Young People Prefer Using The Expanding Lightrail Over Driving

Many students who attend Colorado institutions of higher learning commute to their campuses by using public transportation including the expanding Denver RTD Light rail system. Students view the light rail system as a cheaper, more convenient way to get to school and there is yet to be a campus that does not approve RTD fees by vote. The light rail makes stops on Auraria Campus and University of Denver Campus and there are plans to expand to Red Rocks Community College and CU-Boulder by the end of the decade.

"I just think it’s easier to get to school on the train than to drive," said Belinda Joyce, 20, CU- Denver student. "I care more about my cell phone than my car."

Joyce takes the light rail to Auraria to get to class and often talks on the phone or listens to her ipod during the commute. The campus charges at least $2.00 per day to park a car on campus, so it is more affordable for her to use public transportation. She says the only place she drives to regularly is 24 Hour Fitness. 

Children of Addicted Parents Get the Shaft

It's not a shock to anyone that drug abuse is a huge problem effecting millions U.S. worldwide. But while most people are familiar and proactive in organizations focused to treat addiction, such as rehab centers, many forget about the children of those addicts and what we could be providing them with to help with their recovery process, which is just as important as the addicts' themselves.

What's Art Got to Do With It?

photo by Alternative Art

Serenity and bright colors has the power to relax any individual in any sort of anxious times. However walking into Alternative Arts did not give off this impression. Metallica blares through the overhead speakers while a woman with arms covered in tattoos bobs her head and answers phone according to the beat. The people in the waiting room give off a bored look but if one looks closer, the tall brunette anxiously checks her cellphone every three minutes while a blonde male flips through magazines without a care for any page. 

Stephanie Allen jokes half-heartedly with her sister and friend while waiting for her name to be called up. Showing off her first tattoo on her ankle, Stephanie says the second one won’t be half as bad. “I want to get this tattoo because I love flowers and that’s what my grandpa used to call me when I was younger…but in Italian” she jokes. 

Subcultures in a Digital World

Kendal Holzman, 25, and Abby VonFeldt, 21, reach for each other’s hands and intertwine their fingers after Holzman pulls out a cigarette and lights it. The two girls are days away from their one-year anniversary and just finished their first Easter dinner with VonFeldt’s family. Holzman says that they met on a website called Ok Cupid. While Holzman was initially hesitant to use a dating website to find a girlfriend, she says that her relationship with VonFeldt would not have been possible by any other means because they would have been “too shy” to approach each other at a club or in any other social situation.

Everyday Is A Bonus Day

Mark Allen, 45, of Mesa, Ariz., has a heart that needs tune-up and a car that dreams are made of.

 

After placing a nitroglycerin pill under his tongue to relieve the pain in his chest Allen heads to his car to hit the Autocross track at the 2^nd Annual Good-Guys Rod and Custom Show Spring Nationals in Scottsdale, Ariz. With the famous “Highway to the Danger Zone” from the movie “Top Gun” blasting on his radio Allen makes his 2^nd and fastest pass of the day. The announcer starts calling Allen “Maverick” after the Tom Cruise character in the movie.

Go Figure!

Thirty-two year-old Shara Martin walks into her local Whole Foods Market to buy some groceries before heading back to the gym. To her left she hears a mother quieting her young son as she shoots a menacing look in Martin’s direction. “That’s just gross,” said the woman, “only men should look like that, honey.” Martin recalls countless encounters like this on her battle with people that don’t understand her sport on a daily basis. It is so hard for people to understand why somebody would practically starve themselves, and put their bodies through as much as they do for something so ‘insignificant’. Comments like the one in the supermarket are certainly not uncommon for women like Martin, but it is not enough to deter them from pressing on in their sport.

Keep the chocolate bunnies for the Easter baskets

After a cold winter season, the grass starts to turn green, flowers and trees are sprouting with vibrant colors and the weather begins to warm. In the United States Easter is celebrated by a majority of Americans. Easter is the celebration of the Christian faith. In America it is represented by one major image that is not religious and that is the Easter Bunny. Around Easter families go out to pet stores and shelters to purchase a cute fluffy eared rabbit to fill their child's Easter baskets. But after the candy has been eaten, the "Ester Bunny" that was purchased is still hopping around the house but will soon be seeing a new home.

A New Kind of Sound



Photo by Dr. Chris Rathford

 The sound booth at the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff, Ariz. is often filled with in house professionals, roadies, reporters, and the occasional intern. But last Wednesday, Connor Thompson, 19 was in the booth with the road crew of Xavier Rudd. As a part of a brand new program that gets audio engineering students in the field, Thompson got to record and mix Rudd’s live show and was given complete creative freedom for the night. All that would be impressive for any college freshmen, but considering that less than a year ago Thompson was flunking out of high school and had no plans for the future, for many his story has gone from impressive, to inspirational.

Odd superstitions are very prevalent in sports

The line between ritual and superstition is a thin one. As tennis player Rafael Nadal says, “I repeat a lot of things”. Nadal may be the most superstitious athlete of all, although he will fully deny it. Of the many odd rituals he performs before and during matches, one of the most noticeable is the water bottles. Rafeal Nadal, 24, brings only 2 water bottles to a match, with matching labels. After each set, he takes a sip from each of them, and then lines them up side by side with the labels facing the baseline of the side he is playing. It is said to drive opponents crazy, but that’s not why he does it. In fact, he doesn’t quite know why he does it. Whatever the reason, it has helped propel him to the top of the rankings in the world of tennis, and he is not the only one who can thank a strange ritual for being a part of their success, however large or small that part may be.

Construction Signifies Big Changes on Campus

Driving on the streets surrounding the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, there are likely to be lots of orange cones and big machinery maneuvering their way around the campus.  Find out what's being built!

Rachel Helmick is a 16-year old girl ready to live her dreams. The talented green eyed, blonde singer sat down to answer questions about her music, and what its like to be a striving musician in the Denver music scene which has recently blown up with big acts such as 3oh!3 and The Fray.

Feature Article: Minorities and Outdoor Pursuits

I am black, and in the kayaking world I’m an anomaly. In most outdoor pursuits, I am a complete rarity. 

Quiet the Mind on Campus...

There is a meditation club at the Metropolitan State college of Denver and they are putting on a free seminar to get students, faculty and staff involved in Buddhist Meditation.

With all of the craziness that surrounds the later parts of the spring semester it seems quieting the mind could be a good idea. Of course holding free seminars is never a bad idea for sudents. In The Footsteps of Buddha seems like a good tag line to get people to try it out. Doesn't everyone wish they could quiet their mind like Buddha? Especially with finals coming down the pike?

The picture of a Zen filled area with a giant Buddha in it does offer some idea of a tranquil place in an otherwise hectic campus.