Volume 21 Issue 5 September 18, 1998 |
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Contents:
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NEWS |
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Do schools break the rules?
Students and professors protested what they called a violation of Colorado law at the state Department of Education Sept. 16. The protesters said public schools in Colorado ignore the historic contributions of ethnic minorities. About 40 attended the rally, including several Metro professors and students from each school on Auraria Campus. Colorado law requires public schools to teach the history, culture and contributions of ethnic minorities. "The issues they're raising are very legitimate ones," said William Moloney, state commissioner of education in a phone interview. "We see a disturbing gap between minority and non-minority programs." But Moloney said basic literacy training must trump any other educational agenda. "If a child can't read, how far are you going to get giving that child reading assignments which might explain about the heritage of Hispanic Americans in Colorado?" he asked. The marchers carried placards and Mexican flags from Auraria's Rectory building to Department of Education headquarters at 201 E. Colfax Ave. They shouted slogans such as, "Yo quiero apprender" - "I want to learn." "What we are fighting for is self-definition," said Obidike Kamau, a Metro African American Studies professor. "We have to move beyond the definition that the oppressor has placed on us." But Moloney said the dispute can't be settled at the Department of Education because the law doesn't specify curriculum guidelines. Local school districts set their own curricula, Moloney said. Metro Chicano Studies professor
Luis Torres headed the march. He and 11 organizations and individuals filed
a complaint against the Colorado State Board of Education on Dec. 3 last
year. The complaint alleges that Colorado public schools are breaking the
law by failing to teach Hispanic history, by not adequately helping students
for Torres said he's talked with the Department of Education several times about increasing education about the history of minorities, but to no avail. He said education is the only chance ethnic minorities have of breaking a pattern of low test scores and high dropout rates. "It's the only thing that will (work), There's no other thing to do it," he said. The march coincided with the anniversary of the beginning of Mexico's war for independence from Spain, 188 years ago. The group will hold a similar protest in February, commemorating Black History Month, according to Angell Perez, president of the Metro club United Women of Color, one of several groups that organized the protest. |
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Coors donates $315,000 The Coors Brewing Company has donated $315,000 to Metro for a program to recruit and train minority students to become teachers. The program, Teachers for Colorado, operates in partnership with the Denver Public Schools and the Jefferson County School District. Participants in the program receive full scholarships, tutoring and counseling. Graduates of the program are guaranteed interviews for teaching positions in the Denver, Jefferson County and St. Vrain school districts. Jerry Minjarez, Director of Teachers for Colorado, said the grant will help in recruiting 30 additional students each year beginning in fall 1999. "The shortage of qualified minority teachers is considered a major obstacle to the academic success of students of color," Minjarez said. "Minority teachers serve as role models for minority students. (The program) is attempting to address a need that is growing in the future." According to figures from Denver Public Schools, 74 percent of students in Denver schools are ethnic minorities, but only 24 percent of teachers are members of a minority group. The current ethnic breakdown of students in the Teachers for Colorado program is 74 percent Hispanic, 21 percent African American, 2 percent Native American and 3 percent Asian. The grant is the third donation Coors Brewing Company has made to the program. The first was $660,000 in 1994, followed by $50,000 in 1995. |
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Kaplan thanks faculty Faculty and staff are an important factor in defining Metro's success, said Metro President Sheila Kaplan Sept. 10 at this year's Convocation. "Because of your efforts, your commitment, and your support, we can respond to change, we can make ongoing and substantial progress on the college agenda, and we can prepare The Met and our students for the future," she said. Speaking to faculty, administrators, staff and students in the Tivoli Turnhalle, Kaplan spoke of the campus climate survey, taken to assess the status of relationships among diverse groups at the college. "We learned that everyone wants to be recognized and valued based on individual efforts and contributions," Kaplan said. "The importance was underscored of maintaining an open and supportive environment so people feel free to raise issues, questions and concerns." Faculty senate have voiced these concerns for the past year. The results of a survey performed by Faculty Senate stressed faculty did not think Kaplan appreciated them. The speech began with the faculty membersâ concern in mind. "My focus in this annual state of the college address is The Met's
most valuable asset, you," Kaplan said. Throughout her speech, Kaplan congratulated, thanked and praised everyone that worked at Metro. "Whether you are a member of the faculty, or of the exempt administration staff, or of the classified staff, your work on behalf of the college and our students is valued and appreciated," Kaplan said. "You make The Met work." Kaplan also spoke of Internet classes and the need to keep up with other colleges in that area. "Technology, moving at warp speed, is transforming the way in which teaching is delivered and learning occurs," said Kaplan. "Phoenix University now serves about 60,000 students. The United Kingdom-based Open University, with 200,000 students in the European Union and Asia, has branched to the United States." Since the first course went on line in spring of 1996, enrollment has grown from 24 students to 777 students. Today Metro offers 40 Web courses. |
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AIDS Walk team successful Members of the Auraria walk team in the 11th annual AIDS Walk surpassed their goal by more than $2,000. Composed of 180 walkers, the team exceeded its goal to raise $10,000, and raised more than $12,000, according to Karen Bensen, director of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Student Services. According to Bensen, two team walkers, Peggy Burress and Steve Mascaro, both of the University of Colorado at Denver, raised more than $1,000 each. "I think it's really important to participate in AIDS Walk," said Mascaro, who raised $1,500 this year. Mascaro has participated in all but one Colorado AIDS Walks. Mascaro's brother died in 1992 from complications of AIDS, and Mascaro said he sees "AIDS Walk as an opportunity to give back to the organizations such as Project Angel Heart that helped my family when we needed it." The 6.2-mile walk, which included 945 school and corporate teams, began in Cheesman Park, wrapped around City Park and finished back at Cheesman Park, where the crowd welcomed 57 bicycle riders, who raised an additional $130,000 on a six-day, 350-mile bike ride. The trip started in Colorado Springs, went through Boulder and Fort Collins, and ended in Denver. This year's AIDS Walk also included the Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, which depicts lives of AIDS victims on quilt panels. Many included pictures or written messages expressing loss or grief for those stricken by AIDS. According to the Colorado AIDS Project, an estimated 40,000 people are infected with HIV each year in the United States The money raised by the AIDS Walk is used to benefit AIDS patients, and will be used for prevention and education programs provided by the Colorado AIDS Project and 42 other organizations, according to the Colorado AIDS Project. |
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Auraria plans building purchase The Auraria Board of Directors Sept. 14 unanimously approved the purchase of the Lawrence Street Center located at 1380 Lawrence St. The University of Colorado at Denver and Auraria currently leases space at the building near the campus. The purchase of the center is primarily to provide administrative office space for CU-Denver. Metro and Community College of Denver may also rent space in the facility. The campus institutions rent approximately 60,000 sq. feet of 166,000 rentable sq. feet in the building. Dean Wolf, Auraria's executive vice president for Administration, said the board's philosophy has been to keep academic and classroom functions within the Speer/Colfax/Auraria Parkway/5th Street boundaries. "There are only administrative offices at the center and there are no classes there," Wolf said. He added CU-Denver has been leasing office space at the Lawrence Street Center for about six or seven years due to insufficient space on the Auraria campus. The problem of high rent expense with the rapidly rising lease rates in downtown Denver made the rental undesirable. The Board had been looking for an opportunity to fix the problem. Wolf said the asking price from Mutual of New York was $19,250,000. Wolf said this figure has been lowered to $18,870,750 because of some minor changes needed inside the building. "This is a very structurally sound building, but there are basic things that need to be done such as caulking," Wolf said. "We also need to put call buttons in elevators." Wolf said financing will be through a bond issue and payment will be made with income generated by the building. The Auraria Foundation will issue bonds through the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority and the revenue to pay the bonds is guaranteed by the CU Foundation. Attorney Frederic Marienthal, bond counsel to AHEC and the Auraria Foundation, said the foundation will issue taxable and non-taxable bonds since some of the space will continue to generate income from private tenants such as private businesses and KOA and other radio stations. Marienthal said the Auraria Foundation will pay $500,000 in ernest money on Sept. 30. Earnest money is a cash deposit made by a prospective buyer as evidence of good faith to buy property. "There is a strict time table for the transactions to take place," Marienthal said. He said the closing should occur about Oct. 20. |
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Adults responsible for children's hate Adults are ultimately responsible for hate crimes perpetrated by children, a panel of community advocates said Thursday afternoon on Auraria Campus. Speaking to students, faculty and parents, Bernard Goldman from the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Birth; the Reverend Lee Gill Ford from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and the director of the Juvenile Diversion program at the Denver District Attorney's Office, Regina Huerter, addressed the issue of children and hate crimes in Colorado and across the country. "Children are not born with hate," Goldman said. "They've got to be taught." Goldman said most children who perpetrate hate crimes could trace their beliefs back to their parents and their home environments. "It's dining-room table 101," Ford said. The continued growth of hate crimes in Denver has led the district attorney's office to establish a joint treatment program with the Anti-Defamation League in order to treat the behavior, attitudes and beliefs of juvenile hate criminals, Huerter said. "I wish I could tell you that I've been able to change all their beliefs and attitudes," Huerter said. "I'd be lying." The panel also warned that adults create prejudiced images presented through
television and other media outlets. Hate crimes can manifest themselves in many different ways according to Huerter. Subcultures, such as the Ku Klux Klan and the White Aryan Resistance, actively recruit new members and attempt to influence communities through local recruiting drives. These groups offer the promise of legitimacy for their ideas and help to promote the violence associated with them, Huerter said. The panel was sponsored by the University of Colorado Grant for Student Life and University of Colorado Student Activities. The series will meet on Thursdays at 2 p.m. in Tivoli room 320 A and B through the fall semester. |
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Students to grade courses The results of course surveys students fill out at the end of every semester will no longer be a mystery. Alvis Montogomery, Metro's student government vice president for campus communications, said student government is working on publishing a booklet that would grade courses based on student opinions. The group plans on publishing the book annually. This booklet would allow students to know what other students thought of courses and professors before selecting their classes, Montgomery said. "What we don't want this to become is a personal attack on teachers," Montgomery said. "We're really not interested in evaluating the personality traits of an instructor. We really want to focus this so it's on the course content." The booklet, which is scheduled to come out at the end of spring semester 1999, would list professors by their department and give letter grades based on eight different categories. Categories such as instructor's interest in whether students learned, instructor's enthusiasm and relationship of examinations to material emphasized in the course will be given an A, B, C, D or F. The eight categories chosen to represent student opinions are based on an informal poll the student government did this summer, Montgomery said. The poll assimilated 19 of the most common questions from the surveys professors give at the end of the semester, Montgomery said. Approximately 100-125 students completed the poll, giving a total of 652
responses, Mont-gomery said. The responses to the 19 questions were ranked
according to what students thought were the most important questions in
surveying a course, she said. CU-Denver presents their teacher evaluations along with their student handbook. Guy Patterson, CU-Denver's student body president, said CU-Denver students are responsive to the handbook and he considers the evaluations important to students. "As students, especially at this campus, we're consumers buying a product," Patterson said. "This is our consumer report." The results of the student surveys are compiled by Institutional Research every semester, Mont-gomery said. However, the data isn't interpreted so that students can deduce the results and make informed decisions, she said. Montogomery said publishing a booklet of teacher evaluations has always been a topic of discussion, but there's a lot of work involved. "By the time you can see it to fruition, your term is over," she said. Montgomery said right now student government is working with Institutional Research to provide an accurate scale so the surveys can be interpreted to reflect the student responses. Andy Nicholas, Metro's student government president, said student government still needs to meet with the Faculty Senate to discuss the evaluations. No final decisions have been made regarding exactly how faculty will be rated in the evaluations, he said. |
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Provost search frustrates Faculty Senate The majority of Faculty Senate are not happy with Metro's policies regarding hiring searches and faculty's involvement on the Screening Committee for Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. A search is being conducted to fill the position left by Sharon Severts. Cheryl Norton has acted as interim provost since Severts resigned in May 1997. Faculty members expressed concern at the last Faculty Senate meeting that an external search would best serve the college rather than the internal search currently being done. By increasing the number of applicants, the Faculty Senate majority agreed the college would have a better chance of getting the best person for the job. They say faculty is not being adequately represented on the screening committee for the position. They also say a fair search is not being done. Monys Hagen, Faculty Senate president, sent a letter on behalf of the Faculty Senate majority to Metro President Sheila Kaplan addressing senate concerns regarding faculty involvement on committees and the use of an internal search as opposed to a national search. Although division chairpersons of sociology, anthropology, Chicano studies, and marketing and human services are on the search committee, the faculty majority consider them administrators. They do not think that division chairs could do the same job as a regular faculty member on the committee. The vice president of Academic Affairs will, by definition, work with faculty. "If we do not have the option to interview candidates, we could conceptually wind up with a provost that doesn't understand faculty," Hagen said. But active faculty are represented on the committee. "I consider myself a faculty member," said Luis Torres, chairman of the Chicano Studies Department and member of the screening committee. "I've been a regular faculty member for a long time. I teach three classes. I teach quite a bit. I can express my opinion whether I am a chair or not." Ken Keller, chair of anthropology, agreed. "Chairs, regardless if they are administrators, are still faculty," he said. "You do see more of the administration side than faculty as a division chair. That does not mean you're not faculty." The other department chairs representing faculty on the screening committee were unavailable for comment. Andy Nicholas, student government president and a member of the screening committee, said SGA should not be concerned with faculty's objections. He said that faculty division chairs could best represent faculty. Karmin Trujillo, last year's SGA president disagreed. "I back what faculty senate is saying," Trujillo said. "The search committee has all administrators on it. When I was taken out as a regular student, I lost touch with the students. A division chair could lose touch of what it's like to be in the classroom." Some members of SGA agree with Trujillo. "Lots of things he (Nicholas) says are not the view of student government. Sometimes saying things to sound good aren't the right thing to do," said David Yoos, student government vice-president of academic affairs. Yoos expressed concern that he didn't know about the committee until recently. He intends to pursue the reason that SGA had no information on the committee they are represented on at this week's SGA meeting. English professor Eugene Saxe said the faculty wants to know where they stand and they think they are being shut out of the process to hire a person who would ultimately represent them. "Two years ago, Dr. Severts gave us a commitment that there would be faculty representation on committees," Saxe said. "We need some commitment from our administration as to whether or not that commitment they made is still in effect. There is no particular concern for Faculty Senate representation. I think that that should tell us something loud and clear." The search is also under scrutiny. Faculty asked why a national search is not being done. The Recruitment and Appointment Policies and Procedures of the college answer: "The appointing authority may choose to fill a position through an internal search to foster upward mobility within the college." Debbie Thomas, college spokeswoman, stressed the college wants to promote from within as much as possible. Kaplan sent a letter to Hagen Sept. 15. She informed her of college policies regarding the use of an internal as opposed to an external search. She also said that faculty will be welcome to attend the open meeting of the screening process. Kaplan said faculty would have the opportunity to share their views, conclusions and recommendations with the members of the committee that faculty are on. To change college policy, a member of faculty would need to recommend the change to the handbook committee. After review, the committee would submit the change to the President's Cabinet. From there, it would go for approval to the Board of Trustees for the State Colleges in Colorado, Metro's governing board. |
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Binge drinking increasing among college women (U-WIRE) MORGANTOWN, W.V. — At campuses across the nation, binge drinking among female students is on the rise. Binge drinking is defined as the consumption of five or more drinks in a row on at least one occasion. A new survey of college student drinking recently completed by the Harvard School of Public Health revealed several factors that predict which students are most likely to be binge drinkers. Among the most important factors were why more females in the last decade have become binge drinkers. The most general reason for percentage increase is due to more females attending college. Sociologists feel that females are more likely to be binge drinkers now than 10 years ago because it is more socially acceptable. It is just not guys hanging out in the bars anymore. Research also found that members of sororities are four times as likely to be binge drinkers compared to other students. Females that participate in college athletics are almost one-and-a-half times more likely to be binge drinkers. Sociologist have found that female binge drinkers experience at least five or more alcohol related problems. Frequent female binge drinkers are seven to 16 times more likely than non-binge drinkers to miss class and get behind in their schoolwork. Studies show that binge drinking by females is a factor in 66 percent of student suicides and 60 percent of all sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV. Twenty-six percent of women binge drinkers engage in unplanned sexual activity, and 15 percent do not use protection when they have sex. For years administrators have emphasized educational responses to this problem on college campuses. Though experts agree that these efforts should continue, they do not agree that they will be sufficient. Most experts believe that a broader approach is needed, one that seeks to change social, legal and economic environment in which students make decisions about their alcohol use. |
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Students oppose Alaskan drilling Student environmentalists concerned about the possible drilling for oil in Alaska demonstrated on the Lawrence Street Mall Sept. 15. "We would like students to vote for candidates who support the Arctic Wilderness Refuge Bill or contact your local representatives and senators and demand that he or she co-sponsors the bill," said Brian Combs, event coordinator for the Save America's Arctic Campaign. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a 19 million-acre land preserve inhabited
by the world's largest herd of caribou, polar bears, moose, other endangered
species, and 7,000 Eskimo villagers. Approximately 65 miles east of the
Arctic Refuge is Prudhoe Bay, North America's largest oil field, which holds
about 13 billion barrels of oil. Geologists estimate the Arctic Refuge to hold 7 billion barrels, according to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Sarah Scott, campus organizer for the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, said it is not necessary to open the refuge for oil. Recently, the government planned to tap into the National Petroleum Reserve, a reserve once used for naval oil emergency, and make it public use. "We have a surplus of oil on the market, and oil prices are at a record low,ä Scott said. "If we are opening the Navy reserves for oil we don't need, why do we need to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil we don't need?" Oil company representatives explain the new development will create jobs throughout the country and steer the nation away from foreign oil dependency. New building tactics are also designed to co-exist with the wildlife. Pipelines will not interfere with caribou migration, roads will be strictly formed of ice, and drilling will only occur during the winter when animals are least sensitive. "Oil drilling means oil spills," Scott said. The North Slope pipelines have a history of oil leakage. In upcoming elections, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge bill will be voted on by Congress. According to Combs, the bill would permanently keep oil industries out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. |
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COMMENTARY |
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Kaplan, get back in the saddle Let me start by saying I've always liked President Kaplan. She doesn't suffer fools gladly. In fact, she doesn't suffer them at all. She calls 'em like she sees 'em, and even if I disagreed with her call, I knew she was going to stick to her guns. She's a tough, no-nonsense woman, with a New York attitude and accent to match. That said, I can not whole-heartedly support her glowing, laudatory diatribe at this year's convocation. Yes, I feel that her praise of the faculty was long past-due, but I can't help but wonder about the meaning behind the words. It just all smells too political. Kaplan's been under fire from every direction since she took office. Most lately, a barrage of surveys blasting her leadership and a standoff with our beloved Faculty Senate are what most rapidly springs to mind. Every Student Government Assembly administration seems hell-bent on finding some way to lock horns with her — whether it be over a poorly selected moniker for the school or her favorite shade of blue. That's why her speech was such a hard pill to swallow. It was almost as though she had been cowed to a point of near-submission, hanging her head and tucking her tail while backing away from the dinner plate. Don't get me wrong. Several of the points she made outlining the college's successes as of late are good ones. The $1.7 million grant Metro nabbed to help with student retention, part-time faculty development and student access to technology is a beautiful thing. The U S West $1 million commitment to Metroâs school of business is a big boon. So why did she skirt the attacks instead of meeting them here head on? Personally, I think the Faculty Senate has a point. I think calling Metro ãThe Met,ä is sophomoric. I think corporate sponsorship of education at any level is a risky business at best. But I respect Kaplanâs refusal to back down from what she thinks is right. So her speech comes off sounding seriously insincere, which is not an adjective I would ever use when describing her. 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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Did no one take history? Hello? "If a President of the United States ever lied to the American people, he should resign." — Bill Clinton, 1974. Fourteen Metro students have trouble identifying key government officials involved in the presidential crises, yet, they are ready to exonerate President Clinton. A majority of the 15 people I questioned for this column can't name the attorney general of the United States. One said Ken Starr. Another sort of mumbled, "uh, Starr?" I am holding out hope for a third who said, "That ugly lady." But these people know enough to determine if our top bong-hitter and supreme
saxophonist is capable of leading the country? Here are my questions:
Everyone questioned answered the last query correctly, which, in my mind, confirms my suspicion that many people are judging the president based on what others say and not by any deductive reasoning. My theory holds that Johnny and Jenny go home each night and catch a bit
of some politico speaking on television. Johnny and Jenny are nincompoops repeating what they are told like a 2-year-old pulling the string out of a doll's ass. The story here is that nobody thinks for themselves, yet Clinton waits
for our collective judgment. Our president's I'm not comforted. The correct answers to my questions go like this.
I felt a lot like Johnny and Jenny when talking to these 15 people. I hope I didn't pull too hard. Kyle Ringo is a Metro student and columnist for The Metropolitan. His e-mail address is ringok@mscd.edu |
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FEATURES |
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CAPITAL FINISH Metro student Leonard Bortolotto completed the last leg of the biggest ride of his life as he rode from City Park to Cheesman Park. At the finish line, more than 100 people gathered to cheer him and 56 other CAP the Rockies riders into the park. The CAP the Rockies tour, the first such bicycle tour of its kind in Colorado, benefitted the Colorado AIDS Project and various other local AIDS projects. The 57 riders raised $130,000 to help these projects. Starting in Denver, the tour went through Colorado Springs, Pine, Nederland, Fort Collins and Boulder before the cyclists returned home. The ride into Cheesman Park was planned to coincide with the end of the annual AIDS Walk Colorado event. So as the last of the 15,000 AIDS Walk participants poured into Cheesman Park, cheered on by the crowd of fellow walkers, family, friends and event staff, Bortolotto's band of cycling comrades made their way to the other side of the park to enjoy their accomplishment with a smaller group of well-wishers. "In six days everybody got to know each other pretty well," Bortolotto said as he leaned against the Italian racing bike he rode through the tour. "They're good riders. There was a couple of people I met that I was compatible riding with, and I hope that I can ride with them again." Three weeks earlier, Bortolotto wondered if he would be able raise the $2,000 donation that CAP the Rockies required to join the tour. A last-minute donation from student government President Andy Nicholas, who originally planned to participate in the CAP the Rockies ride but had to drop out due to prior student government commitments, saved him from having to quit, Bortolotto said. Nicholas said he wanted to make sure at least one person from Metro would finish the tour. So he donated all the money he collected during his attempt to join the tour to Bortolotto, more than $700. "My only request was that he rode with Ryan in mind," Nicholas said. Ryan was Nicholas' cousin who died of AIDS complications. "Andy Nicholas helped out big time," Bortolotto said. "If it wasn't for his contributions, I would not have made it or would have just barely made it." However, even after Nicholas's contribution, Bortolotto still did not have enough money to join the tour. So he threw a fundraising party at the Handle Bar & Grill Aug. 30. About 30 people attended, and it raised more than $400 to finish his donation quota. With the donations in, Bortolotto set his sights on the tour. He said he planned to treat the tour like a race, wanting to challenge himself as much as possible. "We treated it like a race against ourselves," he said. "Going out every day was no problem, the toughest part was probably getting up at 5 a.m. every morning before sunrise, breaking down the tent, putting the tent back up, breaking it down again. But it was a great ride." Bortolotto said he brought his books with him but did not have time to study. His books, along with all his other personal non-cycling gear was handled by support staff that helped the riders along the way. The staff provided breakfasts before each dayâs ride and dinner afterward. The volunteer staff followed the riders to assure that their ride went smoothly, helping with flat tires and other roadside repairs. The staff also provided a 'sag wagon,' a car that picked up the cyclists before dark to make sure any stragglers were not left on the trail. Bortolotto said he never needed to use the sag wagon. As he walked toward a tent set aside for the riders, thanking and hugging other cyclists on the way, his thoughts moved towards the future. "I hope to get it together for next year and plan for next year," he said. "I want to tell all my friends and hopefully we can get 300 riders next year instead of just 57." Bortolotto said he hopes to graduate in May and probably will not be able to represent Metro in next year's race. Yet, as he prepared to eat lunch and reflect with comrades on the ride, he added, "But, maybe, I'll come back and help organize the riders on campus and try to get something together." |
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Dig in Peru Francisco Pizzaro decimated the Inca empire in the 16th century, yet the ancient Peruvian legacy is being recovered by a Metro professor piece by piece. A team of 18 Metro students, lead by Jon Kent, associate professor of anthropology, began an excavation of an ancient Peruvian town that may provide answers to the questions of the past. Kent, in conjunction with the California Institute for Peruvian Studies and the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, began to excavate the Santa Rita B site this summer. What they found turned an exploratory six-week venture into a 10-15 year project. The site, rediscovered in the 1970s, is located in the Chao River Valley, approximately 20 miles inland from Peru's northern coast. Set in the Andean foothills, the site measures 1.5 by 1 miles. "It was a lot larger than we thought," Kent said. "It is several times the size of Auraria Campus." The site was overgrown by vegetation when the team arrived in June, so locals had to be hired to cut away the growth on the architecture, Kent said. "Some areas were ankle deep in pottery that dated as early as 1000 B.C." Human bones were also found on the surface. Kent said he used a hand-held global positioning unit to fix the coordinates of the site. These units receive data from satellites to calculate the holder's position on earth. The boundary of the site was completed in four days, Kent said. Accompanying the team of Metro students were two volunteers from Denver, one graduate student from the University of Colorado at Denver, two students from Pittsburgh, one student from Louisiana, and several Peruvian students and faculty. Boulders of various sizes covered the site and rising out of the rock, were ancient Peruvian structures of stone and adobe. "We had to start forming tentative ideas about why certain things were located where they were and which areas were older than others," Kent said. The site was littered with holes about two meters deep. He said this was evidence of looters. Some of the looting was done by locals, Kevin Hurtt, 28, said. These locals sold artifacts to bring in extra income for their families, said Hurtt, a Metro senior. "Some were proud of their looting," he said. To save time, the team of 30 people used these looting holes to begin digging up the past. More than 5,000 artifacts, beads, textiles, copper pieces and human bones were found. In two holes, the digging had to stop because there was too much rock, yet artifacts were still being uncovered, Kent said. "We are not positive that we reached the bottom," he said. Excitement filled the team one day when part of a looter's hole floor caved in and revealed a small opening leading underground, Mike Kirn, 29, said. The opening wasn't big enough to crawl through, yet upon shining a light into it, a massive wall was discovered, Kirn, a Metro senior, said. The wall was built from rounded rocks weighing possibly 60 to 70 pounds each, Kirn said. "It was cool," hesaid. It is possible that this discovery may open up to an entire city lying underneath the ground, Kirn said. "We were so jazzed, yet we realized to get to this buried structure, we would have to move a huge amount of dirt," Kent added. A sample of charcoal was taken from the levels of dirt above the opening and carbon dating will help establish a date of when the wall was built. "There is a lot more down there," he said. However, investigations of the surface structures still needed to be completed, so the mystery wall would have to wait until next year. The team stayed in the town Buena Vista for six weeks. The population neared 200 and was eight miles from the site. Getting to the site was an ordeal because of the rocky terrain, Kent said. "It took 50 minutes to travel eight miles," he said. The team's truck was ineffective on such terrain, so a local offered to rent them his vehicle. It was big. It was rusty. It was bright red. "We rented a 1952 bus," Kent said, "It was perfect for our needs because this bus had been going over these roads since 1952 and was very happy to keep going over them." The bus had to be push started, yet it never failed to get them to the site, Kent said. After an exhausting day of excavation, the team retired to their living quarters in a restaurant in Buena Vista. It had a dirt floor and was crowded, Kent said. The team slept on twin-sized mattresses that were almost right next to each other, Kent said. "The cramped living conditions caused some disagreements towards the end," Kirn said. Rice and beans dominated the menu, yet chickens, goats and the occasional guinea pig were consumed. "(Guinea pig) tastes like greasy chicken," Kirn said. "We had to get used to grasshoppers jumping into our soup," Kent said. A plague of grasshoppers and crickets invaded the area and frequently dive bombed the team during the evening meals. A mosquito like insect, resembling a flying sword, would sting someone occasionally, yet the most common annoyance were the sand flea bites, Kent said. "The trip was much more than just digging," Kent said. In six weeks, the team uncovered thousands of clues into the ancient Peruvian way of life, and are preparing to return next summer. "The Spanish didn't destroy all of the indigenous culture," Kent said. "Yet identifying the people who were there before the colonial period must come from archeology." A 10-15 year project is needed to expose most of the site's possibilities. "We have tons of data now that will take a while to work through," he said. Plans for next year's trip have already begun. A trip to that can provide a mysterious wall, a big red bus and a guinea pig that taste's like chicken. Metro researchers found more than 5,000 artifacts, beads, textiles, copper pieces and human bones. |
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Students visit Lost City in the Andes Several students took a break from their excavation at the Santa Rita B site and ventured into the Andes to find what locals call the Lost City. Local Peruvians said there were ruins in the Andes of an ancient city, believed to have been inhabited by Incans. The students, Mike Kirn, 29, a Metro senior and Kevin Hurtt, 28, a Metro senior traveled two days to the city, high in the mountains. "It was simply amazing to be up in this isolated Incan area with no one else around," Hurtt said. A mist of clouds covered the valley below, Hurtt said. Broken stone pillars and an abundance of pottery were found, yet no human bones were present, Hurtt said. The last time a foreigner had been to the city was when two Frenchmen had attempted it 25 years ago. According to a local rumor, Kirn said, they never returned. |
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SPORTS |
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Don't recruit a jackass Last week I promised to give you insight into the world of college coaching. This week we will explore the wonderful world of recruiting. Recruiting is the biggest part of coaching at the college level. "You can't win the Kentucky Derby with a jackass," is the theory that governs our recruiting. We must find student-athletes who fit the title. All athletic programs at Metro strive to find students who will do well in the classroom as well as on the court, the field or in the pool. NCAA rules set the minimum test and GPA standards that incoming freshman must have, which in most cases are more stringent than the institution's standards. If we recruit student athletes who cannot meet our initial eligibility standards, or we recruit students whom we can't retain after a year or two of school, we are spinning our wheels. In theory, Division II athletes are a happy medium. The administrators at Metro expect us to win, but at the same time, we must not sacrifice the academic integrity of our programs. This helps us not only sell our athletic programs, but we can honestly say to a prospect that his or her education is a priority to us. The actual process that we go through to get students here is an interesting one. Identification of the players who we would like to go after is fairly easy. We receive hundreds of letters and videos each year from potential Pelés. We are actually interested in seeing a few play. As a reasonably priced
state school, we also get interest from students who have gone away to school
and would like to transfer back to the Denver area to finish school and
compete in a top-notch program.Many of our sports have done well with transfer
students over the last few years. The network of high school and club coaches tells us where to go to see these players. By attending top-level tournaments, we are able to see a large number of players in a short period of time with relatively little expense. A good part of this identification process occurs during the prospects' junior year. Once we know who we want to go after, the fun begins. July 1, after the prospects' junior year, is the day we start calling them. The top ones get calls that day and once a week until they either sign with us or put call blocking on their telephones and file a restraining order against us. For our staff, most nights between July and March are spent on the phone selling our program. When it is time to get serious, the home visit is used. This is the time when we are able to look a prospect and his or her parents in the eye and convince them that we are for real. Sometimes we even get a good home-cooked meal out of the deal. In the end, It is the school itself that is one of our best salesman. When a young man or woman gets on campus and sees great facilities, meets honest and dedicated people and finds themselves in the center of everything Denver has to offer, it is hard not to put our school at the top of the list. Unless, of course, you want to live in a dorm and eat cafeteria food. |
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Streak up after four It wasn't Joltin' Joe's 56 games with a hit or Michael Jordan's endless
string of contests in double figures, but the But after playing more than 360 minutes of staunch defense to start the season, Metro finally allowed a score Sept. 11 in the first half of a 3-1 win over the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Southern Colorado Thunderwolves at Auraria Fields. Junior Kelly Johannes, the Roadrunner's goalkeeper in the game, knew the streak would end sometime. "I am disappointed that (the streak) came to an end," Johannes said. "But it's good that it wasn't to a loss." The goal, scored by Southern Colorado's Beth Ashcraft, a freshman, made the half-time score 1-1. Metro's Ariana O'Neill, a senior, had scored first on an assist from junior Pam DeLuca. The Roadrunners scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half to nail down a 5-0 start to the season for the second straight year. "We took it to them in the second half," coach Ed Montojo said. "We got them pinned in and didn't let them out." DeLuca scored her fourth goal of the season, followed by an own-goal off a corner kick, which was credited to junior Kari Pierce. "I feel good about our undefeated record. We are working well as a team and are behind each other all the way," freshman Jennifer Kitano said. Kitano suffered a slight wrist injury but returned to the game. "We click more than any other year I've been here," senior co-captain Katie Pierce said. "We look at the whole picture, not just individual stats." Even Montojo sees the changes in his team, which started 6-0 last year before finishing one game above .500. "The players get along this year, they are supportive and push each other to do better in practice and on the field," Montojo said. The Roadrunners should have played at home against New Mexico Highlands on Sept. 13, another RMAC team, but postponed the game due to a lack of healthy players for New Mexico. The game was rescheduled to Oct. 8 at 3:30 p.m. |
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