The Catalyst Vol. 50 No. 6 October 11, 2019

THE CATALYST The Independent Student Newspaper of Colorado College

Vol. 50, No. 6

October 11, 2019

CC Seeks to Increase Economic Diversity With New Prep Program

By Ana Mashek PHOTO OF THE K.D. STROUD FAMILY, 1929.

COURTESY OF THE COLORADO PIONEERS MUSEUM, LULU STROUD POLLARD COLLECTION

Colorado College is taking action to increase economic diversity on campus. In this academic year alone, CC has launched three programs with this aim.

The most recently implemented program — The Stroud Scholars Program — targets high-promise, local Colorado Springs students who “face a range of barriers to college acceptance and success.” Selected Stroud Scholars will spend a total of nine weeks on CC’s campus over the course of three summers and will complete a range of college preparatory work. With successful completion, CC will guarantee admission to the scholar.

The pilot program will begin this summer, and Colorado Springs high school first-years can anticipate the release of an application in November, due February.

The program hopes to draw in students from low-income families who attend public, under-resourced high schools. According to President Jill Tiefenthaler, CC is working with principals, counselors, and teachers from these schools to attract promising students.

According to the director of Financial Aid at CC, Shannon Amundson, “You know a lot of these students are students who

Frontrunner Hickenlooper Notably Missing at Jam-Packed Senate Climate Forum at UCCS

By Charlotte Schwebel Several Colorado 2020 Senate Candidates The protest was directed, in part, at former voiced their plans to address the eminent Governor John Hickenlooper, the current climate crisis during a University of Colora- frontrunner in the race for the Democratic do, at Colorado Springs forum titled, “Planet Senate nomination, who was not present at in Peril,” on Sunday, Oct. the forum. Protesters car6. ried signs that called him As 25 Colorado Colwith the name “Hiding lege students entered Hick,” and an empty chair the ENT center to atwith his name on it sat at tend the UCCS forum, the far edge of the stage. they merged into a SunDebate organizers Philip rise Movement protest, Oke-Thomas and Brent a youth-led movement Wilkerson, President and that advocates for poVice-President of UCCS litical action on climate College Democrats, stated change. The CC students they were in contact with joined their voices with Hickenlooper’s campaign students and commumanager and were told the nity activists, chanting, candidate had a “prior en“When the air we breathe gagement.” is under attack, what do During the forum, he was we do? Stand up, fight ILLUSTRATION BY CATE JOHNSON repeatedly called out by back.” Politicians and audience members other candidates for his support of fracking alike offered support as the student activists as governor. Under his administration, the filed into the theatre.

Colorado Justice Department sued Colorado

probably are not getting pushed from home to go to college. For these kids, you don’t have a lot of people [telling them to] go forth and prosper, so [CC] want[s] to give them that support network.”

Amundson said she hopes that potential students will be encouraged to pursue this program by their school resources in communication with CC. CC predicts there will be 250 applicants, 25 of whom will be comenamed Stroud Scholars. While there are no specific prerequisites for applicants, the program is intended for students Continued on pg. 2

CCSGA Goes to Town(hall)

By Hank Bedingfield Student Trustee Lily Weissgold ’20 and Student Body President Ethan Greenberg ’20 addressed an audience of three students in a mostly-empty Worner meeting room on Oct. 8 to commence the first CCSGA town hall since 2017.

In attendance was one CCSGA member and two non-affiliated students including myself — a student journalist, assigned with cover the meeting.

Weissgold and Greenberg held the townhall with the intention of increasing transparency between student governing organizations and students. In the first of a series of quarterly town hall events, Weissgold and Greenberg aimed to answer any and all questions students had regarding the work of student government organization, CCSGA, and the Colorado College Board of Trustees.

“We want to hear whatever questions and concerns the student body has about the board of trustees, and I want to clarify what exactly the board does and has been doing,” Weissgold said, speaking on behalf of the CC Board of Trustees, hoping to provide insight into the organization of which many students are only peripherally aware.

Greenberg voiced similar intentions re-

garding CCSGA. Isabella McShea ’20, the only other nonCCSGA student in attendance, responded to their inquiries by voicing her concerns with recent trends at CC. McShea, concerned by the growing number of crackdowns on house parties in the area, was a key contributor to the “Party Letter.” This letter, written by senior students in offcampus homes, questioned CC administration about the trend and warned of the cultural aftermath such “anti-party” actions could have.

“General connection at this school is an issue,” said McShea. She elaborated by saying that shutting down off-campus parties could lead to increased feelings of isolation among individual students and growing exclusivity among student groups, on top of general boredom. She cited the Block Plan itself as making community and social connection disproportionately difficult, and that these limitations would be exacerbated by strictness surrounding off-campus parties.

Greenberg and Weissgold acknowledged the potential severity of this issue on general campus health and morale and agreed to take it on. They also acknowledged the

Continued on pg. 2

Continued on pg. 2

News

Sports & Active Life

Life

Opinion

10 Questions

Diving Into Wellness

Women’s Soccer Celebrates with a 1-0 home win against Colorado State University. Page 4

Downtown Zines The inaugural Pikes Peak Zine Fest draws crowds at the Penrose Library. Page 9

We the Cash Cows We deserve to be treated better at CC. Page 11

Perspectives on CC: The Catalyst chats with recent graduate and current paraprofessional Ysabel Trujillo ’19. Page 3

“I Feel Victorious” Renowned poet Dominique Christine performs at a spoken word event for Domestic Violence Awareness. Page 10

Rastall’s Sunday Brunch It is Church in a Godless Land.

Page 11

Susanna Penfield ’20 discusses intimate partner violence and oppression in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Page 2

Never Been to the Great Sand Dunes?

Tia Vierling ’22 will give you the push to go explore Colorado’s shifting sands. Page 6

Find us online at:

catalystnewspaper.com Facebook: /CatalystNews Twitter: /CatalystNews

The Catalyst

2

Diving into Wellness A recurring column exploring various statistics related to sexual wellness, mental health, and substance use at Colorado College, brought to you in collaboration with the Wellness Resource Center.

By SUSANNA PENFIELD

Domestic Violence Awareness Month October marks the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time dedicated to supporting and educating those affected by domestic and intimate partner violence, IPV, which refers to one partner’s use of power over another to control, harm, or intimidate. As a form of identity-based violence, IPV is informed by other systems of oppression, such as sexism and racism. Thus, it affects individuals of all identities and demographics and can manifest in many different forms.

Abusive relationships do not always appear abusive. Beyond the visible marks sometimes left by physical violence — which can include choking, biting, shoving, slapping, pulling hair, shoving, and more — power and control manifest in multiple ways that may be imperceptible to the outside viewer.

Language is central in discourses of abuse. Calling one’s partner harmful or offensive names, seeking to humiliate or intimidate them, keeping secrets from them, intentionally eliciting guilt, and threatening violence — regardless of whether or not the violence occurs — are all markers of an unhealthy relationship.

Social standing and markers of privilege are also used by many seeking control. Popularity, class, race, or disability are personal attributes often leveraged by one partner over another with the intent of manipulation. This can be seen in instances of economic exploitation, when one’s partner takes advantage of another’s relative wealth, or, conversely, refuses to allow them financial autonomy.

Technology also factors prominently in patterns of abuse. Unwanted text messages or phone calls, unsolicited nude photos or explicit language, and even shared passwords invade an individual’s sense of privacy and personal control.

IPV is cyclical, and often marked by isolation.

The abuser will attempt to limit their partner’s involvement with other people and the outside world, including friends and family. Perpetrators may minimize or deny the abuse, refusing to acknowledge the victim’s concerns or else blaming the victim for inciting violent behavior. Excuses for abuse, such as alcohol or drug use, stress, and jealousy, are scapegoats and indicators of toxicity in the relationship.

The spectrum of abuse is vast and encompasses many types of power: physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, financial, cultural, and spiritual, to name a few. This array can render IPV unrecognizable and sometimes seemingly inescapable.

This month, take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Wellness Resource Center to learn more about IPV. Currently, the “Consent at CC” poster competition is accepting submissions for 11” x 17” designs that express your experience with consent. These can be sent to mbass@coloradocollege.edu. On Oct. 23, the WRC will be partnering with the Butler Center for an LGBTQIA+ “Sex and Relationship” talk at 6:30 p.m. in McHugh Commons. Additionally, there will be a Dating After Abuse workshop on Oct. 28 in the WRC, from 3–4:30 p.m. for survivors and 5–6:30 p.m. for partners.

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF THE WELLNESS RESOURCE CENTER

•

News

•

October 11, 2019

CC Seeks to Increase Economic Diversity With New Prep Program Continued from page 1 who meet the requirements for the Pell Grant, which is a federal program aimed at low- and middle-income households. However, there is no solid income cut-off because the college does not want to exclude anyone who could be a good match for the program.

The scholars will arrive on campus this July as rising high school sophomores for three fully-funded weeks of academic activities. These will involve classes aimed at developing writing and quantitative reasoning skills and seminars that encourage critical thought. While there is an emphasis on academics, Amundson also highlighted programs that focus on financial management and navigating a campus. For the following

two summers, the scholars will return for similar experiences. In addition to the summer experience, coaching and advising will be available during the school year.

While the Stroud Scholar program doesn’t necessarily end in attendance at CC, Tiefenthaler’s dream is that, all “25 [scholars] will complete the program and enroll here.”

At a minimum, Amundson hopes the scholars will “have such a comfortable and good experience” that they will realize CC is a “viable” option for them, but also notes that attendance at any college would be considered a success for the program.

If Tiefenthaler’s dream is realized, scholars will spend four more years on campus with a “comprehensive financial aid package,” mirroring the

Questbridge scholar match which covers the direct costs of tuition — not including textbooks, travel, and personal items.

Given the possibilities offered to local students by this and similar programs, CC could see an uptick in instate students. With these programs in place,CC hopes to grow closer to its goal of enrolling 20% of Colorado residents, which Tiefenthaler believes will enhance the experience for all CC students.

“While CC is committed to enrolling a diverse student body from around the globe, [it’s] also a Colorado institution,” Tiefenthaler said. “CC wants to reaffirm [its] commitment to [the] state.”

Frontrunner Hickenlooper Notably Missing at Jam-Packed Senate Climate Forum at UCCS Continued from page 1 towns that banned fracking and as recently as last year, he opposed ballot measure 112, which would have put a moratorium on new fracking activity in Colorado.

Republican Senator Corey Gardner was also absent from the forum. For Wilkerson this is to be expected. “Every single candidate showed up except for the two who just so happen to have accepted oil and gas money in the past,” Wilkerson said.

Eight Democrats attended, including Andrew Romanoff, Alice Madden, Angela Williams, Trish Zornio, Stephany Rose Spaulding, Diana Bray, Lorena Garcia, and Michelle Ferrigno Warren. Unity Party candidates Joshua Rodriguez and Gary Swing were also in attendance.

The debate questions covered a vast spread of climate topics and started with the assumption that climate change is real and an urgent issue. All 10 candidates had answers for questions on land-use change, a just transition for workers, extinction crises, climate-induced migration, carbon sequestration, mass consumption, the role of indigenous peoples in combatting climate change, and cross-sector decarbonization.

Trish Zorino, self-described as “your friendly neighborhood scientist running for senate,” put climate change at the center of her campaign. She came prepared with a printed stack of detailed policies that campaign members dispersed among the crowd at the beginning of the forum. While most of the candidates were content to agree and add onto previously mentioned points, Zorino consistently fact checked.

Romanoff, former majority leader of the Colorado

House of Representatives, gave strong talking points. He led the race before Hickenlooper announced his candidacy. Romanoff brought President Donald Trump or the obstruction in Washington into every answer. In response to a question on deforestation, he began with, “Our current president has never met a tree he couldn’t chop or a regulation he couldn’t dismantle.”

Alice Madden, another former majority leader in the Colorado House of Representatives, focused on her time in the EPA under President Barack Obama. She was notably the only candidate on the stage who has experience in both state and federal government. She was the only candidate to acknowledge the importance of bi-partisanship, saying “we can’t just go into our corners and battle things out, we have to make strange bedfellows.”

Though there were differences in delivery and scope, all of the candidates onstage were united in their desire for more renewable energy, climate policy driven by justice, reforestation, and innovation in climate science.

A group of CC students, led by Brita MacKay '22, brought pledges to support the Green New Deal (GND) and the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge (NFFM) to the forum. By the end of the debate, seven candidates had signed the GND pledge and eight had signed the NFFM pledge. First-year CCSGA representative Joshua Luckey '23 asked two candidates to sign pledges.

“They were really approachable and very inclined to engage with us,” Luckey Saod, “not only as members of the Colorado Springs community but as grassroots activists as well.”

CCSGA Goes to Town(hall) Continued from page 1 difficulties confronting what appears to be a problem with no clear solution.

After McShea’s contributions, the town hall took a more routine turn, highlighting the recent work of CCSGA. After proudly plugging the technological strides CCSGA has recently made — including a website, reactivated Twitter, and “finsta” — Greenberg went on to mention the work CCSGA has done on campus signage.

The signs in question, serving as sentinels at every entrance point of campus, read “No Trespassing,” in a clear, red, bold lettering. Greenberg and CCSGA have been engaged in dialogue with President Jill Tiefenthaler since August in attempt to remove those signs.

Greenberg has also been occupied with some statewide collegiate diplomatic measures. CCSGA hopes to lead stu-

dents throughout the state in creating a coalition that will more effectively represent student interests politically. To spearhead these efforts, CCSGA wrote a constitution for the creation of such a coalition, which was ratified by eight other colleges. Their most recent intercollegiate meeting included participation from all eight colleges.

Other important work CCSGA has enacted includes recent voter registrations efforts during the course of New Student Orientation, when hundreds of incoming first-year students became registered voters. These efforts will continue through voter registration drives preceding upcoming state, city, and school board elections.

Weissgold and Greenberg expressed optimism for the upcoming event “Bring a Friend to CCSGA” on Oct. 27, where students will be encouraged to see what CCSGA is all about.

October 11, 2019

10 Questions with

•

News

•

3

The Catalyst

Ysabel Trujillo

Ysabel Truijillo ’19 is Wellness Resource Center Paraprofessional. We met in upstairs Worner to chat about her perspectives on Colorado College pre and post graduation, among other topics.

Her insights spoke not only to her role at CC, but also her understanding of place, space, and identity inside and outside the college. Trujillo’s office is located on the second floor of Worner in the Wellness Resource Center. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

INTERVIEW BY ABBY WILLIAMS & SUSANNA PENfiELD & PHOTO COURTESY OF YSABEL TRUJILLO

Abby Williams: So, you just graduated this spring — going back to the beginning, what initially drew you to CC? Ysabel Trujillo: That’s a good question. I got it a lot as an undergrad, and I feel like my answer every time has been financial aid, just being really honest. But, with a bit of perspective, now I think that one thing that really drew me in was the Block Plan and how the Block Plan was marketed to me, especially considering that in high school I really struggled with having all different classes and managing my energy. Time management was really tough for me. So, I thought if in college I could just do one thing at a time, that would solve a lot of the struggles I was facing. That wasn’t the case. The Block Plan is very different in practice than on paper, but I think that the spirit of the Block Plan is what drew me in, that creativity. I value creativity.

AW: What was one of your proudest accomplishments from your time as a student at CC? YT: I’m proud of a lot of things I did when I was a student.

I’m proud of the leadership roles I chose to take on and the ways that those roles allowed me to serve groups of people on campus, and in the community, who matter a lot to me — who feel my pain and make me feel seen and validated.

More specifically, being president of the Black Student Union and Black Women at CC was a really great opportunity to use resources that I was given and tasked with, distributing them as I saw fit, and just having that control and being able to exercise my creativity in programming and addressing needs. Even when it was tough, it was just a space to grow in — grow into community, grow into myself as a leader, as a woman, a black woman, an Afro-Chicana ... It was just a lot of time for growth, and that inherently means it was a challenging time too. So, I think cultivating that sense of resilience is one of my proudest accomplishments. It’s carrying me through, and I’m proud of that.

AW: What drew you to this position as Paraprofessional for the Wellness Resource Center?

YT: Well, I really needed a job. I have bills to pay, a lot of bills, and I’m supporting myself financially post grad so making money was pretty important, and I’m not going to sugarcoat that. I’m not trying to be funny or cheeky — I had financial needs and this job meets them, thankfully, and I’m very grateful for that. But that part aside, the work of the Wellness Resource Center — health promotion, violence prevention, education and awareness raising — those are things that are really important to me as well. I couldn’t really anticipate how I would fit in in the office, or how I would interact with the dynamic of the office broadly speaking, but I’ve been so pleasantly surprised and I just couldn’t be happier with where I work. I love my job. I love serving the folks I serve, and supporting the goals of my office doesn’t feel that different than doing the things that are important to me, which I think is a really special thing to be able to say in my first job out of college. Also, the fact that I am, as far as I know, the first person of color to work in my office is not lost on me either. I don’t feel any kind of pressure to do or say anything that’s not in line with what’s important to me or what I’m about, I’m just saying that being the first is special and I’m aware of that.

AW: Is there something in particular you want to accomplish during your year as Paraprofessional with the Wellness Resource Center? Or during your year here in general?

THE CATALYST

YT: I’m super duper passionate about the Glass House.

I love the Glass House; I love everything about the Glass House, everything it stands for. I actually recently, this weekend, went to a conference at Harvard called “Black in Design.” It’s hosted by the Harvard Graduate School of Design African American Student Union and they basically created this space to discuss specifically Afro-Futurism — this year’s theme — but it was a space for black architects, city planners, designers broadly defined, artists, creative content marketer, all that. For all those folks to come together, I just felt so seen and validated in a way I don’t hear about on campus every day. It was even more jarring because coming back from the conference, the key witness was murdered in the Jean murder case. He was shot in the mouth by the Dallas police department – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Leaving this very insular, futurist space of the Black in Design conference and being confronted with these very real realities of violence and harm was really jarring. So, going back to what I see myself accomplishing, I’m really becoming more aware of what it means to live in this space where I’m being intellectually challenged and stimulated in all these great and amazing ways, but I live with the perpetual threat of police violence, of interpersonal violence, identity based violence. What does that do to a person? Not even what does that do to a person, because there are folks asking those questions and that’s not me. I’m interested in what that person needs in order to feel, in order to increase their capacity to be resilient and be their full authentic self in the face of that — of that tension, in that interstitial space. I think one of those ways is home-making, right? Where do we go home, who are we when we’re at home, that’s always been a really important question to me. I actually just came from my house. I go home for lunch a lot because it makes me feel safe and I love it. So yeah, I’m interested in how I can support and facilitate the well being of students in the Glass House.

AW: What’s been the most difficult part about transitioning from the Block Plan to a 9-to-5 job?

YT: Transition time is so funny, it doesn’t end after the summer you graduate. I think I had some pretty interesting but wrong expectations about the time boundaries of the transition. Because that’s the thing about the Block Plan for me: it perverts your sense of time — and the passage of time, and what one person can actually do — what people can actually do, in a given time span. So, with that in mind, I’ve definitely had to confront my feelings about time and productivity and output, combined with feelings of imposter syndrome and maybe just general lack of experience with even a 9-to-5 kind of position — that’s nothing I knew about until now. But with that being said, what’s really gotten me through is the reminder that I don’t have to solve the problems I have or answer the questions I have on my own. Leaning on my supervisor, Heather, my friends, my co-workers, Twitter, they all really get me though.

AW: How does life in Colorado Springs differ as a graduate?

YT: Honestly — it differs for sure because I’m a different person, but the things I’m up to, the spots you’ll catch me at on the weekend, aren’t that different from what I was doing as a student because it was important to me to get to know the place in which I live. I honestly never identified with that whole “CC bubble” thing. That wasn’t part of my story here. I think that because it wasn’t, I was able to see a life for myself here in a way that maybe some of my peers weren’t. During my undergrad, I had a life out of CC and

Letters and inquiries: catalyst@coloradocollege.edu Advertising: ads.catalyst@gmail.com The Catalyst 1028 Weber St. Colorado Springs, CO 80946

The Catalyst is a weekly newspaper produced and managed exclusively by students of The Colorado College. Published for the benefit of the college community and the surrounding local area, the Catalyst aims to bring general interest and Fax: 719.389.6962 academic-oriented news, ideas, and opinions into greater collective view. The newspaper is published under Cutler Publi- Comptroller • Karen West cations, independent of The Colorado College.

Legal Consultation provided by The Student Press Law Center

so therefore, when I graduated, I was able to turn the life that I kind of already had into a way more robust life that I now love.

AW: How do you personally enact self-care?

YT: I limit my interactions. I’m very forceful about my boundaries. I don’t really do things that I don’t want to do.

I don’t really let other people’s perceptions of me change how I feel about myself. That’s really broad, those are all really broad things, but honestly, being a black woman at Colorado College, there are just so many experiences that invalidate all those things I just listed, on a micro to macro scale. So, part of my self care post grad, and even as I transitioned out of CC, was just addressing those things, addressing those narratives about who I am, what I’m capable of, addressing those things head on and just being like, actually, that’s not true. Actually, you should reject that. Actually, that’s a lie — that’s something someone is telling you in order to have power over you. So, you know, Auntie Maxine Waters said it’s been about reclaiming my time, reclaiming what’s been implicitly and explicitly told to me about what I’m worthy of. That looks like a lot of different things, but overall those are my goals and objectives when it comes to self care.

AW: Are there new hobbies or interests you’ve picked up since graduating?

YT: I don’t think so, honestly. I’ve returned to reading, reading for pleasure, dancing — I make time to dance as often as I can — talking to my friends on the phone ...

Honestly, no. Nothing, new. I’m listing all these things and nothing’s new, they’re just things I have time for now that I’m not being subdued by the Block Plan.

AW: Who is your hero, if you have one, or who is someone you look up to?

YT: The first person who popped in my head was Megan Thee Stallion. She is a female rapper, popping in every way.

But I think more broadly, I am really drawn to black women who are unapologetic in who they are and what they’re into and what they’re about, who are joyful and funny. So, I’m thinking about really any black woman on campus, all black women on Colorado College’s campus. Those are my heroes. That’s kind of sappy, but I’m of the belief that if they don’t uplift each other, other people won’t.

AW: What general advice do you have for students at CC, academically and/or socially?

YT: Don’t be racist. If you’re rich, give your money away.

Trust black women.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EDITORIAL STAFF

Editors In-Chief • Miriam Brown • Arielle Gordon Managing & Copy Editor • Anna Feldman Presentation Director • Alex Jennings COO • Natalie Gubbay Chief Photo Editor • Daniel Sarché Advertising Manager • Patil Khakhamian

News Editor • Abby Williams Sports Editor • Anna Marcus Active Life Editor • Lucy Feldman Life Editor • Heather Rolph Opinion Editor • Sam Pfeifer Online Editor • Ben Seitz-Sitek

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

Alex Jennings • Bibi Powers • Patil Khakhamian • Elise Chassman

Sports

4 The Catalyst

October 11. 2019

Tigers Split Weekend but Celebrate Seniors in Style

By Hayden Cogswell

Photo by Bibi Powers The Colorado College women’s soccer team celebrated senior night against Colorado State University Friday Oct. 4, playing under the newly installed lights of Stewart Field.

A tight affair overall, the Tigers broke through in the 27th minute when forward Jacqui Hand ’22 finished off a flowing move. Forward Catie McDonald ’20 got things going when she played forward Kiley Suter ’22 through on the right side of the 18-yard box, and it was her whipped-in cross that was finished off by Hand on the far side.

The Tigers remained defensively ignited for the remainder of the match to preserve a clean sheet and get a crucial 1–0 win in pursuit of their goal of a Mountain West championship.

“This team is a family, and that’s how we performed this weekend,” midfielder Coley Lyubenko ’21 said.

“Jaqui scored a beautiful goal, Abby [Opperman ’23] had some tremendous saves for us, and our back line have been absolutely solid this season and Friday was no exception.”

Opperman stopped all seven of the Ram’s shots on target on Friday, including a spectacular stop on a penalty kick in the 74th minute.

The Tigers had extra motivation for putting up such a convincing win, as their six seniors were honored post-game.

“It was evident on Friday night just how much this senior class means to all of us,” Lyubenko said. “They have been a major role in making this program as strong as it has been this fall, and they are excellent leaders, teammates, and just people.”

Sunday brought a tough challenge for the team as they took on the University of Wyoming

Cowgirls, a team that they have not beaten in years.

“Wyoming has always been a tough team for us,” forward Lucia Costanza ’20 said. “We haven’t beaten them in my four years and we really wanted a result against them.”

Unfortunately, CC’s tough luck against Wyoming continued, but the game proved to be a thrilling match. The Tigers got the scoring going in the fourth minute when forward Abby Hubbard ’22 curled in a beautiful effort from the top left corner of the 18-yard box. Wyoming clawed a goal back before a cross from midfielder Jenna Wilt ’21 was finished off by defender Toni Tsamasfyros ’22 several yards out.

Just a few minutes later, however, the Cowgirls equalized to tie the game at 2–2. The Tigers continued to push, searching for a decisive winner, when a cross into their box hit the hand of Hand with 40 seconds remaining. Wyoming converted the resulting penalty kick to complete a heartbreaking 3–2 loss for CC in the dying moments of the game.

Despite the tough loss, the team remains optimistic about the rest of the season.

“We’ve been having such a good team culture this year, everyone gets along super well, and we push each other while giving each other support a lot,” Costanza said. “We’ve created an atmosphere where everyone is super competitive and it’s really fun to be a part of. Everyone is still in it together and we are looking to sweep a weekend away, that would be huge for us.”

The women travel to Nevada this weekend to face Mountain West opponents University of Nevada and UNLV.

Photos by Alli Moon

Photos by Alli Moon

Men’s Ultimate Frisbee: Wasabi Brings the Spice

By Charlie Lynch One of the most prolific and long-tenured club teams at Colorado College has been Wasabi, the ultimate frisbee team.

Wasabi was founded in 1987 and since then has traveled everywhere from California to Illinois to Michigan, competing in regional and national tournaments. The team has had success in the past and is hoping to further that dominance after a rough finish to last year’s season.

“After a season where the Regionals Tournament in Tulsa left a bitter taste in our mouths, Wasabi is looking to not only capture a bid to Nationals this year, but to win the region outright,” Silas Howe ’22 said. “The combination of our stellar returners and strong freshman class makes that goal not only within reach, but very possible.”

It was a brutal end to a wonderful season, with the team hoping to have made a larger impact with the young and old talent on the team; however, the team looks ever onward despite the loss last year.

“Wasabi is looking to not only capture a bid to Nationals this year, but to win the region outright.”

As the sophomore class seeks to help the leadership of the 2019–20 upperclassmen, another strong class of first-years are filling the ranks of Wasabi, building on the amazing effort that was made last year to get to nationals.

“The first year class this year are a great addition and have been filling many roles already this season,” Josh Felton ’22 said.

Felton is excited for this upcoming class as it helps to fill the vacant spots of the eight graduating seniors and who he hopes will further the goal of reaching the national tournament.

“Our first tournament is a one day warm up called Rookie Nookie in Fort Collins this Sunday which will be great to start playing again,” Felton said. “I am mad stoked to see us build on what we worked on last year.”

Wasbi will open their season at the Rookie Nookie in Fort Collins, Colo. Oct. 13.

The Catalyst

Sports

•

•

5

October 11, 2019

Coming Off a Strong Showing at Pre-National Meet, Cross Country Eyes Strong Finish to the Season

By Miles Montgomery This past weekend, both Colorado College men’s and women’s cross-country teams traveled to Kentucky to compete in the Division III Pre-National Meet in Louisville.

The men finished 18 out of 40 total teams in the 8K, paced by Tony Calderon ’20 who finished 14th place out of 276 runners. Calderon, whose time of 24:49.06 was a personal record, was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Runner of the Week for his efforts.

“Our returning class trained hard over the summer, and we had a group of runners at altitude for most of those months too — that strength has definitely carried on into the early part of our season,” Paul Olsen ’21 said.

“In addition to our upperclassmen, we have a motivated group of first-years that are excited to contribute to the team and our goal of reclaiming the conference title

from Trinity University.”

The women placed 25th, and were paced by Lucy Wagner ’22, who ran a 22.30.08 5K. Unfortunately, due to a course error with the gate that resulted in some runners following the wrong course path, the times were calculated based on the last split that was recording at the 3.9K mark. Despite the course fiasco, both teams emerged from the race feeling confident about the rest of the season, specifically looking forward to the conference tournament.

“It went very well,” Claire Tobin ’20 said. “We brought our top eight girls to run at preliminary Nationals, and we have a really great pack. The difference between the first runner and the eighth is under a minute, which is amazing. It is really unique to have such a tight group.”

The women’s team is hoping to build on the success

they had at the regional meet, and to build positive momentum as the 2019 SCAC tournament approaches quickly. The tournament will take place only 20 minutes down the road in Widefield, Colo., giving an advantage to CC’s runners who train at altitude all year long.

The men’s team also has its eyes on a successful showing at the conference tournament.

Olsen feels the team has prepared well for success this season and emphasized the excitement that comes with hosting the conference tournament.

“Winning conference on home turf is definitely a huge priority for our team this year,” Olsen said. “Being at altitude is absolutely an advantage to our team whether we’re competing at sea level or at elevation. We’re excited about how strong this team is and are looking forward to hosting the rest of the SCAC.”

Photo Courtesy of Catalyst Archives

HOMECOMING WEEKEND SPORTS Volleyball

Swim & Dive

vs Illinois College, Friday, 3 p.m., Reid Arena

vs Colorado School of Mines and Truman State, Saturday, All day, Schlessman Natatorium

vs Randolph–Macon College, Friday, 7 p.m., Reid Arena vs DePauw University, Saturday, 2 p.m., Reid Arena

vs Southwestern University, Sunday, All day, Schlessman Natatorium

Men’s Soccer

Frisbee

vs Southwestern University, Friday, 4 p.m., Stewart Field

at Rookie Nookie Tournament, Fort Collins, Colo.

vs Texas Lutheran University, Sunday, 12 p.m., Stewart Field

Men’s Club Soccer

Women’s Soccer

vs University of Colorado at Boulder, Saturday, 12 p.m., Washburn Field

at University of Nevada, Friday, 7:30 p.m., Reno, Nev. at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Sunday, 12 p.m., Las Vegas

Rugby

Men’s Cross Country

Cutthroat: vs University of Denver, Friday, 6 p.m., Washburn Field

at Fort Hays State Tiger Open, Saturday, All day, Hays, Kan.

Men’s: vs Colorado School of Mines, Friday, 8 p.m., Washburn Field

Women’s Cross Country at Fort Hays State Tiger Open, Saturday, All day, Hays, Kan.

6 The Catalyst

Active Life

October 11, 2019

The Great Ski Debate

By Claire Barber Last block, I spent time tabling for FUCC, more politely known as the Freeriders Union at Colorado College. As I sat in the middle of Worner Center collecting email addresses, I became sad and disappointed to realize a lot of my ski friends would be on a different pass — and, thus, unable to hit the slopes with me.

The “Epic or Ikon?” conversation is probably one of the most heated debates of this year's ski season. With Arapahoe Basin leaving Epic for Ikon, students have been split on which pass to buy.

“This year, for pretty much the first time, FUCC is seeing a split where a significant number of members of the CC snowsports community have either an Epic Pass or an Ikon Pass,” Amy Raymond, a FUCC co-chair, said.

Last year, it seemed that a large contingent of resort skiers or boarders at CC got some iteration of the Epic Pass. Many opted for the Epic Local Pass (with the college student discount). The pass gave students unlimited access to resorts in the Summit County Region, including Breckenridge, Keystone, and Arapahoe-Basin, with limited days nearby at Vail and Beaver Creek. The pass also gives access to Crested Butte: the traditional location of the campus-wide ski party “Winter Fest” in the Spring. Many who didn’t buy Epic passes bought specific season passes for resorts, but the Ikon Pass was not a widely popular choice.

This year, a fan favorite, A-Basin, left the Epic Pass and joined Ikon. The Ikon College Base Pass is cheaper than the Epic Pass, coming at $400 through an allaccess FUCC group link. It gives riders five days at ABasin and unlimited days at Copper Mountain, along

with many other resorts across the region.

The pass conundrum presents a challenge to FUCC. According to Raymond, the club is attempting to organize the FUCC bus (a cheap, five-dollar charter bus that goes out to popular ski areas on Saturdays) to visit both Ikon and Epic mountains proportionally. Additionally, FUCC will be starting a rideshare page specifically for getting rides to resorts in order to keep FUCC resources available to everyone, no matter their pass status.

All in all, Raymond stressed that “probably the biggest impact this pass divide has on FUCC — and the ski and snowboard community as a whole — is whether or not you can ski with your friends. There's no overlap between mountains on each pass, so if you and your friend have different passes, it's very difficult to ski or ride together without someone buying a day pass, which is always hard to justify seeing as season passes are already so expensive.”

So, the question has become: Epic or Ikon? Some students are getting an iteration of the Epic Pass and adding a five-day A-Basin pass for another $200. Some are saying goodbye to A-Basin for the season, while others are getting a single resort pass. The best choice? Well, that’s tricky.

While the upfront costs of conglomerate passes seem exorbitant, if you’re skiing most weekends, the price you pay per day is pretty low.

But, if you’re a novice skier or snowboarder who is looking to bomb around just a little bit, day passes can be upwards of $200, plus gear, plus gas, and plus the leap of learning how to ski or snowboard. Overall, it’s a lot.

Corporate ski culture has put the industry at a crossroads. It can be prohibitively expensive for the beginner skiers that resorts are seeking, but gives unprecedented access to ski bums looking to explore around the world.

“At the end of the day, the most important part of skiing is having fun — even more so, having fun with your friends! It's so cheesy, but so true,” Raymond said. “As the multi-mountain super-passes each grow in popularity and day passes to individual resorts become more expensive, it becomes increasingly difficult to accomplish this very simple goal of skiing. Even more so, it continues to exclude those already under-represented in snowsports, such as people of color.

And while CC has strived to make skiing or snowboarding more accessible through deeply discounted ORC trips and CCOE resort trainings, ultimately the issue lies deeply in the barriers that stem across the outdoor community — specifically, ski culture is predominantly white and wealthy.

So, while the “Epic or Ikon?” question remains, a much larger imperative looms: to make skiing and snowboarding a community, not hoards of passholders or novices. It requires far more than what can be explored in a short article — it requires change of systemic practices of racism and disenfranchisement, which create disparities in who is given access to the mountains. The outdoors is a microcosm of class and racial divide in the United States, and the corporate pass culture is a ref lection of such values.

Are We Dune Yet? The History of Colorado’s Shifting Sands

By Tia Vierling I struggled up the dune in bare feet, sand stinging my skin as it whipped about me in the wind. My companions and I crested the top of the dune we were climbing and looked up at the towering mass of sand left to ascend.

We were not in the Sahara or the Mojave; we took the “challenge by choice” theory to heart and decided to climb to the very top of the highest sand dune in Colorado College’s own backyard. We were in Great Sand Dunes National Park — an hour away from the Baca campus — and we were loving it.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, cradled at the edge of the San Luis Valley, is a sight to behold. Home to what the National Parks Service identifies as “the tallest dunes in North America,” the park is surreal.

How did something so massive and so visually divorced from its surroundings ever come to be?

The answer lies in the geologic history of the area and the dunes themselves. According to the NPS, geologists estimate that an enormous lake, christened “Lake Alamosa,” once covered almost all of the San Luis Valley. When Lake Alamosa and the surrounding smaller bodies of water dried up, the sand left over was swept toward the East.

Caught between winds pushing in opposite directions, the sand rose into dunes rather than being swept all the way toward or away from the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

Reaching over 700 feet tall, the size of the dunes can be intimidating. However, this doesn’t stop intrepid climbers or sightseers like us from striking out on the sand.

My friends and I had no water and decided not to put our shoes back on after sloshing through a shallow stream at the edges of the dunes, but we were not deterred from attempting to “summit” the sand and neither were the myriads of children and adults sand sledding down the steepest of the hills.

The history of the site, like that of many national parks, is fraught with American

PHOTOS BY ALLI MOON

imperialism. The Jicarilla, Apache, Navajo, and Ute peoples are only a few of the indigenous groups separately connected to the Great Sand Dunes. Their claim to and shared past with the land must be recognized when considering the dunes in the context of U.S. history.

Indeed, NPS notes that “modern American Indian tribes were familiar with the area… about 400 years ago,” leaving open the likelihood that native peoples have had a much longer connection with the location — albeit one unrecognized by colonialists at the time. Before being recognized as a place with national significance, the dunes were the site of everything from Spanish exploration to military patrols to a failed mining attempt in 1932.

President Herbet Hoover was the first to recognize the Great Sand Dunes as a national monument in 1932, the same year the Volcanic Mining Company tried to pull gold from the sand. In 2004, the United States government recognized the value of the area in an entirely different respect, elevating the dunes into both a National Park and Preserve. The Great Sand Dunes have retained that recognition ever since.

The cultural history of the place was not evident when my friends and I clambered up the last of the sandy slopes and reached the top of the highest dune, lungs protesting and faces stinging from the wrath of the particulates. But while we didn’t know the nature of the geologic, historical, and cultural bones that the dunes were supported by, we still felt a deep sense of connection.

We watched a lightning storm from miles away. We trekked down the spine of the highest dune to reach the very end of it, looking out over the expanse of sand we hadn’t yet crossed and back at the downhill path we would follow to return to the parking lot.

The dunes were unforgettable.

October 11, 2019

•

Active Life

•

7

The Catalyst

Sleep Helps Your Mind Recharge

By Sydney Janssen Sleep is important, but we often do not realize its many benefits. Without adequate sleep, our mind and body don’t work optimally, but, sleep is important for the brain for countless other reasons as well.

According to The Healthy and Sleep.org, beyond restoring energy, some of the main jobs of the brain during sleep are removing waste, helping with memory, solidifying information for physical work, decision making, creativity, and more.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, cerebral spinal fluid is created in the brain and circulates throughout our bodies, removing toxic substances including drugs, debris, bacteria, viruses, and more. This process of waste removal is activated during sleep and allows for waste to be cleaned out. Without this process, the waste would pile up and lead to many other health problems.

Sleep helps our brains create and consolidate memories. When we sleep, the brain helps move information from our short-term memory to our long-term memory. Not only does this process help us learn information better, but it also improves our ability to learn while we are awake.

In addition to helping solidify memories, sleep allows our brains to solidify information for physical tasks. Sleep makes it possible to embed these tasks into our brains, making maneuvers become automatic instead of something we have to think about.

Sleep also helps with decision-making and creativity. While we sleep, our brains process issues, so when we wake up, it is much easier to make decisions. Our brains also make associations between different pieces of information that we would not make the connections between while awake, enhancing our creative ability.

In order to retain all of these benefits, seven to nine hours of sleep each night is recommended. Almost all college students know that not getting enough sleep can have noticeable consequences, such as not being able to think or work at our best capacity and feeling tired throughout the day.

However, according to HealthGuide, if you have gotten the recommended amount of sleep, it is still possible to feel tired due to a lack of quality sleep. And, unfortunately, inadequate sleep during the week cannot be made up for on the weekend by sleeping in on Saturday and Sunday.

While it is challenging for college students to get sufficient sleep, there are many methods that can improve quality of sleep. Healthline explains that some of the best ways of doing this are by spending more time outside, reducing the amount of blue light at night,

and avoiding caffeine in the evenings.

Another way to improve sleep quality is to increase the amount of bright light you are exposed to during the day. This works because our bodies have an internal clock, which helps us stay awake and lets us know when it is time to sleep.

An obvious way to improve sleep quality is to avoid drinking caffeine later in the day. It is recommended to stop consuming caffeine at least six to eight hours before bed because caffeine can remain elevated in blood.

Our brains are hard at work while we are sleeping — removing toxic substances, creating and consolidating memories as well as information for physical tasks, helping us with decision making and creativity, and more. While it is difficult for college students to get adequate sleep each night, there are ways we can get a better quality of sleep.

ILLUSTRATION BY GRACE NEDELMAN

The Best Meatless Products on the Market

By Ally Bourelly “If you are vegan/vegetarian, then what do you eat?” This is a question most vegans/vegetarians can relate to. The truth is, just because I cut out a few animal products from my diet does not mean I still can’t eat like everyone else.

I still binge on most of the foods I used to eat before I decided to switch to a vegetarian diet — I love pasta, smoothies, french fries, and pizza. But I’ll admit there are times when I get jealous of my friends’ consumption of meat. After a long night out, for example, they often order chicken nuggets and Quarter Pounders, and I’m stuck in the corner eating french fries.

As I’ve continued my vegetarian diet, I have found so many delicious animal product alternatives that not only taste like the real thing, but make me feel good about my choice to maintain my vegetarian diet.

1. Chickenless Crispy Tenders (Trader Joe’s) These vegan chicken tenders are the best. I’ve made almost all my friends try them without telling them they’re vegan, and they are genuinely surprised. These nuggets taste and feel just like regular chicken tenders and have been my newest obsession for the past couple of weeks 2. Beyond Meat (King Soopers) I have been an outspoken dissenter of alternative ground beef because it never tastes even remotely close to the real thing. Beyond Meat, however, tastes just like real ground beef. It bleeds and cooks just like real beef, and you can shape it into any form you want since it sticks together just like ground beef. You can make hamburgers, meat sauce, tacos, and more with Beyond Meat.

3. Cauliflower Tempura (Trader Joe’s) This stuff is so delicious, especially if you pan fry it. I don’t care for cauliflower in any aspect, but something about it being deep fried and saucy makes it taste so good.

The sauce Trader Joe’s provides with it is also tasty. And it’s super easy to make.

4. 365 Plant-Based Cheddar Cheese (Whole Foods) Similar to my stance on ground beef alternatives, I was vehemently opposed to eating cheese alternatives before I found 365 Plant-Based Cheddar Cheese. Most cheese alternatives taste synthetic, in my opinion. 356 Plant-based Cheddar Cheese, however, is different. It tastes and feels exactly like cheddar cheese.

5. 365 Almond Milk Ice Cream (King Soopers and Whole Foods) One day last block I decided to try vegan ice cream, and

PHOTO BY DANIEL DE KONING

now I’m hooked. It looks and feels just like normal ice cream. My personal favorite flavor is Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Swirl. Try it — I promise you won’t regret it.

Try these alternatives both to improve your health and make a statement against animal agriculture. Animal agriculture is one of the major causes of global warming because of deforestation for beef cultivation and CO2 and

methane emissions. To put it in perspective, eating half a pound of beef is like driving 9.81 miles in your car.

I didn’t write this article to guilt you into switching your lifestyle. I wrote it because I truly believe that there are some alternative animal products out there that are just as good as the real thing. I urge you to try my five favorite alternatives if you are looking for a way to be kind to our earth and to our animals.

8

Life

The Catalyst

October 11, 2019

A Nuanced Supervillain Origin Story: A Movie Review of "Joker"

By Joseph Ha

ILLUSTRATION BY JUBILEE HERNANDEZ

It’s a bit difficult to summarize “Joker” (2019). The plot has so many aspects and twists to cover that a summary could drag on for pages. Fortunately, if you’ve read Alan Moore’s “The Killing Joke” (the 1988 DC Comics graphic novel that gives the origin story of the Joker villain), you’ve got about half of the story and themes of Todd Phillip’s “Joker.” Basically, aspiring stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) fails at being funny, struggles to make ends meet, and eventually becomes the notorious criminal named Joker.

On the other hand, there are major deviations that distinguish “Joker” from “The Killing Joke.” Unlike Moore’s anonymous pre-Joker character, Phillip’s Joker has a name, and instead of a pregnant wife, he lives with single mother Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy). Additionally, Phoenix’s Joker suffers from mental illness—the most notable being his pathological laughter—and in addition to pursuing stand-up, works a day job as a clown.

Some other key deviations include the ambiguous subplot of whether the Joker is actually the illegitimate son of Batman’s father, Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), or just the adopted son of Penny. Finally, Arthur’s self-defense killing of three Wayne Enterprise businessmen inspires riots against Gotham’s elite, moving the film into a realm of social commentary unusual for superhero movies. In fact,

“Joker” even has critics worried that the morally ambiguous character of the Joker may inspire similarly awkward and unvalidated moviegoers to embrace the Joker’s message of violence as a route to societal acceptance.

I’m a firm believer that any story involving clowns can be framed in the same structure as a joke. In order for the movie to be effective, both the setup and the punchline have to be effective. Within the Joker franchise, it’s seemed that any cinematic portrayal of the Joker is a great joke only if it’s not bound by one setup.

One reason for the appeal of Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight” (2008) is that his origins don’t affect his characterization. We don’t need to know how Ledger’s Joker got his scars; the scars themselves are already terrifying like the man who has them.

That’s why, for me, Jack Nicholson’s Joker in Tim Burton’s “Batman” (1989) was a bit of a bad joke: Nicholson’s concrete origins as the killer of Batman’s parents simplifies his relationship with the Dark Knight to a soap operalike conflict in the veins of Inigo Montoya, from "The Princess Bride." One could almost expect Michael Keaton’s Batman to say to Nicholson’s Joker, in a Montoya-esque fashion, “Hello. My name is Batman. You killed my parents. Prepare to die.”

In the newest "Joker" film, Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is

unique in that he works with both multiple setups and multiple punchlines. Of course, this is in some ways expected, since “Joker” is meant to be an origin story. But due to the ambiguity around the Joker’s entire character arc, it’s better to label “Joker” as a character study, since it’s more about Phoenix’s reaction to his environment and situation that defines his Joker. It’s literally a choose-yourown-adventure with Phoenix’s Joker, where one possible origin can lead to another possible outcome and interpretation.

If it is true that Phoenix’s Joker is the illegitimate son of Thomas Wayne, then his later fight with Batman is basically a family conflict. On the other hand, if he is really just Penny’s adopted son, then his fight against Batman is one of class conflict—a disenfranchised man who’s been ignored by society versus a privileged boy who may be unaware of his father’s sins.

For these reasons, “Joker” is a much more complicated film than its predecessors, and Phoenix’s mesmerizing, nuanced performance as the Joker has been hailed as Oscar-worthy. “Joker” is meant as a stand-alone film, but if it ever does have a sequel, my only hope is that it will continue giving multiple setups and punchlines to keep us viewers alert.

Making the Classics Relevant

By Abbey Russell This past Thursday, a group of Colorado College Classics enthusiasts, including myself, went on the first Classics department cultural outing of the year: a trip to the Colorado Springs Ensemble Theatre to see “By the Bog of Cats.” In this play, Irish playwright Marina Carr cleverly transports the Ancient Greek myth, “Medea,” to the modern-day Irish midlands. Further, the SET Theatre decided to uniquely stage this show as a Theatre in the Round, a theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage.

Clayton Schroer, the new Classics Department Cultural Program Coordinator (CPC) planned the event. For him, the purpose of such outings is to encourage participation and excitement surrounding the Classics department.

“There are really so many elements of the classical world which impact our daily lives … It’s in a lot of the languages

we speak, the art and media we are audience to, the rhetoric we hear,” Schroer said. “I think it’s my job to take the student enthusiasm that is already there and amplify it.”

So far, Schroer seems to be achieving this goal.

“Thursday night’s play was really cool!” said Bryn Aprill ’23.

After Thursday night, she said that she “definitely wants to go on more classics outings,” and is even considering a Classics major.

Unlike CPCs for other departments such as Spanish or other languages, the Classics department does not have a particular language house or club. Drawing from his past experience, Schroer noted that there was an established Classics club at the three previous colleges he worked at before coming to CC, all of which offered fun opportuni-

ties for students to engage in the Classics. But, he said, such things really depend on a “core group of engaged students who make it happen.”

Based on Thursday night’s laughter-filled outing, however, I think it’s safe to say that the Classics department does, in fact, have what it takes to make this possible. The Classics aren’t the ancient art they’re commonly thought to be, as students who went on the Cultural Outing noted.

It’s just a matter of getting the ball rolling.

“I want students to know that the classics are fun and engaging here at CC,” Schroer said. “I also want them to know that the classical world — and especially our department — is for them; too often Latin and Greek get pigeonholed into these languages only philosophers, poets, and old whitebeards use.”

October 11, 2019

•

Life

•

The Catalyst

9

Celebrating the Art of the Zine in Downtown Colorado Springs

By Isobel Steenrod and Heather Rolph Sometimes art can be found in the most unlikely of places. This past Saturday, the Knights of Columbus Hall—part of the Penrose Library in downtown Colorado Springs—was filled with crowds of people and tables covered in brightly colored and inventively designed booklets. Finding the hall, however, entailed weaving through cars in the back parking lot of the library and following small signs and the murmur of voices up several flights of stairs in the dimly lit, offputtingly industrial building in which the gathering was housed.

Once there, it was easy to step into the welcoming atmosphere of the inaugural Pikes Peak Zine Fest, an event created as a way for artists to meet, collaborate, and share their love for zines. Set up like an art fair, each artist had a table and the opportunity to sell their zines and collaborate with other artists. Though a lot of the artists featured were local, people traveled from as far as Kansas City to be a part of the event. It featured over 40 artists, including Colorado College student Amy Raymond ’21. Raymond became interested in zines after she took printing and bookmaking classes at CC. Another Colorado College student, Allie Gish ’20, who works with the Press at Colorado College, made posters for the Zine Fest that were displayed around campus and downtown.

Originally popularized within the realm of science fiction fandom in the 1940s, zines—pronounced zeens— draw their inspiration and name from magazines. However, they differ from their namesake in that they are independently produced, often with fewer than 100 copies in circulation, and are considered a prime example of D.I.Y. culture. Like all art, topics and form vary greatly, but most zines are created to be shared. They can range in complexity from a folded piece of paper with text and illustrations to a multi-media bound book.

For example, one of the zines at this fest had no words or pictures. Instead, it was a sewn cloth book with pages of differently textured and hued pink fabric. Another artist at the event, Daykota Jaymes, made his zines interactive by using 3-D blue and red lensed glasses to bring his art to life. Zines can even be educational, like one made as a way to distribute information about the Pikes Peak Library District.

Event organizers Jennifer Eltringham and Kelsey Choo sat behind a table at the front of the room wearing bright purple witch hats, greeting newcomers to the fest.

“We had a much higher turnout than expected,” said Eltringham and Choo. There was a steady stream of people throughout the day, and when the event ended at 5pm, there were still people arriving to check out the space.

Happy with the turnout and the interest visitors had in the zines on display, the organizers said the show was a great way to kick off fall. They hope for the Pikes Peak Zine Fest to become an annual event.

PHOTOS BY BIBI POWERS

Story Time With Georgia

By Georgia GRelleir Welcome back to Story Time with Georgia, where I relay weird stories from members of the CC community. Shoot me an email at g_grellier@coloradocollege.edu if you want to be Catalyst-column famous.

Who: Caroline ’ When:  or so What: Caroline ’20 was used to her mother openly fantasizing about her mother's high school ex-boyfriend. This ex-boyfriend, whom we shall refer to as Alex, was, according to Caroline, “all [her mom] talked about.” He was a class clown, seemed perfect, and was “the kind of guy who would dress up in a clown costume at an intersection and direct traffic at night

after the stop lights were out.” Swoon.

It’s worth mentioning that, although not openly affectionate toward one another, and despite Caroline’s mother’s lingering passion for her former lover, Caroline’s parents were and are happily married.

Weird, I know.

One day in early high school, her mother brought her to Fresh Market, a local bougie supermarket chain. Her mother doesn’t cook, but likes to have vegetables on hand for decoration, so they were brief ly separated while Caroline set out to find actual snacks. She quickly realized that she’d lost track of her mom, but could still hear her distinct cackle, and followed the sound up to the registers in the front of the store.

“My mom flirts with everyone,” Caroline told me, and this situation was no exception. She found her mother flirting with a plump man working one of the registers. When she approached the two, her mom introduced her to none other than Alex, the infamous yet perfect ex-boyfriend Caroline had heard so much about.

He greeted her with a weird “hi sweetie” before asking what had happened to her finger. Things did not get less strange from here: confused, Caroline extended her finger to show him that it was completely normal. In response, Alex proceeded to bite it. He literally opened his mouth and put his teeth on her finger “with a crazed look in his eyes.”

Needless to say, Caroline’s family has

since taken every story her mom tells about Alex with not a grain, but a jar, of salt. Although he clearly who does not understand social boundaries, her mom maintains that he was the best high school boyfriend ever, from which Caroline has perfected the dramatic eye-roll.

Takeaway: There’s nothing like meeting your mom’s high school ex-boyfriend to give you a greater appreciation for not having your fingers bitten by people you’ve just met, so shout out to Alex for making all of us more grateful for the non-finger biting acquaintances in our lives. Keep up the good work, everyone (except Alex, obviously).

10

The Catalyst

Life

•

•

October 11, 2019

Breaking the Silence: Poets Speak About Intimate Partner Violence at Recent Spoken Word Performance

BY HEATHER ROLPH

“How do you call it trauma when you asked for it?” said local poet Ashley Cornelius during a recent event on campus. “How do you explain a violation when it started with consent?”

PHOTOS BY JOE KEAT

engaging.”

To draw people to the event, the organizers booked several spoken-word poets, including

Accompanied by finger-snapping and murmurs of agreement from the audience, Cor-

Cornelius, SpeakEasy co-director Rayn Fox ’20, and SpeakEasy member Jacqueline Nkhon-

nelius—a member of the Colorado Springs group Poetry719 and Colorado’s Women of the

hera ’20. The main speaker at the event, however, was renowned poet Dominique Christina,

World Poetry Slam 2018 representative—performed two poems in Kathryn Mohrman The-

two-time winner of the Women of the World slam competition and a nationally-recognized

ater this Monday as the opening speaker for a spoken word performance organized by The

poet and performer.

Wellness Resource Center, Colorado College’s spoken word troupe SpeakEasy, and Poetry719 to encourage conversations around Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“Bring the lights up,” Christina said as she stepped onto the stage. “I bet you thought you could hide, huh?”

“Know that your voice will break the silence, and we are always here to listen,” Cornelius

Christina’s work draws on her family’s history in Civil Rights activism and her position

concluded her first piece, echoing the goal that organizers had in mind when planning the

as a woman of color who suffered traumatic sexual abuse as a child. Her spoken word per-

event.

formances are intense and often emotionally triggering. She does not hesitate to talk about

Spoken word is a way to “make people talk about something that’s not usually discussed,”

difficult subjects, and she brings her raw emotions and personal experience into her work.

said Montana Bass ’18, a health education paraprofessional at the Wellness Resource Center

“We think a hashtag is radical,” she said in an introduction to one of her pieces. “There

and one of the main organizers of the event. “It’s delivered in a package that’s interesting and

are certain acts of violence we don’t even pick our heads up for anymore because they’re

meaningful … [it’s] a good way to inspire emotions and an emotional response.”

normalized.”

Last year, the Wellness Resource Center put together a similar event, featuring celebrated poet and sexual assault prevention educator Olivia Gatwood. Based on its success, they ex-

But perhaps Christina’s most important message is one that she began her performance with: “I don’t feel like a victim at all. I feel victorious.”

panded the event this year, bringing together multiple on-campus and community groups

It’s a message that many of the performers before her conveyed through their poems, and

that work with identity-based violence, healing, and mental health for a pre-performance

an integral part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Healing from past trauma—and

reception. The goal was to provide opportunities for people to learn more about issues like

learning how to prevent it in the future—is a central mission for the WRC, and one that they

domestic violence and, more importantly, to help people prevent domestic violence in their

intend to emphasize in upcoming programming for the month, including the annual Con-

own and other’s lives.

sent at CC poster competition, an LGBTQIA+ sex ed. event, and a Dating After Abuse work-

opportunities P“There HOTOS are

BY B IBI POWERS to keep showing up,” Bass said. “I hope people find ways to keep

shop.

Job Feature Series:

Q&A with Athletic Marketing Intern Gaby Jadotte ’20

BY MARY NUSSBAUMER Welcome to the Job Feature Series, a weekly column high-

MN: WHAT DOES A TYPICAL SHIFT LOOK LIKE?

MN: WHAT IS YOUR STAFF LIKE?

lighting student workers around campus. If you work a little

GJ: If I’m working office hours, I file for my boss and or-

GJ: I don’t spend much time with them, but they are all very

known job on campus, have horror stories from a difficult

ganize stuff in her office. If I am working a men’s hockey

involved and great people from the experiences I have had

shift, or single-handedly keep the school running, contact

or women’s soccer game, I go two hours early to set up the

with them. My boss, Jess Bennet, is one of the most hard-

Mary at m_nussbaumer@ColoradoCollege.edu. Note that

tent, posters, schedule cards, and magnets. The only other

working people I know on campus. She does a lot for this

this interview has been edited for length and clarity.

duty we have once the game starts is running the halftime

school and loves CC.

show. The halftime show depends on the game. During Gaby Jadotte is a sophomore at Colorado College. She is a

hockey, they play a game called “chuck-a-puck,” where

MN: WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS JOB TO A FRIEND?

member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, plays on the

spectators will pay $1 to buy a fake puck and throw it down

GJ: 100 percent.

tennis team, works as a Residential Advisor (RA) in Loomis

to the rink. If they get it in a certain section, they can win

Hall, and is a member of the Prison Project club. Here, she

a gift card to a local business that is sponsoring the game.

MN: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE JOB?

shares her experience as an Athletics Marketing Intern.

Other halftime games include dance-offs and musical

GJ: I like interacting and meeting with new people when I

chairs to score a goal.

answer their questions at games.

ICS MARKETING INTERN?

MN: WHAT IS THE TIME COMMITMENT FOR THIS JOB?

MN: IS IT HARD TO BALANCE ALL OF YOUR INVOLVE-

GJ: I started working there in August of last year, so pretty

GJ: I often work Friday and Saturday nights for games from

MENTS?

much right when I came to campus my first year.

5 p.m. to 9 p.m., but it is mainly based on when my boss

GJ: Yes, but it’s definitely worth it. I have met great people

schedules me. The office hours are usually in shifts of two

that I never would have met otherwise through my jobs and

hours depending on what weeks my boss needs extra help.

clubs. I have been put in situations that have forced me to

MN: WHEN DID YOU START WORKING AS AN ATHLET-

MN: HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO APPLY FOR THIS JOB? GJ: I just saw it on the employment board and decided to apply because of my involvement with athletics on campus.

grow as an employee and learn a lot about my strengths.

The Catalyst

Opinion

11 October 11, 2019

We the Cash Cows

By Zhuang (Michael) Xu Australia Broadcast Company recently released a documentary titled “Cash Cows: Australian universities making billions out of international students.” The documentary attempts to shed light on the problem of universities in Australia that waive English and other academic requirements for international students. In response to the funding cuts for public Australian universities, universities are attempting to recruit more international students.

According to the documentary, numerous Australian professors voiced their unease with some international students’ questionable academic ethics (usually in the form of plagiarism). Australian students are also concerned with the English proficiency of some of their international peers. One student recalled his experience of working in a student group in which he was the only Australian and others were “from the same place, [and they] all [spoke] their native language to each other.” In 2017, an Australian professor stated his opinion on Chinese students in his class explicitly by writing, “I will not tolerate students who cheat” in English and Chinese on his PowerPoint, even though there were students from other countries present in the class.

Although the documentary calls the students in question “international students,” it is obvious that they are mostly Chinese and Indians. Australia is far from the only country that sees increasing percentages of Chinese and Indian students on its college campuses. For example, according to the Institute of International Education, the number of Chinese students studying in U.S. colleges rose from 81,127 to 363,341 between 2008 and 2016 — a 348% increase. The trend corresponds with a more than $7 billion cut in public funding for colleges in the U.S. from 2008 to 2017, as a report by Center on Budget and Policy Priority reveals.

Increasing enrollment of Chinese and Indian students serves the interests of U.S. universities. On the one hand, Chinese and Indian families that choose to send their children abroad can provide precious financial revenues to American universities. Furthermore, Chinese and Indian students make the campuses look more diverse and

therefore more appealing to liberal-minded students and parents.

However, as the documentary points out, such a practice leads to some severe conflicts between different groups.

International students can experience anxiety and culture shock. Chinese students specifically experience stereotyping. I can’t speak for Indian students’ experience, but I imagine it is somewhat similar. Commonly held stereotypes about Chinese students are: Chinese students only talk and hang out with other Chinese students; they are the most isolated group on campuses; and they are all rich and drive luxurious cars. These stereotypes even find their audience in China, where students studying abroad become the perfect punching bags on the internet for people to unleash their outrage about increasing economic inequality. The persistence of stereotypes forces Chinese students to further alienate themselves, and in this way, the stereotypes are reinforced.

The documentary pretends to care about the well-being of international students in Australian universities, but in reality, it is simply a more moderate and presentable version of “they are not sending their best, but some I assume are good people.” It portrays Chinese and Indian students as a monolithic group of incompetent cheaters who can’t speak English properly. I do not wish to dismiss the fact that some Chinese and Indian international students are from wealthy families and their academic performances can be less than satisfactory. However, to demonize them, while refusing to reflect on the reasons behind public higher education budget cuts and ignoring the fact that privileged white students have similar problems on college campuses, is utter hypocrisy.

The Catalyst readers will be naïve to think that these problems only occur in large public universities. Every year, most Chinese students paying full tuition in the upcoming class of Colorado College come to CC early to participate in the “Global Scholars Program” for a full block.

The logic behind the program is that some students must have the proper preparation for their CC careers, which is the only plausible explanation for the fact that the GSP is

mandatory only for some Chinese students. The underlying assumptions here are unsettling and outrageous, especially considering the fact that, as far as I know, participants have to pay for a full block of tuition and activity expenses, and the Office of Admission has never communicated its selection process.

The Chinese student body here at CC can also be stereotyped by both Americans and other international students as being isolated from the rest of the college community.

Most people do not realize that during GSP, Chinese students socialize only with each other. By the time the semester starts, their social circle is already saturated. The accusation of Chinese students’ collective social isolation in the context of CC is particularly hypocritical, as most people here also stay in their own comfortable, static social groups.

So here we are, being the cash cows for universities, yet subject to prejudices from students and professors. We are the products of the neoliberal world order, but somehow take the blame for the damage that it has caused — a common treatment for foreign workers or students in the U.S. — and people wonder why we do not unanimously accept the liberal values that are supposedly applicable everywhere in the universe. While we struggle to adjust to living in countries in which many of us have never set foot, our hosts have decided to overlook the socioeconomic (did I mention that not every Chinese student is rich?) and ideological differences among us.

We deserve better.

ILLUSTRATION BY JUBILEE HERNANDEZ

Sunday Brunch at Colorado College is Church in a Godless Land

By Hank Bedingfield The Rastall’s Sunday Brunch is a bastardized religious congregation.

Neither driven by hunger nor thirst, students from every corner of campus converge on Rastall Dining Hall in rhythmic, synchronized droves. Brunch-bound, they abandon the concrete sidewalks that snake across campus in favor of the quickest possible route, beating down grassy quads and forging trails in their wake.

I can’t help but stare, confused and terrified by their stumbling gaits and empty gazes.

They move like a pack of single-minded zombies from some science-fiction, apocalyptic hellscape. Almost always in groups of two or more, the CC students dare not be caught outside alone. I look away, with no shortage of mental exertion, troubled and paranoid — the drugs must be kicking in.

They don’t seek food or drink. If that were the point of the whole event, they’d starve — the food is mundane, bording inedible. Gigantic vats of “eggs” are hastily defrosted and slapped onto a stovetop with the sizzle of industrial machinery. The same goes for bacon, sausage, and the rest — though their conventional names are hardly applicable. The culinary industrial process flips and chops each item with oversized tools and absolute efficiency. Each cog is in incessant motion.

What the students are after is some devolved form of conversation. Some make the trek solely to socialize, planted like clingy sentinels in the doorway of the cafeteria, receiving wave after wave of students — and so-called friends — with an outstretched palm and worn-out one-liners. The only nourishment they seek from the day’s meal is an appreciation, laugh, or, at least, recognition from their equally famished peers. The scene itself is enough for my head to be rattled by the general desperation.

The whole production brings a sense of community largely unseen in the rest of campus life. Everyone needs to eat and everyone needs to socialize — what better opportunity to than brunch?

I join the assembly line of diners, determined to achieve total immersion in spite of my stomach’s nauseous protesting. Pick up plate. Shuffle. Scoop. Shuffle. Take fork and knife. The sight of it all breaks me down and sends a debilitating pain to my head, as if my resistance to such assimilation pissed off a greater manipulative power. It may as well be programmed — but a computer analogy fails to capture the awesome mechanism of it all. Hundreds of students in passionless procession.

All the cooking, preparing, and serving is run by Bon Appetit, a food management conglomerate sprawled across 33 states. Bon Appetit employees are dressed head-to-toe in black, as if to mourn the monstrous production of their toil. I grab my food recklessly, my hands lacking the agility to properly move eggs from spoon to plate without some

spillage. I find myself surrounded by feasting swine. The faceless voices that surround and obsess me revel in the weekend’s exploits. To my left, there is the unavoidable, bragardly noise of some hyper-masculine foray. These conversations almost always occur at a volume unfit for any public space, spilling from the mouth of some brute who clearly escaped some government hormonal experiment before proper testing could be completed.

To my right, I hear the terms: lab, deadline, write-up, I haven’t even started. Most likely the babbling of a mentally drained neurology major being slowly crippled by the Block Plan — CC’s unique system that works great for most classes, but is ambitious and downright torturous in scientific fields. This vocabulary is reserved for Sunday on the college campus, and met with sympathetic — yet empty — nods and condolences. Citing their own Collegiate Hierarchy of Needs, the college student cannot concern themselves with the stress of others if they themselves are constantly stressed as well.

The shallow story-telling and baseless obligation of it all fits the mold of some tributary, religious offering. Here, where many students reject the general notion of God, they send pitiful offers, in the form of tired jokes and stories, heaven-bound. How else could you explain such a cultish production?

One fact that rejects any type of religious connection to this meal is the general attire. If not for the cafeteria setting, the dress code for this brunch would suggest I stumbled upon an out-of-work, stay-at-home dad convention. Sweatpants and tank-tops and hoodies: far from Sunday’s best. Not that my dirt-caked Levis or faded denim shirt are much better.

Students reject the decorum and class of a Sunday brunch that you might enjoy in some hipster neighborhood on the fringe of a metropolis. These are humans operating on the most basic level, dragged out of bed with their last ounce of mental force by higher social obligation. This is not the start of the week, as a calendar might suggest, but a symbolic end to the week’s stress and weekend’s self-abuse.

The entire scene on Sunday drained me of any motivation are for the day and I just wanted to leave. Whatever the motives for this congregation, I no longer care.

Fear and loathing finally got me. As I stepped from the buzzing, cluttered noise of that horrid venue, past the conveyor belt of dirty dishes, I felt a primal urge to run, to get away. The best minds of a generation, as Allen Ginsberg would put it, through this cultural and religious phenomenon, suffer the death of individuality. The simple Sunday brunch epitomizes America’s doom. The genius of our nation’s youth rots weekly in cafeterias; perhaps one day, there will be a cure.

Stripes, by Patil Khakhamian '22 Want your photo featured on the back page of the paper? Submit to The Catalyst’s Photo of the Week!