Volume 12, Issue 6 - Sept. 22, 1989

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Mfssion beerless?

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ETROPOLITAN •

Minority retention falls short Esteban A. Martinez The Metropolitan

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· Faculty debates· Rocky ·Flats Jennlfw..-Karkl The Metropolitan

· "We should launch the wastes of Rocky Flats off in a rocket and send it to the sun to get it off the planet," said MSC chemistry Professor Neils Schonbeck. But he admits .,.. that there is no easy, let alone feasible, solution to Rocky Flats economic, political and environmental problems. Schonbeck said Rocky Flats is a mess with radioactive and hazardous ·wastes. Rocky Flats is permitted 1,601 cubic yards ~ of waste, but no one is sure if they are keeping to their limitations, he said. "I think they are redefining waste so they can keep disposing," Schonbeck said Dr. Richard Lehman, chemistry professor at MSC, said that scientists can't decide whether there is or isn't contamination. "Different scientists from different departments test different areas of Rocky Flats, which makes them come to different conclusions on the safety ofliving standards in that area," Lehmann said The recent case of the late James Downing

who worked at Rocky Flats for 17~ · died of cancer of the ~phagus ~ any new light on the environmental h~ ~ue. Schonbeck said that this is because it is too hard to prove if radioactivity from Rocky Flats caused the cancer. Downing's widow is suing for compensation. Scientists have been doing studies of people from different areas around Rocky Flats, testing for similar illnesses and the degrees of the illness in certain areas, Schonbeck said However, he added that those tests are long term, over a 40-year span. For now, most testing is done with beagles, rats and mice. Doug Gallagher, who works at Rocky Flats, said that the precautions against radioactivity and other haz.ardous wastes at Rocky Flats are ~ful. The people who work in radioactive areas, he said, wear dosimeter bags [a device that measures the amount of X-rays or radioactivity absorbed] that are checked for radiation levels. And once a year every employee at Rocky Flats is tested for radiation by a body count detector that measures radiation from the lunp. Pregnant women

are not allowed to work in radioactive areas. Gallagher has worked at Rocky Flats for seven years and has always tested below the level of contamination, he said. "I would be more worried about working at Martin Marietta," Gallagher said However, Schonbeck disa8rees with Gallagher's opinion. "I don't believe it when people say Rocky Flats is safe," Schonbeck said, "nothing is totally safe from disaster, not even my own house is safe." Schonbeck said that the disagreement about R9,Cky Flats is between scientists who have been disciplined to be biased pronuclear. He said they downplay humanism. Radioactive chemicals are useful for energy, medical tests and for making bombs. Lehmann said. He added that Rocky Flats is a needed place and can be safe if scientists can agree on the danger of haz.ardous and radioactive waste and if Rocky Flats can stick to strict rules. "Radioactivity can be very toxic," Lehmann said, but he added that, "radioactive chemicals are too valuable in our society to quit using them." o

A Metropolitan State College spokesman said although MSC has a higher number of minorities in attendance than any other college in the state, the college is failing in retaining those minorities. "Getting minority students in college is one problem, helping them succeed in coll~e and continue tbrou&h to graduation is another," Michael Miera, assistant director of high school/community relations said Part of.Miera'sjob is to recruit minoritystudcnts to MSC. He said the college gives enough attention tp minority recruitment but not enough to minority retention. "We have retention committees, but not a retention office," he said "I really can't defend the college in that area. We're not doing the kind of job we should to retain students with special neem." Miera ~ however, that MSC is taking steps in the right direction to improve the situation. He explained that the college is in the pr~ of hiring a new administrative staff member whose main function will be to improve MSC's equal educational opportunity program for minorities. "Hopefully, when the J)OOtion's filled, the college can really start evaluating and analyzing the kind of resources being put into recruitment and retention," he said "After that evaluation ... there can be some recommendations for different activities and programs to help improve these areas. He said the biggest program aimed at improving retention is the Special Services Program, a federally funded program designed to help students once they're in I college. One of the problems with retaining minority students is that they are not prepared by the high schools, Miera said "They don't have the skills that they need to come into the institution and do well." Reflecting this unpreparedness are comments made by MSC minority students. "High school was like, God knows, kicking a can - but coming here you have to kick a boat," said 19-year-old Jonathan Kng.x, an MSC sophomore. He's a graduate of Denver's East High

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Volume 12, Issue 6 - Sept. 22, 1989 by Met Media - Issuu