The Independent i
Issue #98
Fort Lewis College News Magazine
Disconnected Some students choose December 6th, 2018
to limit tech use
Dear Readers,
Editor’s Note 1
Finals week is upon us, which means there will be varying levels of motivation and stress among the student body this week. As I see the library crammed to the brim with students hoping their last minute studying will prove useful, I think to my first year as a student at Fort Lewis College. I came into FLC from high school with relatively good grades without putting much effort into it. Yes, I studied and completed most of my homework but I was never too stressed about finals. I was rarely in a position where my grade in the class would be severely altered by the final, so I let my lack of motivation take over and cruised through my finals relatively unscathed. That same attitude followed me to Fort Lewis. I had done fairly well in all my classes and felt like I had a solid grasp on most of the material that would be on my finals. The only class I was worried about was my math class, where the final consisted of something around 40 percent of my grade. I had done really well on my other tests, so naturally I continued my high school attitude towards finals. Boy was that a mistake. I was shocked to check Canvas and see I got a 38 percent on my final. Yes, a 38%. My grade dropped from a 94 percent to a 71 percent. My goals of having straight A’s vanished completely, and I was left attempting to figure out what exactly went wrong. As obvious as it is, I came to realize that college finals aren’t a joke. You can’t take them lightly, and you can’t underestimate them. They are monstrous beasts capable of completely toppling your grade. Fortunately, my mistake was correctable. The next semester, my finals didn’t start until Wednesday. I spent the entire day of Monday and Tuesday in the library, working with tutors, and having study groups with my classmates to make sure I was completely prepared. I was so confident going into finals that I legitimately wasn’t stressed about them. It really was a tale of two semesters. For its part, the college has plenty of resources to help prepare students for finals. Everyone knows the availability of the library, but most on-campus housing will have quiet hours the last two weeks to allow students to study. Many professors dictate extra office hour times to work with students, and tutors free up their schedules to allow the maximum amount of students necessary. Take advantage of these opportunities and be prepared for your finals. You’re almost there! Keep pushing until your last final is over and THEN enjoy yourself. Please don’t make the same mistake I made. Good luck Skyhawks, and as always, thanks for picking up a copy of The Independent.
Alex Semadeni Editor-in-Chief awsemadeni@fortlewis.edu
The Independent i
In This Issue Hunting Safety for Hunters and Non-Hunters Mandy Lorenson 3-6
Professional Advising Teams are now the Registration Resource Kimberly Cassels
7-8
Disconnected: Some Students Choose to Limit Tech Use Meritt Drake 9-11
Entertainment Netflix Review Teal Lehto 12
This year, Fort Lewis College has changed the advising process from faculty advising to professional advising. Every department has been assigned a team of professional advisors for the process. Photo by Colton Branstetter
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Hunting Safety FOR HUNTERS AND NON-HUNTERS Mandy Lorenson
S
mall-game hunting season, which consists of hunting birds, rabbits and waterfowl, begins on Jan. 1.
There are several rules hunters must follow as they are participating in these hunting seasons to ensure they are not only keeping themselves safe but also keeping those around them safe. In order to keep hunters and surrounding people in the area safe, Colorado has put laws in place to enforce the safety precautions they must follow while they are out in the field.
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Hunting Safety Hunting will always have safety-related concerns attached to it because guns are involved, Joe Lewandowski, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife said. Hunting has a reputation for being dangerous, but if hunters take safety precautions to lessen the amount of danger it can be an activity that can seem less of a dangerous thing to partake in. The most common hunting accident is a hunter shooting themselves or shooting the people they are in a group with, Lewandowski said. Any person who was born after January 1, 1949 is required to take a hunting safety course in order for them to get their hunting license, Lewandowski said. Hunting courses are offered online and in-person, and both teach the same safety concepts hunters need to know, Brian Magee, teacher of a hunter educationcourse in Durango, said. The first thing hunters learn is how to handle a firearm, Magee said. Brenden Boatwright, who has been hunting for 17 years, started learning how to hunt and shoot a gun when he was around 4 years old.
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Basic Hunting Safety Tips Always treat the gun like it’s loaded
“Hunters won’t be the only people in the forest. There are trails designed and placed far enough from hunting grounds to keep the non-hunters safe during the hunting seasons.” Joe Lewandowski Spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Keep the safety on Be aware of your surroundings Let someone else know where you are before you head out
The first thing he learned was muzzle control, which means not pointing the gun at anything you don’t intend to shoot, Boatwright said. The most basic safety measure when carrying a firearm is to treat every gun as if it is loaded, he said. This means to hold the gun in an upward position, by resting the body of the gun while the barrel of the gun is over the shoulder of the hunter, and to never point it at something unless you are intending on using it. Also, the safety on the gun must remain on until the hunter is getting ready to shoot at what they are intending to kill. Another aspect of being safe while hunting is being aware of your surroundings, Lewandowski said. Because the bullets that are used travel a mile from where the hunter is positioned, the hunter needs to know what is a mile beyond their intended target, he said. Although many guns that hunters use have scopes attached to the top, they only allow the hunter to see what is in front of them, not what is next to the desired object or further beyond that object. “We recommend that hunters carry binoculars,” Lewandowski said. Hunters should also let someone else know where they are going to be and when they are going to return by, Boatwright said. This information can aid rescuers in the case that the hunter gets lost.
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History of Colorado Hunting Laws In 1970, Colorado passed a law that stated all hunters must wear bright colors that cover at least 500 square inches of their body, Lewandowski said. The law also requires that all hunters take a hunting safety class before they are granted their license to hunt, he said. With this law in place, the amount of hunting-related accidents has decreased, but there are still some instances where accidents do occur. There were 91 hunter-related fatalities in Colorado between 1961 and 1969, before the law was implemented, Lewandowski said. The first ten years that the law was implemented, the number of hunter-related fatalities decreased to 45 and cut the average deaths per year in half, he said. Since 1980, there has been a steady decrease in the amount of hunter-related fatalities. Instead of seeing multiple deaths per year, Colorado is now seeing one death per year and only around four hunting related accidents annually, Lewandowski said. More accidents are likely to occur when small game hunting is in season. Small game hunting is when hunters use less powerful weapons to hunt animals such as rabbits, coyotes and birds.
Instead of seeing multiple deaths per year, Colorado is now seeing one death per year and only around four hunting related accidents annually. Small game hunting season is more dangerous because a lot of hunters tend to swing their gun to the side and do not keep it directly in front of them when shooting at smaller animals, Lewandowski said. By not keeping the gun in front of their bodies and keeping the barrel of the gun resting on their shoulder, it puts people on the sides at risk of taking a bullet to the head or getting hit in the head with the gun, Lewandowski said.
“The most common hunting accident that is seen is a hunter shooting themselves or shooting the people they are in a group with.” Joe Lewandowski Spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Be Aware of Your Surroundings Hunters are not the only people that are at risk for injury, or even death, when it comes to the hunting seasons throughout the region. Although there has never been a recorded event in Colorado where a hunter has shot a non-hunter, the possibility still exists, Lewandowski said. There are more factors that play into the safety of the surrounding area than just making sure the hunter doesn’t shoot themselves, the people they are with, or something that is in range of the bullet once they take their shot. Outdoor activities are popular in Colorado, so hunters won’t be the only people in the forest. There are trails designed and placed far enough from hunting grounds to keep the non-hunters safe during the hunting seasons, Lewandowski said. Though trails are designated to stay away from hunting areas, hikers and other recreationalists are encouraged to wear bright colors and be aware of their surroundings.
Although there are many rules and guidelines for a hunter to follow, following them becomes second nature, Boatwright said. “It’s something that is already built into us,” Boatwright said.
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Professional Advising Teams are now the Registration Resource Kimberly Cassels
F
ort Lewis College has changed the advising process from faculty advising to professional advising.
In previous years, faculty would advise students on which classes to register for. However, this year every department has been assigned a team of professional advisors for this process.
Students of some departments were professionally advised sooner than others, she said.
First-year students who started in the spring, summer or fall of 2018 and transfer students who started this fall are required to meet with an advisor, she said. Students who have not declared a major or have a grade point average lower than 2.21 are also required to see an advisor for registration. All other students do not need to see an advisor in order to register.
Students are assigned to a team of three advisors rather than one person, Spencer said. The teams include STEM and health, education and business, and arts, humanities and social sciences.
Earlier in the semester, the advising department sent an email to those students who were required to meet with a professional advisor, Spencer said.
Team advising was implemented to help spread department knowledge to more than one advisor, Spencer said. Students now have more advisors to turn to for their curriculum information.
Professional advisors make sure that students are meeting the requirements for their major as well as for financial aid, she said. They assist with planning out double majors, minors and certificates, and they also run GPA calculations.
“As of this fall, all majors on campus are now professionally advised,� director of advising Alyse Spencer said.
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ADVISING
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Faculty mentors can also help students pick degree electives, make connections and internships and research opportunities, Spencer said. Professional advisors encourage students to meet with their mentors to prepare for graduate school or career opportunities, she said. “We always say that students should see their professional advisor and their faculty mentor,” Spencer said. “I recommend that you see both of those people before registering.” Although students have resources to assist with registration, it is their responsibility to stay informed of their degree requirements, she said. Advisement team captains meet on a monthly basis with department chairs to stay up-to-date on curriculum changes, Spencer said. The education department moved to professional advising this semester and have monthly meetings with the advising team captain, Kristine Greer, the chair of the department, said. Students taking mid-level courses in elementary and secondary education were informed about the new advising procedure in a group advising session in multiple classes, Greer said. “They are doing a really great job of getting those freshman and sophomores, doing what we used to do for them and following the plan,” Greer said. “That takes a lot of time.” Those who are no longer required to meet with advising tend to check in with their faculty mentors to ensure they are on track with their program, she said. Greer helps students with the big picture of completing their degree, such as the teacher licensure test, meeting grade requirements, applying to the program, and helping students get internships, she said. She also assists students if they decide to change their major within the department, Greer said. For the education department, if the advising team is uncertain about pieces of the program, they send students to their faculty mentors, Greer said.
Natasha Kleiner, a sociology major, said he found the walk-in advising helpful with his degree planning.. He said he approached walk-in advisement with questions about credits, GPA and courses that count towards his degree. “They know what they’re talking about,” Kleiner said. “They explained to me what I’ve been asking about for a few years now in five minutes,” Kleiner said. Staying on track with his degree plan has been complicated because specific courses are offered only during certain semesters, he said. Major requirements, specifically regarding prerequisites, can sometimes appear differently in the catalog than on WebOPUS due to typos, Spencer said. In this case, verify with a professional advisor and faculty mentor, she said.
DEGREE PLANNING Degree requirements are reflected in the catalog from the year students started at FLC, she said. The only instance someone would not follow the degree plan of the catalog year in which they started would be if the student filled out a request form in the registrar’s office. “If a student started at Fort Lewis fall 2018, they’re on the fall 2018-2019 catalog,” Spencer said. Students who started a degree plan prior to 20182019 must select the archived catalogs on the FLC website, Spencer said.
Advising
Berndt Hall, Suite 300 (970)-382-6985 advising@fortlewis.edu
“Any time a student finds out that they’re missing something or they took something they didn’t need to, we always work with the student,” Spencer said. “The department chair and the registrar’s office do everything that we can to find a solution to help the student stay on track for graduation.” The advising department is currently working on surveys to gather students’ input about their advising experience, she said.
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DisConNecTed 9
Some students choose to limit tech use Meritt Drake
Smartphones can be helpful tools for communication. The technology has made communication easier than ever before, but also less meaningful as people focus less on the world around them. In addition, smartphones and social media have also been linked to rising rates of depression and anxiety within younger generations. The use of smartphones has been proven to be physically addictive, which makes the negative effects harder for students to avoid. In response to these effects, some students have chosen to give up their smartphones and social media accounts.
Phone addiction
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S
Students now are much more distracted and unable to put their phones down, Brian Burke, professor of psychology, said. “This is the first generation who grew up with smartphones as a part of their brain,” Burke said. “In our students the addiction is becoming worse and worse.” Addiction is caused by a dopamine drip in the hypothalamus, where the pleasure centers of the brain are located, Burke said. When someone gets a message or gets tagged in a picture, the dopamine is released. This addiction is dangerous because people are much less able to focus and engage with the world around them. Studies show that college students spend between seven to ten hours per day on their phones, Megan Wrona, assistant professor of psychology, said.
“That’s a pretty significant chunk of time where you’re disengaged with what’s happening around you,” Wrona said. Both professors tried implementing experiments in their classes where students gave up their phone or reduced time spent on social media. “I asked my positive psychology class to not use their phone until our class met at 2 p.m. and only six out of twenty students were able to do it,” Burke said. In Wrona’s health behaviors class, students were asked to change one behavior over the course of a semester, Wrona said. Some students chose to lessen their use of social media. “I had a student who was successful in limiting her time spent on social media,” Wrona said. “She said this gave her more time for other people, and she felt healthier without a screen always in her face.”
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“Increased use of
social media is connected with anxiety and depression. In fact, college aged students are 10 times more likely to get depressed than their grandparents’ generation.” Bryan Burke
Professor of Psychology
During his classes students are constantly checking their phones, Burke said. Before smartphones became popular, students who arrived early to class would sit and talk to each other while they waited for class to begin. Now they’re all on their phones. Social media can encourage people to think that things happening online are an emergency and that it’s important that you know exactly what’s happening online at all times, Burke said. “The problem is it creates this message that what’s not here is more important than what is here,” Burke said. Studies have shown that people who use social media are more depressed and anxious, he said. “College-aged students are 10 times more likely to get depressed than their grandparents’ generation,” Burke said. Social media makes people compare themselves to one another since, online, it can seem like someone’s life is perfect. This can cause people to focus on their own failures, Wrona said.
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J
amie Curtis, a junior biology major, decided to delete her Snapchat account in response to the negative effects it could have.
Limiting use of technology
Effect on mental health and focus
O
ne of the detrimental effects of smartphone use is that it can increase the inability to focus, Burke said.
“I don’t feel the need to see what everyone is doing at all hours of the day, and I don’t feel the need to share everything about my life either,” Curtis said. “My mood is better now. I don’t worry about missing things or feel left out.” Jon Anderson, a senior marketing major, did not own a smartphone until his freshman year of college. He got rid of his iPhone, which he owned for a year and a half, after seeing how distracting it could be, he said. “I went back to a flip phone because I couldn’t get stuff done because I was so distracted,” Anderson said. “I’d sit down to write something for school, and I’d keep going on my phone and going on my phone.” Since repurchasing a smartphone, Anderson has found ways to use the phone without it becoming too distracting, he said. “I have a system set up where I’ll leave my phone somewhere I can’t look at it,” Anderson said. “For me, I have to put it away sometimes and not just in my pocket.” Students can start to limit their use of their phones by taking small steps and then seeing what helps them focus better, Wrona said.
“The one question I’d want people to ask themselves is, is now a good time to use this device, and sometimes the answer will be yes, but I’d encourage people to pay attention instead to what is around them,” Burke said.
The Independent i
Dogs
This series is iconic. It will go down in history as the best dang dogumentary ever filmed. Each episode focuses on a singular story of how one dog can change so many lives. Such is the case with a young girl with epilepsy that is allowed some semblance of independence when she gets a service dog or a Syrian refugee who is struggling against all odds to be reunited with his good-boy, Zeus. The stories are touching, but honestly the soundtrack is really what makes the show, because for every majestic low-angle shot of a doggo running in front of a sunset there is an equally majestic score to accompany it. Just the opening credits combined with the intro song was enough to bring tears to my eyes, a testament to either the quality or my inability to keep my shit together. Either way, watch this series. Seriously, you will have no ragrets.
A++
Netflix Review Teal Lehto
This Christmas classic is undeniably the best Grinch rendition out there, better than both the OG “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and the reboot that just premiered in theaters recently. I’ve watched this movie at least once (if not multiple times) a year since it came out, and I’ve noticed that as I grow up I tend to relate less and less to Cindy-LouWho and more and more to the Grinch. Probably because we both have the same self-deprecating humor and lack of adequate time management. Plus there’s a scene towards the end (after his change of heart) where he’s quoted saying “The sun is bright, and the powder’s bitchin!” and that’s truly a quote I live my life by. If you don’t love this movie or haven’t seen it then you either A) have no soul or B) hate Jim Carrey. But either way that means you’re not the kind of person I want to associate myself with.
Cam How the Grinch Stole Christmas
B+
A Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
For more Netflix reviews, check out:
theindyonline.com
D-
I want to warn anyone and everyone who listens to me to not watch the trailer for this movie. It’s a captivating film, but the whole plot is revealed in the trailer. Which can make actually watching the movie super disappointing when the credits roll and you realize it everything worth knowing was already divulged to you in the 45 second recap Netflix provides for your “convenience.” In any event, the film follows a young woman who is making a living by being a “cam girl”, or a girl who delivers erotic performances for men (who watch anonymously) online. She makes a shocking amount of money off of the tips that these men leave her. Unlike the trailer, I’m not gong to spoil it by revealing anything more, but just know that this movie is hyperrealistic and hella creepy.
Initially I was super into this reboot of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” I loved the original show, and the preview for this one had one of my fave songs in it (“Blood in the Cut” by K. Flay). Plus it had an overall super creepy/occult aesthetic that I dig. Unfortunately though, the plot line is such garbage one can only assume the writers were feeling lazy and/or complacent since Netflix will give the green light on literally any show pitched to them. They leave loose ends everywhere, and the plot takes many turns that are not only predictable but also totally useless and unnecessary for the character development. Then the ending of this first season was so lackluster that I literally threw my remote in a fit of rage. I had sunk 8 hours into this show only to be exceptionally disappointed. The one bright side is that the lead actress looks like a gothic Hermione, which is pretty fascinating.
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