want to lose home,” said Mutombo, the RMAC East Division Player-of-the-Week. “They hit some tough shots and they kept coming back, and they kept coming back.”   

Metro played backyard ball to gain its double-digit first half lead against Mines. They scored off fast breaks, turnovers and kick-out threes.
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Women lose, win on road
by Eric Eames
The Metropolitan

Winning on the road in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is like walking into the Soprano’s parlor and stealing the meatballs; you may come back with a busted nose, but at least you came back with the sacrificial offering.

RMAC women’s basketball teams have found the travel to be anything but reverent this season. Conference teams have won only 34.8 percent of their away games. Only two teams, Nebraska-Kearney (6-1) and Fort Hays State (5-4), have won more then they’ve lost. Metro is hovering with a 5-5 road record, one that recently shifted down and up. After a bitter 62-50 loss at Colorado Christian  (9-12; 3-10 RMAC) Feb. 7, the Roadrunners regrouped and bounced Colorado Mines (4-17; 2-11) with a 65-50 win Feb. 8.

With everything to gain and a season to lose, the Metro women’s basketball dug in to take a stand after losing to the Cougars, while senior Malene Lindholm’s confidence took a quantum leap forward.

After two and half games of brick city (she shot 2-of-21 from the field and 1-of-10 from three-land) Lindholm was 20 minutes of clutch city, scoring all 17 of her points in the second half helping boost the Roadrunners to the win at Mines. Miss Consistency, junior Rachel Grove, added 16 points and eight rebounds as Metro shot 45.3 percent for the game. This scoring surge came on the heels of a 16-of-63 shooting performance in the loss to Colorado Christian, in which the Roadrunners offense was often thwarted by themselves. Minus Grove scoring 18 points and grabbing six boards, the only other positive was Metro’s perfection (16-of-16) at the charity stripe.

“We can’t beat anybody shooting 25 percent,” Metro head coach Dave Murphy said. “The kids are going to have really let all the distractions (surrounding) the game go at the front door. We are carrying a lot of baggage on to the game floor, and on to the practice floor, and that is not like us.”

Errant passes also shackled the Roadrunners offense against the Cougars. They turned the ball over 17 times. A night later, though, Metro made bail by beating Mines for the first time in six games, dating back to the 1998-99 season.

“We were really upset about last night and we still were when we walked on the court (at Mines),” Lindholm said. “We really needed to show people that we can win and that we can win by a lot.”

Metro took an early 11-2 advantage against Mines, then fell into a pox of missed jumpers and missed free throws despelling their flawless the night before from the line. The Roadrunners, though, were able to hold onto a 24-22 halftime lead. And somewhere during the 15 minute halftime show, Metro heard the chord, and the notes of its pre-season goals seemed a bit far off, both in place and in tune. They wanted the music back. If the season ended today, they would be the eighth and final seed in the RMAC Championship Tournament (renamed the Wells Fargo Shootout). But if the Roadrunners still want to host a conference playoff game, they can’t afford another setback; it’s now or never.

“We just reiterated that their destiny lies in their own hands; they control it,” Murphy said. “It’s all about desire. We were really positive with them and they responded. They really want to do something and they want to be proud of their team. They want to be proud of their school. They knew they weren’t very well represented (against Colorado Christian). They wanted to get back.”

Lindholm led Metro on 20-7 and 17-2 scoring bursts in the second stanza. The 2002 All-Conference player got back on track by first putting back a missed lay-up, she then nailed a three from NBA range with a graceful trajectory, made two free throws, a hook shot inside and hit another long jumper. By the end of the two runs, the Roadrunners had a commanding 61-40 advantage with a minute and a half to play.

“I’ve tried in the last couple of games to shoot and not worry about it,” Lindholm said. “And then I got that one shot (where) I wasn’t worried; I didn’t have time to worry about it. I got the shot, made it and then I got the feel back.”

Metro definitely wants to keep that winning feeling heading into its final six games before the conference championship tournament at the World Arena in Colorado Springs. They can start by taking their frustrations out on Regis University Feb. 13 (during homecoming week). A win would pull Metro even with the Rangers (9-4) in the conference standings. Staked to an eight-point lead at Regis on Jan. 29, Metro allowed the Rangers (14-7 overall) to come back and win in the final minutes.

A little revenge is Metro’s ace in the hole.

“Beat ‘em up,” Lindholm said. “We want to get them back for sure. We didn’t feel like we should have lost last time.”
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Outfield power source
RMAC Champs back in full swing
by Rami Wilder
The Metropolitan

The Metro baseball team has high expectations following last year’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship.

“I think we are the best team in the conference. I think (this season) is going to be a chance for us to show it,” said junior outfielder and co-captain Brian Edwards. “Our expectation is to win the conference and the RMAC tournament and move on to regionals this year. If we fall short of the regional everyone would be pretty disappointed.”

Accomplishing Edward’s goals won’t be easy considering the difficulty of Metro’s schedule, which includes a month-long stretch without a home game and more non-conference regional games against highly-ranked opponents.

The challenging regular season will give the Roadrunners an opportunity to see if they have what it takes to surpass last year’s team. Head baseball coach Vince Porreco purposely chose a more difficult schedule to prepare his team for tough conference opponents and to better their chances for selection into the regional tournament.

“We have some long road trips against some good competition,” Porreco said. “We are going to find out what we are made of on the road. We’re playing teams like Central Missouri, which is in the top five in the nation pretty much every year. We want to find out exactly where we stand against the best.”

Edwards is also looking forward to his team’s chance to show their talent this season.

“The competition will be better for us,” Edwards said. “We will know how we can play against the better teams instead of taking a light schedule into the conference, and the conference games being the best teams we’ve seen so far.”

Last year, Metro started strong, winning their first nine games, then struggled during the midseason. At one point they lost 10 out of 12 games and put themselves in a position where they had to win 19 of their final 23 games to claim the conference crown. Porreco has looked back on last year’s losing streak and plans on making sure it doesn’t happen again.

“Too many times you look ahead and then you let things slip by,” Porreco said. “We have a lot of success early and then you take everything for granted and then you go into a lull and you have to bring yourself out of it. I think we need to monitor the highs and lows and be more consistent, where we are peaking at the end of the season.”

Porreco believes this year’s team has the strength and leadership to overcome the roller-coaster of emotions and sustain over the long regular season.

The Roadrunners strengths begin in the outfield. Seniors Aaron Garcia and John Burney will be back, along with Edwards who was first-team All-Conference in 2002 and led the team in hitting with a .459 batting average. Edwards led the conference in stolen bases with 39 in 2002 and his batting average placed him sixth nation-wide in Division II. Jased Devine, the designated hitte, slash occasional outfielder and 2002 RMAC All-Tournament team member, will join the three starters.

“We have all of our starting outfield coming back, so I think we are going to be very strong… the best we’ve ever been in the outfield, both offensively and defensively,” Porreco said. “The bulk of our new players are in the infield. However, I think we have improved in every single position. We’ve brought in experienced players.”

These players include, C.J. Brown (starting catcher) and Ricky Fuller (starting at third base) who are both transfers from Sierra Community College in California. James Edwards will be starting at first base, Adam Wolfinger will start at second base and Clint Cleland will complete the newly-formed infield as the starting shortstop.

One of the few weaknesses Porreco sees for the Roadrunners is that with 16 new players it will take some time for the team to come together as a group. Still, he is not worried about how the team will perform.

“I think we are going to surprise a lot of people this year, and in the end I think we are going to be competing for a No. 1 spot,” Porreco said. “In the very beginning we are going to be very strong on the mound and defensively. Hitting will come with time and repetition.”

The pitching staff has five returning players including senior Jason Humphrey, who finished last season with an 5.40 ERA. Humphrey is coming off an injury late last year that forced him to miss the RMAC tournament. Senior Dan Morasci had a strong finish last season and was a member of the 2002 RMAC All-Tournament team. Morasci will make a huge impact this year if he can carry over his success from late last season.

The Roadrunners have a well-rounded team that should make the 2003 season an exciting one. There is plenty of veteran leadership from players like Edwards, Devine, and Burney as well as the addition of many new players who will be looking to prove themselves.

If Metro can stand up against the increased difficulty of this season’s schedule, they will be in good position to advance past the RMAC tournament and begin to fulfill Edward’s expectations for himself and his teammates.

“I think we are going to be better this year than we were last year,” Edwards said. “We have a lot more talent all the way around the field.”
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