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March 4, 2021
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 94 | ISSUE 17
Officials aim to give tenants more power Advocates back on task amid changes brought by pandemic BY JENNIFER BROWN THE COLORADO SUN
With its spacious lounge areas, the University of Denver’s new Community Commons building is a place where students can PHOTOS BY WAYNE ARMSTRONG/UNIVERSITY OF DENVER connect with one another.
Community, connections and collaborations New buildings on University of Denver campus focus on the student experience BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Aside from earning a degree, something else of value that people generally take away from the university experience is the friendships.
“These relationships are often some of the longest-lasting,” said University of Denver Chancellor Dr. Jeremy Haefner. “There’s more to (attending) a university than just taking classes. (The) experiences are incredibly important.” DU aspires to teach the whole student, Haefner said. That includes focusing on four dimensions that help build the student experience, he added. The four dimensions are intellectual growth; career preparation; promote wellbeing, including social, emotional, physical, spiritual and financial; and exploring ethics, such as
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 11
creating a culture of respect. On campus, three new, recently constructed buildings will help build the foundation for the student experience. They are not academic buildings, rather, they are meant to foster “community, connections and collaborations,” Haefner added. “They will make these experiences far more intentional the minute they (students) step onto the campus.” The three new buildings are the Community Commons, the Dimond Family Residential Village
GO BACK IN TIME
Exhibit features a new look at one of the most fierce dinosaurs P10
SEE BUILDINGS, P7
Before the coronavirus pandemic, and before an economic crisis that pushed unemployment to historic levels, Colorado policymakers were already working on plans to equalize the power between landlords and tenants. Back in 2019, what was dubbed the “year of the renter,” a slate of Democrat-backed bills at the statehouse never materialized. A few new laws were passed to help renters, but the bulk of the agenda stalled. Now — after a year in which the state and federal government enacted eviction moratoriums to keep an unknown number of Coloradans from ending up homeless — tenant advocates are picking up where they left off. “Prior to COVID, people were paying more than half of their income toward rent,” said Cesiah Guadarrama Trejo, a co-director of 9to5 Colorado. “What COVID did is shined a light on how vulnerable renters were if they went without just one or two paychecks. I don’t SEE TENANTS, P9