SUMMER ISSUE | Volume 3, Issue 31 | Boulder, CO
www.theodysseyonline.com | @Odyssey_CUNEW | Instagram: OdysseyCU | Facebook.com/TheOdysseyColorado
SUPPORT ALL GREEKS page 13
UPDATE ON CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICIES page 6 BODY IMAGE VS. SELF WORTH page 8 THE TYRANNY OF THE CU ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT page 11
The girls of Alpha Delta Pi gear up for Greek Week! Photo credit: Meredith Gazes
2 editor's note
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THE NEW APP THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
All in all, Boulder is a pretty safe place to live.
ERIN MAJOR
Gamma Phi Beta The crime is generally Editor-in-Chief pretty low compared to other Erin is a junior studying psychology cities, and most everything pre-med. You may contact her at is in close vicinity. But in my Erin.K.Major@colorado.edu. sorority, we always rely on the buddy system to get us from point A to point B. Going to a fraternity party? Take a sister. Craving some late night Cosmo’s? Find another girl who’s just as “hangry” as you are. But the problem with the buddy system is that it’s not always the most logical or easiest solution. Sometimes when you’re out at night with your friends, the group gets separated. Other times your friends want to party all night whereas you’d rather be sleeping in your bed. Whatever the scenario, walking the few minutes alone on The Hill to your house seems like a great idea. Although I always advise the buddy system or hailing a taxi, I know that there are times when we all make the choice to walk alone instead of doing what we know is best. A new app called Kitestring may be the solution to the dilemma of walking alone. Kitestring acts like your own personal guide home, ensuring that you make it safely from one place to another. The web-based service works by setting a check-in time when
you think you’ll arrive safely at your destination. At the check-in time that you’ve set, Kitestring will send you a text asking if you’ve made it to your destination. If you don’t reply to the text within 5 minutes, the app will notify your emergency contacts with a personalized message. The emergency contacts are preset by you (your roommate, your bestie, or your mom) and are notified only if you don’t respond to Kitestring’s message. The emergency message to your contacts says something along the lines of, “Hey this is Erin. I was walking home by myself and if you get this message, it means I might not have made it back safely. Please give me a call!” The app is nice because it doesn’t require you to hold a button or shake your phone in order to tell it that you’ve made it home safely. There are also secret check-in words and duress codes that you can use in an unsafe situation in which you might still have access to your phone. I’ve heard of a lot of apps and websites that use this same idea, but Kitestring is the first one that I’ve actually looked into. To get more information on the service, visit www. elle.com/news/culture/kitestring-app-safety-apps-women?src=soc_fcbks or visit the website www.kitestring.io on your phone (you can’t download it in the App Store — you just go to the website and sign up). Kitestring has many applications in life, whether you’re walking home by yourself, walking home with a friend, or in a dangerous place or situation that makes you feel uncomfortable. So even though we can try and avoid these kinds of scenarios, Kitestring is there to check up on you if you happen to run into any trouble.
THE ODYSSEY AT CU EXECUTIVE TEAM President Mal Doss Gamma Phi Beta
Sales Executives Ben Davis Alpha Epsilon Pi
Jeff Silverstein
CREATIVE TEAM Editor-In-Chief Erin Major Gamma Phi Beta
Contributing Editor Apply Now!!! Social Media Director Katie Carruth Kappa Kappa Gamma
Alpha Epsilon Pi
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The Odyssey is a private entity not associated or governed by CU or CU Greek life office. The views and opinions shared in The Odyssey are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Odyssey and Olympia Media Group.
The list listicles
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3
A LETTER TO FUTURE BUFFS Having only a few days left
of freshmen year is bittersweet
to say the least. Freshmen year of college is a wild roller coaster
ride that takes everyone for
a spin. As I reflect on the past year, I look back with nothing
but happiness and content. I’m
KENDAL LATTANZI
Kappa Alpha Theta Kendal is a freshman studying speech, language and hearing sciences. You may contact her at kela7880@colorado.edu.
sure many Freshmen Buffs can
agree that this has been the greatest year of our lives. There have been ups and downs, but in the end the highs outweigh the lows and we are left with many amazing memories that we will
cherish forever. Looking back on the amazing adventure, a few lessons stand out that I would like to pass down to the Future Buffaloes.
You never remember the nights you got plenty of sleep. College is about experiencing life
and every amazing moment of it. Never turn down an adventure because you want to get a
full night’s sleep. You only get to be in college once, I promise you will not regret the nights you spent being young with the people you love.
Be Brave. College can be scary, but the best thing you can do freshmen year is bury your fear
and grab the bull by the horns. Take risks, try new things, join new clubs and meet new people. Being at CU is an amazing opportunity to make lifelong friends. Do not waste your freshmen
year hanging out with your same friends from high school. College is not high school, don’t treat it like it is!
Go outside. The University of Colorado is hands down the most beautiful campus (I might be
a little biased, but we all know its true). We live right next door to the most beautiful landscape,
do not let that go to waste. Go hike the Flat Irons, go skiing, do everything you can to experience the mountains and everything they offer. If you can’t get up to the mountains as often as you like, just make a goal to appreciate the place you live once everyday and remember how lucky you are.
Work hard, play hard. College is light years more work than high school. Professors do not
hold your hand all the time and they expect you do put in the effort to get the grades. With
that being said, the professors at CU are incredibly intelligent and passionate about their field!
Use them to your advantage and learn everything you possibly can from them so you can be as successful as they are.
You will get tired of the C4C. The C4C, with all its bells and whistles, tastes good for about
.5 seconds. When you are searching for better options may I suggest Hungry Buffs and Rush Bowl? They are lifesavers.
Embrace change. Transitioning into your first year in college is a huge lifestyle change. You
are suddenly out of the nest and on your own, which is equally exciting and scary. Throughout your freshmen year embrace the fact that everything is going to change, and that change is usually a good thing.
Go Greek. This seems like a no-brainer. One of the best ways to get involved at CU and
make lifelong friends, is to be a part of Greek Life. Joining the Greek System helps make the
huge CU community feel very small. You begin to become close to members in all the houses and it makes the university a less lonely place. Joining Greek Life has, hands down, been the best decision I made my freshmen year. And remember, no matter the letter, Greeks do it better.
4 greek life traditions
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HOW POSITIONS IN THE HOUSE
CAN HELP IN THE FUTURE When you run for a position in your house, you probably think it’ll be a lot
LAURA MISHKIND
of fun with a little bit of
Gamma Phi Beta
work. However, it always
Laura is a sophomore studying journalism. You may contact her at laura.mishkind@colorado.edu.
ends up being more work than you expected. Every position is vital to the
sorority. Without an executive board, nothing would be accomplished, and it’s amazing how much work each member has to put in. There are forms, events to plan, sisters to manage, and you must work with your international organization as well. However, even non-executive members have to do all of this as well. It’s been a semester since I became New Member Educator for my sorority and I never expected it to be so rewarding - or so much work. From all the forms I have to
fill out to planning Big Little reveal to weekly meetings, the position keeps me busy. Sometimes it’s difficult to manage school as well as my position in the house, but I’ve come to realize that by doing both, I’m developing important skills for the future. Holding a position helps you with time-management. It’s hard enough to juggle being a full-time student, having a job, volunteering, and being a member of a sorority, but having a position in the house makes it even harder. You have to find time to do everything and still maintain good grades. It sounds hard, but it is absolutely possible. The key is to set aside time for homework and figure out the times you’ll be needed at the sorority. You should know ahead of time when your deadlines are for forms or event plans in order to get them done in time. You’ll also want to know what events you’ll need to attend so that you can get your homework done beforehand. Once you learn how to effectively manage your time, you’ll be able to utilize this skill for the rest of your life and come out on top. As New Member Educator, I’ve learned how to effectively communicate with others and utilize my people skills. I’m the first person our new members get to know, so I need to be able to talk to them and make them feel welcome. Through answering their questions and holding meetings, I have really improved how I interact with people, which will help me when it comes time for job interviews. New Member Educator isn’t the only position where you can develop this skill. The President of each sorority has to work with their international organization and communicate with other houses, while the position of Panhellenic Affairs has to work closely with the Panhellenic community. The member who handles finances has to explain to the chapter what their dues go towards, and ensure that people are paying them on time. People skills can be developed through any position that someone holds within their house, because you have to be able to communicate with your sisters and the rest of the Greek community. While time management and people skills are very important, the most important skill I have learned this past semester is responsibility. Taking on a position means that you feel strongly about the well-being of your house and its members, and taking on the position means playing a part in improving your house as well. You are expected to be a leader, no matter how small your position is. You have jobs that need to be completed and you have to make sure that they get done. And perhaps most importantly, you serve as a representation of your entire house, as well as a national organization and Greek life as a whole. Holding a position is a great way to prepare for the real world. You have new responsibilities that will affect your whole chapter and you have the opportunity to make a change and help improve your sisterhood or brotherhood. There are so many valuable skills and lessons that can be learned from having a position in your house, and I highly recommend giving it a try. Plus, it looks great on a resume.
feature story
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5
NEW OUTLOOK ON LIFE Inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes, and often times the most Kappa Kappa Gamma inspiration people are those who don’t realize they Dani is a sophomore studying preinternational journalism. You impact they have. Here at may contact her at danipuggy@ the University of Colorado, hotmail.com we have a plethora of different professors who have so much to offer their students. I’ve always believed that each professor has something different to bring to the table, a sort of signature that makes them special and sets them apart from other the other professors on campus. The same can be said for Professor Dean Colby. With an undergraduate degree in English from Fort Lewis College in Durango Colorado and a PhD from the school of Journalism and Mass Communication here at CU, Professor Colby has brought an extensive amount of knowledge and understanding to his Media Law classes.
career. He attributes his decision to become a teacher to many of the professors that work within the journalism school as well as faculty and staff within the law school here at CU.
It’s 8 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and students are slowly slumping to their classes, wearing the makeshift outfits that they lazily threw on before dragging themselves out of the warmth of their beds. However, as journalism students from all over campus walk into Hellems 201 for one of their weekly doses of Media Law, the sleep diminishes from their eyes as they get a glimpse of the legend himself, Dean Colby. Professor Colby makes sure to greet each student with a smile and a friendly “good morning” usually followed by a comment regarding how cold the weather is. Once the clock strikes 8, Professor Colby promptly wheels himself into his usual spot and begins class, eager to jump into the topic of the day.
Many other notable teachers amongst the universities staff said, “Dean is someone whose intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for engaging in the range of issues related to digital technology and public policy challenges is catching.”
DANI FRIED
Professor Colby began life with the ambition to enjoy himself, which included spending a lot of time in the mountains with great friends by his side. Carpentry was also a great aspiration of his. Being a man who got great pleasure out of manual labor, he admired his grandfather ’s ability to do just about anything with a piece of wood or metal. Unfortunately, he realized there was not much money in the art of carpentry and decided to pursue teaching instead. However, a fatal accident in 1993 would change his life forever. Colby was injured badly in a car crash coming back from a long road trip in the Utah desert. He was riding in a truck driven by a reckless individual. This accident left him forever changed, even though his outlook on life seems to be remain much the same - extremely positive. “I’m culpable because at the time of the wreck, I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt. I can only blame myself, really. But, somebody has to be a quadriplegic! Here I am. I would say I’m as independent as I can possibly be for someone who is a C-five quad. I need somebody to get me up in the morning and put me to bed,” said Colby. “Fortunately, I live in a country and state that provides me pretty adequate help. It’s gotten a lot better since the Colorado state legislature finally decided to let long-term disabled people like myself to work and purchase Medicaid insurance. This has been a huge help, because for many years, I couldn’t work very much because before the change in the laws, I had to demonstrate considerable poverty in order to receive Medicaid, as no private insurance will generally cover the cost of maintaining the needs of someone with my kind of severe disability.” Regardless of his disability, Professor Colby embraced life and pursued his teaching
“I was amazed by how much they knew about the subject matter, how eagerly they made themselves available to the students, and just their intelligence,” said Colby. “For example, I took a graduate seminar with Karen Jacobs and was just blown away by her extemporaneous speaking ability, in the intricacies of her ideas about difficult contemporary literature. I’m really fortunate that I was able to meet such people — how rare they are; like meeting someone who’s 7 feet tall, or has climbed Mount Everest in a bikini, in the winter. Inspiring human beings.” Karen S. Jacobs also recognized Colby’s potential for greatness, inspired by him in the same way he was inspired by her. “I remember Dean as a ferociously committed graduate student, someone with real intellect who never hesitated to interrogate the underlying assumptions of the methods and practices we studied, including those that informed the organization of my course.”
“He was a pleasure to have in the classroom, and his fellow students greatly appreciated his engagement in the subject matter.” “The way he confronted a notable handicap with grace, hard work, and determination was particularly inspiring.” “It is most fitting that he is giving back by staying in the classroom and teaching a new generation of students.” “Dean has done an excellent job teaching for Journalism and Mass Communication in several courses and the faculty and JMC administrators are very happy to have him as part of the teaching staff. Dean is smart, has a wry sense of humor and a keen sense of social justice. I enjoyed having him as a student and am pleased to see he’s being recognized in your story,” said Janice Park. Professor Colby may see these individuals as inspiring people in his world, but he is unaware of the many people that view him in the same light. Not only does he make his class entertaining to those who otherwise wouldn’t enjoy any sort of law, but his passion for media law truly exemplifies the material and makes everything he teaches relatable and interesting. He exudes an interest in his own material that makes every student just as interested in this subject. Professor Colby’s disability seems to only embody his talent for teaching, however he is very humble when it comes to being an inspiration to others. “I don’t see my disability as a source of inspiration for anyone else, because all of us have problems in our lives we need to overcome. I meet so many students who have many burdens. Added to these personal struggles are the general problems associated with a more ruthless job market and generally more career insecurity. If I can help people prepare to fetch a good job, then I feel like I’m doing my job.” When it comes to professors here at the University of Colorado, Professor Dean Colby truly redefines the standards of excellence and makes sure his students leave with not only a new outlook on media law, but a new outlook on life.
6 Scene on campus
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UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES UPDATE ON SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICIES ALLISON LEVINE Kappa Kappa Gamma
Allison is a junior studying broadcast news & political science. You may contact her at allison.levine@colorado.edu. Odyssey Staff Report The University of Colorado at Boulder ’s policies regarding how it reacts to and investigates sexual harassment and sexual assaults will get a facelift approximately six months after Chancellor Philip DiStefano called for an external review. The university will add a new staff position to oversee complaints, and new measures to increase communication and training will be implemented. DiStefano’s action was in response to a federal investigation of the university’s policies conducted by
the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights,
and harassment education beyond an informational
which was itself responding to a complaint filed by two
session for incoming students at orientation.
female student, one of whom claimed the university dragged its heels in taking action to remove her alleged assailant.
The review, which included an audit from Pepper Hamilton LLP, put forth 40 recommendations pertaining to CU’s Title IX and Violence Against Women Act.
Sarah Gilchriese, one of the two students who filed
One recommendation suggested that the university
the Clery complaint, said her attacker was allowed to
incorporate the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination
remain on campus for one month, attending class and
Act (SaVE), which is an addition to the U.S. Violence
even participating on a club sports team after he was
Against Women Act that specifically states that
found guilty of “nonconsensual sexual intercourse,”
universities must provide “prompt, fair and impartial
the Huffington Post reported in August. An unnamed
investigation and resolution” into sex crimes.
student separately claimed that her report, which detailed “forcible fondling” never appeared on the school’s crime statistics report, which is required of all universities under the Clery Act. Gilchriese told the Huffington Post in August that the university “seems to really not get the message” and suggested that the university incorporate sexual assault
For it’s part, the university says that it is already complying to the letter of U.S. law, and that the external review presented similar findings. “That task force has met and decided we’re already complying with the Act,” CU Boulder spokesman Ryan Huff told the CU Independent.
philanthropy & service
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7
FEEDING THE ROCKS TKE is working with a
new philanthropy idea that is surely bound to grab the
CHRISTIAN WILHELM
attention of more than just
Tau Kappa Epsilon
students at CU.
Christian is a sophomore studying psychology. You may contact him at jaw7950@gmail.com.
The Greek life in Boulder
order to raise money for our philanthropy. Lucas decided that it would be a great idea and so now we are collaborating with People Helping People to raise money
for this show, allowing 15% of proceeds to not only go towards preserving the Red Rocks, but to also go towards our philanthropy as well! So here we have it, June 19th, 2014 TKE Boulder will be able to throw an incredible philanthropy event. Now the main reason I decided to write an article about this is
comes up with ways to
to not only help further get our name as a fraternity out here in Boulder to also take
raise money for charities
advantage of this incredible opportunity placed upon us. It’s not exactly everyday
and causes, as a member of an up and coming fraternity here, were coming up with
that you manage to have Red Rocks to your advantage in order to raise money to
opportunity to do the same.
your charity, so here I am attempting to get the word out to everyone to please come
As we all know every Greek house in Boulder hosts some sort of philanthropy in order to raise money for some sort of charity or cause. We do this in order to not only build a positive reputation for our respective houses, but to also help those in need. Overall actions like these typically tend to be an efficient way to raise money, especially when it comes to having broke, starving college kids having to pay a small fee in order to get food. Every house here in Boulder seems to have their own unique way of raising money for charity. Which had lead my colonizing fraternity to try and improvise on what we can do to make a fundraiser of our own, something different from all the rest, and we found it. One thing that I had noticed when I had first moved up to Colorado for college is that the atmosphere here is far more upbeat and optimistic than it is back home in Las Vegas. People here seem to be nicer, more energetic, and always down to go out and do something. Personally I believe that if you live in a place this beautiful and full of so many opportunities to do something how could you not be? One thing in particular I noticed about Colorado versus Nevada is that the music scene here is so much bigger and cooler than back home. Seriously, I’ll be back home and think that I was going to a fun concert at a cool venue and then I came up here and was baffled by not only how much cooler and bigger the venues are here but the energy that comes out of these people at these shows just make the general vibe just that much better. Which brings me to the more relevant part of this article. As a fraternity we’ve gone out and improvised on ways we can raise money for our philanthropy, and after some observation and connection we’ve managed to come up with something that I believe to be awesome. Most people here are familiar with the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO. Red Rocks is generally known and loved for its unique and stunning nature set up for incredible shows to be held. On June 19th one show to be held there in particular will be otherwise known as Feed the Rocks. Feeds the Rocks was set up by a foundation otherwise known as People Helping People, and the purpose of this event is to raise money in order to help preserve the Red Rocks Amphitheatre we all know and love. A worker for People Helping People, Faithan Lucas, happens to be friends with our current President Christian Dean. As Dean had committed to helping Lucas pass out flyers for the concert he had asked him if it were possible to allow TKE to be able to co-sponsor the show in
out and support this event. I especially stress getting the word out now because this concert is in June and being that school will be out of session I feel it will be a lot harder to help sponsor this event during the summer time. So if you happen to be in Colorado over the summer please be sure to check this out, for the sake of raising money for hospitals and to prolong the incredible times that were able to have at Red Rocks.
8 Lookbook fashion
BODY IMAGE
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VS. SELF WORTH
A six pack and a thigh gap may sometimes seem like the most important things in the world to some people, but the truth is that they aren’t - or at least they shouldn’t be. Throughout this year, after writing articles on how to get the best spring break six pack, and how to “pin your way to a better body” I realized that although being healthy is a very important part of life, being the thinnest girl in the room is not. What should be important is feeling good about yourself, having more energy, and having a great outlook on fitness and on life. You should not dread the gym, feel bad about skipping a day, or feel guilty for getting that extra drink at the bar or the cupcake at dinner every now and then. I know this sounds cliché, but you should feel good about yourself from the inside out.
This year has been an insane year of fitness for me. Pinterest and other social media sites have Alpha Delta Chi been a huge blessing Layne is a junior studying english but they have also been literature. You may contact her at layne. gudenkauf@colorado.edu. a major downfall for my self-confidence and self-image. I can go on Pinterest and find healthy recipes, a fun new workout to try, or the best way to “Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days”. But, looking at the before and after pictures, I realize I am nowhere near the after pictures even though I live a healthy and active lifestyle. These images do not do much for my self-confidence or image and Facebook and Instagram are not any better.
LAYNE GUDENKAUF
Many of my friends are watching their weight and paying very close attention to their figure, and they want to show their body transformation on Facebook and other social media sites. Growing up as a gymnast and a cheerleader, a lot of pressure was put on body image, on how skinny you were, and how strong you were. This mindset of body self-worth seems to have carried on with most of my friends years after our gymnastics and cheerleading days had come to a close. Images on Pinterest or Facebook have put a large emphasis on being skinny and that expectation has begun to control our self-worth. So many girls, including myself, find themselves glancing at the windows they pass, or the mirrors on the wall for self-assurance. We base our confidence on how we look compared to the other girls we see on campus or on Facebook. The point is, we should not be basing our worth on looking better than the other girls in the room or online. A girl should feel good about herself because of who she is. Eating healthy and staying active is important, but fitting into the size two jeans you wore two years ago is not important for your overall health. A women’s self-worth should be determined based on her personality. The person she is on the inside should be more important than the color of her hair or the size of her jeans. Being a Greek woman also puts added pressure to have the “perfect” body in many girl’s minds. This pressure doesn’t necessarily come from the sororities themselves, but by the college stereotype of skinny, peppy sorority girls. I realize that I felt this way when joining a sorority; that they were judging me based on my hair, my makeup, and the overall way I looked. But when you are thinking about your self-worth, remember that your sisters chose you to be in the sorority based on your character and who you were as a person. When you feel like you are being pulled back into the negative stereotypes and images of what a woman should be, remember that. People like you for you, not for anything else.
Lookbook fashion
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9
IT’S NOT FORMAL, IT’S YOU
The first time you went to formal, you brought a suitcase. You packed day outfits, four Chi Omega dresses, all your hair products Tara is a sophomore studying and every single swimsuit you journalism, advertising and brought to college. You got English. You may contact her at tara.goutermout@colorado.edu a spray tan beforehand. You were so excited to spend the weekend with your date and you were pretty oblivious to the fact that you guys weren’t actually dating. Once you got there, you couldn’t believe that luxury mountain resorts actually allow college kids to rent them out and destroy them. This was absolutely neato to you. Since you didn’t really know anyone besides your date, you never left his side. Once you got home, you couldn’t quit talking about formal for the next four months to anyone who would listen. If you were unsure about the fraternity system before you went, you weren’t after that.
TARA GOUTERMOUT
About the third time you went to formal, you had it figured out. You knew you’d wear leggings and a flannel on the drive up, you actually painted a cooler and you didn’t bring anything besides a swimsuit, a dress and a big gulp. You were the “best date ever” because you left your date alone. Not only did you make it to dinner, you looked hot at dinner. Every single one of your best friends was there, you pretty much knew everyone and you guys just absolutely killed it. Even if formal was no longer novel, it was the best weekend of college. You may have suggested to your mother that it was “better than any trip to Mexico.” The sixth time you went to formal, you forgot to take any pictures. You stomached your 9 a.m. jungle juice cocktail a little worse than you did in past years and you just didn’t think the puke in the elevator was that funny. You looked around the pool and realized that the majority of your dates from previous formals had graduated, which gave you a mix of nostalgia and relief. You skipped the Franzia before dinner in hopes for less of a hangover. On the way home, instead of talking about the formal you just experienced, you talked about the formals of the past. You had a large group discussion about the consequences of the damage bill, how the same 100 girls are always at formal, and who cheated on who. Eventually, you all laughed about how nothing has changed, but everything has changed, followed by a period of long silence while everyone realized formal wasn’t less fun, we were just less fun.
10 Lookbook fashion
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LAURA GROVE DESIGN: HOW I STARTED MY OWN BUSINESS LAURA GROVE Delta Delta Delta
Laura is a senior studying retailing with an emphasis in fashion merchandising. You may contact her grovel@email.sc.edu. I have always been creative and loved fashion. I dreamed of being a fashion designer when I grew up, but realized my passion for jewelry making when my mom started making and selling custom pieces she made to friends and neighbors. I would help her with her orders to fill and would also create my own pieces. She would host jewelry shows at our house and invite our whole neighborhood and all of her friends. I always looked forward to these events because it was a time everyone got together and had a good time while getting to see my mom’s new line. Through helping her pick out materials at AmericasMart (a large wholesale building filled with clothes and jewelry), making the products, selling them, and promoting events, I had an understanding on how to run a small jewelry business from a young age. I never pursued
my own jewelry line until entering college, when I realized quickly how many expenses there are, and that I could turn my passion of fashion and jewelry into a profit. I started selling monogrammed items purchased wholesale from AmericasMart, and after creating my own website through the USC I.T. center, I realized I wanted to start designing products myself. During the summer of 2012, I created a jewelry line and sold two jewelry styles to The BiltHouse, an established boutique in Buckhead, GA, shortly after. I currently offer a full line in My Kim Collection in Columbia, SC, am soon to put a line in A Hott Mes boutique in Irmo, SC, and have been sold in Moxy in The Vinings, GA, Edyn Boutique in Brookhaven, GA, and Festivity in Columbia, SC. I hope to continue expanding through online sales, sell to boutiques nationwide, and eventually be sold in big-box retailers. I also am in the process of creating a rep program where mothers and daughters can sell jewelry for a profit, similar to how my mom and I got started. The University of South Carolina has recognized my hard work and efforts, and created a video interview for
my business. You can find it through my jewelry facebook page, www.facebook.com/LauraGroveDesign. I also have been recognized by the No Limits website (http://sc.edu/nolimits/2013/10/how-i-created-my-ownbusiness-as-a-usc-student-laura-grove-design/) as well as the National Retail Federation, and was chosen as 1 out of 26 students nationwide to attend the Shop.Org13 Conference because of my experience in online retailing. (http://www. hrsm.sc.edu/news/default.html#lauragrove). After college, I plan to intern at Nordstrom Corporate in Seattle, and plan to let my mom handle my jewelry business in the meantime. I hope that all students realize that the opportunities to start their own business are endless at the University of South Carolina, who has given me endless tools and resources to develop Laura Grove Design. Through USC, I have been given the opportunity to create a website, host campus events, participate in the community, create a window display in the Coliseum to showcase my jewelry, give back through silent auctions, and have access to research that has helped me develop a better understanding on how to grow my business.
Ideas debate & discuss
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11
THE TICKET TRADE-OFF
As we all know, and if you don’t brace yourself, our school’s athletic department has caused widespread Tau Kappa Epsilon outrage for their coercion of Christian is a sophomore studying students a couple of weeks psychology. You may contact him ago. An e-mail was sent out at jaw7950@gmail.com. to the entire student body informing them that in order to receive a hard copy of their tickets to the Kansas vs. CU game on December 7th, they must attend the women’s basketball game against Iowa. This move brought about some very interesting statements from students in the last couple of weeks.
CHRISTIAN WILHELM
Let me start by saying that I have nothing against neither the women’s basketball team nor women’s sports in general. But forcing the students who paid hundreds of dollars for these season tickets to sit through a women’s game that they likely were not going to attend in order to receive tickets to the men’s game is heinous. We all know what happens when you force students to do something they don’t want to… it turns into a complete mess. Which is exactly what happened on November 20th. Thank God the team won, or there likely would have been a riot. At the end of the game, the security staff and the student team members attempted to corral the thousands of students into two aisles and lead them onto the court where there were tables set up in order to hand students their tickets one-by-one. Naturally, this did not work well. Students flooded the passageways and formed giant mobs as they attempted to force their way onto the floor to get their tickets as quickly as possible. After realizing that this was an awful idea, the staff attempted to calm the students for about 20 minutes, using the stadium’s speaker system. Again, this did not work all that well. Students responded negatively, cursing, booing and shouting at the staff member (who was pretty snide), until he finally just decided to put the microphone down. Eventually, the process was completed, and the students were awarded with their tickets. In the seemingly “genius” plan to draw fans, it is hard to see where Colorado thought this would positively affect their student population. Students who did attend the game brought homework, sat backwards in refusal of watching the game, sarcastically cheered on both teams and various other things. I’m not a player, but I can’t imagine that the girls felt good when they had more fans than they’ve ever had at a women’s game, only because they were forced to be there by the athletic department. Ben Kwock, an avid basketball fan and attendee of nearly all men’s basketball games thought the department’s move was unethical in a way. “It wasn’t fair to the students who actually had work to do that night. For the school to ask you to bail on school for one game is ridiculous. They should have done it like the Arizona game last year where you picked it up at a certain time,” he said. I think the school had a good idea in terms of generating excitement about the women’s team, which is ranked 11th in the nation, but there are other ways to attract students to games. Offer free food or some other incentive that gets college kids excited. Demanding attendance to receive tickets for the greatest game of the season is absurd. It was almost as if they were treating the students as children, attempting to bribe us to attend the game. Like when you wanted to go to Toys”R”Us and your mom said you could but only if you sat through her meeting first. In my freshman year, I attended a game in an attempt to win a free shirt or something like that (I ended up catching a stuffed buffalo, but that was it), and saw what most women’s games probably look like. Besides some friends and myself, there were maybe 200 or 300 other people in attendance. That’s not a lot. I never saw myself even considering attending
another women’s game until a couple of weeks ago but only because I wanted my ticket. I can honestly say that being forced to do anything makes it that much more unpleasant. The game seemed to drag on for hours, and the students who tried to take the more rambunctious route in viewing the game were starting to get on my nerves. Again, I sincerely have no issues with women’s sports, I think they are great for the school, and I think it is even better than our women’s basketball team is doing so phenomenally this year. I just believe that this was an unethical, immoral and completely ludicrous demand from the athletic department. Not that anyone from the higher up positions of the department will read this, but hear me out: This was an awful idea, and all it did was upset the students, especially those who had to sit through the entire thing. It gave the entire stadium a negative air as brooding students did their best to disobey the system (while obeying it), and it was clearly just the school’s attempt to strong-arm students into attending a sport that is obviously not getting enough fandom. It is pretty apparent that I’m upset about the whole thing, but I’m not alone. The majority of students at this school who received the e-mail from the athletic department demanding their attendance were furious, and who can blame them? This was a low blow from the administration at our school, and completely unnecessary as there are obviously other methods to reach their final goal. Hopefully this never happens again to the loyal fans that support their Buffs throughout the year.
12 Ideas debate & discuss
IMPROVING RISK MANAGEMENT CHRISTIAN WILHELM Tau Kappa Epsilon
Christian is a sophomore studying psychology. You may contact him at jaw7950@gmail.com. Risk: A situation involving some sort of exposure or
danger to someone committing a questionable action. Based
off of my experience so far at CU, I’ve come to the realization that college involves a lot of risks. Primarily, the risks present themselves through one of the greatest aspects of college - parties. From deciding to go out a night or two before a midterm to
your actions at a party, these
peculiar social situations
place students under a lot of
risk concerning their grades, safety, and reputation.
Anyone that goes to CU knows
that this university has gained the
reputation as one of the top party
schools within the nation. To the
school’s administration it’s a rather
undesirable reputation, however to a
lot of students, it’s one of the highlights
of attending CU. From syllabus week to
Halloween to St. Patrick’s day and even 4/20,
there are several occasions throughout the year that high
inebriation seems to spread all throughout Boulder. With
that being said, it’s safe to say that being inebriated can
in Nevada. However, all it takes is a few careless people to
completely kill the positive vibes that flow through this town. As a starting member for an upcoming fraternity here at
CU, my brothers and I are certainly improvising on ways to
avoid any of the controversy or drama that revolves around excessive partying. Although everything I’m about to list
pretty much seems like common sense, it’s still amazing to
see how much of a difference small changes can make. To start, we don’t have an official fraternity house in Boulder yet, so that leaves us with trying to throw our parties elsewhere such as open lots and the hookah lounge next to Half Fast, and that’s worked out
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pretty well so far. It ensures that we remain extra responsible because typically the establishment doesn’t belong to us and
so we do our best to avoid any unwanted damage fees. We
typically pay for security and make a guest list in order to prevent too many people from coming in. It’s actually opened up my eyes a bit as to how letting other guys into
another’s fraternity party can really sabotage that house. A guy can come in, spike someone’s drink, and leave before
that person begins to have a bad reaction. Although I feel that this rarely happens in Boulder, there are still people like that in this world that ruin a good time for everyone.
After hearing about events where things like may happen, we have even established an EMT service for
our parties. Vice-President Jerome (Jr.)
Seitz, Joe Patch, and Aaron Smith are all certified EMT’s here at CU and are
more than happy to provide service
for those who would ever need it. And
last but not least, frater Dave Soya owns
his own shuttle bus service otherwise
known as AllRides Colorado. Depending
on where we throw our parties, we typically
like to lend a hand to any inebriated people to
make sure they get home safely.
Regardless of what reputation people like to place
on CU, it is an incredible university. Just because were notorious for throwing huge parties on a frequent basis doesn’t mean that we’re irresponsible or careless.
Whenever something unfortunate does happen over the weekend, I feel as though it’s the people who don’t
reside within Boulder’s city limits who love to use that against us. I’d just like to outline all that TKE is
doing to ensure a safer, more responsible party scene
lead to carelessness as well. People get so caught up in the
and I’m sure that the majority of Greek life here at CU
don’t always realize what they get themselves caught up in.
that everyone should already know, but I just wanted to
moment, more times than not with a numbed mindset, and It’s a shame because the social atmosphere here in Boulder is unlike anything I’ve experienced growing up back home
is doing the same. I’m not trying to preach about things
recognize the people in Boulder that are helping to create the greatest and safest party experience possible at CU.
Ideas debate & discuss
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13
SUPPORT ALL GREEKS With Greek Week quickly
approaching, the tensions and
competitiveness
between sorority houses
are at an all time high. As
a freshmen, I am fairly new to Greek life. So far, I have
KENDAL LATTANZI
Kappa Alpha Theta Kendal is a freshman studying speech, language and hearing sciences. You may contact her at kela7880@colorado.edu.
experienced Homecoming
Week, formals, date dashes and mixers. However, I have yet to experience the infamous week full of Powderpuff, volleyball and football competitions, SongFest and philanthropic events known as Greek Week. As Greek Week quickly approaches,
sororities are starting to get competitive with each other, and for good reason. The
winning team of Greek Week has bragging rights for a full year, so sororities and fraternities are rigorously preparing for the event in April.
In the midst of all the friendly competition, tensions often rise and the competition
becomes more intense. A few sororities decided to set up a progressive dinner
together to ease some of the tension and reiterate to everyone why we joined a
sorority in the first place. The dinner allowed us to take a step back and served to remind everyone that at the University of Colorado we support all Greeks.
Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Kappa Gamma
all came together mid-March to have dinner together. The girls who attended were
mixed into groups with members from each sorority that was participating. The groups walked around the Hill together, having appetizers at one house, salad at the next, the main course at one and dessert at the last.
The progressive dinner gave sorority members a chance to reconnect with friends
they met during recruitment in their Rho Gamma groups. It was a unique opportunity to take a step back from all of the Greek Week madness and rekindle friendships that
may have faded after joining different houses on Bid Day. It was also fun to revisit
different houses that many of us had only seen on house tours during recruitment. Although seeing old recruitment buddies and poking around in other sorority
houses was fun, the main goal of the progressive dinner was to unite sororities and
to create a more inclusive environment in Greek life at CU. The competitiveness of Greek Week can easily divide sororities and we all know that isn’t what Greek culture at CU is about.
As a Greek community, we are a unique group of leaders who work hard every
day to support and encourage each other to make the world a better place. Being
involved in your own separate houses, it’s very easy to grow distant from members in other houses. Events like the progressive dinner allow sorority members to unite again and keep us moving forward as an unstoppable force.
Sorority members have high hopes and goals for future progressive dinners. We
want to host it on a bigger scale and involve even more houses and sisters. Hosting
a dinner, or similar events, is no small task. But in the end it’s worth the extra hours people put in because it unites sorority members from many different houses and helps to keep Greek life at CU inclusive and positive.
14 Sports local
BASEBALL SEASON With the coming of
Spring and warm weather, comes
also
baseball
season. Spring training is over and the first games of the season are in the
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DANIEL GALGANSKI Phi Kappa Psi
Daniel is a senior studying Creative Advertising, TAM and History. They may be reached at Daniel.Galganski@Colorado.edu
books. The surprise of the first week would have to be the defending AL champion Rangers sweeping the Red Sox. Though a good team, the Rangers lost quite a few players this off-season, most notably Cliff Lee who is pitching in probably the best rotation baseball has seen since the early nineties with Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz. Back to that later. The Red Sox were injury plagued last year and made the biggest noise in the free agent market this off-season by the acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. With Crawford and Gonzalez
along with a clean bill of health, the Red Sox were seen by many to win 100+ games
and be a legitimate contender in October. However, starting pitching struggled
mightily against the Rangers who belted numerous long balls. Yet, it is early so we’ll have to wait to see how the Red Sox rebound while the Rangers strong start can be attributed to great hitting, their young rotation is what will make or break another AL championship. Another team with young pitching is the Ranger ’s division rival, the Oakland A’s. Should their young rotation with Gio Gonzalez mature and pitch with the potential they have, the Rangers may not even take the division. I like the Red Sox, A’s, Tigers and Yankees to all make playoff runs with a sleeper being the Baltimore Orioles who played well after hiring a new manager. It is too bad they are in the AL East facing the Yanks and Soxs so regularly. In the NL, two stories are dominating baseball. The first is the contract negotiations with Albert Pujols, the first baseman for the Cardinals and one of the best players baseball has seen, ever. He has hit the most home runs through his first ten years than anyone else (Bonds took steroids later in his career and his trial is currently underway). As a huge Cardinal’s fan, this is actually frightening for talks have been suspended until the end of the year. Pujols’ struggled opening week hitting a home run but grounding into four double plays. Wainwright, the Cardinal’s ace is out for the season undergoing Tommy Johns though Garcia had a strong outing, which was a relief for he struggled during Spring Training. The Brewer ’s have similar first base issues as Prince Fielder enters his final year of his contract and his chances of leaving are high. The other story is the Phillies whose starting five is as follows Halladay-LeeHamels-Oswalt-Blanton or arguably start four ace pitchers (Lee and Halladay unanimous). Utley, their star second baseman is still battling injuries but the Phillies nonetheless started off strong with a sweep opening weekend. As for the defending World Series Champion Giants, well they looked shaky defensively against the Dodgers, dropping 3 of 4. It is no secret that pitching is their only shot at a repeat but I don’t see that Cinderella happening a second time. I like the Reds, Phillies, and Dodgers to take their respective divisions. The Wild Card will be a mad scramble with the Giants, Rockies and Braves all vying for that last playoff spot. Padres aren’t going to be a sleeper this year, look for them to take a position at the bottom. Baseball season is a long one so anything can happen so watch closely and look for Cargo to make a serious run at NL MVP.
Sports local
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15
A BRONCO DOES NOT CONCERN HIMSELF
WITH THE OPINIONS OF A SEAHAWK
articulate your feelings about your colleagues truly
KILEY NIXSON Gamma Phi Beta
Kiley is a junior studying political science. You may contact her at kiley@odyssey-west.com. Richard Sherman recently graced the television
screens of millions of football fans this past Sunday with his incredible display of athleticism, deflecting
a pass from San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. This led to a win for the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game.
Sherman then proceeded to make Erin Andrews of
FOX exceedingly uncomfortable during an interview,
with his slandering of the 49ers wide receiver, Michael Crabtree. The aftermath of his interview has created a
flood of controversy and an all around bang in social media sites.
All I can say is thank you Richard Sherman. You will
go down in history with all of the “Greats.” Beyond that, you have also provided the media with some good entertainment for the time being. I’m sure your words
will live on alongside famous orators such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Winston Churchill. Your ability to
establishes your credibility as a professional.
“I’m the best corner [back] in the game. When you try
me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you going to get.”
--Richard Sherman Rather, your legacy, perhaps, will live on alongside
other noteworthy celebutante such as Miley Cyrus or Charlie Sheen, on the brink of admission into their next
deserves a great deal of credit for his abilities. Fans were
on their feet when Sherman made the final move of the game to send his team to the Super Bowl. I don’t see much of a debate as far as his athleticism; I personally
have more concern and interest in his ability to attain a degree from Stanford University, but an inability to
remain somewhat cordial to another human being, especially through a mode of media that was reaching several millions of people.
Regardless, Sherman provided the media with
rehab center. No doubt media training wasn’t on your
something interesting to cover for a few days and
they’re training for a Super Bowl, in all seriousness.
crazy and shave their head, as it seems to be a common
chat and exchange ideas every once in a while. It’s
February 2nd and you never know, maybe he will.
Miley mania and twerking have essentially swept the
jersey I have hanging in my closet would beg to differ,
list of priorities, but hey, who has time for that when
now it can move on to the next celebrity to go bat shit
Or perhaps your media consultant and Miley Cyrus’
trend. Ultimately he will be able to prove himself come
one grand scheme of media domination. Considering
However, I think Peyton Manning and the Broncos
nation, this may not be such a bad idea for his career
but only time will tell.
path. Twerk your way to the top, Richard, it’s what the world seems to want.
On January 19th Sherman tweeted, “A lion doesn’t
concern himself with the opinions of a sheep.” Good
Twerking and Harry Potter character-esque hairstyles
thing he and his team, will be facing off against
in any way. The Seattle Seahawks are on their way to
importantly, I think Broncos fans could agree that a
a fluke. Sherman has proven himself as an athlete and
a Seahawk.
aside, I don’t mean to discredit Sherman as an athlete
the Broncos, and no sheep will be involved. More
the Super Bowl and by no means do I believe that to be
Bronco doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of