Winter Ball, a CC tradition since 2000, has always been a fun opportu-nity for students to relive their high school formal pasts – to dress up, get dates, and dance dirty. But this year’s Masquerade may have been the best Winter Ball yet.

Attendees boogied the night away in the Antlers Hilton ballroom downtown Friday night to a music playlist including top 40 hits, salsa, and Journey. The crowded dance floor was packed with excited, well-dressed students singing and dancing along with the music.

“I didn’t stop dancing until the last song was played,” said unior Chelsea Schmidt. “It felt like the highlights of a high school dance without the awkwardness.”

Many shared Schmidt’s enthusiasm for the affair. “I had students, faculty, and staff come up and tell me it was the best night of their year,” said co-

organizer and Campus Activities Director Sierra Fleenor, “It was by far the best Winter Ball I’ve been to in my five years at CC.”

Campus Activities interns and staff, Worner Activities Committee, and the CCSGA formed a commit-tee of about 10 students to plan the ball. When the group found no ven-ues conducive to a 900 to 1100-per-son event of this nature on campus, the Antlers gave them a great deal on the ballroom. The committee “seized the opportunity,” said senior Amanda Lenz.

Lenz, a Campus Activities intern, said her co-intern Caitlin Swan sug-gested the dance be a masquerade, “a theme that would lend itself to a classier, formal event.”

Fancy details were not forgotten. Miniature treats like chocolate cov-ered strawberries and fruit tarts were available for worn-out dancers to snack on. The venue itself offered an air of sophistication.

The event was a success, which

Lenz credits to a “new spin on an old event that really got students talk-ing.”

The ball sold out just after 7 p.m. on Friday. A Worner desk employ-ee says she was forced to turn away students decked out in masks and gowns.

“I was really impressed that everyone was in costume,” said Schmidt. Be-jeweled, feathered, and painted masks

a d o r n e d the faces of women and men alike.

“I think students were ready and excited to dress up and spend a night off campus out on the town,” said Lenz.

The students who decided not to attend cited the $10 ticket price and feeling a little

Catalystvolume 39 No15February 6, 2009

T h e N e w s p a p e r o F C o l o r a d o C o l l e g e

It was a ball:Cont’d p. 2

ComDeb: Does Iran have a right to possess nukes?

Scene: Oscar preview: what to see and what to skip

Sports: BBall wins on the road to conference

News: Staff and faculty offered buyouts

page 4Ethan Axelrod

Anna Sanger

The ongoing controversy over natu-ral gas drilling on Western Colora-do’s Roan Plateau was continued at the most recent State of the Rockies Project fall-winter speaker series last

week.“The timing of the [Roan Plateau] lease sale was motivated by the elec-tion. [The Bush Administration] needed to do this before the No-vember elections. If they had simply waited, I think we could have put to-gether a lease agreement,” said Har-ris Sherman, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Nat-

ural Resources, one of two speakers at last Wednesday’s lecture, entitled “Colorado’s Roan Plateau: Can We Balance Energy and Wildlife?”

“This eleventh hour rush to change things before the next administra-tion is in place is bad public policy... that we will regret later on,” contin-ued Sherman, a 1964 CC graduate.

Sally Wisely, Bureau of Land

Management State Director for Colorado, presented the view of the federal government in counterpoint to Sherman, who represented the views of Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s administration.

“Whether you like the [leasing] plan or you don’t like the plan, I think you could make a good case that it is the most environmentally responsible plan that exists... It was a really long process, eight years in the making. It’s a little ironic that the leasing decision would be char-acterized as rushed,” she said.

The lecture was brought to CC as part of the ongoing “The Wild Rockies: Maintaining Wildlife and Rivers in the West” series, building up to April’s State of the Rockies Conference.

“CC’s State of the Rockies project is designed to provide a thoughtful, objective voice on regional issues by offering credible research on prob-lems facing the Rocky Mountain West,” says a publication of the project.

“State of the Rockies speaks to one part of the new vision for the state of the college, drawing on the adventurous spirit of the Rocky Mountain west. Forty percent of

Natural gas drilling provokes controversy

page 9Sam Emmons

page 7Chris Jarmon

page 11Meredith Mantik

Cont’d p. 12

Joel Minor

Photo: Eric Einstein

Photo: Julia Hathaway

Sold-out Winter Masquerade a dance party sensation

2 News Friday February 6, 2009

State of the Rockies conference brings optimisim to the West

News

Joel Minor

Continued from page 1

our students come from the eight state Rockies region. We owe it to ourselves, then, to look at major is-sues and challenges in our backyard,” said project director and professor of environmental science Walt Hecox.

Alex Weiss, a senior biology ma-jor, was one of the student research-ers for the 2009 State of the Rock-ies Project. His research focused on the impact of energy development on wildlife in the west, chiefly in the Pinedale region of Wyoming and on the Roan Plateau.

“It was intense. Ten weeks of sit-ting in front of a computer and a couple of weeks of training, and go-ing to meetings. I felt like an expert for those ten weeks on the subject I covered,” he said.

Investigating the impact of leasing public land for energy development on the Roan Plateau was particularly timely, as the conflict came to a head before the lease sale of the plateau last August.

The Bureau of Land Management has controlled the plateau, which is home to a variety of wildlife, since 1997. Species that call the plateau

home include the Parachute Penste-mon, which is found in only five lo-cations in the world, as well as sever-al bird of prey species and big game herds, including the state’s largest herd of mule deer. An Environmen-tal Impact Statement issued by the BLM estimated that approximately 16 to 18 percent of big game winter range will be lost within 20 years.

The plateau’s natural resources also include rich oil shale and natural gas reserves – enough natural gas to sup-ply Colorado for 30 years or the U.S. for about six months.

It is one of the last remaining areas of northwest Colorado untouched by a natural gas drilling boom over the last few years. About 1,500 per-mits for new wells were issued in 2000, compared to nearly 7,000 in 2008. Most of the drilling is concen-trated in Garfield County, where the Roan Plateau is located.

Northwest Colorado communities are reeling from the increased infra-structural demands brought on by the sudden population increase as natural gas workers flood the region. The communities also struggle to balance demands of the natural gas industry with the tourism and recre-

ation sectors of their economies.Sherman estimated that tourism

and recreation directly bring $31 mil-lion in revenue to local governments in northwestern Colorado each year. The Roan Plateau, “an oasis in a sea of development” is one of the focal points for that recreation.

“When we deal with issues in northwest Colorado, we have a bur-geoning energy industry, but we also have tourism, we have an agricultur-al industry, we have a retirement in-dustry... we have to make sure all of these forces are working together,” Sherman said.

Congress directed BLM to devise a plan for leasing the plateau, lo-cated north of Rifle and Glenwood Springs along I-70, for natural gas ex-ploration in 2000.

After “thousands of meetings for public input,” the BLM released the “most restrictive and environmental-ly responsible plan in existence” on March 18 of last year, said Wisely.

The plan featured a mandate to close down 100 miles of existing roads, 21,000 acres of restricted ‘Areas of Environmental Concern’ (AEC’s) in addition to another 18,000 acres of ‘No-Surface Occupancy’ areas com-

pletely restricted from human activ-ity.

The most inno-vative feature of the plan, accord-ing to Wisely, is the ‘phased drilling’ component, which restricts drilling to 1 percent of the top of the plateau at any given time.

“I think [the plan] can serve as a mod-el... a lot of people are looking at this plan and trying to see if it fits not just here in Colorado, but other places. There’s some re-ally good things in here,” she said.

Hecox also praised the plan. “Parts of it were innovative, in terms of phasing the amount of land area to be drilled at any one time,” he said. “What was not creative was to lease the entire plateau at the front end in a rush.”

The eight-year timeframe for devel-oping the plan was a sore point for the

natural gas industry, which accused BLM of dragging its feet.

“They didn’t like the undivided unit [of leasing],” Wisely said. “It is incredibly restrictive, and we stuck with it, frankly, because we thought it was the most environmentally friendly mechanism for the sale.”

The state of Colorado and many environmentalists also had objec-tions to several planks of the plan, Sherman explained. Specifically, they wanted 36,000 acres protected as ACECs, and phased leasing of acres for leasing.

Because the entire plateau was leased at once last August, areas that will not be drilled for up to 40 years into the future were sold at low val-ues. Revenue from the leasing is split 50/50 between the state and federal governments. Initial BLM estimates that the state would receive up to $2 billion from the lease were well above the $56 million the state actu-ally received.

“Governor Ritter had made a prop-osition that had wide support. It was unfair that the Bush administration chose to move forward a month be-fore the election,” Sherman said.

“There wasn’t a huge difference between the state and BLM about the ACECs. That means that if they could come close to agreement on that issue, they could come close to agreement on the timing issue. But the state was never given those opportunities because the adminis-tration was on its way out,” Hecox said.

Although the leases have already been sold, there is still some poten-tial for the situation to change given the recent appointment of Ken Sala-zar, a 1977 CC graduate, as Secretary of the Interior, which is the federal department that oversees the BLM. As Colorado’s senator, Salazar sup-ported Ritter’s compromise plan.

“I’m optimistic he’ll take another look at the Roan Plateau decision made by the Bush Administration in the eleventh hour,” Hecox said.

“I don’t think that the leases that have been issued will be drastically changed,” Weiss said. “With Salazar as secretary, it’s likely that future is-sues will be settled with much more regard to the science and much less bowing down to the industry.”

Wisely was unwilling to speculate on her new supervisor’s future deci-sions, but noted that energy policy was one of the top priorities men-tioned by Salazar in a recent confer-ence call.

“[Salazar’s appointment] is great for Colorado -- it’s great for the West that he’s our new secretary. I’m sure he’ll take a look at a variety of is-sues,” she said.

Friday February 6, 2009 NeWS 3

CATALYSTThe 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 lo-cal area, the Catalyst aims to bring general interest and academic-oriented news, ideas, and opinions into greater collective view—to act as a catalyst for informed debate. The newspaper is published under the auspices of Cutler Publications, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit independant of The Colo-rado College.

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Alum spends year studying South American Chagas disease

Imagine a bug bite coming back to bite you 40 years later.

This is the reality for the more than 18 million people worldwide who have been infected with the relatively unknown Chagas disease. Each year, over 20,000 die from the infection.

On February 2, Colorado College alumna March Thompson gave a talk sharing her experiences working with Chagas disease in Latin Amer-ica. Thompson spent the past year travelling throughout rural Ecuador to study and help diagnose Chagas disease.

About 25 people attended the event from several departments, as the Chagas situation is one that in-tegrates culture, economics, science and ethics in developing countries of Latin America.

When Thompson embarked on the journey that took her to the shacks and shanties of rural Ecua-dor, she had never even heard of the disease.

In fact, she had applied for a Wat-son Fellowship with the intention of studying leprosy.

However, when Thompson did not receive the Watson Fellowship, her focus slowly shifted to Chagas. An international research course in Ecuador offered by the Tropical Dis-ease Institute provided her with the perfect opportunity to learn more.

Thompson explained that Chagas disease is transmitted by mosquito-like insects called triatomites, or as the locals say, “chinchorros.”

While most triatomites are harm-less, some are carriers of a parasite called Trypanosoma Cruzi. After an infected triatomite finishes feeding on a human host, it leaves behind feces containing the parasite. When the host breaks the skin by scratch-ing, or rubs a mucous membrane such as an eye, the parasite enters the bloodstream.

Once the parasite has entered a person’s body, it penetrates cells and multiplies within them, much like HIV. The cells then burst, releasing more parasites, which continue to in-

fect cells.The first phase of Chagas, the acute

phase, causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, and nausea, which last for about two weeks and then disappear. The infected person then enters the chronic phase. For the next ten to forty years, organs such as the heart; lungs and intestines enlarge due to cell damage. Eventually, these conditions will cause fatal heart and digestive failure.

There is no cure for this deadly disease, and the available treatment methods are ineffective if a person has been infected for more than two years.

In an effort to catch Chagas before it became untreatable, Thompson worked with the Tropical Disease Institute, travelling from village to village, testing children under the age of fifteen.

Along with testing people for Chagas, Thompson and other volunteers in the program trav-eled throughout Ecuador, fumi-gating houses and educating lo-cals on Chagas prevention.

Most houses in rural parts of the country are made of adobe clay bricks. When initially laid out in the sun to dry, these bricks develop deep cracks, which make perfect homes for the Chinchor-ros. Consequently, most homes are overrun with these insects.

Thompson was initially sur-prised to find that most Ecua-dorians were not bothered by the number of these danger-ous bloodsuckers living in their homes. When asked if he had ever seen Chinchorros in his house, one man responded, “Of course, they bite me every night!”

Although Ecuadorians know that their homes are infested with triatomites, they have no means of exterminating them.

The government, along with organizations such as the Tropi-cal Disease Institute, attempt to ensure that all rural homes are fumigated every two years. How-ever, this is difficult due to the scattered distribution of many rural communities.

Ideally, villagers would use con-crete to seal any cracks in the walls of their homes, but while this mate-rial is widely available in the United States, it is well beyond the means of most Ecuadorian families.

Thompson believed she would re-turn with a better understanding of Chagas, but she also came back with a better understanding of the reality of life in third world countries like Ecuador.

“Initially, I was interested in the contrast and symbiosis of Western medicine and socially grounded me-dicinal methods like Shamanism and prayer,” she said.

However, Thompson’s interest quickly shifted from this abstract question to a more realistic one: “how can we help?”

“I have to laugh when I think about my old perspective,” Thompson said.

“These people are just trying to put food on the table. Intellectual ques-tions, like the things we talk about in class, just don’t matter to them.”

There were no neat, all-encompass-ing solutions to many of the ques-tions, but as she observed, “the ques-tions that really challenged me were the ones that have no answers… What do [these people] really need? Do they want our help? Why is this world so unequal? Traveling to other countries, especially countries that are the most different from your own, faces you with issues like a mir-ror.”

“[It] directly reflects your views, your ethos, and your lifestyle choic-es. [It] forces you to be introspective in a way you cannot prepare for,” re-flected Thompson.

Failed Watson attempt opens the door for work with the Tropical Disease Institute

4 News friday february 6, 2009

Looming spring layoffs spark financial incentive for staff to accept buyouts

Facing the likely necessity for lay-offs this spring, Colorado College administrators announced the terms of a Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) at a faculty and staff meeting last Tuesday. The program offers staff members financial incentive to voluntarily resign from their posi-tions, with the ultimate goal of elim-inating positions from next year’s budget.

In December, the college’s board of trustees issued a resolution stating that their goal of cutting the budget by $8 to $12 million for next school year “will not be achieved without a substantial reduction in positions and a constrained compensation pool.”

To avoid layoffs where possible, Robert Moore, the recently hired vice president of finance and admin-istration, set out to create a program that would induce staff members to voluntarily leave their position. Moore said the VSP was inspired by a successful program implemented last December at University of Den-ver.

The Human Resources (HR) De-partment, which is administering the program, began accepting applica-tions on Monday. At the end of the application period, President Celeste

will decide—based on the recom-mendations of senior staff and the HR department—which applications will be accepted.

Moore said that the only consid-erations in accepting applicants are whether they meet the criteria listed on the application, and whether the college can afford to sacrifice a given position.

The Director of Financial Aid, Moore offered as a hypothetical example, would likely not be ac-cepted into the program because the school cannot function without that position filled even in the interim. Moore also said that the administra-tion does not yet have a clear sense of how many applications they will receive.

Accepted applicants will receive four to six months salary in a lump sum depending on length of employ-ment at the college, plus an addition-al $500 for each year of service to the school.

According to a question and an-swer document prepared by the HR department, this compensation is larger than the severance package of-fered to staff who might be laid off later this spring when the new bud-get is finalized.

Administrators hope that the greater compensation will be incen-tive for staff to sacrifice their posi-tions voluntarily. The HR question and answer document states that “It

is our intention wherever possible to eliminate the position that has been vacated.”

Senior staff, in conjunction with HR and the VP for Finance and Ad-ministration, will determine whether vacated positions can be eliminated.

In an e-mail to the Catalyst, Matt Reuer, Technical Director for the Environmental Science and one of two staff representatives on the ad hoc budget planning committee, said that he considered it a positive that the VSP “provides compensation and benefits for staff greater than what might be feasible with a non-voluntary severance package.”

He also expressed concern that “this financial incentive might en-courage high-performing staff to leave the college if they… feel their position is in jeopardy.”

On the on-line message board cre-ated by the college as a sounding board for staff regarding the VSP, some anonymous posts have voiced frustration at the lack of informa-tion available.

One staff member wrote, “I would still like to see the college’s goal for the number of eliminated positions before March and April. I cannot make an informed decision without that information.”

Another post expressed concern over the number of applicants for the VSP: “I suspect the college will deny severance past a certain num-

ber of applicants, so you might as well announce that number. This is particularly frustrating when we don’t have a clue what standards are being used for layoffs.”

Moore said that the administration does not have any expectations re-garding the number of applicants.

Pay for staff during the 2008-2009 school year amounted to $19,191,519, or roughly 21 percent of the operating budget, according to Reuer, Technical Director for the Environmental Science department.

By comparison, faculty pay was $13,739,905.

Neither the budget planning com-mittee nor the board of trustees has cited a precise number to which the staff compensation budget must be trimmed in order to meet the $8 to $12 million goal. The board will like-ly come closer to a number when it convenes this month.

Reuer says that his goal on the budget committee is to “ensure the highest quality academic experience for CC students while mitigating the impact on staff.”

With students voicing their sup-port for full funding of financial aid last week, pressure will be on the board of trustees from multiple seg-ments of the CC community to cut the budget in a manner that the ma-jority of the community finds equi-table.

Ethan Axelrod

Friday February 6, 2009 Features 5

Features

CC students abroad:Making the world their classroom

Over winter break, CC students, pictured here in traditional dress, traveled to Tanzania to help out in local schools and experience native African culture.

Photo: Kristen Rider

Below left: Paige Bedell rock climbs in San Sebastian during her semester abroad in Mexico.Below center: Students enjoy lunch at the restaurant Caleta Miramar near Santiago, Chile. The class focused on the Pinochet dictatorship and its effects in Chile’s contemporary history. Below right: Students abroad in India, January 2009. CC volunteers helped build sanitary waste pits for villages in Melghat and educated residents on sustainable agriculture.Bottom Right: At a local market in Santiago, Chile, students sit down with their professor, Sal Bizzarro, for a meal. Bizzarro taught an upper level Spanish class, and a famous Chilean writer, Antonio Skarmeta, gave personal insight into Chile’s history.

Photo: Annie Graeter

Photo: Dan Marion

Photo: Sage Santmier

Photo: Lauren Jenkins

Friday February 6, 20096 Features

Right: Michael Best and Denali Johnson try to navigate around London during their block abroad.

Photo: Elaine Zick

Below: Denali Johnson and Elaine Zick play around on Platform 9 ¾ during their block in London last year.

Photo: Michael Best

Men’s basketball earns first road victory in two years

SportSSportS 7FridayFebruary6,2009

A single layup changed Colorado College Men’s basketball history on Sunday. Junior guard Jarrell Sweet scored with 26 seconds remaining and freshman forward Jeremiah Wa-ters added a pair of free throws with 12 seconds on the clock to seal a last-gasp victory over Sewanee: The Uni-versity of the South.

The win marked the Tigers’ first road win as a member of the SCAC. CC led the Sewanee Tigers for most of the game, including a nine point margin with 19:15 remaining in the game after sophomore guard Nick Rose scored 3 points in a row. Se-wanee then took control of the lead with 10:19 to go by hitting a long-range shot, and widened CC’s defi-cit to six points by the eight-minute mark.

The situation required extreme resolve for the CC men, who had seen too many leads slip away on the road this season, including a recent five-game road trip that yielded no triumphs for the Tigers. Sewanee’s

Eric Schneider hit a three-pointer with 3:59 left to make the score 49-44 when CC began to buckle down on defense, holding Sewanee to just three points for the remainder of the contest.

The game came down to the final minute of play. CC was in the one-and-one since Sewanee had fouled more than six times in the half, mean-

ing that any foul against a CC player gave the Tigers two free throws. Wa-ters hit both of his foul shots with 49 seconds left to reduce the deficit to 1 point.

Sweet stole the ball from Sewanee for the second time in a span of eight seconds, and his subsequent go-ahead layup made the score 53-52. When CC regained possession, Waters was fouled again, and made two more free throws to seal a 55-52 victory. Rose led CC in scoring with a 12-point, four-steal effort.

Sophomore forward Brady Ohlsen contributed 10 points and nine re-bounds, while Waters added nine points. Sweet finished with seven points and four steals. The win was the Tigers’ first ever road victory in the team’s two years of SCAC play, and their first success away from home since defeating UC Santa Cruz on February 24, 2007 in the Division III Regional Championship third place game.

CC’s 2008-2009 campaign has al-ready shown considerable improve-ment over their winless ‘07-’08 sea-son with four wins so far, three of them coming in SCAC competition. With six games remaining in the sea-son, the Tigers are still alive in the hunt for a conference championship. They must finish in the top eight out of twelve SCAC teams to earn a berth to the conference champion-ship tournament.

The question of who will receive those eight spots is still very much up in the air with almost a quarter of the season left to play. CC is cur-rently is tied with Millsaps at 3-7 in conference play, and is in position to surpass the Majors as well as Austin College and Southwestern, who are currently placed third and fourth in the West Division, respectively.

Chris Jarmon

Photo courtesy of CC AthleticsJunior Jarrell Sweet jumps for a layup.

Ted Barnard

A look at Super Bowl XLIII

The best ever? That’s the question on many fans minds following Sunday nights Super Bowl XLIII between the Pittsburg Steelers and Arizona Car-dinals.

The game had it all: momentum shifts, huge plays, clutch perfor-mances, and plenty of points. But it was the Steelers resilience at two key points of the game that brought home the city’s record breaking 6th ever NFL title.

The first came with 18 seconds remaining in the second quarter, with the Cardinals perched on the Pittsburg goal line. The Steelers had jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead, but after a impressive Cardinal drive it was now 10-7 with Arizona looking to take hold of all the momentum.

Cardinals QB Kurt Warner dropped back to pass, stared down his pro-bowl receiver Anquan Bold-in and fired the ball to his apparently open teammate.

What Warner didn’t see was Steel-ers linebacker and NFL defensive player of the year dropping into the lane right in front of the ball. It was an easy interception, but Harrison showed superhuman athleticism rac-ing 100 yards for the touchdown. It was now 17-7 Steelers rather than 14-10 Cardinals with 0.0 on the clock.

“Obviously, we needed every play that we got, but that was a huge play,” said Steelers Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau of James Harrison’s re-

cord setting interception return for a touchdown, “I’ve said, and I believe it, it’s the greatest single defensive play in Super Bowl history. I really believe that.”

Fast forward to 2:37 remaining in the 4th quarter and the Steelers with the ball. Arizona had just erased a 13 point fourth quarter deficit to take the lead 23-20 on Larry Fitzgerald’s incredible 64 yard catch and run. It had been a meltdown of epic pro-portions as the leagues number one ranked defense had been shredded for 16 fourth quarter points, while the offense had managed just three points all half.

Yet somehow, if you looked closely at the Steeler offense strolling to the ball led by QB Ben Roethlisberger, there was nothing but confidence in all of their eyes.

Roethlisberger dropped backed to pass, looked left, scrambled right, and fired a laser beam into the lung-ing arms of Holmes, wedged behind three defenders in the back right corner of the end zone. There was a booth review and it confirmed what everyone’s eyes had already told them—Holmes had successfully dragged his toes, TOUCHDOWN, 27-23 Pittsburg lead with 35 seconds remaining.

The rest was history, the Steelers are world champions for the 6th time, Santonio Holmes the MVP, and hoards of pundits immediately began claiming the game’s place as the best of all time.

Comment&Debate8 Comment & Debate FriDay Feburary 6, 2009

Study rooms in Colorado College dormitories

As students who chose to attend a top ranked lib-eral arts college, we make the commitment to de-vote considerable amounts of time and resources to our academic pursuits.

While collegiate life is multifaceted, learning and scholarship are our primary responsibilities. So, imagine my dismay, when I came home late one evening to find that our house’s only study lounge had been converted into a private room over winter break.I had a paper due the next day and the library was closed. I was unable to use my room to work because my roommate was already asleep. Down-stairs, in the only available communal room, three of my house mates were watching a gangster mov-ie. Awesome.

We all know how difficult it can be to find an opportunity to commit the necessary time to studying when you are in a difficult block, have a job, and other extra curricular activities. Since the library is not open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, my housemates and I took advantage of our house’s study room all the time.

We had no advance warning to alter our study schedules or opportunities to share our opinions about the decision to convert the room to a pri-vate residence.

Why would the college take away the study room from the house with the highest percentage of on-campus seniors outside of the apartments? I later discovered that this unannounced acquisi-

tion also happened in Slocum hall, where all the study lounges, save one, were converted.

I understand that the college must have consid-ered the impact of the decision to convert com-mon study rooms into private rooms and there may be reasons behind their actions of which I am unaware.

While this may be the case, the college maintains its duty to strive to act in every student’s best in-terest. This decision was not in many students’ best interest for the following reasons:

The elimination of the study rooms has a det-rimental impact on students’ study habits. Since some students feel that their rooms are not con-ducive to studying, there should be a place on campus that is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week that is dedicated solely to doing work.

In the past, communal house study rooms served this purpose. With their removal, there is no place available for many students to study during any hour of the day or night.

Some may argue that there are additional spaces to study in the larger dorms, however with limited gold card access, only residents of the dorm can use these spaces.

For example, I live in Arthur and would be un-able to use a study space on one of the residential floors of Mathias during the hours which the li-brary is closed.

As the situation rests now, students in Slocum and Arthur ouse are forced to study in lounges with TVs and pool tables. It is unreasonable to ex-pect that students will be able to work while other students are using the room for social purposes. With no other options for 24/7 studying, elimi-nating study rooms negatively impacts students’ study habits.

In addition, the college failed to consult with the students. Thus, the administration could not ful-

ly comprehend the degree to which their actions would affect us. Had administrators gathered more information, they might have made a different de-cision or found a way to collaborate with students to come up with a better alternative.

Moreover, students were given no forewarning. With no notice students had no time to make al-ternate living arrangements before coming back from break.

Lastly, there is an understanding (as well as a contractual agreement) between students living on campus and Residential Life: students pay a spe-cific price for certain amenities.

When one of these amenities has been taken away, such as the study room, it is unjust for the college to charge the student the same amount, especially when it is collecting additional money from the person now living in the former study room.

Since it is unlikely that the college will return the study rooms this semester, I fully expect that the college attempt to please all parties involved. As students we have the right to acceptable work-ing environments, after all, studying is our full-time job.

The college must provide a space available to all students that is dedicated specifically to study-ing. If the college is unwilling to return our study room or provide a viable alternative, the residents of Arthur House fully expect to be otherwise compensated by a room rate reduction in concor-dance with amenity reduction.

In the future, I hope that the college does not make the same mistake and act on such an impor-tant issue without consulting the student body.

We have opinions that deserve to be heard. Perhaps with the extra money the college is mak-

ing by having these additional rooms, they can pay the staff to keep the library open all the time.

Student opinion heard through CCSGA survey

CCSGA sent out a financial survey last Friday intended to assess the financial priorities of the student body.

They limited the scope of the sur-vey to expenditures controlled by the student government. Policies will not be formed directly according to the survey, though student responses gave the CCSGA insight into their priorities.

Fifty five percent of students would be willing to pay a student activities fee at the beginning of the year to help support campus activities, and 52.6 percent of these students want to pay less than $100.

This fee is common among CC’s peer institutions and would allow event money to be independent from tuition.

Large events and concerts were the most important activities to students compared to both small events and speakers. Large events and concerts were considered “very important”

in 45.4 percent of responses. In the short answer section, Llamapalooza was the most cited specific activity that students thought of as “indis-pensable.”

Free food at events was somewhat important to 46.6 per-cent of surveyed stu-dents, and not a factor to 28.2 percent. 75 per-cent of students were opposed to paying for food at events.

Only 35.7 percent of students were more like-ly to attend events if al-cohol was being served. 51.5 percent were neu-tral, and 14 percent were less likely to attend if al-cohol was being served. Fifty seven percent of students more likely to attend such an event would be willing to pay for each beverage, with $1 or $2 per beverage re-ceiving the majority of responses.

The results will be useful in creat-ing new policies, but will not neces-sarily translate directly into policies. Thank you for your participation; we had over 450 responses. Full survey results are available upon re-

quest. CCSGA wants to continue to include student voice in its ongoing decisions.

Mark Neuman-Lee, CCSGA Presi-dent

Mark Neuman-Lee

Eve Aguilar

On January 30, The Catalyst published an incorrect version of this article. This is the cor-rect version. We regret the error.

Many observers of American politics predicted early on that the recent election would hinge on foreign policy, specifically the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet as economic conditions for millions of Americans worsened, issues like jobs, taxes and health care came to the forefront.

Despite the myriad of difficult problems Presi-dent Obama faces on the domestic front, the in-ternational situation and the application of Amer-ican power abroad remain of utmost importance.

One of the critical foreign policy issues on the

table for the Obama administration is nuclear weapons. While we live in a post-Cold War, post mutually assured destruction world, nuclear weapons still pose the greatest threat to human societies.

At every step, from the Manhattan Project to the current black market of nuclear material, national

leaders have been working in the realm of the un-known. Nuclear weapons best represent the age we are living in right now, where vast gains in tech-nology reveal our incredible deficiencies.

According to WhiteHouse.gov, Obama’s general policy on nuclear weapons is to secure “loose ma-terial” from terrorists, strengthen the Non-Prolif-eration Treaty, and move towards a nuclear-free world.

The major downfall of this policy is that it ne-glects the fundamental characteristic of nuclear power: a mark of scientific progress.

In the eyes of progress, the splitting of the atom is equivalent to humanity’s various achievements in space.

If our policy is to reflect a realistic understand-ing of the world, then we should be the first to say that scientific discovery is everyone’s right.

Securing material from terrorists will probably take place on the covert level, outside of the eyes and ears of American citizens and much of the world.

However, we have already seen how putting pres-sure on countries like Iran and North Korea only weakens our position.

Over the decades, nuclear power at the root has been in terms of numbers and capabilities.

The United States possesses the most nuclear warheads.

It has a submarine fleet stealthily patrolling the world’s oceans, ready at a moments notice to levy total destruction against any country. We are also one of the few nations that is working to develop anti-missile systems.

An effective and unhypocritical stance will un-

fortunately have to be firm and tough. Any competent national leader understands

that nuclear power can destroy civilizations. Mov-ing towards a nuclear-free world seems like a pipe

dream. It will be difficult to trust other nations while having proper controls, but the hardest thing will be to trust ourselves.

Few of our enemies will believe that the United States would ever get rid of all its nuclear mate-rial.

A nuclear weapon has never been used against a country that also possessed it.

The Soviet Union and the United States lived by this standard even as they continually threatened each other. India and Pakistan flexed their mus-cles at each other in a similar way in the 1990s.

The best diplomacy we can hope for is that lead-ers understand and respect nuclear power.

Leaders like that will know, for example, that Iran nuking Israel only ends up with the destruc-tion of both societies.

Friday Feburary 6, 2009

In old uranium mining town environmental activism attracts Colorado College students

In Grants, New Mexico, a group of former uranium workers came together in order to fight for a healthier environment. Over the past summer, I was given the chance to help these incredibly strong individuals fight large cor-porations and teach legislators about their predicament.

The Colorado College spon-sors this fellowship and con-tinues to provide a fantastic opportunity for its students to get involved in environmental activism. The Southwest Stud-ies (SWS) Summer Fellowships take two to three students to New Mexico for two months of hands-on learning. In those two months, I worked with the com-munity to assess the needs of a community-based organization, epidemiologists and other pro-fessionals to assess what is most important to the study. Over that time period, I grew as an in-dividual and began to recognize things about society I had never

recognized before. Grants, New Mexico, is not

the most spectacular place; most of the buildings in the former- mining town are empty because of the collapse of the uranium industry in the mid-1980s. Ini-tially, I thought Grants was un-appealing, but as the summer progressed so did my apprecia-tion for the people and the envi-ronment that surrounded me. In

Grants, a rather desolate town, social activism thrives.

In 2007, a group of former uranium miners, millers and ore transporters came together because of the strange health problems that were all too com-mon in their area. They decided to form a committee that would survey their friends to find out about the problems they saw.

They initially sent the question-naire to friends and family mem-bers. However, within just a few months, other communities all over New Mexico asked for the committee to survey their towns. At the beginning of last summer the committee collected over 1,200 questionnaires, a number that is astounding for the best epidemiologists. Although they collected a lot of questionnaires, they have continued to collect more.

After having created and dis-persed the nine-page-long ques-tionnaire, the committee didn’t know what to do with the data. They met Maria Varela, a profes-sor in CC’s Southwest Studies department, through her envi-ronmental justice class and her connection with the Southwest Research and Information Cen-ter in Albuquerque. After Ma-ria spoke with the community in Grants, she knew the project provided an excellent opportu-nity for the college to support an extremely pertinent cause.

The fellowship began with a

great deal of background on the area. It allowed me to bet-ter understand the history of the Grants and the uranium-mining situation in New Mexico. Once the summer came to an end and we analyzed the community’s data, we produced a slideshow. This slideshow is now in the hands of congressmen. One thousand eighty one of the 1208 workers surveyed were never told that radiation would be harmful. Ninety two percent of the workers were never told that washing their work clothes with their families’ could potentially be harmful to the health of their family members.

The community was hoping that this study would provide enough background information for the government to recognize the need for further research, a safer working environment for the workers and possible com-pensation for various doctors’ bills associated with uranium-related conditions. Time will tell how the community will be af-fected.

Halley Brunsteter

Nuclear weapons are here to stay, no matter how much we wish to stop them

Sam Emmons

In Grants, a rather desolate town, social activism thrives.

Nuclear weapons symbolize well the age we are living in right now where vast gains in technology reveal incredible social deficiencies in our ability to manage them.

In the eyes of progress, the splitting of the atom is equivalent to humanity’s various achievements in space. If our policy is to reflect a realistic understanding of the world, then we should be the first to say that scientific discovery is everyone’s right.

Comment & debate 9

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Friday February 6, 2009 10

Spring Break Ahlberg Adventure!!!!Where (and when) are we goin’? Indian Creek & Cedar Mesa areas of UtahMarch 11 – 22 2009!

What will we be doing?First we’ll be learning how to build trails with the Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI) at In-dian Creek – a world famous rock climbing area! Then we’ll be teaching some kids from Mon-trose High School how to build trails. Since we’re at Indian Creek we’ll do some rock climbing – instruction from RMFI is part of the program. Then we’ll head out on a 5-day canyoneering backpacking trip through McCloyd and Owl canyons. This trip will be led by professionals and includes a classic rappel and opportunities to explore and learn about the many magnificent ruins and canyons in the area.

Trip Calendar (briefly)Wed 3/11 - Depart for Indian Creek, UtahThurs – Fri - Trailbuilding techniques and skillsSat – Sun - Trailbuilding with Montrose H.S.Mon - Rock ClimbingTues – Sat - McCloyd / Owl Canyon backpackingSun 3/22 - Return to CC

What’s it going to cost? This trip cost is based on need and will include food transportation and the technical gear necessary to make it all happen. Talk to the Outdoor Education Director, Steve Crosby for more details. steve.cros-by@coloradocollege.edu – ext. 8131. Upstairs Worner!

What’s an Ahlberg Adventure?Ahlberg Adventures are professionally led programs devel-oped by the Outdoor Education Department of Colorado College. They serve to make outdoor adventures available to students who have limited outdoor experience at a rea-sonable cost. The Ahlberg Fund and the Ritt Kellogg Fund both contributed to help make this outdoor experience ac-cessible to more CC students. Please submit applications before 4:30 on Friday, March 1st.

Who is this trip for?CC students who have never backpacked or camped and are interested in learning more a about the back-country while giving something back! There are only 9 spaces on this trip so fill out an application ASAP!

The biggest film event of the year is just around the corner, and nobody is watching. The Academy Awards is struggling to boost its ratings from last year’s rock-bottom 32 million viewers.

In 2007, 40.2 million people watched the awards, and 55.3 mil-lion watched when “Titanic” swept the awards in 1998.

But this is still a small number com-pared to the viewers that other major TV events bring in; for example, the Super Bowl usually gets around 97.5 million viewers. And this year’s cer-emony doesn’t hold much promise of attracting an audience.

The 81st Academy Awards will be hosted by Hugh Jackman, recently named “sexiest man alive.” Jackman is an unusual choice compared to past comedians like Jon Stewart or Ellen Degeneres – no one can pre-dict how he will break up the som-ber four-hour Oscar line-up, but no one is expecting wry roasts of Halle Barry and Jack Nicholson.

The nominated films may also be a reason for lack of excitement. Though few genuinely great films ever win the Oscars (“Citizen Kane,” the most acclaimed film of all time, took home only one Oscar in 1942), this year’s Best Picture nominees represent a mediocre milieu of con-temporary filmmaking.

Such a case is “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which boasts a whopping 13 nominations and is possibly the weakest film of the bunch.

Based loosely on F. Scott’s Fitzger-ald’s satirical short story of the same name, “Button” relates the dramati-cally epic tale of Benjamin Button, played by Best Actor nominee Brad Pitt. Button ages backwards and wins the love of Daisy, played by Cate Blanchett.

Critics continually comment that “Button” left them with the faint memory of “Forrest Gump,” and

for good reason: the script was writ-ten by Eric Roth, also the “Gump” screenwriter, and almost exactly overlaps the entire synopsis.

From single motherhood in Loui-siana to early-destined love, “But-ton” proves that there is a formula to gaining Oscar nominations. But unlike “Forrest Gump,” “Button” feels rushed and disorganized. But-ton himself is a hopelessly boring character, and his unusual “case” is left annoyingly unexplained.

While “Button” director David Fincher took a step away from films like “Se7en” and “Fight Club” for a

chance at the Oscar race, he fails to make up for the script that causes the film to limp its way through its nearly three-hour length. Unfortu-nately, the disappointing script also contributed to Pitt and Blanchett’s performances, both far below the top of their game.

Fincher isn’t the only director to step outside his comfort zone.

Danny Boyle, director of “Trainspotting” and “28 Days Lat-er,” earned the Best Director nomi-nation for “Slumdog Millionaire.” Nominated for 10 Oscars and simi-lar to “Button” in its romantic genre, “Slumdog” tells the story of Jamal, a boy from the slums of Mumbai who is driven by love to go on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”.

If the premise alone dissuades you from seeing this flick, don’t act too quickly. Boyle and screenwriter Si-mon Beaufoy know how to push the limits of the film’s potential.

The script is unpredictable and uniquely lyrical; the viewer can’t help but root for Jamal on every step of his journey – even when he steals money from tourists. The gallery-

quality cinematography is enough to grant this film a double-take. “Slum-dog” nestles comfortably into the category as one of the best films of the year.

Another unexpected pick in this year’s Best Picture line-up is Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader.” Nominated for five Oscars, the post-WWII dra-ma is structured around the affair between a teenager and an ex-Nazi, Hanna Schmitz, played by the flaw-less Kate Winslet.

The unwavering sentimentality of the tone, plot and dialogue drags down the film’s promise and fails to translate Ralph Fiennes’ acting abili-ty. Even newcomer David Kross tends to overshadow him. And though the film prides beautiful cinematic sto-rytelling, without Winslet’s perfor-mance “The Reader” wouldn’t stand a chance in the Oscar race.

Winslet’s character, Schmitz, re-mains mysterious throughout the film. But unlike Pitt’s portrayal of Benjamin Button, Winslet adds intense interest to Schmitz with glimpses of steadfast personality. “The Reader” may not fit the stan-dards of the Best Picture category, but Winslet certainly deserves the nomination, if not the win.

The last two films, “Milk” and “Frost/Nixon,” relate true stories of political figures on opposite ends of the spectrum. “Milk” follows Harvey Milk (played by Sean Penn), California’s first openly gay elected official.

Coupled with superb acting from Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch and James Franco, “Milk” is an overriding sincerity emanating from Gus Van Sant’s direction.

Of course, one of the drawbacks to making a film from a true story is that everyone knows what happens.

For those who’ve seen “The Times of Harvey Milk,” which won the Best Documentary Oscar in 1985, don’t bother seeing “Milk.”

Though the film delves deeper into Milk’s personal life than the docu-mentary, viewers leave feeling teased.

“Milk” takes too few risks and the characters yearn to be explored. It leaves Milk, Dan White and other characters two-dimensional at best. While the documentary mentions Milk’s child-like temper and irratio-

nal tantrums, a glowing opportunity to make him more of a human being than an American icon, “Milk” fails to take advantage.

Where “Milk” struggles, “Frost/Nixon” thrives.

Both the screenplay and the great Frank Langella (also nominated for Best Actor) portray Richard Nixon as a stubborn, intellectual drunkard. “Frost/Nixon” takes on the challeng-ing feat of making Nixon, an Ameri-can derelict, into a sympathetic char-acter.

David Frost, the unknown British talk-show host played by Michael Sheen, embarks on a series of inter-views with post-Watergate Nixon, during which they establish a war-like relationship referred to several times as a “duel” of wits. But while the analogy is clever and compelling, the film seems to linger, and even rely on this “duel of wits” as its sole form of suspense.

Though the film has been con-demned by some critics, the line between fact and fiction in “Frost/Nixon” is so blurred it creates a ten-sion that compels the viewer to want to know what happens next. “Frost/Nixon” acts as a wonderful dialogue between fiction and reality.

The film is also strikingly resonant with the recent political times: it fol-lows a president who has lost the re-spect of his country around the time he exits office. In fact, it’s so relevant that viewers can’t help but award di-rector Ron Howard with credit for drawing parallels.

Though the viewer rating may drop below last year’s count, the Oscars remain, in principle, a celebration of filmmaking. Keep in mind that great films like “The Dark Knight” and “Wall-E” still have their names on the ballot, even if for minor categories.

So we can at least expect a sincere appreciation for film as an art form, and hopefully inspire better films for next year’s Os-car list.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2009 ScEnE 11

SceneThe big picture of the Best Picture

Meredith Mantik

Though few genuinely great films ever win the Oscars, this

year’s Best Picture nominees represent a mediocre milieu of contemporary filmmaking.

Though the viewer rating may

drop below last year’s count, the

Oscars remain, in principle, a

celebration of filmmaking.

Friday FEBrUary 6, 200912 ScEnE

Students masquerade at marvelous Winter Ball

Students packed the dance floor at the Antlers Hilton Ballroom until 1am.

Hungry atendees flocked to Rastall’s midnight breakfast, the first of the semester, after Winter Ball.

Dancers relished the opportunity to dress their best.

Continued from page 1too high school. “Either my friends weren’t going or they had dates” said junior Claire Skrivanos of why she didn’t attend.

The only apparent trouble at the ball began when the speakers started blasting Semisonic’s “Closing Time” as the dance floor cleared. The coat check was a scene of chaos as students scrambled to get their jackets and make their way back to the campus-bound buses. A huge line and slow-moving system made the last few moments of the dance more stressful than the rest.

F r e s h m a n Chelsea Daven-port joked when she said, “I’d love to attend another dance like Winter Ball as long as I don’t

have to sneak into the coatroom to get my stuff at the end.”

Security was high for the event, featuring CC and Antlers Hilton security officers as well as three Colo-rado Springs Police Department officers. Students were warned of a $100 clean-up fine if they vomited from ex-cessive intoxication in Worner Center or on any of the buses.

The fine seemed to work as a deterrent. “Students seemed to be having fun, no one got out of control,” said Fleenor.

At Saturday’s Rastall brunch, the room buzzed with fun memories recollected. Lenz said the buzz lasted for the next few days: “The fact that students are still talking about what a great time they had over the weekend on Tuesday … signals a great event.”

Students were warned of a $100 clean-up fine if they vomited from excessive intoxication in Worner Center or on any of the buses.

Photos: Eric Einstein