University of Denver student newspaper since 1899

Vol. 116, Issue 12 April 21, 2009www.duclarion.com

CRIME SCENE CRIME SCENE CRIME

LAURA HATHAWAYManaging editor

Former DU lacrosse player Ilija Gajic, a junior, is scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday, May 26, on charges stemming from a January brawl outside the Border.

Gajic has been charged with third-degree assault and second-degree assault-bodily injury because of an altercation that occurred in the parking lot of the popular bar on the night of Jan. 28. Felony charges carry a jail term of four to six years.

A second lacrosse player, sopho-more Brendan Deblois, has already been arraigned as the result of the same incident. Deblois is facing a charge of third-degree assault, which carries a possible jail time of 18 months. A plea and setting hearing is set for Th ursday.

In addition to these court cases, lacrosse players Gajic and two others have recently been removed from the team. Deb-lois was not disciplined by DU athletics.

“We announced on March 31 that Jamie Lincoln, Ilija Gajic and Brad Rich-

ardson were dismissed from our men’s lacrosse team for violations of team poli-cies,” said Erich Bacher, director of media relations for the Division of Athletics and Recreation.

“Because of privacy matters, we are not allowed to discuss either of these mat-ters,” Bacher said.

Commenting on the statement, senior Brad Richardson said, “Th e reactions from peers and friends in the lacrosse community were very alarming. Due to the vagueness of the press releases on the matter, it left people trying to defi ne “conduct”, the stated reason as to why I was released.”

According to a 23-year-old female, who graduated at the end of winter quar-ter 2009, she and a male friend, also 23, were attacked by a group of lacrosse play-ers while they were leaving the Border late at night on January 28.

SEE CHARGES, PAGE 5

Two athletes charged

MEN’S LACROSSECRIMECRIME

CRIME

SCENE

SCENE

2 April 21, 2009

Police ReportMonday, April 137:06 p.m. A backpack was taken at the Sturm College of Law aft er a student left it unattended. Th e backpack was later returned to the lost and found with cash missing. Campus Safety responded to the incident.

9:10 p.m. Campus Safety responded to the report of a theft at the Joy Burns Arena. A hockey stick was left unattended outside of locker room C and was missing when the party returned to retrieve it.

Tuesday, April 1410:37 a.m. A backpack was stolen from a common area in the Kappa Sigma fraternity house aft er a student left it unattended. Campus Safety responded and the student was advised to fi le a report with the Denver Police Department.

2:45 p.m. Campus Safety discovered a false identifi cation card belonging to a DU student when they took possession of lost property at Coors Fitness Center.

8:48 p.m. Campus Safety responded to the report of a suspicious odor on the fi ft h fl oor of Nagel Hall and determined the smell to be burning plastic. Facilities management was unable to fi nd the cause of the smell and Risk Management was notifi ed.

Wednesday, April 152:45 a.m. Campus Safety found two underage DU students extremely intoxicated and in possession of false identifi cation cards on the 2000 block of E. Asbury during a routine patrol. Th e students were transported to a detox facility for treatment.

3:06 p.m. A bicycle was stolen aft er it was left unsecured in the Kappa Sigma fraternity house at 8 a.m. When the student returned at 3 p.m. it was missing; Campus Safety responded.

3:14 p.m. Personal items and a DU-owned laptop were taken from a staff member’s car aft er it was broken into on the 800 block of Delaware St. Campus Safety responded and a report was fi led with the Denver Police Department.

4:45 p.m. A student reported the theft of a bicycle at Centennial Halls. Th e bicycle was left at the bike rack several weeks ago and discovered missing when the student returned to retrieve it.

CALENDARToday

Stephen Bronner, a professor of political science and author of 15 books, will speak in Ben Cherrington Hall at the Cyber Café at 5 p.m. His talk is entitled “Reclaiming the Enlightenment:Toward a Politics of Radical Engagement.”

Ben and Jerry’s will be giving away free cones all day at the Ben and Jerry’s store. Donations will benefi t the Cysitic Fibrosis Foundation.

A Yom HaShoah and Holocaust rememberance will be held outside of Evans Chapel at 3 p.m. with University Chaplain Gary Brower. In case of bad weather it will be moved to the Nelson private dining room.

Tomorrow Mohamad Yahya of the

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy will speak in Lindsay Auditorium in Sturm Hall at 7 p.m.

Peter Eichstaedt will discuss his new book “First Kill Your Family” about child soldiers in Uganda. He will speak at 5 p.m at the Cyber Cafe in the Korbel School of International Studies.

A benefi t reception and panel discussion, “Reclaiming the City: Progressive Urban Politics in the Obama Era,” will take place at the Craig Hall Community Center at 6 p.m. Th e panel will discuss the roles of non-profi t organizations and the public play in the New Urban Agenda.

Th ursday Ambassador Philip C. Wilcox

Jr. will speak in Ben Cherrington Hall 301 at 12 p.m. He will discuss the role of the Obama administration in the Isral-Palestine confl ict.

Breaking the Cycle of Genocide, a panel discussion on genocide and eff ective methods of fi ghting it will be held in Lindsay Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.

Noche de Baile, a fundraiser for the Pi Lambda Chi Latina sorority will take place at Marisela’s Nightclub at 3900 Pecos Street from 9 p.m. until 12 a.m. Admission is $8 for 18 years and up and $6 for 21 years and up. Bring a new or barely used clothing item to be donated to Project Homeless Connect and recieve $2 off admission.

Friday DU volunteers will participate

in Project Homeless Connect. Th e volunteers will help the homeless wtih their resumes and assist them in searching for employment. Th e day will begin at 8 a.m. and end at 1:30 p.m.

Sunday Eleven experts on Jewish

Humor will present at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Free food from Garbanzo’s will be provided. Anyone wishing to participate must RSVP.

Visit Th e Clarion online edition at

www.duclarion.com

Get this week’s news. Missed something from the last issue?

You can still fi nd it online!

Th ursday, April 165:40 p.m. An unidentifi ed party was spotted removing food from the Centennial Halls cafeteria without payment. Campus Safety responded and Sodexho was notifi ed.

10:56 p.m. Campus Safety responded to the report of marijuana coming from a room in Nelson Hall. Two DU students were found in possession of the substance and admitted smoking. Th e contraband was confi scated.

Friday, April 171:19 a.m. An ill party was reported on the 1900 block of Evans Avenue Campus Safety responded and found the student to be severely intoxicated. Paramedics transported the student to a Detox facility.

3:05 a.m. A Resident Assistant reported harassment to a Campus Safety offi cer during a routine patrol of Nelson Hall. When interviewing three students about the alleged crime the offi cer spotted alcohol containters. Th e containters were confi scated.

Saturday, April 188:04 p.m. Th ree suspicious males were spotted in the parking lot near the Campus Saft ety Center. Th e men left the scene before Campus Safety responded, but video footage showed them looking into vehicles in the parking lot.

Sunday, April 191:54 a.m. Campus Safety viewed vandalism in a parking lot near the Campus Safety Center. From the video footage it was determined that the students were in a vehicle belonging to a DU student.

2:31 a.m. An underage student was discovered severly intoxicated in Centennial Halls. Campus Safety responded and the student was transported to Porter Hospital.

2:31 a.m. Campus Safety contacted another student while continuing the above investigation. Th ey discovered the underage student to be intoxicated and in possesion of a false identifi cation card. Paramedics found the student not to be in need of medical assistance and Campus Safety confi scated the contraband.

4:33 p.m. An exterior light fi xture was discovered damaged outside the Margery Reed Buiding. Campus Safety was unable to determine the cause of damage.

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Obama appoints professor

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF STATESen. Peter Groff speaks at a foreign press center briefi ng in 2008.

CADDIE NATHNews editor

Colorado senate President and DU professor Peter Groff announced that he will accept an appointment to the U.S. Depart-ment of Education as director for the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Center last week.

“It is an honor to be appointed to this position within the Department of Education,” Groff said in a statement released to the press. “I look forward to working with Secretary Duncan to address the challenges facing schools across our great nation.”

Groff will be responsible for organizing and community and faith-based groups to help execute the Department of Edu-cation’s mission to ensure that all Americans have equal access to a high quality education.

“My focus will be increas-ing community involvement in schools to help foster a culture of excellence for all of our children- no matter where they live,” Groff said in his statement.

Groff said that he will leave Colorado for Washington at the close of the 2009 legislative ses-sion, which wraps up on May 6.

Gov. Bill Ritter said that while he is sure that Groff will be an asset to the Obama adminis-tration and the Department of Education, his contribution to Colorado will be missed.

“Sen. Groff is a man of faith and I believe President Obama and Secretary Duncan made a great choice. While I consider him a great partner in the legis-lature, I know this is a wonder-

ful opportunity for him and his family, and I wish them the best. While this new opportunity is a tremendous gain for Washing-ton, D.C., it is a big loss for Colo-rado,” Ritter said in a statement.

Groff was the fi rst African American president of the Colo-rado Senate and also works as a senior lecturer at the Institute for Public Policy and executive director for the Center for Afri-can American Policy and Center for New Policy.

At this point, DU has no announcement about the future of Groff ’s position or the Center for African American studies because the information of Groff ’s appointment was so recently released, according to Jim Berscheidt, a spokesman for the university.

Berscheidt added, “It is something the provost is work-ing on.”

“Th e university congratu-lates Peter Groff on this appoint-ment to the position in Washing-ton and wishes him well in his division,” Berscheidt said.

In his statement Groff said that although to leave Colorado would be hard, he looked for-ward to the challenge ahead.

“It has been an honor serv-ing the great state of Colorado and its people. I will miss my colleagues and friends in Colo-rado, but look forward to this new chapter of public service,” Groff said.

In addition to teaching, Groff co-hosts and produces a talk show on XM Satellite Radio that focuses on politics and public policy called “Th e New School.”

While a member of the Colorado senate Groff served as Chairman of the State Veterans and Military Aff airs Committee.

Colo. senate president heads to Washington at end of the session

3April 21, 2009

DU saves millions, goes ahead with construction

ARIANNA RANAHOSSEINIEditor-in-chief

By going ahead with three planned construction projects despite economic recession, DU is saving some $5 million due to the reduced cost of materials and decreased competition for construction jobs.

Th e projection of 15 percent savings was made by University Architect Mark Rodgers.

Th e three projects under construction are the $21.4 million Katherine A. Ruff ato Hall, the $9.2 million soccer stadium, fi tness comple and art annex, and the $3.5 million Sié-Chéou-Kang Pavilion.

“As we continue to bring the campus forward, in terms of facilities, we’re fi nding that the way to answer many things is to combine programs together to leverage program size and scale to get more money than we nor-mally would,” Rodgers said.

Th e majority of the money saved will remain invested in the projects because they are donor contributed and will go toward endowed faculty positions, tech-

nology and more scholarship opportunities for students.

Ruff ato Hall, which will house the Morgridge College of Education, the Learning Eff ectiveness Program and the Disability Services Program, is scheduled to cost $21.4 million for construction.

“Ruff ato Hall is a much more complex project in terms of the opportunity for project,” Rodgers said.

Th e soccer stadium, fi tness center and art annex, on the west side of the Ritchie Center, was over the initial budget.

“Th ere was a lot of dis-cussion if we could aff ord it,” Rodgers said. “We got very com-petitive numbers for the projects and have a good idea of how the market works and in this case had some advantage.”

Th e Cherrington Sié-Chéou-Kang Pavilion, attached to Ben Cherrington Hall, will house the programs for Asian Studies and was negotiated under budget for a fi nal price of $3.5 million.

According to Rodgers, the lower costs will allow Ruff ato Hall to move forward with classroom advancements such as audio and video technology that otherwise would have been postponed.

CAMERON LEMMONTop: Work on the future soccer stadium continues outside Ritchie. Bottom: Crews move forward with addition to Cherrington.

Several campus improvement projects come up under budget

DENVER — A bill requir-ing drivers to use handsfree devices while talking on their cell phones passed its fi rst committee vote in the Colorado Senate on Monday.

Th e Senate State, Veterans and Military Aff airs Commit-tee backed the measure in a 3-2 vote.

Adult drivers would be required to use handsfree devices while driving under the measure (House Bill 1094). Drivers under 18, as well as bus and taxi drivers, wouldn’t be able to talk or text on cell phones at all.

Violators would be fi ned $50 for the fi rst off ense and $100 for subsequent off enses.

Verizon Wireless and the Colorado State Patrol also back the bill, which has already passed the House.

It now heads to the Senate Finance Committee for another vote because the bill would take in an estimated $447,000 in new fi nes.

LITTLETON, Colo. — With words of hope and healing, Coloradans on Monday marked the 10th anniversary of the Columbine High School shoot-ings that left 12 students and a teacher dead.

Flags fl ew at half-staff over the school in the south Denver suburbs, and dozens of mourn-ers lay roses and carnations at a nearby memorial.

About 70 people gathered outside the state Capitol in Denver to push for gun control, while lawmakers inside passed a resolution honoring the victims.

At the gun control rally at the Capitol, Tom Mauser, father of Columbine victim Daniel Mauser, said the shooters did not kill the victims’ spirits.

CINCINNATI — Th e Justice Department is asking a federal appeals court to dismiss a stay of deportation for alleged death camp guard John Demjan-juk (dem-YAHN’-yuk).

Th e government says in a brief fi led in a federal appeals court Monday that Demjanjuk’s attorneys won the emergency stay last week by arguing that a motion before the Board of Immigration Appeals in Falls Church, Va., had yet to be con-sidered.

Th e board on Th ursday denied Demjanjuk’s request to reopen the case.

Th e 89-year-old suburban Cleveland man is facing an arrest warrant in Germany that accuses him of working as a guard in 1943 at a death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.

TOWSON, Md. — Inves-tigators began the task Monday evening of identifying four bodies found inside a hotel guest room earlier in the day in subur-ban Baltimore, as well as fi guring out how the people died.

Th e bodies were discovered at the Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel in Towson.

Th e occupants of the room didn’t check out when they were expected to Monday aft ernoon.Th at’s when hotel staff unlocked the door and found the bodies. Cpl. Michael Hill, police spokes-man, said it was not known whether all four people were hotel guests.

Hill said there was no threat of to anyone else in the area.

Hill said it would take at least several hours for crime scene technicians and a medical examiner to collect evidence.

Several hotel employees declined to comment.

GENEVA — Dozens of Western diplomats walked out of a U.N. conference and a pair of rainbow-wigged protest-ers threw clown noses at Iran’s president Monday when the hard-line leader called Israel the “most cruel and repressive racist regime.”

Ahmadinejad delivered a rambling, half-hour speech that was by turns conciliatory and infl ammatory.

Jewish groups had lobbied heavily for a boycott of the con-ference.

Th e meeting turned chaotic almost from the start when the two wigged protesters tossed the red clown noses at Ahmadinejad as he began his speech with a Muslim prayer.

At the fi rst mention of Israel, about 40 diplomats from Britain and France and other European Union countries exited the room.

CARACAS, Venezuela — A leading opponent of President Hugo Chavez has decided to seek political asylum abroad rather than face a corruption charge in a trial he says would be stacked against him, an ally said Monday.

Opposition leader Manuel Rosales, who went into hiding three weeks ago, decided not to appear in court Monday because the case against him is being used for “political persecution,” according to Omar Barboza, who heads Rosales’ political party.

A party committee is already processing Rosales’ asylum request, Barboza said. He declined to name the country in which the request had been fi led, saying only that it is a “friendly country.”

BriefsState National International

Tossing tea, taxes

CADDIE NATHNews editor

More than 50 tea bags were thrown into an effi gy of Boston Harbor in front of Sturm Hall that very closely resembled a kiddy pool on Wednesday, Tax Day 2009, by DU students join-ing tens of thousands of others around the country in protest of the state and federal income tax policies.

Th e event, a modern day Boston Tea Party sponsored at the university by the College Republicans, was meant to help students understand the tax system and the changes that it will undergo under the Obama administration, according to Jacob Gunter, Vice Chair of the College Republicans who helped orchestrate the protest.

Th is was accomplished by converting income taxation to GPA taxation and allowing stu-dents to see how much more of their GPA would be ‘taxed’ under the Obama tax policies.

“We decided that we would join other cities and towns to protest the tax systems and the ways that they’ve been abused. A lot of people feel they’re not being truly represented anymore by the politicians,” Gunter said.

Th e organizers of the protest said their primary goal was to inform students and not to incite confl ict; however the event did incite some controversy.

“Th e biggest confrontation I saw came from a university staff member and comments about how the Republican Party was out of touch and how we were wasting tea. But most people were respectful of what we were trying to do,” said the College Republicans chair Jillian Rowley.

Not all students, however,

agreed with the motives of the rally.

“Th is is America, love it or leave it,” said junior Nate Knife

“[Th e conservatives] weren’t throwing tea bags for the last eight years. What’s suddenly got them so upset?”

Despite the opposition, the organizers, who said that the event was a nonpartisan eff ort, both at DU and around the coun-try, said that they considered the event to be a success.

Similar tea parties were held in 250 cities and towns around the country.

More than 5,000 people turned out to the rally held at the Colorado state capitol building and tens of thousands turned out to support the rallies in other cities, according to Gunter.

Gunter said that as a national movement, the rallies were meant not only to inform, but also to pressure state and federal governments to recon-sider existing tax policies.

“[Th e national movement] is going to be getting a lot of media. A lot of people are start-ing to hear about it and the poli-ticians are going to hear about it,” Gunter said.

One protester at the Denver Tea Party rally said that he attended the rally because he worried about the legacy of debt that the current administration’s fi scal policies would leave his children to pay off .

Under the Obama Admin-istration’s tax brackets the top two tax brackets, households that earn more than $140,000 yearly and households that earn more than $250,000 per year will increase from 33 percent to 36 percent and from 35 to 39 per-cent respectively.

Many of the lower income tax brackets will see cuts to their 2009 income taxes under Presi-dent Obama’s tax policies from those of former President Bush.

Students recreate the Boston Tea Party to protest taxes

4 April 21, 2009

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Ask about specials for DU students

DALIAH SINGERContributor

A pilot program aims to provide additional support to students who are concerned about being able to return to DU in the fall.

Th e program helps “stream-line the system” for students so they don’t have to call an academic advisor, someone in fi nancial aid and people in other departments, said Jo Calhoun, associate provost, who helped establish the program with Jen-nifer Karas, assistant provost of academic programs.

“[We are] trying to help stu-dents who want to stay here fi nd a way,” she said.

Th e current economic reces-sion has been diffi cult for many students and their families, and fi nances are a big reason why some students are questioning their ability to come back to DU next year. Other reasons include poor academic standing, room-mate confl icts or just feeling like DU isn’t the right fi t.

Th is program allows fac-ulty, staff , advisers, coaches, Resident Assistantss or students themselves to get in touch with a student advocate by email who can help advise them about what their options are.

Only 10 days aft er the fi rst e-mail about the program was sent out, the pair had already received 25 e-mails about stu-dents who might need their assistance.

Ninety percent of the refer-rals recieved by the team have

Pilot program aims to help students stay at DUbeen about fi nancial problems.

Th e university has recog-nized the additional fi nancial needs of many students and their families. Th is year, the fi nancial aid offi ce has awarded $659,000 in emergency aid, said Tom Willoughby, vice chancellor of enrollment. Th at’s up from $195,000 last year.

Robin Angstadt and Sheila Gannon used to be academic

advisors in the Career Center. Now they are working as student advocates helping students get through the institutional red tape and remove barriers to a student’s return in the fall.

“Th e university recognizes that these are the times we’re in and the university wants to work with students,” said Gannon. “We just really want to help them.”

Gannon and Angstadt receive e-mails about students who might need their assistance. Th en, they do background research on the student based on general information the uni-versity provides, such as their

academic standing and fi nancial aid status. Finally, they reach out to the student.

Essentially, they act as a central point of contact for the student who can refer them to

MEGAN WESTERVELTJo Calhoun, associate provost, and Jennifer Karas, assistant provost of academic programs, teamed up to create the pilot program.

Faculty team will help “stream line the system” for students

Law professors discuss death penalty, legislation

specifi c people in diff erent offi ces or even take care of some work.

“Now you don’t have to call a bunch of diff erent people,” said Angstadt. “Th ere’s a ton of resources available at DU that people don’t know about.”

Th ey can help students fi nd those resources and take advan-tage of them.

Emergency aid can be applied for when a student’s

fi nancial circumstances have changed from the time they initially applied for aid, such as a parent losing a job. Th e fi nancial aid offi ce then reevaluates the student’s fi nancial standing and

has the ability to award him or her additional aid.

And even more students are expected to need additional money for next year.

“We’ve set aside additional dollars anticipating that stu-dents will demonstrate a higher fi nancial need next year,” Wil-loughby said. “We’ve set aside funds anticipating continuing changed circumstances with the recession.”

Angstadt and Gannon rec-ognize the many problems asso-ciated with fi nances, particularly now. But they want students to understand that there can be ways for them to stay at DU even if their family has changed circumstances.

“Don’t jump to conclusions that just because you have this big tuition bill you can’t pay that you’ll no longer be able to go here. Th ere are resources avail-able,” Angstadt said.

But Calhoun and Karas urge students not to think of this pro-gram as a magic solution.

“It’s not a magic wand. It’s fi guring out what is possible with the resources that we have,” Karas said.

“If they want to stay but they can’t, those are the students we want to go to,” Calhoun added.

As a pilot program, no one involved is entirely sure of how successful it will be, but they said students have been receptive.

“If I can get one or two stu-dents to stay here…that would have been a huge success,” Ang-stadt said.

Students who are consider-ing leaving DU and might ben-efi t from additional assistance (including fi nancial assistance), can contact the advocates by e-mail at advocate@du.edu.

CADDIE NATHNews editor

Two DU law professors dis-cussed the death penalty and a proposed piece of legislation that would repeal it in Colorado in a talk hosted by the on April 14 in the Sturm College of Law.

Th e event was hosted by the DU chapter of the Federal-ist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.

Professors Robert M. Hardaway and Sam Kamin each off ered his perspectives on the death penalty and the bill (House

Bill 1274) which was passed with amendments in second reading on April 15 in the House. Th e legislation, if passed and signed by the governor, would ban the death penalty in Colorado and reallocate the money saved to the investigation of cold cases.

During the talk Kamin advocated the bill and discussed its merits and benefi ts for the state.

He also raised the issue of the death penalty acting as a deterrent to the commission of heinous crimes.

Hardaway, on the other

hand, laid out the points covered in his article “Beyond a Conceiv-able Doubt: Th e Quest for a Fair and Constitutional Standard of Proof in Death Penalty Cases,” which appeared in the New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confi nement in 2008.

In both the article and his talk Hardaway advocated a reform to U.S. policy with regard to the death penalty which would require the jury to believe that the defendant was guilty beyond a conceivable doubt rather than just a reasonable doubt in death penalty cases.

“I would like to focus on reforming the death penalty and allow innocence to be a case for appeal [Right now] you can’t argue that the person’s innocent when asking for an appeal and I think that that should be changed from a legal standpoint. I rejected the notion that we should get rid of the death penalty because it costs too much. I don’t think matters of justice should be determined on the basis of cost,” Hardaway said.

Hardaway said that the talk was not a debate or a discussion of the morality of the death pen-

alty, but rather a discussion of the legal issues around it.

“It’s really a fruitless debate. Either you think it’s a fair and just punishment or you don’t,” said Hardaway, explaining why the talk did not aim to deconstruct whether the death penalty as a policy is right or wrong.

Capital punishment is a rare phenomenon in Colorado. Th ere have only been one or two executions of capitol off enders in Colorado in the last 50 years, according to Hardaway.

Fift een U.S. states have abol-ished the death penalty.

5April 21, 2009

AUSA UPDATEWhat you might have missed:

Applications for 2009-• 2010 Senate are due on Monday at 5 p.m. Th e DU Republicans • will merge with the DU College Republicans to become one organization aft er the Senate elections.$3,500 has been added • to the bike-sharing program fund. Another $3,000 to $4,000 is neededTh e Senate will look • into how VistaLoft gained access to the addresses of students who live in on-campus housing.A bill was approved • in a 17-0 vote to use $1,650 from the AUSA Initiatives Account to promote the upcoming elections.Students and faculty • are now able to follow DU on Twitter. Work on the • Financial Aid Initiative continues with the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning and the senators.Organizations have • the chance to appeal budgets and present to the Finance Commitee one-on-one.

In the future...May Days will take • place May 18-21 and will feature the beginning of the bike-sharing program along with other events.Th e last offi cial • meeting of 2008-2009 Senate will be May 12.Th e 2009-2010 Senate • will be sworn in on May 19.

Th e AUSA Senate will meet tonight at 6 p.m. in the Driscoll Gallery.

SDS holds fi rst Radical Rush New chapter recruits members with weekend of events

JAMIE WARRENAssistant news editor

might be a cool group to get involved with.”

Friday, a panel discussed DU’s marijuana policies in Lind-say Auditorium with an audience of about 20 people. Panel mem-bers included resident assistant Dillon Doyle, Professor Arthur Gilbert, Sgt. Steve Benet and attorney Brian Vicente, a drug-legalization activist in Denver. Campus Life did not send a rep-resentative to the discussion.

Junior Siaya Koclanes, a member of SDS, said, “I thought that it was interesting that Campus Life would not send a representative to defend the policies that they put into place.”

Th e panel members dis-cussed and debated the marijuana policy at DU in relation to Denver laws and the Colorado state laws.

Sophomore Kylie Mangone said, “I thought the discussion was really interesting. I came thinking that it would be about

DAVID LORISHNew Students for a Democratic Society chapter grills up vegan and vegetarian on the fi rst day of Radical Rush.

DU students came together last weekend to participate in Students for a Democratic Soci-ety’s (SDS) Radical Rush, which included several events from grilling to guest speakers.

SDS created the Radical Rush weekend to bring together activist groups at DU.

Th e chapter’s mission is to create an alternative community involving social justice organiza-tions and students that has the ability to tackle issues.

“We wanted to create an event to bring activist groups together to get things done. As small organizations we are frag-mented and can’t get much done. We want to start a dialogue between groups on campus to work toward this,” said junior Lauren Golden, who began SDS with junior Ben Waldman this year.

SDS member Kristen Colley said the goal is, “fi nding an issue and actually doing something about it,” when explaining SDS and Radical Rush to a group of students at an event.

Th e weekend kicked off with a vegan grilling on Th urs-day aft ernoon. It included vegan hotdogs and vegetables. Mem-bers of SDS handed out the food in Driscoll due to the rain and spoke to students about what SDS is about. An open graffi ti wall was supposed to accompany the grilling, but was not created due to the weather.

Freshman Carolyn Gunther said, “I had never heard of SDS before and aft er hearing what they want to do, I think that it

why marijuana is bad and only talk about the laws, but there were people representing lots of diff erent viewpoints.”

A potluck dinner and an open mic-soapbox-jam session followed later in the evening.

Saturday concluded Radical Rush with guest speaker Adam Navvaro, a veteran who served in Kosovo and represented the Veterans against the War. He spoke about the various things that people who serve on the front lines encounter, such as sex crimes and murders, and the eff ects of these events have on the soldiers later in life, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

He also discussed the GI Resistance and the importance of raising awareness about the psychological and physical suf-ferings of some veterans.

Freshman Andrea Spagnolie said, “He really brought to light a lot of the terrible things that

soldiers who serve go through and made me realize that it is important to raise awareness about this issue.”

Th e night concluded with a “Drop Beats not Bombs” dance party, which featured a live band, Th e Mighty Quiet.

A community garden workday was set to take place on Saturday morning but was cancelled due to the weather. However, another workplace will take place again this Saturday.

SDS is planning on another Radical Rush this fall as a week-long event, which will feature some of the same activities as this weekend’s as well as a few new events.

Koclanes said, “For SDS’s fi rst event I am extremely happy with this weekend’s success…We learned a lot from this event, and I think that this experience will make Radical Rush even better in the fall.”

Charged: Lax players accused of assaultContinued | Page 1

“Th ey surrounded us, grabbed me and tried to provoke me,” said the woman, who asked that she not be identifi ed because she still feels at risk. “It ended with my friend and me on the ground.”

She said that she had a nearly fractured cheekbone, while her friend had two teeth broken during the attack. Each of them suff ered numerous cuts and bruises.

“Th e lacrosse players were actually doing the fi ghting, one hockey player and one or two SAEs just surrounded us,” she said. “A bouncer at Border threatened to call the police but never did.”

Th e woman later learned that the bouncers could not step foot outside the Border because the restaurant/bar has been previously sued for breaking up a fi ght outside of their jurisdic-tion.

“We fi led a report that night, but held it until the next day because we didn’t know how extreme it was until we found out they had done it so many times,” she explains. “We just actually

called District Th ree and had a policeman come down and tell us what to do.”

At midnight on Jan. 30, Deblois was arrested and put into custody in Douglas County Jail. Deblois’s bail was set at $1,500 and he posted bond the same day, according to police reports.

At midnight on Jan. 31, Gajic was arrested and taken into custody in Denver City Jail. Gajic posted bond at $5,036, according to police reports.

Last Th ursday, Gajic had a preliminary hearing on the charges of the felony and was bound over for trial. Th e trial date has not been set.

In interviews with the Clarion, Gajic confi rmed that he was removed from the lacrosse team because of this incident, but declined further comment because of the pending trial.

Richardson, who was dropped from the lacrosse team, declined comment on the Janu-ary incident, but said about his ejection, “I did consume alcohol aft er a game on the road against Bellarmine, which is against team policy; however the precedent set for discipline for breaking this policy is not consistent with being released and this is why it

drinking too much. Once this happened to us we found out about a lot of diff erent people they have gotten into a fi ght with. Th ey pick someone out in a bar and don’t know them for any reason and pretty much just mess with them,” she said.

Th e woman said she is “extremely happy” that she and her friend had the “nerve” to go to the police.

“I just think it’s ridiculous that these college kids can pretty much get away with whatever they want because the school thinks that they need them for popularity or publicity,” she said.

is so confusing.”Richardson added, “Two of

the coaches Jamie [Munro] and Jon [Torpey] brought me into their offi ce and Jamie told me I was being released from the team based on my conduct. Th is was slightly confusing, as I have never been in trouble with the University or the law.”

Th e woman who was assaulted cited excessive alco-hol consumption as a primary reason for the attack on her and her friend.

“I mean they have been involved in a lot of diff erent confl icts like this when they are

Junior Ilija Gajic, left , and sophomore Brendan Deblois, right, are charged with assault.

6 April 21, 2009www.duclarion.com

CONNIE MIERKEYLifestyles editor

Seduction, murder, lust, gypsies and jealousy. Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen” has it all and is opening at the Newman Center of Performing Arts this Th ursday.

If you only see one opera in your life, “‘Carmen’ is the opera to see,” said Director Kenneth Cox. “Everything you want an opera to be, that’s what ‘Carmen’ is.”

“Carmen,” performed in French, takes place in Seville, Spain and begins in a town square outside a guardhouse and factory where Carmen, a gypsy and seductress, fl irts her way out of being arrested for assaulting a fellow employee.

Later at a tavern, Carmen dismisses other suitors like Zuniga, a Lt., and Escamillo, a bullfi ghter, in hopes that Don José, a Crp., will show up for her to seduce and beguile him to join her band of smugglers. José arrives and defi es Zuniga’s com-mand to return to the barracks, leaving him no choice but to remain with the smugglers.

Realizing the love aff air is coming to an end Carmen throws tarot cards with friends Frasquita and Mercédès. Death is foretold in the cards for both Carmen and José.

Performances are this Th ursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Gates Concert Hall and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

As the opera opens this weekend for DU and the Denver community, a culmination of months of preparation by music students and faculty come to an end and will be celebrated in the much anticipated opening night.

Senior vocal performance major Th omas Kittle has been preparing since the second week of school fall quarter, when roles were assigned aft er an audition process. He is portraying Esca-millo. Kittle describes his char-acter as pompous and a “man’s man.”

“My character is small but the singing is intense,” said Kittle who fi rst memorized his songs and their translations then put it to music.

“Th e thing I had the most trouble with was getting [the character] into my voice because it is such a big sing,” Kittle said. “He’s like a rock star.”

Kittle will be attending Indiana University next year for graduate study in vocal performance. Th e opera is his last opportunity to perform in a large-scale production at DU.

“It’s bittersweet because this school has been so good for me and provided me so many per-formance opportunities,” said Kittle.

Mica Dominguez-Robinson, also a senior vocal performance major, portrays Frasquita, a friend of Carmen. Dominguez-Robinson fi rst prepared privately with her vocal coach before rehearsals began with the entire cast.

“Th e biggest thing for me was getting the language down,”

‘Carmen’ to seduce audiences

said Dominguez-Robinson. “French is my most challenging language.”

Aside from memorizing, rehearsing and developing a character, Dominguez-Robinson has other preparatory rituals.

“I try to keep my party-ing to a minimum, go to the gym, stretch and I always drink a specifi c type of water,” said Dominguez-Robinson whose water of choice is Smart Water. “It probably doesn’t aff ect how I perform, but I always do it.”

Th is is Director Cox’s fi rst

time staging “Carmen.” Which is the most popular opera, musi-cally, ever written, Cox said.

“My goal is to make the performance and rehearsals as professional as possible,” said Cox.

Students are involved at every level from perform-ing onstage, to playing in the orchestra, to moving scenery in between scenes, to creating the lighting design.

“I enjoy delegating all the jobs to people and watching them get experience,” Cox said.

He sang fulltime with opera companies for over twenty years before coming to DU.

All of the lead roles are undergraduates and the chorus consists of undergraduates in the music school as well. Th e costumes and sets were profes-sionally made and rented from the Tri-Cities Opera based in New York.

“I want them to be ready for a professional show when they are done with school,” said Cox who chose do to ‘Carmen’ last year because he knew he had

strong voices to fi ll the lead roles. “It’s one of the most powerful operas in terms of music and drama.”

Th e Director of the Lamont Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Golan, will conduct the orches-tra for “Carmen.”

Unlike the singers, the orchestra auditions the fi rst week of every quarter, so the orchestra for “Carmen” was not chosen until the beginning of spring quarter.

SEE ‘CARMEN,’ PAGE 8

ONLINE VIDEO

Escamillo and Don José in the fi nal act of “Carmen.”

If you goWhat: Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” performed by Lamont School of Music students and orchestra.When: April 23, 24 and 25, 7 p.m. April 26, 2:30 p.m.Where: Newman Center of Performing Arts, Gates Concert Hall.Cost: Adults: $12-$27. Students: $10-$25. Reserved seating. Tickets are available at the Newman Center box offi ce. Open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and one hour prior to curtain time, or call the box offi ce at 303.871.7720. Also available at ticketmaster.com or by calling 303.357. ARTS. On the ‘NetFor more information visit www.du.edu/lamont/index.html.

MEGAN WESTERVELT

(Top) Don José portrayed by Scott Merchant grabs Carmen portrayed by Victoria Fox (in the cast performing on Th ursday and Saturday) in a jealous rage during the last act of a rehearsal. (Bottom) Th omas Kittle as Escamillo, a bull fi ghter, sings with Carmen, a gypsy and seductress of men, in the fi nal act of the opera.

7April 21, 2009

THE CLARION | APRIL 21, 2009

The Magic Woman1 ounce1 ounce1 ounce

Blue Curacao Light RumGinSpriteLemon juice

As tasty as they are prettyTh e Shoppe off ers sweet treats and a late night hangout

ROSIE WILMOTLifestyles assistant editor

Walking into East Colfax Avenue’s cupcake and cereal boutique, Th e Shoppe, is like stepping into a world of confec-tionary delights.

Located at 3103 E. Colfax Ave. Th e Shoppe serves gourmet cupcakes and inventive cereal combinations. Comfortable seat-ing, board games and a large-screen TV make Th e Shoppe a popular hangout.

Th e décor takes a little get-

ting used to since it uses draw-ings of cartoon characters. Th e fi rst impression is that you may have mistakenly entered a hip Japanese pop gallery. As your eyes adjust and your nose catches the aroma, you will be drawn to the dimly lit pastry case full of treats that have recently earned the title of Denver’s Best Cup-cake from Channel 9 News.

Th e pastries come in fl avors like strawberry champagne, red velvet, decadent double choco-late and Kahlua. All scream to be consumed for the bargain price of $3. Sugar-free cupcakes of the same fl avors are available for $1.50. Along with more than 25 daily fl avors, Th e Shoppe also off ers seasonal specials, includ-

ing pineapple tastiness, death by chocolate and banana split.

Vegan or gluten-free diets can choose from cakes for the dietary restricted. Vegan options come in seven varieties. Unlike many cardboard-tasting vegan treats, Th e Shoppe has man-aged to make its vegan cupcakes actually taste like cupcakes. Th e lemon blueberry may even cause you to question whether or not you are consuming dairy upon tasting the rich creamy frosting that tops the fl uff y cake ever so lightly. Th e gluten-free cheese-cake with fresh fruit is also a best seller.

If cupcakes are not quite your fancy, Th e Shoppe also has a spectacular array of cereals

available in 20 brands, including rarities like Frankenberres, Boo Berry and Chocula. Th e Shoppe presents an alluring list of unique cereal recipes that include cereal combos $3.75 and additional toppings $0.25 that promise to spice up your favor-ite breakfast bowls. Th e current fl avor of the month Blue Bwalls is $3.75 and combines fruity Trix, kid-pleasing Kix and fresh blueberries for an eff ect that is likely to leave you wanting

more. Th e cereals are served with the customer’s choice of milks: organic, 2 percent, fat free, soy, rice and almond varieties.

Th e Shoppe is committed to backing local companies and products. Bhakti Chai, micro brewed in Boulder, along with Two Leaves and a Bud Tea from Roaring Fork Valley can be enjoyed while playing a board game. Th e large screen TV in one corner of the rectangular store provides additional entertain-ment as well with featured indie fi lms, vintage cartoons and other

eclectic programming. Several art shows featuring local artists are held throughout the year in Th e Shoppe.

Th e sweet boutique is closed Mondays and Sundays but its expansive hours the rest of the week make it the ideal hangout spot. Cupcakes can be consumed Tuesday through Th ursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. as well as Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

To get there catch the #24 bus at University Station, get off at the Colfax stop and walk east.MEGAN WESTERVELT

A peanut butter and jelly cupcake is one of the varieties available at Th e Shoppe on East Colfax Avenue.

To experience the magic, mix

the Blue Curacao, rum and gin in a highball glass and

fi ll with Sprite. Top with a splash

of lemon juice and serve over ice. Drink responsibly!

8 April 21, 2009

Staffer’s life outside academiaMORGAN TILTON

Contributor

Michael Johnson is the director of the First and Second Year Experience program at DU and by glancing in the Driscoll Student Center’s main gallery it is evident that he is also an accomplished photographer.

Th e gallery in front of the Driscoll Ballroom in Driscoll North is showcasing 20 of John-son’s photographs now through May 1.

“There is life outside of academia. You can still occasionally get out and do what you enjoy doing to ground y o u r s e l f ,” said John-son, who fi nds hob-bies impor-tant.

A f t e r discovering J o h n s o n’s s i d e l i n e career in photography, Driscoll Student Center director, John Nichols proposed the exhibit.

Among the collection are

fl oral prints and photographs of nature and landscape.

“I take pictures to capture what I want to see, but I like interactive photos where people can see what they want to see,” Johnson said about a photo of rising smoke from incense.

“Th ere is plenty of room to like or dislike.”

Johnson enjoys landscape photography and believes his positive experience with nature turned him onto photography.

J o h n s o n and his wife owned a photogra-phy studio where they lived out-side of Chi-cago before moving to Denver in J a n u a r y 2008.

C u r -rently, the pair oper-ates a com-pany called J o h n s o n P h o t o g -

raphy. It is under this title that Johnson explores his current focus as a professional wedding photographer.

Along with his passion for photography, Johnson also works at DU where his main emphasis is to help new students transition comfortably into the campus community.

“Finding something to be passionate about, and fi nding

time to pursue it is key,” said Johnson about the busy lifestyle of college students. “I wish I had thought about it when I was an undergrad.”

Johnson recognizes the entrapment of a repetitive life-style that students can fall into

and advocates the importance of exploring new interests and trying new things.

“I take photographs for myself,” Johnson said. “It is important for students to have an outlet. Students need it.”

RACHAEL ROARKMichael Johnson, director for the First and Second Year Experience program, enjoys taking landscape photos and operates Johnson Photography where he takes professional wedding photographs. Some of his photos are currently on display in the Driscoll Gallery.

RACHAEL ROARKPhotograph, entitled “Designer Smoke Art #4.”

Wednesday: Driscoll Bridge-Tap water vs. bottled water demonstration. Window gardening, seed sharing. Bring a reuseable container to plant a seed in. Dining halls- All day, trayless dining. Denver parks- 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., tree planting. To sign up and volunteer, contact Jessie Burley at jburley04@yahoo.com. Observatory Park- 9 p.m., star-gazing and night bike ride.Saturday: City Park- 8 a.m. to noon, tree planting. To participate, e-mail Emily Susanin at esusanin@du.edu.

EARTH WEEK EVENTS

Today: Evans Chapel- 3 p.m., Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Remembrance Service with University Chaplain Gary Brower.

Wednesday: Lindsay Auditorium- 7 p.m., keynote speaker, Mohamed Yahya of Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy.

Thursday: Lindsay Auditorium- 6:30 p.m., Breaking the Cycle of Genocide: A panel discussion about the phenomenon of genocide and eff ective methods of fi ghting it. Davis Auditorium- 8 p.m., DUPB showing of new release, “Defi ance.”

Events are free and open to the public.

GENOCIDE AWARENESS

WEEK EVENTS

MICHAEL FURMANJuniors Joel Portman and Dani Levin with Rabbi Yossi Serebryanski place colored-coded fl ags on Driscoll Lawn, Monday, for the “Field of Flags” memorial to represent those that lost their lives during the Holocaust. Each fl ag represents approximately 5,000 deaths.

‘CARMEN’: Opens ThursdayContinued | Page 6

Th e orchestra has only eight rehearsals in total, and they see and play the music for the fi rst time at the fi rst rehearsal. “Th e conductor’s role is the interpretive piece,” said Golan. “I have to have the big idea of how it all fi ts together, [it is] the conductor’s interpretations of the composer’s intentions.”

Golan is also currently the conductor for the Phoenix Youth Symphony and commutes between Denver and Phoenix weekly.

He has developed a set plan that he goes through in preparation for conducting the orchestra, which he completes well before rehearsals start.

His priorities in the opera are tempo and balance and he

sets and maintains these for the musicians and vocalists through physical and visual gestures.

One cast will perform Th ursday and Saturday and the other cast will perform Friday and Sunday.

Opening night for both casts will be a visual, auditory and emotional culmination of these hardworking artists and performer’s preparations.

9April 21, 2009 www.duclarion.com

ONLINE VIDEO

Watch each studet’s responses online

Do you plan on going to Ben and Jerry’s for Free Cone Day?

TREVOR ZARNOWSKI SophomorePsychology

Pioneer Voices

KATHLEEN SNOWJunior

Economics

JENNY NELSONJunior

International Studies

“I’m going to free cone day tomorrow at Ben and

Jerry’s. [I] wasn’t going to go originally because I

have a lot of midterms but since it’s all day I’m prob-ably going to go and get maybe a scoop of rocky

road.”

“I don’t plan to go to Ben and Jerry’s for the free cone day because I am out of the

area at work all day.”

“I am going to Ben and Jerry’s free cone day tomor-

row and I’ll probably get something chocolate.”

“I would love to go but for the last three year that’s

kind of just been just more of a thought because the line is so long and I don’t

have the time to wait around for free ice cream

even though I love ice cream.”

Credit Cards: Th e road to hell is paved with plastic

Right now I am sitting in Portland International Airport and see that if I sign up for a Visa card I will get a free fl ight. Pretty good deal eh?

Credit card companies do not make their money from people using their cards; they make their money from people abus-ing their cards. Th e convenience

of having a card, and not having to repay the money for 30 days is a great r e a s o n why we all use credit cards, but

paying continuously compound-ing interest on a cheeseburger you charged a month ago just plain sucks.

Th e benefi t of being young is that you can learn from others’ mistakes, and not get started on the treadmill of credit card debt.

Once you are paying inter-est on interest, the payments will soon become so great you won’t be able to keep up and the outstanding balance will grow and grow if you only pay the minimum payment due.

I personally don’t have a credit card. I see no need for one since I subscribe to pay-as-you go philosophy.

I do have a debit card that all these credit card companies also issue. A debit card purchase does not incur interest. It is money withdrawn from an account where there is cash ready for use.

I believe the most important part of sound fi nancial spending is to realize how absurd credit cards are.

Borrowing money for a mortgage on a house makes sense because over time real estate prices tend to rise, but what about the $300 you spent at Cherry Creek? Will you be able to sell your clothes for more than you paid? Of course not.

When you are about to use a credit card ask yourself the following question: would I go to a bank and ask to take out a loan for the product/service I am about to buy?

I am betting that for most of the things you use your card for, the answer is no. Try to use cash more. Research shows that when we use cash, we tend to spend less.

Understand that debt is an important part of life, but if mis-used, it can ruin your life.

oone’s ankingB

CULLEN MURPHYContributor

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

ARIANNA RANAHOSSEINIEditor-in-chief

LAURA HATHAWAYManaging

CADDIE NATHNews

CONNIE MIERKEYLifestyles

KATIE MASTROIANNIOpinions

NATE KNIFEEntertainment

ZAC D’ARGONNEAdviser

MICHAEL FURMANPhotography

LESLIE BASSOnline

ANIA SAVAGEAdviser

JAMIE WARRENNews

ROSIE WILMOT Lifestyles

MEGAN WESTERVELTPhotography

SARAH NOCKGraphics

DALIAH SINGERCopy

Editorial Board

AssistantsCameron LemmonCullen MurphyDavid LorishDevin Pitts-RogersFrances GonzalezHunter StevensJason MullerLauryn SprungMark FlemingMorgan TiltonRachael RoarkTommy Nagel

Contributors

Th e Clarion is a publication of the DU Student Media Board 2055 E. Evans Ave. |303-871-3131| du.clarion@du.eduAdvertising |303-871-3929| clarion.business@du.edu

Th e Clarion is the offi cial student publication of the University of Denver. It serves as the voice of the Pioneers and does not necessarily refl ect the opinions of the faculty, the staff and/or the administration. Reproduction of Th e Clarion in whole or part in any form written, broadcast or electronic without written permission of Th e Clarion is prohibited. Th e opinions expressed by columnists and contributing writers do not necessarily refl ect those Th e Clarion. Any photograph that has been substantially altered or staged for use as a graphic will be labled as a photo illustration. Weather forecasts are of courtesy of the National Weather Service. Th e Clarion reserves the right to reject advertising, stories, columns or letters to the editor that it deems graphic, obscene or that discriminate on the basis of race, culture, gender or sexual orientation.

Th e Clarion welcomes letters to the editor. Th ose who submit letters must limit them to 300 words. Some letters may not be printed because of space limitations, or because they are similar to a number of letters already received on the same subject or are libelous. Letters may be e-mailed to du.clarion@du.edu. You may also fi ll out a form on Th e Clarion’s Website, duclarion.com.

Student fi nds bias on Fox NewsJASON MULLER

ContributorProfessional journalism

is suff ering a slow death in America’s media industry. News-papers are going out of business, but shows like Th e Factor, (on Fox News channel) are gaining popularity.

News is the product of pro-fessional journalists who have a high regard for the standards of journalism, accuracy and ethical conduct. Skewed, slanted, biased, entertainment, dressed-up like

news assumes a false authority. Many legitimate sources of

news would fi nd it irresponsible to report in such a biased style. News is the product of profes-sional journalists, and needs to remains fair and objective.

Last week, protesters rallied to demonstrate against President Obama’s alleged over spending and a three percent tax increase for those making over $250,000 a year.

Th e tax increase puts that tax bracket at the percentage

it was before President Bush entered the White House.

Fox News supported these conservative demonstrations without considering objectivity or fairness.

Fox News encouraged their viewers to demonstrate and extensively covered the events.

In a more prevailing con-cern, this shows Americans shift towards uninformed “rabble rousing.” Fox News has already featured commentary accus-ing the new president of fascist

policies which have no ground concerning accuracy.

Fox News represents a false illusion of professional journal-ism and should be required to drop the word “News” from its name. Too oft en Americans are accepting Fox as legitimate source of news.

It can be too easy to slip into selfi sh opinions without objec-tive news. It seems increasingly obvious that unbiased news has a diminishing appeal towards the average American.

Free cone day. It’s a big day for students. Not only is it free food, it’s good free food.

Th is is my third year at DU, and today will be my third free cone day at Ben and Jerry’s on Evans Avenue. While most students know about Ben and Jerry’s annual free cone day, they don’t all know that the day also raises money for a local charity.

Th is year, all tips and dona-tions from the business day will go to the Colorado Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Owners of all three Denver Ben and Jerry’s franchises, Steve and Carolyn Steff ens are looking forward to free cone day.

Steve Steff ens discussed working with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and their “hope that our customers will help us sup-

ALISON FUDGEGraduate Student

Library Information Sciences

Ice cream for a good causeport their ongoing eff orts to fi nd a cure” through the money raised by Free Cone Day.

“Basically, Free Cone Day is our birthday party, but we like to share the presents,” said Steve Steff ens.

I can’t imagine a greater present to share. Tomorrow, when I go get my free ice cream, I will also bring a few dollars to donate and I urge others to do the same.

If you give just a dollar or two, you are still getting your ice cream half off and you are also help-ing out a great cause.

I doubt there is an easier way to give back to the community than to go get some free ice cream today.

KATIE MASTROIANNIOpinons editor

10 April 21, 2009

Web comments

‘If you don’t like garlic go home’Th at looks like lots of fun. When I was in college we didn’t have so many fun activities..

-Elisabeth Alverston

Mayor off ers adviceI like the message Denver’s Mayor off ered. Unfortunately, that message is lost between here and DC. Hardwork and success is punished by our US Congress. Being Tax Day, let’s lobby to have a tax code that rewards hard work and success. It’s easily done, and the reward would be even more hard work and success. Spread the word! Reward good behavior, get good behavior....

-Tom Cryer

On the Sideline with Zac: Denver sports, alternate reality?haha very true Zach. Good story. What happened to us? I did not believe you when you said they were the most dominant team this decade but when I thought about it, they have been to the most post-seasons than any other sport. weird.

-David

I agree with you that Denver is a band-wagon fan type city. Look how fast you guys became Rockies fans a year and half ago. Now you love basketball. You are playing right into that when you say “the nuggets are my only hope.” I think you should give basketball another chance.

-Jake

SudokuLevel: Moderate

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strate-gies on how to solve Sudoku visit www.sudoku.org.uk.

For this week’s answers to Sudoku and the Crossword puzzle, visit www.duclarion.com

Daily crosswordNEW YORK TIMES

© Crosswords Limited 2008 Mepham Group Puzzles

! ! ! Live at the Best Address at DU ! ! !

Observatory Place – 2200 University

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5550.

Online: Today’s puzzle and more than 5,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword.

Annual subscriptions for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS.

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ACROSS 1 China’s ___ Zedong 4 ___ and sciences 8 Wrist, elbow and ankle14 Reach16 Shook hands (on)17 Fraternity with a sweetheart

of a song18 Drink that often comes with

an umbrella19 Afternoon socials20 “My bad!”22 Cold war foe, for short23 Info on a W-2 form: Abbr.24 Like some socks26 “Après ___ le déluge”28 Ready for skinny-dipping29 Rx signers32 Bryn Mawr graduate35 Cause of a clock change twice

a yr.36 Paint layer37 Smart aleck39 Salon supply in a bottle41 “___ go bragh!”42 Cold and blustery44 Attach with Elmer’s45 Cul-de-___46 “___ Was a Rollin’ Stone”47 “Bad” cholesterol, for short48 Good picnic forecast51 Opposite of post-54 “The Simpsons” girl56 Lt. Kojak57 Plenty58 Chocolaty ice cream dessert60 Second-generation senator

from Indiana62 Away from the coast

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18

19 20 21 22

23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

32 33 34 35 36

37 38 39 40

41 42 43 44

45 46 47

48 49 50 51 52 53

54 55 56 57

58 59 60 61

62 63

64 65 66

Note: The answers to the eight italicized clues all have something in common, each in a different way.

63 Faith64 Insurance sellers65 Exam given face-to-face66 Snaky swimmer

DOWN 1 Sail holders 2 First sign of the zodiac 3 Hymn accompaniment 4 ___ Gardner, Mrs. Sinatra #2 5 Military info-gathering 6 Sierra Nevada resort lake 7 Grad student’s income, often 8 Smucker’s product 9 Track choice for Lionel trains10 Like many St. Patrick’s Day

celebrants

11 Meshes12 Rip13 U.S. Star Wars program15 AOL chitchat21 “Be quiet!”24 Queen’s mate25 Dangler on a dog collar27 Broken mirror, to some29 Small replica of

the Spirit of St. Louis, e.g.

30 Harry Belafonte catchword31 Brit’s W.W. II gun32 Fills with wonder33 Franc : France :: ___ : Italy34 Saintly glows36 Gunk

38 Talk to persistently and with a big mouth

40 Badly43 Purple Heart recipient46 Lament48 Network showing Capitol Hill

proceedings49 Cut off50 Australian eucalyptus eater52 Rolls-___ (car)53 Jazzy Waters54 Where inhaled air goes55 No longer working57 Lawyers’ org.58 ___ Farrow, Mrs. Sinatra #359 Bradley and Begley61 Zilch

Edited by Will Shortz PUZZLE BY LYNN LEMPEL

11April 21, 2009 www.duclarion.com

‘Crank’ sequel an assault on the sensesNATE KNIFE

Entertainment Editor

Are you tired of trouble-some storylines mucking up your movies?

Are you annoyed when you’ve got to keep track of com-plex and multifaceted characters with deep motivations?

Would you rather spend two hours watching frequent and nonsensical sequences of violence with gratuitous sex and nudity interspersed throughout?

If you are, then “Crank High Voltage” is most defi nitely the movie for you.

“Crank High Voltage” picks up the story where “Crank” left off , with ex-hitman Chev Che-lios (Jason Statham) falling out of a helicopter thousands of feet in the air, landing on the streets of Los Angeles and dying.

But, as it turns out, not even death can stop the invincible heart of Chelios.

He is picked up and nursed back to health by sinister mem-bers of the Chinese Triad.

Because nothing in Chelios’s life can be simple, they harvest his heart and replace it with a battery-powered artifi cial heart.

Th e battery gets trashed during his inevitable and incred-ibly violent escape and Chelios must keep his body electrically charged to keep his heart going.

To do this, he tazes himself, applies jumper cables to unfortu-nate parts of his body and climbs power lines.

Th e fi lm starts off by point-ing out how unlikely it is that any events portrayed in the fi lm would actually happen. “Crank High Voltage” knows very well that it’s here to inject a bit of the old ultra-violence and gratuitous nudity into a world of cinema that neither wants nor needs it.

Th is fi lm suff ers from many issues, but thanks to the unique style of co-writers and directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, it’s hard to tell what they are. While Chelios’s initial motivations are clear (he will die without a heart), the absolute insanity that follows almost defi es comprehension. In any other movie, this would be a deal-breaker, but “Crank High

Voltage” puts it forth so stylishly and unapologetically that it’s hard to see it as a bad thing.

Th e directors’ use of quick cuts and transitions enhances this eff ect, giving the whole movie a feeling of intense speed. As a stylistic choice, I have to say this was extremely eff ective.

While the spastic madness could be forgiven in a shorter format, two hours is a bit much.

Audience members will likely fi nd themselves overwhelmed once the initial novelty has worn off .

Furthermore, some of the transitions serve only as bizarre realizations of some juvenile fan-tasy. One sequence in particular that pits foam caricatures of Che-lios and his quarry Johnny Vang (Art Hsu) in a battle reminiscent of old monster movies leaves

you wondering what the hell just happened and why?

“Crank High Voltage” will appeal seriously to people with extremely short attention spans who need a lot of fl ashy things on screen to keep their minds from wandering. Others might enjoy it on some level, but not very deeply.

“Crank High Voltage” is fast, fun and utterly forgettable.

LIONSGATEChev Chelios (Jason Statham) runs into his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) during a strip club shootout with Mexican and Chinese mobsters in the new fi lm “Crank: High Voltage.”

‘17 Again’ provides great humor and surprising qualityFRANCES GONZALES

Contributor

I know what you’re think-ing. Zac Efron?

Th e “High School Musical” kid trying to break away from his hit role and become a full-fl edged actor? No way.

Actually, yeah!In “17 Again,” Efron proves

all he’s cracked up to be, even if he is still stuck in high school.

“17 Again” starts off with the class of 1989. Mike O’Donnell (Zac Efron), the star player on his high school basketball team, is being scouted by a college recruiter at a game.

Mike seems to have a bright future, until he’s given surprising news from his girlfriend.

Instead of going aft er his dream, he decides to throw it all away to be with her and the baby she is carrying.

Twenty years later, Mike, now played by Matthew Perry, is miserable when his marriage to Scarlet (Lesie Mann) falls apart.

His promotion at work is given to someone else. His two teenage kids want nothing to do with him, and he’s left with nowhere to stay except with

his friend, high-school-nerd-turned-billionaire, Ned (Th omas Lennon).

Just when life can’t get worse, Mike gets a second chance when he magically returns to age 17.

One could be forgiven for mistakenly believing that they were watching “High School Musical” when the movie opens on him playing basketball.

It seems that, at least for now, Efron will be shoehorned into roles that have him do at least a little bit of singing, danc-ing, or playing basketball.

But to his credit, Efron quickly proves he can do more than just play Troy Bolton over and over and over again.

“17 Again” off ers an insight into what life would have been like if you were given a second chance.

It provides great comedy as Efron tries to get his wife back (watching a 17-year-old hit on a 37-year-old female is consis-tently hilarious) and reconnect with his kids.

Although re-living your life is not new, “17 Again” provides a refreshing twist to the theme and lets you leave the theater feeling good about life.

OFFSPRING ENTERTAINMENTZac Efron stars as Mike O’Donnell, a 37-year-old man magically transformed into his 17-year-old self in the new fi lm “17 Again.”

12 April 21, 2009

Oh No Not Stereo appeals widely with new album

Mastodon brings hard new metal with Crack the Skye

MYSPACE.COMOh No Not Stereo has released its third album, 003, packed with their new EP, 004.

DEVIN PITTS-ROGERSContributor

Not all metal consists of fast-paced riff s. Some musicians favor insane progressions, wide ranges of notes and faster than lightning fretwork.

Sometimes, even at a slower pace, artists of the metal genre still provide music that commu-nicates energy.

Mastodon’s Crack the Skye off ers songs such as “Quintes-sence” and “Crack the Skye” where the lyrics, and instruments are well synchronized.

Th is isn’t to say that the rest of the album is slow and unat-tractive. But some of the slower songs seem to lack energy and enthusiasm.

Th ey aren’t poorly per-formed; they just do not seem to invoke much of any thought. “Divinations,” for example, contains many of the elements required to make a song, but not the heart to make it into some-thing great.

Music requires heart and soul to have any real staying power.Th is is why so many pop songs that many of us hate to admit we ever enjoyed never last longer than a summer as staples of radio station and iPod playlists.

Metal can be just as deep and meaningful as any other genre of music. Take, for example, the song “Inside the Fire,” by Dis-turbed off their album Indestruc-

tible. It relates the story of a man who fi nds the woman he loves has committed suicide, and is based on actual events in the life of frontman David Draiman.

Mastodon has the techni-cal prowess and musical ability required to produce good metal, but if they ever want to expand beyond relative mediocrity, they should look at putting forth some tracks that evoke real feelings.

Th e album runs around 50 minutes with only seven tracks on it.

For the number of tracks available, there is decent variety, and only one song is under fi ve minutes.

Still, some of the songs seem to go on for longer than they should.

In this sense, the album seems a little short, as if Mast-odon could have added more tracks and therefore more vari-ety.

Crack the Skye isn’t a great album.

Many tracks are worth lis-tening to, but for each good one, another track is only passable.

Most fans of the band will still fi nd most, if not all, of the tracks worth listening to, but those passing through the genre and looking for new music may want to look elsewhere.

Darwin may have argued that species adapt or become extinct, but Mastodon, at the most, can prove to make this theory debatable.

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TOMMY NAGELContributor

003, released in stores on March 10, is Oh No Not Stereo’s third album aft er 001 and 002.

Mykul Lee and Skyler Nielsen, the band’s two members started Oh No Not Stereo in June 2003 in Los Angeles.

Th ey started their band with the concept of a live duo that delivers a full conventional sound, and they do a good job of it.

Th ey got the name of their band from Sky’s inability to hear out of his right ear.

Th is album off ers a wide variety of songs for everyone to listen to.

You can fi nd just about everything from pop to hard rock on this album, and you will like it all.

Th ere is a solid mix of mellow acoustic rock, some good head bangers and a few catchy pop songs all blended together to create an overall enjoyable listening experience.

Th eir songs are catchy, and aft er only a few listens, you will fi nd yourself singing along with Sky’s vocals and air guitaring to their sick riff s.

While 003 off ers some great songs, they are for the most part fairly unremarkable.

Th eir music is not incred-ibly groundbreaking, and their sound is somewhat common in today’s music market.

You will probably enjoy their music, but don’t expect it to blow all your other music out of the water.

Since they create a variety of songs in their album, some may fi nd it hard to sit down and stay

focused on a specifi c sound. Oh No Not Stereo did a good

job of mixing up their album and putting it together, but if you like listening to a band for their unique sound, then you may have some trouble with 003.

If you want a good idea of this album from a few songs, make sure you listen to “Lets Get It Started,” “All You, Miss Hard Time” and “Say Anything.”

My personal favorites were “12 Years Later” and “Brothers.”

Overall, Oh No Not Stereo did a good job with 003.

It off ers a great mix of a variety of rock genres and is well put together.

Th eir music is catchy and great for just about anyone. Wide appeal is their strong suit.

If you like 003, check out the limited edition bonus EP that goes with it, 004.

HUNTER STEVENSContributor

Bluegrass darlings Railroad Earth kicked off a two-night set at the Ogden Th eater on April 5th, delivering classic tunes from both studio albums such as Amen Corner and Bird in a House as well as tracks from live albums Elko and Live Railroad Earth.

Hailing from Stillwater, N.J., the band has accumulated a strong following among blue-grass lovers by mixing elements of bluegrass, rock and roll, jazz, Celtic music and more.

Th e band has many fans in Colorado and has played here

many times, especially at out-door festivals and folk shows like the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

Th e band is known for its extensive improvisations and jams during live shows.

Th e band opened with the toe-tapping “Hard Livin’” from the album Amen Corner.

Th is created a fun atmo-sphere the audience couldn’t help but dance to. It was appar-ent from the start just how much Railroad Earth appreciates its Colorado fan base.

Th roughout the show, members such as Todd Sheaf-fer (guitarist/vocalist) and Tim Carbone (violinist/vocalist) were constantly smiling and playing to

Bluegrass folk singers Railroad Earth delivers jazz, rock fusion the crowd as well as interacting with fans during song breaks.

It was apparent that both the band and the crowd were feeding off each other’s energy.

Th e room seemed to buzz with electricity. Everyone was moving, smiling or singing along with them. Whether you’re a fan or not, there’s no denying Rail-road Earth’s onstage energy.

A crowd favorite, and for obvious reasons a hit among the Colorado crowd, the song “Colo-rado” from the album Elko kept the crowd moving through the middle of the fi rst set.

Th e set ended with “Bringin’ My Baby Back Home” from the album Amen Corner.

Aft er a short break, the band came out blazing with the Celtic-inspired “1759” off Live Railroad Earth and immediately the crowd was on its feet, danc-ing with intense ferocity.

Th e Ogden has long pro-vided a great atmosphere for its patrons and the venue’s acoustics allowed fans to clearly hear the music no matter where they were in the theater.

Th e acoustics also allowed for each instrument to be heard almost equally to each other, a plus especially for instruments like the violin and the mandolin which have to compete with drums and guitars.

What made this perfor-

mance so much fun was the connection and appreciation the fans had for the band’s music.

Th e audience was a mix of old-school bluegrass lovers as well as teens and college stu-dents, and everyone was laugh-ing, dancing and interacting with each other. Aft er playing a collection of songs from Live Railroad Earth such as “Luxury Liner,” “Storms” and “Walk Beside Me,” the band closed with “Seven Story Mountain” from Elko.

But that wasn’t the end. Th e encore was “Raindance” and “Cold Water,” leaving the audi-ence hungry and begging for more.

13April 21, 2009

UNIVERSAL PICTURESRussel Crowe and Ben Affl eck star in the conspiratorial political thriller “State of Play.

‘State of Play’ a dramatic, riveting political thriller

MARK FLEMINGContributor

“State of Play” takes a stab at turning a sometimes mor-ally questionable profession (journalism) into the pinnacle of righteousness.

Cal McAff rey (Russell Crowe) and his sexy colleague Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) work for the Washington Globe. Th e Globe is facing tough times however, and the duo’s boss, Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren) is constantly looking for scoops.

Cal sets off to investigate a double homicide when another disaster strikes. Cal’s best friend and roommate from college, U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affl eck) loses a crucial research assistant and his mistress in a horrible subway accident.

Cal and Della put their heads together to fi gure out who’s behind the deaths.

“State of Play” off ers a new take on corruption. Crowe and McAdams go aft er the story, and their acting gives the fi lm a fi ne edge.

Th e plot is complex and depends on past events, which can be frustrating at times, but such lapses are entirely forgiv-able.

Th e acting and atmosphere are superb. Crowe and McAdams together are enough to immerse

LIONSGATE“Th e Spirit” has some sweet special features, but the movie itself is nowhere near the quality that would justify a DVD purchase.

MARK FLEMINGContributor

Th ere are numerous ways to capture the glory of a comic book, and recently fi lm has taken up the challenge.

Although this may sound good in theory, there happens to be many prime examples as to why some works of art should never leave their pages.

“Th e Spirit,” based on the comic by Will Eisner and adapted to fi lm by Frank Miller, features a serious lack of credibility.

Th e hero is a misguided, confused man, clad in stereo-types and cliché.

It can certainly be argued that the fi lm has a plot; however its quality is inarguably poor.

Do not expect to take this movie seriously – it does not present itself in any way that couldn’t be thought of as a joke.

Th e Spirit (Gabriel Macht) plays a vigilante role in his dark, troubled city, and rivals the troublesome “Octopus” (Samuel L. Jackson).

Th e characters are absolute clowns in both the sense of their behavior and their dress. If you’re at all a fan of the “Batman” TV series of the 1960s, you may be reminded of the caped crusader while watching Th e Spirit’s antics.

Th is might appeal to a few of you, but for the rest of us it is a tragedy.

Th e style of the fi lm and Frank Miller’s involvement might lead the audience to expect something along the lines of “Sin City” or “300.” No such luck. “Th e Spirit” is campy and goofy in all the worst ways. Not even

the combined strengths of Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johannsen as eye candy could save it.

Th e DVD thankfully pro-vides a wide array of special fea-tures, which capture many ele-ments of “Th e Spirit’s” creation, both artistically and otherwise. One feature, titled Green World, discusses how bizarre it was for the actors to perform strictly within the confi nes of a giant green box, as almost the entire movie was done in CGI.

Frank Miller, director and writer of “Th e Spirit,” as well as the far superior “Sin City,” has a detailed interview of his comic genius in the feature Miller and Miller. He thoroughly discusses how and why he draws and enjoys his work so much.

Th is feature really gets into detail of Miller’s work, and really can be quite interesting to any existing or prospective fans.

Th e last major feature is an alternate ending to the fi lm, which can best be described as odd.

Drawings of concept art and bizarre black and white clips of the actual ending are depicted, with a voice over.

It really isn’t an alternate ending in the traditional sense, but really does more to depict basic ideas of an alternate ending, in a very simple manner.

“Th e Spirit” DVD can certainly be considered a viable purchase, but truly only for the dedicated fandom of Will Eisner.

It does nothing new, it does nothing spectacular, and really bottoms out in terms of quality.

Not a recommended DVD for the majority of fi lm fanatics.

‘The Spirit’ provides good features, bad fi lm

any moviegoer. “State of Play” makes you

laugh, gives an adrenaline rush and makes you want more and more – and it delivers.

Th e movie fl ows and is pieced together so well that it’s easy to forget you’re at the movies. Scenes are frequently dark, boding and suspenseful.

Combined with Crowe’s unique character, a bathroom break will be out of the question.

“State of Play” tackles an already overused plot and makes it into something fresh.

Th ere is no doubt that this fi lm is more than worth seeing; you won’t forget a moment of it.

Give it a go.

‘Halo Wars’ pretty decentNATE KNIFE

Entertainment editor

Few game franchises are as immediately recognizable as Bungie’s accidental masterpiece “Halo.”

Now spanning a full trilogy and upcoming expansion, the story of the Master Chief ’s battle against the Covenant and the Flood is well-known to anyone who’s held an X-Box controller in the past eight years.

Now the series has made a somewhat awkward turn, pro-ducing a prequel as a console exclusive real-time strategy game, “Halo Wars”.

“Halo Wars” takes place twenty years before the events of “Halo: Combat Evolved,” in the fi rst battles of the Covenant War.

Captain James Cutter of the UNSC vessel Spirit of Fire has been tasked with securing the planet Harvest against further Covenant attacks.

Together with Sergeant John Forge and Professor Ellen Anders, he must unravel and foil a Covenant plot to annihilate humanity once and for all.

Pretty standard as far as sci-fi plots go, but it’s functional and competently executed.

Th e gameplay is a simplifi ed real-time strategy system, using modular base designs and a rock-paper-scissors approach to unit balance.

Strategy, however, takes a backseat through most of the game’s quick and decisive battles. Th e standard rule of thumb is that whoever brings the most and biggest guns to the fi ght will

emerge the victor. While players must give

some thought to base defense while their main force is explor-ing and battling across the multitude of maps, it is rarely a complicated aff air.

Mostly, all you need to do is point your army in the direction of what you want to kill and they can handle the rest. It’s not a very deep experience.

Furthermore, the game isn’t very long. Th ere’s only one play-able faction in the single-player campaign.

Th e Covenant is playable in multiplayer only and the Flood, which makes an appearance in several missions, is strictly non-playable.

Th e game’s greatest draw is its beautifully rendered cutscenes between missions. While the interactions between protagonists Sergeant Forge and Professor Anders fall well into a cliché egghead versus tough guy with mild sexual tension type relationship, it’s never looked better. It’s almost worth playing the game to see these scenes rendered in beautiful high defi -nition.

“Halo Wars” makes a val-iant eff ort and gets a lot of stuff right. It’s a shame that Ensemble Studios is no more. Th is game would defi nitely benefi t from a sequel to fully realize the poten-tial of the material presented.

For now, it looks like “Halo Wars” might be the one and only time players get the chance to have a larger look at the begin-ning of the fi ght that the Master Chief fi nished.

14 April 21, 2009www.duclarion.com

ARIANA RANAHOSSEINIEditor-in-chief

DU Athletics released a statement yesterday retracting a memo that said “spirit represen-tatives nor varsity sports teams are permitted to take pictures and/or support the ‘unoffi cial’ mascot at events or beyond.”

“I didn’t know about that memo,” said Peg Bradley-Doppes, vice chancellor of the Division of Athletics and Recreation.

Th e unoffi cial mascot, mod-eled aft er former DU mascot Denver Boone, made his debut two weeks ago at the men’s lacrosse game at INVESCO Field at Mile High.

He was funded by over $5,000 in donations from alumni, students and fans.

Members of the DU Dance Team took a photo with the Pio-

More Boone controversy

neer mascot following the game, which prompted the original memo.

Th e original memo was sent by Angel Field, director of in-event production and promo-tions.

In her retraction sent to coaches and athletic staff , Bradley-Doppes’ stated, “Boone is welcome with open arms to our events as our ‘UNOFFICIAL MASCOT,’ especially since the mascot is a DU student. Fans, student –athletes, students and spirit team members are allowed to take INFORMAL pictures with Boone. However, formal shots that include coaches, adminis-trators and student-athletes, etc. are not permitted.”

Although the Pioneer mascot will not be allowed on the ice at hockey games due to safety concerns he will be allowed

throughout the concourse just as any other student or alumni holding a ticket.

“We will embrace them (any mascot) just for demonstrating their spirit and love for the uni-versity,” Bradley-Doppes said.

“It’s a very diff erent thing from the university adopting Boone as one of its offi cial images or trademarks or things of that nature,” Chancellor Robert Coombe said. “I think you have to recognize that there are still groups of students, undergradu-ate, graduate and faculty that are opposed to Boone.”

Coombe has yet to see the Pioneer mascot.

Th is week, the Pioneer mascot might be seen at May Days promotions, all around campus on Tuesday and Th urs-day and at the men’s lacrosse game on Saturday night.

ZAC D’ARGONNESports editor

Th e 2009 women’s gymnastics season is fi nally over aft er All-American Jessica López had a valiant performance at the NCAA Championships last weekend.

López placed sixth on the vault with a score of 9.831 in the individual event fi nals at Nebraska’s Devaney Center on Saturday.

López’s sixth place finish is the highest of her career in an NCAA Champion-ship.

López scored a 38.550 in the all-around competi-tion.

Th is season, López earned fi rst team All-American honors on vault and second team All-American on beam.

López is now a fi ve time All-American with the Pio-neers.

Due to López’s great ath-letics this season, she has been nominated for the 2008-2009 Honda Sports Award for Gym-nastics, even aft er missing eight weeks due to an elbow injury.

“I have progressed a lot since my elbow injury,” said López. “I think that it made me mentally

and physically stronger, along with my training.”

Th is was the last season for seniors López, Niki Brown and Liz Meals.

Kelley Hen-nigan also had a strong showing in the tournament by placing 10th in the all-around compe-tition with a score of 39.200.

H e n n i g a n placed ninth on the beam, tying her career-high with a 9.850, and 18th on vault with a respectable 9.825 score.

“I represented this program, my team, coaches and DU as best as I could,” said Hennigan. “I came in prepared, set a goal for myself and reached it, so I am proud.”

Th e University of Denver gymnastics team fi nished 15th in the nation according to

seasonal averages.The Pioneers

will return nine gymnasts for the 2010 season.

Lopez fi nishes No. 6

Men blank Regis 6-0

DAVID LORISHTh e unoffi cial Pioneer mascot, funded by alumni and student donations, pouts at a recent men’s lacrosse game.

MEGAN WESTERVELTAbove: Redshirt freshman Marc Kocel and freshman Jarrod Stigall celebrate one of the Pioneers’ six goals during Sunday’s game agasint Regis University at Englewood High School. Th e Pioneers defeated Regis 6-0.Left : Freshman midfi elder Matt Kirby tosses the ball into play aft er a Regis player kicked it out of bounds. Th e Pioneers only have two games remaining in the spring season. Th ey will take on the Colorado Rapids today at 1:30 p.m. at Dick’s Sporting Good Park.

MICHAEL FURMAN

15April 21, 2009

PHOTOS BY MEGAN WESTERVELT

women’s tenn i sD U 2 - 1

Denver’s hope of winning their second straight Sun Belt Confer-ence Championship was demolished Sunday in its 1-4 loss in the fi nals to Florida International in Denton, Texas.

Mallory Voelker posted DU’s one lone point as she defeated Lisa Brito 6-1, 6-2.

Th e loss in the fi nals marked the end of the Pioneers eight match winning streak.

No. 34 Denver falls to a 16-5 record for the season.Th e Pioneers previously defeated Middle Tennessee and North

Texas to advance to the fi nals of the tournament.Denver is expected to receive an at-large bid for a berth in the

NCAA Championships starting May 8.

men’s tenn i sD U 1 - 1

Th e men’s tennis team played two very close matches against South Alabama and Middle Tennessee last Saturday

DU defeated South Alabama 4-2, and lost to Middle Tennessee 3-4, at the Sun Belt Conference in Denton, Texas. With the loss, DUen-ver was eliminated from the tournament in the semi-fi nal round.

Davis Simson, Benny Althaus, Yannick Weihs and Andrew Landwerlen all won in their singles matches versus South Alabama.

Th e win last weekend ended the Pioneers three game losing streak dating back to April 3.

Th e Pioneers hope to receive a bid for the NCAA Regional Tour-nament which takes place May 8 through May 10.

men’s l ac ros seD U 10 ,

O H I O S TAT E 16

Th e Pioneers were defeated by Ohio State Sunday aft ernoon at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

Two players, Mark Matthews and Andrew Lay, led the Pioneers with two goals each.

Six other players also contributed to Pioneer scores.Senior Joey Murray’s goal during the match extended his scoring

streak to seven games.Murray has 24 goals on the season.DU returns to the fi eld on Saturday as it hosts the Air Force Acad-

emy for the fi nal home game of the season. Th e team will also honor the senior members.

MICHAEL FURMAN

ZAC D’ARGONNESports editor

Editors note: Mallory Voelker is a senior who transferred to DU before her junior year from Purdue. Voelker is ranked No,.65 nationally. She has received sev-eral awards throughout her colle-giate career, has appeared in the NCAA Champion-ships and has was named Den- ver’s most valuable

p l a y e r

for the 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 0 8

season. She has 18 sin-gles wins this season.

Zac D’Argonne: What does it mean to you to have played tennis all four years of college?

M a l l o r y Voelker: I trans-ferred to DU my junior year aft er playing at Purdue University. But playing for DU for the last two years has been a real privilege, and I am so glad that I

decided to come be a Pioneer.

ZD: How do you feel you will fare in the Regional Champion-ships?

MV: I think our team will do great at NCAA’s regionals this year. We got a real taste of what it takes to get through the

regional and onto the Sweet 16 last year, and I think it pre-pared us for what to expect this season. Our team is not

only stronger this year but we are also more men-tally prepared for the

post season. I think that will help us a lot and

hopeful ly we can make

it out of the regional and onto the Sweet 16.

ZD: What are your goals for the NCAA Championships?

MV: Our goal from the start of the season was to make the Sweet 16 so that is still what we are aiming for. If we accomplish that we

will be really excited. I think any further

than that would just

be a bonus and it would demon-strate how hard we have worked all season.

ZD: What has been your greatest accomplishment as part of DU tennis?

MV: My greatest accom-plishment at DU was getting my 100th win during spring break. My goal at the start of this season was to get to 100 and I was able to get there, and I got my 100th win on the same match that my teammate Axi got her 100th win too. It was really exciting, and I am glad we got to share that moment together.

ZD: What has been your most memorable event?

MV: My best memory from DU was our conference win last season. We were down in the fi nals to FIU but managed to pull out four amazing victories to come back and win 4-3. It was such a great win, and I will never forget that.

ZD: Do you have any plans to play tennis aft er college?

MV: Aft er college I have considered playing but I am not sure yet. I would really love to keep competing because I know I will miss it once I am done with college. I will probably play some ITF’s [International Tennis

Q&A with senior MVP Mallory VoelkerFederation] in the States and see how it goes. I don’t know if I am the next up-and-coming profes-sional player, but maybe you’ll see me beating Sharapova one day!

ZD: What will you miss most about DU tennis?

MV: Th e thing I will miss most about DU tennis is defi nitely my teammates. I have grown so close to this group of girls over the last 2 years and it will be really sad to not see them everyday. We’ve gone through a lot together so it will be hard to say goodbye to the team.

ZD: Why has your senior

Spring teams seek NCAA bids

MEGAN WESTERVELTAnnette Aksdal runs down a ball in a recent home meet.

ON THE SIDELINE WITH ZAC

If any player in the NBA ever deserved a sixth man award, it is the “Birdman” Chris Andersen of the Denver Nuggets.

W h a t a story. A short time ago, Andersen was sus-p e n d e d from the N B A for an e n t i r e y e a r due to violation of NBA rules concerning drug policy.

Not only is Chris Andersen clean of drugs, he is playing for the No. 2 seed in the playoff s, and he is making some noise while doing it.

Andersen is a crowd favorite at the Pepsi Center. Every time he is checked into the game, the sta-dium erupts rivaling the cheers received by Chauncey Billups or Carmelo Anthony.

Andersen has come off of the bench in a large majority of the games this season. While doing this, “Birdman” has been one of the league’s most domi-nant defensive presences.

Andersen is second in the NBA in blocked shots per game beating out Marcus Camby, Yao Ming and Shaquille O’Neil.

Although Denver is not the top ranked defense in the league, there is no doubt that when Andersen is in the game oppo-nents shot percentage decreases and so does the their off ensive production.

In his fi rst playoff game this season, coming off the bench, Andersen had nine points, six rebounds and four blocks.

Th e Hornets amassed three blocks as an entire team.

ZAC D’ARGONNESports editor

Sixth man, ‘Birdman’

year been better statistically than other years?

MV: I don’t really know. I came into this season just look-ing to have fun and to really enjoy playing so maybe that mindset has helped me out. I think that I have also learned so much over the last three seasons that by now I am fi nally putting it all together, playing at a high level and being able to beat good players.

ZD: Is there anything you would like to add about your experience at DU?

MV: Th e only thing to men-tion is that DU women’s tennis is the best! Vamos Pios.

16 April 21, 2009

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