Volume 21 Issue 12 November 6, 1998 |
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Contents:
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NEWS |
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Metro candidates lose
A Metro political science professor and a student lost bids for seats in the Colorado House of Representatives in the Nov. 3 election. Kelley Daniel, the professor, and Ted Sell, the student, both said they hope to run for elective office again in the future. Daniel lost by less than 500 votes in his campaign against three-term incumbent Penn Pfiffner, R-Lakewood. Daniel started his campaign early this year on a platform of improving education and managing population growth and transportation. This was his first run for political office, and Daniel said that despite the loss, he's pleased with how well he did. "(Pfiffner has) done something over the course of his career that has worked, and it's tough to break into that," Daniel said. Another unexpected plus for Daniel was the amount of money he raised: about $18,000 - a substantial amount for a state legislative campaign. Daniel said he even turned down nearly $1,000 very near the end of his campaign because he couldn't use it before Nov. 3. Daniel came much closer to defeating Pfiffner than did the incumbent's last two opponents. In 1994, Pfiffner won by a 1,264-vote margin, and he won by 2,362 votes in 1996. After this two-year term, though, Pfiffner will run into term limits, and Daniel said that could be his next best opportunity to hold public office. "I
think the main thing that hurt me was not issues so much as it was just
name recognition," Daniel said. "We did differ on a lot of the
issues, but I did not hear any issue that particularly hurt him or me. Still,
I'm very pleased with what we did. To take on an incumbent like that and
to come that close, I don't have any regrets." "I now understand why it's a rich man's game," Sell said. But there will be a next time, Sell said, although it probably won't involve the District 3 seat. When that time comes, Sell said he would work harder on organizing a group of volunteers and start raising money earlier. "I have a better idea now who in the district I can count on to provide the support you need to run a campaign," he said. The end of the election season could also be the end of Daniel's and Sell's association with Metro, at least for now. Sell said the campaign was so expensive he might have to take at least one semester off college to get back on his feet. Daniel said he's not sure if he'll continue teaching at Metro because the pay isn't enough to support a family. During a recent semester, Metro paid him $5,299 for teaching three classes. "I love teaching. I think the students enjoy my classes. But quite frankly, you can't make a living at it," Daniel said. Even though Republicans largely dominated the state elections, Daniel warned them not to get complacent. "It would be a mistake for the Republicans to assume there is a mandate from the people. I see a very divided electorate in the way Coloradans want to go." |
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Intellectual ownership questioned Metro's Faculty Senate, the college attorney and the attorney for Metro's governing board are negotiating a policy to identify categories of ownership of professors' intellectual and creative material. Faculty Senate President Monys Hagen said the way the current policy is written, the Board of Trustees has complete ownership of professor's intellectual and creative material. "The matter is just bringing it to a legal statement that recognizes the traditional rights faculty have enjoyed with research, with their lectures, with all their material," Hagen said. "At the same time, recognizing there are certain areas where the institution and the trustees share ownership or right-of-use to this intellectual property." The issue of intellectual property rights came to the forefront last fall when courses became available online. Jones Education Co., which provides access for the on-line course material, wanted a guarantee that it couldn't be accused of infringing on professor's rights. "The Internet has raised (intellectual property) to the visibility of concern to lawyers and lawmakers," said Lee Combs, Metro's attorney. Combs said the policy should be ready to present to the board by February. |
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Metro student fights for life Robert A. Adams, a Metro journalism student, remains in critical condition at Centura Health-St. Anthony Central Hospital, being treated for a gunshot wound to the head, said a surgical intensive care unit nurse Nov. 4. Adams was shot Oct. 24 outside a house party in Westminster. Police are still investigating leads. Family members are at his side 24 hours a day, while friends gather in the waiting room to offer support, said Dan Meyer, Westminster Police public relations officer. Adams was injured when disgruntled partygoers fired several shots towards the house, hitting Adams who was standing outside, said Detective Mike Lynch of Westminster Police. One of the shots hit Adams in the back of the head as he waited to enter the party, Meyer said. If he had not turned around to talk to someone, he would have been shot in the face, Meyer said. Rumors and conflicting witness accounts may be what is causing the delay in apprehending a suspect, Meyer said. Although police have had numerous tips from witnesses, many are just relaying what they hear about the shooting, Meyer said. "The hard part is determining what car the shots came from," Meyer said. "Our officers stopped about three cars leaving the party matching witness descriptions." The car the suspects were driving has been described as a 1966 grey Chevrolet Impala by some and a 1998 dark blue or white Volvo by others. Westminster police have five unsolved murders in 35 years, Meyer said. Although leads are sketchy, he is hopeful an arrest will be made. |
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Motive of campus group questioned Metro's Student Activities Office is investigating a student's complaint about a newly formed campus organization that promotes abstinence before marriage. When Richard Miller, a University of Colorado at Denver student, complained
to the office claiming Pure Robert Doerr, adviser for the Pure Love Alliance and a Metro Spanish professor, resigned his position with the club Oct. 3. Kari Tutwiler, associate director of Student Activities, will act as the organization's tentative adviser for 30 days. If a new adviser is not found by that time, the organization becomes inactive. Doerr was unavailable for comment. "We want to make sure they're not a sham for another organization. If they are, there is a problem," said Dadabhoy. If the organization was created with the intent to deceive students, it will be shut down, he said. If, however, Pure Love Alliance is affiliated with the Unification Church and no deception was intended, it will need to change its constitution, correctly listing who it is and what it is about, he added. Dadabhoy stressed the church is welcome to create a club on campus as long as students are not deceived. Members of the Unification Church, led by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, better known as ``Moonies," have been criticized for alleged cult behavior for years. Norbert Szolnoky, president of Auraria's chapter of Pure Love Alliance, said the organization is not affiliated with the Unification Church. However, he said some of the founding members of the organization, including himself, are members of the church. Meanwhile, the Web sites for Pure Love Alliance and the Unification Church list the same address for their headquarters: 4 W. 43rd St. in New York City. Although the headquarters of both organizations are in the same building
and the majority of people on the organization's staff belong to the church,
the organization has no connection and no affiliation with the "As of now, the organization meets all our regulations to be a regular group," Dadabhoy said. "So long as they comply with regulations and don't do anything illegal, they have the rights and privileges of any student organization." Like other Metro-sponsored clubs, the group is eligible to apply for up to $3,600 for campus events and student travel as well as having access to rooms for meetings and events, Dadabhoy said. "I would advise any student, before they join any student club, to thoroughly investigate the group's purpose, mission, activities and who the members and leaders are," Dadabhoy said. Szolnoky said Pure Love Alliance has members in Japan, Korea, Russia, Germany and several European countries. |
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Diversity programs funded The Diversity Initiatives Programming Committee awarded $20,000 to 17 Metro organizations Oct. 19. The 3-year-old committee, composed of nine professors and staff members and one student government member, reviews and doles out funds for programs geared toward diversity, said Metro budget analyst Matthew Guy. The awards ranged from $500 for a leadership conference for teachers, to $4,000 for a speaker to link Black History and Women's History months. The committee receives $40,000 annually out of a general fund account, which is divided between the fall and spring semesters. "We received over $50,000 in requests for the $20,000 we had," said Wilt Flemon, the committee chairman. An exhibit displayed sequined flags made by a Haitian master flag maker and Louisiana artist should go far to offset the negative images of Haiti, according to the proposal submitted by Sally Perisho, the director and curator for the Metro Center for the Visual Arts. Funding from the Diversity Initiatives Program is a great source of support for programs focused on diversity, said Tara Tull, the associate director of women's studies. Some other programs the committee funded were:
Guy said for groups to receive funding a professor or staff member in charge of the event turns in an application listing proposed events and itemized expenditures to the committee. The proposals are then distributed to the committee for evaluation and scoring based on a 100-point scale of criteria listed in the application. The top seven scores from the proposals submitted for spring 1999 received 100 percent of their requested funding, Guy said. The remaining 10 proposals received lesser amounts based on their scores. The committee is the result of a recommendation made by a diversity task force that visited Metro, he said. The task force said Metro needed to support more diverse programs, Guy said. |
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Student Clubs The Human Resource Management Society is planning fund-raisers for publishing student resumés. Society president, Lupe Wells, said each year, the club publishes an annual resume book it sends to the human resource departments of metro area businesses. "The service is free and a wonderful way to get your resume exposed," Wells said. The society would like to increase its membership. "The society provides
a great source for interaction," she said. Auraria Writers Guild will receive funding for two proposals this year, said guild President Lisa Boyer. The first proposal is for a literary review. Boyer said the group is very supportive of Metrosphere, Metro's literary magazine, and encourages writers to contribute but felt there was room for another forum for writers to have their work reviewed. The second proposal will be a public lecture featuring Amy Holman on March
25. In addition, on March 26, "We are so pleased that our proposals were approved," Boyer said. Auraria Writers Guild is a new organization on campus. Sanctioned in May,
the guild meets once a month in |
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Group protests police brutality Police in the United States are using increasingly brutal tactics in law enforcement, and average citizens are paying the price, protesters said at a rally Oct. 22. Metro students joined the rally against police brutality with Amnesty International in downtown Denver. The event marked Amnesty International's "Day of Action" for
police accountability. Protesters marched to Denver's City and County Building,
then to police headquarters at 1331 Cherokee St., where they gave the police
a list of 10 demands, which ranged from requiring officers to carry picture
identification to creating committees to investigate the conduct of officers.
Eight officers on foot and more than a dozen police vehicles followed the
march. "It didn't really do anything. We marched, gave them our demands and that was it," Perez said. The organization condemned the United States in a 150-page report released Oct. 6, citing human rights violations. The allegations include torture by police, abuse of prison inmates and the use of the death penalty. The report cites Denver Police twice for human-rights violations, said Stephen Nash, organizer of Denver's chapter of Amnesty International. Once for the assault on an African American student, charging police with chasing him and his friends around a high school dance in May 1996. The other violation blamed police for breaking Gil Webb's neck in March, 1997, after the stolen car he was driving collided with a police car, killing the officer behind the wheel. Protesters condemned the use of non lethal weapons such as stun guns and mace. Auraria police use mace and batons as non lethal weapons. Stun guns are not used and Auraria police do not intend to use them in the future, said Joe Ortiz, Auraria Campus police chief. Ortiz said he agrees with Amnesty International's condemnation of the use of stun guns. "I'm leery of using that kind of force to bring someone under control. It's going overboard," Ortiz said. "Mace is one of the least lethal types of self defense tools to use. Over the past three years, I think we used some during the Super Bowl celebration." Ortiz said mace has the potential to affect the person using it, and as such, officers tend to shy away from using it unless absolutely necessary. The group performed what they called 'real people's' court, a farce about Denver Police based on articles written in the Denver Rocky Mountain News. Skits were performed at the Greek Amphitheater in Civic Center Park, across from the City and County Building. |
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COMMENTARY |
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No more fees please Editorial News: Views: Tuition rates might be relatively flat, but fees are increasing rapidly. Colleges need approval from the Colorado legislature to increase tuition, but it's much easier to increase student fees. If you were at Metro last spring and looked at your bill this fall, it might seem a little too easy. Let's take a quick trip down memory lane. In 1980, students paid only $310.50 in tuition and fees for 10-18 credits. Health insurance was included at a mere $16.75 per semester. Now, look at the projected total of tuition and fees for 12 credit hours in spring 1999: $1,016, including $161 in fees and not including $298 for health insurance. And to think some students criticized then-gubernatorial candidate Bill Owens when he said the cost of attending college is increasing too rapidly. The problem is Metro and other colleges are using student fees to offset a perceived need for more tuition money. The law won't allow them to increase tuition, so they increase fees instead. Those fees are now paying for services that used to be covered under tuition. It's true that tuition hasn't gone up by much since 1992 when the Taxpayers Bill of Rights passed. That amendment to the Colorado Constitution prevented colleges from increasing tuition rates by more than a few percentage points. But Owens' main point was right on. The cost of higher education in Colorado is increasing no matter what you blame it on. All it takes to increase a fee, such as the $21 every student pays to support Metro athletic teams, is the stroke of a pen. Metro's president, Sheila Kaplan, asked last year which college programs wanted an increase in the student fees. Four did, including the Student Life, Athletics, the Student Health Center and Information Technology. Of those, three were approved, excluding the health center - costing Metro students an additional $17.50 this semester. A small amount, but students have been careening down this slippery slope for a long time. Kaplan had to get approval from Metro's governing board, but getting the go-ahead from them was almost a foregone conclusion. The Information Technology fee, for example, at $17 each semester pays for student computer labs, but it also pays for a massive computer infrastructure used primarily by employees of the school. This subverts the intent of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights and the Colorado legislature, which was to keep the cost of attending college low. |
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Election brings out best, worst, masked avengers Colorado voters are nothing if not an interesting lot. In a country with a penchant for swinging the pendulum left, we went right. We allowed partial-birth abortions, but now you've got to tell your parents about it. We came perilously close to giving private schools all the money we raised for public schools in the bond initiatives. People in Durango got to keep Broomfield from becoming a city, but had no say on buying Denver a new stadium. At least there's a consistency in the fact that it's all chaos. When Colorado opted to put each and every referendum, amendment and bond issue to the people, it was one of the dumbest moves a state borne of a representative democracy could make. In one sweeping gesture, we made obsolete the entire legislature of our state. Now, we get to deal with the reprecussions of that decision. Some of them aren't that bad. Of course, waiting in line for the 15 people in front of me to learn how to read legislatese while Myrna, the 112-year-old election commissioner, explained the physics of her colon operation made me wonder if it was really worth it. I doubt it. Let me be the first to take up an issue for the next election: Let's put the decision-making back into the hands of the people we elected to do it in the first place. Although, I guess it could be worse. We could have an ex-pro-wrestler as governor. 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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Please, no, not the facts "Everyone is entitled to his opinion, but everyone is not entitled
to his own facts." Now that all the debating is done and the votes have been counted it seems like a perfect time to discuss our discourse. I wrote last week against the stadium tax. I have been defending myself from different forms of nonsense since. I had no idea there were so many, well, athletic supporters at this school. Here is my position in a nutshell. I oppose increased taxation unless the government shows good cause why it needs more of my money. I don't believe it has done that in this case, and neither has anyone else. I'm still waiting for a single answer based in fact and bereft of hyperbole that clearly demonstrates why taxpayers should be required to pay for stadiums for professional sports teams anywhere. Feel free to get back to me. Instead, I receive mumbo-jumbo from people who seem to come apart at the seams when somebody dares question the sacred orange and blue. Slander and hyperbole have always been a part of elections. We've come to expect it from the professional know-it-alls. I am bothered when family, friends and even strangers can't debate the issues and speak honestly at the same time. It is easy to find the folly in an argument if you pay attention to the lengths one will go to defend a position. When people are unwilling to admit basic facts because those facts weaken their arguments, it reveals disinterest in truth and honesty. Here are some extraordinary examples, from my week, of people going out of their way to defend Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen milking us all like cows. One person, whom I believe is fairly characterized as a Ronald Reagan hater, actually defended voting for the stadium by citing the benefits of "Reaganomics." Go figure. It's trickle down economics. Apparently, if we make Bowlen rich with a little bit of money from each of us, we will get it back 10 fold. Hmmm. Another person cited the jobs this deal will create. Apparently all those people you see at the stadium now are volunteers. One person actually called me a fair-weather fan. I don't really support the team because I won't support the tax. According to this person's logic the money that is paid for my seat and the money I spend on T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and other merchandise is not enough support. Apparently in this person's mind my worth as a fan is correlated with what I'm willing to give the team and not the other way around. There is far too much of that going around these days. The fact is these people won't admit they voted for the stadium because they were blackmailed into it. They were afraid of losing their football team and knuckled under. They gave Bowlen everything he's been dreaming of. The fact is none of these people can realistically moan and groan the next time the talking head on the nightly news says the rich are getting richer on the backs of the poor. What do you want to bet they will anyway? |
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History has more than one side Editor: Knowing you're right is a sure sign that you're probably wrong. The lecture by Dr. Gary Hull, professor of philosophy at Duke University (on campus) Oct. 27 was a testament to that fact. Under the premise of ``objective philosophy" as guided by the works of Ayn Rand (I wonder how she would perceive this ``interpretation" of her work), Dr. Hull proceeded to blame post-modernism and multiculturalism for our current societal woes, and asserted that "correct" perspectives on history, art and literature are obtainable. There were many issues he portrayed in an unfair manner, but as a history major, I took specific issue with his charge that ethnic minorities and women were somehow deconstructing "true" or "objective" history as put forth by a predominantly white, male, European population. True to his methodology (extremists tend to cast all counter-perspectives in their most extreme form), Dr. Hull accused women and ethnic minorities of what amounts to a decontextualization of historical data. One example I remember was his irritation at having Shakespeare cast as a sexist by feminist historians. Recognizing the fact that many of the great minds in history were fraught with thoughts we find distasteful does not serve to decontextualize history. Decontextualization (and thus deconstruction) of history does occur when that data (e.g. Shakespeare's sexist leanings) is used to dismiss that individual's contribution to civilization. Dr. Hull implied that all feminist and ethnic study of history results in a dismissal of the contribution of white, European males. I disagree, for despite our best efforts, we can only move so far outside or above the context of our society (an idea Dr. Hull may want to explore). Most historians, despite their genetic makeup, recognize this fact. Calling Shakespeare a sexist, as we understand the term, serves no historical purpose. A very valid historical purpose is served, however, when "outsiders," i.e. women and ethnic minorities, through their historical studies, begin to realize the depth of the entrenched sexist and racist thought prevalent in many of history's great minds. It is Dr. Hull who is deconstructing history by dismissing these ``outsider" perspectives. An old adage says that "in order to know where you are and where you're going, you must know where you've been." That is the best reason to continue to study history through "outsider" perspectives, and to ignore ideologues like Dr. Gary Hull. Rebecca Geist |
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A constructive look at pluralism Editor: It would be easy for an enterprising young feminist male who believes in the primacy of all human beings as individuals, and in self-determined groups, to respond to the commentary (Oct. 30) concerning the lack of female representation (of diversity in general) at the conference on Democracy and Pluralism in a negative way. Which is to say, it would be easy to state contrapositions and defend the actions of the planners, the participants and the attendees. However, such a statement of defense would be in bad faith considering the nature of the conference itself: discourse on democracy and the importance of polyarchy. To deny exclusion would be to deny all that we learned. Therefore, I propose that we take our critics' advice and improve upon the conference: be more inclusive in the future, and truly embody the concept of pluralism rhetorically as well as representatively. However, I must also commend the inclusive aspect of the conference, in terms of the ability of audience members to participate directly in the discourse without being full-fledged members of an elite academic organization. It represented something new in the conference genra, and sets a precedent here at The Met for strong academics outside of the classroom, as well as in the classroom. In the midst of so much criticism for "grade inflation," "low graduation rates," and diploma-mill practices, the conference is a welcome event that represents some of the intellectual strengths of our institution. The conference on Democracy and Pluralism was a success for all who attended the sessions. For some, improvements were in order. For others, eyes were opened to new perspectives. Most importantly, those who attended realized - through every session - that we must act with dignity, respect and with a spirit of inclusiveness. In short, the conference taught us that we must not give up on what ought to be, and that we must work to improve the status of all human beings regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion or any other "mark" of distinction. Those improvements must come through discourse. Therefore, the conference was a step in the direction of improvement. Jason Struna |
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It's wrong to deny anyone's history Editor: In response to the letter in the Oct. 23 issue, "Metropolitan perpetuates
racism," Shawna Whitacre was way off base. First, any American who
has been denied their history or culture are victims of a racist society.
She did hit on a point when she stated she "refused to be ashamed of her heritage." That is right, and no one else in this country should feel ashamed of their heritage. This has been the basis of racism since the coming of the Spanish in 1492. Unfortunately, many Americans are still living under the racist decisions made more than 500 years ago. According to the letter, Shawna and her family were allowed to assimilate. There have been many families who have worked very hard in this country, in fact this country was built on their backs to provide for their family, but were not allowed to assimilate. There are races today that will what other Americans will not do, and they suffer under a racist society that only cares about the almighty dollar. It is too bad that she is sick of hearing about what the world owes Americans who suffered the most. The question that comes to mind is how to repay this debt that is owed to these people. How does this society repay Native Americans who lost more than 90 percent of their population due to coming of the Europeans? How does this society give back the land that was taken through oppression? How does this society repay the African Americans for building the industrial revolution with their blood? There are no answers, just yet, there are only questions. Unlike this woman, there are many Americans who refuse to continue to live in an "ignorant bliss," but want to take on the real questions and build an America that truly reflects a democracy. The fact is that we do live in a world of people who are different colors and cultures. To not see this is perpetuating the racism that is destroying our country. No one in this country can deny the fact that whites have more privileges than people of color. This Metro student should sit down and listen and try to be part of the solution, and not the problem. Helen Giron-Mushfiq |
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FEATURES |
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Boyles Every weekday morning at 6, you can turn to Denver's most controversial radio talk show host as he debates anything from the Ramsey investigation to political campaign money. He is KHOW's Peter Boyles, a Metro graduate from 1973. He is currently appealing a defamation suit. He was fined more than $25,000 for not revealing his sources after reporting that a Denver police officer was involved in a bar brawl. A recovered alcoholic, Boyles reflects on his youth and "Metro saving his life." Where are you from? When I got out of high school, I went to work in a steel mill called Edgewater Steel. I was 17 years old. I didn't do very well in high school. I made jokes that we were the guys that were voted most likely to take a human life, most likely to do time. I was a terrible high school student. People always think that I did really well in school - I did all these great thing. I barely got out of school. Before I was 18 years old, I
was working in a steel mill, ending up getting drafted in the army, was
here in Colorado, got out of the army. Looked around Colorado - it looked
a lot better than Pittsburgh. Worked for awhile in a warehouse here, thought
I'd take my luck with a G.I. Bill and try to go to college. DU was too expensive
and CU wouldn't look at me because of my high school grades. The Metropolitan
State College, I said this many, many times publicly and privately, saved
my life. People from the inner city, second-chance people, minority kids
and vets - a number of different people - got a second, third, fourth chance
at Metro. It was a wonderful place. I got out of college with an undergraduate degree and went to DU for my graduate. And in that period, I got started in this business. I never had any intentions of being in this. I needed a job and needed money. I started off counting cars - the traffic reporter's assistant - I counted wrecks. Then the program director for one f the radio stations called KATT radio, now it's Radio Romantica, said, "You're real smart, you kind of have a goofy voice, but you're funny. Did you ever think about a job as a disc jockey?" Well, no, I thought, but I would've said anything. If they asked, did you ever think about being a plumber, I would've said yes, because I need the money. I had never been in a radio station before in my life, it looked like Star Trek. He brought me in the next day. He semi-taught me how to work everything. A half-hour before the shift ended he left and told me to finish the show. I remember throwing up in the news basket. I sat down and did the worst half-hour in radio's history. He came back and said "you weren't that bad," so I started working weekends. That's how I got my start in the business. Would you consider yourself
a personality or a journalist? If you lose your appeal will
that have a chilling effect on your show? It's not that I don't want to talk about it, the lawyers have said, "don't talk about this." Why does the Ramsey case
interest you to the extent that it does? Looking back, what would
you do differently? Who was your most memorable
interview? Then there is other people you wish you would've never met. There are people that you hold in great esteem and you thing God, I wish I never met them. You watch them in private, how they treat people around them, like their producers or assistants. If you could choose another
profession, what would it be? |
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Math, science and porn? Literature professor Brad Mudge said last time he taught a class on pornography literature some students were leery of the word "pornography" showing up on their transcripts. That didn't happen this year, Mudge said, but there are still plenty of misconceptions on exactly what a class on pornography literature is all about. One thing Mudge says up front: It's not a class for students to look at dirty magazines and videos. But he also warns students at the beginning that if they are "embarrassed by frank material" or if they're not ready for a "huge" reading load, then they should drop out. Mudge has been a University of Colorado at Denver professor for 13 years. This is the second time he's taught the class. Pornography, according to Mudge, is "images that represent graphically sexual material for the sexual excitement of the reader or the viewer." But the pornography students study in Mudge's class isn't exactly a page out of last month's Playboy, it's heavy reading. Sexual references are often veiled under metaphor and euphemism. And the reason students read the material isn't (presumably) for sexual excitement. The 10 required class texts cover everything from history and cultural change to philosophy. Indeed, it attracts students from a variety of majors such as literature, history and women's studies. Jordan DeGrazia, a Metro philosophy major, is taking the class this semester. "The interesting part of this class is the way it takes a look at the invention of literature in such a way that it would allow the viewer to become an experiencer of sex in a personal way that extends beyond when we read an action-adventure novel or some of the great heroics or tragedies," DeGrazia said. "It stimulates the viewer as a sexual object. It brings you in as the voyeur." The class also challenges so-called "traditional" views on pornography and tries to put it in historical and cultural context. "All societies have some form of pornography," DeGrazia said. "Maybe it's not always so misogynistic or sexist as we see in ours, but I don't think that's inherent to pornography. It's a matter of bad taste and bad writing. The people who are (producing) it have a misogynistic tendency." Although pornography certainly isn't new, Mudge said, it's always been surrounded by controversy, especially in the way it portrays females. "Women's sexual identity is the terrain over which men fight," he told the class Oct. 14. "And men don't have a lot to lose. Women have a lot to lose." But, obviously, men aren't the only ones interested in sexual excitement. Mudge contends that the first novel was written by a woman, Aphra Behn. That might have been a precursor to modern pornography. Another point in the class is on pornography's place among other forms of "high literature." DeGrazia argues that pornography and high literature depend on each other. "Literature actually defines itself against a background of pornography," he said. "Literature is kind of cultural ideal we hold up as who we want to be perceived as. Pornography is like the bastard. To promote one you have to have the evil other." |
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SPORTS |
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Zanon sets scoring record It has been said that rules were made to be broken; but what about records? Recently records in professional sports have been broken one after another. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both broke the home run record for one season in baseball this year. The Denver Broncos' Terrell Davis has become one of three football players to accumulate more than 1,000 yards in just seven games. But there are records even closer to home being broken. In 1990, the Metro career record for scoring by a men's soccer team member was held by two men: Joe Okoh and Tim Yunger. Each played from 1987-1990 and scored a total of 24 goals. This year that record has been shattered by junior Jared Zanon. Since his arrival in 1996, he has scored a total of 30 goals, and he still has the rest of this season and next year to add to that total. But Zanon says he's a team player first; individual accomplishments come afterwards. "It's nice to score goals, but I would rather win," Zanon said. "If I didn't score any more goals and we still won every game that would be fine with me." Only it's not that easy. In game situations, the team looks for Zanon to
score, and he does his best to deliver. This season alone Zanon has scored
13 goals to lead the Roadrunners and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Confer-ence
in scoring. He is only five goals away from tying the Metro season record
of 18 goals set by Yunger in 1990. Zanon also leads the team in most of
the other statistical categories including points (28) and number of shots
(50). Yet perhaps most importantly he leads the team with four game-winning
goals. "He didn't see a ton of minutes his first year here," Crookham explained. "He has worked incredibly hard since then and earned all of his success. We are all proud of him for breaking the record, and he deserves it." Zanon's road to breaking the scoring record was a long one. He began playing soccer in elementary school with his father as coach. His younger sister Julie and younger brother Jimmy, who play soccer for Metro now as well, also played with dad as their coach. During that time in elementary school he played other sports as well, but when he entered Philomath High School in Oregon, all that changed. "I liked the outdoors and just enjoyed playing soccer the most, so I focused on it and it alone," said Zanon. "I knew when I entered high school that I wanted to leave Oregon, I didn't like the rain there. I had heard that Colorado was great, the mountains weren't far and I love to snowboard, and Metro seemed like a good school." And as far as school goes, Zanon is very dedicated to his studies. He is majoring in athletic training with an emphasis in adult fitness, hoping to stay out of an office job. "This year has been pretty hard and so I have had a lot of studying to do," Zanon said. "I didn't think that I wanted to spend all of my time in a training room, and this way I have more career options when I graduate." His dedication to school has also been noticed by others. Crookham is one person who feels he sets a good example. "He gets it done in the classroom," Crookham said. "Jared is a good representative of what a student athlete should be." |
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Final game loss ends title bid The Metro women's soccer team was on the verge of taking their first ever Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season title going into the last week of the season. The Roadrunners had already clinched a spot in the RMAC Tournament and needed two victories in their last two games of the year to clinch the title and host the RMAC Tournament at home. The Roadrunners went up against a Fort Lewis team that Metro destroyed
at the Auraria Field, 5-0, last time. Metro took 23 shots on goal before one finally got past the Skyhawks. Off a free kick by senior forward Ariana O'Neill, Roadrunner senior midfielder Katie Pierce knocked it past Skyhawk goalkeeper Kim Poland with six minutes left in the game. After the win in Durango, the Roadrunners traveled to Grand Junction to face Mesa State, the leader in the RMAC. This meeting between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the RMAC would decide who would finish as the RMAC regular season champ and go on to host the tournament. The last time the two teams met, it was an offensive show with Mesa jumping out to a 3-0 lead and holding on for a 3-2 win. This time it was the defense that was in control. Metro had the shot advantage, 14-8, but Mesa got the game and the title with a late game goal. "We came out in the first half and dominated Mesa," Coach Ed Montojo said. "We had our chances to score in the first half, but the ball hit off the post on several occasions." The Roadrunners will enter the RMAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face off against Colorado Christian in Grand Junction on Nov. 6. "In the first meeting with Christian, we were coming off two big wins in Texas and we had only two days to prepare," Montojo said. "We just didn't convert on our opportunities to score. "In the second meeting, they (Colorado Christian) came out hungry after having two ties in their previous games," Montojo said. "They were playing faster and harder throughout the game and it was something that mentally we were not expecting." If the Roadrunners win against Colorado Christian, Metro will take on conference champ Mesa State Nov. 7 in Grand Junction. |
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Title eludes Roadrunners The Metro men's soccer team were dealt what head coach Brian Crookham called a "tough loss" as they dropped a 1-0 overtime loss to Fort Lewis on Nov. 2. That's just the beginning as the game determined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion. With the win, that distinction goes to the Fort Lewis team and gives them the right to host the RMAC Tournament Nov. 7-8. "Going to Fort Lewis just makes it tougher," Crookham said. The Roadrunners couldn't get anything going against Fort Lewis, a team they had beaten just two weeks earlier. A sloppy rain-soaked field didn't help matters either. Metro was coming off a 2-1 win over the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Oct. 30 and seemed to have some momentum from that match. But it never showed in the most important game of the year. "No excuses, we simply didn't come to play," was Crookham's explanation. "We really didn't start playing until overtime. We had a couple of opportunities to score but didn't." Fort Lewis scored the winning goal with under two minutes left in overtime. Metro is seeded third in the RMAC Tourney and will face CU-Colorado Springs in the first round. |
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Buchanan powers Metro It took the members of the Metro volleyball team less than two weeks to realize that newcomer Amy Buchanan had leadership qualities, naming her as a co-captain of the team after just two weeks of practice. The Regis Rangers found out those qualities included some power as Buchanan collected 22 kills in an Oct. 29 win over the No. 2 ranked team in the country, 17-15, 13-15, 15-4, 9-15, 15-4. The performance earned her the co-RMAC Player-of-the-Week honors. It was the second win this year over Regis, the first time since 1993 Metro has swept the regular season series. Buchanan played "a complete match" according to head coach Joan McDermott. That hasn't happened in years. She played for three years at the University of Tennessee (1992-94) before she hit volleyball burnout. "I wasn't having fun and I didn't enjoy school anymore," she said. "The game ended up becoming a relief from practice." Buchanan, who played her high school ball in Arizona, came back to Colorado where her parents had moved. After spending a couple years playing recreational volleyball and coaching at the high school level, she decided she needed to erase the bad memories. "Playing here gives me the closure I need," she said. "I didn't want to be bitter about Tennessee. I wanted to end my career with a happy ending." Not only is Buchanan getting that satisfaction, but her teammates are benefitting from it also. "That game against Regis was one of the better games of my whole career," she said. Buchanan finished the match with a ..346 hitting percentage, 20 digs and an ace. Metro also had a big advantage at the net, outblocking Regis 14-7. The Roadrunners finish the regular season with road matches against Fort Hays State Nov. 6 and Nebraska-Kearney Nov. 7. The RMAC Tournament is set for Nov. 13-14. |
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