Volume 21 Issue 11 October 30, 1998 |
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Contents:
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NEWS |
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Metro student shot at party
A 19-year-old Metro student was shot in the head at a house party in Westminster on Oct. 24. Robert A. Adams is in critical condition at Centura Health-St. Anthony Central Hospital. Adams and other people attending a Westminister party were standing in front of the house when shots were fired from a car leaving the party. Before Adams arrived at the party, several people, including the suspects, were asked to leave when things got out of control. One of the shots, from a large caliber handgun, hit Adams in the back of the head while he was waiting to enter the party. There were no other injuries reported, Westminister Police said. "A lot of people crashed the party. There were anywhere from 100 to 150 kids," said Westminister Police Detective Mike Lynch." (Adams) was standing in the driveway. He hadn't a clue of what was going on. It's a tragic thing for him, it really was." There are several witnesses and suspects, but no one has been arrested, Lynch said. The party, at 9850 Wolff Ct., was thrown by a 16-year-old Northglenn High School student who was housesitting for friends, according to Lynch. Family members refused to comment,
saying this was a private moment for them. Although Adams' sister, A freshman at Metro, Adams is majoring in journalism, said Metro spokeswoman Debbie Thomas. Adams works as a lifeguard at the Westminister City Park Center, Lynch said. Police ask that anyone with information about the shooting contact them at (303) 430-2400. |
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Auraria buys building The Auraria Foundation purchased the off-campus Lawrence Street Center Oct. 22. The foundation is a non-profit organization that helps acquire property for the campus. The University of Colorado at Denver and Auraria were leasing office space at 1380 Lawrence St., formerly owned by Mutual of New York, for nearly seven years due to insufficient space on campus, said Dean Wolf, Auraria's executive vice president for administration. The revenue for the $20.7 million purchase price will be paid by bonds
issued through the Colorado Educational and Wolf said the rising lease rates in downtown Denver made renting the building undesirable. "Leases are obviously going up in price," he said. Randy Cordova, with the facilities department at CU-Denver, said the university will operate and maintain the building, continuing to pay market-value leases to the Auraria Foundation. The revenue generated from leasing space to other businesses will offset lease payments, Cordova said. |
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Campus parking survey unveiled Auraria officials hired consultants to study short-term and long-range solutions to handle parking space shortages at Auraria campus. The study was completed Sept. 30 by Transystems Corporation Consultants,
Rich and Associates and PKM The study on parking and transportation is the first step of a broader plan to redesign the campus to accommodate future growth, said Dick Feuerborn, director of facilities planning and use. Auraria administrators unveiled the plan of recommendations to the Auraria students, faculty and staff Oct. 29 for suggestions. Feuerborn said Auraria administrators will hold meetings with the Auraria community and specific groups on campus to discuss what proposals should be adopted or thrown out. By February, they will make their final recommendations to the Auraria Board of Directors, which will decide which solutions are viable and begin implementing them. "We're encouraging people to participate, and we are trying to open the process up as much as possible," Feuerborn said. Gallagher said, "This will help (students) focus on what they want with a parking system." Currently, the 6,852 spaces at Auraria are at a 98 percent or more occupancy rate during peak hours, resulting in delays as people wait and search for available spaces. Short-term solutions to Auraria's parking problems include shared parking with the Pepsi Center, promoting use of the bus and light rail and using signs to indicate when a lot is full. New parking lots and structures are also considerations for short-and-long term projects. Gallagher said the system can either grow or stay the same. "We're landlocked. Growth means hard choices with parking and land use," he said. Another limitation besides land is finances, Gallagher said. The projected cost for long range parking plans are $25 million to $42 million. Gallagher said the decisions made now will effect how the campus will look in 30 or 40 years. He said in coming years, Auraria administrators would like a more pedestrian friendly campus with major pedestrian thoroughfares. |
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Y2K no problem for Metro Metro students won't have to worry about a major computer shutdown on campus when the new millennium arrives. "From the standpoint of the Banner System, we are very much up to
date and ready for the year 2000," said Rick Beck said one of the reasons they decided to purchase the Banner System was it is Y2K compliant. He said they've found minor glitches in the software, but the company has sent them patches as they find them. Computer labs are also updated, said Dr. John Reed, director of academic computing and user services. He said the computer's central processing unit, or the chip that makes it operate, has been replaced with a Pentuim chip from Intel, which are all year 2000 compliant. "Some computers won't change on Jan. 1, 2000. That's the only thing they won't do, they'll do everything else," he said. Beck said the Oracle database that houses the Banner System was upgraded some time ago, and the network servers will be updated over the holiday break. |
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State tuition rises less than inflation The tuition increase rate for Colorado state colleges and universities is lower than the national average, said Colorado Commission on Higher Education representatives. "This is the sixth consecutive year that the tuition has been below the inflation rate in Colorado," said Geri Reinardy, spokeswoman for the commission. Nationwide, college tuition has risen 4 percent each year, which is three times the 1.5 percent rate of living inflation, the commission said. In Colorado state colleges and universities, tuition has only gone up 1.3 percent, said Metro Budget Office representatives. Colorado legislators are not allowed to raise the tuition because of the Tabor Amendment, which restricts the state from bringing in a certain amount of revenue from schools. State colleges bring in one-third of all revenue in the state, said the commission, and the Tabor Amendment prevents the state from exceeding this amount. The Tabor Amendment of Colorado forces state tuition to remain low, and the surplus of tax money to fund colleges, the commission said. In the 1997-98 school year, Metro received $64.7 million in budget funding, according to Metro's presidential budget report. Tuition income contributed 41 percent to this fund, but 57 percent of the budget came from state general fund, or taxpayers, the report said. "If students are paying less, the money has to come from somewhere. It is coming from state and federal tax dollars," said Arthur Fleisher, professor of Economics. Factors such as mass numbers of administrative employees have contributed to the nationwide tuition increase, as well as Metro's. In the past four years, the number of full-time Metro faculty members has remained between 374 and 399, according to the Office of Institutional Research Fact Book. The number of executive, secretarial, and professional employees has increased from 296 in 1993 to 368 in 1997. "Higher education is a labor intensive structure. The vast bulk of the budget goes to salaries. It's a salary driven budget," said Norman Provizer, political science chairman. In 1997, there was 386 full-time and 635 part-time faculty at Metro State for 17,610 students, meaning there was about 46 students for every full-time professor. The number of students to administrative employees in 1997 was 47. "In recent history, schools have been top heavy in administrators. The number of teachers have gone up, but the number of administrators have gone up faster, at Metro as well," Fleisher said. |
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MetroBriefs Metro grad's plane recovered Jeff Rich of the National Transportation Safety Board field office in Los Angeles said the plane was removed in August from the crash site in a remote mountainous area 17 miles outside of Walker, Calif. Snowstorms and avalanche conditions delayed recovery after the crash, and lack of recovery equipment prevented recovery during the summer. Metro graduate John Dale Rosselott, who was piloting the Cessna between Reno, Nev., and Sonara, Calif., was killed in the crash. Rich said the field office in Los Angeles will forward its findings to the main NTSB office in Washington, D.C., which will release the probable cause of the crash by the end of the year. Student group outlines agenda
CSA, a political action group comprised of student representatives, including
Metro, lobbies for the rights and concerns of students at the Colorado legislature. |
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Day of the dead alive at Metro The Chicano studies center of Metro will have educational presentations in Spanish and English on "el Dia de los Muertos" in the Rectory Building Room 103 Oct. 29 and 30. About 370 children from Greenlee Elementary School, Columbian Elementary School and the Auraria Day care Center have been invited this year to come and learn about the ancient Aztec holiday, said Michelle Mondragon for the Auraria center for Chicano Studies. Altars for people such as John and Jacquelyn Kennedy, Caesar Chavez and Selena will be on display, Mondragon said. People honor their deceased loved ones by creating altars, Mondragon said. "People remember their loved ones, talk about them, knowing all the while that they too will be following them one day." Mondragon explained the holiday is a celebration of the cycle of life, of which "life is one portion and death another." Mondragon said this is a way people can be with deceased loved ones, and communicate with them. When invading Spaniards conquered the Aztecs, the day of the dead was changed to coincide with the Christian celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on November 1 and 2, Mondragon said. She explained the Aztec people were used to celebrating the day of the dead, so it was convenient for the Spanish to convert the Aztecs by using customs the natives were familiar with. The dead are believed to return to their graves during this time of year, so families spruce up gravesides of loved ones with flowers and gifts. Foods such as candy and skull-shaped bread, called the bread of the dead, or pan de los Muertos, is made. Puppets and masks, usually as skeletons, are part of the revelry. "Many cultures view Oct. 31 as the day when the veil is thinnest between
the physical and spiritual worlds," said "There are a lot of scams out there," West said. He continued with a quote from Oscar Wilde, "You can contact the dead, but they don't know any more than you do." |
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Renovation projects for Tivoli begin Construction on a staircase to replace the Tivoli atrium escalators will begin in early November. "As a lot of people noticed, the escalators are always broken," said Barb Weiske, director of the Tivoli Student Union. She said the administration has had a difficult time finding replacement parts for the escalator because they are the only model of their type in Colorado. Weiske said the Tivoli was paying a maintenance fee of $25,000 a year for the escalators. In the past year the fee increased to $75,000. The new staircase will cost $340,000, Weiske said. "When you figure $75,000 a year in fees (for repairing the escalators), we will be able to pay ourselves back very quickly," she said. Construction of the staircase will take place mostly at night between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., said Jason Cegielski, from the Tivoli administration. When the staircase is completed, the escalators will be removed. The expected completion date will be Jan. 1 Other renovation projects for the Tivoli include replacement of the storm drain and the addition of underground utility lines for the Auraria's new Performing Arts Center. The Tivoli has experienced flooding during heavy storms because the existing drain line was not built to accommodate the run-off it now handles. "With the new construction of the Pepsi Center, the city has installed a large culvert to handle a much greater amount of water and therefore a larger drain line can be accommodated," Cegielski said. |
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Metro's graduation rate lowest in Colorado Three out of four students enrolled at Metro will not graduate from Metro. The school has the worst graduation rate of any four-year college in Colorado, according to a recently published state-sponsored study. Twenty four percent of full-time Metro students graduate over the course of six years, said Jim Worsham, data analyst for the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. That number is slightly down from last year's rate of 25.2 percent. Unlike schools such as the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, which only admit students they believe can graduate, "We give everybody a chance," said Metro spokeswoman Debbie Thomas. She said many Metro students have full-time jobs, families, and some are the first members of their family ever to attend college. Some students enroll only to transfer to other schools while others drop out altogether, Thomas said. In July, Metro received a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of
Education. The money will be given to the school over next five years to
improve student services essential to retention. Some of the money will
be used The school also plans to establish a one-on-one mentoring program, and place tutors in classrooms to provide more immediate assistance for students during and after class. Administrators hope these new programs will help students feel they are an important part of the Auraria campus, and will encourage them to complete their degree programs at Metro. Graduation rates and student retention are growing concerns for higher-education
administrators statewide. The |
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COMMENTARY |
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Metro bottom feeders?
Views: It never sounds good when Metro is at the bottom of the list, but this time being the lowest isn't really so bad. OK, only 3.9 percent of students who started at Metro in 1989 graduated four years later, according to a recent report by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. After two more years, only 26.4 percent had graduated. Comparatively, at the University of Colorado at Denver, 14.7 percent of students graduated in four years, and 47 percent in six years. In other words, if current trends continue, more than 70 percent of freshmen who started at Metro this fall will still be hanging around in 2004. Or maybe some will quit college between now and then. Some say this represents a failure for Metro - including a few state education officials and some members of Metro's Student Government Assembly. They say Metro should increase services so students feel more comfortable as they go through school. They're convinced that students who don't graduate in six years are unlikely to graduate at all. We disagree. Many students at Metro work full-time or part-time jobs (80 percent), many have family to take care of and many have been out of high school for several years (median age is 27). Another reason Metro students take more time to graduate is because Metro is not selective when it admits students, unlike CU-Denver. In the words of CCHE spokeswoman Geri Reinardy, "It stands to reason, better students succeed. It's intuitive that the best and brightest students often times are more serious about their studies and finish more quickly." So it's no surprise that Metro is at the bottom of the heap among Colorado colleges when it comes to graduation rates. But Metro serves a different purpose than traditional colleges. It makes sense for students to attend Metro part time (as 56 percent do) because they have other things to worry about besides classes and frat parties. Criticizing Metro because its students don't graduate fast enough implies that it's the college's responsibility to shepherd students through the system. That's wrong. If a student isn't smart enough to get through college without having their hand held, then they won't survive in the workplace anyway. Sure, it would be nice to see longer hours at the library and computer labs. We'd love to see a simplified financial aid process. A few more scholarships for older students would be in order, too. But the basic elements of success in college haven't changed: Pick a major you like, study hard and go to class. Metro can and should set up a system to lubricate that process, but, as we've said many times before, ultimate responsibility is on the student. |
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Sack the stadium tax "There is something grubby about owners of teams jumping rivers,
jumping state boundaries and jumping coasts to get a better deal."
I mistakenly thought all that money and fame would have strengthened John Elway's spine. I am disappointed in Elway for doing the pro-stadium commercials, even though I expected it all along. Elway has missed an opportunity to rise above his greedy friends in pro sports the same way Michael Jordan fails the humanity test when it comes to how his shoes are made. I have always been a Denver Broncos fan and I always will be, but I can't vote for continuing the Coors-Field tax to pay for a new football stadium. Here is why: I believe government should produce overwhelming evidence that supports its contention that it needs to take more money out of my pocket before it does so. It has no such evidence in this case. The Broncos might need a new stadium, but nobody has provided me with a solid reason why I should be forced to pay for it. I want the government to protect me from invasion and criminals, provide quality roads and ensure the water is clean. Otherwise, it can kiss my ass, thank you. On second thought, give me a gun and I'll protect myself. Make no mistake, this is a tax increase. If this measure fails, Coors field will be paid off in a few more years and this tax will go bye-bye. If the initiative passes we pay more money over a longer period of time than we otherwise would have. It's math for simpletons. There are other ways to build a new stadium. I prefer the way they have chosen in Washington, Carolina and San Francisco. The team owners pick up most of the tab. After all, these guys are made of money. Just ask the players. But, there are gullibles in our midst. They are those who say this is not really a tax increase because we were supposed to be paying this tax well into the next century. These people say we are getting two stadiums for the tax increase of one. Well la-ti-da, it's still a tax increase, and I'm opposed on principle. It is because of the burgeoning economy of the past few years and an increase in the number of taxpayers or tax base that we have been able to pay for Coors Field so fast. We should be content with our good fortune. I'm not going to give you any silly liberal gobbledygook about how we should be paying this money to teachers, schools, health care, saving the environment and blah blah blah. I'll just say this. It is highway robbery, blackmail, extortion and flat-out wrong for our community to be lining the Broncos, pockets for fear of losing them. If Elway, Pat Bowlen, Mike Shanahan and Terrell Davis want to pick up and move if they don't get their dough, I'll help them load the truck. I'm a Broncos fan, but I'm not compromising my principles so these guys can make more money. When these millionaires ask us for our money so they can make more for themselves, we should react the same way a guard does when the quarterback mistakes him for the center. "Hey, buddy, uh, wrong guy." Kyle Ringo is a Metro student and columnist for The Metropolitan. His e-mail address is ringok@mscd.edu. |
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If we build it, they will come "To tax and to please, no more than to love and be wise, is not
given to men." I think whoever cut Ringo's hair might have shaved a little bit too close. It's affecting his logical thought process. For one: John Elway's commitment to his team, family and car dealerships are nothing compared to his commitment to his community and this city. His financial contributions to charitable causes eclipse what Ringo and I will probably earn for the rest of our lives. Well, at least Ringo, anyway. That said, the argument shifts to the tax issue and discussion of public
funds versus private profit. The equation is really simple. A bigger stadium means more of everything. More space to house more booths which will need more employees to staff and maintain. Bottom line here is more jobs. But it doesn't stop there. In addition to creating stronger employment
opportunities, the stadium will also see much more revenue poured back into
organizations such as arts programs in the Denver Public Schools. I'll say it slow for you in the back of the classroom. A bigger stadium means more seats. More seats means more people. More people means more money being spent. More money being spent means more money going back into the school and communities. Which means this tax is not money thrown away, but an investment into your city. As far as the issue of being blackmailed into buying a new stadium goes,
it's not quite that black and white. On that point, I'll say, show me the money. Ringo and the rest of the morally opposed can hold to their precious principles while I'll take my compromising ass to the bank. But forget about that for a moment. The issue here is not, "if I don't get what I want I'm taking my ball and going to play somewhere else." The issue here is, "look at what we can do for each other and the community." It's not just propaganda. It really is a win-win situation. Yes, I'm a Broncos fan, and I can count the number of games I have been able to attend on one hand. I and most of the city will probably get few chances to enjoy seeing a game in the new stadium because of the difficulty of procuring the precious seats. But if the tax passes, I, as a Denver resident, will own a piece of something much bigger than football, much bigger than John Elway or Pat Bowlen or Terrell Davis. I will own a piece of this city's future. Dave Flomberg is a Metro student and a copy editor/columnist for The Metropolitan. His e-mail address is flomberg@mscd.edu. |
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Pluralism must include women Editor: Oct. 21-22 Metro (hosted) a conference entitled "Democracy and pluralism," sponsored by the Honors Program, Student Activities, the Club Funding Committee and the diversity Council. My radar detector is completely extended on this one, as usual, and it is with great disappointment, but certainly not with surprise, that I write this editorial. It is 1998, isn't it, or have I been flashed back to another era? I do recall a number of educators espousing ideas of inclusiveness, a behavior that suggests an individual has acquired a higher level of consciousness, an acceptance and promotion of diversity. It is also widely accepted that diverse ideas come from diverse individuals, i.e. women, minorities, sexual orientation, non-Europeans and others. Yet, out of 23 participants at a conference on "democarcy/pluralism," only one woman was among the panelists. First of all, I am annoyed with the very thought that in 1998 Metro would sponsor such a conference of exclusiveness and that the Honors Program would be bold enough to think they could get away with staging such an event. I also question how the Diversity Council justified funding it. I am not suggesting that men, predominantly of EuroAmerican heritage are not capable of providing diverse perspectives. What I am saying is that there are many women, faculty and students on this and other campuses who are very capable of contributing significantly to these discussions. One might note that the democracy women have attained was not handed to them, women and men fought for them. This just might suggest that women know at least what men know about such a topic. Naturally, I am disappointed with my colleagues who are organizing this conference; individuals who espouse diversity however defined, and ones who have not so far attempted to rectify such a blatant form of sexism. I have heard mentioned, however, that since catching wind of my discovery, women are being invited. Clearly this is an afterthought. That's fine, but this certainly doesn't let them off the hook. I am not alone on this one. My students, Honors included, are equally disgusted with this behavior, especially from professors they assumed were progressive thinkers. Is it too much to ask of men to be race- and gender-conscious simultaneously? Or are they not capable of rubbing their tummy and patting their head at the same time? If you want an all-male conference, don't wrap it under the guise of democracy and pluralism, please. And don't use our precious funds to promote such behavior. Just don't do it! Oneida J. Meranto |
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Tuition jump doesn't pass inflation Editor: My name is Ruth Burns, and I am a member of your student government. My position is Board of Trustees representative, which means I represent the students of Metro State to their governing board. Part of my job is also to sit on the board of the Colorado Student Association, a Colorado-wide student group which lobbies for student rights. A part of this position is to help keep students informed about their legislators, or potential legislators. I am writing this letter in response to one of the comments that have been made by Bill Owens in the gubernatorial debate on Oct. 19. In the - very well-done - article (Oct. 23) by Sean Weaver, Owens is quoted as saying, "Tuition in Colorado has been increasing far faster than the rate of inflation." I was surprised to hear of this skyrocketing increase in the tuition rates in Colorado, primarily because I had spent Oct. 17 at the CSA leadership conference, where one of the workshops I attended was on tuition control and financial aid. This workshop was taught by two staff members from the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the office responsible for regulating policy for all higher education institutions in Colorado, and compiles annual reports on everything from graduation rates to tuition rates. The information given to the students who attended this workshop is completely
opposite from what Bill Ruth Burns |
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Flomberg column unfair Editor: (A letter to The Metropolitan columnist Dave Flomberg.) I am a two-year student who has been a fan of yours over the past year. Every week I try to read your column. I agree with about 90 percent of what you write. I guess the reason I like your column so much is because of you're Jewish heritage. I am a Christian white guy who believes very strongly in blessing Jewish people and am personally very interested in Jewish culture. Anyway, but you are a great columnist. This week (Oct. 23), however, I disagree with you on one point. While I feel we all (especially me, being a part of the "dominant group") should try to learn more about other cultures; the same freedom that alows us to do that allows the KKK to spread their material. Make no mistake - I do not nor would I ever condone or support the KKK! But freedom of speach means we must allow even the stupid and ignorant to speak. Sorry this is so long, just wanted you to know how much I enjoy your column each week. Keep bringing to light the rich and colorful Jewish culture, and our unfortunate neglect of it. Brett Ferguson |
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FEATURES |
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Zero Population Overpopulation could be disasterous to the Earth, said an organization dedicated to achieving a society with zero population growth. The world cannot support an infinite number of people, and the Earth's resources are at risk of not being able to support the amount of living beings on it, said the Zero Population Growth group. ZPG's message is clear: Earth is headed for a crisis. According to the Musee d l'Homme (Museum of Man) in France, five children are born every second, yet only two people die in that same time. Earth's human population increases by 10,800 every hour. The United States has a population of almost 300 million. The population will increase to almost 430 million in the next 50 years. The world population is about to top 6 billion and is doubling every 45 years. Almost 1 billion people go hungry every day and urban sprawl threatens the countryside, the group's literature read. Sound like a scene from a 1950s low-budget, sci-fi movie? Not to ZPG. Its efforts to educate and enlighten anyone who will listen about the growing population continue. ZPG works internationally to bring its message to all nations, as reported in its newsletter. ZPG has compiled a list of negative effects that overpopulation can produce in all societies. Urban sprawl and increased population consumes forests and agriculture land. This unbridled consumption impacts wild life and speeds up many species' march toward extinction, reports ZPG. "Leaders in both the U.S. and the world must make population stabilization a priority," said Mark Daley, ZPG's Washington, D.C. contact. Without support of the leaders of the world, the move to stabilize population growth will be a difficult task, he said. Governments, especially the United States, can help curtail this trend toward overpopulation by providing a better system of family planning and access to safe contraception, he said. "American women constitute a large percentage of health care costs in the U.S. today," Daley said. "Yet, contraception is not covered under most medical health plans." The poor particularly suffer, he said. "In the U.S., 57 percent of the 15 million women and children covered by welfare under Title X are not getting proper contraceptive or proper family planning counseling." Cities must institute smart growth policies to curb the rapid increase of the growth of urban areas, he said. "America has lost 11 million acres of farm land... since 1980," he said. Two billion hours are lost each year in sprawl-related gridlock which inhibits transportation, and adds $7.6 billion to the price of food products yearly." ZPG does have some answers and suggestions as to how to address the population problem. From the country's standpoint, three areas are targeted as vital to achieving their goals. Concerning legislative action, the organization seeks for the U.S. government to adopt a national population policy. ZPG said of the largest 25 countries that generate more than 80 percent of the population of the world, the United States "is the only one without an explicit population policy." ZPG calls for stronger environmental protection measures on the a worldwide scale. With almost 11,000 more humans on the earth eavery hour ZPG's misson of enhancing education, employment opportunities for women, and increased foreign aid to emerging countries struggling with their own population problems will continue. |
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Do you belong here? Rumor has it that down in Sigi's Cabaret, in the Tivoli Student Union, which was once the offices for the brewing company, there are three male inhabitants. A Native American and two pioneers from the l9th century and early 20th century, said Auraria historian Dennis Bryan. The historian before Bryan brought in a psychic, who immediately began
sweating profusely and talking to an unseen being. Bryan said he has never
been made aware of an otherworldly presence, though he has told the stories
of the ghosts many times. When Bryan told the story of the ghosts to the University of Colorado at Denver's Faculty Club, he asked for a sign, and a coffee cup fell over. "I said, 'maybe they are here - but then a woman confessed that she had bumped the table, so I'm still waiting for a sign," he said. When the Tivoli housed a mall, there was an upscale restaurant that set
its tables for the next day before closing. Upstairs in the Multicultural Lounge, a little girl in a formal dress has
been seen, only to disappear the next moment. One of the most well-known and physically documented ghosts in Denver haunts the Denver Press Club at 1330 Glenarm.. Theories abound on where the specter originated; some say it is the soul of a transient killed when the original building was demolished in 1924. Others say it is the spirit of a woman murdered and dumped in the dumpster where the present - day kitchen is. Carmen Green, the general manager of the club, said he's never seen the ghost, yet he's experienced it. "It's more of a feeling than anything else," Green said. "We've heard it, we've seen it push doors and knock things over. He is completely harmless." Green said there is one situation that adds validity to the numerous stories of a phantom. "About three years ago, we spent the night in here with three psychics
and a person with infra-red film," Green said. "During the course
of the night, one of the people with us said to one of the psychics, 'I
see something at the top of the stairs.'" The psychic asked what the
man saw, and he said, "I'm not going to tell you. I'm going to write
down what I see and you write down what you see." When compared, the
individual descriptions matched exactly. Green said many people who have been in the club have experienced the ghost in one way or another. Perhaps Halloween night is the perfect opportunity to meet the ghost... The Brown Palace at 321 17th St. came into existence in August of 1892, and has been open every minute every day since then. With over a century of people coming and going, there should be some ghosts wandering the premises of this famed establishment. The first murder at The Brown Palace took place in 1911 over the love of a woman. Rival lovers argued about the woman they shared, and consequently, one ended up dead. Perhaps his spirit still wanders around the site of the men's bar where he died, now an open sitting area near the main lobby of the hotel. According to guests and employees, ghosts do indeed wander the halls of the Brown Palace. Telephone operators have reported seeing a woman wearing an old-fashioned pink formal disappear into a wall near their workspace. At other times, a man in Victorian evening clothes has made the same trip. Employees noted sensations of cold or the feeling of a presence, especially at night. Outside room 804, there are often reports of feminine laughter and chatter in the hallway. Presumably, these are the voices of young Victorian ladies giggling about the gentlemen who accompanied them to the ball. When a maintenance man responded to a complaint about a room being too hot, he was met at the door by an old woman. The woman responded to his query about the problem, and he adjusted the controls of the heater. When he turned to tell her that the temperature should be fine, she had disappeared. He called the front desk to report that the inhabitant of the room had left, and was greeted with a long pause. "That room is unoccupied," said the desk clerk. The Palace's San Marco Room is home to a quartet of musical phantoms. A night houseman checking the room got a surprise when he found the musicians rehearsing after hours. Told they weren't supposed to be there, they replied "Don't worry about us; we live here." Spirits in uniform have also made their presence known at The Brown Palace. A specter wearing a uniform resembling that of a railroad conductor has been seen near the office that once housed the railroad ticket office in the hotel. The night duty engineer encountered this ghost, who disappeared through the wall. On another occasion, while delivering morning newspapers, a bellman noticed some papers had been stolen. Minutes later he saw a specter dressed in an old-fashioned uniform. It frightened the bellman so badly he quit his job the next day. Unexplained events happen regularly at the Molly Brown House at 1340 Pennsylvania, causing volunteers and guests to wonder if phantoms haunt the mansion. A psychic was brought in at one time, and said the spirit of Molly's parents haunted the room that they lived and died in. A volunteer saw a man on the steps dressed as a butler, but when she turned around, he was gone. Furniture moves from the place it was left, and people have reported seeing Molly's rocking chair rocking. One night during the Christmas season, a volunteer placed some toy soldiers on display under the Christmas tree. She was the last to leave the house, and the first one to arrive the next morning. When she arrived, she found the toy soldiers on the stairs inside the house. Elizabeth Walker, the curator of the house, said that in the first months she worked there, a picture fell off of the wall whenever she was in the room. One afternoon, she saw unexplained puffs of smoke near the study, which was where J.J. Brown used to smoke his cigars. Other people have reported smelling cigar smoke in the vicinity of the study. Residents of the neighborhood have reported seeing lights on in the house at odd times. A former occupant of the apartment over the carriage house went into the main house one night to take a picture of the table setting for a party before the guests arrived. He was the only one in the room, but when the picture was developed, a woman was sitting at the table. That same man was killed in a car accident, and the next tenant of the carriage house reported that the dead man's glasses appeared one night on the table beside the bed. Furniture also moved around quite a bit there all the way across the room. The Molly Brown House will be open on Halloween night from 6:30 to 9:30. The Helen Bonfils Memorial Theater in the Denver Performing Arts Complex
has a wayward spirit who wanders the premises. Some say it is the ghost
of Raymond Burr, who filmed some of the Perry Mason series in the theater.
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Enjoyable suicidal tendencies? Yes! Imagine a person close to you telling you he or she was going to commit suicide today. This is the premise upon which 'night, Mother is built. The play, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983, is a moving piece of literature that explores the unknown realities of suicide and its internalizations. The dramatic text is a work of art as it weaves a background of well-intended suicidal tendencies. That's right. Jesse's suicide is well-intended. The production, playing at The Shop, is a great example of how this play should be performed. The actresses make a bee-line to the objective, and the delivery and presentation are delicious. It really doesn't take long to get there. The play opens, and within five minutes, Jesse (kryssi wyckoff martin) tells her mom (Kathryn Gray) of her intent to kill herself that night. Her mother at first brushes it off as if it's a ploy for attention. But she learns more and more of her daughter's serious intentions as the story progresses. The audience learns that Jesse is epileptic and never learned of her sickness until her adulthood. It's something her mother hid from her, fearing she might feel abnormal. Jesse also had a fall-out marriage and a kid who does nothing but steal from her. But since she hasn't seen either her husband or her child for a while, it's just been her and mama for a long time. Mama fights Jesse's suicidal nature with threatening words, flying fists and manipulative actions. Meanwhile, Jesse is preparing her mother for self-dependency. She shows her mother where the candy is kept, teaches her how to use the washing machine and gives her a list of Christmas presents for family and friends covering the next few years. And there is no surprise ending here. Jesse, at the end of the play, shoots herself with her father's gun. It's a wild ride all right. Genoa's Mother Presents handles the sensitive material with the right mix of tenderness and outrage. Wyckoff martin's minimalist approach is perfect. Too many people overact the role of Jesse, but wyckoff martin understands and emphasizes the fact that nobody can possibly change Jesse's mind. Gray, on the other hand, shows a wide spread of extreme emotions. When she is loving and asks for her weekly manicure, she is the epitome of the caring and attentive mother. But when she isn't getting her way, she is venomous and conniving. As artistic director, wyckoff martin sticks to her agenda of promoting women in theater. `night, Mother is an all-female cast written by the powerful Marsha Norman. When seeing the play, everybody's first reaction is sadness. But after a thorough analysis of the text and the subtext, it's found that it's really a liberating ending. Find out for yourself. `night, Mother plays The Shop, 414 E. 20th Ave., Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 21. (303) 831-6095. |
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SPORTS |
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Sister helps Pierce succeed The success of the Metro women's soccer team this season has been a result of the improvement of key areas; stronger goalkeeping, quicker defense and the one area of the Roadrunner's game that has been the most improved this season: the offense. The biggest contributor to that success has been from junior midfielder Kari Pierce. She is leading the Roadrunners in goals scored (14), total points (34), is second on the team with six assists and is among the best offensive players in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. In Pierce's first two seasons, she had a total of eight goals, four each in her freshman and sophomore years. This season she has almost doubled that output. "Kari worked hard over the summer," senior midfielder and Kari's sister Katie Pierce said. "She has improved a great deal, not that she was bad or anything before, because she was an outstanding player, but how much she worked in the summer helped her out." This was the first time that Kari just trained in the summer rather than play summer ball. "I trained everyday this summer with Zac (Loescher) and Shane (Smith) from the men's team," Kari said. "I would train on the program that they were on." Soccer in Kari's house was a sport that all of her older siblings played and something she grew up around. It has paid off as she has cracked the top 10 in the Roadrunner record books. She is currently 5th in career goals scored with 22, 5th in career points with 57, and tied for 3rd in career assists with 13. She will have a chance to add to those totals as Metro has two remaining conference games. "I've been around soccer since I started walking," Kari said. "I had five brothers and sisters ahead of me that played soccer, so I was around it a lot." Kari and her two sisters, Katie and Jennifer, played soccer at Arvada West High School. "It was fun playing in high school with them," Kari said. "By that time in high school, we knew what the other was thinking by just a look. I wouldn't have to say `Hey Katie' or anything like that, we just knew." Getting all three sisters to Metro was something that was accomplished one Pierce at a time. "There was one way that we knew how to get Jennifer, Katie and Kari to come to Metro," head coach Ed Montojo said. "We knew that if we got one of them here, we had a chance of getting another one. If we had two of them here, we knew that we would have a good possibility of getting the last one." Talking to Katie has helped Kari improve her game throughout the season. "After every game, we go somewhere and talk about the game," Kari said. "We tell each other the truth, we don't lie if someone had a bad game. There are not many people on the team that have someone to talk to that will be honest with them about how they are playing." Besides Kari helping out her sister, she helps out her teammates. "Kari will tell me if I'm not playing well," sophomore defender
Monica Carbone said. "She is the only person on |
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Digging for gold The Metro men's soccer team learned a lesson from its last loss, a 4-0 defeat to Southern Colorado Oct. 18. It learned that every game counts. Wednesday night, Oct. 28, the Roadrunners took their newfound knowledge and made quick work of the Colorado School of Mines, posting a 2-0 shutout victory over the Orediggers. The win improves Metro's conference record to 7-3 on the year, 11-6 overall,
but more importantly secures them a spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic
Conference Tournament. With wins in their final two games of the regular
season, Oct. 30 at home against CU-Colorado Springs and Nov. 2 at home against
Fort Lewis, the "I think the team figured out we have to beat people below us," head coach Brian Crookham said. Jared Zanon scored all the goals Metro would need in the opening 10 minutes of the game, collecting his 13th of the year. It put him back on top of the RMAC leaderboard in goals scored. Jeff Swander provided an insurance goal in the second half to round out the scoring. Mark Torgusen notched the shutout in goal. Crookham says this is the best team Metro has had in his four years with the program and that's not hard to believe. It is the first winning season Metro has had since 1992. "We're just now seeing the fruits of everything we've done the past two years," he said. "We are so much more mature than a year ago." Metro showed its maturity with a win over the then No. 7 ranked Fort Lewis Oct. 16. Crookham called it probably "the biggest win this program has ever had." But his team instantly showed its youth by dropping its next game to Southern Colorado, a team Metro should have beaten. Crookham is still trying to figure out what happened. "We'll turn it into a positive and make sure we learn something from it,'' he said. Metro is currently ranked 9th in the Far West Region. |
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No place like home I was asked this week how difficult it is to adjust to the various places that we play. Sometimes it is nice places in California, New Hampshire and Florida, but most of the time it is somewhere in Colorado. Here is a bit of commentary on the venues in which we play. Southern Colorado - Pueblo. Although just being in Pueblo may be
enough, tarantulas, yes the big spiders, are the most interesting feature
of this site. If we play there in August or September, you have to shake
out your bag before getting on the bus, just so you don't bring home a hairy
little pet. They are usually all dead by the time we get to late season
games. Fans put a couch on the sideline to obtain maximum intimacy in cheering
for the home team. Difficult place to play. Colorado School of Mines - Golden. This is an engineering school, I would think that they could figure out how to put up lights with a little more candle power. We play on a football field, which would be great if we played football. Crown in the middle of the field would make Queen Elizabeth proud. Fans shout insults such as "I bet you couldn't score a goal if you had a protractor." Not the most hostile environment in the RMAC. Colorado Christian - Lakewood. Dry weather, one of the best in the conference, wet weather, they use Moses to part the water on the west sideline. I'm a little scared to poke fun at a Christian school, so I won't comment further. CU-Colorado Springs. - Bring every piece of clothing you own. Twice I have witnessed a 30 degree temperature change during a game. Neither time was it for the better. Their field has more slant to it than the Starr report, but it is a nice facility. Can't complain about this one. Regis - Denver. I think the best place to play in the conference. There are always enough jerks in the stands to make it a fun game. The atmosphere is great there. They get behind their team and have fun doing it. A developing rivalry makes it that much more fun. Good field. Great competition, Regis always comes to play. Country version of the National Anthem must go. Metro State - Auraria Campus. Home sweet home. Traditionally has not been the toughest place to play in the league. That has changed recently. Having playable grass this year has been a help. Best groundskeeper around who is, at times, a spitting image of Bill Murray in Caddyshack. Great location for everyone. Parking can be a problem on weekdays. Campus support is good when classes are in session and the weather is good. Take a minute, walk out onto the fields this week and look at all Denver has to offer, it is impressive when you stop to think about it. You can help us make it the worst place for a visiting team to play. Come see us this weekend. Our players deserve it. Brian Crookham is head coach of the Metro men's soccer team. His column will appear weekly during the fall soccer season. |
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