the cribeMonday, December 3, 2012 UCCS Student NewspaperVol. 37, Iss. 10

culture

newsGrade petition

page 3

Michael Thigpenpage 5

opinion College degree

page 9

sportsCU football

page 11

InsideIssuethis

The Student Govern-ment Association has

started a petition for a grade forgiveness mea-sure to become policy.

Family and friends cel-ebrate the life of UCCS graduate Michael Thig-pen, who passed away

Nov. 12.

While college can help you get a job, that’s

not the only benefit of higher education. What other reasons are there

for getting a college degree?

Jon Embree has been fired after two seasons as head coach, leaving many wondering about the program’s future.

Most students are aware that tuition, as well as the price of college overall, has been skyrocketing in the last couple of decades. Although textbooks are another financial burden for students, the bookstore indicates that costs could be cut through cooperation from both faculty and students. Book adoption is a partnership that faculty has with the bookstore. In the middle of the current semester, the bookstore contacts instructors about which book materials they will be using in the upcoming term. New book adoption software has also been added to the system, said Jason Votruba, manager of the UCCS Bookstore.

Continued on page 2 . . .

Slow faculty response could mean costlier textbooksShelby Koteckiskotecki@uccs.edu

Photo by Joshua CamachoLate response from faculty may contribute to higher textbook prices in the spring.

Gamers’ Nightpage 6

Grab those textbooks, pull out the note cards and run to the academic cen-ters. It’s finals week, but with help from the Cen-ters for Academic Excel-lence, it doesn’t have to be stressful. “I think a lot of students are taking time away from the university as classes

wind down so they can prepare for finals,” said Jerry Phillips, director of the Center for Excellence in Science. “I’d rather see them in here than at home.” He added that the aca-demic centers provide stu-dents with a high-energy environment to keep them more energized for finals than working alone. “Our goal is to really

kind of help people fo-cus more,” Barbara Gad-dis, executive director of First Year Experience and Transfer Student Connec-tions, said, adding that the centers try to have stu-dents come in throughout the semester so that the final is more of a culmi-nation. Gaddis mentioned that the centers have been busy with students prepar-

ing for final assignments. “I think sometimes that’s intimidating, especially if you haven’t been there before,” she said. Gaddis recommended that students visiting for the first time introduce themselves as new us-ers, and the staff will give them a tour. She also en-couraged students to look for others who they know so a tutor can help them.

“Group work is really helpful,” she added. During finals week, some of the academic centers will be extending their hours. The Center for Excellence in Science, located in Centennial Hall 204, will close Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m. instead of 7 p.m., Friday at 5 p.m. instead of 3 p.m. and Sunday 5 p.m. instead of 4 p.m. The Center for Excel-lence in Communication, located in Columbine Hall 312, will have tu-tors available to help with final presentations or projects in any disci-pline, help fix PowerPoint or Prezi projects and tu-tor for all upper-division communication classes as well as select philosophy classes. “More students visited the CEC in October this year than in September and October combined last year,” said Chris Bell, director of the communi-cation center. He said that the cen-ter’s services are on an appointment-only basis, and those who would like to schedule an appoint-ment can call 255-4771,

Continued on page 2 . . .

Academic centers help students prepare for finalsApril Weflerawefler@uccs.edu

Photo by Nick BurnsStudents Zac Smith and Katie Maguire spent an evening in the library to prepare for their exams.

News December 3, 2012 Page 2

UCCS mourns the loss of Judith Price, senior his-tory instructor, who died Nov. 13 after what her

obituary refers to as “years of physical challenges.” Price, 68, is remembered for her passion for Asian culture, animals and op-era. “Judy was on[e] of my favorite professors,” wrote

former student Stacy Stro-bel in Price’s guestbook. “Her love for history was infectious. She was loved and will be missed.” Her life will be cele-brated on campus Thurs-

day, Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m. in the Boettcher Orientation Room, Cragmoor Hall 008. To read her obituary and share your condo-lences, visit tinyurl.com/dy7chfs.

The Scribe Staffscribe@uccs.edu

UCCS mourns loss of history instructor

“The key thing is that the book adoption does not take very long, especially if professors are using the same books over and over again.” The software sends emails to instructors across the campus with individualized links that allow them to choose books needed for all of their courses, select ones they’ve previously used and compare prices. As of Nov. 26, a total of 980 titles had been ordered for 519 courses. However, that total is only 55 percent of the expected orders this close to the spring semester. A delay on the part of faculty becomes a problem for students that affects the cost of textbooks. If the bookstore already has books in stock and knows they’ll be used again, they wouldn’t be required to send unused cases of books back to the wholesaler. However, because of

the slow response, the books have to be sent back, and having them delivered again to UCCS costs the bookstore more money, directly increasing the price students pay. “It makes our job a lot more difficult,” Votruba said. Aside from this lack of communication, competition with online retailers is also hurting the price of texts and, consequently, the bookstore. To help address this issue, new price comparison software has been added to the online bookstore, showing prices from online retailers, renting versus purchasing, as well as websites associated with UCCS. UCCS also offers book buybacks throughout the semester. “Turnout has been OK, but we can definitely do better,” Votruba said. When students

participate in book buyback, they are not only making a profit themselves but are also sending those books back

to the school instead of another retailer. The buyback helps the bookstore better understand what books

may need to be ordered, too. Book buyback begins Dec. 5 and lasts until Dec. 14. Ultimately, the

bookstore aims to keep money local to help students but reiterates the need for campus cooperation.

Slow faculty response, costlier textbooks (continued from page 1)

Photo by Robert SolisJordan Verlare works at the textbook buyback counter at the UCCS Bookstore.

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noting that slots fill up quickly. If a student needs a quiet place to study or a computer to work on, there is open space available on a walk-in basis. The CEC is always open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and, dur-ing finals week, will stay open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednes-day. “Don’t wait until the last minute. You’re not going to learn it all, or remember it all, in one night. Start studying now and spread it out,” Bell said. The Center for Excel-lence in Writing, located in Columbine Hall 316, encourages students to call 255-4336 to make an appointment. It will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2

p.m. on Friday. Gaddis added that stu-dents can submit their pa-pers to the Online Writing Lab, or OWL, but it may take a few days to receive feedback. In addition to the ex-tended center hours, Ellen Burkart, associate director for First Year Experience, will host a workshop on Dec. 3 in University Cen-ter 116 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and Dec. 4 in Uni-versity Center 307 from 11 a.m. to noon. “I help students create a study plan for finals, show them what they need to get on the final to get a certain grade,” Burkart said. She added that it’s a relaxed workshop and an opportunity for students to decide what they need

to do in terms of studying. The work-shop is part of FYE’s week-long Jump Start to Finals, including Late Night at the

Library Dec. 3 from 7-10 p.m., which provides stu-dents with pizza, blue books and study tips. There will also be Tu-tor Tuesday for math and science on Dec. 4 and a Cram Jam for housing on Dec. 6. The Center for Excel-lence in Mathematics, lo-cated in Engineering 136, will not have extended hours but said students should focus on both solv-ing practice problems and understanding concepts. “The idea is to con-tinually look at defini-tions, formulas and notes on concepts and slowly weed out the ones that are solid,” said Jenny Dor-rington, director of the Center for Excellence in

Mathematics. The Center for Excel-lence in Languages, locat-ed in Dwire 270, will also not have extended hours but has individual lan-guage tutors’ hours post-ed on their website. The center offers support for Spanish, German, French, American Sign Language and Chinese. All of the centers’ ex-tended hours will be post-ed online (uccs.edu/aca-demiccenters). Students can also make appoint-ments for online help, available after hours. The center asks that stu-dents who come in bring in a first draft of their es-say and or a script as ap-plicable to a speaking as-signment. “Bottom line is there’s no reason not to do so well. Every student should do well, and that’s what we’re here to help en-sure,” Phillips said. “Good luck on finals!” Bell added. “Come in and see us!”

Academic centers help students prepare (continued from page 1)

Photo by Nick BurnsKatie Maguire, a sophomore majoring in communica-tion, stayed up late preparing for her exams.

“Every student should do well, and that’s what we’re

here to help ensure.- Jerry Phillips

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NewsDecember 3, 2012 Page 3

Many students wish that the bad grade they got in a class would just vanish and that the grade they received when they retook the class would be the grade that stayed. While that option has been approved by stu-dents, the UCCS Student Government Association aims to enforce it so it be-comes policy. SGA has created a pe-tition to help institute a concept known as grade forgiveness at UCCS. Cur-rent policy on campus dic-tates that if a student gets a “D” or an “F” in a class, they can retake the same class and the two scores (previous and retaken) are averaged to create the fi-nal grade. The process of grade forgiveness, if instituted, would allow the new score to completely replace the old grade in the class. The petition itself asks students to “re-commit themselves to the vote they placed in the spring,” according to Stephen Col-lier, SGA student body president.

In the spring ballot, stu-dents voted overwhelm-ingly for grade forgive-ness by a vote of 1,049 to 89 with 27 abstaining. This vote, though a clear 92 percent majority, had no impact on academic policy at UCCS. The results of that vote on the spring ballot were forwarded to the Educa-tional Policies and Univer-sity Standards Committee for their knowledge and possible action. No action

was taken, forcing the pe-tition. The electronic version of the petition had 117 signatures as of Nov. 29, and SGA will be starting a pen-and-ink petition drive as well. SGA hopes “to send the petition signatures to both faculty at large and the Faculty Assembly, the fac-ulty’s representative arm, to show them students are just as serious about grade forgiveness today as they

were in March,” said Col-lier. Once the petition ends, Collier will take the sig-natures to both faculty and the Faculty Assembly. Then, he will send out a letter to clubs and organi-zations, as well as asking SGA senators to send the letter to their respective schools of study. This pro-cess “will allow for a wide dissemination of informa-tion that is within SGA control,” Collier said.

As far as how students can get involved, there are a few options available. “Students can digitally sign the online petition or seek SGA members out and about the campus to sign the pen-and-ink peti-tion,” Collier said. To sign the online pe-tition, students can access

it through social media by going to the student body president’s Facebook page at facebook.com/UCCSSteve. Collier added, “They can also come to the ROAR office (now Stu-dent Life and Leadership office) to sign the petition as well.”

SGA starts petition for UCCS grade forgiveness measureJonathan Tomanjtoman@uccs.edu

Screenshot and photo by Robert SolisAbove: The online petition can be accessed at facebook.com/UCCSSteve.Right: Student Body President Stephen Collier had student Andrew Sinsheimer sign the petition for grade forgiveness.

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Transitioning from the military to civilian life can be a challenge for any veteran. To help, Fort Carson is partnering with UCCS to help orient veterans to applying to a university after serving in active duty. The UCCS Office of Veteran and Military Stu-dent Affairs, located on the east side of the cam-pus, worked with Fort Carson this semester to help veterans familiarize themselves with the uni-versity setting and gave a tour on Nov. 15 to vet-erans leaving the armed forces. Phillip Morris, pro-gram director for military student affairs at UCCS, said, “Traditionally, there haven’t been any visits from soldiers on a base to a college campus to see what it’s like.” The two-week program is a mandatory procedure designed to better prepare veterans in either entering the workforce or enroll-ing in higher education. The evolution of the project started with the transition of the Army

Career and Alumni Pro-gram, or ACAP, which has been reworked as a “transition university.” The transition universi-ty’s main focus is to pro-vide veterans preparation tips, general information and application skills, such as the G.I. Bill and financial aid process. The ACAP redesign is also the Department of Defense’s response to address issues of veteran preparedness upon com-pletion of service in ac-cordance with the Obama administration’s policies. Michael Reyes, mili-tary outreach specialist at UCCS, said, “The goal for a transition university is, by the end of those two weeks, they either have a job or are in school.” ACAP’s old model was “too quick” and “did not touch on what soldiers should actually expect once they get out,” Reyes said. The redesign and part-nership are in their in-fancy, though there are unsolidified plans to ac-commodate as many as 400 veterans per month. Currently, UCCS an-ticipates scheduling one tour per month and ex-

pects numbers will in-crease as UCCS and Fort Carson continue collabo-rating. The partnership offers veterans options, as they will also see Pikes Peak Community College cam-puses. Veterans who want

to attend other universi-ties still benefit from the program. Many of the veterans on the tour expressed in-terest in out-of-state uni-versities due to degree program availability. “Even if they’re not

interested in coming to UCCS, they still get an idea of what the applica-tion process is,” Morris said. The general feedback from the tour was posi-tive, and those visiting submitted a handful of

applications by the end of the tour. At the moment, plans to collaborate with other schools in the CU system are uncertain, and UCCS is the nearest school of-fering tours for veterans from Fort Carson.

Fort Carson and UCCS partner to help veterans transitionPeter Farrellpfarrell@uccs.edu

Photo by Nick Burns, courtesy of the Office of Veteran and Military Student Affairs UCCS and Fort Carson are working together to help veterans transition out of the military and into college or careers.

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Too few buses can make students late to their class-es, mounting students’ frustration with the lack of shuttle service to and from campus. Due to the increasing demand for shuttles and student frustration, UCCS has implemented a new shuttle schedule for Spring 2013. According to Russ Wil-cox, transportation servic-es supervisor, since 2010 until now, “the number of passengers that ride the buses has increased from 229,563 to 390,000,” an increase of almost 70 per-cent in just two years. The shuttle schedule has added new time slots, which UCCS hopes will help develop a better shut-tle service for students, helping them get to class promptly. The new system will consist of nine buses, 16 drivers and two to seven routes. Included is a new Circulator Route, in which students can be picked up from Sunset Village and be dropped off at Alpine Vil-lage, the Recreation Cen-ter, Lodge, Centennial Hall and University Hall.

“We hope to make our buses more efficient,” Wil-cox said. “They weren’t as efficient before; we are in-creasing our assets to pro-vide a better service.” With such a high de-mand for shuttle service,

many students know how frustrating trying to get to class on time can be when using the shuttle system to get around campus. Junior Lauren Foster is one student who has been late to class because of the

shuttle service. “I would be waiting and waiting for a bus to come,” Foster said. “I would get there early sometimes to make sure I wasn’t late, and I would still be late to my class.” The service can be

backed up at the Four Dia-monds Sports Complex, too. “We would have to divert a bus to pick up passengers from Sunset Village, leav-ing 16 busloads of students behind,” Wilcox said.

Frustration had been mounting within the stu-dent body, and adminis-trators hope these changes will dissolve tensions and make the system more convenient for students.

News December 3, 2012 Page 4

While marijuana was legalized by popular vote, laws regarding use are still being debated. Since Amendment 64 passed with a 10-percent

vote majority Nov. 6, the process of legalizing mari-juana has been heavily de-bated. 4th Judicial District At-torney Dan May has made it clear that there will be no blanket policies con-cerning criminal cases on

marijuana possession. The Gazette reported Nov. 15 that May said, “We are not going to be blanket-dismissing these [cases] like they did up in Boulder.” The district attorney is not condoning either side

of the issue and has gone on record saying that each instance of criminal pos-session will be handled on a “case-by-case” basis. Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), an international advocacy and awareness group for drug

use and safety, has a strong interest in the democratic process and hopes to see a change in the policy. The group’s stated mission is that it “mobi-lizes and empowers young people to participate in the political process, pushing for sensible policies to achieve a safer and more just future, while fighting back against counterpro-ductive Drug War policies, particularly those that di-rectly harm students and youth.” Raul Perez, chapter head of SSDP at UCCS, said, “Drug possession is not a crime.” One of the group’s larg-est concerns is the double standard surrounding al-cohol and other substanc-es. The SSDP hopes to enact a law regarding drug use similar to the already existing C.R.S 18-13-122 Good Samaritan law. The law states, “An underage person and one or two other persons shall be immune from criminal prosecution if they report the need of medical as-sistance of another due to alcohol consumption.” SSDP has plans to

meet with the Student Government Association, Resident Hall Association and other campus groups to discuss promoting the group’s values in spite of the resistant attitude from local politics. The drug group seeks changes in policy, and while members express their satisfaction with the passing of Amendment 64, they are watching to see what happens as the state processes the bill. Other activists on cam-pus also have interests in the handling of marijuana possession charges. Dr. Bob Melamede, associate professor and CEO of Can-nabis Science, has taught a medical marijuana course since 2002. The course is focused on the endocannabinoid system, which is involved in brain function regarding hunger, pain, mood and memory. When asked about the political turmoil, Mela-mede said that May is a “pathological prohibition-ist” and that the circum-stances concerning medi-cal research and state laws are “lunacy.”

Marijuana cases won’t be dismissed in El Paso, Teller countiesPeter Farrellpfarrell@uccs.edu

Photo by Nick BurnsRepresentatives from Students for Sensible Drug Policy are seeking changes to policy in spite of local politics. From left to right: Polina Reynolds, Raul Perez and Meral Sarper. S

Photo by Robert SolisMore time slots have been added to the spring shuttle schedule.

Shuttle system adds more time slots to spring scheduleKyle Marinokmarino@uccs.edu

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CultureDecember 3, 2012 Page 5

Those who knew him have fond memories of a happy, driven and caring man. Michael Thigpen, who passed away Nov. 12, graduated from UCCS with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in chemistry in Spring 2011. His memorial page on Facebook, referenced with permission from his family, states, “Michael lived a full life: as much as most people would do in 80 years he did in 23. He loved being outdoors, he was an incredibly talented musician, and loved meet-ing new people and mak-ing new friends.” His record confirmed this. In addition to a dif-ficult school workload, Thigpen taught biology to high school students and participated in several groups on campus. He helped found the First Aid and Safety Train-ing club, FAST, at UCCS. To help the group get off

the ground, he trained other students in survival techniques and CPR. Af-ter graduating, Thigpen began a graduate program at the University of Notre Dame. Off campus, he traveled to prevent malaria and provide clean water and volunteered for the Tri-Lakes Fire Department as a dispatcher and EMT. He was also a medical assis-tant but made time for hik-ing and climbing to bond with friends. Thigpen’s mother, Car-men Thigpen, and fiancée, Connie Clark, were will-ing to share information with The Scribe in tribute to Thigpen’s legacy. “We got engaged in August, and were wait-ing to announce it,” Clark said. A native of Monument, Colo., Thigpen was a biol-ogy teacher for the High Country Home Educators. He also volunteered to sing songs for Wings Like Eagles, a local camp that helps children gain confi-dence by learning vaults

on horses. “He did a lot of vol-unteer work outside of UCCS,” Thigpen’s mother said. “He sang for Wings Like Eagles, but he also traveled for missions trips.” She listed his trips to Peru and Costa Rica as opportunities he took to train medical students. “I really wanted to mar-ry this guy,” Clark added as she helped recount her fiancé’s accomplishments. Thigpen had a passion for music and played in a band, Doubtful Sound. He played six instruments and recorded LPs with friends. He performed locally with friends before gradu-ation and then toured around the United King-dom. For his U.K. tour, he simplified his performance to just his mandolin, pack-ing coffee shops to hear him sing. Many who knew Thig-pen describe him as a friend to the friendless. “He wrote a song lyric,” Clark said, “that reflected his philosophy: ‘If you never talk to strangers,

you will never make any friends at all.’” “We know he’s with the Lord,” Thigpen’s mother said. In accordance with his

charitable spirit, the Thig-pen family has asked that instead of buying flowers, all funds be donated to the Afaayo Foundation, which prevents and treats malaria

in Africa. To donate, make checks payable to Christian De-velopment Fund and send to P.O. Box 1383, Monu-ment, CO 80132.

UCCS remembers graduate student Michael ThigpenCynthia Jeubcjeub@uccs.edu

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday kick off the holiday shopping sea-son the day after Thanks-giving. Not everyone can

afford to have Christmas, though. Through the Holiday Service Project, which runs until Dec. 5, families that might not otherwise have gifts for Christmas are given food and pres-ents for the holiday.

“Several years ago when I had nothing, a church reached out to me and gave me a monetary gift, and I was able to go out and purchase something for each one of my chil-dren so they could have a Christmas,” said Mary

Lile, accountant and co-chair of the Holiday Ser-vice Project. “I’ve just always be-lieved in paying it forward – this is my way of paying it forward, being able to reach out and help others in need,” she said. The annual Holiday Service Project started in 1989 after staff members decided they wanted to do more than office parties and chose to reach out to students in need. They de-cided to create something that involved the whole campus. “Reaching out would create goodwill amongst students,” explained Lile. She added that when there was an emotional hard-ship that needed support, the program stepped in to help. Several departments, clubs and individuals have chosen to adopt families. Last year, 26 families were provided with gifts

and food. Families can fill out re-quests for adoption as long as they keep the requests within the immediate fam-ily and request only two gifts per person. They can also notate any culture or religion that they feel should be tak-en into consideration by adopters at the bottom of their request template. On Dec. 7, the families are invited to come to cam-pus to pick up their gifts. Although the program keeps the families’ iden-tities anonymous, adopt-ers can learn their ages, genders and the number of people in the family to help them know the appro-priate items to purchase. The project has several aspects. One is the Giving Tree, decorated in hand-crafted ornaments created by children of the Fam-ily Development Center. Each ornament is attached with a tag, indicating a gift

that may be purchased. Remove the tag, pur-chase and wrap the gift written on the tag, attach the tag to the outside of the wrapped gift and return it to one of the Holidrop Boxes. The Holidrop Boxes are used to collect food, cloth-ing, toys and other items. Donations of dry food or canned food can help pro-vide the ingredients need-ed for the family’s Christ-mas meal. The Kraemer Family Library also has the Food for Fines program, which allows students to bring in non-perishable, unexpired food and have a $1 credit for each item they bring in. Additionally, cash dona-tions will be used to pur-chase a grocery store gift card for each family, with checks payable to UCCS Holiday Service Project. “Whatever anybody wants to give,” said Lile.

Campus holiday project helps bring Christmas to familiesApril Weflerawefler@uccs.edu

Collection Areas

Holidrop Boxes

Main Hall, University Hall, Sci-ence and Engineering Building, Dwire Hall, Columbine Hall, Centennial Hall, Engineering Building, Family Develop-ment Center, University Center, Cragmoor Hall, Public Safety, the bookstore and the library

Giving Tree

University Center, Bookstore, Main Hall, Dwire Hall, Columbine Hall, University Hall

Cash/Checks

LAS Dean’s office in Col-umbine Hall, University Hall, the bookstore, Uni-versity Center Information Desk, Dwire coffee coun-ter, ENT, Clyde’s, Public Safety, Jazzman’s, the Bur-sar’s Office and the library

Photo by Joshua CamachoSeveral Giving Trees are located around campus.

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Photo courtesy of Michael Thigpen’s familyMichael Thigpen passed away Nov. 12.

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Culture December 3, 2012 Page 6

It aims to bring together players of all kinds for a night of eating, chatting and – most importantly – gaming. After Clyde’s opened in 2010, the Office of Student Activities, OSA, began hosting events on Tuesday, Friday and Satur-day nights. Gamers’ Night was conceived in a brain-storming session. The idea stood out and has since be-come a monthly event, the next being Dec. 4. The event is an oppor-tunity to try a game out be-fore purchasing it, to find friends to play multiplayer games with or to share thoughts and tips on games with fellow players. Gamers’ Night is not only about the games but more about the gamers. The face of gaming is no longer the stereotypical, antisocial shut-in but a so-

ciety of people interacting with one another. Multiplayer games and online play have trans-formed gaming into a so-cial activity. The event en-courages socializing with people who have a com-mon interest in gaming. “Most students have

their own systems and can play in their dorms, but we’re trying to build the social atmosphere and college experience for stu-dents,” said Tyler Sisko-wic, an OSA event coordi-nator. OSA tries to provide the latest games for Gam-

ers’ Night in a variety of genres. First-person shoot-ers, fighting games and Wii Sports are all available for play. A recent release, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2,” is the latest game OSA has acquired. Upcoming semesters will see big releases of

video games, and OSA in-tends to provide as many as possible for Gamers’ Night. Availability of new games depends on OSA’s approval of the games and its budget. Fans of video games can bring their own games and consoles to the event or can make use of the sys-tems and games provided by OSA. Xbox, PlayStation and Wii systems will be avail-able for use. Students can bring older systems and games too. “We’ve had some old-school consoles, like the original Xbox and even an Atari,” Siskowic said. Players can also make use of a 120-inch projec-tor screen, enhancing their gaming experience further. For those more inter-ested in classic gaming, board games will also be available at Gamers’ Night. Clyde’s will be open and serving food, so anyone

can come to eat and social-ize. “Be sure to check out our events next semester. We’re going to try to step out of our comfort zone and get innovative. We’ll definitely keep having Gamers’ Night next se-mester,” Siskowic said. Students can find out about OSA’s future events on its web page and can contact the office with ideas for events.

Gamers’ Night brings students together to play, socializeMikaila Ketchersidemketcher@uccs.edu

The LowdownWhat:

Gamers’ Night

When:Dec. 4, 6-9 p.m.

Where:Clyde’s

How much:Free

More information:tsiskowi@uccs.edu

Photo by Joshua CamachoGamers’ Night brings gamers of all experience levels to Clyde’s.

Life is more than just making a living, the Syc-amore family realizes. Instead of mastering life, people should enjoy it.

Theatreworks will perform the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Broadway play “You Can’t Take It With You” Dec. 6-23. The play details the life of the Sycamore family, a fam-ily that at first seems dys-functional and broken but is ultimately revealed as a

nearly ideal family. “You might naturally

suspect the Sycamore zoo is a portrait of family dys-function, but the truth is quite the opposite. This is possibly the most func-tional family you will ever find on stage or anywhere else,” wrote Murray Ross, Theatreworks’ artistic di-rector, on Theatreworks’ blog.

Viewers are drawn into the warm and loving Sycamore home, where happiness is prized above all else. Politics, careers

and money are secondary to pursuing what makes the Sycamores truly hap-py, even if they are ter-rible at what makes them happy.

Penny Sycamore is on her 11th attempt at completing her raunchy and badly written play and paints in her spare time. Paul, Penny’s hus-band, makes fireworks and builds children’s con-struction sets.

Penny’s daughter, Es-sie Carmichael, enjoys ballet and hopes to be a

ballerina, de-spite her bal-let instructor stating that she “stinks” at it. Her husband, Ed, makes masks and plays the xylophone.

Martin Vanderhof, Penny’s father, raises snakes and loves attend-ing commencements and circuses. He has never paid his income tax – he doesn’t believe the gov-ernment knows what to do with his money.

The Sycamores are sharply contrasted by the Kirbys, a stuffy upper-class family that Alice Sycamore intends to marry into. The Kirbys are appalled by the Syca-mores’ lack of propriety and strange hobbies.

Alice fears the insani-ty of her family will scare the country-club-attend-ing and Harvard graduate Kirbys away, and both families must overcome their differences for the sake of their children’s love.

The play makes mul-tiple amusing jabs at the government and the American upper class. Though it opened in 1936, “You Can’t Take It With You” calls many modern ideas to question. “The play was writ-ten in another period of economic recession and looming war, but the paradisiacal garden of the Sycamore home is walled off from these grim reali-ties; they are never seen or mentioned. What is wonderfully resonant still are the twin evils of taxes and big money,” wrote Ross. “In our politics these days, Republicans com-

plain about one and Democrats about the other, but here both are the bad guys, and both are defeat-ed. It is rather wonderful how

the old dialogue flashes into new life now.”

Modern politics pit two parties against one another in a race to the finish with only one win-ner, but this play finds fault with every angle of an argument.

It emphasizes that no one man can be right about everything, and that cooperation and exchange of ideas are key.

“You Can’t Take It With You” rejects the re-alities of life and replaces them with ideals. It paints a picture of a family fo-cused on enjoying life rather than mastering it. The Sycamores prove there is great wisdom in having fun.

They also remind us that life is more than mak-ing a living. They teach us life can be wonderful if you stop trying so hard and simply live.

The holidays are never complete without fam-ily, and “You Can’t Take It With You” aims to be a friendly and funny per-formance that embodies some of the most impor-tant holiday ideals – the importance of family and loving others despite their strangeness.

‘You Can’t Take It With You’ to aim for funny, warm holiday playMikaila Ketchersidemketcher@uccs.edu

The Lowdown

What:You Can’t Take It

With You

When:Dec. 6-23

Wednesdays-Saturdays:7:30 p.m.

Saturday Matinees: 2 p.m.

Sundays: 4 p.m.

Where:Dusty Loo Bon Vivant

TheaterUniversity Hall

How much:Free for UCCS students

Reserved: $35Children under 16: $15Groups of 10 or more:

$25No children under

5 years old

More information:theatreworkscs.org

Image courtesy of TheatreworksThe latest Theatreworks production begins on Dec. 6.

“It is rather wonderful how the old dialogue flashes

into new life now. - Murray Ross, artistic director

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CultureDecember 3, 2012 Page 7

The sun has risen, but the end has come. The final installment of the “Twilight” series, “Breaking Dawn - Part 2,” was released Nov. 16. Based on the novels by Stephenie Meyer, the saga became a huge hit at the box office, earning $143 million in its first week-end and staying high on the box office charts for the weeks following. The sequel to last year’s blockbuster hit “Part 1,” “Part 2” con-tinues from the climax of the last movie. Just married, newly turned vampire Bella (Kristen Stewart) and longtime vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) must protect their new-born daughter Renesmee from a terrible rumor that threatens to tear the fam-ily apart by evil group Volturi. Sworn to protect Re-nesmee is wolf and pack leader Jacob Black (Tay-lor Lautner), who, uh,

left his mark on the child during the last film, cre-ating an inseparable bond between the pair. Along the journey, Bella and Edward learn to adapt to their new life and the obstacles brought by their half-human, half-vampire daughter. Utilizing a vampire

theme, director Bill Con-don quenches a thirst for entertainment. The action is intense, the CGI is flaw-less and the soundtrack poignant. But, through all the vampire glitter, not all scenes are golden. The plot feels stretched to its climatic scene, a consequence of Holly-

wood breaking this story into two possibly unnec-essary parts. Because of this, there is quite a bit of filler content that would appeal more exclusively to the hard-core “Twilight” fan than the average moviegoer. (Do average moviegoers go see “Twilight”?)

The acting, although better than expected, feels extreme. Stewart and Pattinson’s romance on screen is enough to smother a wildfire, but had the right intensity to fire up “Twilight” fans throughout the audience. Actors Lautner and Dakota Fanning offer the

film’s best moment dur-ing an important conflict scene, with fans scream-ing, “Hell yeah.” Many regular “Twi-light” themes resurface in “Part 2,” such as Laut-ner’s abs and Pattinson’s movie-endorsed Volvo. However, what makes this movie memorable is the unexpected. By far the best scene worth adult ticket admission is the confirmed twist dur-ing the climax that’s not in the book. One way to enhance the movie is to make sure you’re up to date on the series. Being on the out-side looking in will affect the viewing experience. Subtle jokes and jabs by characters were lost on myself but met with loads of laughter by those who have followed this captivating plot since its Hollywood adaption in 2008. The ending scene brings appropriate closure to the series met with wet eyes of many in the theater. For “Twilight” fans, the movie is a must and won’t disappoint. For the casual moviegoer…maybe a trip to the dollar theater.

Vampire glitter doesn’t make ‘Twilight’ conclusion goldAlexander Neddanedd@uccs.edu

Rating:

Photo courtesy of Summit Entertainment“Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2” was released Nov. 16.

A typical college student’s spring break usually consists of surf and sand, red plastic cups and tons of partying between excessive siestas without a care in the world. However, UCCS has begun offering its own Alternative Spring Break Program, an opportunity to encourage students to maybe spend their week doing activities more productive and rewarding activities. Sarah Elsey, a graduate student majoring in student affairs, has been the driving force behind the new spring break initiative, which was first suggested in the fall of last year. “Service-learning and civic engagement are passions of mine in student affairs, and both are main parts of this program,” Elsey said. Last semester, the group traveled to Alamosa, Colo., and volunteered at the La Puente Home, a homeless resource center. Elsey’s

first term in Americore had been served in Alamosa. This spring, two groups will visit two different locations: Denver and Wyoming. Denver is an option for those who would like to help more locally, aiding non-profit organizations. Wyoming is more of a getaway trip for those

who want to help outside of their own communities, assisting in revamping a horse arena. Although not many specific details have been released about what exactly students will be doing during these programs, that’s part of the fun and part of the learning experience, Elsey said. “They’ll learn how to critically think and react to problems, problems that communities deal with constantly.”

Many students are returning to the program to lend a hand again this year. “These students will be given a leadership role,” she said. Elsey will set up times for information sessions that will be meeting periodically until the end of winter break. While there is no specific

cutoff deadline to sign up, those who would like to get involved are encouraged to contact Elsey before the end of finals week. Elsey will have one-on-one interviews with

those interested in pursuing either trip, answering and asking questions regarding the trips. In the future, the program aims to open up trips for time frames aside from just spring break, such as during the six weeks of winter break and the summer, to appeal to students with full schedules. Students who would like to get involved can contact Elsey on her office phone, 255-3701, or email selsey@uccs.edu.

Students encouraged to apply for Alternative Spring Break ProgramShelby Koteckiskotecki@uccs.edu

Photo by Joshua CamachoCrystal Wetzel participated in an Alternative Spring Break outing.

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“They’ll learn how to critically think and react to problems, problems that communities deal

with constantly. - Sarah Elsey

“

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Suicide is often mis-understood as a decision involving one person. But when someone you know takes his or her own life, that scope reveals itself to be so much wider. The loss of one person means family, friends and even just casual acquain-tances are left to grieve and cope with the after-math. Unfortunately, more people than we may think find themselves in this dif-ficult situation every day in Colorado Springs. The National Associa-tion of County and City Health Officials analyzed 2004 suicide rates and found Colorado Springs had the second-highest national suicide rate with 26 suicides per 100,000 residents. While those numbers have improved slightly, Colorado Springs’ suicide rate is still unusually high.

As The Gazette reported last year, El Paso County has been averaging an 18 per 100,000 people suicide rate, seven more people than the national average. There is no one ex-planation for why suicide rates are so high. Every-thing from unemployment to oxygen deprivation has been cited as potential rea-sons. But on campus, there’s at least a system in place that could make the differ-ence in a student, staff and faculty members receiv-ing the help and attention they deserve. Dean of Students Steve Linhart, Chief of Police Jim Spice and Benek Altayli, director of the Counseling Center, make up the core of the Student Response Team. Members collect tips about people on campus who demonstrate behav-ior that may seem off, a little different than what has come to be expected

from them. When more than one of those people is contacted about the same person, they can reach out to help, whether it’s in the form of a referral to the Counsel-ing Center or off-campus resources. Knowing that multiple departments are interact-ing with each other, we have a responsibility to be aware of our peers, wheth-er they’re our classmates, coworkers or instructors. We rely on our instinct to tell us when something’s amiss. It should never be ignored, especially when it tells us something is wrong with another per-son. Just a suspicion should be enough to notify the dean of students, chief of police or head of the Counseling Center. After all, even if our instinct turns out to be wrong, what’s the worst that will happen? That person will at least know someone else is con-

cerned. At a university, where all of the students tend to be wrapped up in their own studies and individu-al worries, that knowledge can also serve as comfort. We have the power to prevent misfortunes be-fore they happen if we can take a moment to look outside ourselves. And, if something feels amiss, act

immediately to correct it. While we’re often told to watch other people for warning signs, sometimes we may need to evalu-ate ourselves and realize we’re the ones who need to seek help – and that’s OK. As students, we can car-ry such heavy workloads and so much stress that it’s not unnatural for us to

occasionally think, “This would all be so much easi-er if I weren’t here.” But thinking any deep-er about not being around warrants a conversation, whether it’s with a trusted friend or professional from the Counseling Center. One person’s self-harm affects more people than you may even begin to recognize.

Opinion December 3, 2012 Page 8

Staff Editorialscribe@uccs.edu

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Suicide not an isolated event, nor is campus prevention

Something on your mind?

Email the editor atscribe@uccs.edu

Photo courtesy of University AdvancementThe Counseling Center, located at Main Hall, is a resource for any student, staff or faculty member who needs help.

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OpinionDecember 3, 2012 Page 9

I’m not attending col-lege to get a job. That’s not because I don’t want a job, but higher education tends to accumulate as much debt as an income improvement, and it’s possible to get a job with-

out attending college. So why get a degree? There are other better rea-sons for higher education. Here are the top four rea-sons to go to college be-sides getting a job:

1. Education Yes, it seems obvious. But ask average college students why they’re get-ting a degree, and they’ll answer something like “to get a better job” or “to get a pay raise.” Rarely is learning in itself listed among the top reasons for, well, learn-ing. Learning will provide the knowledge needed for that job you want. Ba-sic learning makes you

(seem) smarter and more well-rounded than you were before.

2. Networking Here’s a secret: Your professors and instruc-tors know people – people who can help you build a career. It’s harder to build life-long relations outside of the college atmosphere than from within. Sur-rounded by the profes-sional world of academia, you have the chance to prove yourself and make your name known. The well-known prov-erb says that it doesn’t matter what you know; it matters who you know.

People rarely get good jobs by just applying for every one that comes along. Most of the time, people get jobs because they know someone that can help that process along.

3. Developing a work ethic There’s a reason college graduates are more likely to keep jobs than those who skipped or dropped out, and it’s not just be-cause you know more. Graduates have had to work hard to balance full class schedules, a job, an internship and living on their own for the first time.

Employers don’t see your diploma and say, “Cool, you’ve got a signed pass to money; here’s a large paycheck.” Employers see your di-ploma and know you’re not a quitter because you made it through four years of school.

4. Time By the time students are juniors in high school, they’ve become sick and tired of being asked what they want to be when they grow up. Our society gives high schoolers approximately 1-2 years, in the most tu-multuous time of their lives, to try and decide

what they’re going to be doing for the next 50 years. College helps solve this problem: You get a chance to look at the op-tions and try some of them out. Even if you screw up as a freshman and don’t like that major, transfer-ring credits and applying to a different major is now easier than ever. You’re buying yourself time to make the best de-cision for yourself by go-ing to college. Perhaps, on the other side of a gradua-tion, we’ll realize college wasn’t all about the diplo-ma. It was about growing up, learning and develop-ing a work strategy.

Four reasons to get a college degree – besides just a job

Cynthia Jeubcjeub@uccs.edu

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World War III may be closer than you think. With the current ten-sions in the Middle East, we may witness this dev-astating event in our life-time. The region has been plagued with political and religious tension for thou-sands of years, countless lives lost over a myriad of

conflicts and the coming large-scale conflict hing-ing on Israel and Iran. The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel on Nov. 21 will likely be tenta-tive and short-lived. Like the ceasefire agreements made in 2008 and 2009, Israel and Hamas will be-gin a new strategy to gain ground, intelligence and political power – then the attacks will continue. According to Hamas, the rockets and weapons used in Gaza are being smuggled from Egypt. Israel has accused Iran of helping provide these weapons. The head of Iran’s Rev-olutionary Guard, Moham-mad Ali Jafari, recently stated that the rockets are not coming from Iran, but

they have “transferred” the technology to produce them. And Iran has not held its tongue in calling for Israel’s demise. Both Iran and Israel are preparing to go on the offensive and defensive with one an-other – in addition to other countries they believe may pose a threat. Tensions have already arisen with Iran conduct-ing military exercises this summer, when mock-ups of nearby opposition military air bases were bombed. Iran also threatened the U.S. with the thinly veiled statement from Iran’s Rev-olutionary Guards General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who said, “U.S. bases in the region are within range of

our missiles and weapons, and therefore they certain-ly will not cooperate with the regime (Israel).” Iran’s incredible insis-tence on developing nu-clear weapons capabilities should also be a reminder that they have no reserva-tions for their use. Tensions halfway across the world will af-fect America as a whole. The Middle East looks like a row of dominoes. Israel would be the one falling block to tumble the rest, leading to an ascend-ing level of conflict. The web of treaties and defensive agreements will cause this conflict to esca-late. First of all, America backs Israel (and let’s face it, we’re not too popu-lar ourselves). If Israel

and Iran enter a conflict, America will step in. Because of a joint de-fense pact, Syria then joins the conflict against Israel, giving Lebanon (on the northern border of Israel) enough reason to join the fight. Egypt will enter the clash against Israel only if America does not provide enough political pressure to keep their current neu-trality. These are the immediate players, with Saudi Ara-bia, Turkey, Pakistan and most of Africa all swing-ing doors that could enter the fray at the local level. Most of these countries are against Israel, though Tur-key could go either way. Enter the large play-ers, Russia and China

– who may support Iran for economic and/or secu-rity concerns – and a real world conflict is stirring. The European Union steps in, and now the conflict is global. Here in Colorado Springs, a large military community, we would all be impacted. You, a friend or a family member would go to fight this war. If our government sees it fit, the draft could be implemented. The war ef-forts on the home front will ensure that every citi-zen feels the sacrifice of a world at war. I keep eyeing the Middle East and hoping I am wrong. But, while we hope for the best, we should always prepare for the worst.

Middle East conflict: the match that lights World War III

Nick Burnsnburns@uccs.edu

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This past election was a joke. Almost every bat-tleground state went to Obama. The clear amount of voter fraud aside, there are way too many Amer-ica-hating liberals in the U.S., and they are destroy-ing this country. The time for secession has come. The vast, bloat-ed, Cthulhu-esque machin-ery of the federal govern-ment must be stopped – for

good. The country has now stepped onto the slippery slope of liberalism and is months away from de-scending into absolute fas-cism. Real, true Americans must separate themselves from the decaying corpse of this once-great nation. President Barack Obama will soon be declared Dic-tator for Life. Despite the Republicans having a slight majority in the House and a slight minority in the Sen-ate, Democrats are going to simply be able to do what-ever they want. This blatant disregard for our freedoms has to stop. The only answer is peaceful secession. With less than 1 percent of the population, we will be able to take control of the state of Texas and turn it into a utopian paradise.

The borders will be closed – except for some white immigrants, but even then they must come from other seceded states. There will be no taxes be-cause those are a tool of the

corrupt, oppressive federal government. Our economy will be the 15th strongest in the world – which we will be able to maintain with an almost completely closed border and zero taxes.

We will make up any shortfall by lowering gov-ernment spending. We will automatically take control of all the military equip-ment and personnel within the borders of our new

country. We will immediately declare war on the USSR and China – those commie fools have had it coming. And the best part: They won’t be able to retaliate since the other decaying states will be blocking their path. So, what is an American patriotic to do? Sign the petitions on whitehouse.gov. All of them. That’s the only way that they’ll know they’re getting an accurate account of the scale of this movement. We are a grassroots movement, but for every person that signs a petition, there are at least 50 people who don’t. You must make up that difference. Once we hit 1 percent of the population of Texas, there will be no stopping us.

Secession: the patriotic movement begins with Texas

Aaron Collettacollett@uccs.edu

Comic by Robert Solis“No, don’t go, Texas!” said absolutely no one ever.

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Life on the Bluffs December 3, 2012 Page 10

Campus ChatterAlexander Nedd, anedd@uccs.edu, photos by Robert Solis

This week at

UCCSTuesday, Dec. 4 Wednesday, Dec. 5 Thursday, Dec. 6 Friday, Dec. 7 Saturday, Dec. 8

Hula Hoop FitnessRec CenterNoon

ZumbaRec Center4:40 p.m.

“You Can’t Take It With You”Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater7:30 p.m.

Vinyasa (Flow Yoga)Rec Center4 p.m.

Men’s/Women’s basket-ball vs. Metro StateGallogly Event Center5:30 p.m.

University ChoirCentennial Hall Audito-rium7:30 p.m.

Ski and Soak Trip: Monarch Mt. and Hot SpringsMeet at Rec Center6 a.m.

Men’s/Women’s bas-ketball vs. RegisGallogly Event Center5:30 p.m.

Chamber EnsembleCentennial Hall Auditorium7:30 p.m.

Top TenTalk to your mom – just kidding, she’s playing Farmville

Play Farmville with your mom or a class-mate’s mom

Go to the store to buy Hot Pockets

Watch “My Little Pony”

Learn how to cook

Spend the night looking for UFOs

Build a fort in the living room

Daydream about life after finals

Write down a list of ways to procrastinate, so as to avoid them

__________*

10987654321

ways to procrastinate during finals

More than 20 million students are in the U.S., with more than 10,000 at UCCS. Their opinions matter.

Dog House Diaries

Comic courtesy of thedoghousediaries.com

Sudoku Bring your completed sudoku to The Scribe Office (UC 106) for a prize! Last week’s sudoku answers can be found at uccsscribe.com.

8 6 9

4 2 6

4 2 3

9 3 5 8

8 7 1 9

1 4 2 3

1 8 4

5 9 8

1 5 7

Puzzle 1 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.58)

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Wed Nov 28 13:58:05 2012 GMT. Enjoy!

* Editor’s note: Reporter could not be contacted to finish Top 10 before deadline.

Pedro Barrera, psy-chology, sophomore

How do you prepare for finals?I usually try to take notes and look over my notes a week before it. And then, usually the night before finals, I stay up all night.

What advice do you give others to study?Don’t do what I do.

What do you wish you could change about fi-nals week?That they weren’t all clumped up together.

Guillermo Gonzalez, ju-nior, political science

What finals do you have and which ones are you worried about?My ROTC final and my pres-idency final. With my ROTC final, it’s a lot of information put together, a lot of attack-ing, a lot of different types of strategies and maneuvers, a lot of different battle drills that we have to remember, and we have to put it all out at one time. It’s a lot to re-member. And with my politi-cal science one, it basically deals with my critical think-ing skills. I know the infor-mation, but I just have to put it together.

Keegan Luke, junior, com-puter science

What finals do you have and which ones are you worried about?Probably Discrete Math, Probability and Stats, sim-ply because they are math classes. One is proofs, which I am terrible at. And the other one I would like to get a high grade on so I can improve my GPA.

What do you wish you could change about finals weeks?Actually, finals week is fine because it means I only have a few classes to worry about and some time in between to do some extra studying.

Jeong Seo, sophomore, mechanical engineer-ing

What finals do you have and which ones are you worried about?Thermo and Chemistry. Just ‘cause those two are my hardest classes.

What do you wish you could change about fi-nals week?I wish it was longer. In-stead of finals week, it should be like finals two weeks.

Free PancakesUniversity Center7:30 a.m.

Rain Machine: Eric Till-inghastGOCA 1420Noon

Gamers’ NightClyde’s6 p.m.

Avalanche Awareness ClinicRec Center5 p.m.

Core ExpressRec Center5:10 p.m.

CSI (Cardio Strength Intervals)Rec Center6 p.m.

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SportsDecember 3, 2012 Page 11

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After one of the worst seasons in school history, the Colorado Buffaloes (1-11, 1-8) have fired sec-ond-year Head Coach Jon Embree. This once storied and proud football program hit rock bottom after a 42-35 loss to Utah in the final game of the season, cost-ing Embree his job after a forgettable two years. CU is quite possibly the worst program in all of the NCAA, which has more than 100 teams in just Di-vision I. This program is deci-mated. Making matters worse is the fact the Buf-faloes are in a tough con-ference, the Pac-12, with the likes of USC, Oregon,

Arizona State and UCLA. With all of these great teams in their confer-ence, recruiting is hard, especially since one of the “pipeline” states that Colorado recruits heavily is California. It is almost impos-sible for the Buffaloes to gain any traction against these prestigious schools and stiff competition that already have more talent than Colorado. Coach Embree need-ed more time to continue building a winning cul-ture, especially given the circumstances presented. Who is the program go-ing to turn to now? Who in their right mind would come to a school as down and out as CU has been over the past five to 10 years? Yes, Boulder is a beau-tiful campus and has a lot to offer, but coaches and players are unlikely to want to come to such a pathetic school to play football, especially with so many great options throughout Division I. There have been many rumors of potential can-

didates, including former Buccaneers and Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Recently fired Auburn Coach Gene Chizik, for-mer Oregon Coach and Athletic Director Mike Bellotti and former CU Head Coach Bill McCart-ney have also been linked to the vacancy. Maybe the answer to

CU’s coaching problem could come in one of these former coaches, but it is highly unlikely they will come to this program, and they carry a ton of baggage with them as well. The answer could lie in the success of a little-known coach from a smaller school: Rob Am-brose. Ambrose, from

Towson University, could be just what this program needs. Ambrose has a tough and gritty team that can hang with the best teams in Division I (they al-most upset LSU in Baton Rouge) and is from a Divi-sion I-AA school. No matter who takes over as the new coach at

CU, hopefully the higher-ups will give him more than two years to turn this shipwreck around. The new head coach needs to bring a true win-ning culture to CU and make the CU players, fans and alumni all proud. It is what every CU fan de-serves and will eventually get.

After two seasons, Buffaloes say CU later to Embree too soon

Kyle Marinokmarino@uccs.edu

Photo by courtesy of The Redskins BlogJon Embree, former head coach of the CU Buffaloes, has been fired after two seasons.

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A puff of breath mixes with the freezing air, creat-ing a cloud of white. Fin-gers and toes throb against their warm restraints. Looking down, expert and newbie skiers and snow-boarders slice through the

powder that coats the side of the mountain. Monarch Mountain accepts all challengers re-gardless of previous expe-rience. About two dozen UCCS students will have a chance to go on the an-nual Ski and Soak trip on Dec 8. Daniel Bowan, outdoor

recreation coordinator, has been hosting the trip for three out of the five years he has been at the Recre-ation Center “We take about 26 stu-dents up and go to Mon-arch Mountain, where we ski and snowboard for the day … after that, we go to the hot springs,” said Bow-

an. “We spend an hour or two soaking there before hopping back on the bus.” Following a day on the slopes, students have the opportunity to relax in Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. “Having the hot springs is perfect,” said Bowan. “You can get all relaxed in the hot springs and fall asleep on the way home.” The springs consist of four pools (soaking, relax-ation, exercise and upper) and a creek. The soak-ing pool can reach 105 degrees, and the exercise pool remains a consistent 90 degrees. The $65 price for the trip includes lift tickets, bus rides to and from the locations and a hot springs pass. Bowan said the offer is affordable in comparison to places like the Brecken-ridge Ski Resort, which charges about $90 per day for lift tickets alone.

For new skiers and snowboarders, Bowan stresses that Monarch Mountain is a great starting point. “Monarch is a good place to come and learn. It’s more family friendly. We try to do informed ski instruction for anyone that is new,” he said. Bowan himself will be learning how to snow-board for the first time this year. Also just learning the ropes is mechanical engi-neering major Topher Mo-disett. “I have never tried ei-ther one. I am going to try to snowboard,” Modisett said. He hopes his previ-ous skateboarding days in high school will help. Regarding this year’s trip, Modisett said, “All of my friends are going, and I thought it’d be fun to try it. It’s always something I’ve wanted to try.” Students participating in

the Ski and Soak should be prepared to last through a 14- or 15-hour day. To get to the mountain at a good time, participants will have to leave the school by 6 a.m. Bowan sums up the event as “the quintessen-tial Colorado experience to go skiing all day and then relax in the hot springs.”

Sports December 3, 2012 Page 12

We exclusively carry

At any time, nearing the end of a long journey can be both a sad and joy-ous occasion. For Nikki Kinzer, her senior year as a volleyball player has ended. A few weeks ago, Kin-zer and her teammates played their last match of the season. Now, after lengthy evaluation among coaches, Kinzer has been named RMAC Defensive Player of the Year. “Defensive player of the year for us as a staff is a validation of all her hard work,” Keith Bar-nett, Kinzer’s long-time coach, said. “For UCCS, it means we as an athletic department have come a long way and still have a ways to go.”

“I can’t stress enough the fact that it’s a reflec-tion of the team,” Kinzer said. She emphasized that it is the combina-tion of block assists and other players that help earn points for the entire team. “The awards I’ve re-ceived this year are a total reflection of the people who have pushed me every day at practice. You’re playing against each other, so that’s go-ing to make you better,” she said. In regards to her future, Kinzer plans to focus on her career as a teacher. “I’m a secondary teacher, so I’ll either be teaching middle or high school,” she said, adding that she is currently applying for the licensure program at UCCS.

To become a teacher, it is a requirement to ob-serve classes in schools. Kinzer has chosen to observe at Doherty High School under her favorite teacher, Deb Pierce. “I’ve been blessed with really good English teachers,” she said. When asked if she would like to coach, Kinzer said, “I’m not going into teaching to coach ... I believe in teaching because I like English. I want to make kids passionate about English.” Regarding Coach Barnett, Kinzer admits that both of them are sad about her transition out of sports and into teaching. “We have a special relationship. He’s been my coach all the way through school,” Kinzer said. “It’s been tough the

past couple weeks.” She explained she was around when Barnett proposed to his wife and that every-one is like a family. “She’s been wonderful to coach,” said Barnett. “To get recognized by the coaches in the conference as the most dominant de-fensive player of the year is a great accomplishment ... Hopefully we will build on the success of this season into the years to come.” Even though Kinzer will no longer be a mem-ber of the UCCS team, she hopes to remain connect-ed to her teammates and coaches as she pursues her career as a teacher. She and her fellow vol-leyball players will have a small get-together within the next week to conclude their time as teammates.

Senior Kinzer named RMAC Defensive Player of the YearSamantha Morleysmorley2@uccs.edu

File photo by Nick BurnsNikki Kinzer, right, was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year.S

Photo courtesy of SOLE UCCS students posed outside of the bus from the last Ski and Soak trip.

Ski and Soak offers an annual trip to Monarch, hot springsSamantha Morleysmorley2@uccs.edu

The LowdownWhat:

Ski and Soak

When:Dec. 8, 6 a.m.

Where:Sign up at the

Recreation Center

How much:$65

More information:dbowan@uccs.edu

S