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Vol. 38, Iss. 3
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Since 1966 UCCSScribe.comMonday, September 16, 2013 University of Colorado Colorado Springs Vol. 38, Iss. 3
Dueling Film
Film students at UCCS may be confused by two different fi lm departments on campus 3
News
Science &Business
Culture
Opinion
Sports
element 115The existence of an element discovered in 2004 has now been confi rmed 4
New facultyChemistry professor and lab coordinator 4
Baja Club
Engineering students at UCCS build their own car 5
youTuber
A student on campus develops his online video prescence 6
Al-Jazeera
The American media landscape is about to be changed 9
Note-taking
Professors should allow students to use technology 9
Tennis player
Student balances academics, lifting and tennis 11
Christian athletes
Support available on campus 11
Floods across Colorado impact many
Recall voters in Colorado’s 11th Congressional District delivered a message to state Senate President John Morse (D-Colorado Springs) last week, establishing him as the fi rst senator to be recalled in Colorado history. Conceding soon after 9 p.m. Sept.10, Morse stated, “The highest rank in a democracy is citizen, not senate president.” Morse went on to say he had “no regrets” over passing the legislation that helped spur the recall. Morse lost by a little more than 2 percentage points while
neighboring Sen. Angela Gi-ron of Pueblo (D), who was also recalled, lost by a margin of 12. Each recall campaign was originally initiated by grass-roots individuals disturbed by what they perceived as a lack of listening to constituents by their legislatures. “Their constituents were say-ing, ‘No, don’t run this legisla-tion through the senate,’” said Nev Haynes, recruiting direc-tor of the College Republicans at UCCS. “They fl agrantly ig-nored their constituency.” “People we elect into offi ce … They work for us,” added
Continued on page 3 . . .
Two southern Colorado state senators out after historic recallDezarae Yoder
With its largest population to date, UCCS currently has 10,500 enrolled students, not including those enrolled in ex-tended studies. The infl ux has affected mul-tiple organizations on campus, but the administration main-tains UCCS is prepared to meet the challenge. Jeff Davis, executive director of the University Center, said the bookstore did have some books that went out of stock, but “that happens no matter how many students there are.” “With an increase in online orders, the lines in the book-store haven’t been too long for the workers to handle,” Davis said. “I think that helped ex-pedite the process of getting students moving in and out ef-fectively.” “I think that as we’ve had the increase in students, that’s im-pacting everything from class-room availability, to parking, to books, to getting through food service. The campus is doing everything we can to mitigate those circumstances,” he added. As reported in the Sept. 2
issue, a 1,227-stall parking garage will be completed in March. While construction is ongoing, parking has been strained with 5,195 parking spaces on campus and 1,600 freshmen. Jim Spice, executive director of Parking and Transportation, estimated about 100 parking spaces at the upcoming Lane Center have been lost because of construction. An additional 100-150 spac-es have also been lost south of the Lane Center, also for con-struction-related reasons. Lot 15, a new parking lot north of the Four Diamonds Complex, added 440 spaces to help offset the loss. Russell Saunkeah, Sodexo general manager, wrote in an email that The Lodge expand-ed the dining facility to accom-modate 80 more seats. In addition, Sodexo repur-posed tables and chairs from the old Overlook Café for the new facility and changed the Lodge dining format to serve from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays. Sodexo has also had to increase pizza production and the amount of Continued on page 3 . . .
Largest population to date impacts campus in different waysApril Wefl er
awefl [email protected]
LEFT, BOTTOM RIGHT: JAMES SIBERT | THe SCRiBe TOP RIGHT: NATHAN BRUZDZINSKI | CU iNDePeNDeNT
P. 2
DEZARAE YODER | THe SCRiBe
Sens. Morse and Giron were recalled Sept. 10.
September 16, 2013 nEWs2
Heavy rain across Colo-rado led to property damage and large-scale evacuations in northern and central parts of the state, ranging from Boulder to Manitou Springs. Area media reported one Colorado Springs fatality as of Friday afternoon; a body was discovered by authorities near I-25. This brings the death toll to four, including a fatality near Jamestown and two in Boulder County.
The National Weather Service based out of Pueblo received reports from the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network of rainfall from 2-5 inches throughout Colorado Springs and surrounding areas. CoCoRaHS is a non-profi t organization of trained com-munity volunteers who measure and report precipitation. CoCoRaHS submitted one report, however, of 8.2 inches in an area approximately 2.1 miles southwest of Colorado Springs. Patrick Cioffi , a meteorolo-gist with the weather service in
Pueblo, said that while the aver-age precipitation for September is 1.19 inches, his offi ce is al-ready reporting 1.97 inches for this month. Coiffi indicated it is too early to make specifi c precipitation calculations for the coming week. However, the weather service predicts off-and-on showers over the coming week but expects drier conditions to emerge Tuesday through Thurs-day. “It doesn’t do a lot for our long-term water supply,” said Patrice Lehermeier, Colorado
Springs Utilities’ senior public affairs specialist. According to Lehermeier, the water defi cit in Colorado Springs is too severe to be fi xed by sporadic, if heavy, rain. Heavy snow high in the moun-tains is required to improve wa-ter reserves, she said. Despite power and waste con-cerns in other areas of the state, utilities in Colorado Springs are secure. “The system is holding up pretty well,” Lehermeier said. CSU corrected minor power outages south of the Springs
and several natural gas outages in Manitou Springs Thursday night. Xcel Energy, which provides utilities to areas of the state that have been severely impacted, contacted CSU to request assis-tance. According to Lehermeier, CSU needed to fi rst gauge the needs of its own customers, then they can lend a hand. “We do plan for these,” said Lehermeir. “Part of it is prepa-ration, and part of it is just re-sponding in the moment.”
Floods impact most of Colorado through end of week
sub bread rolls they bake each day for Sub Connection. “Clyde’s has been very busy as well, with the usual lunch rush lasting well into the mid-afternoon,” he said. “To date, we are experiencing anywhere from a 100-150 guest increase for lunch and dinner, about 50-60 for breakfast,” he said. In addition, there has been a 13 percent increase in resident meal plans. “The campus is doing every-thing we can to mitigate those circumstances,” Davis said. Sarah Hook, a senior major-ing in English secondary educa-tion, disagreed. “I wonder if we have enough resources to take care of the students we have. I feel a little stiffed on parking,” she said. “I wish we were taking care of all our students.” When the campus fi rst opened in 1965, enrollment was more than 1,000 students. Four years ago, when Homer Wesley, vice chancellor for student success and enrollment management, started working here, the enroll-ment was more than 8,000 for the fall semester. Wesley said the administra-tion was prepared for the infl ux of students. “[W]e tried to an-ticipate what that growth would look like and then we tried to plan for that by putting in more faculty and staff.” However, despite prepared-ness for more students, the ad-ministration was pleased with the results. “I think we’ve had good success, but I think the university has really planned toward that end and worked to make it happen and the fact that it actually worked, you could say that it was a pleasant sur-prise,” Wesley said. “We’d like to grow, but we wanna do that in a way that maintains the personal touch that people view as being part of UCCS’ character. We want to grow, but we don’t want things to change.”
Ralph Giese, director of Res-idence Life and Housing, said there are still spots available and that housing has worked through its waitlist. He explained, if the campus hadn’t added the 192 beds this year, “I don’t think we would’ve been able to accommodate ev-erybody at this point.” However, The Scribe report-ed in the Sept. 2 issue that the chancellor said the school had to turn away 300 students be-cause housing was not available for them. In a follow up interview, Giese said, “We had a substantial waitlist; I don’t know if it ever reached 300. I am not aware of that” and added that a different media outlet had misquoted the chancellor, even though there was no mention of that outlet or its article in the conversation with Giese. Giese said that Tamara Moore, director of marketing for auxiliary services, told him the outlet had misquoted. How-ever, Moore said she told Giese that she wasn’t sure when the chancellor made the comment or what she was referring to. “We never had 300 students on the waitlist,” Moore told The Scribe. The Centers for Academic Excellence are also bracing for the increased enrollment. Barbara Gaddis, executive director of the offi ce of fi rst year experience and student reten-tion, said the excel centers have seen a 13 percent increase in students from where they were this time last year. Already, the centers have been visited by 7,222 students, which doesn’t include online tu-toring, classes or workshops. The excel centers have tried to adapt to the increase. “We’re working with housing to see if we can work with housing stu-dents in housing. We’re doing tutoring in the housing areas,” she said.
Gaddis said the centers are also hiring more tutors and trying to get groups together. “We’re try-ing to go into the classroom, so there aren’t as many people in the centers.” She said the Communication Center is working with the fresh-men seminar classes and going into the classes. In addition, the centers are having supplemental instruction and review sessions. “We’re trying to keep the crowd out. We’re trying to be really creative,” Gaddis said. Aimée Morgado, Writing Center consultant, said the cen-ter is seeing a wider variety of students earlier in the semester. “They’re coming in ear-lier. Usually, the fi rst couple of weeks are slower than this,” added Hook, the student. The Writing Center and Oral Communication Center still had appointments available to-ward the end of last week, but the Oral Communication Center said students should start mak-ing appointments ahead of time starting this week. Within the last year, the num-
ber of students awarded fi nan-cial aid has also increased by 10.8 percent. In addition, the fi nancial aid applications have increased by 10.9 percent. Despite the increase, Jevita Rogers, director of Financial Aid, said because fi nancial aid is cyclical and she has been working with it for the last 22 years, the fi nancial aid offi ce was prepared for the infl ux of students. The entire offi ce is “all hands on deck” during what Rogers calls the fall start-up. She said people who usually work in IT have been required to answer the phones just like the other employee in the offi ce. Although she said the fi nan-cial aid offi ce has been over-whelmed, “overwhelmed is not a bad thing when it comes to fi nancial aid.” However, Rogers said that as federal and state funding dwindles, the number of stu-dents applying for fi nancial aid increases. “I’d like to win the Power Ball and create a lot of scholarships,” she said, add-
ing the work study program is popular. “There isn’t as much work funding as we’d like,” she said. “Higher education is imperative to a better country.” Wesley said he hopes UCCS “grows at a steady rate, which can be well supported by the university.” He said the growth is going to be defi ned by main-taining the experience offered now. “What we do know is that there are a large number of stu-dents that are here now and the retention of those students is improved from years past. The quality of those students is very, very strong.” Wesley said the growth of the campus will be defi ned by the people that are already here and their ability to be successful. “That’s really the best mea-sure of growth is that you’ve got a great group of students that are here. We’re gonna see growth just because of our current en-rollments and the support that we’re able to offer to students.”
(Continued from page 1) Campus impacted different ways
Nick Beadleston
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SAMANTHA MORLEY | THe SCRiBe
nEWs 3September 16, 2013
The campus’ separate fi lm degree plans – digital fi lmmak-ing and fi lm studies – could lead to confusion for students about which program is best for them. Digital fi lmmaking, a com-munication degree, and fi lm studies, a visual and perform-ing arts degree, both fall under the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Film studies is a theory, his-tory and national cinema-based program, while, according to Professor David Nelson, chair of the communication department, digital fi lmmaking is “really production-oriented study.” “We still study fi lms and learn about different genres and that kind of thing, but the students in our classes make fi lms,” said Nelson. “So we have classes like in-troduction to fi lm and video; they’re [students] out shooting fi lm, digital fi lm, coming back and editing it. Ours is a very hands-on program about making fi lms,” he said. “Film studies is just about the study of fi lm,” Nelson added. “There is some confusion hav-
ing two departments that deal with fi lm.” Nelson indicated students in-terested in fi lm have been sent between departments due to that
confusion. “Both programs have tried to help students,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s working or not, but there have been times when the fi lm studies faculty has said, ‘If that’s what you want to do, make fi lms, you really should go into the communication depart-ment.’” Senior Matthew Alvarado was a business major for two years
before learning the campus had a fi lm department. “I know some students who joined the fi lm studies depart-ment thinking they were going
to make fi lms, so they really should have joined the COMM department,” said Alvarado, adding he thinks some students are confused about the different focuses between programs. “I know that for a long time a lot of people have wanted them to mesh as one major, one big group because it’s easier, es-pecially for those people who want to make fi lms,” Alvarado
explained. “They want to know the theory, not just how to use a camera and fi lm.” Students, instead of choos-ing one department, have the op-
tion to double major, or major or minor in digital fi lmmaking and fi lm studies. “There are also other good subjects to minor in, depending on exactly what you want to do with fi lmmaking,” Nelson said. “For instance, if you’re really interested in writing and screen-writing and even being involved in the fi lm from the beginning from the writing standpoint, a
pretty good minor is psychol-ogy.” “As a writer, and even as a producer and a director, you re-ally have to analyze the charac-ters that are in this fi lm and what is the psychology of those char-acters,” Nelson continued. The separate fi lm departments came along as a result of “tim-ing, funding, creation of depart-ments and programs, faculty philosophies and backgrounds … departmental approaches and pedagogical theory,” said Rob-ert von Dassanowsky, professor and director of the fi lm studies program. “I think more difference and variety available to a student is a very good thing. Film studies grew from VAPA and is rooted in visual and performing arts, just as fi lm/digital production in communication is rooted in the discipline of that fi eld,” he said. “The best option for a student, I think, is the program which of-fers them the courses and the path that serves their desire for knowledge and stimulates their creativity,” said von Das-sanowsky.
Separate fi lm departments have separate focusesAttiana Collins
JOSHUA CAMACHO | THe SCRiBe
UCCS offers both a digital fi lmmaking degree and a fi lm studies degree.
Haynes. “Above all, [legisla-tures] need to be accountable to the constituents, and Mr. Morse failed to do so.” Robert Harris, one of the three men who fi led the petition to recall Morse, was motivated by similar concerns. “It is about much more than guns … Morse does not lis-ten to his constituents,” Harris posted on the Colorado Springs Independent’s website earlier this month. Christy Le Lait, Morse’s campaign manager and ex-ecutive director of the El Paso County Democratic Party, dis-agreed. “Actually, they just made it up,” she said. “Our state senator received over 3,000 emails when they were talking about the gun safety bills,” added Le Lait. “Under 500 [were] from his district. He was inundated with emails from across the state and across the country.” She added that 13 percent of those registered District 11 vot-ed. “[This] is what I consider an incredibly expensive hissy fi t. Or temper tantrum, I guess that’s a nicer way.” “This entire episode just from the county taxpayer standpoint cost over $250,000,” Le Lait remarked. “I’m betting by the time
it’s all said and done it’s over $300,000 … incredibly expen-sive ... That’s what we have elections for.” Morse and Giron’s districts are largely Democratic voters. In 2012, Obama carried both districts. “That district was drawn to try and elect a Democrat … it was still close,” said Josh Dunn, political science profes-sor at UCCS. “We will see increased use of the recall,” said Dunn, though mentioned that “it’s costly and timely, and we have term lim-its.” “A lot of people will be leav-ing offi ce soon anyway. Because of this recall, representatives and senators and governors are going to pay closer attention to their constituents.” Voter turnout, said Kayla Strecher, vice president of the UCCS Young Democrats, was the large issue. Strecher said about the re-call, “It sets a precedent that anywhere in Colorado if any-one wants to get someone out of offi ce, they can just sign a petition and we’ll be using tax dollars all over the state of Col-orado all the time, basically.” Strecher said she was “dis-appointed” more didn’t vote, but said she wasn’t surprised.
“Someone who gets upset about something … those are the peo-ple who are going to turn out, not the other way.” Of those registered, about 29 percent turned out to vote in the elections. “Motivating Republicans in El Paso County isn’t the easi-est job,” said David Stoffey, a member of the College Repub-licans at UCCS and the El Paso County Republican Party. “We focused on the unaf-fi liated voters and the Indepen-dents. We put out 20,000 phone calls over a 10-day period.” Contributions came in from multiple sources. The dona-tions to both sides of the issue ran upward of $3 million, the majority coming from those who opposed the recall. Billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad of Los Angeles donated $250,000 toward warding off both recalls. New York City Mayor Mi-chael Bloomberg, founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, gave $350,000 of his own money to the Morse and Giron campaigns. Previously, Bloomberg has spent similarly in Chicago, do-nating $350,000 to fellow Dem-ocrat Robin Kelly, a proponent for stricter gun legislation. According to Paul Revere, a
proponent of both recalls, Re-publicans he had been in con-tact with weren’t interested in giving large donations to the recall cause. “The money to get the recall, not the election, but the recall … It’s all been local people, no money from outside.” The lobbying arm of the NRA, the Institute for Legal Action, said in a recent state-ment, “The people of Colorado Springs sent a clear message to the Senate leader that his pri-mary job was to defend their rights and freedoms and that he is ultimately accountable to them.” Money was also given by the NRA-ILA, a collective of less than $500,000. Capturing these two senate seats is seen as important for the Republican Party in Colo-rado, and some want to capital-ize on the win. “I hope to see the sheriff’s lawsuit successful and have these laws seen as unconstitu-tional by our courts,” said Mike Gerhart, a member of the Col-lege Republicans at UCCS and state coordinator of Colorado Federated College Republi-cans. “If not, then I hope in 2014 we’re able to replace Gov. Hickenlooper … [C]reate a
pro-constitutional legislature, and see these laws repealed.” Sheriffs in Colorado, from 54 of 64 counties, have joined in lawsuit against the laws as they view the legislation as unenforceable and unconstitu-tional. “I’m hopeful … the citi-zens of Colorado … [will be] looking at their legislatures and demanding that they lis-ten to their constituents,” con-tinued Gerhart, “and also they keep what’s in the Constitution above the United States and Colorado.” As for Morse’s Republican replacement, Bernie Herpin, and his new senate seat, Le Lait predicts it will be short-lived. “The Republicans won’t hold onto the seat when it comes time for the regular election … I don’t think Bernie Herpin rep-resents anyone’s values in this district. He’ll have one session; I’m willing to bet he doesn’t get anything accomplished, and then we’ll have another elec-tion,” she said. “The legislation is not going anywhere,” she said. “Eighty percent of Coloradans support this legislation … It’s just sad we’ve gotten to a point where this is how we deal with policy disputes, and I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.”
(Continued from page 1) Two southern Colorado state senators out after historic recall
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sCiEnCE & BusinEss September 16, 2013 4 Citius, altius, fortius. This is the Olympic motto, meaning, “Faster, higher, stronger.” But this motto has other applica-tions. “The Olympic motto trans-lated to the nuclear landscape calls for the quest of new iso-topes at its outskirts, which is particularly true at its upper end,” researchers from Lund University in Sweden, who confi rmed element 115, wrote in a university publication last month. First discovered in 2004 by Russian scientists in Dubna, Russia, element 115’s exis-tence was confi rmed Aug. 28. The new element is currently
referred to by a general name: Ununpentium (Uup), Latin for “Element 115.” According to the American Institute of Physics (AIP), the original Russian experiment produced four atoms of the new element, which decayed after about 90 milliseconds. It was made by bombarding samples of Americium, another man-made element, with beams of calcium atoms. David Anderson, the chair of the UCCS Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, commented on the purpose of these kinds of experiments and discoveries. “There’s nothing ‘useful’ about climbing Mt. Everest, but it’s there,” he said. “That’s pretty much what scientists say;
if we can do it, let’s try.” But the purpose may not be completely esoteric and ab-stract. Man-made elements are not a new phenomenon, and many applications have been found for man-made elements. For example, according to Kevin Tvrdy, a UCCS assis-tant chemistry professor, Am-
ericium, element 95, is used in smoke detectors. In short, scientists don’t often know what a given ele-ment’s applications are when they discover it. Any element after Uranium, element 92, on the periodic table is considered man-made, though some have later been found to exist in trace amounts within other naturally-occur-ring elements. Neptunium, number 93, was fi rst created in 1940. Other el-ements since then have been discovered, with the heaviest being element 118, or Ununoc-tium. The future of these man-made elements may be much more interesting. According to the Physical and Life Sciences
Directorate, “The ‘island of stability’ refers to a predicted region of superheavy elements on the chart of nuclides with half-lives that are longer by several orders of magnitude than the half-lives of other su-perheavy elements.” In other words, while Un-unpentium might last only 90 milliseconds, an element in an island of stability may last sec-onds or minutes. While that might not seem very long, it will give scientists much more time to study the el-ement to learn more about it. A predicted island of stability was confi rmed to exist with el-ement 114. According to phys.org, the next island of stabil-ity is predicted at element 120, which has yet to be created.
Element 115, discovered in 2004, confi rmedAaron Collett
The chemistry department has hired two new faculty members, Kevin Tvrdy and Keith Oppenheim. Tvrdy teaches physical chemistry courses and replaces professor emeritus Jim Eber-hart, who retired last spring. Oppenheim is a lab coordina-tor for general chemistry, a year-long course that includes CHEM 1030 and CHEM 1060. Tvrdy earned his bachelor’s of science in chemistry from the University of Nebraska. After graduation in 2005, he worked for Streck Labs for a year. He worked in the research and development department for six to eight months before deciding to earn his Ph.D. “I enjoyed the work I was doing, but again I felt that only with a bachelor’s degree that I had at that point, that I was capable of doing more innova-tive work within the company. I wanted to have more respon-sibility and wanted to have a higher pay scale,” Tvrdy said. He obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame. Since his faculty advi-sor worked on nanoscience and solar cells, his Ph.D. re-search focused on the electron transfer that occurs between quantum dots and metal oxide materials in quantum dot syn-thesized solar cells. When Tvrdy realized how much he enjoyed the aca-demia, he decided to become a professor and completed his post-doctoral experience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
During his two years at MIT, he worked in the chemi-cal engineering department researching carbon nanotubes and isolating similar materi-als with optical and electronic properties. He learned about the profes-sor position at UCCS from an advertisement in the Chemi-cal and Engineering News, a weekly magazine published by the American Chemical Soci-ety. “The job here at UCCS was ideal because my wife is from Billings, Mont., and I’m from eastern Nebraska, so we kind of wanted some place [that] was halfway in between the two places, but we still wanted a place that had a lot of people living in it, a fairly big town,” Tvrdy said. “We both enjoy the outdoors a lot, so Colorado Springs was a natural choice. UCCS is great for me because I defi -nitely enjoy the research side of doing things with it, which they value here but they also value teaching here and I just love teaching.” His goals for the students in his class are for them to learn enough physical chemistry to make them competitive with chemistry students from other
universities. Also, he said he wants his students to have perspective on how physical chemistry ap-plies to other fi elds of chemis-try and science in general. In previous years, both gen-eral and organic chemistry labs were overseen by one coordi-nator, Brett Mayer. However, the large number of incoming freshmen prompt-ed the chemistry department to hire Oppenheim, a coordinator specifi cally for general chem-istry. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from Missouri Southern and Ph.D. in physical chemis-try from Syracuse University. Oppenheim has taught three years of general chemistry as well. He was also a lab coordi-nator at the University of Con-necticut. “The [UCCS] department seemed like a really good fi t for what my skill set is and for what they [are] looking for on the teaching side of things,” Oppenheim said. He indicated he wants to make sure students are able to more seamlessly attend make-up labs. Also, he is working at rewriting and streamlining the general chemistry laboratory manuals.
New physical chemistry professor, lab coordinator join facultyMonika Reinholz
JAMES SIBERT | THe SCRiBe
Kevin Tvrdy, left, is the new physical chemistry professor.The chemistry department hired Keith Oppenheim. right, as a general chemistry lab coordinator.
COURTESY PHOTO | WiKiMeDiA COMMONS
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Apple releases new iPhone, other productsSamantha Morley
YouTube has become the breaking ground for many aspiring music artists. For senior Christian Fergins, this pattern looks hopeful for his own channel. Heavily inspired by modern pop music such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Cher Lloyd, Fergins started out his chan-nel by releasing cover songs but has since transitioned to releasing his own original music. “I started songwriting in January. I just decided I wanted to try to write a good song and a lot of people actually loved it. I got several hundred views from my fi rst [origi-nal] song. That was really exciting to me. I didn’t expect that to happen,” he said. Fergins’ lyrics are mostly inspired by his personal life. “I think it’s beautiful to be able to create art just from normal, mun-dane life experiences,” he said. “I think just being in tune with my emotions inspires me to [write].” As an RA, Fergins faces some diffi cul-ties in fi nding the right peace and quiet to record in the residence halls but manages to record all of his own background mu-sic, lyrics and harmonies using the Apple application GarageBand. “There’s a lot of sweating and yelling at myself involved,” he added. Fergins aims for both his music and per-sona to be relatable. “I want people to know that I know what they’re going through,” he said. “Even if I haven’t experienced their exact life, I know what emotions are like. I know what it feels like to have life totally crush you sometimes. “I’m someone who just wants to have fun and grow on people. I love connecting.
I’m generally happy and passionate about what I’m doing, but I’m also someone who can relate to the darker sides of life.” Fergins lightens up the serious side of his channel, which features originals with titles like “Falling” and “Heartless,” with his personality in his newest addition to the channel, vlogging or video blogging. As he prepares to graduate UCCS, Fer-gins wants to release a vlog nearly every day. “I like having something to look back on. I want my last year at UCCS to be re-ally special.” Although being a musician is his ul-timate dream, Fergins realizes the impor-tance of having a plan B as he fi nishes up his degree in human biology this year. “Have a backup plan. Pursue your edu-cation fi rst. I wouldn’t trade these fi ve years for anything. I’ve learned so much about myself and about other people and about the world in college than I have anywhere else,” he advised. Fergins’ advice for anyone who may be interested in YouTube fame: “Be original. Don’t be afraid to be kinda weird or kinda different or stand out. That’s what people are drawn to – different sound, different personality.” With a newly-released second music video and a potential acoustic performance scheduled for October on campus, Fergins is keeping busy. Nevertheless, he’s happy with what he has now. “My music and channel in general is my center; it’s who I really am. I’m hav-ing a lot of fun right now. It’s all about the journey; I’m not focused on the destination so much.” Fergins’ cover songs, original material and vlogging videos can be viewed at you-tube.com/christianfergins.
Students interested in testing their engineering savvy while satisfying their competitive streak may fi nd the perfect weld by joining the UCCS Society of Automotive Engineers Baja Club. The club allows students to partici-pate in national contests while applying design and problem-solving skills. The team is led by President Zach Lu-etzen and Vice President Sean Belknap, who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering. The UCCS club is one of several hun-dred Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Baja teams across the nation. The SAE has deep roots in automotive culture. One of its early members, Elmer Sperry, coined the term “automotive.” While the club, which shares its work-shop with the Osborne wind tunnel, has six members, they are optimistic after the campus club fair that they will pick up additional members. Belknap said about the benefi ts of membership in the club, “It looks good on a resume; it gives you real-world ex-perience.” The club relies heavily on funding and equipment from sponsors to func-tion. Money allocated to the club by the university generally goes to travel and transportation costs. In the past, companies such as Apex
Sports and Solid Works have contributed everything from funds, to computer-aid-ed design programs, to safety equipment for the team. The SAE holds three annual competi-tions. Competitions are comprised of sev-eral “static” events, designed to test various aspects of the vehicle, as well as a four-hour endurance race. The static events involve a maneuverability course and a mud pit. To prep for these events, team mem-bers train on a dirt track located near the Four Diamonds complex. There they determine, based on skill and often weight, which members will handle the car during which events. Simplicity dominates the designs of the Baja Club’s custom cruisers. The ve-hicle is devoid of any superfl uous parts and follows a minimalistic template. The automotive company Briggs & Stratton provides the engines to all com-petitors and no modifi cations to the en-gine are permitted. The SAE website has the unit pro-vided by Briggs & Stratton, the 10 HP OHV Intek Model 205432, retailing at just less than $630. By requiring a standard engine, all competitors are placed on a level play-ing fi eld and will meet the safety stan-dard. Teams must ensure the longevity of their engines, as the corporation only issues new motors every two years.
Belknap indicated crews can modify the intake but are re-quired to use Briggs & Stratton parts. Belknap did ex-plain the design of the frame sacrifi ces durability for light weight. He signifi ed this was both to ensure the longevity of the vehicle and to keep it from buckling during events. The club’s new vehicle, named Jes-sica, is currently be-ing developed. It will feature several im-provements over the previous model, in-cluding an improved rear suspension. Lola, the team’s former vehicle, will now be used for training purposes, specifi cally orienting new members with how to drive a Baja vehicle. “My team will be working on [Jes-sica], while another team leader will be training new members,” said Belknap.
The next competition that the Baja Club plans to attend will be May 22-25, in Pittsburg, Kan. The members are op-timistic about attending a similar event two weeks later in Illinois.
September 16, 2013 CulturE 5
Baja Club engineers simplicity for custom carsNick Beadleston
Student releases original music on YouTubeTaylor Hargis
NICK BURNS | THe SCRiBe
Christian fergins offers original songs and vlogging videos on YouTube.
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JOSHUA CAMACHO | THe SCRiBe
Baja Club designs and builds cruisers for competition.
This is the fourth week of the semes-ter, and for many, that means classes are starting to get more stressful. UCCS has resources for students to learn how to deal with that stress and avoid burnout. The Offi ce of First Year Experience aims to help students succeed academi-cally, which can require more than good study habits. Barbara Gaddis, executive director of the Offi ce of Student Retention, said one of the most important things to do when students schedule their weeks is “[budget] in fun time.” As long as that budgeting includes a little bit of time doing something other than studying, it can help break up a long week of classes, work, family and other responsibilities. Maria O’Connell, one of the success coaches in the FYE offi ce, agreed. “It’s important to fi nd whatever helps you keep your [stress] down,” she said, add-ing students should “schedule it in small bursts … People think they don’t have time for self-care, but then [burnout’s] not going to help you at all either.” Gaddis said the most important part of avoiding burnout “is really the need for time management planning.” Stu-dents can learn these skills and more at the Study Smarter, Not Harder work-shops offered by the FYE offi ce. Gaddis said these workshops will teach time management, and it is also about “coming up with strategies for re-ally maximizing the time that you spend [studying].” Dates and times can be found on the FYE website at uccs.edu/fye under the Academic Support tab. Seniors have similar advice to offer. Lauren Burgess recommended “making time to hang out with your friends at least once a week, taking study breaks and switching subjects while study-ing.” Megan Seabron said, “I set up a re-wards system for myself.” After a week of studying and focusing on classes, she will go see a movie or hang out with friends.
Rod Jones said sometimes during the semester, he just needs to “disconnect with schoolwork and reconnect with friends and family.” “I think sometimes you burn out be-cause you really feel like there’s nobody there,” Gaddis said. She recommended a proactive approach when struggling in a class by going and speaking with the professor or using the Centers for Academic Excellence on campus. “Avoid 8 a.m. classes,” Tyler But-ler said. “That very quickly burns you out and leaves you brain dead for your other classes.” Ashley Fay said she always tries to “use the time at the beginning of the se-mester to get ahead.” Other students, like Jasmine Caldwell, use exercise as a tool. “I take a run out-side because it’s so beautiful, and then I get a fi tness high,” she said. Gaddis added, “I think the busier you are, the more important it really is to get physical exercise … [and] get that nutrition in. If you feel better, you’ll do better.” O’Connell expanded on this point: “You’re going to have that energy. If you’re getting enough sleep for your body, then you’re going to be more pro-ductive in your classes, more alert in your exams.”
CulturE September 16, 2013 6
JOSHUA CAMACHO | THe SCRiBe
Brianna Thomas, three weeks into the semester, utilizes the library to study for her classes.
Avoiding burnout means budgeting time for fun, self-careShelby Shively
C.J. Hackett, frontman for the band A Bad Night for a Hero, and Timmy Vilgiate have shared many things over the past few months: a tour, a drummer and a passion for promoting the local art scene in Colo-rado Springs. They met when Hackett brought Vilgiate on for The Redheaded Zombie Show, a free monthly show at a local coffee house. “We host at least one show every month and we usually keep our Facebook up to date … with our events,” Hackett said in an email. His goal is usually to give local musi-cians their fi rst show in front of a live audi-ence at no cost to them. Hackett had heard of Vilgiate through his ReverbNation account, and he was in-terested in meeting him. Once Vilgiate joined the show, they became friends and Vilgiate joined Hack-ett’s mission: “So many talented people go completely unnoticed … I’ve made it my mission … to make sure that they are heard. Everybody has a voice.” The Redheaded Zombie Show’s web-site features other kinds of local artists and links to their own websites, including writ-ers, comic book artists, painters and even costume designers. When talking about the success of the show and his own music endeavors, Hack-ett said, “[T]hat’s kind of turning into a much bigger project, so that might take over.” He formed a band with Brandon Arnold and Colin Bovberg at the beginning of this year, but they were not able to go on the tour. “There were fi nancial is-sues and [medical] reasons why they couldn’t come,” Hackett said, but they “all agreed that it would be best for [Timmy and me] to go.” That way, the band’s name and music would be getting out there. They played fourteen ven-ues on the Aug. 9-17 tour. Vilgiate said he “did really
enjoy playing in front of a bunch of a bunch of people [he] didn’t know. That felt good, and it felt good to meet new people.” Hackett agreed. “It felt overwhelming at fi rst, but I kind of liked being honest with people. We would tell them the stories be-hind our music, the songs and stuff, and that would seem to get them more inter-ested.” Vilgiate is currently attending UCCS and majoring in both music and history. He hopes to become a teacher, but when asked if he wants to make a career out of music, he said, “I wouldn’t say I’m really plan-ning on anything; I’m just kind of leaving it in God’s hands and seeing where it ends up going.” He is planning to go on tour again in January with his and Hackett’s mutual drummer, Colin. He is also working on re-cording and producing his own album, us-ing an app on his phone, which he will call “Little Canyons.” Vilgiate said, “I want to do another tour next year when I release that other album. This time I’ll go to other places outside Colorado.” Hackett does see music as his career path, either through A Bad Night for a Hero or through The Redheaded Zombie Show. He just released his last solo project, “I Am the Yeti,” and the band is looking to record a new album called, “More Reasons to Hate Me.” This will feature songs on which the entire band has collaborated. Vilgiate’s albums are available to stream for free through his ReverbNation account (reverbnation.com/vilgiatetimothy) or to download for a small price. He recom-mended “Too Much Time on their Heads” and “Vigilante Justice (Unmastered).”
Local art scene attacked by redheaded zombiesShelby Shively
COURTESY PHOTO | A BAD NiGHT fOR A HeRO
The band members include (left to right) Brandon Arnold, Colin Bovberg and C.J. Hackett.
“Seven Guitars” is a fast-paced play set in old Philadelphia in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, combining the initial beats of blues music, African oral traditions, a capella music and harmony. There is much singing and music playing during the three-hour play, but it is not a musical. Vera Dotson, played by Nambi E. Kelly, is mourning the death of her fi ancé, Floyd “Schoolboy” Bar-ton, played by Calvin M. Thompson. Then the play fl ashes back to reveal how the cast got to that point. Through music, immaculate body language and unparalleled acting, the cast takes the audience back in time to a place where life was much harder and more unfair. “Seven Guitars” gives insight to black people’s struggles against rac-ism in the late 40s, when policemen
Serena Ahmad
‘Seven Guitars’ strums a bluesy tunebeat them for simply sitting on a street corner. “Seven Guitars” is a true represen-tation of the blues culture, a culture important primarily because it refl ects responses of American blacks to the hardships they face. Contained in the blues is a philo-sophical system at work, echoing the ideas and attitudes of people as part of the oral tradition. “The music provides you with an emotional reference for the information, and it is sanctioned by the community in the sense that if someone sings the song, other people sing the song,” August Wilson, the playwright, has said. The set itself is truly magical. It fi ts the scene of an early Philadelphia, in what is implied to be an all-black neigh-borhood. The entire cast sat outdoors in the
backyard with small lights hanging all around and even the laundry hanging out. All of the actors were perfectly in character, and their costumes were entirely suitable. The performance by every cast mem-ber is unparalleled by any other cast. Each is so individual, so true to char-acter that it is impossible not to believe the experience is truth. It feels so real. Even the chickens in the coop have live chickens. Though it is a bit nerve-wracking when the cast’s crazy “King” Hedley prepares to slaughter one of the chick-ens live for his sandwiches, all is well when he pulls out a fake, though very realistic-looking, chicken to slaughter. This play is highly recommended. It is elaborate but simple, true to the time period, funny yet serious and promotes understanding of the blues culture.
The Lowdown
What:“Seven Guitars”
Where:Dusty Loo Bon Vibrant Theater
When:Until Sept. 29
Thurs-Sat: 7:30 p.m.Saturday matinees 2 p.m.
Sundays 4 p.m.
How much:Reserved: $35
Children under 16: $15UCCS Students: FreeGroups of 10+: $25No children younger
than 5 years old
More Info:theatreworks.org
Last week, The Scribe published an article in the Sports section about the men’s cross country team that con-tained fabricated interviews and re-cycled quotes from interviews con-ducted during the spring 2013 semester. An official in the athletics depart-ment contacted The Scribe after speak-ing with the cross country coach and another player quoted in the piece. Both sources indicated they had not been interviewed for the Sept. 9 article. Within 24 hours, senior editors met with the reporter responsible for the ar-ticle. He admitted he had not interviewed the contacts for this semester’s story but instead used quotes from last spring. He was immediately let go from the staff. When confronted, the reporter recog-nized that his actions failed to meet the journalistic standards accepted by those employed at the newspaper. But, when writing the story, he said he didn’t think it was a problem to reuse
quotes without notice as stories about sports teams are usually very similar. While the reporter, who worked at The Scribe since fall 2012, said it was the first time he had recycled quotes for a news story, the situation brought to light a sim-ilar attempt last semester. It was flagged by an editor, perceived as an accident, addressed and corrected before print. Similar to the school’s official poli-cy on plagiarism, The Scribe main-tains a zero-tolerance policy on issues involving plagiarism or fabrication. Every member of The Scribe is ex-pected to act professionally and in line with the journalism ethics nec-essary to maintain the newspaper’s credibility as a journalistic entity. That said, though certain processes re-main in place to prevent such an occur-rence, should something be published that fails to uphold these standards, we rely on our readers to bring it to our attention so that it can be addressed and corrected. And although such cases are an em-barrassment to the newspaper, the school and student journalism in general, they
serve as an opportunity learn, grow and communicate the standards that we set and accept for ourselves. Unfortunately, fabrication can and does happen in newspapers – student and otherwise. The Scribe has a multi-step editing process to prevent dubious and false information from being published. But, on the occasion that it does hap-pen, The Scribe is willing to run correc-tions for factual inaccuracies and address the problem to avoid it from repeating. Most often, the mistakes made are unintentional and stem from a misunder-standing between a reporter and source. Without a journalism program on campus, The Scribe trains its staff and urges reporters to be respectful and spe-cific while interviewing and writing. Especially as the UCCS campus ex-pands, we want to maintain healthy re-lationships with every student, staff and faculty member interviewed. The Scribe continues to be commit-ted to writing accurate stories about the UCCS community and welcomes feed-back to attain this goal every issue.
Editorial September 16, 2013 8
Contact us:On campus: UC 106
Phone: (719) 255-3658www.uccsscribe.com
Jesse ByrnesEditor-in-Chief
Sara HortonManaging Editor
Taylor HargisCopy Editor
Nick BeadlestonNews Editor
Eleanor SkeltonScience & Business
Cynthia JeubCulture Editor
Aaron CollettOpinion/Video Editor
April WeflerLife on the Bluffs/Social Media Editor
Jonathan TomanSports Editor
Nick BurnsPhoto Editor
Emily OlsonLayout Editor
Edwin SatreWebsite Manager
ReportersDezarae YoderCrystal Chilcott
Kyle MarinoSamantha MorleyAlexander NeddAttiana CollinsSerena AhmadTaylor Eaton
Shelby ShivelyMonika Reinholz
PhotographersJames Sibert
Joshua CamachoMiki Swanson
Business ManagerHussain Albahrani
Ad Sales RepresentativesMichael PetrucelliMcKenna Miller
AdvisorLaura Eurich
Follow us:
www.facebook.com/uccsthescribe
@uccsscribe
Letters to the Editor:[email protected]
Staff Editorial
The Scribe demands ethical behavior from its staff
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Technology has become a domi-nant force in our lives. Computers are quickly replacing paper and pens as the quickest form of note-taking. Mo-bile phones have also come into the equation. Though some professors are swim-ming with the tide, others think com-puters are only distractions, not gate-ways to the future. Professors ought to welcome them as a way for students to take their notes and review. It is the student’s job to study and get good grades. Different students have different note-taking preferences, and as long as they get the grade, it doesn’t matter how they take notes. The perception is that all students are using computers to tweet or up-date their Facebook statuses with silly things the teachers say. To be honest, most of the students are actually more focused.
A 2006 study by Carrie Fried of Winona State University concluded that students who are allowed to use their laptops for notes and still have access to the Internet are barely dis-tracted. In fact, the study states students only spent about 25 percent of their time performing activities unrelated to class. Regardless of how students spend their time on computers, UCCS does not ban them inside classrooms. The UCCS Student Code of Con-duct Policies fails to mention using personal laptops, or any technological devices for that matter, in regards to note-taking in class. In fact, most codes of conduct do not even have the word “computer” in them. Since there is no solid evidence students are constantly using social media instead of taking notes on their laptops, there is no real reason that students should not be allowed to use what they are best at using. It is ridiculous that teachers who call themselves “modern” ban students from using their most favored method of note-taking. This is a hindrance to students’ education. If a student’s preference is to write, let them write. If a student’s preference is to take notes on a laptop, let them use their laptop. This debate seems never-ending. The trend does seem to be heading to-ward electronic note-taking, however. Eventually, notes may simply auto-matically be on cloud storage. Ultimately, the decision of how to take notes should be left up to the stu-dents.
Students should have options for note-taking
September 16, 2013 opinion 9
I consider myself a Christian, but I rarely admit this in public. I also consider myself pro-choice and an LGBT ally, not to mention accepting of others’ religious beliefs (rather than an evangelist out for converting the hea-then masses). That said, it’s hard to be vocal about where I stand because right-wing ex-tremists have taken over the image of a 21st-century Christian, and they have infiltrated much of the political system. Even after people get to know me and my beliefs on social issues, they often struggle with this stereotype when I re-veal my religion. Other reactions include, “Whoa, but you haven’t tried to convert me once!” or “I didn’t know cool religious people existed.” I am confident there are more of us than there are extremists, and I am cer-tain that there is a full spectrum of toler-
ance and acceptance within the Chris-tian community. Despite this nation’s claim of sepa-ration of church and state, religion and politics have been intertwined for cen-turies. Many people interpret this ideal as a policy meant to keep the state out of the church’s business and not vice versa. It is much more likely that the inten-tion of this statement was a full sepa-ration with each institution owning its own sphere. These assumptions and stereotypes harm many political, religious and per-sonal groups, and those that identify as LGBT who consider themselves Chris-tians may not feel welcome in certain churches – or maybe in any churches. Their personal lives shouldn’t be the center of political issues, but they are because religious fear and hatred are being used to deny LGBT basic civil rights. Abortion is a very personal issue, and there are a variety of reasons people may consider this option. If people wish to consult their per-sonal religious community when con-sidering abortion, that is their choice and their business. If the government wishes to consult the religious community when consid-ering abortion law and LGBT rights, it should do so even-handedly. Republicans lean toward smaller, de-centralized government with larger state power, but they are suffering from the assumptions that their political affilia-tion automatically situates them in a re-ligious extremist camp. Christians should not be pigeonholed into one party or ideology due to the ex-tremism of a small, vocal minority.
‘Christian’ and ‘social conservative’ can be mutually exclusive
The stench of American media has become almost overwhelming. There is, however, a slight breath of unsullied air wafting in from unlikely origins: the Middle East. This fresh air has crossed the Atlan-
tic while American media moguls were safely isolated in their ivory towers. Al-Jazeera America (AJAM) is the newest contender in the nation’s media battle ground. Despite being owned by the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera Media Network, AJAM fills a gaping hole in American media’s world coverage. The epochal shift to a 24-hour news cycle occurred during the 80s with the rise of CNN. This should have led to a populace more informed on world events. Instead, in an unabashed effort to fill airtime, major news networks began to cover minor events and insignificant celebrity affairs. This introverted approach was a gi-ant step in the wrong direction, and an opportunity to create a culture of well-informed citizens was forfeited. AJAM joined the American media scene last month, much to the chagrin of xenophobes. Their mission state-ment includes the phrase “rebalancing
global media by respecting the diver-sity and humanity of the world.” Famous news names like Joie Chen, Josh Bernstein, Michael Viqueira, Ali Velshi and Soledad O’Brien can now be found on the AJAM roster. Addi-tionally, they also boast an impressive bevy of correspondents from across the country and around the world. There has always been controversy surrounding Al-Jazeera Media Net-work’s biases. Qatar’s GDP is almost solely dependent on petroleum ex-ports. Detractors feel this oil money nega-tively impacts the direction the network takes. American media, however, has a sordid history of media corruption by wealthy “donors.” Even Joseph Pulitzer, and his titu-lar journalism award, have infamously been surrounded by corruption and in-terference to obtain political ends. The most famous episode, involv-ing news stories practically made up
of whole cloth, may have even forced the escalation of the Spanish-American War. One of the biggest obstacles in send-ing reporters to cover important issues in far-flung provinces and remote lo-cales is cost. Far more often, media outlets choose to piggy-back coverage or use local, less-trained talent. This frequently leads to the propa-gation of incorrect and incomplete sto-ries. AJAM may be backed by Middle Eastern oil subsidiaries, but it has the financial clout to send its correspon-dents to track down facts firsthand. AJAM should by no means be her-alded as the final word for news. The network should be seen as a new re-source to obtain a more holistic under-standing of world events. Any individual who receives infor-mation from a single source is doomed to a one-dimensional view. News en-thusiasts should view AJAM with re-newed hope for the fourth estate.
Al-Jazeera America enters the media fray
Nick Beadleston
Shelby Shively
Serena A. Ahmad
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“I wasn’t planning on starting any new ones. I’m looking forward to ‘NCIS,’ ‘Criminal Minds’ – anything that
I’m really interested in.”
lifE on the Bluffs September 16, 2013 10What new fall shows are you
looking forward to?
“I’m not watching any new shows. I’m really look-ing forward to ‘Sons of Anarchy.’ I really like the show and I want to know
what happens after the end of last season.”
“The one I’m most look-ing forward to is the Marvel ‘SHIELD’ TV show. It’s Marvel. I want to see how they
manage to do it.”
Anni Pettis, senior, physical therapy
Brian Sullivan, freshman, mechanical engineering
Campus ChatterAttiana Collins, [email protected] Top Ten
Things you can get away with in class by saying it
helps you focus
10987654321
Twerking.
Drawing on walls.
Reading out loud.
Doing the hokey-pokey.
Cutting your own hair.
Cutting your classmate’s hair.
Singing. Loudly.
Knitting or crocheting.
Painting your nails.
Eating your favorite Indian dish.
Serena Ahmad, [email protected]
“I’m looking forward to the new season of ‘How I Met Your Mother.’ It’s the final season. After like eight years, they
finally showed the mother at the end of the last season, and now I want to see how it happens.”
Jonathan Wilkes, freshman, chemistry
Out of 100 students surveyed on campus in the University Center plaza, Clyde’s, Café ‘65, Kraemer Family Library, the Science Center and the Spine between 4:30-5:30 p.m. Sept. 10.
Do you prefer to use notebooks or a netbook/laptop/tablet when you are taking notes in class?
Survey:Notebooks vs. PCs
Eleanor Skelton,
This week at UCCSGeneral
Sept. 18-Oct. 5Noon-5 p.m.M12: Black Hor-net exhibitionGOCA 1412
Sept. 19-297:30 p.m.“Seven Guitars”Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater
Tuesday, Sept. 17
Free pancakes7-9:30 a.m.First floor of UC
7-9 p.m.National Treasures: Anthony Davis in ResidenceGOCA 121
Wednesday, Sept. 18
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.Build Your Own CheeseburgerThe Lodge
3:30 p.m.Barney RosenbergUniversity Theatre 302
Thursday, Sept. 19
3-5 p.m.GOCA Chili Cook-Off CompetitionGOCA121
7-10 p.m.Table Tennis dou-bles tournamentRec Center
3:30-5:30 p.m.: ac-counting majors5:30-7:30 p.m.: all majorsCareer Network-ing NightBerger Hall
Courtney Wilkins, junior, psychology
Friday, Sept. 20
Final day to com-pletely withdraw with 80 percent adjustment
7:30-9:30 p.m.DPS and DOS Choices classDPS training room
ClASSifieDS: Help wantedBeertender Wanted. Part-time. Apply at Great Storm Brewing,
204 Mount View Lane, Unit 3, 80907.
sports 11September 16, 2013
Being a Christian in college can be diffi cult when students want to have a good time while not losing their faith. Darius Pardner, a junior majoring in organizational and strategic communi-cation, started Athletes for Christ last spring to help college students in their journey with God. “I honestly believe God’s always speaking to me and through me. The idea wasn’t mine; God kind of spoke to me about it,” he said. Pardner is a member of the UCCS basketball team and played basketball in high school. “I wanted to mix in athletics with following Christ,” he said. “If you’d asked me a year ago, I thought it would’ve been hard to work two jobs, go to school and have my own club,” he said. However, Pardner said he has been able to balance classes, athletics, two jobs and still fi nd time for church. “One day I was just thinking that we don’t have a place on campus where people who are not of a particular faith can come together and learn about God. You can just come in and talk about top-ics that relate to us,” he said. The club plans to talk about every-day topics and how they relate to sports. Pardner said that each week, they’ll have a discussion-based Bible study. “My goal is to really just talk to peo-ple about following Christ as a college student. You’re on your own for the fi rst time – 18, 19, 20 years old,” he said. Pardner grew up in a church home, but said he didn’t really fi nd Christ until last year. Like Pardner, Vice President Amber Wilson grew up in a church-going home and said half of her family are pastors. “When you come to college, you’re away from home and you’re not at your church home and it’s really hard to fi nd other students who have Christ in their life,” she said. Pardner said anyone can join, even if they aren’t an athlete or religious, and university policy mandates clubs don’t discriminate with their members. “I don’t see why I should restrict any-
one who can join my club,” Pardner said, adding that non-believers are more than welcome. “I think our goal is just to be a sup-port system and infl uence students to live with the perspective of God on your side. He’s always there; you should never feel alone on campus,” Wilson added. Wilson, a junior majoring in organiza-tional and strategic communication, said she is excited to see what other people are thinking. “I just feel like there’s going to be so many things to cover, ‘cause it’s going to be like a big fi shbowl when you throw a topic in,” she said. “It gives students another way to cope with college and to cope with daily life.”
Pardner said he wants to talk about being yourself and that it’s OK to follow Christ and still have fun in college. “I think a lot of students party and if you’re concerned with Christ, you’re wondering if it’s bad for me. God loves us for the way we are. He knows who we are; he made us. A lot of people try to be like other people; God wants us to be ourselves,” he said. Chris Morgan, a junior majoring in secondary education in history, thought it was important to spread the word. “I thought it was necessary for people to hear it in a different way,” he said. Morgan, a Christian athlete in high school and Athletes for Christ’s treasurer, said his dad has been a pastor his whole
life and that he was raised in church from a young age. “My personal goal is just to spread the word and help people with their journey with Christ,” Morgan said. Along with the discussion, the club plans to volunteer once a month at the Colorado Springs Rescue Mission and go to sporting events. “This is really just about how does God want us to live, topics that relate to young adults and how to better ourselves and our community. Those make good people and good people are the ones that thrive in the future,” Pardner said. The fi rst meeting of Athletes for Christ will be Sept. 25 from 6-7 p.m. in Univer-sity Center, room to be determined.
Athletes for Christ aims to be a support system on campusApril Wefl er
awefl [email protected]
“I think a lot of students party and if you’re concerned with Christ, you’re wondering if it’s bad for me. God loves us for the way we are. He knows who we are; he made us. A lot of people try to be like other people; God wants us to be ourselves.”
— Darius Pardner
NICK BURNS | THe SCRiBe
Darius Pardner, president and founder of Athletes for Christ, wants to provide a place for “no particular faith” students to discuss faith in a college environment.
Like many freshmen, Howie Hill ar-rived at UCCS to take on a full course load for his nursing degree. However, Hill also arrived as Colorado’s eighth-ranked tennis player and the national deadlift champion. His top-eight statewide ranking is out of 180 tennis players, and he also is ranked 14th in a six-state region of 700 players. But Hill didn’t start out in ten-nis until age 13. “My favorite sport was football, but my dad wouldn’t let me play because he thought I would get hurt,” Hill said. “My brother isn’t as athletically in-clined, but tennis was his favorite sport so I tried it.” Hill competes in level-three and level-two tournaments, usually the for-mer. The highest tier in tennis is level
one, which includes the top 32 players nationally. He is among the top 400-500 nationally. Hill would ultimately like to compete in one of the world’s four major tour-naments: the U.S. Open, French Open, Wimbledon or the Australian Open. He spends 15 hours on the tennis court weekly, training by himself or with his coach Mark Bishop. Twenty to 25 weekends yearly are devoted to his tournaments. He also spends 10 hours coaching at the Colorado Springs Cross Country Club and fi ve hours training in powerlifting. “I’m not able to mess around much and there’s not time for much social
stuff. It’s pretty busy, I just have to do it and not think about doing it,” Hill said. UCCS is located between his home and court, 10 minutes away from each. He is fl exible with his training, fi tting it in when he has time. He was offered several tennis schol-arships, including half tuition to Divi-sion I schools and full or near-full rides to Division II schools. Though UCCS does not have a tennis program, Hill decided to attend to save on living expenses. He pays in-state tu-ition and would like to transfer in the next year or two to San Diego State University or San Diego University. “I really like that area. I’ve vaca-
tioned there almost every year since I was 4,” Hill said. Beyond his tennis achievements, Hill is also accomplished in lifting. “I’m actually more successful at that than tennis,” he said. Last December, he set the Colorado State Deadlift record on his way to a na-tional title. He also won the Colorado State Powerlifting title. He competed in the 16 through 17-year-old 198-pound class. At 15, he took up the sport be-cause of his dad. “My home has 26 plates, four bars, a squat rack. We have like a whole gym,” Hill said. In addition to his in-home workouts, he is trained by Ron Garofa-lo, who is a 20-time world record holder in powerlifting. In tennis, Hill will next compete in a tournament at the Flying Horse Ranch as the No. 1 seed. His next national is Nov. 10 in Las Vegas.
Busy freshman all-business balancing academics, lifting and tennisCrystal Chilcott
[email protected]“I’m not able to mess around much and there’s not time for much social stuff. It’s pretty busy, I just have to do it and not think about doing it.”
— Howie Hill
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The Spirit Squad is entering uncharted waters at UCCS this year. Beginning this fall, the squad will be under the athletic depart-ment and no longer function as a club sport. As a club, the team essentially operated on its own. Now, it reports directly to the ath-letic department. This is despite the fact that cheerleading is not recognized as an NCAA sport, which leads to a fi rst at UCCS. “It’s a unique situation, the fi rst time we’ve ever done anything like this,” said Jared Verner, assis-tant athletic director for sports in-formation. “We want to establish them as part of the team.” But while this is a fi rst at UCCS, it is not a fi rst for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Confer-ence. Fort Lewis College in Dur-ango has a similar situation with its cycling team, and several other schools in the RMAC have rodeo teams in similar spots as well. “There is history at other schools within our conference,” Verner said. “But from my per-spective, I’m treating it just like any other sport.” Concussion testing and other sports medicine events are now required, along with access to ath-letic trainers, who can now help
with injuries and safety issues, as the team is now under athletic in-surance. Assistant Director of Compli-ance Amy Sutz, who now dou-bles as the UCCS spirit director, sees the team headed in the right direction. Sutz was the faculty sponsor for the team last year, and the for-mer high school cheerleader had some troubles with her team. “It was kind of a train wreck,” Sutz said. “We got all the girls to-gether and I asked them if this is something we want to do.” Sutz is now in charge of both the cheerleaders and the mascot, which adds up to 13 people at this point. They hope to possibly add the UCCS dance team in the fu-ture as well. Clyde will also attend some practices so she can learn some of the moves and coordinate with the cheerleaders and perhaps even do some stunts. The team is also looking to expand its sphere of infl uence regarding the types of sports the spirit team attends, although Sutz said that “golf is kind of a hard one.” Soccer, basketball, volleyball and softball are the main sports on the radar for the team at this point, with basketball the main focus. “We will have the ability to do more things and interact with the other teams,” said Shaelyn Hood,
sophomore and team captain. “We can have more connections.” There is no competition season for the team currently, but Verner added that this is not the main goal right now. “The focus is to enhance the atmosphere of home games,” he said. “A surprising amount of coach-es that want us to attend their games,” Hood said. “It’s been such an awesome experience to have coaches be so accepting. It feels good.” Hood is glad to be working with the team she has. “They are such great people, so dedicated, so willing to push further than even I would ask,” Hood said. “We’re excited, we’re excited, we’re really excited.” “The best ambassadors rep-resent the school both on and off the fi eld,” Sutz said. “We expect the girls to have very high char-acter.” Sutz hopes to see the role of the Spirit Squad expand as it moves forward, and Verner and Hood see things progressing similarly. “I hope the Spirit Squad will have much more of a presence on campus, more obvious,” Sutz said. “I hope people get used to seeing us around. I hope people will make the connection, ‘Oh, cheer has their outfi t on, there must be a game today.’ It’s a walking announcement.” “We want to enhance the level
of involvement in community,” Verner said. “And competitions down the road are a natural next step.” For now, Hood and Sutz are excited to see where things go this year. “We’re so happy to be where
we are,” said Hood. “We want to wow people with our stunts and help give people more pride in our school.” “I think it’s going to have a tremendous positive impact,” Sutz said. “It’s like a win for ev-erybody.”
Clyde has become a recog-nized symbol throughout UCCS. The fearless feline has captured and displayed school spirit in a variety of ways over the years. But just what does it take to be behind the mask? The Scribe set out to fi nd more about the UCCS mascot and what it takes to put on a show for the campus. To maintain the mystery, the man behind Clyde’s mask wished to remain unnamed but answered some questions. The fi rst fact the mascot wanted to share is that Clyde’s character is female, regardless of who wears the costume. “If you go to our Facebook page, she is listed as a girl,” Clyde said. “The original mascot was a girl, which surprises a lot of people.” Clyde wasn’t always a moun-tain lion, either. “Before Clyde, we were the Long Necks, a gi-raffe,” Clyde said. “Before that, the school’s mascot was gold bars. That was kind of creepy.” Clyde can be seen always sport-ing her signature UCCS outfi t – and the costume is hot (no, we’re not talking about her looks). The costume is made out of synesthetic fur, Velcro and felt. The head is Styrofoam and plas-tic, and a fat suit is added under-
neath Clyde’s exterior. “It’s not uncomfortable. You just get used to it,” Clyde said. This particular Clyde has served the UCCS community for three years, but it’s not a one-per-son effort. “Currently, I’m training two other people,” Clyde said. “Be-
cause the school is expanding, UCCS is looking to have multiple mascots, which means we can have Clyde in two places at once. It’s a plan that follows many other colleges, including CU.” As is the case with almost any job, being Clyde had its occupa-tional hazards. Clyde highlighted
some of the dangers of perform-ing that are unseen by the crowd. “On hot days [outside], you can only stay in for an hour before you get heat stroke.” More cos-tumes and trained people will help reduce this fear. “You’re not allowed to fi ght or talk to them,” Clyde said about communicating with the crowd. Clyde has a handler, or personal bodyguard, who oversees her while she is putting on a show for the audience. Clyde also shared some of her favorite memories and activities during her time entertaining. “I got beat up by the Chick-fi l-A cow during Relay for Life last year. That was interesting.” Clyde has been forming rival-ries with other costumed crusad-ers as well. “Every year we take a student trip to Mines,” Clyde said. “Their mascot is a miner who has a pick-axe, he is always belligerent to UCCS and we always butt heads.” However, Clyde highlights that it is all for show and seldom taken seriously. Clyde explained how through working with the audience she has been able to coax students out of their shells. “I work with little kids all the time and it’s just fun,” Clyde said. “With little kids, there are no res-ervations. [Being] Clyde, you can
get people to do things that they normally wouldn’t do. I’ve got-ten people out to the court, dance to the latest songs – it brings out the school spirit and kid side of people.” Like any other cat, Clyde also has a mischievous side. She loves to scare people. “Especially old women,” Clyde said. “Clyde is defi nitely a mischievous trickster, getting to scare the parents on the side of the court is fun.” Amy Sutz, the school spirit di-rector, said that keeping the mas-cot completely anonymous is part of maintaining the mystery. “It’s been that way for a long time, and when I came on I didn’t change that,” she said. “Part of it is just that the people are part of some-thing, but it’s also just kind of cool to be a mystery.” Although UCCS might never know who is behind the mask, the concept that it could be any stu-dent on campus is part of the fun. “I love our mascot,” said Kelly Garcia, a sophomore. “Whoever [he] is does a great job at keeping up the school spirit during games. It’s not an easy job.” “I love it,” Clyde said. “It’s defi nitely the most fun job I’ve ever had.”
Jonathan Toman contributed re-porting.
sports September 16, 2013 12
MIKI SWANSON | THe SCRiBe
The female feline mascot for UCCS, Clyde, shares insights into the life as the face of a university.
Clyde: the man behind the mask speaksAlexander Nedd
Spirit Squad looks to expand role under athletic departmentJonathan Toman
NICK BURNS | THe SCRiBe
The UCCS Cheer team is offi cially under the university Ath-letics Department and no longer a club.
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