Volume 21 Issue 16 January 22, 1999 |
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Contents:
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NEWS |
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Former Metro professor slain A former Metro criminal justice professor, Harold "Jack" Eisenhuth, 59, was found bludgeoned to death in his Eldora home Saturday, Jan. 9. Boulder sheriff's deputies arrested Matthew Garcia, 21, of Denver, at a nearby home that same day. Garcia told authorities he hit Eisenhuth six times with a hammer because he thought Eisenhuth was going to sexually assault him, said Sgt. Rich Schwalm, a Boulder county sheriff. Police found Eisenhuth lying naked in the hallway. Garcia told police he got the hammer out of a toolbox at Eisenhuth's home, Schwalm said. What appeared to be illegal drugs were found in Eisenhuth's home and with Garcia, Schwalm said. The substances are being tested. Eisenhuth was a tenured criminal justice professor at Metro and worked at the college from 1970-1997. College spokeswoman Carrie Schafer said Eisenhuth was on suspension when he left Metro. "He was placed on a one year suspension," she said, "but what the outcome of that was, I don't know. I do know he chose not to come back to Metro." Students complained to Metro President Sheila Kaplan that Eisenhuth failed to show up to teach his classes. The complaints lead to an investigation and he was suspended. Eisenhuth left Metro in October, 1997. Criminal justice professor Walt Copley said Eisenhuth was having health problems, which lead to his absences and subsequent suspension. Copley could not confirm when students complained to the president about Eisenhuth, but said he thought it was in the spring of 1996. Copley and Eisenhuth were hired together in 1970. Eisenhuth taught law-related courses. "He was a very intelligent and serious professor," Copley said. The two professors were friends, and Copley said he was saddened by the news of Eisenhuth's death, but wasn't sure how to interpret the circumstances surrounding the murder. "I've been in many cases and wondered about the newspaper stories," he said. "I always question what I read in the paper." Criminal justice chairman, Joe Sandoval, said he thought Eisenhuth's death was tragic. "It's very tragic that this would happen to someone I knew. To have this happen, it's chilling," Sandoval said. "I hadn't had a great deal of contact with him in the last few years," he said, "but I like to remember him as a bright man, a popular instructor and a man who relished life." Eisenhuth was also a municipal court judge in Broomfield, Edgewater and Mountain View, Sandoval said. Sandoval said Eisenhuth was the city attorney for the town of Lakeside. "As a municipal judge he basically dealt with violations like barking dogs, noise, parked cars and dirty yards - small things," Copley said. Eisenhuth also had a private law practice before he became a judge and continued to occasionally work as an attorney. "Once in a while he had some private cases, like most lawyers who carry a Bar card," Copley said. Eisenhuth served on the pro-bono faculty of the National Judicial College of Reno, Nev., Copley said, and he gave a series of lectures in South America recently. "I know last summer he went to Mauldavia for a Bar Association project," Copley said. Eisenhuth was also a member of the Thursday Night Bar Association, a volunteer organization where lawyers provide free legal help. "What he leaves behind is an excellent legacy of scholarship," he said. Eisenhuth was born in Cheyenne, Wyo., on Dec. 5, 1939. He was past president of the Colorado Municipal Judges Association. |
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Study finds satisfied Graduates A report by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education lists Metro as the top public college in the state in terms of student satisfaction. Greg Appling, a policy research officer for the commission, said 99 percent of Metro graduates surveyed responded favorably when asked if Metro met their educational goals. Metro sent questionnaires to 1,766 people who graduated from the school during the 1996-97 academic year. Forty-six percent of the graduates responded. The lowest score of the 28 institutions surveyed was the University of Colorado Health Sciences center, which scored a 78 percent. "I think it surprised a lot of people," said Metro spokeswoman Carrie Schafer. "For so long, people have had different perceptions of Metro. Part of the reason our students responded that way, is they want to come here, get their degree and move on. We equip students with the skills graduates can use in the workplace." In addition to measuring student satisfaction, the report also surveyed eight factors, ranging from graduate employment rates to employer satisfaction. The report found 95.8 percent of graduates from Colorado public universities are working, pursuing a higher degree or choose not to work for reasons such as family obligations. It also noted in a survey of 359 employers across the state that hired graduates from Colorado institutions, 88.2 percent felt the graduates either met or exceeded their expectations. The report is the result of the Higher Education Quality Assurance Act, passed by the Colorado legislature in 1996. According to the act, the report will be conducted annually and follow-up reports must be submitted to the commission. The follow-up reports, which will outline plans for improvement, are due Jan. 30. "The idea there is so the process will not be a lifeless paper," Appling said. "The value of the system relies on looking at the data from year to year." "I think we came out well," said Frieda Holley, Metro's associate vice president of Academic Affairs. "We meet students' needs." Two areas Metro will be focusing on are counseling students and keeping students at Metro, Holley said. "We wanted to strengthen various aspects of advising," Holley said. "We are programming the Banner System for instant advising, which would do away with graduation agreements." The Banner System is software that allows students to register electronically and access academic information over the Internet. Holley said students will be able to review, through the Internet or one of the computerized campus Banner kiosks, which classes they would need to complete for their degree. "It will not happen all at once," Holley said. "Each (academic) program will have to be put into the computer." She said the system should be programmed by the spring of 2000. "The college is putting more effort to keep students here," Holley said. According to the commission's report, 30.6 percent of incoming freshmen at Metro have, within six years, either graduated, are still at Metro or have transferred to other schools. A report by the commission in October listed Metro as having the lowest graduation rate in the state. Holley said Metro administrators will use a $1.7-million grant the school received from the Department of Education in July to find ways of keeping students at Metro. They are also looking into ways to use scholarship dollars as incentive for students to stay in school. |
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Metro revamps tuition policy Metro no longer drops students from classes when they fail to pay their tuition and fees. Instead, a 4 percent service charge is added to the student's bill, and they have several months to pay it. "Dropping students from their classes caused all kinds of problems for students and faculty," said Sharise Jones, the supervisor of student accounts. Jones said when students were dropped, they were forced to haggle with professors to keep them in a class. Professors had to deal with frequently changing rosters and students disappearing and reappearing during the first two weeks of the semester. "I felt bad for the students," Jones said. To keep students from losing their classes, she proposed the new billing system three months ago. "The 4 percent service charge is a one time charge," Jones said. "A 1.5 percent charge is added after the seventh business day of the following month." The next 1.5 percent charge will be added Feb. 9. Accounts would not go to a collection agency until 30 days after the fall semester begins in August. Tim Greene, vice president of human resources and finances, said there's a definite payment deadline, but the new system allows students to plan their payments better. Greene said the last two semesters were problematic. "The other methods weren't working," he said. "Students were being dropped from their classes, and we later found out that they were on financial aid, or that they had made other arrangements to pay." "We hope to create a positive relationship between us and the students," he said. Greene said other Colorado schools have a no-drop system and Metro decided to adopt the policy, too. Jones said 1,700 students have not paid their bill, but many more have paid part of it. The staff of student accounts must call all 1,700 students and remind them to pay their bill, but Jones said the Jan. 21 payment deadline went well. "This was the best payment deadline ever," she said. "There was a huge difference." Student reaction to the new system was mixed. "Personally, I liked the old deferred billing system," said Metro student Jeremy Potts. "I don't like the fact that I'll get a bill every month." Justin Middleton, 20, said he likes the new system. "I remember one semester when all my friends got dropped from their classes, but for some reason I didn't," he said. Jones said the new system will streamline the billing department and reduce errors like the one Middleton recalled. |
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MetroBriefs Hearing set in student's death A preliminary hearing has been set for Paul Huston Tinsley III, 25, who is accused of raping and murdering 19-year-old Metro student Jennifer Foretich. Foretich was found stabbed to death in her mother's basement Nov. 20, 1998. Police found Tinsley at Lookout Mountain with stab wounds to the chest on Nov. 21. He was taken to Saint Anthony's Hospital for treatment and later arrested. The stab wounds were first thought to be stab wounds were first thought to be self-inflicted, but it was later determined that he received the wounds during a struggle, according to Douglas County public information officer Attila Denes. Tinsley was charged with two counts of first degree murder and two felony counts of sexual assault. The preliminary hearing will be at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 3 in Douglas County District Court Division I. 600 join ranks of Metro alums About 600 students participated in graduation ceremonies Dec. 20 at the Colorado Convention Center, according to Metro Associate Registrar Jeff Johnson. The college won't know the exact number who actually graduated until early February. That's because some students' graduation depends on submitting make-up course work, which is due by the end of this month, Johnson said. Metro eliminated summer commencement ceremonies in 1998. Students who completed degrees during the summer—about 350—were invited to participate in the spring or fall ceremonies. Ken Salazar, the newly elected Colorado attorney general, was the commencement speaker. He told graduates about his experience growing up as a Hispanic in rural Colorado. Metro has graduated more than 42,000 students since 1965, according to a letter from college President Sheila Kaplan in the commencement program. |
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Popular Tivoli worker fired In response to his termination as Tivoli service and programs manager Dec. 11, Dennis Bryan has filed an appeal with Colorado's state personnel office. Bryan was in charge of reserving and booking nearly 9,000 events each year as well as supervising student employees at the Club Hub in the Tivoli. Bryan was terminated after Barbara Weiske, director of Tivoli Student Union and Campus Auxiliary Services, completed an investigation that followed his second "needs improvement" performance evaluation Dec. 3. "I considered the available options of either demotion or termination," Weiske said in a five-page termination letter. "Within our department, we currently have vacancies in entry level positions only, and it is in my reasoned opinion that these would not be appropriate positions for you to be demoted into." Bryan is scheduled to appeal the action with the state personnel office at 1525 Sherman St., Feb. 1. The hearing will include Bryan, John Mosby, his attorney, an official from Auraria, and personnel department representatives. Mosby said he expects the date to be rescheduled. "They only gave us one day," Mosby said. "We plan to bring witnesses. That will take longer than one day." Mosby said they would need at least four days. The termination has enraged some on campus. Kari Tutwiler, associate director of Student Activities, said she wrote a letter of protest to Dean Wolf, executive vice president of Auraria. "(Bryan's) recent firing constitutes a tremendous loss to Auraria and Auraria Conference Services," she wrote. "He added a buoyancy. The campus community is not as strong. An incredible employee and resource is gone." Some students responded to Bryan's termination with action. Kerrie Dallman and Brooke Blanchel, both student employees of the Club Hub, located on the second floor of the Tivoli, resigned their positions when they heard. "Dennis was by far the most approachable on the campus," Dallman said. "You don't get commendable evaluations for four years then suddenly your work is shit!" "Dennis was family," Dallman said, "He cared about the students and staff on campus. He was something to be treasured. The campus as a whole has lost out." Tutwiler said the student resignations came as no surprise to her. "Students hold Dennis in such high regard, the respect and warmth they feel for him was easily witnessed in his interactions with student leaders and student employees," Tutwiler said. "His approach and consistency to their growth and development was very much admired by our office." |
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MLK breakfast honors four Approximately 250 people met in the Tivoli Turnhalle for Metro's annual Peace Breakfast to celebrate the life and philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and to recognize those who strive to emulate him. "It wasn't just a feel-good experience," said Zav Dadabhoy, director of Metro Student Activities. "People left with a message to think about peace, not just today, but for the coming year." King was an influential civil rights leader who was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., April 4, 1968. Four peace awards were presented at the breakfast. Grizel Gonzalez, president of Metro's Women's Studies Honor Society, received one of the student awards for her promotion of academic excellence and service to the community through the organization. Gayle Johnson, coordinator for Metro's Campus Outreach and Opportunities for Learning program, received the second student award. "Gayle has indeed made an outstanding contribution towards making Dr. King's dream of peace and unity a reality," said Khushnur Dadabhoy, University of Colorado at Denver's student activities coordinator, in her recommendation letter. "She inspires diverse populations to get involved and make a difference in people's lives through positive social action." Percy Morehouse, director of Metro's Equal Opportunity Office and assistant to the college president, received the faculty award for his diligence in following fair practices in his job. Fannie Fiddmont, a retired Denver Public Schools teacher, received the community award for her involvement in the area of human rights and race relations. The highlight of event came when nine children from Watch Care Academy recited the names of all 42 U.S. presidents, the Declaration of Independence, the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and King's "I have a dream" speech. The crowd gave the children a standing ovation when George Nelson, one of the children, finished the display by stepping forward, raising his arms, and shouted the ending of King's "I have a dream" speech:, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God we are free at last!" The first Peace Breakfast award program began in 1992 to recognize extraordinary people who pursue King's dream. Since then 24 people have been recognized for their achievements. Nominations are made each year for students, professors or staff and community members. Dr. King's birthday is recognized nationally on the third Monday of January. It became a legal public holiday in 1986. |
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CAPITOL CONNECTION Efforts among Colorado high school students to finance a college education could get a boost soon, especially for those with excellent grades. Nearly half of Metro students already receive some form of financial aid, including loans. The "Academic Achievement Grant Program," proposed by Sen. Bill Thiebaut, D-Pueblo, would offer tuition credit toward an undergraduate degree for high school seniors starting in fall 1999. If Thiebaut's proposal becomes law, the program would be the 12th state-funded college financial assistance program in Colorado, and the third based on academic achievement. Thiebaut's bill, which awaits action in the Senate education committee, doesn't specify how many students would qualify for the grants or the dollar amount of the awards. It leaves those details up to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, which would administer the program. Thiebaut could not be reached for comment. The grant would continue throughout a student's time in college on the condition that the student maintains a high grade point average and reapplies for the grant each year. Only students who meet in-state residency requirements are eligible. Demand for the grants could be high, especially as Colorado's student population continues years of expansion. There are 170,000 students attending 28 public colleges and universities in Colorado, CCHE figures show. High school students in Colorado number 198,821, and attend 351 institutions, according to the state Department of Education. The statewide population of all public school students is expected to grow to 724,000 by 2008, up 28,000 from its current level. |
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Playwright named distinguished professor Tony-Award winning author, director and actor Ossie Davis will visit Metro as the 1999 Rachel B. Noel Distinguished Professor. The 81-year-old is the author of the Tony-Award winning play, Purlie Victorious. He has appeared in a number of Broadway plays such as A Raisin in the Sun, which will be performed in the spring at Metro. Davis also appeared in the movies The Client, Dr. Dolittle and Grumpy Old Men. He also had a regular role opposite Burt Reynolds in the TV series, Evening Shade. Davis will visit Metro Feb. 7- 9 and plans to speak at numerous events around campus. He will start his visit by speaking 3 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Shorter Community African Methodist Episcopal Church, 3100 Richard Allen Court, said Carrie Schafer, interim director of communications. "Education extends beyond the classroom, and this is a great opportunity for all students," said African American studies professor C.J. White. Schafer said following his lecture, "Black Creativity and the Human Experience," there will be a reception. Davis will also sign copies of his two latest books Just Like Martin and With Ossie and Ruby: In this Life Together. On Feb. 8 from 9-9:50 a.m., Davis will speak again to the public at the Tivoli Student Union. Both lectures are free to the public, said Schafer. "Everyone should take advantage of this opportunity to hear the experience of a well respected actor," said Metro student Angie Sigg. "Students will be able to interact with Davis in classes," Schafer said. Davis will speak to three drama, theater and literature classes in Arts Building Room 271 on Feb. 9 at 9 a.m. A new course offered this spring, African American Theater, will be one of the classes to hear Davis speak. Geron Coale, one of the professors teaching this course, said he isn't sure what Davis will talk about until he gets here. "I've never met Ossie Davis before, and I'm very excited," Coale said. "Part of the reason that we are teaching this course is because we knew he was coming, and this gives students a chance for students to meet a talented writer and actor." The Noel Professorship was created to foster multiculturalism, diversity and academic excellence at the college. "The college brings in scholars who reflect these qualities, and this will be a well-received event on campus," Schafer said. |
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COMMENTARY |
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SGA more good than bad Student Government Assembly members rejected an idea that could have made the group vulnerable to losing its funding. Views: Metro students should have to pay for some services, including SGA, whether they like it or not. The last thing we want to do is oppose an initiative to force a little accountability on Student Government Assembly members. But President Andy Nicholas went too far late last semester by suggesting SGA funding be listed as a separate student fee. SGA officers spurned his idea fearing students at some point, would become so outraged as to try and eliminate the group altogether. The group gets about $100,000 in student fees each academic year, a large portion of that paying for officer stipends of $500 per month. The problem, Nicholas said, is that six SGA officers are also members of the Student Affairs Board, a body that disburses money to all student fee-funded programs, including SGA. That means student government members are responsible for giving student money to both themselves and other organizations, such as Student Legal Services. In theory, Nicholas reasoned, SGA could give itself more money than it needs and leave other programs in the cold. Nicholas said his solution solves two problems. First, making student government funding separate from the Student Affairs Fee would eliminate the conflict of interest. Second, students who see exactly how much they are paying SGA might demand action from the body. "There have been student
governments that do nothing," he said. "Literally, that's their
goal. To do nothing," he said. First, the SAB does not have final authority when it doles out $1.4 million in student fees. The board simply makes a recommendation, which has to go through other college officials including Metro President Sheila Kaplan. So it's unlikely SGA could sneak through an unfair increase in the funding without somebody pulling the brake. Second, despite laziness, inefficiency and internal bickering, is there a compelling reason to keep these people around even while most students neither know nor care that they exist? Yes. Student representation in the college decision-making process is so vital that tolerating shenanigans from student representatives is worth it. Administrators too often become engaged in the details of running a school and forget about students. SGA officers are a bridge between the minutia of everyday work and the realities of students' needs as customers. They are probably among the only students top Metro officials can call by name. The current SGA might be a poor excuse for a representative voice of the students, but it's the only one we've got. Aside from The Metropolitan, there are precious few venus for students to communicate directly with the college administrators who affect students' lives. College bureaucrats cannot be counted on to seek student opinion outside of a formal process, which SGA provides. That alone justifies spending a few hundred dollars a month on each student government member, even if most students don't realize the benefit. |
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Clearing the air: 3-inch fettishes evidence dim wit Smokers are airheads. I've spent the past 18 days struggling to breathe. I've had pneumonia. Want to know what it's like? I felt like I was drowning just lying on the couch. After three or four days of consistent coughing, the veins in my brain threatened explosion each time my lungs lurched. The headache never went away because of the cough. I was hacking so hard I'd get dizzy, and this was while I was lying down. My lungs began to ache, which brings me back to smokers. I'm thinking pneumonia is a tame version of what it must be like for a person who is dying of lung cancer or emphysema, gasping, wheezing and fighting for each breath. The first time I went out after my bout I found myself sitting in a restaurant inhaling someone's poor self-esteem. Can somebody tell me why we have environmental restrictions on everything from jet planes to lawn equipment, but we still let people smoke in restaurants and bars in Colorado? In those 18 days, many of my family members and friends were puffing away on their 3-inch obsessions, convinced, somehow, it will never be them in the hospital bed gagging on their own phlegm. Yes, even I am related to the, well, intelligence-impaired. In recent years, our government has waged war on cigarette companies. I've been opposed. I've thought of it as just another liberal money-grab, a way to fund programs falling out of favor. At the least, it has been an attack on a legal business and legal product by the government, and that scares me. Nobody is forcing these morons to buy cigarettes, smoke them or continue to do so for years on end. Why should a business be punished for being successful at selling its product? Truthfully now, all those that believe using tobacco involves no risk raise your hand. I know a 9-year-old I can send over to set you straight. I say punish the user. Let's make it painful or at least very inconvenient to be a smoker. Sometimes the government needs to lead when its citizens are too stupid to think for themselves. In California, it is illegal to smoke in restaurants, bars and practically any other public gathering place. I can go for that. I say we make it impossible for smokers to smoke just about anywhere but their own homes. I don't really care if you want to kill yourself, although I can think of quicker, easier ways than becoming a bag of pus. I just don't want your damn pollution ruining my first real meal in three
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Millennium approaches, hell getting cooler "It's finally happened! The Cubs have won the Pennant! The Cubs
win with World Series!" This being the first issue of the last year of the millennium for The Metropolitan, I thought it fitting to have my predictions for the rest of this year logged here. That way, when it all goes down as I say it will, opening my own psychic hotline will be much more lucrative. Is the end coming? Will there be a huge computer meltdown that causes planes to crash, cities to burn, or New Coke to return? Or is it all simply the hysteria of a few million really paranoid idiots? Regardless, I find it easy to predict the following timeline. Whether it's the end or not, one thing's certain—it's going to be a weird ride. January 31: Broncos win the Super Bowl over the Falcons 666-7. John Madden accidentally chokes to death on his little yellow piece of chalk while announcing Terrell Davis' 400th yard on the day. February 12: Janet Reno secures a date for Valentine's Day. February 13: Hallmark declares bankruptcy, Valentine's Day is canceled. February 14: Nothing happens at all. March 5: President Nixon rises from the grave and claims to actually be Elvis. March 7: Elvis rises from the grave and gets really pissed off. March 14: In an unprecedented pay-per-view extravaganza, Elvis and Nixon square off in a Don King-produced, "Penultimate Celebrity Resurrection Cage Match to The Death." Elvis wins by cannibalism in the eighth round. April 1: President Clinton, still enduring impeachment trial proceedings, tries to bolster public opinion by launching ICBMs at Canada. No one notices. April 2: "The 10 Commandments—Director's Cut" is played for the first time on network TV, featuring 13 minutes of never-before-seen footage of Yul Brenner and Charlton Heston arm wrestling over the plight of the chosen people. April 4: The Easter Bunny, sick of his wimpy image, hungrily devours 39 children during an Easter Egg hunt in Madison, Wis. He is rode down by an angry posse three days later in a Las Vegas brothel, where he was whooping it up with media bad boys Robert Downey, Jr. and Sean Penn. May 20: Suddenly, and with no warning, social security runs out. June 3: Pigs on a farm in Wichita, Kan., sprout wings and start flying. July 4: During a tragic fireworks accident, California sinks into the ocean. No one notices. October 12: The Lost City of Atlantis is actually revealed to be Hoboken, N.J. November 4: A massive run on the banks occurs as computer programmers worldwide announce that while the Y2K problem is solved, a hacker in Delaware released a virus onto Wall Street, turning all information on the day's trading into muenster cheese. December 24: Air Force officials announce that earlier that day, a squadron of F-14s opened fire on a U.F.O. traveling over restricted air space in Washington DC. Listed casualties included a "jolly fat man in a red suit and eight tiny reindeer." December 25: Auraria Parking announces that all parking next semester will be free. December 26: President Clinton is found guilty of perjury and removed from office. Al Gore is sworn in and is immediately exposed in a sex scandal involving Madeline Albright, Hilary Clinton and Socks, the white house cat. December 27: The temperature in hell plummets to 31 degrees Fahrenheit. December 28: In a press conference, Saddam Hussein strips off a mask revealing he is actually Ed "Kooky" Burns. December 29: The new VW Beetles are all recalled because of a spontaneous combustion problem in the gas tank. December 30: Auraria Parking discover a huge budget surplus on parking and announces plans to refund the money to students after the first of the year. December 31: God shows up. The universe is blasted to oblivion the only survivors are Twinkies, four cockroaches and Keith Richards. Dave Flomberg is a Metro student and columnist for The Metropolitan. His e-mail address is flomberg@mscd.edu. |
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A solution to Metro's math profs Editor: The Metro math department —ya gotta love 'em. Just when I thought they had lost touch with reality, they showed a grasp for current affairs. Much has been said about Bill Clinton's questioning the meaning of the verb "is." How many meanings can a word have? A question on a quiz given in a calculus class which I took last fall asked, "Find exactly the maxima and minima of Y equals X cubed plus three X squared plus three X." I answered, "There are none," in the center of the answer space provided. The question was marked wrong, and when I brought this up in class when the papers were returned, I was told that in fact there weren't any. As far as I know, none means not any. A feature of our exams and quizzes were "short essays." These were to be written in a space which averaged less than three inches high. As a traditional student, I majored in history at the University of Rochester, where the department had a national reputation for excellence. In a Methods of Teaching class (education department), we were asked to write essays and graded on how many "points" we made on the subject. The class, in unison, protested: "Give us essay questions that are essay questions, and grade the content as a whole." The request was granted. So I was disappointed when our math "essays" were graded on the number of "points" made. I think it is accurate to say that at least half of the students originally registered dropped our class. My recommendation for improvement would be to send the calculus instructors to Dr. Derivative's Island for a refresher course. On the island, they could study curves by riding the roller coasters. Every day they would be set adrift in a row boat, on "limits cove," always approaching the beach but never reaching it. The island is cut in half by Zero Creek. On one side, the visitors wear shirts with a plus sign, and on the other, a minus sign. The instructors can relate to this by thinking of the campus, Cherry Creek, downtown. To graduate, the visitors must fill the "area" under a curving nine-foot-high wooden moulding with giant legos. I know they can do that. But if not, there's always infinity trail. George Stampfli |
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FEATURES |
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Bob and Bonny Bonny found Bob in a Wal-Mart warehouse, and she knew it was meant to be. She had to have him. So when Bonny rescued Bob out of a mannequin graveyard last November, a relationship between artist and dummy began. Auraria Campus' Emmanuel Gallery offers a look into that relationship by featuring Bonny Lhotka's digigraphs and Bob himself in the heARTland exhibit from Jan. 19 to Feb. 11. Lhotka's digigraphs, created through digital technology, are a strong feature of the show that also includes artists Dorothy Simpson Krause and Karin Schminke. The mannequin's image permeates most of Lhotka's work and creates a familiar theme that easily threads the presentation of more than 20 works together. Bob's silent presence dominates the upstairs area as a six-act play about Bob's existence is heard through a sound recording. "Each one of the six pieces surrounding Bob represent a single act so that a listener can also visually experience Bob's story," Lhotka said. Bob represents the unspoken-middle-aged white male in our society, and his silence is what drew Lhotka to him, she said. "This type of man has so much dedication to his family and in reaching the American dream that they achieve it all through the expense of themselves." Lhotka's work is colorful and has strong multi-level compositions. The piece Day Time Traveler features Bob in a dress and beige hat and uses typography in the foreground in horizontal swipes to challenge the vertical positioning of Bob's blazing-red beads. Jungle-Jim, one of Lhotka's pieces that doesn't feature Bob, creates an eerieness by presenting innocent images, like a wide-eyed, fuzzy teddy bear and smiling dolls, locked into an entanglement of brownish twigs and branches. Lhotka said the technology for creating digital prints has improved over the past two years. "One and a half years ago we couldn't have got our colors to last six months, but now, digiprints can last 150 years under museum conditions," she said. The pigment inks are the reason for the improvement, she said. "This art is on the cutting-edge," said Mark Masuoka, director of the gallery. Masuoka said the heARTland show provides pieces with meaning while displaying an exciting new medium. "The show looks into the past through the artists' eyes, and they relate on these prints where they come from and what they have perceived." Krause's work uses photographic imagery to conjure her vision of the past. A feeling of antiquity and time-worn texture dominate her pieces, and give a feeling of an image being resurrected from the trash and given a new life. In Krause's piece, Miss Molly, a simple but successful composition is created between a matronly woman's portrait, a page of hand-written text and an oval floral piece. Krause's selection of the 19th century diary text for the piece was superb, because the shaky handwriting is from the actual journal of the women in the piece. The curves and variations of the women's handwriting offer an intimate insight into the women's thoughts and feelings. However, energy is dynamically introduced into the piece's serenity by diagonal flashes streaking from the lower left corner to the upper right. Schminke's work delves into using multi-levels to present emphasis on objects within nature. Her foregrounds are dominated in dark, organic shapes of branches, grass and trees. The backgrounds are a larger or general version off what is being defined more closely in the foreground. Schminke's piece Marion is a wonderful example of her ability to lead a viewer into what she sees. The show took about one year to put together, and hanging the show was quite easy, Masuoka said. "It's easy to start placing the work when you have great work to start with," Masuoka said. |
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Metro opens new testing lab and takes some stress out of weighty exams
Metro has launched computerized testing to reduce the grueling wait for test scores, said a Metro administrator. Rebecca Salinas, the director of Assessment and Testing/New Student Orientation, said students taking computerized tests will receive their scores weeks sooner than they would if they had taken the exam the old-fashioned way on paper. The tests available on the computers include the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) will be computerized in the near future, Salinas said. All the non-essay portions of the CLEP test will be computerized by the year 2000 Salinas said. The new testing sytem was launched Jan. 11 in the testing and assessment center and consists of only three computers due to lack of space. "It's the wave of the future," Salinas said. This new testing base shows that Metro is keeping up with technology, she said. Students might find that they can complete the tests faster than before. As part of the new testing system, if a student answers a certain number of questions correctly, the system will automatically skip them to the next level of questions. Terry Espinosa, assistant vice president of Student Services, said the computerized testing will have a positive impact on students, particularly junior and senior students who are taking the upper-level exams by the faster response of grades. The first tests using the new system were taken on Jan. 20 by six students from Auraria. "I liked the test a lot because it was easy to use," said Jeff Arnson, a University of Colorado at Denver graduate. Arnson took the Graduate Record Exam and said the computerized exam was better than the Graduate Management Admissions Test he took on paper. The process is very user friendly, and computer skills are not required to do the test, Arnson said. The prices to take the test on the computer are the same as if taken on paper, Salinas said. The funding for this project comes from the Assessment Center's budget generated from test fees. Educational Testing Service, a company that administers the test over the Internet to the school, pays the center $6.75 per hour per test. Salinas said that with enough students testing the center could expand to accommodate more computers. "If it is very successful, we could lose our bathrooms to the expansion," Salinas said. "That's both good and bad." |
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Is there life after 'Later Life'? It's gotta be hard to mack after 35. My friends at work insist that your social life goes downhill at age 30, but the play Later Life (at the Aurora Fox through Feb. 6) scares me even more. The A.R. Gurney comedy tells the sometimes horrifying story of people growing older. Austin (Joe Marshall) is a stiff Bostonian stuck in his proper ways and proud of his lineage. He's a guest at a party and finds himself being set up by a friend. Thus enters Ruth (Annie Gavin), a floozy wandering woman with no roots to uplift. Her scattered appearance is the contrasting opposite of Austin, but the two immediately hit it off. It seems that the two have met before, only Austin doesn't remember when or where only that she is a familiar face. The two get to know each other, without the help of constant interruptions by party guests, and nearly end up "a thing." Their story is a common tale of courting and honing in on one's prey, but it represents the perils of those years just after your mid-life. Both have been married, Austin once and Ruth four times. Austin is determined that something very terrible is going to happen to him, and the self-destructive Ruth keeps terrible people and things in her life. With that in mind, this show doesn't play perfectly to the campus' demographic. While it is enjoyable for people in their 20s, many of the situations and one-liners are beyond hilarious and true-to-life for the 40-and-uppers. But the acting is enjoyable nonetheless. Marshall never flicks an eyelash to the wacked characters surrounding him and maintains the pretentious air about him with dignity. Gavin is consistent with her nervous character, always picking at a sleeve or staring off into space. Dutch Shindler and Kathryn Peterson, a competent duo that balances out the show with some odd comedy, play all the characters that interrupt them. Shindler opens up the show as an existential smoker ("I smoked, therefore I was."), and reigns as a computer geek with woman problems ("Women like to be kept in their own personal subdirectory."). Peterson is adept at playing vastly different characters, from a beer-in-the-pocket lesbian to a socialite/party host. A scary moment comes at the end of the play when Austin concludes: "People don't change, not at our age. We are who we are, even more so." This isn't Gurney's best work, although an elder might argue differently, but his poignant take on such a depressing subject comes out successfully humorous and uplifting. Call the Fox at (303) 361-2910. |
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'Rent' leaves town, rats still scampering Theater in general took a few weeks off during the holiday season, but it was still the season of love. Rent just left the 2,838-seat Buell Theatre on Jan. 17, and it left quite a mark on the community. The hit musical filled more than 85 percent of the house throughout the six-week run, said executive director of Denver Center Attractions Randy Weeks. That mark isn't necessarily unattainable, but it is an accomplishment for such a show, he said. "It's a generational issue," said Weeks. "I would guess that the borderline (age) is probably 40. People older than that didn't relate to it." And Weeks heard it when a subscriber didn't connect with Rent. They called him and said they were either offended by the subject matter, the volume, the language, etc. More important than the people who disliked Rent are the Rent rats. The fans of the musical who waited in line hours upon hours for front- and second-row tickets for $20. I was one of the crazed - a few times. The first time (during the first week of the run) I was ahead of my time and got there at 8 a.m. The tickets don't go on sale till 2 hours before the show, and since it was a weekday, I was waiting till 6 p.m. To make a long, long story short, we were the only people in line till 2 p.m. when people filed in like maggots on a shored carp. There were only 26 tickets available for each show, and since each person could buy two, you were most likely screwed if you were beyond the 13th person in line. We had 13 people in line that day by 3 p.m. The next time I camped out in the enormous valley called the galleria, we arrived at 6 a.m. - and we were fourth in line. The line was full by 10 a.m. People were finding out, and I vowed to get there before 6 a.m. next time. There was a certain pride in being the first. You were the king, the Shah that ruled everyone else. The next time, I got there at 5:50 a.m., confident and happy that I would be seeing Rent soon. Sadly, it was the closing weekend, and there were early morning rats scurrying along the pavement of Curtis Street. Since there are two shows on the weekend, people line up for both the matinee and the night show. When I walked up the galleria, more than 30 people were chatting and keeping warm. Both shows were already sold out, and we were out of luck. I talked to the king at the front of the line, and he had been there since 10 p.m. the night before. I don't even have that dedication, as it was cold as hell that night. These rats know that you have to see the show within the first 15 rows to benefit from the intimacy and wonder. If you're beyond that, you miss too much. The Buell proved to be too big of a venue for the show, but if you could sell 85 percent of the seats, wouldn't you put it there, too? Rent is bringing a new generation of people to the theater. There were 10-year-old rent rats singing "Seasons of Love" while eating their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in line. They are the future of theater, and hopefully they turn out to be more liberal and accepting than the high-brow snobby stiffs in the seats nowadays. |
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SPORTS |
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Men keep home streak alive The Metro men's basketball team has seen the highs and the lows of a basketball season, and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season is just halfway over. With wins over the University Southern Colorado and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Jan 8-9 at the Auraria Events Center, the Roadrunners were riding a nine-game winning streak. That was the high, as Metro hadn't lost a game since 1998 when they dropped their first conference loss at Fort Hays State Dec. 5. With the two wins Metro had a 13-2 record, 7-1 in conference play and looking like the defending conference champion that they were. The low came last weekend. After capturing its 10th straight conference win over New Mexico Highlands, Metro was upset at Adams State. The win over Southern Colorado was the highest scoring output by Metro this year. They won 103-101 as junior DeMarcos Anzures scored a career-high 36 points. Metro had a 10-point lead with seven minutes left in the game and saw it dwindle to one point with 10 seconds left in the game. The Thunderwolves had a chancce to win the game at the end but missed a three point shot at the buzzer. As head coach Mike Dunlap expected, the Roadrunners came out flat the next evening as they hosted CU-Colorado Springs. "Give credit to Colorado Springs, they controled the tempo with their offense," Dunlap said. Lee Barlow scored a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead Metro. John Bynum had 14 points and David Adler 10 off the bench. "Our depth made the difference over the long haul," Dunlap said. The Roadrunners have won seven straight home games this season and has a current regular season home winning streak of 21 games. Over Christmas break, Metro traveled to California where they won consecutive games over San Francisco State, Patten and Holy Names College. A big part of those victories, according to Dunlap, was that Anzures, the Roadrunners leading scorer at 17.8 points a game, was nursing an injured wrist. That meant other players had to pick up the scoring. "It helped in that we were able to win those games and bring the realization that this team is deep in talent," Dunlap said. The Roadrunners have three other players who are averaging double figures for the season. Junior forward Lee Barlow is scoring just over 12 points a game and is leading the team in rebounding with 7.6 a game. Junior Richard Lugowski is averaging 12.1 points a game, and junior John Bynum is coming off the bench and scoring 10.9 points a game. Metro will host Mesa State and Western State on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 22-23. |
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Anzures named Player of the Week Junior point guard DeMarcos Anzures was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week for his performance against Southern Colorado and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, at the Auraria Events Center Jan. 8-9. Anzures scored a career high 36 points against Southern Colorado on 12-of-16 shooting from the field. He made all seven free throw attempts and handed out five assists to account for 46 points. Metro outscored Southern Colorado 103-101. The 36 points surpassed his previous high score of 34 points against the University of Denver last season. This is the second time this season Anzures has earned player of the week honors and the third time in his career at Metro. Anzures also broke the school record for three-point shooting against Panhandle State on Nov. 30. Anzures has 145 three point field goals and is nearing the school record for steals. Adrian Hutt (1989-91) holds the current record with 197. Anzures has 174 and is also the fifth leading scorer in Roadrunner history. He is third in all-time steals, assists, fourth in games started and is only a junior. Metro ranks first in the RMAC in steals, three-point field goal percentage and scoring margin; second in scoring, field goal percentage, assists and turnover margin. Anzures leads the conference in scoring, Forward Kane Oakley is first in blocked shots and guard Shane Ah Matt is second in three-point field goal percentage. Oakley set a school record against Holy Names College of California on Jan. 2 with seven blocks, breaking the old record of six. He has a chance to break the single season record of 56 set by Shun Tillman in 1988. The 6-foot-8 forward has 39 blocks for the season. He ranks seventh all-time for the Roadrunners in blocked shots. The RMAC has four teams ranked in the top 10 of the North Central Regional rankings. Metro leads the way with a No. 3 ranking followed by Southern Colorado (No. 4), Nebraska-Kearney (No. 5) and CU-Colorado Springs (No. 7). |
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McDermott named athletic director Joan McDermott was feeling both excited and nervous. The former Metro volleyball coach was waiting patiently as Metro administrators mulled over who to appoint as its new athletic director. On Dec. 21, 1998, McDermott said she felt elated as she was offered the job as the new Metro athletic director, and she is looking forward to the challenge. McDermott had been the interim athletic director since Nov. 1, when Bill Helman retired as the Metro A.D. It was a six-week period that made McDermott realize that the job was more work than expected. But she knew inside it was the job for her. "I felt through the whole process that I was the best one for the job," she said. "I just didn't know if the people making the decision knew it." McDermott felt she was a good interim athletic director for the department but didn't think it had any effect on the people making the final decision. "I looked for someone who was a successful coach in a very competitive program," Vice President of Administration and Finance Joe Arcese said. "I also wanted someone with high integrity and experience as an athletic director. I feel we have one of the top intercollegiate athletic programs in the country, and in order to get to the highest level, we need the best athletic director. Joan fits all of the things we were looking for and I know she'll do an outstanding job." The other finalists for the job were Mason Barfield, athletic director at Clayton College and State University in Morrow, Ga.; and Joseph Donahue, athletic director at California State University at Stanislaus. When McDermott was offered the job, she accepted it without hesitation. "I felt like I did when I got my first head coaching job," she said. "I felt like it was a big challenge but I was ready for it. My experience, education and knowledge of this place, it all came together at the right time." McDermott, who has been Metro's senior women's administrator for the past three years, was the Metro women's head volleyball coach when she was offered the A.D. job and knew, after doing the job for a couple months, she would have to give up her coaching job. "Before I became interim A.D., I thought I could do both," she said. "But in the six weeks I was interim, I realized trying to do both was too much. It hit me, the best thing to do was give up coaching." Though the timing wasn't the best as the national signing day for volleyball players is Feb. 3, McDermott says the recruiting for next year's Metro team hasn't been hurt. Metro hopes to sign at least four players in February. The search for a new volleyball coach is already in progress. Feb. 1 is the deadline for applications, and McDermott feels Metro will get plenty of very qualified applicants. A new head coach is expected to be appointed by March 1, the beginning of spring practice. "Although I regret giving up coaching, this will benefit the athletic department and allow me to focus on my responsibilities as athletic director," McDermott said. McDermott led the Roadrunners to a 26-11 record in 1998, an NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" appearance, a No. 13 final national ranking and a share of the regular season Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship. McDermott was rewarded with the Southwest Region Coach of the Year honors. The season included two wins over the then No. 2-ranked Regis Rangers during the regular season, the first time Metro has swept the regular season series. McDermott reached a milestone this past season as she won her 400th career match on Oct. 18 against Fort Lewis. She had a five-year record of 136-64 (.680) at Metro and guided the Roadrunners to four NCAA Tournament appearances. She was 410-215 (.656) in her 17 years of coaching volleyball. McDermott also coached softball for 11 years at St. Mary's, Metro and Morningside. She finished her softball career with a record of 349-206-2 (.628). |
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Metro having a happy new year The Metro women's basketball team has found that things can be changed with the start of a new year. Before the start of the break, the Roadrunners were 6-5, sitting in the middle of the pack in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at 3-3. Since the start of the new year, the Roadrunners are on a six-game winning streak, (12-5, 7-3) and are looking like the team of old, the team that won the RMAC championship last year. A tournament in Miami before the start of 1999 marked the start of the new year for the Metro basketball team. With senior center Timmi-Jo Miller being named the tournament's most valuable player and junior guard Gabi Sandoval named to the first team all-tournament, the Roadrunners won the Barry Holiday Classic by beating Wingate University 75-72 and then host Barry University 75-68 in the championship game. Both games were not as easy as they seemed for Metro. Wingate came into the tournament with a 10-0 record and Barry at 9-1 when the Roadrunners played them. Metro forced 27 turnovers and shot 42 percent from the field in the opening round win over Wingate. Miller led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds while Sandoval came off the bench with 16 points. The big number was from the free throw line, where Metro went 18-for-21 while Wingate missed nine from the line (18-for-27). Moving into the championship game, the Roadrunners opened a 14-point halftime lead (45-31), but Barry was not going to die easily, as the Bucs outscored the Roadrunners 37-30 in the second half. However, it was not enough as Metro prevailed for the seven-point victory. Point guard Stephanie Allen had 16 points, including two three pointers. The two treys broke the school record for most three-pointers in a career. "The whole trip itself was a success," head coach Mike Power said. "When you're on a road trip for five days and every moment you're together as a team, you bond together as a team. That's the way we've played on the court ever since." Metro started the second half of the RMAC schedule with a 68-67 squeaker over Adams State on Jan. 16. The Roadrunners were led by Miller's 21 points and three rebounds, and senior center Shiloh Tiritas recorded her second double-double of the year, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 boards. Metro trailed by three points at the half (38-35), but connected on 14-of-31 from the field to take the lead for good in the second half. The night before, Metro was in Las Vegas, N.M., to take on New Mexico Highlands University in another RMAC showdown. The Roadrunners, again, trailed at the half by three points. For the second night in a row, Miller sparked Metro to the victory with 21 points and seven rebounds. Tiritas turned in her second double-double in as many nights, scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Junior Stephanie Allen scored 15 points, including three bombs from behind the arc. One of the reasons Metro has turned the season around is that the entire team is finally playing together, according to Power. Injuries have healed, and now Power can count on every member of the team to contribute. "Now we don't have to have someone step up every game, we have really nice balance," Power said. "If one person is not shooting well, we can look for another. We'll be successful if we're not complacent and selfish." Metro had a brief, two-game homestand before heading out to New Mexico with Southern Colorado and Universitry of Colorado atColorado Springs on Jan. 8-9. For the first time since destroying Fort Hays State (71-53), the Roadrunners had no problems putting both teams away early. "We've become kind of like a chameleon changing our colors," Power said. "We can now change and adapt to the teams we play against." With CU-Colorado Springs coming off their first win in conference play the night before against Colorado School of Mines, they looked to try and make Metro their second victim. It was not going to happen, as the Roadrunners carried a 21-point half time lead into the locker room and never looked back as they cruised to a 93-59 win. Junior forward Sarah Coleman came off the bench to score 18 points. In the match-up with Southern Colorado, Metro had a 22-point half time lead that they did not let go of, as Metro won 72-54. Coleman led the way, scoring 17 points off the bench. Senior center Shiloh Tiritas recorded her first double-double of the season (15 points, 14 rebounds). The big story for the game was Miller playing against her former teammates after leaving Southern Colorado a year ago. She scored 10 points and had four rebounds. Metro will host Mesa State and Western State this weekend, Jan 22-23, at the Auraria Events Center. |
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Divers qualify for nationals With the NCAA National Championships less than two months away the Metro Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving teams have two automatic qualifiers for the competition, divers Cari Lewton, a sophomore, and senior Dan Purifoy. Lewton, a former All-American who finished 10th at Nationals last year, had qualified for her two events by November, the three-meter, 11-dive event in the first meet of the season and the one-meter, six-dive competition November 14 against South Dakota. Purifoy, a team captain and two-time All-American swimmer, had also qualified for his spot at the national competition by November, posting a score of 292.35 in the three-meter, six-dive event against the University of Colorado at Boulder. Purifoy's score set a new school record for the event, edging out Dane Sandoval's mark of 285.35 from the 1990-91 season. Three other members have provisionally qualified for the national competition in March. In the 200 backstroke, senior Kristin Schweissing and junior Nancy Rowell have posted B standard times of 2:10.92 and 2:10.73 respectively. If the A standard time for this event of 2:08.79 is not met, both women should qualify for the competition. Also, junior Kaan Berberoglu has achieved the B standard qualifying time for the 50 freestyle with a time of 21:41. The team as a whole is also doing well. The men continued to be ranked nationally throughout the season. As of this week they are currently ranked 19th in Division II. They have reached this ranking with a dual meet record of 3-2 and 10-2 in invitationals, including a dual meet December 10 with Colorado College in which the men took first place in every individual event. Another strong showing by the men was January 16 at the Big Cat Relays hosted by Colorado College. There they placed first out of all five teams. The women also did well at the Big Cat Relays, placing second. This meet brought their record to 3-3 in dual meets and 9-9 in invitationals. The Roadrunners had five divers in the top six positions in both the one-meter and three-meter competitions at the Relays, including Lewton who placed first in each. Lewton also broke two school records this season, both in the three-meter category. In the six dive event she posted a score of 299.30 against Colorado College on December 10, 1998, breaking the previous record she set of 259.55 in the 1997-98 season. In the 11- dive competition she shattered the previous record of 363.50, held by current Metro teammate Jen Lawra in the 1995-96 season, by scoring a 435.20 at the Early Bird Invitational at Colorado State in October. Other records have also been broken this season on the women's team. Sophomore Sarah Lane set two new school records of her own in the pool. On Nov. 21, 1998 she set a record time of 11:04.70 in the 1,000 freestyle; a record that had been previously held by junior Cari Mudget from last season. Lane also exceeded senior Kristin Schweissing's 1,650 freestyle record of 18:22.42 from the 1996-97 season. At a meet last month against the University of Northern Colorado she posted a time of 18:14.76 to break the 1,650 freestyle record. The Roadrunners look to continue the success of this season and add to their list of national qualifiers in a meet this weekend against the Colorado School of Mines. The meet will be hosted by the School of Mines on Saturday, Jan. 23 beginning at 11 a.m. |
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