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February 5, 2015 VO LU M E 51 | I S SUE 25 | 5 0 ¢
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com
A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O A publication of
FALLING FOR SCIENCE
Art studio offers more than the typical class By Ashley Reimers
areimers@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Carl Resurreccion, a 5th grader from Valley View, won Overall Top Performance Award for his project “Factors Affecting the Time of Descent of a Parachute” during the Mapleton District Science Fair. The 2015 fair celebrated the work and scientific achievements of 102 students. The third and fourth grade first place group award went to Helena Calderon and Kevin Calderon from Explore Elementary for “Bubble Gum’s Biggest Bubble.” Photo by Courtesy photo
Salazar revives tuition bill for American Indians POSTAL ADDRESS
Back for second time, bill moves to committee By Amy Woodward
awoodward@colorado communitymedia.com
NORTHGLENN-THORNTON SENTINEL (ISSN 1044-4254) (USPS 854-980) OFFICE: 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Adams County, Colorado, the NorthglennThornton Sentinel is published weekly on Thursday by MetroNorth Newspapers, 8703 Yates DR., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WESTMINSTER, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
P L EA SE RECYC L E T H I S C O PY
A bill to allow Native Americans with historical ties to Colorado to receive in-state tuition passed the House Education committee by a 6-5 majority vote on Jan. 26. This is the second time the bill has been introduced by Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton. Last year, the bill passed the House and its committees but failed in the Senate. Native Americans who belong to one of Colorado’s 48 federally recognized historic tribes would benefit from Salazar’s bill. As it stands, American Indian high school students can only receive in-state tuition in the state they currently live in rather than the state that their tribes once called home before being relocated and placed on reservations. The bill highlights statistics on American Indian high school students. In 2011, fewer than 42 percent of Native American high school students chose to attend college, which is below the national average of 57 percent of all students. “This bill will empower many American Indian students wanting to attend state public colleges and universities,” said Darius Lee Smith, representative from the Colorado Indian Education Foundation, a Denver based nonprofit that offers scholarships to American Indian students. “This bill will also assist many of our public higher education institutions to achieve and increase enrollment of American Indian students.” Fewer than 1 percent of students attending the state’s public colleges and universities, like the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, are American Indian, Smith said. “Colorado is falling behind when it comes to recruiting, and retaining and graduating American Indian students,” said Deborah Esquibel
AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENT ENROLLMENT BY COLLEGE CU Boulder, CSU and Western State University: 0.3 percent UNC: 0.4 percent University of Colorado Denver: 0.5 percent Metropolitan State University of Denver: .7 percent CSU Pueblo: 0.8 percent Colorado Mesa: 1 percent State Fiscal Impact Institutional Tuition Revenue loss: $2,684,866 annually Additional State Expenditures: At least $374,220 annually
Hunt, director of American Indian Services at the University of Colorado Denver. “We have a record in Colorado and a reputation that is not good for support of American Indian students.” The vote to pass the bill was anything but bipartisan with Democrats supporting it and Republicans opposing it. Rep. Paul Lundeen R-Monument, said he voted against the bill because it doesn’t include American Indian tribes that have yet to be recognized by the federal government. “Why are we choosing to draw the line here, why not extend it further?” Lundeen said. “There are other groups that are certainty pre-territorial in their relationship with Colorado that may have come and gone from the state and they are yet excluded from the opportunity of in-state tuition.” The bill had trouble last year based on the appropriations the bill requires, which have been reduced this time around, Salazar said. “I’m hoping that there won’t be a challenge of the appropriation,” he said. “I am a little shocked, however, that Republicans, unlike last year where they passed it out of committee bipartisanly, … have now apparently locked down … it didn’t garner not one vote from Republicans and that is kind of disappointing.”
Michelle Fox has very few photos of herself. Instead, she has paintings that illustrate the places she’s been, her memories, and even her growth as a person. But more importantly, her paintings display the map of her feelings during her journey through life. “Growing up we didn’t talk about feelings, so I learned to use art to express how I felt,” Fox said. “What’s beautiful is that I can look back at my life, and no matter where I’ve been, I can look at a painting and know how I felt. The paintings are threads that tie all of these disparate parts of me together.” Fox didn’t always have the tools to reflect on her paintings the way she does now. She learned those skills while earning her degree in art therapy at Naropa University in Boulder. After graduating in 2012, Fox split her time between a private art therapy practice and teaching art classes at Tinker Art Studio in Boulder. Finally, she decided to wear both hats under one roof, so she recently opened MBodied Art Studio in Westminster. “My therapist self would show up in the way I taught art classes at Tinker because I was always finding ways to support and help people feel successful in the classes,” Fox said. “And now I get to be Michelle, the therapist, and Michelle, the teacher, all in one place.” MBodied Art Studio is a one-room studio with a warm, welcoming energy that Fox hopes will make people of all ages feel safe. Her goal is to share her heart with others and provide the support children and adults need to open up and share as well. Fox offers individual or group therapy sessions that she says can foster opportunities to learn problem-solving and risk-taking skills. “Art is such a good reflection of yourself because when you make art, naturally yourself comes out,” she said. “You can’t do art wrong. Everyone deserves to express art the way they want to express it. And through that process, art is empowering and supports self-esteem because there are so many decisions to make when creating art.” Fox also offers a variety of art classes for all ages including Little Picassos classes, which pairs a toddler with an adult, and Painting Together classes, which brings two canvases together to create one finished painting. “The Painting Together classes reflect the unique style of each artist and shows how two people fit together,” Fox said. “And the fundamental goal of the toddler classes is to make art with your child. It’s also a great opportunity for parents to learn from their child and watch how free their child is
Michelle Fox, owner of MBodied Art Studio, works on a painting in her recently opened Westminster studio. Fox offers art therapy classes and other art classes to all ages. Photo by Ashley Reimers